Classifications of Parts of Speech. - раздел Философия, Lecture 1 The Subject Matter of Grammar Scholars Believe That It Is Impossible To Describe A Language Without Describ...
Scholars believe that it is impossible to describe a language without describing word classes. As language is a structure, words are to be structurally organised. For centuries the writers of grammars distinguished classes of words which they referred to as parts of speech. The term “parts of speech” was introduced in Ancient Greece. The ancient scholars saw no difference between a word as a vocabulary unit and a word as a functional element of a sentence. The conventional term, being obviously inadequate, still remains in use, as no better term has been proposed.
At present there exist different lines of approach: traditional, functional (Prague linguistic school), descriptive (American descriptive linguistics), onomaseological approach ( the theory of nomination). Each linguistic trend advances its own criteria of classifying words and the number of these classes.
Traditionalists rely upon meaning as the essential criterion. This criterion is subjective and cannot be absolutely relied upon. In some grammars an adjective is defined as an attribute of substance. But in the following examples attributes of substances are expressed by an adverb(The then director. The now president), an infinitive (She is not a woman to drop ), a noun (a space pilot), etc. So this definition doesn’t work. When this approach is not reliable, traditionalists refer to form or function. Words were divided dichotomically into declinables ( nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs) and indeclinables ( articles, particles, prepositions, conjunctions). It is the criterion of form. This criterion underlies the following definition “A noun is a word which forms the plural by adding -s or its equivalents”. The following definition of an adverb is based on the functional criterion “An adverb is a word which modifies a verb, an adjective or another adverb”.
Prague linguistic school called parts of speech as bundles of morphologically relevant features and described words in terms of their paradigms (sets of all possible forms of a word). It’s a purely formal approach. Form, taken alone, is seldom helpful in English because of the scantiness of inflexions. It results in the frequency of homonymy and polysemy (Ship sails today. Flying can be dangerous). Form alone is inadequate as a criterion in English. Words are not easily identifiable as nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs: N. is a regular (a substantivized adjective is used as a noun).
The compromising solution was offered by H. Sweet and O. Jespersen, a synthetic approach, combining meaning, form and function. A word is described as belonging to this or that class on the basis of its semantic meaning ( e.g. table names a thing, it denotes thingness), as having some morphological form (table is inflected for the plural by adding –s) and as having peculiar syntactical properties (table occurs in typically n- positions in a sentence).
Structuralists (descriptivists) rejected the traditional approach, they preferred to rely only upon the positional arrangement of words and their structural characteristics (types of inflexions and derivational suffixes). This interpretation is represented by Ch. Frees. He operated with the artificial structure Woggles ugged diggles (compare it with The Students attended lectures). Intuitively we feel that woggles positionaly and structurally can be likened to a thing word (a noun); ugged can be compared with an action word (a verb); diggles with a noun. So, he wanted to prove that meanings should be disregarded in classifying words, as it is the arrangements of words and their structural characteristics which are most important for referring words to classes.
Relying upon the transformational procedure of substitution, Ch. Fries classifies words into 4 form classes, designated by numbers (I, II, III, IV) and 15 function groups of functional words designated by letters (a, b, c,…) He groups words with the help of the diagnostic frames: The concert is good and The team went there (I II III, I II IV), where I is like a noun, II is like a verb, III is like an adjective, IV is like an adverb. Class I includes all words which can be used in this frame (Smth is good; To dance is good)., etc. The positional criterion is supplemented by 7 other criteria( the plural inflection, the use of the apostrophe ‘s, the use of determiners (articles), etc. Groups of function words are defined by listing. Ch. Fries was not afraid to set up very small groups of words, such as a group comprising articles, groups carrying pronouns, conjunctions, prepositions, etc. He distinguished 154 functional words in English.
Все темы данного раздела:
The Evolution of English Grammars
In the development of English grammars there have been several grammars: prescientific normative (from the XVI-th century till the beginning of the XX - th century) gra
The Asymmetry of a Linguistic Sign
Under it we understand the absence of one-to-one relationship between meaning and form. One form can express several meanings, one meaning can be expressed by several forms. This asymmetry of the r
Transformational and Transformational Generative Grammar
There are two periods in the development of transformational grammar: Transformational Grammar and Transformational Generative Grammar.
Transformational grammar (Zelic Harris
Semantic Syntax
Semantic Syntax is represented by the names of Charles McCawley, W. Chafe, Russian linguists O.I.Moskalskaya and V.V.Bogdanov.
