Intonation contour and communicative aspects

Intonation contour as the sentence is the communicative unit it is characterized by the intonation which is the universal means of expressing predicativity. Performs 2 functions:

- delimiting function lies in separate sentences in speech segments. This function is a specially relevant in speech segmentation when the sentence comprises two or more clauses (primary predication.)

- communicative function consists in expressing the communicatively relevant meanings of declaration, injunction and interrogation. This function is especially important when the gram. markers of injunction, interrogation are neutralized.

The communicative aspect

It was mentioned that predicativity makes the sentence, a communicative unit with its own situational and propositional meaning. Approaching the sentence in this way, sentence parts are analized acc to their relative importance in expressing the situational or propositional meaning of the sentence. The process of the sentence division acc to the communicative force is turned in different ways. It’s called:

- the actual division of the sentence

- the communicative model

- the functional sentence perspective(the theme – rheme structure)

Theme is the list important part of the sentence information, which is not communicatively actualized because this information is either known to the speaker or irrelevant to him

Rheme is the most important part of a sentence information for whose sake the sentence is produced. It is the communicative core.

Transposition occupies the intermedia position; it is not important as a theme,but it is not as important as a rheme.

e.g I (theme) saw an interesting film (rheme) yesterday.

There are some special means of expressing the rheme of the sentence:

- word order

- the Indefinite article

- introductory There

- intonation

 

 

33. The system of language means which are used for producing sentences in Engl and Ukr is called the grammatical structure.

The grammatical structure includes:

• Grammatical classes of words and their syntactic properties
• Rules and regularities of combining words of different classes according to their systemic properties in order to produce sentences.

The grammatical structures of any languages constitute the subject matter of grammar.

There are 3 approaches to define the subject matter of syntax:

• Word-centric
• Sentence-centric
• Comprehensive

Word-centric is the framework of this approach syntactic unit are understood as mere syntagmatics of words (the environment of a word). Within this approach syntactic units are analyzed as mere structure depending on the syntagmatic properties of words. But it neglects the essential level properties of word-groups and sentences, thus sentence here can be codified just as a structure but not a communicative unit of language.

Sentence-centric reduces syntax to the theory of the sentence, because the supporters of this approach consider sentence as a basic integral unit which incorporates in its structure of all other levels. Following a separate unit and analyzed just as a sentence part which is not rational, because a lot of systemic units may and must be analyzed irrespective all the sentence it’s illustrated into

My brother lives in London

This is my brother

I’ve not seen my brother for a week

All properties of a word-group: the number of components, order, relations, connections are the same and they are not predetermined by a sentence structure.

It goes from this that the word-group should be analyzed as separate syntactic unit, but not as part of the sentence.

Comprehensive stars from the assumption that syntax is a branch of grammar which studies all syntactic level units: a word-group, sentence, text in the system of their paradigm and syntagmatic properties.

39... Subordinate word-groups are always binary, they consist of an adjunct and head.

Predicative word-groups are partly isomorphic, because in Engl there is a wide set in predicative word-group while in Ukr the number of predicative word-groups are rather rare.

Predicative word-group: primary (are based on finite predication in both language syntax), secondary (are based on non-finite predication which is not morphologically marked by by the category of person, number, tense, mood).

Secondary can be

• Acc to expressiveness of verbal components - infinitival, participial, gerundial.
• Acc to character of relations between word-groups – endocentric (are headed), exocentric (are non-headed)
• Acc to inner structure – simple (are word-groups in which all the elements are in the same type of syntactic connection), complex (are word-groups in which all elements are in different types of syntactic connection).
• Acc to composition word-groups are divided into – elementary (are word-groups consisting of only obligatory elements), extended (consists of obligatory and optional components)
• Acc to the position – free (are word-groups in which relevance can change the position without effecting the structure and meaning), bound (are word-groups in which the position of elements is fix and can not be changed without effecting the meaning).
• Acc to functional significance – notional-functional (only notional words), notional-functional (comprising both notional and functional words), functional (consists only of functional words).
• Acc to the means expressing syntactic connections – syndetic (word-groups in which syntactic connection is formally represented by a special segments either conjunction, preposition), asyndetic (word-groups in which neither subordination nor coordination is formally represented)
• Acc to phrasiological character – free, bound (idiomatic).
• Acc to the position of the adjunct – progressive (adjunct in post position to the head), regressive (adjunct is preposition to the head), progressive-regressive (word-groups in which adjunct in both positions to the head).
• Acc to linie characteristics – continuous, discontinuous.

