Semantic Maps for BE and HAVE in Slavic

The polysemy (multiple meanings and functions) and suppletion (multiple roots) exhibited by BE and HAVE constructions may be analyzed in terms of a nexus of semantically related concepts that include important lexical items for any language, particularly verbs with meanings such as ‘become’, ‘get’, ‘do, make’, ‘give’, ‘put’, ‘come’, ‘hold’, ‘keep’, 
‘move’, various verbs of position, ‘die’, ‘take’, and ‘go, leave’. In this analysis, the conceptual nexus is structured in terms of BECOMING-BEING-UNBECOMING, in which the category BEING represents stative notions such as BE, HAVE, and STAND. The BECOMING category includes concepts such as MAKE, GET, and STAND UP, which initiate a state of BEING. The UNBECOMING category includes concepts which put an end to the states of BEING, including DESTROY, LOSE, and SIT DOWN.

The various polysemies of BE and HAVE are analyzed in this paper in terms of a blended prototype model comprising two semantic concepts, an abstract notion and a joining notion. For BE, the two semantic concepts are EXISTENCE and COPULA, and for HAVE, the two notions are POSSESSION and RELATIONSHIP. The way in which individual constructions for BE and HAVE  are modelled in Russian, Czech, Polish, and Bulgarian will be discussed. In the process of polysemization, a given lexical item may augment itself by taking on the meanings of other, semantically related concepts in this nexus. In the process of suppletion, a given concept may augment, develop, and/or replace itself by including another lexical item or construction in its expression. A coherent concept of BE or HAVE may employ lexemes purely for ‘be’ or ‘have’ as in Czech (Czech b*t ‘be’ for BE and Czech mít ‘have’ for HAVE) or a mix of ‘be’ and ‘have’ lexemes as in Polish BE (Polish jest [is-3sg] ‘there is’ vs. nie ma [not has-3sg] ‘there is not’) or Russian HAVE  (Russian u +GEN + est’ [by +GEN (there) is] ‘have’ and Russian imet’ ‘have’). The expression of BE or HAVE in a given language may also draw from a number of related lexical items as in the expression of BE in Russian through multiple lexical items including Russian naxodit’sja ‘be, be located’, javljat’sja ‘be, appear’, predstavljat’ soboj ‘be, present oneself as’, sushchestvovat’ ‘be, exist’, prisutstvovat’ ‘be present’, and stojat’ ‘stand, be’.

When constructions for BE and HAVE are renewed, they draw on these related semantic concepts in the nexus. Various grammaticalized constructions with ‘be’ and ‘have’ auxiliaries may also be extended to other related notions in this nexus, particularly BECOME, GET, HOLD, and TAKE. This paper will briefly introduce the conceptual nexus and show which portions of it have been activated in various constructions in Russian and Czech.

The languages discussed in this paper have developed elaborate systems surrounding the concepts BE and HAVE. The identification of the conceptual nexus involving BE and HAVE, the types of semantic items included in the nexus, and the kinds of semantic interactions and changes that take place within the nexus may help us to better understand historical change, predict possible future developments, and understand the grammaticalization and meaning of auxiliary and modal constructions. The constructions for BE and HAVE also help us to understand the ways in which we think about and interact with the world around us.