LITHUANIAN UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES FACULTY OF PHILOLOGY DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH PHILOLOGY

KAMILIA PUNCEVIČ

PATTERNS OF SEMANTIC CHANGE IN FORMATION OF ENGLISH SYNONYMS

MA THESIS

Academic advisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Eglė Petronienė

Vilnius, 2016

LIETUVOS EDUKOLOGIJOS UNIVERSITETAS FILOLOGIJOS FAKULTETAS ANGLŲ FILOLOGIJOS KATEDRA

ANGLŲ KALBOS SINONIMŲ REIKŠMIŲ KAITOS DĖSNINGUMAI

Magistro darbas

Magistro darbo autorė Kamilia Puncevič Patvirtinu, kad darbas atliktas savarankiškai, naudojant tik darbe nurodytus šaltinius

(Parašas, data)

Vadovas doc. dr. Eglė Petronienė

(Parašas, data)

2 CONTENTS

ABSTRACT………………………………………………………………………….4 INTRODUCTION…………………...……………………………………………….5 1. KEY CONCEPTS IN THE STUDIES OF SYNONYMY………………………...7 1.1. The Concept and Criteria of Synonymy in English...……………..……..9 1.2. Classification of Synonyms………...……………………………………12 1.3. Sources of Synonyms…..…………………………………………….….15 2. HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE………..….17 3. SEMANTIC CHANGE IN ENGLISH………………………………………..…..20 3.1. The Concept of Semantic Change..…………..………………………….20 3.2. Causes of Semantic Change.....………………….………………………21 3.3. Classifications of Semantic Change....…………………………….…….21 4. ANALYSIS OF SEMANTIC CHANGE IN SYNONYMY……..……………….25 4.1. Quantitative analysis…………………………………………………….26 4.2. Qualitative analysis……………………………………………….……..39 4.2.1. Semantic changes of OFFER, READ and their synonyms……39 4.2.2. Semantic changes of LARGE, GREAT and their synonyms.....42 4.2.3. Semantic changes of WORLD, TIME and their synonyms...... 45 4.2.4. Patterns of formation of meaning……………………………..48 CONCLUSIONS……………………………...……………………………………..53 SUMMARY…………………………………………………………………………54 REFERENCES...……………………………………………………………………55 APPENDICES …………...... ……………………………………………………….58

3 Abstract

The development of a language is stimulated by linguistic, historical and social causes and results in changes at all language levels. Language contact and loanwords basically cause the formation of synonyms. English synonyms not only vary etymologically, but also exhibit a variety of semantic changes they underwent to be anchored in the English vocabulary. This paper addresses the question what is the relationship between the origin of words, the period of time, part of speech the words within synonymic group belong to and the type of semantic changes the words undertake. To test the relationship, the most frequently used twenty-three headwords of the English language were chosen from the wordlist in the British National Corpus. The twenty-three synonymic groups made total of 122 words. The paper set out to point out their diachronic features and analyze the formation of meaning of words within a synonymic group. The aim of the research was achieved by employing qualitative and quantitative research methods. The research focused on two traditions of changes in meaning - amelioration and pejoration as well as broadening and narrowing -- proposed and defined by a number of linguists: Kleparski (1988), Kiełtyka (2006), Grygiel and Kleparski (2007) Yu, Ren (2013). After the primary meanings of the words were found out, changes in the meanings of synonymous words by comparison to the modern meanings were identified; then, the patterning of the changes of word meanings within a synonymic group was established. Chai square and ANOVA quantitative methods were used to identify and compare the semantic changes the synonymous words originating from one and the same language underwent. The analysis has revealed the archetypal patterns of semantic change relating to the period of time when the words within synonymic groups started functioning in the English language. Also, the analysis showed that there is a tendency of broadening of meaning of words within synonymic groups in English.

4 Introduction

The theory of Semantic Change explains how linguistic expressions may change their meaning over time. It was the principal achievement of the 19th century linguists when they not only realized the importance of linguistic change more clearly than their predecessors, but also put its scientific investigation by means of the comparative method (Ivic, 2015). Some linguists in the early 20th century maintained an active interest in language change of various forms including semantic (Riddel, 1999). Evaluating the history of the English language it can be inferred that from the semantic point of view, the influence of other languages on English resulted in formation of synonyms; besides other effects on vocabulary. Native lexical items and borrowings undergo particular changes in meaning to function in the language and thus enter synonymic word groups. Semantic changes have long been studied to identify their causes and classify the types (Riddel, 1999); however, this research focuses only on two traditions that distinguish the following changes in meaning: amelioration and pejoration; broadening and narrowing. These particular changes are chosen for the analysis as some scholars reckon that ‘broadening’ and ‘narrowing’ are the main kinds of semantic change; while others (e.g. metonymy, litotes, pejoration, amelioration etc.) are merely subtypes (Campbell, 2004). As far as changes in meanings such as ‘pejoration’ and ‘melioration’ often excite people (e.g. silly which meant ‘happy, innocent, pitiable’ but later came to mean ‘foolish, stupid’); these semantic changes were chosen for the analysis as separate kinds of semantic change (Campbell, 2004). Taking into consideration that the language evolves slowly, but it is a continuous and unavoidable process, there is necessity of more extensive investigations on semantic change (Riemer, 2010). Consequently, the research question guiding this study is:

• What is the relationship between the origin of a word and the types of semantic change the word undergoes? • What is the relationship between the part of speech of a word and the types of semantic change the word undergoes? • What is the relationship between the time (historical period) a word enters the language and the types of semantic change the word undergoes?

The aim of the research is to set the patterns of the development of meaning of words within a synonymic group. To achieve the aim, the following objectives of the research were set:

5 • to reveal the etymological variety of English synonyms, • to determine the semantic changes words of similar meanings undergo in their historical development, • to establish the factors determining the change of meaning of words having similar meanings.

Novelty of the research

The research is topical because it is intended to add a new dimension to the investigation of English synonyms: by incorporating the two approaches – synchronic and diachronic – the analysis reveals the sources, relationship and patterns of development of meaning of words within synonymic groups in the English language.

Significance of the research

The research contributes to the historical semantics studies of language by reviving the ways of how the meaning of the lexicon of a language develops. The results of this study can be used as the background material for further research into synonymy and semantic change. From the practical point of view, this study could be useful for teaching semantic potential of the language.

Methods of the research

The analysis sets out to analyze English synonyms from the diachronic point of view. The aim of the research is achieved by employing qualitative and quantitative research methods. First of all, the analytical-descriptive method is used as the entries are analyzed and their origin and development of their meanings is described. Then, the quantitative method is adopted, which helps to establish the most common patterns of formation of meaning of synonymy in English and relationship between semantic changes and such variables as parts of speech, origin, the period of time.

6

The scope of the research

The research is based on 23 headwords, which were chosen according to their frequency of occurrence from the list in the British National Corpus. The headwords were derived from the research-based project Word Frequencies in Written and Spoken English: Based on the British National Corpus (Leech, Rayson & Wilson, 2001). On the list of the most frequently used words in English, the development of meaning throughout the history of some words was unknown; for this reason, these words were omitted. As a result, the selected 23 words include the following notional parts of speech: nouns, verbs and adjectives. Their synonyms, which count 99 words, are derived from Webster’s New Dictionary of Synonyms and Oxford Learner’s Thesaurus. The qualitative analysis of all 23 synonymic groups is carried out. The Etymological dictionary (www.etymonline.com) is used for the analysis of development of meaning of 23 synonymic groups (all in all 122 words). 23 synonymic groups appeared to be enough and were chosen in order to obtain tangible results and to establish the prevailing patterns of semantic change and relationship between semantic changes and such variables as parts of speech, origin, the period of time.

7 1. KEY CONCEPTS IN THE STUDIES OF SYNONYMY

In language study, there are numerous terms to consider. The present work is related to lexicology, historical linguistics, synonymy, semantics and linguistic change. Lexicology combines a number of different areas of interest; consequently, it is closely connected with historical linguistics as it is focused not only on the study of the relationships between various words and the labeling of types of words but also on the evolution of a word and language use which occurs over time. Historical linguistics looks at the history of words, exploring their origins and seeing how their usage has deviated from their original meaning. If we look at synonymy from diachronic angle, it becomes apparent that synonymy is closely related to the phenomenon of linguistic change. The relationship between linguistic change and synonymy is well explained by Haase who claims that one of the causes of linguistic change is the existence of synonymic groups (1874 cited by Geeraerts, 2010). Sturtevant (1965, 99) makes a straightforward and accurate statement, which can be called as a language economy principle, that unless synonyms come to be differentiated in meaning at some point of their history, one of them is usually lost. In semantics and historical linguistics, semantic change refers to any change in the meaning of a word over the course of time but it does not deal with change in the phonetic form of the word; also, called semantic shift (Campbell, 2004). The most common types of semantic change include amelioration, pejoration, broadening, semantic narrowing, synecdoche, hyperbole, litotes, metaphor and metonymy (Campbell, 2004). Semantic change may also occur when native speakers of another language adopt English expressions and apply them to activities or conditions in their own social and cultural environment (Campbell, 2004). In this research we are more interested in lexical meaning (each word has a unique meaning). Lexical meaning is divided into denotative meaning and connotative meaning. Denotative meaning is a primary meaning which names objects, things spoken about and is the same for all words. Connotative meaning is a secondary (additional) and it denotes a speaker’s feelings as well as deals with an effect on the listener (Arnold, 1986). Arnold suggests 4 types of connotative meaning: 1) Stylistic – it depends on the stylistic features of the word (colloquial or formal), e.g. a chap – a boy; in this case chap is an informal word, while boy is more formal word. 2) Emotional – it helps to express emotions, e.g. beseech, which expresses anxiety, desperate wish of something. 3) Evaluative – it expresses approval or disapproval, e.g. It’s magic/ Oh it’s witchcraft;

8 the first example presents a positive evaluation, while the other example a negative one. 4) Expressive – it underlies the intensity of the utterance, e.g. beastly weather (negative emotion, expressive, informal or even old-fashioned word).

A characteristic feature of a vocabulary of any language is the existence of synonyms. English has the largest vocabulary and the most synonyms of any language in the world (Antrushina, Afanasyeva, Morozova, 1985). This richness is due to the fact that the English language has grown over the centuries by constantly incorporating words from other languages. Even before the Norman Conquest, the Anglo-Saxon vocabulary included words borrowed from Latin, Greek and Scandinavian. After the Norman Conquest, the English vocabulary was virtually doubled by the addition of French words. Also, many words introduced into the language during the Renaissance and later periods. Synonyms in English therefore originate from a variety of languages: Anglo-Saxon, French, Latin, Greek, Spanish, South American, Indian, etc.

