Semantic Change. Metaphor. Metonomy. Hyperbole. Litotes. Simile
Summary
TLDRThis educational script delves into the fascinating world of semantic change, focusing on the concepts of narrowing and widening of word meanings. It provides historical examples, such as 'meat' evolving from a general term for food to its current reference to edible flesh. The script also explores figures of speech like metaphor, metonymy, hyperbole, and litotes, illustrating their use in language to convey deeper or altered meanings. Through examples and explanations, it offers insights into how language evolves and the rhetorical devices that enrich our communication.
Takeaways
- 😀 Semantic change is an inevitable part of language development, affecting the meaning of words over time.
- 🔍 Two primary types of semantic change are narrowing (specialization) and widening (generalization) of word meanings.
- 📚 The word 'meat' exemplifies narrowing, evolving from meaning 'food' in Old English to 'edible flesh' in Modern English.
- 🌐 'Disease' originally meant 'discomfort' but now specifically refers to 'illness', showing how meanings can become more specific.
- 👰 The term 'wife' has narrowed from its original meaning of 'woman' due to the addition of descriptive terms.
- 📈 'Fly' demonstrates widening, as it transitioned from 'moving through the air with wings' to a more abstract concept of 'moving quickly'.
- 👨👩👧👦 The word 'sister' in Ukrainian has widened to include various familial relations like 'parents' sister' or 'wife of parents' brother'.
- 🌟 Metaphors and similes are figures of speech that involve the comparison of one thing to another, with metaphors being more implicit.
- 🏆 Metonymy is a figure of speech where a word is replaced by something closely associated with it, often an attribute or a part of a whole.
- 🎈 Hyperbole is an exaggerated statement not meant to be taken literally, used to express strong emotions or for dramatic effect.
- 🤐 Litotes, or understatement, conveys a positive meaning by negating its contrary, often used in English to soften statements or show politeness.
- 🤗 Euphemism is the substitution of a word or phrase with a milder or more pleasant term, often to avoid offense or express delicacy.
Q & A
What is semantic change?
-Semantic change refers to the alterations in the meaning of words over time, which is an inevitable part of language development.
What are the two most important types of semantic change mentioned in the script?
-The two most important types of semantic change mentioned are narrowing and widening.
Can you provide an example of semantic narrowing from the script?
-An example of semantic narrowing is the word 'meat' in Old English, which meant 'food' and in Modern English, it has narrowed to mean 'edible flesh'.
How is the meaning of 'woman' an example of semantic narrowing?
-In the script, 'woman' is an example of semantic narrowing because it originally meant 'female person' and now it specifically refers to 'a married woman'.
What is the difference between metaphor and simile as discussed in the script?
-A metaphor is a figure of speech that directly compares one thing to another without using 'like' or 'as', while a simile explicitly uses 'like' or 'as' to make the comparison.
What is metonymy and how does it relate to semantic change?
-Metonymy is a figure of speech where a word or phrase is replaced by another closely related word or phrase to represent it. It relates to semantic change as it involves a shift in meaning based on contextual associations.
Can you give an example of hyperbole from the script?
-An example of hyperbole from the script is 'I almost died from laughter', which is an exaggerated statement to express that something was very funny, not literally dying.
What is the purpose of using understatement in language as described in the script?
-Understatement is used in language to convey a positive meaning by negating its contrary, often to soften the impact of a statement or to avoid offending someone.
How does the script explain the use of euphemisms?
-The script explains that euphemisms are used to replace words or phrases with milder terms to make sentences sound less offensive or harsh, while preserving the original meaning.
What is the significance of the semantic change from 'holiday' to 'any day off' as mentioned in the script?
-The change from 'holiday' meaning 'holy day' to 'any day off' illustrates the process of widening, where the original, more specific meaning expands to a broader, more general meaning.
How does the script differentiate between the narrowing and widening of word meanings?
-The script differentiates between narrowing and widening by showing that narrowing involves adding descriptors to make the meaning more specific, while widening allows the word to take on a more general or abstract meaning.
Outlines
📚 Semantic Change and Language Evolution
The script discusses semantic change, a fundamental aspect of language evolution, focusing on the concepts of narrowing and widening of word meanings. Examples provided include 'meat' evolving from 'food' in Old English, 'disease' narrowing from 'discomfort', and 'starve' becoming specific to death by hunger. The paragraph explores how words can become more specific or generalized over time, affecting their meaning and usage in language.
🌐 Metaphor and Simile in Language
This paragraph delves into the figures of speech, specifically metaphor and simile, which are integral to rhetorical language. Metaphor is described as a transfer of name based on similarity, often resulting in a generalization where the original comparison is forgotten, as seen in phrases like 'a mountain of a man'. Simile, on the other hand, is a direct comparison using 'like' or 'as', such as 'as brave as a lion'. The paragraph provides examples to illustrate the differences and usage of these rhetorical devices.
