Elliptic constructions in modern English. Elliptical constructions in English. Modulation or semantic development
UDC '367
Kirillova A. V.
Elliptic sentences in Russian and English
The article attempts to trace the history of the study of elliptic sentences in Russian and English, gives the points of view of domestic and foreign linguists on the problem of ellipsis, identifies common structural and semantic types of verbless sentences, and provides a comparative analysis of these types of sentences in these languages.
The article touches upon the history of studding elliptical sentences in Russian and English. The viewpoints of Russian and foreign linguists are given on the ground of ellipsis. The most common structural and semantic types of elliptical sentences are distinguished, while analyzing and comparing these types in both languages.
Key words: elliptic sentences, incomplete sentences, ellipsis, criterion of incompleteness, verbless sentences, omission, economy of language means.
Key words: elliptical sentences, incomplete sentences, ellipsis, criterion of incompleteness, verbless sentences, omission, word-economy.
The problem of elliptic sentences has long been one of the most complex and controversial issues in domestic and foreign linguistics. Despite the fact that a sufficient number of works have been devoted to elliptic sentences, at present the problem of ellipsis can be classified as insufficiently studied, and the prospects for studying this issue are wide and in demand.
If we take into account the current state of study of elliptic sentences, we should note the lack of a generally accepted definition of elliptic sentences, the blurring of the volume of the characteristic features of these sentences, the lack of a unified approach to the typology of elliptic sentences against the background of the presence of a sufficient number of structural and semantic classifications.
In our article, we will try to trace the history of the study of elliptical sentences in Russian and English, identify the most common structural and semantic types, and give a comparative analysis of these types of sentences in these languages.
Elliptic sentences (EP) did not attract close attention of Russian linguists of the late 18th and 19th centuries, but could only be found in separate works on syntax. For example,
M.V. Lomonosov saw the incompleteness of the proposal only in the stylistic aspect. In the sections of the works of A. Kurganov and N. Koshansky, devoted to
© Kirillova A. V., 2015
syntax, there is also no indication of the types of sentences that interest us. However, N.I. Grech in his "Practical Russian Grammar" recognizes the possibility of omitting the verb, cumulative "with its complement, when it is already expressed by the case of the subject and the predicate ...".
N.I. Grech - one of the first grammarians - considered EP as a phenomenon of syntax. Although it should be noted that he used the term "incomplete sentences." He gave a definition of an incomplete sentence, which was destined for a long life in Russian studies: “Incomplete is such a sentence in which any of the main parts of the sentence is omitted or implied, “as opposed to complete, in which all the main parts of the sentence are located” ”. Syntaxist of the 19th century P. Perevlessky used the term EP as a synonym for the term incomplete sentences and noticed that “words that are explained, but not explaining, are subject to ellipsis.” D.N. Ovsyaniko-Kulikovsky pointed to the expressive qualities of elliptical sentences, and considered the verbal nature of such sentences as a negative way of expressing the verbal nature of the predicate. A.V. Popov singled out the criteria for the evidence of an ellipsis, believing that "release" is allowed only where it is confirmed by a number of analogies.
The first to single out EP as an independent type of incomplete sentences was A.M. Peshkovsky, although it should be noted that he did not use the term "elliptic", but "stationary elliptic sentences". Peshkovsky A.M. identified the factors of incompleteness of the proposal, some of which subsequently formed the basis for the allocation of EP.
Linguists of the second half of the 20th century actively use the term EP, however, putting a different meaning into it. So, firstly, the term is used as a synonym for incomplete sentences. In this sense, the term can be found in the works of V.G. Admoni, S. G. Barkhudarova, V.A. Beloshapkova, N.S. Valgina, A.A. Reformed. Secondly, incomplete sentences of internally syntactic conditionality are called elliptic sentences, corresponding to the third factor of incompleteness, previously identified by A.M. Peshkovsky, namely, sentences that have "sufficiency of real and formal meanings of the members of the most incomplete sentence to excite the image corresponding to the missing member" . Elliptic sentences as a kind of incomplete sentences were considered by V.V. Babaitseva, E.M. Galkina-Fedoruk, A.P. Skovorodnikov, D.E. Rosenthal, A.A. Shevtsov. N.N. Leontiev's term elliptical sentences denotes sentences in which there is "omission of a repeated word, always accompanied by a violation of the correct syntactic structure of the sentence", namely, incomplete sentences, replenished from the context. In works on applied linguistics, the term “elliptic con-
structure" in relation to the transform obtained from the original descriptive construction through the use of a number of formal operations. And finally, ellipsis is sometimes understood extremely broadly, as any manifestation of the economy of language means, as opposed to redundancy. In modern linguistic teachings, supporters of the formal grammatical direction consider
ellipticization as a syntactic process of reduction of individual components in the structure of a simple sentence, and representatives of the communicative direction interpret EP as the main structures of dialogic speech, designed in accordance with the laws of functioning in a certain context.