1.1. The Concept and criteria of Synonymy in English The word synonym originates from Greek and means ‘same name’ (Crystal 1995, 164). The definition of synonymy is often difficult to grasp, due to sometimes vague explanations given by different linguists. The fact is that many researchers do not agree with the simple explanation, that “synonyms are two or more forms with very closely related meanings, which are often, but not always, intersubstitutable in sentences” (Yule 1996, 118). Whereas this definition would be useful for most beginners of linguistic studies, Crystal argues that the definition of synonymy depends much on the individual lexemes: “it is usually possible to find some nuance which separates them, or a context in which one of the lexemes can appear but the other(s) cannot” (1995, 164). The problem is then that it is downright difficult to stake out what a synonym is and what it is not; the question is whether there are any ‘real’ synonyms? However, synonyms appear because there is a need for another word that expresses the same thing as the first word or because two languages are in contact (Campbell, 2004). The appearance of synonyms also concerns the difference between speech and writing. As noted by Saeed (2003, 65-66), “the synonyms may portray positive or

9 negative attitudes of the speaker [...] formality is another factor: many of these words are, of course, slang terms used in colloquial context”. Arnold (1986, 195) states that "synonyms are two or more words of the same meaning, belonging to the same part of speech, possessing one or more identical meaning, interchangeable at least in some contexts without any considerable alteration in denotational meaning, but differing in morphemic composition, phonemic shape, shades of meaning, connotation, affective value, style, emotional coloring and valency peculiar to one of the elements in a synonymic group". This definition of synonyms is very accurate, detailed and gives a full understanding of the phenomenon. Charles J. Smith defined synonyms as "words which agree in expressing one or more characteristic ideas in common" (Webster's Dictionary of Synonyms, 1968, 24a). However, Charles J. Smith’s definition is too general and it is not as informative as the one of Arnold. From the given definitions synonymy can be described as a semantic relation that means sameness of meaning. Synonyms are similar, but not identical. In other words, a synonym is a word with a meaning identical or very similar to that of another word. Traditionally, synonyms can be nouns, adverbs, verbs or adjectives, as long as words are of the same part of speech. For example, smart and intelligent, baby and infant, etc. As it was mentioned above, the question of synonymy has always been a hotly discussed area in which different linguists have proposed a variety of claims and hypotheses. Breal (1897 cited by Geeraerts, 2010) argued that synonyms are not tolerated as the very existence of synonymy contradicts the internal economy of the language system and, therefore, language users spread them over different semantic domains and registers. It was as early as the 19th century that Reisig (1890 cited by Geeraerts, 2010) dealt with synonyms, stressing the importance of a new branch of study called synonymology, which would study synonyms. In present-day Linguistics, synonyms are defined as follows: linguists such as, for example, Rayevska (1979, 183) identifies synonyms as words different in sound but identical or similar in meaning; similarly, Burkhanov (1998, 230–234) states that “synonyms are linguistic signs connected by the paradigmatic relationship of sameness or strong similarity of meaning”. Naturally, a number of features may be attributed to groups of synonymous expressions. Burkhanov (1998, 230) lists the following ones: 1. Two and more lexical items that belong to the same part of speech and are related onomasiologically to one and the same conceptual category, or various aspects of the same conceptual category are called synonyms, e.g. farmer/dirt farmer. 2. The term synonymy may also denote a cluster of lexical items belonging to the same part of speech and designating the same concept, but different in expressive meaning, e.g. peasant (evaluatively neutral) yokel (derogatory).

10 3. The term synonymy is also used in reference to syntactic constructions that can be characterised in terms of the same – or almost the same – semantic features, e.g. They kept tabs on the Negroes/The Negroes were kept tabs on. Although a myriad of views on synonymy are provided, it is essential to note that all the definitions are reasonable and it depends on the researcher and the peculiarities of his research which definition of synonymy to consider. In this research synonyms are considered to belong to the same part of speech, the words that are not necessarily the same in meaning but relating to the same concept; and might have different expressive meaning. Many theories of grammar even do not acknowledge the concept of synonymy at all. An opinion prevails that a difference in form should necessarily correspond to a difference in meaning. While analyzing scientific literature, the conclusion was made that there are no identical forms in every aspect of meaning so that the two words can be applied interchangeably. The only true synonyms are thought to be words having precisely the same denotation, connotation and relevancy (Greenbaum, 1996, 409; Crystal, 2003, 450). Most often, these true synonyms are concrete words that come from linguistically different sources. A good example of such a pair is car (from Latin) and automobile (from French). This pair of words has precisely the same denotations, connotations and they are used in identical contexts. From the given definitions of synonyms it follows, that there are some criteria of synonymy. According to Antrushina, Afanasyeva, Morozova (1985, 145), a notional criterion is used. In terms of this criterion, synonyms are described as words belonging to the same part of speech, having the same idea (notion) but differing in shades of meaning or stylistic characteristics. Also, semantic criterion was mentioned in "Webster's Dictionary of Synonyms". Webster's Dictionary of Synonyms asserts that synonyms are words with the same denotative component but different in connotative components. Moreover, a criterion of interchangeability was distinguished and according to the latter, synonyms are described as words that are interchangeable at least in some contexts (Riemer, 2010). All these criteria have been criticized as each of them has their advantages and disadvantages. The term of synonym lacks one and exact definition, so it is impossible to distinguish criteria as each criterion should be applied for all synonyms.

11 1.2. Classification of Synonyms Most of the students of language who confront the issue of synonymy recognize the existence of two major categories that are absolute synonyms and partial synonyms. The concept of absolute synonymy covers those clusters of expressions that share one and the same set of semantic features, i.e. their descriptive, social and affective meanings are identical, and such synonyms are interchangeable in all possible contexts. The prevailing view among linguists is that such absolute synonyms are either an extremely rare occurrence or – according to the majority of linguists – their existence is altogether questionable. Some scholars, like Bloomfield (1933), who went as far as to claim that absolute (perfect) synonymy is hard to obtain in language; the fundamental hypothesis of the great American scholar implies that each linguistic form has a invariable and definite connotation. Many other linguists felt equally pessimistic about the existence of absolute synonymy. Nida (1975, 151) complements Bloomfields statement by saying that no morphemes or combinations of morphemes are identical in meaning and hence there are no real synonyms. To illustrate this Nida (1975) discusses words: peace and tranquillity. These words are regarded as synonyms, but they are hardly identical in meaning. One may speak of a peace conference, but the expression tranquillity conference is certainly not an identical equivalent. Stern (1931, 226) seems to be pessimistic about the existence of absolute synonyms as well. He formulates an extremely right belief that: “[...] synonyms may by defined as words with identical or partly identical referential rage, but different semantic ranges. That is to say, they denote the same referents, but each word denotes it in an aspect that somehow differs from the others. When a speaker wants to denote a referent, he is practically always seeing it in a peculiar context, into which one of the synonyms may fit, but not necessarily the others.” Ogden and Richards (1923) noticed that two words may have exactly the same referential meaning, but differ in terms of emotive charge they carry, for instance such pairs as horse and steed. Similarly, Brook (1958, 168–169) states that the emotive content of words is one of the main reasons why there are so few absolute synonyms in any language. Likewise, Ullmann (1957, 108) sees emotive overtones as one of the main forces, which alleviate against absolute synonymy. In contrast to the pessimistic opinions mentioned, Cruse (2004) argues that synonyms do not necessarily have to express the same meaning in every context. His observations are not less correct and accurate than those of Ogden and Richards, Brook, Ullmann, Stern and Nida. He describes three subtypes of synonymy. First of all there are absolute synonyms, which are completely identical in their meaning (Cruse 2004, 154). Examples of this very rarely occurring semantic phenomenon are kick the bucket, die and pass away – all of them

12 express ‘the dying of a living thing’. But when we have to use one of the synonyms in order to express our condolences to the bereaved at a funeral, only pass away seems suitable. So, even those absolute synonyms differ in their stylistic characteristics and in the appropriateness in various contexts. It seems as if real absolute synonyms, which can be exchanged in every imaginable context and situation, are very hard to find. The second subtype by Cruse is called propositional synonymy (2004, 155). This type is not restricted to single words and their meanings; it rather refers to the meanings of whole phrases or sentences. Whenever items of a sentence can be exchanged without changing the meaning of the sentence, we speak about propositional synonyms. Hence, the nouns violin and fiddle are propositional synonyms in the sentence e.g. He is tuning his violin/fiddle. Although, both nouns refer to the same musical instrument they cannot be regarded absolute synonyms, due to their different degree of formality. Cruse mentions a third type of synonymy: near-synonymy. It is difficult for him to define this term, however, because as he explains, “it is not obvious what principle underlies the distinction [between near-synonymy and non-synonymy]” (2004, 156). Apparently, it is up to the intuition of the speaker to make this distinction. In this paper near-synonyms will be referred to as lexical groups of words that have very similar denotative meaning, but which may differ in colloquial behavior and are restricted to certain stylistic, conceptual or contextual conditions. Examples of near-synonyms are the adjectives pretty and handsome. Although both mean ‘good looking’, they can neither be regarded as absolute synonyms nor as propositional synonyms, because they refer to different concepts. In reference to human beings, handsome is bound to men, whereas pretty is basically used in reference to women. This classification of synonymy seems to be the most accurate of all. For this reason, in this paper I will rely on the classification of Cruse. Another proper classification of synonyms is introduced by Rayevska. According to Rayevska (1979, 187), synonyms can be divided into two major categories - ideographic (relative) synonyms and stylistic synonyms. The concept of ideographic synonymy implies contrasting shades of meaning or diverse degrees of a given quality, for instance beautiful/ fine/ handsome/ pretty, great/ huge/ tremendous/ colossal. The members of groups of ideographic synonyms are almost equivalent in one or more denotative senses; therefore, they can be used at least in some contexts. A great number of ideographic synonyms have the same meaning in certain collocations and another one in other contexts. Words of this group belong to the same stylistic type, for instance when we consider a pair of synonyms wild/savage we see that we may say wild berries and wild animals, but we can hardly say savage berries or savage animals. On the contrary, stylistic synonyms vary not so much in meaning as in either

13 emotive value or stylistic sphere of application. It is important to note that pictorial language often uses emotive words as stylistic alternatives of neutral ones, for instance eve/evening, lone/lonely. Antrushina, Afanasyeva and Morozova complement the theory of Rayevska by adding additional categoties of synonyms. According to Antrushina, Afanasyeva, Morozova (1985, 148), the only classification of synonyms was suggested by V.V. Vinogradov and he presents three types of synonyms: ideographic, stylistic and absolute synonyms. Ideographic synonyms are those of the same notion but with different shades of meaning (e.g. to love – to like). Stylistic synonyms are those words that belong to different styles (neutral, formal, informal). Good examples for this type of synonyms are the following pairs: to begin (neutral) and to commence (formal), a meal (formal) and a bite (informal). The words that are identical in meaning and style are called absolute synonyms (e.g. baggage - luggage). Also, the authors claim that some of the words become synonyms only in a particular environment (context) and they are called contextual (e.g. to buy – to get (some bread)). Many authors, such as Crystal (1995) and Rayevska (1979) have attempted to list the factors that distinguish members of synonymic clusters. Crystal (1995, 164) presents differences between synonyms, such as: 1. Dialectal difference – sandwich/butty are synonymous in Britain, but the former is standard while the latter is regional, autumn/fall are synonymous, but the former is British English while the latter is American English. 2. Stylistic difference – salt/sodium chloride are synonymous, but the former is an everyday standard word while the latter is technical, insane/ loony are synonymous, but the former is formal while the latter is informal. 3. Collocational difference – rancid/rotten are synonymous, but the former is used only of butter or bacon, kingly/royal are synonymous, but the mail has to royal in the UK. 4. Difference of emotional feeling or connotation – youth/youngster are synonymous, but the referents of youths are felt to be less pleasant than those of youngsters.