Semantic syntax describes sentences in terms of propositions,
The Oppositional Method
The oppositional method was developed by N.Trubetskoy to investigate phonology. Comparing vowels and consonants in Russian and English, we see that they are contrasted to each other as to th
The Distributional method
Distributional method describes environments of linguistic units ( morphemes, words, phrases), representing them symbolically: N – noun, A– adjective, T – article,V – verb, D – adverb.
Dis
The Transformational Method
This method is based on the notions of a kernel , which is the simplest elementary subject-predicate structure with explicit grammatical relations, transformation which is a process o
The Method of Deep and Surface Structures
This method is primarily associated with the name of N. Chomsky. It is based on the notions of deep and surface structures. A surface structure is observable, while a deep structure is unobservable
The Componential Method
It a logico-linguistic method of decomposing the semantic content of a word or a grammatical form into the smallest units of sense (semantic components, semantic markers, semes, or SCs).
A
The Contextual Method
This method is associated with the names of professors V.V. Vinogradov, I.V. Arnold, I.R. Galperin, N. Amosova, N.A. Shekhtman, M. Halliday.
A context is an immediate environment of a ling
The Morphological Structure of ME
To understand what the morphological structure of a language is we are to know what a morphological type is. It is a set of prevalent features characterizing a group of languages. At present lingui
The Classifications of Morphemes
A morpheme is the smallest meaningful ultimate unit which can’t be further analyzed into immediate constituents. Morphologically words are monomorphic and polymorphic (table; un ] [gent ]
Paradigmatics and Syntagmatics
The domain of morphology is the paradigmatics of a word. Morphology studies the forms of words and their paradigms. A paradigm is a set of forms of a word (a boy-boys-a boy’s-boys’).T
Notionals and Functionals
Both traditionalists and descriptivists divide parts of speech into notionals (major , autosemantic words, variables, semantically full words) and functionals (synsemantic words, invariables, seman
Heterogeneity
Parts of speech in traditional interpretation are heterogeneous. Nouns can be distinguished into those with a developed paradigm (the plural, the genitive case, articles, any function in a s
The Category of Gender.
In Slavic languages it is a full-fledged category which finds its expression in the inflexioned feminine, masculine and neuter. Inflexions are supported by sound interchange (старик:: старуха).In G
The Category of Number
The category of number is represented by the opposition of the singular and the plural (table:: tables). Paradigmatically the singular expresses oneness, the plural expresses more-than-onene
Debated Problems within the Category of Case
To the debated problems within the category of case there refer 1. the existence of this category in English ( Otto Jespersen ridiculed the very idea of case in English as a morphological category,
Debated Problems
1. Debated is the status of the article in the morphological system of ME. Some scholars treat it as a separate word, a separate part of speech {a pronoun (indefinite , demonstrative) or a p
The Functions of Articles in a Sentence
Articles are peculiar, semantically, syntactically and communicatively. The indefinite article, as a rule, expresses a classifying generalization (An elephant is a big animal). The de
The General Properties of a Verb
Verbs express events, processes, states, actions, activities, performances and achievements. It is an open class of words. Any word can be verbalized. Morphologically, syntactically and semanticall
Classifications of Tenses
There exist classifications embracing a rich variety of tenses. Temporal relations are considered by some scholars to be more complex than merely the present, the past and the future. Otto Jesperse
The Future Tense
As a colourless, neutral synthetic future which is to be found in Russian and French it is non-existent in English. O. Jespersen, Palmer, L. Barkhudarov hold that shall
The Present Tense
As to its syntagmatic semantics, the Present is the richest tense form. Its paradigmatic meaning is that of immediate present coinciding with the moment of speech. It’s syntagmatic meanings are:
The Category of Aspect
Under aspect scholars understand a mode (a phase) of an action, that is, continuity, progressiveness, completion, resultativity, instantaneousness, etc.).
The following problems are open t
The Category of Voice
The definition of voice depends upon interpretations of this category, If voice is understood as a logical category it denotes ways of expressing relations between a verb and its subject and object
The Subjunctive Mood
It is the most confusing mood. In Old English there was a fully inflective Subjunctive comparable with Latin or German. It denoted problematic, hypothetical and purely imaginary actions.
