The Semantic Development of the Environmental Lexicon in Andalusian Poetry: A Linguistic Study

Abstract

This study investigates the semantic development of the environmental lexicon in Andalusian poetry from a linguistic-semantic perspective. It examines environmental lexical items as linguistic units whose meanings extend beyond their dictionary definitions to context-dependent interpretations shaped by poetic discourse and linguistic structure. The study aims to define the concept of the environmental lexicon, identify its major semantic fields, explore the relationship between lexical and contextual meaning, and analyze the mechanisms of semantic development, including semantic broadening, semantic narrowing, metaphorical transfer, and the influence of syntactic context on meaning. Adopting a descriptive-analytical approach, the study analyzes selected examples from Andalusian poetry while employing Semantic Field Theory to classify lexical items and examine their semantic relationships. The findings reveal that environmental vocabulary in Andalusian poetry performs functions that extend beyond natural description, contributing to the construction of psychological, aesthetic, and cultural meanings. Furthermore, the linguistic and syntactic context plays a decisive role in directing these meanings and revealing patterns of semantic development.