14 1.3. Sources of Synonyms It is of high importance to discuss the origins of the synonymous expressions. Rayevska (1979, 196–197) proposes a detailed account of the sources of synonyms and discriminates between the following etymological types: 1. Groups of synonymic expressions, which originate from the native element denoting different shades of denotative meaning, e.g. fast/ speedy/ swift, handsome/ pretty/ lovely, bold/manful/steadfast. 2. Groups of synonyms the elements of which are found in dialectal usage, e.g. child/bairn (Scot.), long ago/langsyne (Scot.), mother/minny (Scot.). 3. Groups of synonyms, which have foreign lexical sources because of the contact with other languages, e.g. begin/commence (Fr.), eaven/sky (Old Norse). 4. Groups of synonyms, which stem from the non-literal figurative use of words in pictorial language, e.g. walk of life/occupation, star-gazer/dreamer, pins and needles/the creeps. 5. Synonymic groups originated in euphemistic and vulgar use employed for stylistic purposes, e.g. die/to pass away/to kick the bucket.

Palmer (1981, 89) argues that English is rich in synonyms for several reasons. Firstly, synonyms may belong to different dialects of the language. The Americanisms used in British English also results in the formation of synonymous pairs, where one is a traditional Briticism and the other an American loan, e.g. fall (AmE)- autumn (BrE). Another source of synonymy is the process of euphemism, which can be described as a way of avoiding unpleasant, rude words or socially distasteful subjects by replacing with inoffensive ones, e.g. I’m going to powder my nose. The other reason is that English borrowed foreign words from almost every country in the world, e.g. words of music, architecture and poetry were taken from Italy which was the center of European Culture for so long. French also had an influence on English because it was at the height of prestige; therefore, most of the legal words or those that refer to fashion and meals are French. Borrowings have made English word-stock extremely rich in synonyms, e.g. the general idea of "thief" has thirty-seven synonyms (robber, burglar, plunderer, cracksman, house breaker, pick pocket, cut-purse, stealer, etc.) (Eckersley, 1960, 432). Synonyms in English are organized according to 2 basic styles. One of them involves double, the other a triple scale. In English there are numerous pairs of synonyms where a native term is opposed to one borrowed from French, Latin, and Greek. In most cases the native word is more spontaneous and colloquial, whereas the foreign one is formal. Double scale synonyms is a pair of words in which one word is native and the other one borrowed,

15 e.g. bodily - corporal, inner - internal, friendship - amity, world – universe, answer - reply, buy - purchase. (Arnold, 1986) Triple synonyms consist of one native, one French and a Latin word, for instance: NATIVE FROM FRENCH FROM LATIN to ask to question to interrogate to end to finish to complete

16 2. HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Every living language changes through time and it is a natural process. Rastorguyeva (1983, 14) claims that “it has long been recognized that a living language can never be absolutely static; it develops together with the speech community, that is, with the people who speak it”. This statement proves that evolution of language exists and that language is influenced by different processes connected with human beings, as language lives as long as people speaking it live. Also, it is important to mention that language evolves slowly, but its change is continuous and unavoidable.

It should be acknowledged that many causes of language development are only interpretations and linguists do not have a definite answer. Rastorguyeva (1983, 22) distinguishes external (extra-linguistic) and internal (intra-linguistic) factors of language development. Firstly, extra-linguistic factors are numerous circumstances and events closely associated with human life. External factors include language contact, political and economic aspects of the society, geographical division, the progress of science. Secondly, internal factors are related to the wish to improve the language, the principle of analogy, interaction of changes at different language levels and randomness – sometimes language change is unpredictable and cannot be explained. The history of the English language begins with the invasion of the British Isles by Germanic tribes in 5th century or with oldest written records about 7th century (Shay, 2008). It is possible to reconstruct some of the prehistory before that time, but the further back in time we go, the less certain we can be about what the language was like. Traditionally, the history of English is divided into three periods: Old English, Middle English and Modern English (Algeo, 2010, 10). As it was mentioned the earliest period begins in the fifth century around 449 A.D. with the migration of three Germanic tribes (the Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes) who crossed the North Sea from what today is Denmark and northern Germany. At that time Celts, the inhabitants of Britain, spoke Brythonic and Gaelic dialects. Most of the Celtic speakers were pushed west and north mainly into what is now Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The invading Germanic tribes spoke Kentish, West Saxon, Mercian and Northumbrian, which developed into Old English. The language in this form was used for over 600 years and during that time it was constantly changing. Old English did not sound or look like English today (Shay 2008, 83). The vocabulary of Old English contained a small number of borrowings; mainly it consisted of native words inherited from Proto-Germanic. Foreign elements in the Old

17 English vocabulary came from Celtic and Latin. In 1066 William the Conqueror, the Duke of Normandy, invaded and conquered England; consequently, it lead to the development of the English language, as it was influenced by French. Normans brought with them a kind of French, which became the language of the Royal Court, and the ruling and business classes. For a period there was a kind of linguistic class division, where the lower classes spoke English and the upper classes spoke French. In the 14th century English became dominant in Britain again, but with many French words added. This language is called Middle English. Main sources of loanwords in Middle English are Scandinavian, French, Latin and Greek languages (McIntyre, 2009). Latin and Greek borrowings came to the language from French or as a result of translation of classical works during the age of Renaissance. The presence of Scandinavians in the British Isles is indicated by a large number of place names and other words connected with every day life. Scandinavian words were the synonyms of the native ones. As Old Scandinavian and Old English were closely related (both developed from Proto-Germanic, but one belongs to East Germanic, other to West Germanic branch) Scandinavian words were very similar to native ones. For this reason some borrowings either disappear, or replace native ones, were restricted to dialectal use, or borrowed both but slight difference in meaning appeared (McIntyre, 2009). Early Modern English might be said to begin in 15th century. It is thought to begin with the invention of printing in 1476. From the 16th century the British had contact with many peoples from around the world and this means that many new words entered the language. By the beginning of the eighteenth century, period of late Modern English starts (Shay, 2008). The main difference between Early Modern English and Late Modern English is vocabulary. Late Modern English has many more words, arising from two principal factors: firstly, the Industrial Revolution and new technologies created a need for new words, especially scientific vocabulary; secondly, the British Empire at its height covered one quarter of the earth's surface, and the English language adopted foreign words from many languages like French, Italian, Dutch, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Persian, Chinese, Hungarian and others (McIntyre, 2009).

Looking at these periods it is obvious that etymologically the vocabulary of the English language is not homogeneous. It consists of the native and the borrowed word-stock. In fact, there are more borrowed words than native ones. Native words make up only 30 % of the total number of words in the English vocabulary (Antrushina, Afanasyeva, Morozova 1985, 40). The languages whose big number of words English has borrowed are French,

18 Latin, Scandinavian, Greek and many other languages. As a result of these borrowings many changes of meaning of English word-stock occurred. The process of semantic change is also referred to as semantic shift and it is going to be discussed in the following section.

19 3. SEMANTIC CHANGE IN ENGLISH

3.1. The Concept of Semantic Change Many approaches to semantics, the study of meaning, are introduced; for this reason in the following paragraphs the attempt is made to present a traditional classification of kinds of semantic changes and more recent tendencies in change of meaning.

In the course of time, changes in the meaning of a word occur and it is an unavoidable and continuous process (Yu, Ren, 2003). Semantic change is a common phenomenon in all the languages (e.g. Spanish estar ‘to be’ meant ‘to stand’; Finish raha ‘money- the only meaning now’ used to mean ‘a fur-bearing animal’ etc.) (Campbell, 2004). In the course of time, the meaning of many words has changed and the new meaning has been extended based on the original meaning. As a result of semantic change, not only a new meaning is added to the certain word, but the meaning also changes (Yu, Ren, 2003). Based on the latter, semantic change can be explained as the process when the word loses its original meaning and a new or modified meaning is endowed. The factors, such as the change of people’s living environment, the society, the progress of technology may contribute to the semantic change (Yu, Ren, 2003).

As noted by Hudson (2000): “ ...it is rarely noticeable within one generation, but we are often aware that generations before and after ours speak differently, preferring forms and rules different from those we prefer and even having some different ones. Whenever a language at some point in time is compared with its descendant language even a few hundred years later, the change is obvious.”

From the latter it follows that the changes of meanings of words can be identified applying comparative method where meanings or contexts of words in different periods of time are compared.

The differentiation of synonyms is a result of the semantic change. This is a gradual process, which is observed in the course of history of any language during which loan words are very often conformed (Campbell, 2004). For instance, the words time and tide. These words used to be synonyms; however, in course of time the meaning of tide narrowed to ‘periodically shifting waters’, while time has a more general sense (Borkowska, Kleparski, 2007). Meaning change is one of the most obvious facts about meaning of the words and no words are immune from this process (Riemer, 2010). Thus, it can be concluded, that we live in a constantly 20 changing and fluctuating world and languages are not excluded from this process. Language instability contributes to the expansion of the vocabulary stock and the modification of meanings of individual lexical items (Yu, Ren, 2013).

3.2. Causes of Semantic Change Some causes of semantic change might be distinguished and explained. The latter can be divided into extra-linguistic and linguistic causes. Extra-linguistic causes refer to the changes that happened as a result of external factors such as environment, social and historical reasons (Yu, Ren, 2003). In other words, the latter supports the statement that all the languages are affected by political, social, cultural, economic and technical change. Extra-linguistic causes of semantic change are very much connected with the development of the human mind as it shapes the new reality to satisfy its needs (Yu, Ren, 2003). On the other hand, semantic causes might be linguistic, e.g. the conflict of synonyms when an exact synonym of a native word is borrowed from the other language; as a result, one of them may specialize in its specific meaning (Yu, Ren, 2003). According to Meillet (1974), it is important to underline social and dialectical factors in the process of meaning change (Riemer, 2010). The author claims that language is entirely dependent on the social group, which uses the language for communication. Consequently, there might be distinguished three causes of semantic change: changes due to historical causes, changes due to linguistic causes and social stratification (Borkowska, Kleparski, 2007).

Ullmann (1957) introduced two major categories of causes of semantic change: changes due to linguistic innovation and changes due to linguistic conservatism. Ullmann (1957) claimed that the tendency is to preserve words in particular uses; meanwhile, the things to which they refer change in the course of time.

3.3. Classifications of Semantic Change

The presence of many classifications of semantic changes is due to the fact that different linguists putting their scientific investigations and interests on meaning changes introduce their classifications based on different frames. Points of view regarding the

21 classification of the semantic changes are scattered through a number of linguistic works and a joint theory have not been introduced and accepted yet.

Before classifications of meaning change will be overviewed, it is important to mention the following:

• traditional classifications cannot be applied to all the changes; • sometimes we can apply two or even more labels to a single change, depending on which aspect of the change we choose to use as the basis of the classification (Yu, Ren, 2003).

Some researchers of diachronic semantics employ sociological, axiological or logic based standpoints; while others employ historical, linguistic or psychological standpoints in formulation of classifications (Kleparski, 1997). Semantic changes have been looked at from a variety of angles; however, the most complete classification was suggested by Herman Paul in his work piece “Prinzipien des Sprachgeschichte”. This classification is based on the logical principle (Kleparski, 1997). Herman Paul distinguishes two main ways:

1. gradual (specialization and generalization); two momentary conscious semantic changes (metaphor and metonymy); 2. gradual (elevation/amelioration and degradation/pejoration); momentary (hyperbole and litote) (Kleparski, 1997).

In the light of numerous standpoints regarding semantic change, the taxonomies that may be said to have had the biggest impact on the study of historical semantic changes will be overviewed in the following paragraphs.

The earliest studies of semantic change set up very broad categorization of semantic changes. Breal (1897) in his work categorized semantic changes into weakening’ and ‘strengthening’ and these labels or categories of change are considered very vague (Riemer, 2010). The main four traditional categories of semantic change are specialization, generalization, pejoration and amelioration (Riemer, 2010). For this reason this research is based on these categories of semantic change.

