Diffusion & Change in Lexical Semantics Workshop, 5-6 July 2017, ANU

The theory and method of dealing with change in lexical semantics has been neglected in linguistics and anthropology. This workshop will contribute to righting this situation by:

1. Assessing recent contributions advancing the study of polysemy e.g Vanhove ed. 2008; McConvell & Ponsonnet 2013.
2. Exploring research on Austronesian, Papuan and Australian languages on colexification and semantic mapping (eg François 2013; Schapper, San Roque & Hendery 2016).
3. Further developing  semantic mapping, visualisation of change, and the cultural and historical background of such lexical change.
4. Focussing on a word tabu and the semantic field of restriction; diffusion of relevant words across linguistic boundaries; changes in meanings; and the reasons behind the diffusion and changes. For instance the types of marriage, and behavioural correlates such as avoidance (Merlan 1997), or teasing/joking.
5. Charting methods for gathering data from dictionaries and ethnographies for analysis, and the lessons for documentation of lexico-semantic aspects of languages, especially relationship and spiritual  vocabulary.

http://www.dynamicsoflanguage.edu.au/news-and-media/events/article/?id=diffusion-and-change-in-lexical-semantics-workshop-5-6-july-2017-anu