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Summary

In Chapter 5, I give an overview of the semantic scope and evolution of the simple verbs. This is done by accounting for their frequencies of occurrence (for the operationalization of semantic scope and specialization, see Section 4.2). While Section 5.1 provides the figures for present-day English (with reference to the frequency bands stated for each item in the OED), Section 5.2 opens up a diachronic perspective. By comparing the verbs’ frequencies of occurrence in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, I am able to infer whether a simple verb has become more general in the course of time, whether it has specialized or whether it is hardly subject to any semantic changes. In one sense, Chapter 5 is therefore the first empirical chapter of this book. In another sense, the frequencies of the simple verb attested for in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries form the basis for predicting how the CPs will evolve during the same time span (see Section 5.3). In that sense, they form the input for an investigation into the CPs’ processes of ‘specialization’ or ‘no specialization’.

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Chapter 5 - The evolution of the simple verbs

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Chapter 5 - The evolution of the simple verbs

Summary