Construal operations in semantic change: the case of abstract nouns

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Compare also the example in (15) where uppgift takes an attribute that modifies the truth of the verbal content: (15) tvivelaktiga / äkta uppgifter doubtful / genuine information.PLUR doubtful / genuine information In other uses the focus is shifted the other way around, so to speak, i.e. to the form of the verbal information, disregarding the conceptual content. In (16) this has led to an almost concrete sense of the word uppgift. (16) De uppgifter som förr sparades på papper finns idag… those information.PLUR that previously saved.PASS on paper is.found today… The information that previously was saved on paper is found today… Given the semantic description of uppgift – “a message containing a statement” – form and content are different facets of the meaning (see 2.1.). Thus the different uses focusing on either the form or the content – or referring to both – are contextual meaning variants, not different senses. Out of context, both aspects (form and content) are simultaneously referred to. Another meaning of uppgift, which is clearly distinct from ‘information’, is ‘task’. This meaning can be paraphrased as “a certain activity, with a certain purpose, that is expected to be executed by a given person, organization etc.”. 10 (17) a. Åklagarens uppgift är att försöka visa att… prosecutor.the.GEN task is to try to.show that… The prosecutor’s task is to try to show that… b. Musikernas uppgift är den svåraste. musician.PLUR.the.GEN task is the most.difficult The musicians’ task is the most difficult one. 10 The definition is taken from the lexical database GLDB/SDB (see Järborg 1999). 58
At first glance the two meanings of uppgift seem to be unrelated, but I will argue that there is a cognitively plausible way of connecting the two. Uppgift appeared with the meaning ‘information’ in the 17 th century, derived from the complex Swedish verb upgiva ‘to give away’, ‘inform’. In the 18 th century the noun appears also with the meaning ‘task’, which is a translation loan from German Aufgabe with the same meaning (NEO). Common for both meanings however is the conception of an action chain (see 2.2.) underlying the semantics of the derivational verb base ‘to give away’. When used to mean ‘information’ (Fig. 7) the profiled entity – LM1 – is equal to the message transferred from TR to LM2. TR LM1 LM2 ‘statement’ COMMUNICATION Fig. 7. The schematic structure of ‘information’. On the other hand, when used to mean ‘task’, LM1 is identical to “a piece of activity” that, also, is transferred (given) to LM2. The underlying schematic structure is identical, but the boundary of the profile is different. LM1 is still the entity focused on, but also LM2 is hosted within the profile – reflecting the fact that ‘task’ refers to a goal-oriented action. The lexical content of LM1 is due to the different cognitive domains (bases) in which the noun uppgift is interpreted. TR LM1 LM2 task’ ACTIVITY Fig. 8. The schematic structure of ‘task’. 59
Page 1 and 2: Reprinted from Tre uppsatser om sem
Page 3 and 4: change may simultaneously be looked
Page 5 and 6: A further step from the “pure”
Page 7 and 8: As I will argue the meaning ‘acci
Page 9 and 10: TR LM1 LM2 ‘opinion’ COMMUNICAT
Page 11: 2.3. Uppgift ‘information’ The
Page 15 and 16: What the meaning variants of fråga
Page 17 and 18: As for the meaning variants F1, F3,
Page 19: SAOB = Ordbok över svenska språke

Construal operations in semantic change: the case of abstract nouns

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