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VIII Международной научно-методической онлайн-конференции, посвященной Году педагога
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Investigating semantic shifts in words related to technological advancement in
English
Sabirova Nigora
UzSWLU
Graduate student
Abstract
This article aims at investigating semantic change in words connected to
technological progress in English. The meanings of one word in different context were
compared. Having analyzed semantic aspect in words the following findings were
detected: 1) the most frequently implemented type of semantic change was
generalization which facilitated to the formation of new meaning because of
technological advancement. 2) New terms emerged mostly due to widespread
utilization of computer and the Internet. In order to be aware of changes occurring to
the language during the era of technologies, one should learn about new terms and
notions. It is essential not to fall behind of time.
Key words:
semantic shift, technological advancement, context, meaning, factors,
term.
Introduction
Language is not static; it changes over time. All language fields including semantics
undergoes changes. Semantic shift is the process of changing the meaning of a word.
Semantic change has been studied from different perspectives. Types of semantic shift,
factors and consequences of semantic change were investigated by many researchers.
Although a lot of examples within the surveys were introduced, there are no works
Topical issues of language training
in the globalized world
426
dedicated to meaning change in words in technological context. Therefore, the
following two questions are to be taken into consideration when doing further research:
1)
Which type of semantic shift was implemented the most frequently?
2)
Which field of technological progress contributed to derive new meaning of a
word?
Literature review
It is a well-known fact that a language is dynamic and changeable. Many scientists
did researches on the field of semantics and the change of words’ meanings. There are
findings which prove that semantic change is a phenomenon which requires the
consideration of correct usage of specific words which undergone changes in oral and
written speech. The main aspects of semantic shift studied so far are types of semantic
shift, factors influencing semantic shift, consequences of semantic shift. Most
frequently observed types of semantic change are pejoration (degradation) and
amelioration (elevation) of meaning; generalization and specialization of meaning and
many others. Generalization (widening of meaning) and specialization (narrowing of
meaning) are two historical semantic process that led to the qualitative modification of
the English vocabulary (Borkowska, Kleparski, 2007). From the names of processes,
it can be clear that generalization is the widening of a word’s meaning, while
specialization is narrowing of the meaning of the word. For example, French lexeme
chauffeur
originally meant ‘a man who stokes a fire’, gained a new sense of ‘driver’
which over time it became more specific in the usage of a ‘driver of a motor vehicle’
(Borowska, Kleparski, 2007). In addition to types, there are also researches on factors
of semantic change. Several studies suggest that there are factors which contributed to
semantic shift in words. Somila Daiu (2015) suggested four main factors. They are as
follows: internal linguistic factors, historical factors, social factors and psychological
factors. One of the reasons why the language changes is that people tend to express
their thoughts correctly and much better (Daui, 2015). While Septika S. Tobing (2010)
enlisted different factors which are: happening by chance; need of new meaning;
scientific words; taboo and etc. Regarding the consequences of semantic changes, they
can be classified into four big groups: semantic changes of denotative meaning;
semantic changes that are not part of denotative meaning; a word copies the semantic
structure of another word; a new concept equivalent with a lexical unit (Daui, 2015).
These groups are based on the changes in meaning which include denotative meaning
divided in analogical and not analogical changes. To be more precise, they are divided
into groups according to whether the new meaning is created in analogy with the old
one or not. Although there are a lot of researches on semantic shift and its types, there
is lack of investigation on the terms related to technological advancement.
Accordingly, this paper aims to survey the difference of meanings of words used in
direct and technological context of the same word.
Research method and process
The primary research method for this study was a context meaning difference. The
meaning of the same word was compared based on the context it was used in. Mainly
Topical issues of language training
in the globalized world
427
the difference was identified in two different contexts: in a context where the word is
used in direct (denotative) meaning and the context where the word is used according
to technological progress (technological terms). Technology based words and terms
were taken from different technological discoveries and inventions. The main source
used was online Merriam-Webster dictionary. The examples, denotative and contextual
meanings were taken from this dictionary.