In a narrow sense, elliptic sentences are considered by P.A. Le-kant. He defines this type as sentences that express an action, a process, but do not have a verb in their composition. Thus, Lekant P.A. elliptic sentences are correlated with verbless ones and, thus, it is in this terminological definition that they can be correlated with certain structural-semantic types.
P.A. The lekant compares the action expressed in the EP with the verbs of three lexical groups: with the verbs of motion; with verbs of intense physical action; with verbs of speech, thought. It is this classification that is traditional and, with some modifications, is found by many researchers. T.P. Lomtev distinguishes sentences with a missing verb form with the meaning of existence and stay (Tomorrow is Saturday), directed action (She is to him, and he is to me) and speaking (Let me, let me: I'm all right). In the "Grammar of the Russian Language" of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, in the chapter on incomplete sentences, a classification of EPs is given, which are defined here as "independently used incomplete sentences, the structural feature of which is the absence of a predicate". The following types of EP are distinguished: sentences without a verb of motion, energetic action, speech and thought, as well as sentences with the meaning of desire and motivation, correlated with sentences with a verb-predicate in the form of an imperative mood or with infinitive sentences. In this classification, in addition to the semantic approach, there is also a structural approach, according to which not only the general lexical meaning of the missing verb is taken into account, but also its form. A.A. Shevtsova lexical groups of verbs are more diverse. She proposes to single out: verbs of motion; verbs of stay, finding; it is possible to combine the meaning of stay and movement; verbs of being, presence; verbs of speech, thoughts.
The most complete classification of EP is given in the dissertation research by A.P. Skovorodnikov "Verbless Elliptic Sentences in Modern Russian". He gives 22 lexico-semantic groups of elliptical verbs. EP Speed
Vorodnikov considers not only from the side of semantics, but also from the side of structure, taking into account, when determining the types, the belonging of the verb-predicate to one or another lexico-semantic group and the form and meaning of the component (or components) subordinate to the elliptical verb.
In the work of K.I. Mishina carried out a grammatical analysis of verbless sentences and singled out purely structural types of EP: EP with a prepositive adverbial clause and EP with a postpositive adverb.
So, taking into account the history of the study of EP in the Russian language, we can conclude that the current state of the problem allows us to distinguish between the use of the term "EP" in the broad sense for various types of incomplete sentences with any elliptical members and in the narrow sense for special verbless sentences in which there is intentionally no verb-predicate, and its meaning may be implied by the situation or context, but the restoration of this predicate is redundant from a semantic point of view, despite structural incompleteness.
The history of the study of elliptical sentences in the English tradition is less rich than in the Russian one. Representatives of various Western linguistic trends attributed EP to formally incomplete, nominative, imperative without a pronounced subject, some types of sentences with homogeneous members, formula expressions, etc.
So, Stokow refers to elliptical sentences in which one or more words are missing for completeness of expression (for example: You and I can lift this, I don’t know what to do) .
Poutsma refers to elliptical sentences where there is no subject or predicate, or both, and they cannot be recovered from the context. He identifies five heterogeneous types of EP: asserting the fact (No pains, no gains), expressing emotions (All right!), Interrogative (What about her?), Rhetorical questions and exclamations (One knows the value of freedom, what then?), imperative sentences (Your passport, please).
Kerm defines elliptic sentences as sentences that are structurally complete but with a missing verb, giving the example of verbless imperative sentences (Hat soff!).
Blackstone considers EP as a stylistic means, defining oral dialogue as the sphere of their frequent functioning. He refers to EP exclamatory sentences (What a hot day!) And negative answers, where a negative word can replace the whole sentence (Is it going to rain? -1 hope not).
