Lexical variation in the semantic field of agricultural tools

Abstract

This study deals with lexical variation in a specific semantic field - namely that of agricultural tools. Informants from five Maltese villages, namely from Dingli, Marsaxlokk, Mgarr, Qrendi, and Zebbug, participated in this study. Data was obtained from these informants by means of a questionnaire and recorded interviews. During these interviews, the informants were shown photographs of agricultural tools and were asked to name and explain these tools. Subsequent analysis of the data obtained showed that lexical variation existed between the informants from the different localities with regard to the chosen semantic field. Furthermore, this data also showed that, in all the villages considered in this study, lexical variation existed even within the same village.