Q1. Structural Types of sentences
The difference: simple sentence – mono-predicative; composite one – poly-predicative.
Russian linguists: transitional constructions:
1. sentences with homogeneous parts;
2. sentences with a dependent clause;
3. sentences with secondary predication.
1. Sentences with homogenous parts (attribute, object, and adverbial modifier are simple ones). Sentences with homogeneous predicates which can belong to different types which sometimes have different object and adverbial modifier are semi-composite.
2. Sentences with a dependent appendix. Sentences contain the phrase than + noun (pronoun) or as + noun/ pronoun.
# She was prettier than you. à regarded as a transitional construction because it tends to develop into a clause.
Here also belong simple sentences with parts of the sentence which are used as a subordinate conjunction.
# He stood there looking at the picture as if trying to understand the expression of her face.
3. Sentences with secondary predication. Constructions with non-finite form of the verb are called semi-predication.
# I hate you to go there. à secondary predication but it’s impossible to separate it from the sentence (otherwise, the meaning of the sentence will be changed).
But sometimes separation of the sentence elements of the construction may not bring about the change of meaning.
# I saw him run – I saw him.
Syntactic function of such groups may look differently:
1. “him run” as a syntactic unit;
2. “him” and “run” are separate parts of the sentence.
As the phrase it taken as a syntactic unit then it’s an object, it stands in an object relations to the predicate “saw”.
Otherwise, “him” – object, “run” – predicative.
Choosing the second alternative adds to the list of secondary parts of the sentence objective predicative which can be expressed by infinitive, participle, attribute etc. If we compare the structures with objective predicative expressed by attribute, adverbs, the situation is different:
# I found him there – There I found him -à adverbial modifier of place; à I found that her was there à objective predicative.
In linguistics: two terms for word groups (Jasperson).
Nexus – to name predicative word groups.
Junction – non-predicative word groups.
# I found him there.
There I found him – Nexus and Junction.
I found that he was there – two Nexuses.
Q2.
Poly-predicative construction – more than one.
|
|
|
Parts of the composite sentence are traditionally viewed as sentences. But they are not real sentences because they don’t possess communicative value of their own.
They function as integral parts of a bigger syntactic construction.
Nominative value.
Simple sentences are used to name a situation. Composite sentences are used to express a more complicated act of thought denoting two or more situational events viewed as connected.
This connection may be of different types: positive-consecutive, adversative, etc.
Composite sentences are more difficult to produce compared to simple ones. They are regarded as characteristic of literal written speech. Reasons to do this:
- composite sentence structure can express reasoning, description, sequence of events, etc.
- composite sentences are complicated so you may need to add, charge or correct something while producing them which is possible in writing
- the reader can go back to a composite sentence, reread it to get final understanding of the construction (possible only in writing);
Main types of connection in composite sentence:
- hypo taxis (“under” + “position”), subordination;
- parataxis (“equal” + “position”), coordination;
Coordination – equal rank of the sentences
Principal + subordinate clauses = subordination.
Apart from these two main types of connection – cumulation. It’s observed in composite sentences with loose connection between their clauses.
Cumulation may be: continuative, parenthetical.
Continuative cumulation is characteristic of clauses which present information as an afterthought. Something comes to speaker’s mind after the end of the utterance.
# He was developing a sense of humor and found that he had a track of saying bitter things which caught people on the raw; he told them because they amused him, hardly realizing how much they hurt, and was much offended when he found that his victims regarded him with active dislike.
Part after a semicolon is a clause connected by the continuative cumulation. It’s shown by the final position of the clause and it’s separated by a semicolon.
|
|
|
Parenthetical cumulation – clauses may be found in interposition or even preposition. They give a background to the essential information presented in the sentence.
# You never liked her, she says, and you have made him feel that she isn’t worthy of him.
As I say, I was watching them together.
Means of joining two types: syndetic and asyndetic.
A joining word in a syndetic sentence may be conjunction, pronoun or adverb.
Conjunction – no function.
Pronoun and adverb – syntactic function, they serve as connective elements.
Traditionally all composite sentences are divided into two types: compound sentences (coordination), complex sentences (subordination).
Syndetic and asyndetic types of clause connection are displayed in both types.
Composite sentences (a different approach):
1 level – syndetic -à 2 level – complex and compound
1 level – asyndetic
This other new approach to classify composite sentences was criticized from the point of view of paradigmatic structure of the sentence.
The analysis of asyndetic composite sentences reveals their quality with synthetic counterparts in the semantical statements.
Composite sentences – division according to communicative types needs a special treatment because clauses within one sentence may belong to different communicative types.
Absence of one communicative type in some sentences led to the idea that they could not be called sentences at all.
The Compound Sentences.
