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Roland Mühlenbernd Introduction Multifunctionality Semantic Maps

Example: Reflexives Example: Instrumentals Advantages Diachronic Change Lexical Meaning

Theories and Models of Language Change

Session 11: Semantic Maps Roland Mühlenbernd July 13, 2015

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Roland Mühlenbernd Introduction Multifunctionality Semantic Maps

Example: Reflexives Example: Instrumentals Advantages Diachronic Change Lexical Meaning

About the Exam

◮ date and time: July 21st, 14:00 ◮ place: tba ◮ length: 90 minutes ◮ content:

• 1. dynamics of language change (diverse topics)
• 2. evolutionary approach to language change (sessions 1-4)
• 3. computational models (sessions 5-7)
• 4. case studies (sessions 8-10)

◮ exercise type: 50% multiple choice, 50% ’open’ queries ◮ tip: go through slides, redo homework exercises

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Roland Mühlenbernd Introduction Multifunctionality Semantic Maps

Example: Reflexives Example: Instrumentals Advantages Diachronic Change Lexical Meaning

Homonymy and Polysemy

◮ Homonym: linguistic unit with multiple unrelated

meanings/functions

◮ Polysem: linguistic unit with multiple related

meanings/functions

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Roland Mühlenbernd Introduction Multifunctionality Semantic Maps

Example: Reflexives Example: Instrumentals Advantages Diachronic Change Lexical Meaning

Relatedness: from Homonym to Polysem

H sieben: seven, to sieve H Kiefer: jawbone, pine (tree) H? Strauß: ostrich, bunch/bouquet of flowers P? Bank: bank, bench P Schloss: castle, lock P Leiter: leader/constructor, ladder P Himmel: heaven, sky P Parlament: parliament (building), parliament (group of people)

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Roland Mühlenbernd Introduction Multifunctionality Semantic Maps

Example: Reflexives Example: Instrumentals Advantages Diachronic Change Lexical Meaning

Semantic Variation: Multifunctionality

◮ linguistic units have multiple senses or uses

(meaning/function)

◮ differentiation between content words and function words ◮ grams: grammatical morphemes (function words, affixal

categories)

◮ functions: senses/uses of linguistic units ◮ multifunctionality: multiple functions of a linguistic unit

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Roland Mühlenbernd Introduction Multifunctionality Semantic Maps

Example: Reflexives Example: Instrumentals Advantages Diachronic Change Lexical Meaning

Multifunctionality: Examples

• 1. English preposition to

1.1 Goethe went to Leipzig as a student. (direction) 1.2 Eve gave the apple to Adam. (recipient) 1.3 This seems outrageous to me. (experiencer) 1.4 I left the party early to get home in time. (purpose)

• 2. English Past Tense

2.1 Goethe wrote a poem every day. (past habitual) 2.2 Goethe wrote Faust in 1808. (past perfective) 2.3 If she wrote to me tomorrow, I would reply in time. (hypothetical)

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Roland Mühlenbernd Introduction Multifunctionality Semantic Maps

Example: Reflexives Example: Instrumentals Advantages Diachronic Change Lexical Meaning

Multifunctionality: Positions (Exercise 1)

◮ monosemist position: each gram has a vague abstract

meaning, and the appropriate function arise from context interaction

◮ polysemist position: different but related meanings are

attached to each gram

◮ homonymist position: each function of a gram has a totally

separate meaning

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Roland Mühlenbernd Introduction Multifunctionality Semantic Maps

Example: Reflexives Example: Instrumentals Advantages Diachronic Change Lexical Meaning

Multifunctionality & Semantic Maps

◮ different functions of multifunctional morphemes can be

set in relation to each other (polysemy network)

◮ functions generally differ among different languages ◮ cross-linguistic comparison is crucial for creating a

semantic map1

• 1. choosing the relevant functions
• 2. arranging the functions on the map (finding relations)

◮ note: grams of the same language can overlap

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Roland Mühlenbernd Introduction Multifunctionality Semantic Maps

Example: Reflexives Example: Instrumentals Advantages Diachronic Change Lexical Meaning

Construction of Semantic Maps

◮ closeness of functions is formally shown by straight

connecting lines (to support readability)

◮ functions must be arranged so that each language under

investigation covers a contiguous area

◮ example: English ‘to’ covers the three functions purpose,

directions and recipient, but how should they arranged on a semantic map (Exercise 2)?

a) purpose - direction - recipient b) direction - purpose - recipient c) direction - recipient - purpose

◮ answer: a) might be the right arrangements, since

b) is ruled out by French ‘à’ c) is ruled out by German ‘zu’

◮ note: every new language can falsify a semantic map

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Roland Mühlenbernd Introduction Multifunctionality Semantic Maps

Example: Reflexives Example: Instrumentals Advantages Diachronic Change Lexical Meaning

Semantic Map Example II: Reflexives

French reflexives: se (him/herself), me (myself), te (yourself) Russian reflexive marker: -sja/s’

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Roland Mühlenbernd Introduction Multifunctionality Semantic Maps

Example: Reflexives Example: Instrumentals Advantages Diachronic Change Lexical Meaning

Semantic Map Example II: Reflexives

◮ full reflexive: to kill myself ◮ grooming/body motion: to

wash/to turn around

◮ naturally reciprocal: to meet ◮ anticausative: the door opens √ ◮ deobjective: the dog bites (x) ◮ pot. passive: the book sells best √ ◮ passive: the question was posed

Exercise 3: Which of the functions are jointly covered by the French reflexive gram ‘se’, by the Russian verbal reflexive ‘-sja/-s” and by the Turkish passive suffix ‘-Il’?