According to Stern (1931), seven types of meaning change were distinguished, such as substitution, analogy, shortening, nomination, regular transfer, permutation and adequation.

22 In addition, according to Ullmann (1957), a mutual relationship exists between a name and a sense. The author states that:

“a semantic change will occur whenever a new name becomes attached to a sense and a new sense to a name” (Ullmann, 1957).

Warren (1992) claims that in case a word is treated as a name and sense (content), then either the name or the sense of the word can change.

Paul (1880) introduced logico-rhetorical classification of semantic change in his work and it is one of the earliest attempts to classify historical semantic changes. Based on the classification proposed by Paul (1880) the following changes of meaning can be distinguished: widening, narrowing and transfer of meaning.

The process of widening of meaning, (also called broadening or generalization of meaning), is the reason of the qualitative change of the English word stock. Rayevska (1979, 130) claims that this process is common within the words that have exact denotation (in other words, specific or exact meaning); however, in the course of time the words loose their denotative meaning and it extends or undergoes generalization. According to Riemer (2010) in broadening the tendency is that words meaning changes so that it embraces a wider range of referents. For example, the adverb very lost the connection with the original meaning “cruelly” and was subjected to an extreme generalization of meaning (Riemer, 2010).

As noted by Rayevska (1979, 145-147), narrowing of meaning (also called specialization) is defined as a process when words which regularly were used under one conditions start to be used in a specific context. Such words attain a narrower meaning; consequently, these words may be applied only in some of the contexts. According to Riemer (2010) in narrowing of meaning a word narrows its range of reference; for example, the word liquor used to refer to any liquid but nowadays it refers to a specific kind of alcohol.

The transfer of meaning is explained as a type of development of meaning (Rayevska, 1979). This process contributes to adoption of a new meaning. The feature of this process is the connection of the new sense with the old sense of the word (Rayevska, 1979). Kiełtyka (2006), Grygiel and Kleparski (2007) argue that two more types of semantic changes can be distinguished: amelioration (elevation) and pejoration (degradation). According to Rayevska (1979, 149), the process of amelioration takes place when word’s meaning changes from a position of lower to higher significance. In the literature it is discussed that society is a factor influencing acquisition of ameliorative or pejorative denotative meaning of words 23 (Riemer, 2010). All the societies change over the course of time, and the word stock, which was unacceptable, may change its status and gain social favor.

Briefly speaking, the first traditional typology of semantic changes is the division into changes, whose result is a more positive meaning known as amelioration and those which give a more negative meaning known as pejoration (Yu, Ren, 2013). These semantic changes are related to the change of word’s evaluative force. In case of amelioration, the word changes so that the word is valued more positively (Riemer, 2010). In contrary, in pejoration a word takes a derogatory meaning what means that the word is valued more negatively and even insultingly (Riemer, 2010). The second traditional classification of changes in meaning is in terms of whether it becomes broader or narrower (Yu, Ren, 2013). In linguistics and other sciences, several different terms often mean the same due to the different naming by different scientists. The development of meaning when the meaning changes from concrete to abstract or from the specific to general is known as generalization, widening or broadening. In this research the term ‘broadening’ is used. The opposite of generalization of meaning is specialization (also known as narrowing) (Yu, Ren, 2013). Another dimension on which certain semantic changes may be classified is whether they result from metaphor or metonymy. In metaphorical changes of meaning, similarity between one concept and another concept is perceived and the word for one concept is used to talk about another concept (Yu, Ren, 2013). On the other hand, metonymy, like metaphor, involves some kind of connection between concepts; thus in this case no similarity between the concepts exists, but they are closely linked in the other way (for example, one is part of or contains the other) (Yu, Ren, 2013). In the light of this, the main purpose of this research is to delve into the question of the following types of semantic changes of meaning known as pejoration, amelioration, broadening and narrowing of meaning. This reason this research is based on these four semantic change types because they are traditional categories of semantic change as stated by Riemer (2010).

All in all, semantic change is a common phenomenon in the languages all around the world (Yu, Ren, 2013). When a word loses its original meaning, and refers to other things, this may lead to the semantic change (Yu, Ren, 2013). Even nowadays it is possible to track semantic changes of words of modern English, which acquired new meanings that has been extended based on the original meaning (Yu, Ren, 2013). Understanding the types and history will help to understand how language behaves. Also, it is essential to mention that knowing the changes of meaning the words underwent will not explain the reasons of the latter.

24 4. ANALYSIS OF SEMANTIC CHANGE IN SYNONYMY

In order to achieve the aim of the research and to ensure the success, accuracy and reliability of the research, the following procedures of the data collection and methods for processing the data were used. The analysis is based on the data extracted from Webster’s New Dictionary of Synonymy (1984) and Online Webster’s New Dictionary of Synonymy. Some synonymic groups were also taken from the Oxford Learner’s Thesaurus. Mixed research data was chosen which means that the data present different parts of speech such as nouns, verbs and adjectives. Only these parts of speech were chosen to be analyzed as it is easier to track the development of their meaning. The research is based on 23 word groups (8 nouns, 8 verbs and 7 adjectives) which synonyms were taken from the mentioned sources. The 23 headwords were chosen according to their frequency of occurrence in the British National corpus. The research paper draws frequency data from research-based project Word Frequencies in Written and Spoken English: based on the British National Corpus by Geoffrey Leech, Paul Rayson and Andrew Wilson. The frequency data is reliable as it is based on the British National Corpus and it is important to note that all frequencies are per million words. This BNC project was carried out and is managed by an industrial academic consortium lead by Oxford University Press, of which the other members are major dictionary publishers Addison-Wesley Longman and Larousse Kingfisher Chambers. Also, academic research centers at Oxford University Computing Services, Lancaster University’s Centre for Computer Corpus Research on Language, and the British Library’s Research and Innovation Centre contributed to this project, so these data can be trusted. To draw far-reaching results of the origin of 23 synonymic groups, all in all 99 words were chosen. After 23 synonymic groups were chosen, lexical information was collected and studied. Main sources of the data were Webster’s New Dictionary of Synonyms (1984), Oxford Learner’s Thesaurus and Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Furthermore, the etymological description of the selected synonymic groups was made with the help of Online Etymology Dictionary. In this paper different methods were applied for processing the data. The quantitative method was used in order to investigate the most frequent patterns of semantic change in synonymy and to establish relationships between semantic changes and such variables as parts of speech, origin and the period of time. The quantitative calculations are followed by a detailed qualitative analysis of the selected synonymic groups.

25 4.1. Quantitative analysis In this section the quantitative analysis is presented. The origin of the selected words (23 synonymic groups) was analyzed and semantic changes were identified. The research is based on 23 word groups (8 nouns, 8 verbs, 7 adjectives) which were drawn from research-based project Word Frequencies in Written and Spoken English: based on the British National Corpus by Geoffrey Leech, Paul Rayson and Andrew Wilson. The frequency of occurrence within noun, verb and adjective class in the whole corpus is provided in Appendix 7. The synonyms of these headwords were taken from Webster’s New Dictionary of Synonyms (1984) and Online Webster’s Dictionary of Synonyms. The following chart (see Figure 1) reveals the origin of synonymy of the 23 headwords. It shows that 44% of the synonyms analyzed are of Latin origin; 36% of Germanic origin which includes Anglo-Saxon, Middle Dutch, Old Norse languages; 9% of Greek origin; 9% of French origin; 2% of unknown origin. The findings of previous research revealed that the most frequently used words in English are of Germanic (Anglo-Saxon) origin and the biggest part of them has synonyms of Latin origin. Furthermore, the findings illustrated in the chart below show the distribution of origin of words in English. In might be concluded that words of Latin (44% / 54 words) and Germanic (36% / 44 words) origin prevail.

French Unknown 2% Greek 9% 9% Latin 44%

Germanic 36%

Figure 1. Origin of synonymy (122 words)

In this section, Hypothesis 1 and Hypothesis 2 were set. Then, the dependent variables (broadening, narrowing, pejoration, amelioration, no change) and independent variables (parts of speech and origins of words) were identified. Both the dependent and independent

26 variables are categorical so a chi-square test is appropriate and was applied to identify the statistical significance of the findings.

Figure 2 shows that most of the words analyzed underwent broadening of meaning (71%), 15% of words underwent narrowing of meaning, 9% of words had no change of meaning, 3% of words underwent pejoration and only 2% of words underwent amelioration.

Amelioration 2% Pejoration No change 3% 9%

Narrowing 15%

Broadening 71%

Figure 2. Semantic changes within synonymic groups

The following section provides an analysis of Hypothesis 1, which is the following:

Hypothesis 1: Semantic change in synonymy is related to the part of speech, which the word represents. Hypothesis 1a: Semantic change in synonymy is not related to the part of speech, which the word represents.

In order to test Hypothesis 1, whether semantic change in synonymy is related to the part of speech to which the word belongs to, types of changes, which occurred in synonymic groups within noun, verb and adjective groups were identified. As Table 1 shows, in noun

27 group there were found 34 cases of broadening, 3 cases of narrowing, 3 cases of pejoration, 3 cases of no change and 0 cases amelioration. As for verb group: 21 word underwent broadening of meaning, 12 cases of narrowing, 1 case of pejoration, 1 case of amelioration and 4 cases of no change of meaning. In adjective group of synonymy 31 case of broadening, 3 cases of narrowing, of cases of pejoration, 2 cases of narrowing and 4 cases of no change of meaning were found. The findings suggest that in most of the cases words undergo broadening of meaning. Also, narrowing, pejoration and amelioration are not very frequent changes; however, synonyms belonging to verb group underwent narrowing of meaning more frequently (12 cases were identified while nouns and adjectives have only 3 cases of narrowing of meaning). Furthermore, there is no significant difference in no change of meaning of synonymy within the parts of speech. Out of 122 words 111 words experienced particular changes of meaning and 11 words retained their original meanings. Summing up, the findings suggest that words are more likely to change their meanings rather than stay stable and preserve their original meanings.

Table 1. A table of observed values No Observed Broadening Narrowing Pejoration Amelioration Total change Nouns 34 3 3 0 3 43 Verbs 21 12 1 1 4 39 Adjectives 31 3 0 2 4 40 Total 86 18 4 3 11 122

In order to test hypothesis 1, firstly, observed values were identified (see Table 1), then expected counts were computed for each category, assuming that the null hypothesis is true (see Table 2). Thirdly, the requirements for the goodness-of-fit were tested (all expected counts are bigger than or equal to 1). Furthermore, the critical values and the critical region were determined (degree of freedom) (see Table 3). Then, the test statistics was computed according to the formula presented below:

28

Table 2. A table of expected values

Ameliorati Expected Broadening Narrowing Pejoration No change Total on

(43x86)/122= (43x18)/122= (43x4)/122= (43x3)/122 (43x11)/122= Nouns 43 30.3 6.3 1.4 =1.1 3.9

(39x86)/122= (39x18)/122= (39x4)/122= (39x3)/122 (39x11)/122= Verbs 39 27.5 5.8 1.3 =1 3.5

Adjective (40x86)/122= (40x18)/122= (40x4)/122= (40x3)/122 (40x11)/122= 40 s 28.2 5.9 1.3 =1 3.6

Total 86 18 4 3 11 122

Table 3 shows the results of the computation of observed and expected values. Chi- square total (x2) equals 17.6. In order to determine p-value degree of freedom (df) was identified according to the following formula: df= (# of chart rows -1) x (#of chart columns - 1). Accordingly, degree of freedom equals 8 (df= (3-1) x (5-1) = 2 x 4 = 8). After chi-square value and degree of freedom were identified chi-square significance chart (see Appendix 1) was consulted to determine whether the chi-square statistics obtained is significant at the p≤0.05 (p≤0.05 stands for the standard p-value required in the humanities and social sciences). With our chi-square value of 17.6 we go above and beyond this requirement, and thus statistically significant findings can be claimed. P-Value is 0,024434 so the result is significant at p≤0,05. The latter findings mean that there is quantitative support for the experimental hypothesis (Hypothesis 1) that the part of speech, which the word represents, affects semantic change in synonymy.

