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Concepts of searching and finding: principles of colexification in a typological perspective
The article examines lexification of the semantic domains of searching and finding based on a sample of 25+ languages. First, it discusses the semantic parameters underlying lexical oppositions within each of the domains (e.g., type of the subject and referentiality of the object, for searching; intentionality and animacy of the object, for finding). Second, it investigates the principles of colexification between the two domains, namely, which kinds of searching and finding events may be expressed by a single verb and how this polysemy is resolved through grammatical means. In addition to colexifications, our data provides further evidence corroborating the conceptual overlap between the domains of searching and finding — specifically, the neutralization of semantic distinctions between the two concepts in modal contexts, as well as parallels in the semantic sources from which the meanings ‘to search’ and ‘to find’ may develop.