A Cognitive Grammar Analysis of Get-Sentences : Profiling Existence in the Polysemy of English Get

This paper investigates get-sentences, arguing that the verb get in modern English profiles existence. We argue that the motion usage of get-sentences highlights the concept of existence in the goal region. We also analyze the change-of-state usage from the interplay of event culmination, external factors, and the speaker’scognitive process. We propose that event concepts indicated by this usage form a continuous hierarchy in terms of autonomy. When this autonomy is attenuated, the resulting change-of-state meaning is derived from the Conceptualizer（C）’s subjective construal. We systematically account for the interpretive variations of get-sentences by focusing on dynamic shifts in the conceptualization of existence. Section 1 reviews the relevant literature and clarifies the issues this paper aims to address. Section 2 confirms the concepts of Profile/Base, Search Domain, and Profile Shift in Cognitive Grammar as theoretical prerequisites for the subsequent analysis. Section 3 examines the historical development of the verb get’spolysemy and the emergence of its existence meaning, drawing on insights from historical linguistics. Section 4 analyzes the motion and reception usages of get, and Section 5 the change-of-state usage. Section 6 analyzes the polysemy of get from the perspective of Cognitive Domains. Section 7 is the conclusion.