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A cheeky investigation: Tracking the semantic change of cheeky from monkeys to wines

Can social media spread linguistic change?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 June 2020

Laura R. Bailey  and
Mercedes Durham
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Extract

The present study focuses on the word cheeky which, in the past few decades, has taken on a new meaning of ‘mildly illicit’ in addition to, and partly overtaking, its original meaning of ‘impudent’. We examine how this semantic change is spreading in different age groups and in different parts of the English-speaking world. As we demonstrate, the newer meaning of cheeky is associated with younger speakers, so we examine whether this correlates with different age groups’ understanding of the new form. Furthermore, cheeky ‘impudent’ was used more frequently in the United Kingdom than in North America. If that earlier meaning was already marked for North America, how is the newer meaning cheeky ‘mildly illicit’ understood by speakers there?

Type
Research Article
Information
English Today , Volume 37 , Issue 4 , December 2021 , pp. 214 - 223
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

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References

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