Drawing the Comitative Area: The Semantic Network of co(-m/-n/-r/-l)-/cum in Plautus

Abstract

We describe the semantic network of the preposition cum and the preverb co(-m/-n/-r/-l)-, based on the survey of Plautus’ corpus conducted on the Library of Latin Texts Online (LLT-A). Although preposition and preverb have individually received considerable attention, neither their relationship nor that between the various senses included in their respective semantic networks have ever been systematically addressed. On the basis of Cognitive Grammar, we will propose that preverb and preposition share a basic semantics, here referred to as the “CUM-relation”, which accounts for the entire set of concrete (e.g., comitative) and non-concrete (e.g., intensive) meanings they express. However, cum and co(-m/-n/-r/-l)- instantiate the CUM-relation differently and different mechanisms are involved in the development of their semantic continua. This analysis allows us to trace the semantic maps of preposition and preverb at a specific stage of the language and highlight the areas where they converge or diverge.