Semantic change analysis for lexicological studies

This workflow describes the stages of a research process on lexical semantic change, specifically in the field of lexicology. The type of researcher to whom this workflow is addressed is a lexicologist interested in the study of a specific semantic or lexical field. For instance, a lexicologist studying Latin might be interested in semantic lexical changes related to large-scale social and historical events, such as the advent of Christianity. Technical languages (e.g. medical, legal, mathematical lexicon) also offer various examples of lexical semantic change: a lexicologist might study how words in Latin and/or Ancient Greek medical lexicon have changed their meaning from a more general to a more specialised one. Each step of this workflow provides examples of resources for lexical semantic change research in Latin and Ancient Greek, but it can be applied to any language that has similar resources.

Background. Starting with a specific semantic field and a list of words associated with it, the lexicologist needs to determine which words have changed their meaning and which new senses they have acquired or lost, or which of their meanings have undergone some type of semantic change. This type of study can be carried out by using various resources, including those already available in the Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) Open Marketplace as well as in CLARIN-ERIC. However, these resources are currently scattered across different CLARIN Resource Families, and do not have enough visibility for people who work on lexical semantic change in different fields. This workflow aims at bringing together such resources in a coherent research process, by taking the work of a lexicologist as a use-case.