Associative-verbal model of the verb haben and its synonyms in German

Abstract

An associative experiment, widely used in recent years in psycholinguistic studies, allows for an in-depth study of the semantics of a word by considering logical relationships in associative fields. In addition, the results of such an experiment provide “access” to the speakers’ language consciousness and enable the researcher to describe its structure. At the same time, the “construction” of associative-verbal models makes it possible to understand and study the sys tematic character of the individual speaker’s world view and language consciousness of the speakers of a certain language and culture. All this determines the relevance of the associative-verbal models and specific lexemes analysis. The study of the speaking personality – Homo Loquens – is connected with the analysis of an individual world view explicated in language consciousness and actually existing in the form of verbal images – word associations. This article discusses the results of a free associative experiment with participation of the native German speakers (as a result of this experiment, 137 different associative reactions were received with the total number of associative reactions 305; the analysis focused on both types of responses – primary and secondary word associations). The subject matter of the study is the verb haben, forming the centre in the sphere “possession” and its synonyms (gehören, verfügen, besitzen, gebieten). The synonyms were identified through a lexicographical analysis with the help of five dictionaries of synonyms and the Contemporary German language corpora dwds.de. The analysis is based on a systematic approach that allows us to reveal the structure of senses and meanings in the mental lexicon and the interconnectedness of associative fields of synonymous stimulus words. The lexicographical, corpus and associative types of analysis reveal the following: 1) a negligible number of respondents' refusals to respond; 2) associating with a “paradigmatic” type in regard to the semantic structure of the stimulus word and associative response; 3) a high degree of uniqueness of “syntagmatic” associations; 4) “possession” is associated with such reactions as Geld, Gut, Güter, Macht, Testament, Freunde, nichts.

Keywords

Homo Loquens, associative experiment, mental lexicon, verb haben, associative-verbal model