 

 

28. The Category of Aspect
Aspect is a grammatical category that expresses how an action, event or state, denoted by a verb, relates to the flow of time.In English the grammatical category of aspect is constituted by the opposition of the continuous aspect and the common aspect

It is realized through the opposition Continuous::Non-Continuous (Progressive::Non-Progressive). The realization of the category of aspect is closely connected with the lexical meaning of verbs.
There are some verbs in English that do not normally occur with continious aspect, even in those contexts in which the majority of verbs necessarily take the progressive form. Among the so-called ‘non-progressive’ verbs are Verbs expressing sense perception, that is involuntary reactions of the senses: to feel (чувствовать),to hear (слышать),to see (видеть),to smell (чувствовать запах),to taste (чувствовать вкус).However these verbs as well as other statal verbs may be sometimes used in continuous and perfect continuous forms, especially in informal English. Verbs expressing emotional state: to care, to detest, to envy, to fear, to hate, to hope, to like, to love, to prefer, to want, to wish. Verbs expressing mental state: to assume, to believe, to consider, to doubt, to expect, to find, to forget, to imagine, to know, to mean, to mind, to notice, to perceive, to remember, to suggest, to suppose, to think, to understand. The Slavic aspect is expressed with the help of pairs of correlating verbs. The aspect in English – if we accept the views supported by many researchers as to the aspectual nature of Continuous and Perfect tenses – is expressed by the word change of the same verb, therewith the word change of a special nature, i.e. analytical forms of the verb.

The most striking characteristic that they have in common is the fact that they are ‘stative’ - they refer to a state of affairs, rather than to an action, event or process. It should be observed, however, that all the ‘non-progressive' verbs take the progressive aspect under particular circumstances. As the result of internal transposition verbs of non-progressive nature can be found in the Continuous form: Now I'm knowing you. Continuous form has at least two semantic features - duration (the action is always in progress) and definiteness (the action is always limited to a definite point or period of time). the purpose of the Continuous form is to serve as a frame which makes the process of the action more concrete and isolated.

As for the ukrainian verb, it has two aspects, the perfective and the

imperfective. It is obvious at once that there is no direct correspondence between

English and Russian aspects; for instance, the English continuous aspect is not

identical with the ukrainian imperfective. The relation between the two systems is

not so simple as all that. On the one hand, the English common aspect may

correspond not only to the ukrainian perfective but also to the ukrainian imperfective

aspect; thus, he wrote may correspond both to написал and to писал. On the other

hand, the ukrainian imperfective aspect may correspond not only to the continuous

but also to the common aspect in English; thus, писал may correspond both to was

writing and to wrote.

 

29.

30. The category of voice
The form of the verb may show whether the agent expressed by the subject is the doer of the action or the recipient of the action (John broke the vase - the vase was broken). The objective relations between the action and the subject or object of the action find their expression in language as the grammatical category of voice. Therefore, the category of voice reflects the objective relations between the action itself and the subject or object of the action:

Relations of actions The category of voice
The category of voice is realized through the opposition Active voice::Passive voice. The realization of the voice category is restricted because of the implicit grammatical meaning of transitivity/intransitivity. In accordance with this meaning, all English verbs should fall into transitive and intransitive. However, the classification turns out to be more complex and comprises 6 groups:
1. Verbs used only transitively: to mark, to raise;
2.Verbs with the main transitive meaning: to see, to make, to build;
3. Verbs of intransitive meaning and secondary transitive meaning. A lot of intransitive verbs may develop a secondary transitive meaning: They laughed me into agreement; He danced the girl out of the room;
4.Verbs of a double nature, neither of the meanings are the leading one, the verbs can be used both transitively and intransitively: to drive home - to drive a car;
5.Verbs that are never used in the Passive Voice: to seem, to become;
6. Verbs that realize their passive meaning only in special contexts: to live, to sleep, to sit, to walk, to jump.
Some scholars admit the existence of Middle, Reflexive and Reciprocal voices. "Middle Voice" - the verbs primarily transitive may develop an intransitive middle meaning: That adds a lot; The door opened; The book sells easily; The dress washes well. "Reflexive Voice": He dressed; He washed - the subject is both the agent and the recipient of the action at the same time. It is always possible to use a reflexive pronoun in this case: He washed himself. "Reciprocal voice”: They met; They kissed - it is always possible to use a reciprocal pronoun here: They kissed each other.
We cannot, however, speak of different voices, because all these meanings are not expressed morphologically.

31. the problem of middle, reflexive and reciprocal voice

The voice identification in English is aggravated by the problem of “me­dial” voices, i.e. the functioning of the voice forms in other than the passive or active meanings. As a result, some linguists also distinguish Reflexive Voice (also called Middle Voice). In case of Reflexive Voice, the doer of an action and the object of the action coincide, that is the doer experiences his own ac­tions (e.g. She reconciled herself to the loss, You can express yourself freely).

