This paper is a case study of the valency of the German verb wissen'to know'. The analysis is based on a descriptive model which combinesthe lexical theory of basic core meaning with a syntactic theory of alternation.Integrating these two theories into a unified model serves twopurposes. Firstly, it is argued that variable valency patterns can be explainedas a structured paradigm on the level of langue. On this level,the most frequent pattern in a corpus can be regarded as the basic structureunderlying different alternation types. The alternations may be purelystructural or - if the syntactic alternations correspond to changes inthe standard reading of the verb - structural-semantic. Secondly, thebasic meaning of the verb turns out to be analysable by means of paradigmaticallyarranged meaning elements. Thus, the analysis shows thatlexical and syntactic structures are mutually determined. The case studysupports the view that both the paradigmatic and the syntagmatic meaningsof valency bearing elements are interrelated in a structured, nonarbitraryway. It offers both theoretical insights as to which types ofstructural-semantic regularities determine variable valency patterns, andpractical ideas for the lexicography of valency bearing elements.
