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Mechanisms of semantic change


 This paper examines the mechanisms of semantic change in the creation of ten Cantonese slang words. It demonstrates with
 synchronic evidence that metaphorization, metonymization and (inter)subjectification are three principal driving forces behind the shift in
 meaning. It is argued that Traugott and Dasher’s (2002) Invited Inferencing Theory of Semantic
 Change (IITSC), initially proposed for and widely used in the context of grammaticalization, is equally useful for the study of neologisms –
 in this case, the relatively recent slang expressions in Cantonese. These monosyllabic lexemes are shown to have followed the same
 unidirectional pathway of semantic change – that is, the shift from non-subjective meaning to encoded (inter)subjective meaning – outlined
 in their model of semantic change.