Semantic change in Tashawit : a special focus on metaphor, metonymy and synecdoche

Abstract EN

The present paper addresses semantic change in Tashawit.

The focus is specifically laid on the effects of what is know in the literature as the classical quartet or classical/modern trio, namely the mechanisms of metaphor, metonymy and synecdoche, for these are held to be the most basic and most common.

The paper aims to show how such mechanisms create additional meanings for a lexical item, that is semantic broadening, or how they alter its established meanings, that is semantic shift, in this Berber variety.

It also aims to cast some fresh light on the extent to which the outcomes of semantic change in Tashawit are comparable to those in other Berber varieties, to reflect on areas of convergence and divergence across the Berber language.

The paper is made up of two main parts.

The first part establishes the theoretical framework of the study, addressing some of the most common typologies of the mechanisms of semantic change, and presentig short accounts of the concepts chosen for investigation.

The second part deals with the practical side of the study, and presents the reader with a list of examples of the semantic transfers under consideration across a variety of semantic domains in Tashawit.