The representative of descriptive linguistics Bloomfield, denying the existence of elliptic constructions in the language, all types of sentences,
those not included in the actor - action group (full) and in the group of incentive sentences are called secondary types.
Nide and Freese, when describing English syntax, do not try to create a set of rules for the speaker, but only confine themselves to the interpretation of linguistic phenomena in their natural functioning. They correlate elliptical structures with full ones, considering them options.
In Russian English, the term EP can also be found in some authors, although, mainly, they are identified with incomplete sentences.
So, B. A. Ilyish calls the turnover elliptical, “in which a member of the sentence is omitted, which seems logically or grammatically necessary” and restored from the context.
V.V. Buzarov understands the ellipsis as the main linguistic means of economy, which mainly functions in dialogic speech and aims to focus attention on the rest of the statement. He identifies various structural types of ellipsis within the framework of question-answer dialogues. So, for example, the ellipsis of the subject and part of the predicate, usually a service or auxiliary verb (Sorry I couldn't be there. See you later. Looking for anybody? Anything the matter? Good to see you), the ellipsis of the predicate, correlated with a full verb ( Who told you the news? - John. If anyone, he knows) .
All authors recognize the possibility of restoring an elliptical element from the context (the previous sentence, the same sentence or the next sentence) or situationally, referring to other similar constructions in the language. The semantic classification of English EPs is extremely difficult and hardly possible, since most often service elements are omitted in English sentences.
As can be seen from the foregoing, in English, the concept of an elliptical sentence is understood as completely different in their grammatical essence and structural organization of sentences. Basically, they are identified with incomplete sentences in which some element is omitted that is easily restored in this context. Most authors do not give a clear classification of elliptic constructions, an exact definition of the ellipsis, its syntactic and semantic features.
So, taking into account the history of the study of EP in the Russian and English traditions, we can conclude that the degree of study of this problem is not the same. EP in Russian is more studied than in English. This conclusion is explained by the prevalence of EP. In Russian, they are more common than in English, due to the widespread use of substitute words in the latter, as well as zero
elements at the morphological level. The developed system of inflections in the Russian language makes it possible to omit verb forms, while leaving prepositional-case forms associated with the missing verb. The analytical system of the English language cannot allow such omissions within a single sentence. That is why the correspondence to the Russian elliptical sentence (in the narrow sense) is impossible in English.
Bibliography
1. Buzarov V. V. Fundamentals of the syntax of English colloquial speech. - M., 1998. -
2. Bulakhovsky L. A. The course of the Russian literary language. - 5th ed. - Kyiv: Ra-dyansk school, 1952. - T. I. - 575 p.
3. Grammar of the Russian language. - M.: Institute of Linguistics, 1954. - T. 2. Syntax. -Ch. 2. - S. 88-122.
4. Grech N. I. Lengthy Russian grammar. - St. Petersburg: Type. publisher, 1827. -
5. Ilyish B. A. Modern English. - M., 1948. - 260 p.
6. Kirillova A. V. Features of the translation of elliptic sentences on the material of translations of the dramaturgy of A.N. Ostrovsky: dis. ... cand. philol. Sciences. - M., 2009. -159 p.
7. Koshansky N. General rhetoric. - St. Petersburg, 1829. - 131 p.
8. Kurganov N. Russian Universal Grammar, or General Writing. - St. Petersburg, 1769. - 424 p.
9. Lekant P. A. The problem of incomplete sentences in the syntax of the modern Russian language. - Biysk, 1983. - 93 p.
10. Leont'eva N. N. Analysis and synthesis of Russian elliptic sentences // Scientific and technical information: All-Union Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. - M., 1965. - No. XI. - S. 38-45.
11. Lomonosov M. V. A brief guide to eloquence, the first book, which contains Rhetoric. - St. Petersburg, 1748.
12. Lomtev T. P. Fundamentals of the syntax of the modern Russian language - M., 1958. -
13. Mishina K. I. Verbless sentences with circumstantial words in modern Russian // Uch. app. MGPI them. IN AND. Lenin. - M., 1964. - No. 216. - Issue. eleven.