The problem of Reflexive Voice is still under debate, since the model “transitive verb + reflexive pronoun” differs from the model of an analyti­cal form, characteristic of tense or passive forms. The controversial nature of reflexive constructions, on the one hand, and strict requirements which analytical forms must meet, on the other hand, prevent many scholars from distinguishing Reflexive Voice in English. The arguments put forward to refute Reflexive Voice are as fol­lows: 1) the model “transitive verb+reflexive pronoun” does not form a par­adigm, since it does not present any opposition to Active Voice both struc­turally and semantically (unlike, for instance, Ukrainian verbs in -ся); 2) the model “transitive verb+reflexive pronoun” may have no reflexive meaning, and vice versa, a verb without a reflexive pronoun may have the reflexive meaning created by its own semantic properties and by the context (cf. She dressed herself, she dressed her child, she dressed, similar examples may be found with the verbs to wash, to shave. H owever, in some cases the reflexive pronoun cannot be skipped, e.g. I warm and I warm myself cannot be mixed up as well as I amuse and I amuse myself).

There are also scientists who believe that reflexive meaning may be ob­served and distinguished only in a context. In other words, reflexive mean­ing is episodic, formed by a certain context, i.e. reflexive meaning is one of the facets of Active Voice, where the object is expressed by a reflexive pronoun. The reflexive pronoun has a dual nature, since it can function both as a lexical part of speech and a function word.

Some scholars distinguish so-called Reciprocal Voice. In the case with Reciprocal Voice, actions expressed by verbs are also confined to the sub­ject, but, as different from the sentences with Reflexive Voice, these actions are performed by the subject constituents reciprocally: e.g. The friends will be meeting (each other) tomorrow, James and Sandra married two years ago, Phil and Trade are quarrelling over the washing-up again. Here, the verbal meaning of the action performed by the subjects on one another is clearly reciprocal. As is the case with the reflexive meaning, the reciprocal meaning can be rendered explicit by combining the verbs with special pro­nouns, namely, the reciprocal pronouns each other and one another.

32. the category of mood

Mood is the grammatical category of the verb reflecting the relation of the action denoted by the verb to reality from the speaker's point of view. Mood expresses the relation of the action to reality, as stated by the speaker. A.I. Smirnitsky, O.S. Akhmanova, M. Ganshina and N. Vasilevskaya find six moods in Modern English ('indicative', 'imperative', 'subjunctive I', 'subjunctive IF, 'conditional' and 'suppositional'), B.A. Ilyish, L.P. Vinokurova, V.N. Zhigadlo, I.P. Iva-nova, L.L. Iofik find only three moods – 'indicative', 'imperative' and 'subjunctive'. The latter, according to B.A. Ilyish appears in two forms – the conditional and the subjunctive. L.S. Barkhudarov and D.A. Shteling distinguish only the 'indicative' and the 'subjunctive' mood. The latter is subdivided into 'subjunctive I' and 'subjunctive IF. The 'imperative' and the 'conjunctive' are treated as forms outside the category of mood.
G.N. Vorontsova distinguishes four moods in English: 1) 'indicative', 2) 'optative', redivsented in three varieties ('imperative', 'desiderative', 'subjunctive'), 3) 'speculative', found in two varieties ('dubitative' and 'irrealis') and 4) 'divsumptive'.

The Indicative Mood
The indicative mood is the basic mood of the verb. Morphologically it is the most developed system including all the categories of the verb.
Semantically it is a fact mood. It serves to divsent an action as a fact of reality. It is the «most objective» or the «least subjective» of all the moods. It conveys minimum personal attitude to the fact. This becomes particularly manifest in such sentences as Water consists of oxygen and hydrogen where consists denotes an actual fact, and the speaker's attitude is neutral.

As for the Subjunctive mood in Ukrainian there is just one mood expressing unreality called either subjunctive or conditional or suppositional. It is used to denote an action thought to be unreal, desirable or possible. It is formed by means of the past tense form of the verb and particle «би» (б) which can both precede or follow the verb (я б хотів зробити щось хороше). The action can be referred to the present, past or future.

In English there are 4 oblique moods: subjunctive I, subjunctive II, suppositional and conditional.

Subjunctive I does not depend on the time reference and its main seme is that of «uncertainty in the reality of the phenomenon».

The main seme of the Subjunctive II is that of «unreality». It has the forms referring the action to the present/future and to the past.

Suppositional mood expresses «supposition» (should + inf.) and has no grammatical categories.