Semantic Changes Report Example

In this report I will summarize and critize an article written by Edward L. Thorndike titled Semantic Change, which appeared in The American Journal of Psychology in 1947. I will then evaluate the influence of semantic changes.
Verbal communication is creates relationships between speakers and listeners far more frequently than any other type of existing relationship. Thorndike believes that studying and truly understating communication helps us to deeper understand some aspects of social psychology. Thorndike’s primary focus is on the understanding of word semantics as well as changes that have occurred in the English language through the great addition and minimal subtraction of new and obsolete words.
The first aspect that Thorndike discusses is the ratio of added words versus those removed. He mentions the great influx of words particularly in the last 500 years noting specifically in the field of Chemistry. Expressed visually in a chart, there are clear periods of great increases notably during the Elizabethan peak between 1580 and 1619 and then again after 1780 throughout the present. This rise was interrupted by decline from 1740 through 1780.
The majority of the new words were related to advances in science during those times. In addition during the Elizabethan era there was a marked increase in the number of words used to express feelings, a fact that is of interest when social behaviors are considered. Live words with prefixes such as –un, -in, -a, or, -an added considerably to the number of existing English words without requiring much creative effort.
The second aspect Thorndike covers is the added meanings of words. Following the Oxford criteria for adding meanings of words is harder and less dependable than simply creating a new word entirely. Thorndike speculates that the actual number of words with added meanings is different from numbers that have been documented. He suspects that there were great spikes during times of scientific advances. The English language is experiencing a time of great growth currently, similar to the time of the Norman-French influence between the ages of 1500-1659. The vocabulary introductions during that time were generally more literary and “enriching,” while most of the new semantic introductions we experience today are science based.
Thorndike continues by discussing verbs having additional substantive meanings. He proposes that there are great time lapses between the creation of a verb and its obtaining a substantival meaning. By studying the introduction of words between the Old English entrants, Middle English entrants there was about a 300 and 200 yr respective time gap between the verb introduction and the subsequent added meaning.
Thorndike presented an interesting article on the change in semantics in the English language. He put a lot of focus on the impact of science on the English language, a notion that not all may consider, however it was interesting to realize and consider. I think what was most interesting was what he brought up in his last paragraph. There is a great decrease in the addition of new words to language in comparison to the great spikes that much earlier history has revealed. He comments that the understanding of a new word adds a stress to the individual’s mind and memory, however this added stress also forces the individual to take a deeper and more comprehensive look at the context and therefore, hopefully gain a greater understanding. Is not that the ultimate goal of language anyway, understanding?