2 Relational Semantics, Reimagined: 4 Meaning Change as Reconfiguration of Constraints

Introduction: From Instantiation to Evolution

In the previous post, we examined instantiation as perspectival actualisation: each semantic event is a cut through the multidimensional lattice of potential, shaped by constraints, edges, and relational interdependencies. We now shift focus to the dynamics of change—how meaning evolves over time through the reconfiguration of constraints.

Change in relational semantics is not random drift; it is a systematic transformation of the lattice of potential. Each instantiation leaves traces, alters edges, and modulates affordances. Over time, these accumulations and interactions reconfigure the semantic space itself, enabling new forms of differentiation, innovation, and ecological adaptation.

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Constraints as Dynamic Structures

Constraints—systemic, historical, grammatical, or pragmatic—are not static walls. They are relational structures, continuously reconfigured through instantiation and interaction. A word, phrase, or construction that was once rare may become conventional; a modality that was marginal may shift to the center of usage. Each such shift reflects a change in relational constraints within the semantic lattice.

For example, consider the evolution of “they” as a singular, gender-neutral pronoun. This change did not arise in isolation; it depended on shifts in social norms (interpersonal constraints), linguistic affordances (ideational and textual potentials), and interpretive practice. Constraints were reconfigured to allow a previously marginal possibility to become relationally coherent and widely actualised.

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Mechanisms of Reconfiguration

Meaning change operates through multiple mechanisms:

1. Accumulation of Instantiations – Repeated cuts across the lattice consolidate certain patterns, making them relationally dominant. Over time, habitual actualisation transforms potential, reshaping edges and niches.

2. Interaction and Interference – New instantiations interact with existing patterns, producing relational tension. Some potentials are suppressed, others amplified, and some pathways redirected.

3. Latent Potentials and Rediscovery – Unchosen paths or latent potentials persist as relational shadows. Novel instantiations may reactivate these possibilities, generating emergent patterns previously unavailable.

Together, these mechanisms ensure that the semantic lattice is dynamic, ecological, and perspectival: constraints are reconfigurable, not fixed.

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Temporal Ecology of Change

Semantic evolution is ecological, akin to the dynamics of natural systems. Consider a coral reef: species composition changes over decades due to environmental shifts, predation, competition, and migration. Each species’ presence shapes relational niches, influencing which organisms can establish themselves.

Similarly, semantic constraints evolve over time. Each instantiation reshapes the lattice, altering affordances for subsequent potentialities. Temporal layering is critical: historical cuts establish edges, current instantiations navigate these edges, and future possibilities emerge from the dynamic interplay of past and present configurations.

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Perspectival Accumulation

Change is perspectival. Different communities, discourses, or individuals may actualise potentials differently, producing heterogeneous pressures on the lattice. The lattice itself is thus stratified:

• Some constraints are local, affecting specific semantic subspaces.

• Others are global, influencing widespread patterns of interpretation.

Through these stratified interactions, meaning evolves differently across contexts. Semantic change is not uniform; it is ecological, sensitive to relational niches, historical edges, and multidimensional pressures.

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Edges and Emergent Differentiation

Edges remain central. Reconfiguration of constraints generates new edges or modifies existing ones. Just as riverbanks shape channels, or forest clearings create novel ecological niches, constraint reconfiguration structures potential pathways for semantic emergence.

A textual innovation, for instance, may create a new edge in the lattice of narrative strategies. This edge enables differentiation: new stylistic forms, new patterns of argument, or new interpersonal stances become relationally coherent. Constraints, therefore, are the mechanisms through which innovation and stability co-exist.

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Natural Analogy: Glacial Landscapes

To visualise semantic change, consider glacial movement. Ice flows reshape valleys over centuries, carving new channels while leaving ridges and moraines as traces of past activity. Some features become dominant landscapes; others remain latent possibilities, influencing subsequent flows.

In relational semantics, instantiations are the “ice,” constraints are the topography, and the lattice of potential is the evolving valley. Change occurs through movement, accumulation, and relational interaction: the semantic landscape is never static, always sculpted by the interplay of forces, both realised and latent.

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Liora and Semantic Change

Returning to Liora, imagine her navigating the Wells of Unchosen Paths over time. Each visit leaves subtle shifts in the relational field: paths that were inaccessible may become traversable, while others may fade. Her explorations illustrate semantic evolution: constraints are reconfigured, potentials actualised, and the ecology of possibility is dynamically reshaped.

In the lattice of meaning, human instantiations operate similarly. Each utterance, act of interpretation, or textual innovation alters the relational environment, producing a cascading ecology of semantic potential that evolves across time, context, and perspective.

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Implications for Relational Semantics

The dynamics of meaning change highlight several critical principles:

1. Relational and Ecological – Meaning evolves through interactions across the lattice of potentials; instantiations and constraints co-determine trajectories.

2. Constraint-Driven Innovation – Change is not anarchic; edges and limits guide differentiation, channel novelty, and stabilise coherence.

3. Temporal Stratification – Historical cuts, current actualisations, and latent potentials produce a temporally layered ecology of meaning.

4. Multidimensional Interaction – Ideational, interpersonal, and textual potentials interweave; change along one axis reverberates across the others.

Together, these principles position relational semantics as a dynamic, perspectival, and ecological system, continuously reconfiguring its own lattice of potential.

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Concluding Reflection: Preparing for Narrative Embodiment

Meaning change, understood as reconfiguration of constraints, completes the conceptual arc of relational semantics: from structured potentials, through metafunctional dimensions, to perspectival instantiation, and finally to ecological evolution.

In the next post, “Liora Walks the Threefold Forest of Meaning”, we will explore these processes narratively, observing how semantic evolution, perspectival actualisation, and ecological differentiation are embodied in Liora’s journey. This final post of Series 2 will link the abstract architecture of relational semantics to lived, narrative experience, bridging conceptual rigor with imaginative embodiment.