The Development of Words Across Centuries. An Outline of a Dictionary of Semantic Motivations

334 Pages·2017·4.53 MB·English

by  Mariola Jakubowicz

Mariola Jakubowicz
The Development
of Words Across Centuries
An Outline of a Dictionary
of Semantic Motivations
Based on the Material of Slavic Adjectives
Inherited from the Proto-Slavic Period
2
MONOGRAPHS
Institute of Slavic Studies,
Polish Academy of Sciences
The Development
of Words Across Centuries

Mariola Jakubowicz
The Development
of Words Across Centuries
An Outline of a Dictionary
of Semantic Motivations
Based on the Material of Slavic Adjectives
Inherited from the Proto-Slavic Period
Translated by
Artur Zwolski
2
MONOGRAPHS
Institute of Slavic Studies,
Polish Academy of Sciences
WARSAW 2017
Dr hab. Aleksandra Janowska, Associate Professor, University of Silesia, Katowice
E&d Pitroorf.i adlr r heavbie. wJadwiga Waniakowa, Jagiellonian University, Cracow
Drogi słów na przestrzeni wieków. Zarys słownika
motywacji semantycznych na materiale przymiotników słowiańskich odziedziczonych
Oz rpirgainsłaolwlyi apńusbzlcizshyzendy i, n 2010 as
Warszawa: Slawistyczny Ośrodek Wydawniczy (IS PAN).
Praca naukowa finansowana w ramach programu Ministra Nauki i Szkolnictwa
Wyższego pod nazwą „Narodowy Program Rozwoju Humanistyki” w latach 2014–2017.
This academic publication was financed within the “National Programme for
the Development of Humanities” of the Minister of Science and Higher Education
in 2014–2017.
IJaSSku PbA OS zMimOeNkOGRAPHS SERIES
Editorial supervision
Barbara Grunwald-Hajdasz
Cover and title page design
Marta Wróbel
Editing
Andrzej Cedro
Typesetting and page makeup
© Copyright by Mariola Jakubowicz
© Copyright for the English translation by Artur Zwolski, 2017
ISBN: 978-83-64031-64-9
Instytut Slawistyki Polskiej Akademii Nauk
ul. Bartoszewicza 1b / 17
00-337 Warszawa
tel./fax [phone]
[email protected], www.ispan.waw.pl
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION.............................................................. 9
PART ONE
THEORETI CAL CONSIDERATIONS ............................................ 11
1. MEANING AND ITS CHANGES.............................................. 13
1. Meaning. Terminological Remarks....................................... 13
2. Changes in Meaning and Polysemy. Diachrony versus Synchrony ......... 15
2.1. Polysemy and Homonymy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2.2. Types of Diversity of the Content of Words ............................ 17
2.3. Strings of Meanings ................................................... 19
3. The Methods of Researching Semantic Changes.......................... 20
3.1. An Approach to Semantic Research. Semasiology and Onomasiology ... 20
3.2. The Modes of Describing Semantic Changes............................ 22
3.2.1. Traditional Modes of Description .................................... 22
3.2.2. The Component Analysis of Meaning................................. 23
3.2.3. The Methods Adopted from Cognitive Linguistics .................... 24
4. Semantic Motivation .................................................... 26
4.1. The Term ............................................................. 26
4.2. Parallel Motivating Meanings.......................................... 29
2. THE RECONSTRUCTION OF THE PROTO-SLAVIC MEANING ................ 31
1. General Remarks Concerning the Proto-Slavic Language ................. 31
2. Reconstruction of Meanings in Non-Attested Languages.
Theoretical Problems...................................................... 33
3. The Reconstruction of the Proto-Slavic Meaning
in the Lexicographical Practice ............................................ 37
3.1. The Continuants and Their Hierarchy.................................. 40
4. The Particular Stages of Reconstruction ................................. 44
4.1. The Principles of Reconstructing the Meaning Which Is Based
on Continuants............................................................ 44
4.2. The Reconstruction of the Structural Meaning ......................... 45
6
4.3. The Reconstruction of the Etymological Meaning ...................... 47
4.3.1. The Adjectives Inherited from the Proto-Indo-European Language ... 47
4.3.2. The Reconstruction of the Etymological Meaning on the Basis of
the Proto-Indo-European Root............................................. 48
4.4. The Value of the Reconstructed Material under Discussion.
The Confrontation of Results .............................................. 49
4.5. The Problem of the Homonyms........................................ 50
4.6. The Role of Acquaintance with the Realia
in the Establishment of a Motivation....................................... 51
3. THE PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH THE PROTO-SLAVIC ADJECTIVE ...... 55
1. The Emergence of the Category of the Adjective ......................... 55
1.1. The Criteria for Establishing the Proto-Slavic Status of a Word............... 58
2. Productive Adjectival Word-Formative Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
3. The Division of Adjectives According to Their Origins.................... 61
tъ to
3.1. Former Participles .................................................... 61
nъ no
3.1.1. The Passive Past Participle with - < - - ............................ 62
mъ
3.1.2. The Passive Past Participle with - < - - ........................... 62
lъ
3.1.3. The Present Tense Passive Participle with - ....................... 63
lъ
3.1.4. The Past Tense Participle with - (the Second Active Anterior
Participle with - ) ........................................................ 63
3.2. Adjectives Related to the Proto-Indo-European Roots with
a Verbal Meaning.......................................................... 64
3.3. Adjectives Associated with the Proto-Indo-European Roots
with a Nominal Meaning................................................... 65
4. THE PARALLELS OF SEMANTIC DEVELOPMENT .......................... 67
1. State of Research and Postulates ........................................ 67
1.1. The First Onomasiological Dictionaries ................................ 68
1.2. Contemporary Projects................................................ 69
1.2.1. The Scope of the Languages Involved ................................ 70
1.2.2. Chronological Scope................................................. 71
2. The Proposed Forms of the Dictionary................................... 73
3. The Ways of Analyzing the Material...................................... 74
3.1. Semasiological Order.................................................. 74
3.2. Onomasiological and Semasiological Order ............................ 76
3.3. Onomasiological Order................................................ 76
3.4. Semantic Motivation in Atlases ........................................ 77
4. The Choice of Method................................................... 78
5. Individual Problems Associated with the Research of Semantic Changes ... 79
5.1. Semantic Changes Associated with the Varieties of a Language ......... 79