CS – a composite sentence the clauses of which are connected by coordinate relations expressed either syndetically or asyndetically.
Semantic relations between the clauses in a compound sentence may be of different character:
- copulative
- adversative
- causative-consecutive
- disjunctive
Causative-consecutive is often regarded as belonging to a sphere of complex sentence or at least as a borderline between the two types.
Semantic relations existing between the clauses in a compound sentence are similar to those in separate sentences in the text.
|
|
|
Basing on it some scholars deny the existence before such sentences.
Arguments:
- possible to use the falling tone to indicate the end of the clause as in a separate sentence.
- Independent sentences can also be introduced by the same conjunction as clauses in a compound sentence (# and, but, for, as etc.) --- the two points by Iofik
Another point of view is that semantic relations between independent sentences aren’t the same as the ones of the parts of the compound sentence, they are more loose.
- some subordinate clauses of a complex sentence can also be separated in the text, thus, being changed into independent sentences (# with conjunction because) – position of Blokh
- Coordinate clauses in a compound sentence form a succession, the first one is called a leading clause, all the others – sequential.
Sequential clauses have connective elements in their structure (adverbs, conjunctions, pronouns, etc.)
One more type of compound sentence which may be thought of as a borderline, the connection of clauses in a compound sentence is loose, shown in writing by semicolon which separates it and such structures are regarded as ones with cumulative connection.
The Complex Sentences.
Complex sentence – a polypredicative construction the clauses of which are connected by the relations of subordination. Two clauses – principal and subordinate. They form a semantic syntactic unity (both types of relations).
Syndetically (pronouns, conjunctions, adverbs) and asyndetically connected.
Principal and subordinate clauses are interdependent. Various types of subordinate clauses may affect the principal ones from the point of view of its completeness.
With subject and predicative clauses – the principal one is incomplete.
The central problem – choosing criteria for classifying complex sentences – 2 approaches:
- Functional
- Categorial
Functional approach – clauses are subdivided on the analogy with positional parts of a simple sentence. Syntactical positions in a complex sentence are taken by clause. This analogy is far from being absolute because subordinate clauses don’t repeat exactly the specific character of a corresponding part of a simple sentence.
|
|
|
Categorial approach – subordinate clauses are classified by their nominative properties irrespective of their positional relations in the sentence.
All the subordinate clauses: three categorical semantic groups:
1) name an event as a certain fact. These fact clauses are substantive nominal and can be replaced by a noun.
2) Name an event fact but it’s referred to as giving a characteristic to some substantive entity. Qualification nominal = adjective, adjectival pronoun
3) Contain dynamic characteristic of an event or a process -> adverbial can be replaced by adverbs.
These two classifications are regarded as mutually complementary in the same way as parts of speech go together with functional features.
Functional classification of clauses:
1) Subject clause:
- function of a subject;
- introduced by conjunctions, adverbs, pronouns.
- In complex sentences with subject clauses introductory “it” is often used (usually viewed as a formal subject, but sometimes as a real one and clause becomes attributive appositional);
2) Attributive clause:
- found after linking verbs;
- introduced by conjunctions;
- function – predicative;
3) Object clause:
- function – object.
Sometimes object clauses present a kind of difficulty because they can’t be substituted by nouns in all the cases that is why we can’t say they perform its function.
# wonder, exclaim – can’t take direct object (by nouns)
While object clauses are used after them.
Ilyish calls them subordinate clauses of indirect speech.
Object clause – with and without a preposition.
In modern linguistics there’s a tendency to recognize noun clauses without distinguishing subject, predicative and object between them.
Attributive clause functions as an attribute, characterizes antecedent, subdivided into types: - relative (restrictive/ non-restrictive); - appositive.
One more type of attributive clauses: continuative which is introduced relative pronouns, adverbs, conjunctions.
Adverbial clauses:
- correspond to adverbial modifiers;
- same types;
- introduced by adverbs, conjunctions.
Another way of treating subordinate clauses (Leech, Greenbau, Swartwik).
Complex sentence – a sentence with non-symmetrical relation holding between two clauses in such a way that one is a constituent of the other.
Dependent clauses may be classified either by structural types or by functions.
Structural type à three main clauses:
1) finite clause (always has a subject) – its verb element is a finite verb-phrase;
2) non-finite clause (always has a subject unless it’s a command or analytical sentence) – its verb element is non-finite verb-phrase; 4 subtypes:
a) infinitive with a particle to (without a subject) à # The best thing would be to tell everybody.
Infinitive with subject;
b) infinitive without ‘to’ – without subject à # All I did was tell him the truth;
- with subject à # Rather than John do it I’d prefer to give the job to her.
c) participle I – without subject à # Living in Rome he loved it;
- with subject à # My mom having left the room I declared the news.
d) participle II – without subject à # Covered with mud I took a nap;
- with subject à # We left home the job finished.
