Poster submission for DH2020. This poster discusses the adequacy of semantic maps for the representation of semantic shifts and how previous models can be enriched by using visual cues to add more information. The poster presents a visualisation proposal applied to the diachronic study of modal markers in Latin

Francesca Dell’Oro

Helena Bermúdez-Sabel

Paola Marongiu

Humanities Commons

Visualisation of semantic shifts: the case of modal markersHelena Bermúdez Sabel, Francesca Dell’Oro, Paola MarongiuSwiss National Science Foundation – University of Lausanne1. Rationale3. New functionalities in a nutshelli+A visual representation can replace complex cognitive calculations, presenting data in a more accessible and attractive manner. However, selecting the most efficient visualization can be challenging, especially when dealing with abstract concepts. The importance of an efficient visualization in our case arises from:Can a visualization summarize pages and pages of dictionaries and historical grammars?How do we add more information to previous models to better convey the multidimensionality of semantic shifts?Can we update the traditional visualization models by incorporating animation, color and user interactivity?Need for condensation Need for simplicity Need for legibility2. State of the artThe semantic map visualisation method was defined by Haspelmath (2003)  as  the  geometric  representation  of  functions  connected together in semantic space. The goal is to illustrate the multifunctionality patterns of linguistic elements (p. 213). Semantic maps were employed in various ways. To name a few, see:     - Anderson (1982): tense and aspect    - Anderson (1986): evidentiality    - Traugott (1985): conditionals    - Croft et al. (1987): voice    - François (2008): monolingual and cross-linguistic approach.Van der Auwera and Plungian (1998) apply this resource to visually represent and predict universal patterns of modalisation. Our proposal follows their model but our aim is to produce a digital visualisation with additional features. Acknowledgements:This project stems from WoPoss, a project funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF n° 176778)http://woposs.unil.ch/semantic-modal-maps.php- Anderson, L. B. (1982). ‘The “Perfect” as a Universal and as a Language-Particular Category’. Tense-Aspect: Between Semantics & Pragmatics. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 227–64.- ___ (1986). ‘Evidentials, Paths of Change, and Mental Maps: Typologically Regular Asymmetries’. Evidentiality: The Linguistic Coding of Epistemology. Norwood, N.J.: Ablex, 273–312.- Croft, W. et al. (1987). ‘Diachronic Semantic Processes in the Middle Voice’. Papers from the 7th International Conference on Historical Linguistics. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 179–92. - François, A. (2008). ‘Semantic Maps and the Typology of Colexification: Intertwining Polysemous Networks across Languages’. From Polysemy to Semantic Change: Towards a Typology of Lexical Semantic Associations. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 163–215.- Haspelmath, M. (2003). ‘The Geometry of Grammatical Meaning: Semantic Maps and Cross-Linguistic Comparison’. The New Psychology of Language. East Sussex: Psychology Press, 217–48.- ThLL: Thesaurusbüro München Internationale Thesaurus-Kommission, ed. (1900-). Thesaurus Linguae Latinae. B.G. Teubner, Leipzig.- Traugott, E. C. (1985). ‘Conditional Markers’. Iconicity in Syntax. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 289–307.- van der Auwera, J. & Plungian, V. A. (1998). ‘Modality’s Semantic Map’. Linguistic Typology 2 (1): 79–124.Bibliography (cited)Try it yourself!1: A timeline (fixed on scroll) provides the chronological information: the time (here expressed through a segmentation in centuries) works as the x axis.2: In the y axis the different meanings are displayed and ordered according to the organization of the description of the headword in the dictionary of reference (the ThLL), i.e. according to semantic groups.3: Collocations containing the headword are also registered (they appear on the left outside the arrow).4: The etymology of the headword is provided on the left side5: Colors indicate the type of modality.6: Language selection: besides a bilingual map (English-Latin), a monolingual (Latin) version is also available.7: When you click on a sense, semantic relations between meanings become visible (while loosely related meanings disappear). The visualization is reset by double-clicking.8: The first attestation is visible when hovering the mouse over a sense.Fig. 2, Fig. 3. Screenshots of the semantic map of POTESTASFig.1. “Unifying the possibility and necessity paths”: Example of a semantic map representing the shifts of possibility and necessity (van der Auwera and Plungian 1998: 98). 

Visualisation of semantic shifts: the case of modal markers

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Visualisation of semantic shifts: the case of modal markers

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