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7.3 Causes of meaning change
by class 3
It’s reasonable to assume that whenever new meanings are added to
new words,or new words are created,it is in response to some need.
Eg,
aeroplane-----------jet
(without propellers)
There are generally two major factors that cause changes inn
meaning.
1.Extra-linguistic Factors非语言语境
2.Linguistic Factors语言语境
1）Histirical Reason
“language is more conservative than civilization,material as well
asmoral.Objects,institutions,ideas,scientific concepts change in the
course of time;Yet in many cases the name is retained and thus helps to
ensure asense of tradition and continuity.”
word
Pen
Car
Original menaing
feather
two-wheel cart drawn
New meaning
ballpoint pen,fountain pen
automobile
by horses and used inwar
Computer
a person who computes
electronic machine
Indeed,it often happens that a word is retained for a name though the
meaning has changed because the referent has changed.
Increased scientific knowledge and discovery is also an important
factor that underlies the change of word meaning.
Eg
Sun:the luminous celestialbody that in the Plolemaic system is one
of the seven planets revolving around the earth;
a star around which the earth and other planets revolve.
Atom:any of the indivisible particles
not the smallest and can be divided into even smaller
particles,hence the abandonment of the original meaning.
. 2)Class reason
Language is like a mirror,reflecting everything that exists in
human society.Naturally,it records the speech and attitude of
different social classes.As a result,different social varieties of
language have come into being.The so-called ‘King’s english’
is a good example.
The attitudes of classes have also occurred to lexical
meaning,especially in the case of elevation and degradation
Elevation
Word
Old meaning
Elevated meaning
marshal
马夫
元帅
craftsman
善于骗人的能手
工匠名匠
Degradation
Gossip
教父
Villain,boor and churl
爱讲闲话的人
种田人
坏人，粗暴的人
There are some other words which have different
meanings in different societies and to different people.
Eg,democracy,liberalism and communism.