Lexico-semantic variation in the territorial variants of the French language

The article presents the results of an onomasiological-semasiological analysis of the lexico-semantic field of “education” in four variants of the French language (those of France, Belgium, Switzerland, and Canada). The research clarified the similarities and differences at the denotative and significative levels, subsequently highlighting the denotative, significative, and denotative-significative divergences. The presence of overlap at both the denotative and significative levels prompts a discussion on the variation within the lexico-semantic field. Within the semantic structure and through the emergence of denotative-significative divergences, the variation in the lexico-semantic field of “education” increases across the territorial variants of the French language as a result of the growing number of meanings. Within the lexico-semantic system of the territorial variants of the French language (those of France, Belgium, Switzerland, and Quebec), a rich layer of denotative, significative, and denotative-significative elements has developed. The domain of semantic divergences includes lexemes that are commonly used across different territories but differ in meaning at both the denotative and significative levels. Furthermore, similar deviations may affect functional and semantic categories, which is reflected in the meanings of words. As a result of these deviations, it is possible to distinguish denotative, significative, and functional-semantic divergences.