Stability and variability of semantic and syntactic connections of the verb BEGAT’ in the linguistic consciousness of native Russian speakers of different time periods

The research was carried out in line with the main postulates of the associative grammar and is devoted to determining of stable and changeable semantic and syntactic connections of the verb BEGAT’. The subject is the features of the semantics and syntactic functioning of the verb BEGAT’ recorded in all-Russian and regional associative dictionaries of different time periods. The purpose is to identify the dynamics of changes and stability in the actual connections of the verb BEGAT’ in the linguistic consciousness of native speakers of Russian of the same age. The analysis of the associative fields of the verb BEGAT’ in dictionaries showed the following. The stimulus consistently evokes associations of two types: collocations and collapsed constructions (syntactic primitives according to Yu.N. Karaulov). Associations without a grammatical connection with the stimulus are more relevant for students of the 1990s than for students of the 2010s, which indicates a closer grammatical and semantic connection of the stimulus with reactions in modern students. The varying syntactic constructions are few in number. Reactions in the form of word combinations show a typical speech action of the respondents, implementing an adjunct position. Modern native speakers have a slight decrease in the percentage of the adjuncts. Reactions of the respondents expressing an argument position in the semantics of the verb maintain their stability in time, convey typical meanings. In the collapsed construction, we identified dominant semantic categories and plot associations that were not formed by linguistic means. On the basis of the semantic analysis there were identified semantic categories of reactions, indicating the dominance of certain meanings in the minds of native speakers of the 1990s and 2010s. The structural analysis revealed typical syntactic constructions, stability and/or variation of syntactic relations of the verb-stimulus.