Guidelines for Semantic Histories
An SH should include most or all of the following elements:
- a brief explanation of how you came across your word, and what interests you about it.
- the context where your word is usually found (i.e. what sociolinguistic domain, if it is particularly prevalent in a particular context)
- A summary of the evidence you are using to discuss the word: literary, lexicographical, anecdotal, other documentation
- A narrative description of the word’s semantic evolution over time
- Some facts or speculation on how and why the changes occurred.
- Some discussion of whether the word continues in use today, and if so, what senses are still active, what senses are defunct.
How you incorporate and communicate these elements is largely up to you. You will want to observe things like time limits (10 min) and take into account what is possible in that time. The other evaluation criteria:
- how well did you communicate your topic?
- did your audience follow up with questions about the word you discussed?
- public speaking skills: eye contact with audience,voice modulation
- visual aids: handouts, slides, or other things that help your audience follow your discussion
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