5.2. Linguistic Taboo and Its Euphemization ............................... 80
ἃπαξ λεγόμενα
5.3. Borrowings and Semantic Calques..................................... 81
5.4. Words Which Are Attested Only Once ( )................. 82
7
PART TWO
ANALYSIS OF THE MATERIAL ................................................ 83
5. THE RESEARCH MATERIAL AND THE MEANS OF ITS ANALYSIS............ 85
1. The Basis of the Material................................................ 85
2. The Content of the Semantic Field Under Research....................... 90
3. The Structure of the Entries and the Arrangement of the Material
Within the Entry .......................................................... 91
6. CONCEPTUAL GROUPS .................................................... 95
1A. GOOD ................................................................. 95
1B. BAD................................................................... 104
2A. PLEASANT . ........................................................... 115
2B. UNPLEASANT . ........................................................ 120
3A. PRETTY . . ............................................................. 126
3B. UGLY . ................................................................. 134
4A. HIGH/TALL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
4B. LOW/SHORT . ......................................................... 146
5A. FAT . .................................................................. 148
5B. THIN.................................................................. 155
6A. STRONG . ............................................................. 160
6B. WEAK................................................................. 173
7A. HEALTHY . ............................................................ 182
7B. SICK .................................................................. 186
8A. YOUNG................................................................ 190
8B. OLD................................................................... 193
9A. QUICK................................................................. 197
9B. SLOW ................................................................. 203
10A. VIOLENT............................................................. 205
10B. CALM ................................................................ 213
11A. CHEERFUL/MERRY .................................................. 218
11B. SAD.................................................................. 221
12A. STERN ............................................................... 226
12B. MILD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
13A. BRAVE............................................................... 235
13B. TIMID................................................................ 241
14A. PROUD............................................................... 244
14B. HUMBLE............................................................. 248
15A. DILIGENT............................................................ 251
15B. LAZY................................................................. 257
16A. WISE................................................................. 260
16B. STUPID .............................................................. 264
7. A DICTIONARY OF SEMANTIC CHANGES................................... 269
1. An Onomasiological Dictionary Arranged According
to the Received Meanings.................................................. 271
8
2. An Onomasiological Dictionary Arranged According
to Initial Meanings ........................................................ 288
SUMMARY ................................................................... 299
1. The Degree of Reliability of a Semantic Reconstruction .................. 299
2. The Inclusion of Thematic Groups in the Studied Lexis................... 302
3. The Causes for the Changes of Meanings of the Studied Adjectives........ 304
3.1. The Strings of Minimal Semantic Changes.............................. 305
3.2. Metaphorical Changes................................................. 306
4. Research Perspectives................................................... 308
4.1. Further Work Upon the Model of a Dictionary of Semantic Changes..... 308
4.2. The Tasks Associated With a Dictionary................................ 310
4.2.1. The Linguistic Image of the World. Axiological Research.............. 311
INDEX OF PROTO-SLAVIC WORDS ............................................ 315
INDEX OF LANGUAGES....................................................... 319
ABBREVIATIONS............................................................. 319
REFERENCES ................................................................ 320
DICTIONARIES QUOTED IN THE WORK.................................... 320
OTHER WORKS............................................................ 323
INTRODUCTION
The principal aim of this work is to present a model of a dictionary of semantic
motivations, which is supposed to be an answer to the postulate of creating
a dictionary of motivational parallels that has long continued to be put forward.
At the outset I would like to make the reservation that my answer is a partial
one, for it involves only a small part of the vocabulary. A more comprehensive
answer surely exceeds the limits of one work. In order to perform my task I se-
lected adjectives from the lexical-semantic field which “characterizes people.”
Its content is sufficiently rich to enable the construction of a model which was
planned. The aim that is presented here requires the fulfilment of a number of
preparatory aims without which the planned work would be impossible. These
preparatory aims include the identification of motivational relationships be-
tween the meanings of the adjectives that were researched. However, my task
is not to concentrate upon the results which particular conceptual groups
yield from the field that was researched but to arrange those conceptual
groups into a model. A comprehensive, descriptive recapitulation of the re-
sults, a very interesting notion in itself, may become the object of other works
of research. In order to provide an exhaustive treatment of the subject it is
advisable that these works referred to fields of a lesser conceptual volume,
e.g. ones that would be limited to the field of physical properties.
An analysis of the semantic development of particular lexemes requires
a reconstruction of their initial meaning. Thus, an important part of my re-
search includes a reconstruction of meanings which may be ascribed to the
reconstructed Proto-Slavic forms. Due to the lack of scholarly works whi ch
would refer to this research task, I included a chapter entitled “The Reconstruc-
tion of Meanings of Non-Attested Languages. Theoretical Considerations”in
the theoretical part of my work. I present there a method of the reconstruction
of meaning for a non-attested language which is reconstructed on the basis
of continuant languages. The theoretical part of my work also discusses the
problems associated with meaning, changes of meaning and the current state
of research concerning semantic development.