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Roland Mühlenbernd Introduction Multifunctionality Semantic Maps

Example: Reflexives Example: Instrumentals Advantages Diachronic Change Lexical Meaning

Semantic Map Example III: Instrumentals

◮ comitative-instrumental polysemy is frequent in world’s

languages

◮ English with:

a) Kanzi cracked the nut with the nutcracker. b) Sancho Pancho has arrived with Don Quijote.

◮ German mit:

a) Kanzi knackte die Nuss mit dem Nussknacker. b) Sancho Pancho ist mit Don Quijote angekommen.

◮ but not universal

◮ Russian suffixes -em/-om vs preposition s:

a) Kanzi raskolol orex kamn-em. b) Sanco Pansa prisel s Don Kixotom.

◮ some comitative-like functions can be singled out as

co-agency, like: “S. Pancho fought with Don Quijote.”

◮ another (mostly in non-European languages) common

additional polysemy involves the conjunctive function, like in “S. Pancho and Don Quijote fought together.”

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Roland Mühlenbernd Introduction Multifunctionality Semantic Maps

Example: Reflexives Example: Instrumentals Advantages Diachronic Change Lexical Meaning

Semantic Map Example III: Instrumentals

◮ an example for an extended range of functions is given in

Seychelles Creole with the preposition ek, that includes the functions recipient, passive agent, source and cause

◮ Russian ‘-om’ expresses instrumental and passive, and

‘s’ expresses conjunctive and comitative (plus co-agent)

◮ French ‘par’ expresses passive & cause (c.f. English ‘by’) ◮ German ‘von’ (passive, source) and ‘aus’ (cause, source) ◮ only comitative-recipient is not found in Europ. languages ◮ another link: English ‘for’ (beneficiary cause) and

German/Latin Dative (recipient, beneficiary)

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Roland Mühlenbernd Introduction Multifunctionality Semantic Maps

Example: Reflexives Example: Instrumentals Advantages Diachronic Change Lexical Meaning

Overlapping Semantic Maps

◮ semantic maps represent an arbitrary sub-network of the

“semantic universe”

◮ semantic maps might have overlapping areas ◮ semantic maps can be consolidated in bigger maps

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Roland Mühlenbernd Introduction Multifunctionality Semantic Maps

Example: Reflexives Example: Instrumentals Advantages Diachronic Change Lexical Meaning

Advantages of Semantic Maps

Exercise 4: Haspelmath discusses the advantages of semantic

• maps. He states that semantic maps...

◮ ensure cross-linguistic comparability √ ◮ help to detect universal semantic relationships √ ◮ generate a number of implicational universals √ ◮ allow to avoid the problem of

polysemy/vagueness-distinction √

◮ reveal the exact distance of different concepts/functions ◮ create a realistic model of the full conceptual space ◮ lead to expectations about diachronic change √

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Roland Mühlenbernd Introduction Multifunctionality Semantic Maps

Example: Reflexives Example: Instrumentals Advantages Diachronic Change Lexical Meaning

Semantic Maps and Diachronic Change

◮ semantic maps can be an important tool for diachrony and

grammaticalization studies

◮ example: given the semantic for typical dative ◮ the prediction that direction marker is extended to predicative

possessor, it must have been extended to recipisnt before

◮ diachronically a gram cannot arbitrarily jump to a distant

function, but must be extended step by step

◮ evidence from diachronic date is much harder to get ◮ to be certain that a change is unidirectional needs a number of

attested cases and no counterexamples

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Roland Mühlenbernd Introduction Multifunctionality Semantic Maps

Example: Reflexives Example: Instrumentals Advantages Diachronic Change Lexical Meaning

Semantic Maps and Diachronic Change

From reflexive to passive: attested direction from left to right

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Roland Mühlenbernd Introduction Multifunctionality Semantic Maps

Example: Reflexives Example: Instrumentals Advantages Diachronic Change Lexical Meaning

Semantic Maps and Diachronic Change

Exercise 5: Haspelmath stresses the relevance of semantic maps for revealing the direction of diachronic processes by the following metaphor: “A grammatical morpheme is like a window that

• pens the view onto part of semantic space. The

window gradually moves in one direction over the map, and as new functions come into view on one side, some old functions disappear on the other side.”

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Roland Mühlenbernd Introduction Multifunctionality Semantic Maps

Example: Reflexives Example: Instrumentals Advantages Diachronic Change Lexical Meaning

Semantic Maps and Lexical Meaning

◮ problem of multifunctionality arises in the same way with

lexical meaning

◮ example: 1-dimensional semantic map (Hjelmslev 1963) ◮ note: dimension of semantic space can become

increasingly great → polysemy networks

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Roland Mühlenbernd Introduction Multifunctionality Semantic Maps

Example: Reflexives Example: Instrumentals Advantages Diachronic Change Lexical Meaning

Conclusion

The semantic-map approach

◮ is firmly rooted in empirical observation of individual

languages,

◮ but through systematic cross-linguistic comparison it can

arrive at well-motivated structural patterns in universal conceptual space

◮ provides a useful summary of what linguists know about

the mutual relations between the various senses of multifunctional expressions

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