Semantic Changes, Adverbs, and Linguistics

Posted on Feb 20, 2025 in Linguistics and Applied Languages

Semantic Changes: Words that, over the years, maintain their signifier but take on a different meaning. There are different linguistic causes for this:

  • Historical: Changes due to shifts in reality.
  • Psychological: Hatred or sympathy for certain animals has led to positive or negative qualities being applied to people.
  • Social: Positive or negative reviews of societal actions and situations involving humans. Example: My sister is a “social ant.”
  • Taboos: Words that, for various reasons, speakers are reluctant to use. Euphemisms are words that take the meaning of taboos. Examples: Madhouse/psychiatric, give birth/childbirth.

Semantic Phenomena:

  • Metaphor: A semantic phenomenon by which we apply to a word the meaning of something else with which we compare it. Examples: Eye/keyhole, feet/legs of the table.
  • Metonymy: Based on the association of ideas, but the terms involved maintain a relationship of contiguity; their meanings are close to each other. Examples: Collar, buy a sherry.
  • Denotation: The real, objective meaning of a word, usually as it appears in the dictionary.
  • Connotation: Meanings that do not alter the core meaning of the word, but enrich and nuance it.

Classification of Adverbs

1. According to Shape

  • Simple: Consisting of one word. (Examples: today, then, out). There are also adjectival adverbs (Examples: strong, high).
  • Composite: Formed from an adjective in its feminine form, to which the suffix -ly is added. (Examples: easily, quietly).
  • Adverbial Phrases: Formed by two or more words that are equivalent to an adverb. (Examples: perhaps, indeed, at all, at full speed).

2. According to Meaning

  • Location: here, there, over, under, above, far, near, inside, outside, across the street.
  • Time: today, yesterday, morning, afternoon, early, soon, before, after, still, now.
  • Manner: well, just, good, bad, better, worse, quickly, slowly, easily, smoothly.
  • Affirmation: yes, of course, also, sure, actually.
  • Disclaimer: no, not, never.
  • Quantity: nothing, however, very much, little, pretty, much, much less, but hardly both.
  • Doubt or Probability: maybe, perhaps, possibly, probably.

3. Adverbs: When, How, How Much, and Where

  • Interrogative Adverbs: Used to inquire about a place, time, or quantity. (Examples: Where have you been? When are you coming home? How much is that?).
  • Relative Adverbs: They relate to a precedent and introduce a subordinate adjectival or relative clause. (Example: He lives in the birthplace).

Apocope in Adverbs

  • The adverb tan (so), when immediately preceding an adjective or an adverb, loses the final syllable: Esa película tan interesante y tan bien dirigida (That movie is *so* interesting and *so* well directed). But it does not apocopate before mayor, menor, mejor, and peor: Si él viene, tanto mejor (If he comes, so much the better).
  • The adverb muy (very), followed by an adjective or adverb, takes the form muy: Esto está MUY caliente (This is VERY hot) / Ha llegado MUY tarde (He/She has arrived VERY late).

Relations Between Adverbs and Adjectives

  • A large number of adjectives and determiners are used as adverbs: alto (high), bajo (low), barato (cheap), caro (expensive).
  • Adverbs ending in -mente are formed by adding this ending to the feminine singular adjective: malamente (badly), acaloradamente (heatedly), afortunadamente (fortunately).
  • Note that when several adverbs of this kind occur, only the last one takes the ending -mente: Ven TRANQUILA, CUIDADOSA Y ORDENADAMENTE (Come QUIETLY, CAREFULLY & ORDERLY).
  • Adverbs offer the absolute superlative training -ísimo: lejísimos (very far away), poquísimo (very little).
  • Adverbs admit comparative constructions: Lo haré más cuidadosamente que antes (I will do it more carefully than before).
  • Adverbs support diminutive and augmentative derivational morphemes: prontito (very soon), despacito (very slowly), lejazos (far away), muchazo (a lot).