14. Ovsyaniko-Kulikovskiy D. N. Syntax of the Russian language. - St. Petersburg, 1912.
15. Perevlessky P. Inscription of Russian syntax. - M.: Univ. type., 1847. -
16. Peshkovsky A. M. Russian syntax in scientific coverage. - M.: URSS, 2001. - 450 p.
17. Popov A. V. Syntactic research. - Voronezh, 1981.
18. Skovorodnikov A.P. Verbless elliptic sentences in modern Russian: author. dis. ... cand. philol. Sciences. - Krasnoyarsk, 1967. - 33 p.
19. Shevtsova A. A. Incomplete sentence in modern Russian. - Donetsk, 1973. - 63 p.
20. Shumilina A. D. Some types of ellipsis in the Russian standardized language. Papers at the conference on information processing, machine translation and
tomatic reading of the text / Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Institute of Scientific Information. - M., 1961. - Issue. 6. - S. 3-15.
21. Blackstone, B. A Manual of Advanced English for Foreign Students. - London: Longmans, 1961. - 254 p.
22. Bloomfield, L. Language. - L., 1955. - 177 p.
23. Curme, G.O. A Grammar of the English Language. - Boston; N.Y., 1935. - 508 p.
24. Fries, Ch. The Structure of English. - L., 1959. - 241 p.
25. Nida, E.A. A Synopsis of English Syntax. - Oklahoma: Oklahoma Univ., 1960.
26. Poutsma, H. Grammar of Late Modern English. - Groningen, 1926. - P. II.
27 Stokoe, H.P. The Understanding of Syntax. - L., 1937. - 274 p.
Types of elliptical sentences
L.S. Barkhudarov distinguishes the classification of elliptic sentences on the basis of the method of explication of the word represented by the zero variant. By "explication" or "replenishment" we mean the transformation that is inverse to the ellipse ("erasure"), namely, the replacement of the zero variant of a word with an explicit variant. If the word or words represented by the zero variant are explicated, i.e. restored in their sounding variant from the surrounding context, i.e. from the previous or subsequent text, then we can call such an elliptical sentence syntagmatically restored elliptical sentence). If the explication of a given word or words is possible only on the basis of other similar constructions that occur in the language, but are not directly registered in the contextual environment of this elliptical sentence, then such an elliptical sentence is called paradigmatically restored elliptical sentence.
In fiction and the language of the newspaper, various types of incomplete and elliptical sentences are widely used as a fact of live colloquial speech. Elliptical designs provide rich material for heading structure. Ellipses are extremely economical in terms of means of expression. There are the following types of elliptical structures.
Elliptic constructions like if any, if anything have an expressive and amplifying meaning and are transmitted into Russian by subordinate conditional clauses, as well as words almost, perhaps, at all, in general, etc.
Objections to this plan, if any, should be reported to the committee at once. - If there are objections to this plan, they must be immediately submitted to the committee. (Objections, if any...). For example: Very little, if anything, could be advanced in the defense of his policy. Almost nothing could be said in support of his policies. If anything it will be in their interests to follow this course. - In any case, it is in their interests to follow this course.
Elliptical constructions also include concessive subordinate clauses introduced by the unions whatever, however, in which there is no predicate (sometimes the subject). Such concessive clauses are translated into Russian by full concessive clauses with conjunctions, whatever, whatever (the predicate and subject of the full sentence are restored): The British people have to submit to new taxation, however high. -The English people have to put up with new taxes, however high they may be.
The union though can be at the end of a simple sentence following another simple sentence that is closely related to it in meaning. The final though corresponds to Russian, nevertheless, nevertheless, anyway, after all: Didn't tell those where he had been, but I know, though.- He didn't tell me where he was, but I don't care I know.
The combination If + participle II (or adjective) also belongs to elliptical constructions. This combination is translated into Russian by a subordinate concessive clause: If considered from this point of view, the problem takes on a new aspect. - If we consider the problem from this point of view, then it acquires (takes) a different character: But the decision, if logical, requires a measure of courage. - But this decision, although it is logical, requires a certain courage.
R.K. Minyar-Beloruchev distinguishes elliptical constructions with the past participle and conjunctions when or if are usually conveyed by a full subordinate clause, since the phrase with the gerund "being" is archaic and bookish: When asked about the situation in North Africa, he answered that the government were considering it . - When asked about the situation in North Africa, he replied that the government is considering this issue.
Mr. Nelson (Labour) said if elected he would support the workers" wage demand. - Labor Nelson said that if elected, he would support the workers' demand for higher wages.
