Words in Time: Diachronic Semantics from Different Points of View (Trends in Linguistics)

Meanings of words are constantly changing, and the forces driving these changes are varied and diverse. The collection focuses on meaning change as a topic of interdisciplinary research. Distinguished scholars in diachronic semantics, general linguistics, classical philology, philosophy of language, anthropology and history offer in depth studies of language internal and external factors of meaning change. This broad range of perspectives, unprecedented in research publications of recent years, is a pioneering attempt to mirror the multi-facetteous nature of language as a formal, social, cognitive, cultural and historical entity. The contributions, each exploring the research issues, methods and techniques of their particular field, are directed towards a broader audience of interested readers, thus enhancing interdisciplinary exchange.

Regine Eckardt researches at the Centre for Linguistics, Typology and the Study of Universals (ZAS), Berlin, Germany.

Klaus von Heusinger is Professor of Linguistics at Stuttgart University, Germany.

Christoph Schwarze is Professor of Linguistics at Konstanz University, Germany.