Metonymy

If the transference is based upon the association of contiguity it is called metonymy. The association is based upon subtle psychological links between different objects and phenomena, sometimes traced and identified with much difficulty.

The meaning of the noun hand realized in the context hand of a clock (watch) originates from the main meaning of this noun “part of human body”. It developed due to the association of the common function: the hand of a clock points to the figures on the face of the clock, and one of the functions of human hand is also that of pointing to things.

Hyperbole

is an exaggerated statement not meant to be understood literally but expressing an intensely emotional attitude of the speaker to what he is speaking about e.g. I’ve told you fifty times; It’s absolutely maddening; A thousand thanks; Haven’t seen you for ages.

Litotes

is the reverse figure or understatement. It might be defined as expressing the affirmative by the negation of its contrary: e.g. not bad for “good”, not small for “great”, no coward for “brave”. Some understatements do not contain negations: rather decent; I could do it with a cup of tea. The purpose of litotes is to produce a stronger impression on the hearer.

Irony

is an expression of one’s meaning by means of opposite meaning for the purpose of “ridicule”, e.g. You’ve got us into a nice mess!

Amelioration and pejoration of meaning

are changes depending on the social attitude to the object named, connected with social evaluation and emotional tone.

Amelioration or elevation is a semantic shift undergone by words due to their referents coming up the social scale,

Marshal: manservant attending horses> the highest rank in the Army

The reverse process is pejoration or degradation: it involves a lowering in social scale connected with the appearance of a deragotary and scornful emotive tone reflecting the disdain of the upper classes towards the lower ones.

Knave: boy> swindler, scoundrel Gossip: god parent> the one who talks scandal Silly: happy> foolish.

Euphemism

is the substitution of words of mild or vague connotations for expressions rough, unpleasant or for some other reasons unmentionable. Euphemism is dictated by social usage, moral tact and etiquette. Cf. queer “mad”, deceased “dead”, perspire “sweat”.

Within the diachronic approach this phenomenon has been repeatedly classed by many linguists as taboo. With primitive people taboo is a prohibition meant as a safeguard against supernatural forces. Names of ritual objects or animals were taboo because the name was regarded as the equivalent of what was named.

Causes of semantic changes

The first group of causes is traditionally termed historical or extra – linguistic. Different kinds of changes in a nation’s social life, in its culture, knowledge, technology, arts lead to gaps appearing in the vocabulary which must be filled. Newly created objects, new concepts and phenomena must be named. One of the ways of filling such vocabulary gaps is by applying some old word to a new objects or notion.

The second group of causes is linguistic factors. The development of new meanings, and a complete change of meaning, may be caused through the influence of other words, mostly of synonyms. In the Old English it meant “to perish”. When the verb to die was borrowed from the Scandinavian, these two synonyms, which were very close in their meaning, collided, and, as a result, to starve gradually changed into its present meaning: “to die (or suffer) from hunger”.

Another linguistic factor influencing the semantic change or development of meaning is ellipsis. The qualifying words of a frequent phase may be omitted: sale comes to be used for cut-price sale, propose for to propose marriage, to be expecting for to be expecting a baby. Or the kernel word of the phrase may seem redundant: minerals for mineral waters.