I
Points of Similarities with the Finites
1. The verbals express the idea of action( to write, writing, written, writing: There are a lot of things to marvel at but, first, a lot of questions to ask. A man to see
Points of Differences with the Finites
1. The verbals cannot refer actions to the present, past, or future. They show precedence, simultaneity, or successiveness of some actions as regards those expressed by the finites {I am surpris
Types of Syntax
There are several varieties of syntax , several syntactic theories in modern linguistics. Traditionalsentential syntax, the primary concern of which is a sentence and its grammatical organiz
Devices of Connecting Words in a Phrase
Main grammatical devices of connecting words within a phrase are agreement, government, adjoinment (примыкание), incorporation, enclosure (включение).
Agreement consists in c
Debated Problems within the Theory of the Phrase
There are several debated problems within the theory of the phrase. Most essential are the predicative character of the phrase, the problem of criteria of classifying phrases, the number of element
THE THEORY OF THE SIMPLE SENTENCE
Sentential syntax is to be understood as a language component of our internal grammar, which allows us to generate, process and recognize grammatically correct sentences out of a li
The Definition of a Sentence
We are to distinguish among sentences, clauses and utterances. A sentence is a grammatical unit of written language. An utterance is a speech act, a pragmatic unit. A clause is a constituent of a s
Syntactic Modelling of the Sentence
Without comprehending what a basic model is we cannot understand the computer-like ability of our brain which can create sentences that have never been heard before and process sentences that we re
Semantic Modelling of the Sentence
Semantic modelling is associated with generative semantics and semantic syntax. Here the content side of a sentence is modelled and described in elementary senses. The basic notion is that of a sem
The Notion of a Syntactic Paradigm
A syntactic paradigm is a set of syntactic structures, one of which is a kernel, it is invariable, and others are variables received by various transformational procedures, this process being calle
Structural Classification of Simple Sentences
There are several classifications of a simple sentence: structural, communicative, semantic, pragmatic, etc. Scholars distinguish the following communicative types of sentences: declarative,
Syntactic Ties
There exist several syntactic ties within a sentence. The primary predicative tie makes a sentence as it realizes itself in the changes of the verb for person, number, tense, voice, mood, as
Within a simple sentence we distinguish primary and secondary (independent/ dependent) elements, the structural nucleus and its adjuncts.
We have seen that there exist several syntactic ties within a sentence. Very peculiar is the secondary predicative tie. It is implicit, formally unexpressed. It is concealed in infinitival,
Syntactic Processes
By introducing various dependent elements into the subject-predicate skeleton of a sentence we can derive expanded structures. The ways of introduction of these dependent elements are called syn
The Principal Parts of a Simple Sentence
The principal parts of a simple sentence are the subject and the predicate. They are indispensable.
The subject denotes something that is spoken about. It is subdivided into
An Object
An object is a secondary part which depends upon the predicate. It is verb -oriented. Logical relations between a predicate- verb and its object are various. An object is indispensable (obli
Debated Problems within a Simple Sentence
1. Debated is the status of a simple sentence with expansion. 1.1. Expanded are the simple sentences with homogeneous parts. Any member of the sentence can be homogeneous (The beauty of the l
A COMPOSITE SENTENCE
There are dichotomic and trichotomic classifications of sentences. In a dichotomic classification we see a simple ( one –axis) sentence and a composite sentence.
The trich
A Compound Sentence
Problems within a compound sentence are:
1. general notion of coordination and types of coordination;
2. the semantic volume of the coordinating conjunctions and, but, or, for
The Status of the Subordinate Clause.
The most accepted view is that a sub-clause is an explicitly predicative structure with a subject and a predicate. Many scholars hold that a clause needn’t have explicit predication (H. Poutsma, G.
Classifications of Subordinate Clauses.
Sub-clauses are classified on two principles: functional and categorial. As to the functional principle, they are classed on the analogy with the parts of the simple sentence. They ar
Types of Subordinate Clauses.
Subject clauses occupy the position of the subject. They are to be found either in the initial or in the final position (What is thine is mine. What happened after that
Connections between the Principal and the Subordinate Clause.
Sub-clauses can be optional or indispensable for the structural and semantic integrity of the complex sentence. So, the sub-clause can be connected with the principal clause indispensably or option
Neutralization between Subordination and Coordination.
The borderline between the compound and the complex sentence is very vague and the difference between them can be neutralized. It occurs when a sub-clause comes to be very loose, losing its grammat
Communicative Dynamism within a Composite Sentence( Compound and Complex) and a Supra-phrasal Unit.
In a compound sentence both parts are communicatively equal if they are connected by copulative and adversative coordination. If they are connected by causative and consecutive coordination, the se
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