Results
Word
Direct (denotative) meaning
Contextual (technological)
meaning
Mouse
-
any of numerous small
rodents (as of the genus
Mus) with pointed snout,
rather small ears, elongated
div, and slender tail
-
a small mobile manual
device
that
controls
movement of the cursor
and selection of function
on a computer
Bug
-
any of an order of insects
that
have
sucking
mouthparts,
forewings
thickened at the base, and
incomplete metamorphosis
and are often economic
pests
-
is a coding error that
interferes with a website’s
normal operation
Address
-
a place where a person or
organization
may
be
communicated with
-
is a series of numbers that
identifies
a
network
adapter; a series of usually
alphanumeric characters
that specifies the storage
location (as on a network
or
in
a
computer’s
memory) of particular
information
Cloud
-
a visible mass of particles
of condensed vapor (such
as water or ice) suspended
in the atmosphere of a
planet (such as the earth) or
moon
-
the
computers
and
connections that support
cloud computing (often
used before another noun:
cloud
storage/backup;
aloud software; cloud
computing – is a method of
Topical issues of language training
in the globalized world
428
storing data across remote
servers instead of on a
local computer
Cache
-
a hiding place especially
for
concealing
and
preserving provisions or
implements; a secure place
of storage
-
a computer memory with
very short access time used
for storage of frequently or
recently used instructions
or data – called also
cache
memory
Window
-
an opening especially in
the wall of a building for
admission of light and air
that is usually closed by
casements
or
sashes
containing
transparent
material (such as glass) and
capable of being opened
and shut
-
any of various rectangular
boxes appearing on a
computer
screen
that
display files or program
output, that can usually be
moved and resized, and
that facilitate multitasking
Discussion
The words included in result part are polysemantic words. Although the results
show us that words mainly are computer terms, they are not newly originated. The
additional meaning of the above given words emerged. In other words, it is widening
of meaning of the word. With the invention of computer these words gained additional
meaning which can be used in the context of technology. If we compare the following
two sentences, we can conclude that the correct utilization of the word in right context
is crucial in both writing and speech:
1.
The house was infested with
mice
and rats.
2.
He moved the
mouse
to click on the icon.
The context and meaning are different. In first case the
mouse
is a small animal,
which is considered to be rodents. In the second case the
mouse
is a small device for
convenient usage of computer. Moreover, one more conclusion can be made that the
usage of the word
‘mouse’
to define exactly this device is built upon the similarity of
the features of both of them.
1.
Police found a
cache
of stolen cars in the woods.
2.
Her new laptop has one megabyte of
cache
.
The first sentence gives the meaning of ‘cache’ as ‘hidden’. When in the second
sentence ‘cache’ means the unnecessary files or data in the computer which should be
Topical issues of language training
in the globalized world
429
deleted and cleaned. However, the aspects of technological advancement where the
terms could be taken from are too narrow. More spheres of technology were expected
to be considered, but the results could be found only in the sphere of computer and the
Internet.
Conclusion
Semantic shift which was witnessed owing to technological progress was mostly
generalization or widening of the word’s meaning. But they are not necessarily
homonyms. Concerning the sphere of technology where most new meanings emerged,
they were computer and the Internet as the most commonly utilized device or invention
is computer nowadays. New terms of computer sphere are required to be acquired by
modern society in order to catch up with time and modern trends. Further research can
be done in the direction of other aspects of technological progress and other types of
semantic shift. Obviously, the same issues are expected to be investigated in other
languages except for English.
References
1.
Banks, M. A. (2004).
Semantic changes in present-day English (PDE).
McCabe Thesis
Collection.
http://dclu.langston.edu/mccabe_theses
2.
Borkowska, P., & Kleparski A. G. (2007).
It befalls words to fall down: pejoration as a type
of semantic change.
pp. 33-50.
3.
Daiu, S. (2015).
Semantic changes – the factors and consequences of the word meaning
process.
European Journal of Language and Literature Studies. 1(3), pp. 46-52.
4.
Tobing, S. S. (2010).
Semantic change and meaning shift analysis on film making terms.
English
Department
of
Diponegoro
University.
https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/11721965.pdf
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аспекты речевой интерференции.
7.
Сатибалдиев, Э. К. (2022). Родной и неродной языки: лингвистические и методические
аспекты речевой интерференции.
8.
Temirova, N. A. (2023). COMMUNICATIVE APPROACHES TO TEACHING INTERNET
NEOLOGISMS: A REVIEW OF SCIENTIFIC POINTS OF VIEW. In ББК 81.2 я43
Методика преподавания иностранных языков и РКИ: традиции и инновации: сборник
научных трудов VIII Международной научно-методической онлайн-конференции,
посвященной Году педагога и наставника в России и Году русского языка в странах
СНГ (11 апреля 2023 г.)–Курск: Изд-во КГМУ, 2023.–521 с. (Vol. 193, p. 38).
9.
Temirova, N. A. (2023). TEACHING NEOLOGISMS TO ADVANCED LEARNERS
THROUGH GROUPING BY THE INTRALINGUISTIC FACTORS. In ББК 81.2 я43
Методика преподавания иностранных языков и РКИ: традиции и инновации: сборник
научных трудов VIII Международной научно-методической онлайн-конференции,
посвященной Году педагога и наставника в России и Году русского языка в странах
СНГ (11 апреля 2023 г.)–Курск: Изд-во КГМУ, 2023.–521 с. (p. 43).