🔄 Metonymy and the Shift of Meaning
The third paragraph examines metonymy, a figure of speech where a word is replaced by another closely related in meaning. This can involve using an attribute to represent the whole, such as 'the crown' for the monarchy or 'Wall Street' for the financial industry. Examples from Ukrainian are also given, like 'suits' to denote businesspeople. The paragraph explains how metonymy contributes to the transference and evolution of meaning in language.
🎭 Hyperbole and Its Role in Expression
Hyperbole, the use of exaggeration for emphasis or effect, is the focus of this paragraph. It discusses how hyperbole is not meant to be taken literally but serves to express strong emotional attitudes or opinions. Examples include 'I'm never going to finish this meal' or 'He has been talking for a week', which use exaggeration to convey a point more dramatically. The paragraph also touches on the use of hyperbole in different contexts and its function in language.
🤐 Litotes and Euphemism in Figurative Speech
The script explores litotes, an understatement that conveys a positive meaning through the use of negatives, such as 'not bad' to imply 'good'. It also covers euphemism, a mild expression used to replace harsher terms, often to avoid offense or to soften the impact of a statement. Examples provided range from 'passed away' for 'died' to 'kicked the bucket' for death. The paragraph discusses the reasons and contexts for using these forms of figurative language.
🛁 Euphemism and Social Interaction
This final paragraph continues the discussion on euphemism, highlighting its role in social interaction and communication. It explains how euphemisms are used to make conversations more palatable by avoiding direct mention of unpleasant topics. The paragraph provides various examples of euphemisms in everyday language, such as 'put to sleep' for euthanasia or 'out of work' for unemployment, emphasizing their prevalence and importance in softening language.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Semantic Change
💡Narrowing
💡Widening
💡Metaphor
💡Simile
💡Metonymy
💡Hyperbole
💡Litotes
💡Euphemism
💡Generalization of Meaning
💡Specialization
Highlights
Semantic change is an inevitable part of language development.
Two primary types of semantic change are narrowing and widening of word meanings.
Narrowing refers to the specialization of a word's meaning, exemplified by 'meat' evolving from 'food' in Old English.
Examples of narrowing include 'disease' shifting from discomfort to illness, and 'starve' from dying to dying of hunger.
Widening is the opposite of narrowing, where a word's meaning becomes more generalized.
The term 'lexan fly' illustrates widening, changing from moving through the air with wings to any movement.
Metonymy is a figure of speech where a word is replaced by something closely associated with it.
Hyperbole is an exaggerated statement used to express strong emotions or for dramatic effect.
Simile and metaphor are figures of speech that compare two unlike things, with simile using 'like' or 'as'.
Linguistic metaphors are a result of generalized meaning where the original comparison is forgotten.
Euphemism is a mild expression used to replace harsher terms, often to avoid offense.
Understatement is a figure of speech that conveys a positive meaning through the use of negatives.
The use of understatement in English is common for politeness or to convey subtlety.
Semantic changes can involve the deterioration or amelioration of a word's meaning.
The process of semantic change can be complex, involving shifts in connotation and denotation.
Exercises in the transcript involve comparing similar and metaphor to understand their differences and usage.
The discussion also covers the transference of meaning and its relation to rhetorical figures like metaphor and metonymy.
