6 Types of Shift in Meaning and Examples

Types of Shift in Meaning and Examples – Each word has its own meaning or meaning. However, it is not uncommon for one word to have more than one meaning when used in different sentence contexts. In Language IndonesiaThis kind of thing is called a shift in meaning or a change in meaning. This article will thoroughly explore the types of shifts in meaning in Language Indonesia with examples. Happy listening!

Causes of the Shift in Meaning

The shift in meaning is defined as a process of changing the meaning of a word into a new meaning. The shift in meaning is influenced by several factors, namely:

• The context of the sentence, has an influence on the shift in meaning contextually. The situation or condition of the use of the word will affect the meaning that arises.
• The grammatical process, there is a process of affixation or reduplication that can produce new meanings that are different from the previous meaning.
• The development of science and technology is growing era will change the meaning of some words.
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• Socio-cultural differences, social background and culture affect the difference in meaning from a word.
• Different interpretations, everyone can interpret a word with different meanings
• The process of association, the similarity of the properties of two different words can lead to different meanings from the initial meaning of the word.

Types of Shift in Meaning

The process of shifting meaning is divided into several types, namely shifting meaning extending, narrowing, improving, deteriorating, similarity in nature, and exchange of responses. Here is an explanation of each type:

1. Extend (Generalization)

Generalization is a process of shifting meaning that causes the new meaning to be wider than the previous meaning. Some examples of words that have shifted the meaning of generalization include:

word	First Meaning	Meaning Now
mother	Names of female parents	The title of an older/respected woman
Head	Parts of body	Chief / Leader
Major	The direction to be taken	specialization in education

2. Narrowing (Specialization)

Specialization is a process of shifting meaning that causes the new meaning to be narrower than the previous meaning. Some examples of words that have experienced a shift in the meaning of specialization include:

word	First Meaning	Meaning Now
Bachelor	Smart person	People who pass strata-1
Madrasa	School	Islamic school
Teacher	teach something	teacher at school

3. Improved (Amelioration)

Amelioration is the process of shifting meaning that causes the new meaning to be perceived as better or higher than the previous meaning. Some examples of words that have shifted meaning of amelioration among others:

First Word	Say Now
Blind	Blind
girl	Woman
give birth	Give birth

4. Deteriorating (Peyoration)

Peyoration is the process of shifting meaning that causes the new meaning to be felt worse or lower than the previous meaning. Some examples of words that have shifted the meaning of peyoration include:

First Word	Say Now
Go	Escape
Pregnant	Pregnant
group	mob

5. Equation of Properties (Association)

Association is the process of shifting meaning figuratively. Here are some examples of words that go through the association process:

word	True meaning	Figurative meaning
Envelope	The place letter	Bribes
Chair	Seat	Position
Parasite	Plant type	Harmful person

6. Exchange of Feedback (Synesthesia)

Synesthesia is the process of shifting meaning related to the context of the sense organs as recipients. Here are some examples of words that undergo synesthesia:

word	Sense 1	Sense 2	Example of sentences
Sweet	taste	Vision	Girl village it's so cute
Spicy	taste	Hearing	His words are very spicy in the ear
delicious	taste	Hearing	His voice is very nice to hear

Example of Shift in Meaning

After discussing the types of meaning shift and some brief examples above, below are given more examples of words that have shifted meaning and examples in sentences.

1. Generalization

The following are examples of words that undergo a generalization process:

word	Sentence	Mean
brother	Rani gave up her legacy for a second brother his daughter.	older sibling
If there is material that is not clear, you can ask brother seniors on this campus.	elders
Steering	father holding steering wheel car carefully.	steering wheel
Steering government should be held by honest people.	leadership
Seed	Mom spreads seed chili and beans in the backyard.	plant seeds
This quarrel becomes seed our divorce.	cause, beginning

2. Specialization

The following are examples of words that undergo a specialization process:

word	Sentence	Mean
Smell	These various flowers produce smell which is diverse.	all kinds of fragrances
Smell this is your dress!	bad smell/smell
Maid	Everyone can participate as helper the construction of the An-Nur Mosque.	everyone who helps
Now there's a lot of news about helper who was tortured by his employer.	household assistant
Motorcycle	Fishermen need motorcycle to make it easier to move their ships.	drive tool
Brother wants to buy motorcycle by father.	motorcycle

3. Amelioration

The following are examples of words that undergo the amelioration process:

word	Sentence
Girls – Women	girl must be brave to fight for their rights.
Woman must be brave to fight for their rights.
Bui – Correctional Institution	After being free from jail, ex-convicts still have to get sanctions from society.
After being free from penitentiary, ex-convicts still have to get sanctions from society.
Whore – Prostitute Woman	The decision becomes whore purely because of his family's economic condition.
The decision becomes prostitutes purely because of his family's economic condition.

4. Peyoration

The following are examples of words that undergo the pejoration process:

word	Sentence
Died – Died	Victims of traffic accidents at the railway doorstop declared died on the way to the hospital.
Victims of traffic accidents at the train doorstop fire declared die on the way to the hospital.
Married – Married	Randy decided to married because of his parents' coercion.
Randy decided to Marry because of his parents' coercion.
Divorce – Divorce	Anton says worddivorce to his wife because he was furious.
Anton said the word divorce to his wife because he was furious.

5. Association

The following are examples of words that have associations:

word	Sentence	Mean
Parasite	This tree dies because it exists parasite who live.	nuisance plant
Tina doesn't want to be parasite at his sister's house.	no benefit, troublemaker
mushrooming	Rice at mom's house arrived mushrooming because no one eats it.	overgrown with mushrooms
Now, sophisticated cellphones are available mushrooming.	it's everywhere
Shake	Brother helping mother shuffle eggs to be fried.	stirring
The joke worked shuffle audience stomach.	make you laugh out loud

6. Synesthesia

The following are examples of words that experience synesthesia:

Sentence	Information
Even though she's old, Vina's voice is still soft in the ear.	The word "soft" is actually related to the sense of touch which means soft, but in this sentence it is related to the sense of hearing which means melodious.
This is your first dish crowded it feels so good.	The word "crowded" is actually related to the sense of hearing which means festive, but in this sentence it is related to the sense of taste which means various.
The joke feels crisp for us.	The word "garing" is actually related to the sense of touch which means crunchy, but in this sentence it is related to the sense of hearing which means unattractive.

Thus a discussion of the types of shift in meaning along with examples. Hopefully this article is easy to understand and can be useful as a reference study. Thank you.