Key Semantic Relations and Causes of Meaning Change

Fundamental Semantic Relations in Linguistics

Defining Semantic Relations

Semantic relations usually correspond to a single significant meaning. However, there are times when a signifier may possess a significant number of meanings.

Synonymy

Synonymy refers to terms having the same meaning, often with little significant variation between them. These variations typically depend on the context and specific language levels.

Antonymy, Complementarity, and Reciprocity

Antonymy is the established relationship between words that express opposite meanings in traditional semantics.

• Graded Antonymy

  This occurs when there is a gradation or scale between the opposing terms (e.g., hot/cold).

• Complementarity

  When the denial of one term implies the assertion of the other (e.g., alive/dead).

• Reciprocity

  When one term implies the existence or necessity of the other (e.g., buyer/seller).

Polysemy and Homonymy: Multiple Meanings

Polysemy vs. Homonymy

Both polysemy and homonymy occur when a single signifier has several corresponding meanings.

Polysemy

Polysemic words have a single origin, and their various meanings are related, directly or indirectly, to the oldest meaning. The abuse of polysemy leads to severe depletion of meaning, as is often the case with overly flexible or "wildcard" words.

Homonymy

Homonyms are words that match in form (spelling or pronunciation) but result from the evolution of two originally distinct terms. Sometimes, homonyms do not belong to the same grammatical category.

• Homographs

  Occur when there is agreement in both spelling and pronunciation (e.g., "lead" metal vs. "lead" the way).

• Homophones

  Only match in pronunciation, not spelling (e.g., "to," "too," and "two").

Hierarchical Semantic Relations

Hyperonymy and Hyponymy

These relations describe words whose meaning includes that of other words.

Hyperonyms

Hyperonyms (or superordinates) are terms of broad meaning that include others whose meaning is of lesser extent (e.g., animal is a hyperonym of dog).

Hyponyms

Hyponyms are words whose meaning is included in others of wider significance (e.g., dog is a hyponym of animal).

Understanding Semantic Changes

Definition of Semantic Change

The relationship between the signifier and the signified changes over time. This alteration in the meaning of words is called semantic change.

Causes of Semantic Change

Semantic changes arise from various factors:

• Linguistic Causes

  Words are not isolated in language or discourse. This allows their established meanings to form relationships that can lead to change. Moreover, when two terms frequently appear together in the same context, their meanings are easily contaminated.

• Ellipsis

  One of the words forming a phrase is absorbed, causing the remaining word to take on the content and meaning of the whole phrase.

• Historical Causes

  Changes in meaning are sometimes attributable to changes in reality or societal structures.

• Psychological Causes

  Strong feelings, such as hatred or sympathy for certain entities (e.g., animals), have led to applying positive or negative qualities to people, thus shifting word meanings.

• Social Causes

  Positive or negative valuations regarding societal actions and situations involving human beings are also an important source of semantic changes.