29

Table 3. Critical values Category (Obs - Exp)2 Exp Nouns 5.3 Verbs 8.3 Adjectives 4 Total 17.6

The following section provides an analysis of observed semantic changes within synonymy in regard to its origin and the analysis of Hypothesis 2, which is the following:

Hypothesis 2: Semantic change in synonymy is related to the origin of the word. Hypothesis 2a: Semantic change in synonymy is not related to the origin of the word.

In order to test Hypothesis 2, whether semantic change in synonymy is related to the origin of the word, there were identified types of changes, which occurred in synonymic groups whose origin is the following: Latin (54 words), Germanic (44 words), French (11 words), Greek (11 words) and Unknown (2 words).

As Table 4 shows and supports statements mentioned in previous paragraphs, semantic change such as broadening is the most common. The results reveal (see Table 4) that out of 54 words of Latin origin - 39 words underwent broadening of meaning; the same result is of the words of Germanic origin where out of 44 words - 29 words underwent broadening of meaning (the proportion is the same). However, differences in change of meaning of the rest of words exist. The words of Germanic origin more often undergo narrowing of meaning (8 words) while words of Latin origin have only 6 cases of narrowing. Also, it is essential to mention that meaning of Latin words is more stable in comparison to words of Germanic, Greek, French and unknown origin as there were found 6 words that haven’t changed their meaning in the course of time; then 3 words haven’t changed their meaning in Germanic words; and only 1 word of French and Greek origin hasn’t changed its meaning. Finally, the words of unknown origin underwent broadening and narrowing only.

30 Table 4. A table of observed values Observed Broadening Narrowing Pejoration Amelioration No Total change Latin 39 6 1 2 6 54 Germanic 29 8 3 1 3 44 Greek 9 1 0 0 1 11 French 8 2 0 0 1 11 Unknown 1 1 0 0 0 2 Total 86 18 4 3 11 122

Also, Table 4 illustrates the most frequently occurring semantic changes within words of Latin, Germanic, Greek, French and unknown origin. The findings suggest that the most common semantic change is broadening of meaning (86 words out of 122); as the second most common semantic change is narrowing of meaning (18 words out of 122); third most common is no change of meaning (11 words out of 122); then goes pejoration (4 words out of 122) and the least frequent semantic change is amelioration (3 words out of 122).

Further more, after the distribution of semantic changes in words of such origin as Latin, Germanic, Greek, French and unknown was identified (Table 4). In order to test Hypothesis 2, expected counts were computed for each category, assuming that the null hypothesis is true (see Table 5). Then, the requirements for the goodness-of-fit were tested; however, not all expected counts are bigger than or equal to 1, for this reason the results might be not exact (despite the fact that there are more than 100 words analyzed) as there was not enough number of words representing semantic changes as pejoration and amelioration. Furthermore, the critical values and the critical region were determined (degree of freedom) (see Table 6). Then, the test statistics was computed according to the formula presented below:

31 Table 5. A table of expected values Expecte Broadening Narrowing Pejoration Ameliorati No change Tot d on al Latin (54x86)/122= (54x18)/122 (54x4)/122= (54x3)/122= (54x11)/122 54 38.1 =8.0 1.8 1.3 =4.9 Germa (44x86)/122= (44x18)/122 (44x4)/122= (44x3)/122= (44x11)/122 44 nic 31.0 =6.5 1.4 1.1 =4.0 Greek (11x86)/122= (11x18)/122 (11x4)/122= (11x3)/122= (11x11)/122 11 7.8 =1.6 0.4 0.3 =1.0 French (11x86)/122= (11x18)/122 (11x4)/122= (11x3)/122= (11x11)/122 11 7.8 =1.6 0.4 0.3 =1.0 Unkno (2x86)/122=1. (2x18)/122= (2x4)/122=0 (2x3)/122=0 (2x11)/122= 2 wn 4 0.3 .1 .4 0.2 Total 86 18 4 3 11 122

Table 6 shows the results of the computation of observed and expected values. Chi- square total (x2) equals 8.3. In order to determine p-value degree of freedom (df) was identified according to the following formula: df= (# of chart rows -1) x (#of chart columns - 1). Accordingly, degree of freedom equals 16 (df= (5-1) x (5-1) = 4 x 4 = 16). After chi- square value and degree of freedom were identified, chi-square significance chart (see Appendix 1) was consulted to determine whether the chi-square statistics obtained is significant at the p≤0.05 (p≤0.05 stands for the standard p-value required in the humanities and social sciences). With the chi-square value of 8.3 we go below the requirement, and thus statistically not significant findings can be claimed. P-Value is 0,939429 so the result is not significant at p≤0,05. The latter findings mean that there is no quantitative support for the experimental hypothesis (Hypothesis 2) that the origin affects semantic change in synonymy.

32 Table 6. Critical values Category (Obs - Exp)2 Exp Latin 1.5 Germanic 2.5 Greek 1.1 French 0.8 Unknown 2.4 Total 8.3

As far as the findings of the statistical analysis regarding Hypothesis 2 were not significant and it might have happened because of not enough number of words representing semantic changes as pejoration and amelioration; ANOVA test was chosen to additionally test and compare words of such origin as Latin, Germanic, Greek, French, Unknown in regard to the semantic changes they undergone as this method is used to determine whether there are any significant differences between the means of two or more independent groups (in this case origin). In order to obtain appropriate test statistic the degree of freedom (df), mean and standard deviation and other necessary calculations were calculated (see Table 7, Table 8). Firstly, to count the mean, the simple average of the numbers was calculated. Secondly, to count all the rest of calculations there were applied formulas presented in Appendix 2.

Table 7. Descriptives N (Number of Group Mean Standard Deviation subjects) Latin 54 10.8 15.9279 Germanic 44 8.8 11.5844 Greek 11 2.2 3.8340 French 11 2.2 3.3466 Unknown 2 0.4 0.5477

33 The table below (Table 8) presents the output of the ANOVA analysis and whether there is a statistically significant difference between semantic changes in words representing origins such as Latin, Germanic, Greek, French and unknown. As Table 8 shows, the significance level is 0.108 (p=0.108), which is above 0.05; therefore, there is no statistically significant difference in undergone semantic changes of words belonging to different origin.

Table 8. ANOVA test results Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig. Between Groups 1,291.538 4 322.885 Within Groups 19,475.815 117 1.940 0.108 166.460 Total 20,767.353 121

In previous chapters it was proved with the help of statistical methods like Chi-Square and ANOVA that the findings of the statistical analysis regarding Hypothesis 2 were not significant. As far as one of the theories of these results is the possibility of not enough number of cases of semantic changes such as pejoration and amelioration, consequently, categories of origin were reconsidered (categorized into Germanic and Non-Germanic) what increased the number of cases in each category of semantic changes. Furthermore, Hypothesis 3 was raised and Chi-Square test was applied to test it:

Hypothesis 3: Semantic change in synonymy is related to Germanic or Non-Germanic origin of the word. Hypothesis 3a: Semantic change in synonymy is not related to Germanic or Non- Germanic origin of the word.

Furthermore, after the distribution of semantic changes in words of such origin as Germanic and Non-Germanic was identified (Table 9). In order to test Hypothesis 3, expected counts were computed for each category, assuming that the null hypothesis is true (see Table 10). Then, the requirements for the goodness-of-fit were tested; all expected counts are bigger than or equal to 1, for this reason the results are reliable. Furthermore, the critical values and the critical region were determined (degree of freedom) (see Table 11). Then, the test statistics was computed according to the formula presented below:

34

Table 9. Table of observed values Observed Broadening Narrowing Pejoration Amelioration No Total change Germanic 29 8 3 1 3 44 Non- 57 10 1 2 8 78 Germanic Total 86 18 4 3 11 122

Table 10 shows the results of the computation of observed and expected values. Chi- square total (x2) equals 3.9. In order to determine p-value degree of freedom (df) was identified according to the following formula: df= (# of chart rows -1) x (#of chart columns - 1). Accordingly, degree of freedom equals 4 (df= (2-1) x (5-1) = 1 x 4 = 4). After chi-square value and degree of freedom were identified, chi-square significance chart (see Appendix 1) was consulted to determine whether the chi-square statistics obtained is significant at the p≤0.05 (p≤0.05 stands for the standard p-value required in the humanities and social sciences).

Table 10. Table of expected values Expecte Amelioratio Tot Broadening Narrowing Pejoration No change d n al German (44x86)/122 (44x18)/122=6 (44x4)/122= (44x3)/122= (44x11)/122 44 ic =31 .5 1.4 1.1 =4 Non- (78x86)/122 (79x18)/122=1 (78x4)/122= (78x3)/122= (78x11)/122 German 78 =55 1.7 2.6 1.9 =7 ic Total 86 18 4 3 11 122

35 Since the P-value (0.419709) is less than the significance level (0.05), the null hypothesis or so called Hypothesis 3a cannot be rejected. Thus, it can be concluded that no relationship exists between semantic changes and words belonging to Germanic and Non- Germanic origin group.

Table 11. Critical values Category (Obs - Exp)2 Exp

Germanic 2.45

Non-Germanic 1.4

Total 3.85~3.9

In the following section, Hypothesis 4 was set. Then, the dependent variables (broadening, narrowing, pejoration, amelioration, no change) and independent variables (the period of time: Old English, Middle English, Modern English) were identified. Both the dependent and independent variables are categorical so ANOVA test is appropriate and was applied to identify the statistical significance of the findings and differences of distribution of changes within three periods of time.

The chart below (see Figure 3) illustrates the period of time when the words analyzed started functioning in the English language. According to the chart, 23% of words (28 words) came to English in the period of Old English; 25% (31 word) of words started functioning in the English language in the period of Modern English and 52% of words (63 words) started functioning in the English language in the period of Middle English. Based on the results presented, it can be stated that a considerable number of words, more than a half, was borrowed to English during the period of Middle English.

36 Old English Modern English 23% 25%

Middle English 52%

Figure 3. The period of time

Hypothesis 4: The semantic change in synonymy is related to the period of time when the word started functioning in English Language. Hypothesis 4: The semantic change in synonymy is not related to the period of time when the word started functioning in English Language.

ANOVA test was chosen to test and compare words of such origin as Latin, Germanic, Greek, French, Unknown in regard to the semantic changes they undergone and the period of time when they started functioning in English language (Old English, Middle English, Modern English) as this method is used to determine whether there are any significant differences between the means of two or more independent groups (in this case the period of time is considered). In order to obtain appropriate test statistic the degree of freedom (df), mean and standard deviation and other necessary calculations were calculated (see Table 12, Table 13). Firstly, to count the mean, the simple average of the numbers was calculated. Secondly, to count all the rest of calculations there were applied formulas presented in Appendix 2.

