Deconstructing destruction: A Cognitive Linguistics perspective on a computational analysis of diachronic change
Karlien Franco, Mariana Montes, Kris Heylen
Abstract
In this paper, we aim to introduce a Cognitive Linguistics perspective into a computational analysis of near-synonyms. We focus on a single set of Dutch near-synonyms, vernielen and vernietigen, roughly translated as 'to destroy', replicating the analysis from Geeraerts (1997) with distributional models. Our analysis, which tracks the meaning of both words in a corpus of 16th-20th century prose data, shows that both lexical items have undergone semantic change, led by differences in their prototypical semantic core.
Topics & Concepts
Cognitive linguisticsPerspective (graphical)Computer scienceFocus (optics)LinguisticsSemantic changeNatural language processingComputational linguisticsSemantic analysis (machine learning)Set (abstract data type)Corpus linguisticsArtificial intelligenceQuantitative linguisticsCognitionMeaning (existential)Image schemaApplied linguisticsPsychologyPhilosophyEpistemologyProgramming languagePhysicsNeuroscienceOpticsNatural Language Processing Techniqueslinguistics and terminology studiesSecond Language Acquisition and Learning