Lexical Field Theory
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Lexical Field Theory
Lexical field theory, or ''word-field theory'', was introduced on March 12, 1931 by the German linguist Jost Trier. He argued that words acquired their meaning through their relationships to other words within the same word-field. An extension of the sense of one word narrows the meaning of neighboring words, with the words in a field fitting neatly together like a mosaic. If a single word undergoes a semantic change, then the whole structure of the lexical field changes. The lexical field is often used in English to describe terms further with use of different words. Trier's theory assumes that lexical fields are easily definable closed sets, with no overlapping meanings or gaps. These assumptions have been questioned and the theory has been modified since its original formulation.Richard M. Hogg, Norman Francis Blake, R. W. Burchfield, Suzanne Romaine, Roger Lass, John Algeo, ''The Cambridge History of the English Language: The beginnings to 1066'', Cambridge University Press, 1 ...
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Jost Trier
Jost Trier (15 December 1894 – 15 September 1970) was a German philologist who was Chair of German Philology at the University of Münster from 1932 to 1961. Biography Jost Trier was born in Schlitz, Hesse, Germany on 15 December 1894, the son of physician Jost Christian Ludwig Trier (1859-1939) and Else Nehrkorn. After graduating from gymnasium in Barmen in 1914, Trier studied Roman philology, German philology, comparative linguistics and art history at the University of Freiburg. His studies were interrupted by World War I, during which Trier served in the Imperial German Army. He was eventually captured by the French, and was since February 1915 interned in a prisoner of war camp in French Algeria. Trier was infected by malaria in 1916, and was subsequently interned in Switzerland, where he was able to continue his studies at the University of Basel (1916-1918). After the war, he continued his studies at the universities of Berlin (1918-1919) and Marburg (1919-1920), and ...
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Semantic Change
Semantic change (also semantic shift, semantic progression, semantic development, or semantic drift) is a form of language change regarding the evolution of word usage—usually to the point that the modern meaning is radically different from the original usage. In diachronic (or historical) linguistics, semantic change is a change in one of the meanings of a word. Every word has a variety of senses and connotations, which can be added, removed, or altered over time, often to the extent that cognates across space and time have very different meanings. The study of semantic change can be seen as part of etymology, onomasiology, semasiology, and semantics. Examples in English * Awful — Literally "full of awe", originally meant "inspiring wonder (or fear)", hence "impressive". In contemporary usage, the word means "extremely bad". * Awesome — Literally "awe-inducing", originally meant "inspiring wonder (or fear)", hence "impressive". In contemporary usage, the word means "e ...
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Closed Sets
In geometry, topology, and related branches of mathematics, a closed set is a Set (mathematics), set whose complement (set theory), complement is an open set. In a topological space, a closed set can be defined as a set which contains all its limit points. In a complete metric space, a closed set is a set which is Closure (mathematics), closed under the limit of a sequence, limit operation. This should not be confused with a closed manifold. Equivalent definitions By definition, a subset A of a topological space (X, \tau) is called if its complement X \setminus A is an open subset of (X, \tau); that is, if X \setminus A \in \tau. A set is closed in X if and only if it is equal to its Closure (topology), closure in X. Equivalently, a set is closed if and only if it contains all of its limit points. Yet another equivalent definition is that a set is closed if and only if it contains all of its Boundary (topology), boundary points. Every subset A \subseteq X is always contained ...
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Joachim Grzega
Joachim Grzega (born 9 September 1971) is a German linguist. He studied English and French at the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt, University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Paris-Sorbonne University and the University of Graz. He has taught since 1998 at the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt. Grzega obtained his doctorate in 2000 in Romance, English and German linguistics. He obtained his habilitation (i.e. post-doctoral degree) in 2004. Professor Grzega has held interim or guest professorships in Münster, Bayreuth, Erfurt, Freiburg, and Budapest. His focus is on onomasiology, eurolinguistics, intercultural communication, teaching of English as a lingua franca, language teaching in general and the role of language and communication in the transfer of knowledge. He also developed the '' Basic Global English'' (BGE) system for English teaching. With ''Onomasiology Online'' (Onon), he created one of the first peer-reviewed free access German linguistics journals ...
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Semantic Field
In linguistics, a semantic field is a lexical set of words grouped semantically (by meaning) that refers to a specific subject.Howard Jackson, Etienne Zé Amvela, ''Words, Meaning, and Vocabulary'', Continuum, 2000, p14. The term is also used in anthropology,Ingold, Tim (1996). ''Key debates in anthropology''. Routledge. , . Source(accessed: Sunday May 2, 2010), p.127 computational semiotics, and technical exegesis. Definition and usage Brinton (2000: p. 112) defines "semantic field" or "semantic domain" and relates the linguistic concept to hyponymy: Related to the concept of hyponymy, but more loosely defined, is the notion of a semantic field or domain. A semantic field denotes a segment of reality symbolized by a set of related words. The words in a semantic field share a common semantic property. A general and intuitive description is that words in a semantic field are not necessarily synonymous, but are all used to talk about the same general phenomenon.Adrian Akma ...
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Lexicology
Lexicology is the branch of linguistics that analyzes the lexicon of a specific language. A word is the smallest meaningful unit of a language that can stand on its own, and is made up of small components called morphemes and even smaller elements known as phonemes, or distinguishing sounds. Lexicology examines every feature of a word – including formation, spelling, origin, usage, and definition. Lexicology also considers the relationships that exist between words. In linguistics, the lexicon of a language is composed of lexemes, which are abstract units of meaning that correspond to a set of related forms of a word. Lexicology looks at how words can be broken down as well as identifies common patterns they follow. Lexicology is associated with lexicography, which is the practice of compiling dictionaries. Etymology The term ''lexicology'' derives from the Greek word λεξικόν ''lexicon'' (neuter of λεξικός ''lexikos'', "of or for words", from λέξις ''lexis'' ...
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