37 Table 12. Descriptives

Group N (Number of Mean Standard Deviation

subjects)

Old English 28 5.6 10.35857

Middle English 63 12.6 17.28583

Modern English 31 5.8 6.6106

The table below (see Table 13) presents the output of the ANOVA analysis and whether there is a statistically significant difference between semantic changes in words which started to function in English language in different period of time. As Table 13 shows, the significance level is 0.025 (p=0.025), which is below 0.05; therefore, there is statistically significant difference in undergone semantic changes of words and period of time (Old English, Middle English, Modern English) when they started to function in English language.

Table 13. ANOVA test results Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig. Between Groups 1,448.995 2 724.498 3.792 0.025 Within Groups 22,733.648 119 191.039 Total 24,182.643 121

The data collected showed that the prevailing type of semantic change is broadening. Moreover, the words that started functioning in the period of Middle English underwent the biggest number and variety of changes of meaning.

38 4.2. Qualitative analysis In this section, a qualitative analysis of synonymic groups is carried out. Due to the special limitations of this type of work and the previously conducted research by Puncevič (2014) there are selected different aspects to be analyzed. As far as in the previous research the origin and historical development of meaning of 7 randomly chosen words was analyzed; it would be valuable to reveal whether type of semantic change depends of the time when the word came into the English language. Consequently, in order to investigate this statement synonymic groups that undergone the biggest variety of semantic changes are analyzed in the following chapters.

4.2.1. Semantic changes of OFFER, READ and their synonyms The verb OFFER means to give someone the opportunity to accept or take something; to say that you are willing to do sth; or, to make something available: to provide or supply something (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary). The word has its roots in Latin language. Latin offerre had the following meaning: "to present, bestow, bring before" (in Late Latin "to present in worship"), The Latin word was borrowed by Germanic languages: Old Frisian offria, Middle Dutch offeren, Old Norse offra. Its equivalent in Old English was ofrian, which had the meaning "to offer, show, exhibit, sacrifice, bring an oblation" (Online Etymology Dictionary). Looking at the aspect of meaning and its development, the headword underwent the broadening of meaning.

The synonyms of OFFER: tender, proffer, present and give are comparable when they mean to offer. The verb tender, stresses formality if the act of offering; often, it means “to present for acceptance’, or “to offer in payment” (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary). Tender is derived from Middle French word tender, which in 11th century meant "to offer, hold forth". However, the word originated from Latin tendere, which meant "to stretch, extend". The first known use of the word was registered in 1540s and the meaning of the word was "to offer formally" (Online Etymology Dictionary). Looking at the aspect of meaning and its development, the word underwent the narrowing of meaning.

The verb proffer, carries the meaning very close to the one of the head word. Proffer means “to offer or give (something) to somebody or to present for acceptance (Merriam- Webster Online Dictionary). The verb proffer was derived to English in late 13th century with

39 a meaning: "to offer" from Anglo-French profrier. The verb has its roots in Latin offerre carrying the meaning "to offer" (Online Etymology Dictionary). Looking at the aspect of meaning and its development, the word underwent the amelioration of meaning.

The verb present, carries the meaning “to give something to someone in a formal way or in a ceremony or to make (something) available to be used or considered (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary). The verb was borrowed from Old French presenter and meant "to make a formal presentation of; give as a gift or award; bestow". In 1300s the meaning "to introduce (someone or something) formally or ceremonially" came into the language. Also from late 14 century the verb gained the meanings such as " to exhibit (something), offer for inspection, display"; also, in law context the meaning broadened to "to make a formal complaint or charge of wrongdoing" (Online Etymology Dictionary). Looking at the aspect of meaning and its development, the word underwent the broadening of meaning.

The verb give, often means “to offer to the action of another”. The verb possesses a big range of meanings (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary). The verb give, is derived from Proto-Germanic geban (its cognates in other Germanic languages are the following: Old Frisian jeva, Middle Dutch gheven, Dutch geven, Old High German geban, German geben, Gothic giban), and it meant "to take, hold, have, give". In course of time the verb transformed into yiven in Middle English, but changed to guttural "g" by influence of Old Norse gefa which meant "to give". Old English equivalent for the verb give - giefan (West Saxon) meant "to give, bestow, deliver to another; allot, grant; commit, devote, entrust" (Online Etymology Dictionary). Looking at the aspect of meaning and its development, the headword underwent the broadening of meaning.

The verb READ means to look at and understand the meaning of letters, words, symbols etc.; or to read the words of the book, magazine etc; and to speak aloud the words of something written (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary). The verb read is derived from Proto- Germanic redan (the words cognates in Old Norse was raða, Old Frisian reda, Dutch raden, Old High German ratan, German raten) and meant "to advise, counsel, guess". It is important to mention that words from this root in most modern Germanic languages still have the meaning "to counsel, advise". Old English equivalent for read - rædan (West Saxon), redan

40 (Anglian) meant "to advise, counsel, persuade; discuss, deliberate; rule, guide; arrange, equip; forebode; read, explain; learn by reading; put in order". The transference to "understand the meaning of written symbols" is unique to Old English and (perhaps under English influence) to Old Norse raða. Most languages use a word rooted in the idea of "gather up" as their word for "read" (such as French lire, from Latin legere) (Online Etymology Dictionary). Looking at the aspect of meaning and its development, the headword underwent the narrowing of meaning.

The synonyms of the verb READ: scan, skim and peruse are compatible when they mean to look at, look over or read (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary). The verb scan stresses quick reading process (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary). The verb scan originates from Late Latin scandere which meant "to scan verse" and originally, in classical Latin the meaning was "to climb, rise, mount". In late 14 century the meaning "to mark off verse in metric feet" was recorded. Sense of "look at closely, examine minutely (as one does when counting metrical feet in poetry)" was recorded for the first time in 1540s. While, the sense of "look over quickly, skim" is attested for the first time in 1926 (Online Etymology Dictionary). Looking at the aspect of meaning and its development, the word scan underwent the narrowing of meaning.

The verb skim carries the meaning “to look over or read something very quickly so that to find the main ideas” (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary). The verb skim has its roots in Germanic source (Old High German scum). In early 15 century the meaning "to clear (a liquid) from matter floating on the surface, lift the scum from" was recorded which was borrowed from Old French escumer, which meant "remove scum". The meaning "to throw (a stone) so as to skip across the surface of (water) is from 1610s; while, the meaning "to move lightly and rapidly over the surface of" is from 1650s. Finally, the meaning "to glance over carelessly" was recorded in 1799 (Online Etymology Dictionary). Looking at the aspect of meaning and its development, the word underwent the broadening of meaning.

The verb peruse, carries the meaning “to read something in an informal or relaxed way or to examine or read something in a very careful way” (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary). Peruse is from Middle English (per- meant "completely" + use). The meaning "to read carefully" is first recorded in 1530s, but this could be a separate formation. The meaning "read casually" is from 19th century (Online Etymology Dictionary). Looking at the aspect of meaning and its development, the word underwent the narrowing of meaning.

41 4.2.2. Semantic changes of LARGE, GREAT and their synonyms The adjective LARGE has its roots in Latin. Latin equivalent for large- largus meant "abundant, copious, plentiful; bountiful, liberal in giving". The word was borrowed from Old French large which carried the meaning "broad, wide; generous, bounteous" and borrowed the meaning "great in expanse". The main modern meanings such as "extensive; big in overall size" emerged only in 14th century. An older sense of "liberated, free from restraining influence" is still preserved in at large (Online Etymology Dictionary). Looking at the aspect of meaning and its development, the headword underwent the broadening of meaning.

The synonyms of the adjective LARGE: big and great are comparable as all of them have a meaning of “large in size”. Large means “great in size or amount or not limited in importance, range etc.”; while, the adjective big means “large in size; large in number or amount; or, involving many people or things”. Big has obscure origin probably Germanic (Old Norse – bugge meant “great man”). The adjective emerged in northern Englands dialect in 1300s and meant "powerful, strong". Moreover, in Old English there was used a word micel which was used in many of the same senses. The meaning that of "of great size" is from late 14th century; while, the meaning of "grown up" is attested from 1550s. Finally, the sense of "important" is from 1570s (Online Etymology Dictionary). Looking at the aspect of meaning and its development, the word big underwent the broadening of meaning.

The adjective great, carries the meaning “ notably large in size” or “large in number or measure” (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary). Great was derived from West Germanic grautaz which meant "coarse, thick" (the cognates of the word are the following: Old Saxon grot, Old Frisian grat, Dutch groot, German groß and the ment "great"). In Old English great carried the meaning "big, tall, thick, stout, massive; coarse". It took over much of the sense of Middle English mickle, and itself now is largely superseded by big and large (except in reference to non-material things). Also formerly with a verb form, Old English greatian meant "to become enlarged," in Middle English greaten meant "to become larger, increase, grow; become visibly pregnant," which became archaic after 17th century (Online Etymology Dictionary). Looking at the aspect of meaning and its development, the word great underwent the process of amelioration of meaning. The adjective GREAT has roots in Old High German. Formerly, the verb form in Old English greatian meant "to become enlarged" and in Middle English greaten meant "to become larger, increase, grow; become visibly pregnant" which became archaic after 17th century. In the sense of "excellent, wonderful" great is attested from 1848. Throughout the history the

42 usage of the adjective broadened and it was used as Great White Way "Broadway in New York City" from 1901, in reference to brilliant street illumination. Then the Great Lakes of North America were so called from 1747 (Online Etymology Dictionary). Looking at the aspect of meaning and its development, the headword underwent the broadening of meaning.

The synonyms of the adjective GREAT: cool, fantastic, fabulous, terrific and briliant are comparable as all of them have a meaning of “very good”. The adjective great has additional meanings such as notably large in size; large in number or measure, predominant; markedly superior in character or quality (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary). The synonym of the headword cool, has its main meaning moderately cold and informal meaning (slang) is very good, excellent, fashionable or hip (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary). The adjective cool is originated from Proto-Germanic koluz and its cognates in Middle Dutch coel, Dutch koel, Old High German kuoli, German kühl meant "cool"; in Old Norse kala meant "be cold". Old English col had the meaning "not warm" (not as severe as cold); moreover, when speaking about persons it had the meaning "unperturbed, undemonstrative". Since 1728 the word was applied to large sums of money to give emphasis to amount; while, the meaning "calmly audacious" is from 1825. As far as slang meaning is concerned and which is synonymous to the headwords of this synonymic group, it is from 1933 (originally African-American vernacular). The very modern use as a general term of approval is from late 1940s, probably from bop talk and originally in reference to a style of jazz. It is said to have been popularized in jazz circles by tenor saxophonist Lester Young (Online Etymology Dictionary). Looking at the aspect of meaning and its development, the word cool underwent the broadening of meaning.

The adjective fantastic carries the meaning extremely good; very strange, unusual on unlikely; extremely high or great (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary). Fantastic originated from Late Latin phantasticus, which meant "imaginary" and even earlier from Greek phantastikos which carried the meaning of " being able to imagine" and was derived from phantazein having the meaning " to make visible" (Online Etymology Dictionary). The meaning "existing only in imagination" is recorded in English in late 14th century and was borrowed from Middle French fantastique. The meaning of "wonderful, marvelous" was recorded in 1938. In addition, in Medieval Latin the word was also used as a noun and meant "a lunatic"; while, Shakespeare and his contemporaries had it in Italian form fantastico "one who acts ridiculously" (Online Etymology Dictionary). Looking at the aspect of meaning and its development, the word fantastic underwent the broadening of meaning.

