Social factors in semantic change
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David Korfhagen
Abstract
This study traces the semasiological development of the verb afeitar, taking into account probable intervening social and cognitive factors that contributed to several shifts in the verb’s prototypical meaning. Data collected from electronic corpora suggest the existence of three phases in the semantic development of the verb. Literary evidence from the fifteenth to the seventeenth centuries suggests that the social élite increasingly viewed the act of applying cosmetics in a negative light. The study argues that positive connotations were a conventionalized, requisite component to the meaning suggested by the verb, and that the verb was therefore increasingly viewed as inappropriate for reference to the act of applying cosmetics, while it remained perfectly suitable for reference to the act of shaving.
Abstract
This study traces the semasiological development of the verb afeitar, taking into account probable intervening social and cognitive factors that contributed to several shifts in the verb’s prototypical meaning. Data collected from electronic corpora suggest the existence of three phases in the semantic development of the verb. Literary evidence from the fifteenth to the seventeenth centuries suggests that the social élite increasingly viewed the act of applying cosmetics in a negative light. The study argues that positive connotations were a conventionalized, requisite component to the meaning suggested by the verb, and that the verb was therefore increasingly viewed as inappropriate for reference to the act of applying cosmetics, while it remained perfectly suitable for reference to the act of shaving.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents vii
- Acknowledgments ix
- Introduction xi
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Part I. Cutting-edge Methodologies in Sociolinguistics
- Quantitative analysis in language variation and change 3
- Combining population genetics (DNA) with historical linguistics 33
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Part II. Bilingualism
- Los Angeles Vernacular Spanish 91
- On the tenacity of Andean Spanish 109
- Spanish and Valencian in contact 135
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Part III. Language Acquisition
- Children’s Spanish subject pronoun expression 157
- The role of social networks in the acquisition of a dialectal features during study abroad 177
- Lexical frequency and subject expression in native and non-native Spanish 197
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Part IV. Phonological Variation
- On glottal stops in Yucatan Spanish 219
- Vowel raising and social networks in Michoacán 241
- Bilingualism and aspiration 261
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Part V. Morpho-Syntactic Variation
- Spanish and Portuguese parallels 285
- The tuteo of Rocha, Uruguay 305
- A corpus-based sociolinguistic study of contact-induced changes in subject placement in the Spanish of New York City bilinguals 323
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Part VI. Lexical Variation
- Social factors in semantic change 345
- Attitudes towards lexical Arabisms in sixteenth-century Spanish texts 363
- “Trabajar es en español, en ladino es lavorar” 381
- Index 401
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents vii
- Acknowledgments ix
- Introduction xi
-
Part I. Cutting-edge Methodologies in Sociolinguistics
- Quantitative analysis in language variation and change 3
- Combining population genetics (DNA) with historical linguistics 33
-
Part II. Bilingualism
- Los Angeles Vernacular Spanish 91
- On the tenacity of Andean Spanish 109
- Spanish and Valencian in contact 135
-
Part III. Language Acquisition
- Children’s Spanish subject pronoun expression 157
- The role of social networks in the acquisition of a dialectal features during study abroad 177
- Lexical frequency and subject expression in native and non-native Spanish 197
-
Part IV. Phonological Variation
- On glottal stops in Yucatan Spanish 219
- Vowel raising and social networks in Michoacán 241
- Bilingualism and aspiration 261
-
Part V. Morpho-Syntactic Variation
- Spanish and Portuguese parallels 285
- The tuteo of Rocha, Uruguay 305
- A corpus-based sociolinguistic study of contact-induced changes in subject placement in the Spanish of New York City bilinguals 323
-
Part VI. Lexical Variation
- Social factors in semantic change 345
- Attitudes towards lexical Arabisms in sixteenth-century Spanish texts 363
- “Trabajar es en español, en ladino es lavorar” 381
- Index 401