3) verbless clause – no verb element.
The absence of a finite verb for non-finite clauses means they have no distinctions of person, number, modal auxiliary.
Together with frequent absence of a subject this suggests their value as a means of syntactic compression.
With the verbless clauses we can usually infer ellipsis of the verb ‘to be’. The subject when omitted can be treated as recoverable from the context.
# Whether right or wrong he always comes of worst in an argument.
Whether he is right or wrong he always comes of worst in an argument.
Verbless clauses can also be treated as reduction of non-finite.
# Too nervous to reply he started at the floor.
Being too nervous to reply he started at the floor.
Verbless clauses are obviously regarded as finite or non-finite.
In Russian linguistics this classification is criticized because using full constructions instead of contracted ones may be misleading accompanied by semantic ones.
Functional classification of dependent clauses.
Dependent clauses in our tradition are referred to as subordinate ones. They may function as subject, object, complement or adverbial as a super ordinate clause.
# That we need more equipment is obvious [subject].
I know that she’s pretty [direct object].
The point is that we are leaving [subject complement].
I imagined him overcome with grief [indirect object, objective predicative construction].
When we meet I’ll explain everything [adjunct, adverbial].
To be honest, I’ve never liked him [disjunct].
What is more [linking element], he has lost the friends he had [conjunct].
Adjuncts are adverbials integrated within the structure of the sentence.
Disjuncts and conjuncts aren’t. they refer to the sentence as a whole, connect the ideas or express attitudes to them.
Semantically, disjuncts – evaluation to what is being said, conjunct – connective function.
There are some more types of clauses (e.g. comparative), are difficult to fit into any of functional categories.
There are also so called comment clauses, close to disjuncts, are also used to express speaker’s attitudes.
Sentence and Text
For a long time sentence was regarded as the highest language unit though the ideas have been stated that sentences don’t exist in isolation.
Sentences are integral part of speech oral or written. They are interconnected into a larger unit which is usually called text.
At first, texts were considered as not arranged grammatically (Bloomfield).
Nowadays the problem of texts and their arrangement is given much attention, it has been shown that sentences in speech come under broad grammatical arrangement and combine somehow with one another in the text.
The language level that follows the level of sentence (proposemic) in the hierarchy of language levels is the one whose units are formed by separate sentences united into topical groupings.
Such groups of sentences are called in linguistics – supersentential constructions they constitute a text.
In written speech these constructions often coincide with paragraphs.
In oral – are separated by long pauses, combined with concluding tones of voice, are called dictemes.
A succession of sentences in a text serves a common informative purpose, sentences within the text are units both semantically (the meaning of sentences doesn’t contradict the meaning of the whole text), and syntactically (sentences in the text have some special syntactic features showing their connection).
Division of sentence sequence is based on the type of the text:
- monologue sequence; - dialogue sequence.
Monologue – sentences are directed from the speaker to the listener, so it’s characterized as a one-direction sequence.
Dialogue – sentences are produced by two speakers in turn who are at the same time listeners, in a dialogue sequence sentences are directed to meet one another.
Mixed types - # inner dialogue.
Sentences are connected with each other.
Connection may be of different types:
- prospective – sentences in a sequence are connected prospectively if the linking elements are in a preceding sentence.
# I tell you, one of two things must happen. Either he’ll die or become the winner.
- retrospective – connective elements in the sentence that follows and relate – this sentence to a preceding one.
# What curious class sensation was this? Was it merely fellow feeling?
Connecting elements: conjunctions, adverbs, a word in one sentence /succedent/ referring to a word in the other one /antecedent/.
Sentences: leading and sequential according to the role they play in a sequence.
The division of sentence based on the pragmatics. Pragmatic syntax.
Studying language units especially complicated ones we first of all examine their semantic and syntactical structure.
There’s one more aspect which also needs studying – pragmatic. It’s studied by a branch of linguistics – pragmatic syntax.
Pragmatic syntax focuses on the speaker and his relations with the utterances he pronounces, the situation of representation of the utterance and like.
The same sentences actualized in different communicative situations with different communicative intensions turn out to be different ones.
This branch of syntax is rather new and not well – developed though some notions have appeared.
Each sentence is pronounced to reach a certain goal or to solve a certain communicative task.
Sentences possess communicative intension.
In the process of communication there are two participants usually: 1 participant produces an utterance, the other one reacts to it. utterances have illocutive force that results in gaining perlocutive effect.
# An utterance may be intended to describe something – illocutive force.
This results in somebody’s knowing about this object – perlocutive.
Taking into consideration….
Дата добавления: 2019-02-12; просмотров: 704; Мы поможем в написании вашей работы! |
Мы поможем в написании ваших работ!