43

The adjective fabulous carries the meaning very good; very large in amount or size; not real/told about in a story (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary). The adjective fabulous has Latin roots. Latin word fabulosus an equivalent for fabulous meant "celebrated in fable"; also, it had the meaning "rich in myths" and was derived from a noun fabula carrying the meaning "story, tale" (Online Etymology Dictionary). The meaning was broadened widely as for instance the meaning "mythical, legendary" appeared in English in early 15th century. Furthermore, the meaning "pertaining to fable" is present in English from 1550s. Also, the sense of "incredible" was first recorded in 16th century; hence, "enormous, immense, amazing" was trivialized in 1950s to "marvelous, terrific" (Online Etymology Dictionary). In addition, fabulous and fantastic are also used by the youth to express high commendation (it is a modern usage)(Online Etymology Dictionary). Looking at the aspect of meaning and its development, the word fabulous underwent the broadening of meaning.

The adjective terrific carries the meaning extremely good; or causing a feeling of surprise or wonder (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary). Terrific has Latin roots. Latin equivalent terrificus meant "causing terror or fear, frightful" and was derived from the verb terrere "fill with fear" (Online Etymology Dictionary). The meaning "frightening" was recorded in 1660s; while another meaning of "very great, severe" appeared in 1809. As far as the sense of "excellent" is concerned, this colloquial meaning appeared in 1888 only (Online Etymology Dictionary). Looking at the aspect of meaning and its development, the word terrific underwent the process of amelioration of meaning.

The adjective brilliant carries the meaning very bright; very impressive or successful; extremely intelligent and in British English there is a meaning very good/excellent (Merriam- Webster Online Dictionary). Brilliant is originated from Latin beryllus which meant "beryl, precious stone"; or perhaps from Vulgar Latin word berillare that meant "to shine like a beryl". The adjective was borrowed to English from French brilliant, which meant "sparkling, shining" in 1680s (Online Etymology Dictionary). Looking at the aspect of meaning and its development, the word brilliant underwent the process of broadening of meaning.

44 4.2.3. Semantic changes of WORLD, TIME and their synonyms The noun WORLD is has its Proto-Germanic roots. In Old English the equivalent of the term world - woruld, worold meant "human existence, the affairs of life", "a long period of time" as well as "the human race, mankind, humanity" (Online Etymology Dictionary). This word was peculiar to Germanic languages. Its cognates in other languages were: in Old Saxon werold, in Old Frisian warld, in Dutch wereld, in Old Norse verold, in Old High German weralt and in German Welt (Online Etymology Dictionary). The literal meaning of these words was "age of a man" (Online Etymology Dictionary). Later, the meaning "life on earth, this world " extended to "the known world" and in 1200 it extended to "the physical world in the broadest sense, the universe" (Online Etymology Dictionary). Looking at the aspect of meaning and its development, the headword underwent the broadening of meaning.

The synonyms of the noun WORLD: earth, macrocosm, universe and cosmos are comparable as all of them have a meaning of “a system of created things”. The noun world has additional meanings such as ‘the earthly state of human existence’, ‘the earth with its inhabitants and all things upon it’, ‘the earth with its inhabitants and all things upon it’ etc (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary).

The noun earth carries the meaning of ‘the planet on which we live’, ‘land as opposed to the sea, the air etc.’ or ‘the material in which plants grow’ (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary). The noun earth has Proto-Germanic roots and its Old English equivalent is eorþe, which meant "ground, soil, dirt, dry land; country, district" (Online Etymology Dictionary). Moreover, this noun was used along with middangeard for "the (material) world, the abode of man" opposed to the heavens or the underworld (Online Etymology Dictionary). The noun’s cognates are: Old Frisian erthe which meant "earth", Old Saxon ertha, Old Norse jörð, Middle Dutch eerde, Dutch aarde, Old High German erda, German Erde, Gothic airþa, which meant "earth, ground" (Online Etymology Dictionary). The meaning, where the earth started being understood as ‘a planet’, is from 1400 (Online Etymology Dictionary). Looking at the aspect of meaning and its development, the word earth underwent the broadening of meaning.

The noun macrocosm carries the meaning of ‘ a large system (such as the entore universe) that contains many smaller systems’ (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary). The noun macrocosm is originated from Greek (Online Etymology Dictionary). From Greek the noun was borrowed to Latin and from Medieval Latin it was borrowed to Old French macrocosme in

45 1300 (Online Etymology Dictionary). The first known use of the noun in English was found in 1600 with the meaning: "the great world - the universe” (Online Etymology Dictionary). Looking at the aspect of meaning and its development, the word macrocosm underwent no changes of meaning.

The noun universe carries the meaning of ‘all of space and everything in it including stars, planets, galaxies, etc.’, ‘an area of space or a world that is similar to but separate from the one that we live in’ and a more broad meaning of ‘the people, places, experiences, etc., that are associated with a particular person, place, or thing’ (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary). The noun has its Latin roots. Latin equivalent of the noun universum meant "all things, everybody, all people, the whole world"; moreover, noun use of neuter of adjective universus meant "all together, all in one, whole, entire, relating to all" (Online Etymology Dictionary). The noun was borrowed directly from Old French univers in 1200 and in English was recorded in 1580s with the meaning "the whole world, cosmos, the totality of existing things" (Online Etymology Dictionary). Looking at the aspect of meaning and its development, the word universe underwent the broadening of meaning.

The noun cosmos carries the meaning of ‘the universe especially when it is understood as an ordered system’ (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary). The noun cosmos has Greek roots. Greek kosmos meant "order, good order, orderly arrangement"; also, the word had other main meanings such as: the verb kosmein meant "to dispose, prepare" but especially "to order and arrange (troops for battle), to set (an army) in array", "to establish (a government or regime)" and "to deck, adorn, equip, dress (especially of women) (Online Etymology Dictionary). Furthermore, the noun kosmos had an essential secondary meaning of "ornaments of a woman's dress, decoration" (Online Etymology Dictionary). The noun is thought to be firstly applied time by Pythagoras in the sense "the universe". The very first known use of the noun in the English language is dated in 1596 (Online Etymology Dictionary). Looking at the aspect of meaning and its development, the word cosmos underwent the process of narrowing of meaning.

The noun TIME is has its Proto-Germanic roots. The equivalent of the noun time in Old English was tima, which meant "limited space of time" (Online Etymology Dictionary). The cognates of the noun were the following: Old Norse timi, which meant "time, proper time"

46 and Swedish time meant "an hour” (Online Etymology Dictionary). The broad meaning of "time as an indefinite continuous duration" is recorded from late 14th century (Online Etymology Dictionary). On the other hand, extended meanings of the word such as "occasion", "the right time", "leisure" or times (as a verb) "multiplied by" developed in Old English and Middle English (Online Etymology Dictionary). Looking at the aspect of meaning and its development, the headword underwent the process of broadening of meaning.

The synonyms of the noun TIME: opportunity, occasion, chance and break are comparable as all of them have a meaning of “a particular measurable period” (Merriam- Webster Online Dictionary). The noun time has numerous additional meanings such ‘the thing that is measured as seconds, minutes, hours, days, years, etc.’, ‘a particular minute or hour shown by a clock’, ‘the time in a particular area or part of the world’ etc. (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary).

The noun opportunity carries the meaning ‘an amount of time or a situation in which something can be done’ (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary). The noun opportunity has Latin roots. The noun was borrowed to the English language in 14th century from Old French opportunite, which was earlier borrowed directly from Latin opportunitatem, which meant "fitness, convenience, suitableness, favorable time" (Online Etymology Dictionary). Looking at the aspect of meaning and its development, the word opportunity underwent no change of meaning and preserved its original meaning.

The noun occasion carries the meaning of ‘a special event or time’; also ‘a particular time when something happens’ or ‘a chance or opportunity: a situation that allows something to happen’ (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary). The noun occasion has Latin roots. Latin occasionem carried the meaning of "opportunity, appropriate time" and in Late Latin it meant "cause" (Online Etymology Dictionary). The sense of "opportunity; grounds for action, state of affairs that makes something else possible; a happening, occurrence" was recorded in English in late 14th century and was derived from Old French ochaison, ocasion meaning "cause, reason, excuse, pretext; opportunity" (Online Etymology Dictionary). Looking at the aspect of meaning and its development, the word occasion underwent the process of broadening of meaning.

The noun chance carries the meaning of ‘an opportunity to do something: an amount of time or a situation in which something can be done’ or ‘the possibility that something will

47 happen’ (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary). The noun chance has Latin roots. In Vulgar Latin the word cadentia (adjective) had the meaning of "that falls out" and the term was used in dice (Online Etymology Dictionary). The word was derived from the present participle of cadere, which meant - "to fall" (Online Etymology Dictionary). The word appeared in the English language in 1300 with the meaning of "something that takes place, what happens, an occurrence" (Online Etymology Dictionary). The noun was borrowed from Old French cheance, which meant "accident, chance, fortune, luck, situation, the falling of dice" (Online Etymology Dictionary). In English the word's such notions as: "opportunity" and "randomness" are very old but more popular than the word's original notion of "mere occurrence" (Online Etymology Dictionary). Looking at the aspect of meaning and its development, the word chance underwent the process of broadening of meaning.

The noun break carries the meaning of ‘a period of time when an activity stops’ or ‘an accidental event’ etc. (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary). The noun break is originated from Proto-Germanic. Originally, the term belonged to other part of speech – a verb. It’s Old English equivalent brecan had the meaning "to break, shatter, burst; injure, violate, destroy, curtail; break into, rush into; burst forth, spring out; subdue, tame" (Online Etymology Dictionary). The term’s cognates: Old Frisian breka, Dutch breken, Old High German brehhan, German brechen, Gothic brikan, had the meaning "to break" and new meanings appeared in the period of Old English (Online Etymology Dictionary). As a noun (with the meaning of "act of breaking,") the word appeared in English in 1300 and it was derived from the verb break. The meaning of "short interval between spells of work" (originally between lessons at school) is from 1861 (Online Etymology Dictionary). By 1911, the meaning of "stroke of luck" was attested. Then in 1914, the meaning "stroke of mercy" was attested; moreover, musical meaning "improvised passage, solo" is attested from 1920s (Online Etymology Dictionary). As far as the aspect of meaning and its development are concerned, the word break underwent the broadening of meaning.

4.2.4. Patterns of formation of meaning In the following section, an attempt is made to establish the patterns of formation of meaning within synonymic groups. In addition, the results of the previous research on patterns of formation of synonyms were used to reveal the processes happening in the language.

48 The table below (see Table 14) presents the distribution of semantic changes such as broadening of meaning, narrowing of meaning, amelioration, pejoration and no change within the period of time when the words started functioning in the English language.

Table 14. Distribution of semantic changes in Old, Middle and Modern English Broadening Narrowing Amelioration Pejoration No Period of Number of change time changes

24 3 1 0 0 Old 28 English 43 9 1 3 7 Middle 63 English 17 6 1 1 4 Modern 31 English

As the table above shows (see Table 14), broadening is the most prevailing semantic change and it supports previously found finding. In addition, the total number of semantic changes was counted in each period of time. It was revealed that in regard to the period of time (Old English, Middle English, Modern English), it could be stated that words in the period of Middle English underwent the biggest variety of changes compared to Old English and Modern English words. In the period of Middle English the prevailing semantic change is broadening of meaning (43 words); 9 words underwent the process of narrowing of meaning; the third most common semantic change is no change of meaning (7 words preserved their meaning); pejoration was identified in 3 words and 1 case of amelioration was found. As far as Modern English is concerned, the prevailing semantic change is broadening of meaning (17 words); 6 words underwent the process of narrowing of meaning; the third most common semantic change is no change of meaning (4 words preserved their meaning); pejoration and amelioration were identified in 1 word each. In the case of the words that started functioning in the period of Old English, the results show that broadening of meaning is as well the most common semantic change (24 words); 3 words underwent the process of narrowing of meaning; the third most common semantic change is amelioration (1 word); while no cases of pejoration or no change were found). Summing up, the most common semantic change in each period is broadening of meaning. The second the most frequently found semantic change

49 is narrowing of meaning. Also, the longer a word functions in the language, more changes in meaning it undergoes.

