Being perceptible: Animacy, existentiality and intersubjectivity in constructions with the Finnish verbkuulua‘to be perceptible (through hearing)’

Abstract

This paper deals with the grammatical differences and overlaps between the uses of the Finnishkuuluaas a verb of auditory perceptibility (‘to be audible’) and as a verb of appearance, when employed in negative clauses (‘to be imperceptible (through unspecified sensory input)’). Both meanings entail perceptibility, existentiality and motion from the experienced towards the experiencer. However, they differ significantly in regard to the nature of the motion as well as the degree of animacy of the subject referent. As a verb of auditory perceptibility,kuuluaaccepts mainly inanimate subjects referring to a perceivable sound. As a verb of appearance,kuuluais mostly used with animate subjects. The semantic difference between the two constructions is accounted for in terms of objective and intersubjective meaning construal. The potential movement of a sound towards the experiencer concerns the relationship between the world and the subject of conceptualization, whereas the non-appearance of an animate being is viewed on the level of intersubjective cognitive coordination, with regard to interactional expectations. The results of this study shed light on the complex semantics of perceptibility. The analysis is based on 1,528 occurrences ofkuuluain dialectal and literary data.