Transcripts
so we're talking about semantic
change and about
such moments as narrowing
widening results of semantic changing
then we'll discuss metonymy
hyperbololite is similar
and then we'll do the exercises
that please stop what is semantic change
a semantic change meaning of every word
undergoes some changes which
are inevitable in the development of the
language
narrowing and widening so
uh two most important changes are
narrowing and widening the dash and
talk about narrowing place
a narrowing of meaning or specialization
occurs
when the world comes from the sphere of
road usage
to the special sphere is
the best known example of specialization
is as policy in old english
the lexi meter meant a food
while in modern english it developed
into the meat
minion edible flesh
yeah and we see that it was
meat then originally it meant
food and now it means
edible flesh so
other examples
disease and discomfort illness
yeah disease meant discomfort
like any discomfort and
now it means illness
wifi roman origin is original meaning
and
meaning after naren is married to woman
yeah so early it was
any woman and now it is only a
married woman yeah then
starv original minion is to die
and meaning of generating to die or
hunger
yeah you see that you can die of any
reason
but to starve you die of hunger
and turn
original minion is irrange and dominion
after nearing is unfortunate in range
you see that if we think of
all these examples uh what
is the conclusion that we can make about
narrowing
what is the conclusion what happens to
word
die die of hunger woman
married woman event unfortunate event
what happens to the word
no we usually add something
either adjective or any kind
of description and
narrow its meaning okay
our generalization of meaning occurs
when the scope of the notion
is further than in original word in this
case the meaning of the word gets
higher abstraction the example of this
change is lexan fly
that in middle english meant to move
through the air with
wings now it denotes and
any moment through the ear the lexing
thing used to mean a mater brought
before this
assembly then caused objectives
decision now it is the most generally
used
word in the language it can substitute
almost
any noun
sister new meaning parents sister
wife of parents brazil okay in ukrainian
we still have the words
we can say titka which is parents sister
wife's parents brother or we can say
as in western ukraine we can say
vuina and strina which greatly
define who the person is
what is the relation next
awards manage uh old dominion handle a
horse
new meaning handle anything so
usually before you handled a horse you
work just with a horse
and now you do anything next time
and finally holiday old meaning holy
day and you mean any day off
so it was holiday meaning it was any
kind
of a church
celebration okay
and when we make a conclusion
on semantic change we'll see
that the result of semantic change
is the change of change
of certain rotational meaning and
change of um divide uh destruction of
meaning
and extension of meaning and change of
the connotational meaning
divided uh in uh into
determine deterioration of meaning and
amelioration of meaning yeah but it
tells us
about the same when we change the
notation of meaning it may be restricted
give me the other give me the other word
for restriction
narrow way it narrows
or it may be extended
give me the other word for extension
an obedient widening why why widening
or broadening and we can say
we can change connotational meaning
enter
connotations are matter from metonymy
and so on and so forth okay
here good thank you let's uh
look at the transference of meaning and
our first task will be to compare
similar and matter to talk about
metaphor and
similar and common stuff
the transparent of meaning includes
other changes of meaning that
are close to such figures of speech as
metaphor
metonymy hyperbole lightitus and similar
these figures used in rhetorical speech
show their processes peculiar to the
transposition
of meaning metaphor is a transfer of
name
based on their association of similarity
and
is actually a hidden comparison it
implies the description that links
one thing to another for example a woman
can be called
a peach a lemon a cat aligners
unlike poetic metaphor that is used in
poetic speech and
is created by an author linguistic
metaphor is
a result of a generalization of meaning
in which the comparison
is completely forgotten what for example
food or for
a mountain lack of a table uh all
linguistic metaphors
are already dead in metaphors
and when we talk about
metaphors we usually compare
a metaphor to a similar
or we pronounce it similarly similar so
what is a simile
similarly is a statement based on the
comparison yeah
so for similar we usually let's uh look
at this table
and let's compare that
[Music]
when you use a simile you say that
something is like or as
something else when you paint a picture
by saying that something is
something else you use a metaphor
okay uh exam examples of simile
he it's like a peak it's called like an
anti uh international here
antarctica here her skin was
white as snow she went on working in the
country as white as a mouse she
smelled like rose too the old woman
thought
john sleeps like a baby all night okay
and
exactly if we look i'll stop here if we
look at
similar sir what will we see
always see like like
we'll see that everywhere there will be
the words
as or like so similar we make it uh
we compare it and tell about metaphors
examples of metaphors thanks for mailing
those later
you are an and you are an angel it's
antarctica here uh lotte is the music of
the soul
the computer in the classroom was an old
dinosaur the detective listened to her
tales with a wooden face
i think that new singer is a diamond in
their role
okay so we see that here
so all those examples
they don't have this like
so it's called like in antarctica
or it's antarctica
you are like a pig you are epic
give me your examples if you may think
of
any examples that compare similar to
metaphor for example similar this woman
so beautiful like a rose
and metaphor this woman is a rose
perfect she is a rose yeah
mm-hmm uh marie your example
and this person
is like
like fox as this
he is starving as a fox
he is yeah this person is like a foxer
and
uh you compare to the fox and he's a fox
meaning he is cunning he is not good
to other people so thank you marin
your example uh he is a
as brave as a lion
um and it is what
it is a similar family
and before um
it's a line yeah he is a lion
it is a metaphor yeah
it is obviously a metaphor occasion
enough for this give me your example
here like um
he is a brother he is just a bear
yeah meaning he is big rapha and
okay