Furthermore, each word of the synonymic group was attributed a period of time when they came into English and an attempt was made to identify the most common patterns in regard to the period of time. The patterns are illustrated below:

Old Middle Middle English Middle English English English

Modern Modern Old English English English

13 synonymic groups 7 synonymic groups 3 synonymic groups

Figure 4. Patterns of formation of synonymic groups in regard to the period of time

The patterns presented above, show that the most prevailing tendency is that words within synonymic group came to English in different periods of time. 13 synonymic groups are made of synonyms that came to English in Old English, Middle English and Modern English; 7 synonymic groups are formed of words that came in the period of Old English and Middle English; and 3 synonymic groups are formed of words that came to English in the period of Middle English and Modern English. Moreover, no synonymic groups were found that are formed of words that came into the English language in the period of Old English and Modern English; and no synonymic groups were found that are formed of the words that came into English at the same period of time. Summing up, it can be stated that synonymic groups cannot be formed of words that started functioning in English in the same period of time. Also, the words that started functioning in Old English and Modern English are not likely to form synonymic groups.

In my bachelor degree research the patterns of formation of synonymic groups in English were established. As far as the findings of the research were significant and more extensive investigations were necessary in order to formulate a more detailed picture of the patterns of formation of synonyms, the present research attempted to contribute to the previous findings and add a new aspect of formation of meaning of words within synonymic

50 groups. The patterns of formation of meaning within synonymic groups were established, based on the patterns of formation of synonymic groups in English that were revealed in the previous research (see Appendix 4,5,6). In order to establish the patterns of formation of meaning within synonymic groups semantic changes were counted in synonymic groups that are formed of words coming from 3 sources, 2 sources or 1 source. Then the average of each category was counted and the tendency revealed.

The data revealed that some of the synonymic groups are formed of 3 sources that are the following. 4 synonymic groups were identified which belong to the pattern below. The headwords of these synonymic groups are to buy, to offer, time and power. There data showed that words within 2 synonymic groups underwent 3 types of semantic change (Bx2; Nx2; Nox1; Mx1), words within 1 synonymic group underwent 2 types of semantic change (B; No) and in one synonymic group its words underwent only 1 semantic change (B).

Latin + Germanic + French

Based on the pattern below 4 synonymic groups were found. The headwords of these synonymic groups are to think, man, small and problem. There data showed that words within 2 synonymic groups underwent 3 types of semantic change (Bx2; Nx2; Nox1; Px1), words within 2 synonymic group underwent 2 types of semantic change (Bx2; Nx1; Px1).

Latin + French + Greek

Based on the pattern below 3 synonymic groups were found. The headwords of these synonymic groups are old, great and world. There data showed that words within 1 synonymic group underwent 3 types of semantic change (Bx1; Nx1; Nox1) and words within 2 synonymic groups underwent 2 types of semantic change (Bx2; Nox1; Mx1).

Latin + Germanic + Greek

Also, the data revealed that some of the synonymic groups are formed of 2 sources that are the following:

51 Latin + Germanic/French/Greek/Unknown

10 synonymic groups matching this pattern of formation of synonyms were identified. The headwords of these synonymic groups are to read, to say, new, large, important, good, people, child, to become and school. There data showed that words within 1 synonymic group underwent 4 types of semantic change (Bx1; Nx1; Nox1; Px1). The words within 6 synonymic groups underwent 2 types of semantic change (Bx6; Nx4; Nox1; Mx1) and the words within 3 synonymic groups underwent 1 type of semantic change (Bx3).

In addition, the data revealed that some of the synonymic groups are formed of 1 source Latin or Germanic. The headword of the synonymic group, which constituent parts are of Germanic origin only, is to look. The data showed that words within this synonymic group underwent 4 types of semantic change (Bx1; Nx1; Nox1; Px1). The headword of the synonymic group, which constituent parts are of Latin origin only, is to use. The data showed that words within this synonymic group underwent 3 types of semantic change (Bx1; Nx1; Nox1).

All in all, the words within synonymic group that match to the pattern of 3 sources underwent 25 changes. The words within synonymic group that match to the pattern of 2 sources underwent 19 changes. The words within synonymic group that match to the pattern of 1 source underwent 7 changes. Next, the averages were counted. The average number of changes that the synonymic groups formed of 3 sources underwent is 2,26; what means that 2 changes on average. The average number of changes that the synonymic groups formed of 2 sources underwent is 1,8; what means that 1 change on average. Finally, the average number of changes that the synonymic groups formed of 1 source underwent is 3,5; what means that 3 changes on average. Based on the results, it can be concluded that the words within synonymic group that came from the same source underwent the biggest number of changes of meaning. The least number of changes underwent synonymic groups that were formed of words that came from 2 sources (1 semantic change).

52 CONCLUSIONS

• In the English vocabulary, Broadening of meaning is the most common semantic change, which words undergo within synonymic groups. • Semantic changes of English words within synonymic groups are related to the changes of their grammatical characteristics. A tendency of nominalization of verbs and adjectives is observed, which shows that grammatical and semantic changes are interrelated. However, to account for the relationship, a separate investigation is needed. • No significant relationship is observed between semantic changes of English words within synonymic groups and their origin. However, some patterns can be established, the most common being LATIN + FRENCH or GERMANIC or GREEK; LATIN + FRENCH + GREEK and LATIN + GERMANIC + FRENCH. Also, it was noticed that words within synonymic group that are originated from the same source undergo the biggest variety of changes. • However, semantic changes of English words within synonymic groups are related to the historical period of time when the words (borrowings) joined in the English vocabulary. Regarding the period of time, it is observed that the biggest inflow of the vocabulary took place in the period of Middle English and the words, which entered English in that period, underwent the greatest variety of types of semantic change. • English synonymic groups are formed of words that started functioning in English in different periods of time. It is rather non-typical for a synonymic group to be built out of words that came to the language at the same period of time. It is uncommon either for a synonymic group to consist of words that came to the English language in Old English and Modern English only. • Although some findings of this research are significant, more extensive investigations are necessary. It seems to be essential to analyze more synonymic groups and repeat the application of quantitative methods, in order to get a more detailed and more precise picture of the patterns of formation of meaning of words within synonymic groups as well as the patterns of formation of synonyms.

53 SUMMARY

ANGLŲ KALBOS SINONIMŲ REIKŠMIŲ KAITOS DĖSNINGUMAI Kamilia Puncevič

Baigiamojo darbo tikslas yra ištirti anglų kalbos sinonimų reikšmių kitimus ir nustatyti, ar jie vyksta dėsningai. Tikslui pasiekti iškelti šie uždaviniai: (1) atskleisti pasirinktų sinonimų kilmę; (2) nustatyti tiriamų sinonimų semantinius kitimus; ir (3) įvertinti veiksnius, lemiančius sinonimų reikšmių kaitą. Tyrimui buvo taikomi kiekybinis ir kokybinis metodai. Buvo atlikta 23 dažniausiai pasitaikančių rašytinėje ir šnekamojoje anglų kalboje žodžių ir jų sinonimų reikšmių analizė. Analizės rezultatai parodė, kad anglų kalbos sinonimų reikšmės linkusios platėti/bendrėti. Taip pat rezultatai patvirtina, kad anglų kalboje semantiniai kitimai sinonimų grupėse yra susiję su žodžių gramatinėmis savybėmis. Kitaip tariant, kalbai vystantis gramatiniai ir semantiniai kitimai žodyje vyksta vienu metu. Be reikšmės bendrėjimo buvo pastebėta veiksmažodžių ir būdvardžių daiktavardėjimo tendencija. Gramatinės ir semantinės žodžių kaitos ryšiui paaiškinti, deja, reikėtų papildomo tyrimo. Buvo stengiamasi nustatyti sinonimų grupių reikšmių kaitos dėsningumus, siejant kitimus su istoriniais kalbos vystymosi periodais ir rezultatai parodė, kad anglų kalbos sinonimų grupės yra sudarytos iš žodžių, kurie į kalbą atėjo skirtingu istoriniu laikotarpiu. Anglų kalbai visai nebūdingos sinoniminės grupės, sudarytos iš žodžių, kurie į kalbą atėjo tuo pačiu istoriniu periodu arba iš žodžių, kurie pradėti vartoti tik senosios anglų kalbos laikotarpiu ir modernios anglų kalbos laikotarpiu. Statistiniai skaičiavimai (Chi-square, ANOVA) taip pat patvirtina, kad sinonimų semantiniai kitimai anglų kalboje priklauso nuo laikotarpio, kada žodį imta vartoti anglų kalboje. Kalbant apie žodžių reikšmės raidą, dauguma išanalizuotų žodžių patyrė tam tikrų semantinių pokyčių. Svarbu yra paminėti, kad semantiniai kitimai anglų kalbos sinonimų grupėse nėra susiję su jų kilme. Taigi, remiantis gautais rezultatais galima daryti išvadas, kad sinonimų reikšmės anglų kalboje yra linkusios bendrėti arba platėti. Anglų kalbos sinonimų grupių reikšmės kitimai priklauso nuo laiko, kada žodžiai atėjo į anglų kalbą. Be to, sinonimų grupės žodžių reikšmių kitimai nėra priklausomi nuo ž odžių kilmės. Žodžių daiktavardėjimo procesas yra reikšmingas anglų kalbos istorinėje raidoje ir susijęs su semantiniais žodžių kitimais. Tyrimo rezultatai gali būti naudojami tolesniems moksliniams tyrimams. Išanalizavus daugiau sinonimų grupių, tikėtina, kad būtų atskleistų daugiau priklausomybės ryšių ir veiksnių, lemiančių sinonimų reikšmių kitimus.

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57 APPENDICES

APPENDIX 1

58

APPENDIX 2

Copyright © 2016 The Pennsylvania State University https://onlinecourses.science.psu.edu/stat200/node/67

59 APPENDIX 3

60

61

62 APPENDIX 4

Patterns of formation of 14 synonymic groups, which were formed of 3 sources

Synonymic Latin Germanic French group of 3 sources

Synonymic Latin French Greek group of 3 sources

Synonymic Latin Germanic Greek group of 3 sources

63 APPENDIX 5

Pattern of formation of synonymic groups, which were formed of 2 sources

Latin

Synonymic group of 2 sources Germanic/ French/ Greek/ unknown

64 APPENDIX 6

Pattern of formation of synonymic groups, which were formed of 1 source

Latin

Synonymic group of 1 source

Latin

Germanic

Synonymic group of 1 source

Germanic

65 APPENDIX 7

Frequency of occurrence in written and spoken English

1833

1256 1003 710 526 600 565 385

man school child people world time power problem

3344

1520 1071 1151 675 293 264 284

to offer to buy to to read to use to say to think to look become

1276 1154

635 648 518 471 392

great new old small good large important

66