Methodology issues in detecting phonesthemic change in the English lexicon
Résumé
This paper seeks to pursue the analysis of two phonesthemes (i.e. ““[F]orm-meaning pairings that crucially are better attested in the lexicon of a language than would be predicted, all other things being equal” Bergen 2004: 293) fl- and sw-from a lexicographic and a corpus analysis standpoint. Prior study of fl- words in Smith 2016 aimed to detect patterns of semantic change in fl- monomorphemes using key words in the OED, proposing 11 key corresponding features of the phonestheme fl- (such as MOVE THOUGH AIR, SUDDEN VIOLENT). Evidence of the emergence of semantic change amongst the group of fl- words was found, notably with some evidence of post-attestation emergence of new features (such as FAIL STRUGGLE CONFUSE). The results showed that fl- appears to have a strong analogical pull (or “productivity”) leading to effective crossmodal correspondences in the lexicon (Smith 2019) based on a multimodal analysis of meaning. Drawing on these results, a comparative analysis of sw—words has however shown that not all phonesthemes appear equal, with sw- words in the OED exhibiting very little acquisition of new post-attestation features. This paper seeks to pursue the investigation into phonesthemic behaviours from a diachronic standpoint, asking the question whether a typology of phonesthemes can be developed based on their ability to trigger post-attestation senses, relating to etymological ties, lexicographic senses and a corpus analysis of distributional ties with collexemes, i.e co-occurring forms in specific distributional slots (Sketch Engine). The question at stake is the cohesiveness and stability of a form-meaning correspondence in the face of the multiple motivational ties occurring in the lexicogrammatical continuum that may contribute to strong form-meaning correspondences and strong entrenchment in the minds of speakers (Schmid 2020). It is likely that issues such as word frequency combined with the prototypicality of words and word senses affect the iconicity readings of phonesthemic words. This means a competition-oriented view may provide more insight into the role played by phonesthemes in organising the core lexicon (Bergen 2004).