| Abstract: | The particle in Swedish can act both as an adverb (rakt upp) and as a verb particle (brinna upp). The verb particle has many different meanings which have traditionally been seen as unrelated and more or less accidental. In this article the different meanings the verb particle upp exhibits in the physical space domain are discussed. The conclusion is that these meanings are not totally unrelated to each other, but rather share a family resemblance with each other. The theoretical basis for the review is cognitive semantics.
The analysis presented in this article is based on SUC (Stockholm Umeå Corpus). The material covers approximately 240 different particle verbs with upp, of which most (just over 200 constructions), appears in contexts which make reference to physical space. In this study the verb particle is analysed only in the most concrete uses, i.e. when trajector or landmark represent first order entities. In physical space upp exhibits non-vertical (horizontal or deitic) and non-spatial meanings (’open’, ’in pieces’), as well as the prototypical vertical meaning. With the aid of two iconic schema, one for trajectors with constant qualities (for non-reflexive uses of upp) and one for trajectors which change form (reflexive uses of upp), it is shown that the meaning of the particle is often closely connected with perception and cognition. |
Ph.D., Lic. Theses
