Simulating semantic change: A methodological note

Abstract

The current work discusses the Human Diachronic Simulation Paradigm (HUDSPA), a method to experimentally probe into historical meaning change set up to (i) scan for configurations similar to attested alterations of meaning but in (typically, but not necessarily, related) languages or varieties which did not actualize the change(s) under investigations; (ii) measure the reactions of native speakers in order to ascertain the verisimilitude as well as the particular semantic and pragmatic properties of the items scrutinized. Specifically, the present paper discusses the relative propensity of a particularizer (German eben) to be interpreted with comparatively high confidence as a scalar additive particle such as even and of a concessive item like English though to be interpreted similar to a modal particle along the lines of German doch.

The rise and particularly fall of presuppositions: Evidence from duality in universals

“…This line of research falls largely, of course, into the classical Labovian idea of experimentally exploiting present reactions of speakers to uncover processes that can be relevant for language change more generally. And just as naturally, our approach shares more with recent attempts to explain paths of change in the area of meaning (rather than sound change or morphosyntax as in Labovian studies), such as Zhang, Piñango & Deo (2018), Fedzechkina & Roberts (2020), Fuchs, Deo & Piñango (2020), Gergel, Kopf-Giammanco & Puhl (2021), Puhl & Gergel (2022). Returning to the general question regarding presuppositions, our paper addresses it by considering one single case of a presupposition trigger, the lexical item corresponding to the meaning of the quantifier both.…”