On the Contiguity of the Semantic Fields ‘CAKES’ and ‘HUMAN BEING’: The Case of Tart

Marietta Rusinek

Marietta Rusinek The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Faculty of Humanities

Keywords: semantic field; semantic fields CAKES and HUMAN BEING; semantic overlapping; semantic change; metaphor

Abstract

The major objective of this study is to provide evidence for a strong contiguity between the semantic fields CAKES and HUMAN BEING, on the example of tart. The paper gives a detailed insight into the historical development of tart by illustrating meanings that the lexical item in question has developed at different stages of its semantic evolution. The findings of this paper reveal the existence of bidirectional shifts between the fields CAKES and HUMAN BEING, the reasons for which lie primarily in metaphorical transfer. The illustration of other examples of words, both from the English and Polish lexicon, the semantic history of which displays overlapping between the two fields examined in the paper, makes it possible to presuppose a general tendency to apply terms denoting sweet food to people and vice versa.

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