# Semantic Change and Semantic Stability: Variation is Key

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/1906.05760 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/1906.05760/

## Key facts

- Cited by 4 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 13 Jun 2019.

## Built on by (most cited first, 4 of 4)

- [Challenges for Computational Lexical Semantic Change](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2101.07668/) (2021)
- [SiDiaC-v.2.0: Sinhala Diachronic Corpus Version 2.0](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.10861/) (2026)
- [Investigating Lexical Change through Cross-Linguistic Colexification Patterns](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2510.13407/) (2025)
- [From sunblock to softblock: Analyzing the correlates of neology in published writing and on social media](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2602.13123/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

I survey some recent approaches to studying change in the lexicon, particularly change in meaning across phylogenies. I briefly sketch an evolutionary approach to language change and point out some issues in recent approaches to studying semantic change that rely on temporally stratified word embeddings. I draw illustrations from lexical cognate models in Pama-Nyungan to identify meaning classes most appropriate for lexical phylogenetic inference, particularly highlighting the importance of variation in studying change over time.