is a form of figurative language in
which a word
is replaced by something very close
to the original meaning for example
um metonymy
isn't is the transfer
of meaning based upon the association
of contexts
is the meaning of a word um
shifts the name of an attribute
of an of a scene that substitutes
the name of the scene itself
for example cheers chairman
the bar liars jeans
material genes and
genes is used to detonate detonate the
object made of it okay here so
give me in ukrainian some examples of
metonymy
we use one word one part
of the whole to denote the whole
for example here you have suzer
costume huh and suits means
business people a businessman
so give me more examples from ukrainian
when we say for example
so what what do we mean
marilyn give read the examples
and let me
let me your ear let me your ear
which refers to the royal system of
government of a country
okay to lend
a hand this use of metonymy refers to
helping someone
wall street this term reform
refers to the financial industry um
no wall street bullets of new york
would you like a piece
of my danish in this example
the word danish does not refer
to a person from denmark but rather
the the food i think a danish
pastry okay more examples from ukrainian
this is
exaggerated the statement which
expresses emotional attitude or the
speaker
for example a thousand patterns splendid
in short that hyperbole is a statement
which has been exaggerated it is used to
overstate the situation and is not
intended to be taken literally
hyperbole may be used in a figurative
language to
overexpress what sermon is saying in
such
an example as i almost
died from larfan the speaker didn't
literally almost die but
using these hyperboles they are
expressing that
they loved a great deal
hyperbole can also be used as a rhetoric
device
in this type of use you might see a
phrase
such as we have nurse interfere but
free itself uh in this example the
speaker
is exaggerating how fearful people
should be
or are he probably is used
to over emphasize a statement or
situation
in order to give a more dramatic effect
uh
on the listener or reader examples in
speed
okay so let's say in your words how do
you understand hyperbola
uh probably it is um when we
say something in
exaggerating it very good when we
exaggerate
remember where did we meet the word
exaggeration
in literary genres
tall tale was not a serious exaggeration
yeah so and legend was
a serious exaggeration okay here
and usually we use hyperbola to
overstate a situation
natasha read an example read the
examples
examples in speech i have 101 scenes
to do today but of course we understand
that it's
this job is going to take me forever
i'm never going to finish this meal
she has been at the shop for an eternity
i'm stuck on a level which is impossible
i'm never going to get this job done
that man is as old as time
this is the beggar raised 10
he has been talking for a week when i
was pregnant i was
as big as a house he never died
and now he is ahead as an elephant
okay yeah and we see that
very often in hyperbola
we use what do we use in hyperbola
we use similar we use similar
because with the help of similar
we compare as big as a horse
as heavy as an elephant
and so on and so forth okay
next time light 20 light tortilla
light tortoise or understatement is used
to express
the affirmative by the negative of its
contrary
not bad equals good not rich
poor latertis is a form of the figure of
speech
which and negates a positive in order to
convey under understated irony
the classic example of flightitus is the
term not bad
as you can see both of these words are
negative but when placed together from
a positive sentence in most contexts the
use of literatures
is used to understate a thing or
situation
it's a form of figurative language which
uses a negative to assert a positive
by using this method we use latertis to
imply the opposite meaning of something
for example by saying that some
that someone is not seen you are
implying that they
are fat literatures must always contain
a negative
okay yeah so like 20 or
understatement are very peculiar
to the english language when you don't
want to offend
a person or when you want to show your
suckers
so i give the examples with the examples
please
he isn't he isn't the friendliest person
it was not an awful trip she is not
unkind he is not exactly poor
his cooking is not terrible he is no
spring chicken
that is not too shabby her singing is
not bad
it isn't really a walk in the park
finland
is no ordinary country it isn't rocket
science
he is not unlike his sister that ice
cream was not bad
your house is not untidy she is not
doing too badly at all
he won't regret that decision
so uh what uh what do we
show with these examples
understatement of different
things yeah we we understand
why why do we use this understatement
what is the reason for using in this
understatement
for example he is not exactly poor what
do we mean
he is rich
okay yeah so just uh
let me uh okay we'll we'll do it later
we'll watch your video
why english men like uh understatement
so much
all they taught so it isn't rocket
science what does this mean
it is very simple it's not
difficult so what do we
mean by finland is no ordinary country
finland is no ordinary country
i said it is um
in this country it is unusual country
very good by using mild words
for example to pass away means to die
when a person uses a japanese they are
replacing a word or phrase with another
in order to make the sentence sounds
less offensive in day in day to day
figurative language euphemism can be
used to
internationally alter a sentence to
lessen the harshness of its meaning
without
actually removing the meaning for
example if you
were in a fancy restaurant you may not
announce
that you were going to take a b instead
you may use a japanese such as
i'm going to use the bathroom this would
imply some
the some thing but sound much more
pleasant
in some cases enough i mean enough here
uh once again when do we use euphemism
what do we need euphemisms for
to exchange something um unpleasant by
using more
mild words by using
milder words occasion and
we see that our life is full of
euphemisms
we use euphemisms all the time on
some some of the euphemisms
passed away which is a euphemism for
diet
never say americans never say my mother
died
they will say here past eurasia yeah
then put to sleep which is euphemism
for um euthanized
afternoon uh put usually with
animals my dog was put to sleep
because yeah next time
uh dominate a pregnancy which is
euphemism for
abortion
and lots of us kick the bucket
out of work for unemployed
and so on and so forth
okay here so enough for the
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