Semantic Changes Analysis Found in Sky Sports News Portal Articles

Abstract

This research aimed to identify the types and factors of semantic changes in selected articles from the Sky Sports news portal. Sky Sports is the UK’s sports news website that provided the latest information in the world of sports. Descriptive qualitative methodology was conducted in this study. The researcher used the Prototype Theory proposed by Geeraerts to identify the types of semantic change. To describe the factors of semantic change, the researcher used Ullmann’s Typology. A documentation technique was used in collecting the data. The data were words and phrases, and the source of data was selected articles on the website skysports.com. The model used in data analysis was interactive which consist of three processes; they are data condensation, data display and conclusion. Based on the findings, the researcher found 6 types of semantic changes in 44 words and phrases in selected articles. The six types of semantic change included 9 (20.4%) generalizations, 4 (9.0%) specializations, 2 (4.5%) ameliorations, 3 (6.8%) pejorations, 18 (40.1%) metaphors, and 8 (18.1%) metonymies. Moreover, the findings showed the factors that caused semantic change in the selected articles, such as psychological attitudes, the structure of society, figurative language, naming of new inventions/discoveries, historical and cultural changes, and linguistic processes.