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Volume 40, Issue 2
  • ISSN 0176-4225
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Abstract

Abstract

This paper uses the tools of distributional semantics to investigate the semantic change of from a noun meaning ‘goods, possessions’ and an indefinite pronoun ‘something’ in the Medieval/Classical period of Spanish to an indefinite pronoun and degree adverb ‘a bit’ in contemporary Spanish. We compare the results of a previous corpus-based study (Amaral 2016) on the semantic change of with an analysis using word embeddings models with two goals: (i) to show how word embeddings can help identify different synchronic values of a word, and (ii) to provide measures of change through distributional semantic methods. We discuss the challenges of a study with this methodology using limited data from older periods of a language, hence putting into focus decisions that have to be made and their implications for the analysis. In this way, we hope to contribute to a fruitful integration of more traditional studies in diachronic semantics with the methodology of word embeddings.

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2022-11-08
2025-04-24

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Tracing semantic change with distributional methods
Diachronica 40, 153 (2023); https://doi.org/10.1075/dia.21012.ama
/content/journals/10.1075/dia.21012.ama
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  • Article Type: Research Article
Keyword(s): corpora; semantic change; Spanish; word embeddings

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