Distributional changes in synonym sets: the case of fragrant, scented, and perfumed in 19th- and 20th-century American English

This chapter analyzes the diachronic development in 19th- and 20th-century American English of the synonyms fragrant, perfumed, and scented, which denote the concept sweet-smelling. Their distributional patterns are examined by means of conditional inference trees and collocational networks in order...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor: Pettersson Traba, Daniela Beatriz
Tipo de recurso: capítulo de libro
Fecha de publicación:2022
País:España
Institución:Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM)
Repositorio:Docta Complutense
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:docta.ucm.es:20.500.14352/99258
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/99258
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Sinonimia
Cambio semántico
Diacronía
Semántica distribucional
Inglés americano
Árboles de inferencia condicional
Filología inglesa
57 Lingüística
5702 Lingüística Diacrónica
Descripción
Sumario:This chapter analyzes the diachronic development in 19th- and 20th-century American English of the synonyms fragrant, perfumed, and scented, which denote the concept sweet-smelling. Their distributional patterns are examined by means of conditional inference trees and collocational networks in order to (1) uncover distinctions in meaning between the synonyms and (2) determine the changes that the concept sweet-smelling has experienced and their effect on the relationship between the synonyms. Results indicate a significant split between entities denoting natural and artificial smells, associated with fragrant and perfumed, respectively. In turn, scented is common in both senses. Moreover, a significant increase of scented at the expense of fragrant and perfumed emerges over time, a fact which can be accounted for in terms of processes of attraction, differentiation, and ongoing replacement.