Abstract:
For the linguistic expression of the concept of knowledge, the Slavic languages use
verbs deriving from the Indo-European roots *ĝnō and *u̯ei̯d. They differ in terms
of the availability of both types of verbs in the contemporary standard languages
and in terms of their semantic range. As will be shown in this paper, these differences
are interesting not only from a language-specific lexico lo gi cal point of
view, but also in the context of the intersection of lexicon and gram mar. Covering
the domain of ‘knowing how,’ the *ĝnō-based verb in Slo ve ne (znati) has been extending
into the domain of possibility and, on this basis, de veloping into a modal
verb. While this development is not surprising from a typological point of view, it
is remarkable from a Slavic perspective, since this particular gramma ti calisation
path towards possibility is otherwise un known to Slavic. This peculiar feature of
Slovene, which most probably relates to its long-lasting and intensive contact with
German, is illustrated in the pre sent paper by comparing Slovene to Russian on
the basis of three main questions: 1) the semantic range of vedeti / vedat' and znati /
znat', 2) the lexicalisation of ‘know how,’ and 3) the relation between knowledge,
ability, and possibility. The focus is on contemporary Slovene and Russian, leaving
a detailed diachronic investigation and the further embedding into a larger Slavic
and areal perspective for future analyses.
