7.2   Mechanism of Change

    In polysemy, we have discussed the two processes of meaning development, namely radiation and concatenation, which explain how words have developed multiple meanings and how these meanings are related, but fail to explain in what way some meanings are extended, some narrowed and others transferred. According to Bernard and Delbridge (1980), there is a mechanism that facilitates the change.

    Each word is likely to have certain associative connotations(联想意义), the total of which forms its associative field(联想域). This field embraces all the concepts that may occur to a mind when stimulated (激发)by that word. Peculiar or usual, there will normally be a connection of some sort between the given word and each of the other words in its associative field. The associations are dependent on one of the four types:

(1)  a similarity between associated sign-shapes(符号形式);

(2)  a similarity between the sign-contents(符号内容), or concepts;

(3)  a contact between associated sign-shapes;

  (4)  a contact between the sign-contents, or concepts, usually because of a continuity of referents .

    If a mind is stimulated by the word teacher, what might occur to the mind will be firstly the concepts by the words creature, feature, teaching, teachable, beater(捶打器具), fitter(装配工，裁缝), singer, etc. since they share to a greater or lesser degree similarity of sign-shape with teacher.

    Secondly, there might come to the mind related concepts suggested by such words as instructor, lecturer, tutor(导师), governess(私人女教师) and the like owing to the similarity in their sign-contents.

    Next, the concepts expressed by the words which commonly appear with teacher like training, college, federation(协会), etc. may enter the associative field because of the contact between their sign-shapes and that of the teacher.

Finally, the associative field may include the concepts of all the things that are physically or mentally associated with teachers such as chalk, blackboard, playing fields, audiovisuals(视听材料), boredom(厌倦) , and encouragement(激励).

 

    Whenever a word makes a polysemic extension and acquires a new meaning, the new meaning will be one of the concepts in the associative field of the word. For example, dumb which has acquired the meaning of 'stupid' is likely to be influenced by the German word dumm which means ' stupid' as English dumb and German dumm are similar in sign-shape (See Semantic-loans). Bikini is derived from the name of the place where the United States tested atom bombs. The present meaning of 'two-piece swimming suite' is probably the result of semantic association. That is, a woman in bikini might produce similar impact(强烈影响) on men as the explosion of atom bombs. Now we use private for 'private soldier' and general for 'general officer' because of the contact between associated sign-shapes, a change through the third channel.

    Of course, the change of meaning traverses(横越；横渡) a slow course, which can be illustrated by the example of the word holiday.  The semantic features of holiday of the early stage were 'period', 'of a day' and 'holy', and whether work was involved or not was not essential. In the second stage, 'no work' became an important feature whereas 'of a day' and ' holy' were only trivial. In the third stage, however, the feature of 'holy' disappeared altogether and 'of a day' remained unimportant. In the fourth stage, holiday only retains two distinctive features 'period' and 'no work', which form the present-day meaning of the word. The semantic change of holiday is of universal significance. When a word acquires new meanings, it experiences a long and slow process as the social acceptance of a new meaning has to be tested by time.