2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report
Asymmetry of lexical conceptual expansions and semantic change
| Project/Area Number |
25370551
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Multi-year Fund |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
English linguistics
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| Research Institution | Osaka University |
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Principal Investigator |
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| Project Period (FY) |
2013-04-01 – 2018-03-31
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| Keywords | 語彙概念拡張 / メタファー / メトニミー / 非対称性 / 意味の浸透 |
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| Outline of Final Research Achievements |
The conceptual expansion of nominal expressions is more likely to be attested in argument positions of predicates than in adjunct positions. Moreover, the same kind of asymmetrical distribution is found in the context of two-word combinations: the extended meanings attested in the head position (namely, the right-hand member) of word combinations are more varied than those found in the modifier position (namely, the left-hand member). Those asymmetrical distributions found in the two distinct contexts of use indicate that the conceptual expansion of nominals is likely to start in the positions of central participants and permeate to peripheral participants.
The historical research on the semantic change of nominals is still under way, but the discovery of the asymmetrical distribution, not only in the context of sentential predication but also in the context of modification (or, word combinations) is true of both English and Japanese. This is the main result of the project.
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| Free Research Field |
英語学
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