Semantic Change
English Language: AQA A Level, topic 3.5.5
Semantic Change
The best way to look at the change in semantics is to example a case study. For example, let’s look at the use of ‘gay’.
Neosemic shift
- The term ‘gay’ underwent a neosemic (new meaning) shift in the first half of the 20th Century from meaning ‘joyful’ to labelling a homosexual.
- As a result of societal dislike of homosexuality, the term became pejorated (gained a worse meaning) and then narrowed (gained a more specific meaning) to only referencing a homosexual.
Bleaching
- Moving into the 1970s, the term is broadened to include the use of it as a pejorative for describing something or someone that is disliked.
- As use increased (particularly in the early 21st Century, the term was weakened or bleached (it lost power).
Linguistic reclamation
- The work of authority and political correctness has led to:
- Amelioration (caused to gain positive connotations) and,
- Linguistic reclamation (an attempt to remove a stigma by ‘claiming’ the term).
In summary:
- Neosemy – a word gains a new meaning.
- Pejoration – a word gains a negative meaning.
- Narrowing – a word gains a more specific meaning.
Terminology
- Broadening – a word gains a less specific and more general meaning.
- Weakening / bleaching – a word loses its original power.
- Amelioration – a word gains a more positive meaning.
Test yourself on Semantic Change
What did the term 'gay' mean before the first half of the 20th Century?