A Probe into the Semantics ofYou(有) and Its Usages from the Perspective of Subjectification Construal

The Chinese character you(有), with its different semantics and usages, has long been the concern in the field of linguistics, but the interpretation of its meanings and uses has seldom been made within the same model.Based on the subjectivity theory in cognitive grammar, the present study looks into the conceptual nature of youfrom the perspective of subjectification, and proposes four points of view:(1) The meaning of "owning" is based on the meaning of "existing".It is a process of subjectifcation.(2) The usages of wu(无)and mei(没), the antonyms of you, indicate that they have conceptual overlapping, but wutends to be the negation of "existing", while meitends to be that of "owning".(3) The conceptual overlapping between wuand meiprobably uncloses the conceptual overlapping between "existing" and "owning".(4) The meanings of "existing" and "owning" form a continuum with construal of different degrees of subjectivity.The usages of youcan be also explained within this model.