Semantic shifts of terms: Analysis of relationships and a quantum-mechanical model

Abstract

A model of a semantic shift is described, which is based on the probabilistic concept of meanings. Employing the mathematical apparatus of quantum mechanics and defining the equivalents of such physical parameters as the mass, energy, and tunneling distance helped to introduce a measure of the probability of the shift of a term into another semantic field. The experimental testing of the model was conducted for the keyword lexics of the IAEA’s INIS abstract database.