Lexis and Semantics Flashcards
What is amelioration?
A word takes on a positive meaning over time
What is extension? 🐭🖱️
A word takes on more meanings over time
e.g. mouse meaning the rodent —> to meaning computer mice too
What is a neologism?
A newly coined lexeme or expression
What did ‘thou’ mean? What period was it used in and why did it fall out of use?
1) ‘You’, informal + singular
2) Old English
3) Syntactical change caused it to fall out of use as ‘ye’s shift meant it was associated with those of lower social standings.
(though it also came to signify familiarity and intimacy)
What did ‘ye’ mean? Who was it used for, and how did this change? What period was it used in?
1) ‘You’, formal + plural to singular by end.
2) Used for person of high social standing, initially, eventually for everyone
3) Old English
What is compounding?
pairing two words together to make a new one
e.g. bittersweet, boyfriend
What is an initialism?
A word made of its initial form
e.g. DNA
Initialisms… “
“help bridge the intelligibility gap” - David Crystal
Acronym vs Initialism
Acronym - Pronounced as a word (PIN/NASA)
Initialism - Pronounced letter by letter (DNA)
What is pejoration?
A word takes on a negative meaning over time
What is narrowing?
When a word becomes more specific over time
e.g. meat = food –> meat = animal flesh
What is blending?
The blending of 2+ words
e.g. brunch
What is nominalisation?
A type of conversion- Changing an adjective or verb into a noun/noun phrase
e.g. happy to happiness, decided to decision
What is conversion?
Changing a word from one word class to another