The following example of an elliptical construction with a past participle is interesting: it can be conveyed by participle turnover:
The tribunal's decisions, when arrived at, reflected the opinions of the members. - The decisions made by the tribunal reflected the opinion of its members.
Such participial constructions can also be non-union:
Questioned about his reaction to the announcement he replied...
Elliptical participle constructions are often used in headings. For example: Textile pay rise asked.
Such headlines are usually transmitted according to the characteristics of Russian newspaper headlines: Demands of textile workers for higher wages.
Thus, we can conclude that elliptical participial phrases can be conveyed in various ways: by a subordinate clause, participial phrase, a verb in a personal form with a complete restructuring of the sentence, or a noun with a preposition.
It should be noted that elliptical constructions are quite widely used in the scientific and technical style, which is reflected in the selection and use of language means, and also in its desire for brevity and compactness of presentation. A misunderstanding of these constructions often leads to ridiculous translation errors. Having met the combination a remote crane or a liquid rocket in the text, the translator must recognize in them the elliptical norms of the combinations a remote-operated crane and a liquid-fuelled rocket.
One can also note numerous cases of omission in scientific and technical materials of the article, especially a definite one, where in texts of another type its use is considered absolutely mandatory: General view is that..., First uranium mine in the region was...
The article is often missing before the names of specific parts, technical descriptions, instructions, etc.: Armstrong Traps have long-live parts, valve and seat are heat treated crome steel, lever assembly and bucket arc stainless steel.
According to M.K. Latysheva, the types of incomplete sentences are distinguished taking into account the following factors:
a) spheres of use (oral or written speech);
b) the nature of communication (monologue or dialogue);
c) the interaction of the sentence with the context;
d) features of the reproduction of a sentence or its free construction in speech.
There are two types of incomplete sentences - contextual and situational. Contextual sentences are incomplete sentences of monologue speech (incomplete) or incomplete sentences of dialogic speech (replicas of dialogue).
Incomplete sentences are sentences of a connected segment of monologue speech, in which any member named in the previous or subsequent context is omitted; For example: Company commanders they don't answer anything. Stand and look at the ground; The second sentence is incomplete because it lacks a subject. commanders.
An incomplete sentence has predicativity, has a complete intonation (end intonation) and expresses the main elements of the form of thought. However, it should be borne in mind that it expresses a relatively complete thought, perhaps only due to the context in which the omitted member is verbally indicated. The most commonly used incomplete sentences in which the subject is omitted. The subject is omitted if it is named in an adjacent sentence and is also a member of the sentence in it. Skipping a repeating subject is natural, especially in colloquial speech.
An indicator of skipping a predicate is the context in which it is indicated; inside an incomplete sentence, the omission of the predicate is indicated by dependent forms of secondary members related to the predicate; For example: Suddenly the closet door quickly swung open, and all the servants immediately rolled head over heels down the stairs. Gavrila first of all- omitted verb-predicate rolled down named in the previous sentence.
The aim of the study is to describe and analyze the types of elliptical sentences in English
1. Define elliptical sentences. Describe their varieties.
2. To reveal the reasons for the appearance and distribution of elliptical sentences.
Introduction ………………………………………………………………….......
Chapter 1. Theoretical foundations and principles of the study of ellipsis in languages…………………………………………………………………………….
Chapter 2. Elliptic sentences in the modern English language
2.2. Ellipsis of the main members of the sentence ………………………..…..
2.3. Ellipsis of function words………………………………..…………
2.4. Ellipsis in complex sentences ……………………………………
Conclusion …………………………………………………………………..
The work contains 1 file
Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation
FSBEI HPE "Naberezhnye Chelny Institute of Social and Pedagogical Technologies and Resources"
Faculty of Foreign Languages
Department of Romano-Germanic Languages and Teaching Methods
Elliptical constructions in English
Course work
Specialty 050303.65
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Date of delivery ___________________
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Chapter 1. Theoretical foundations and principles of the study of ellipsis in languages……………………………………………………………………………. |
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Chapter 2 |
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2.1. Ellipsis …………………………………………………………….. |
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2.2. Ellipsis of the main members of the sentence ………………………..….. |
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Conclusion ………………………………………………… ……………….. |
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Bibliography ………………………………………………………….. |
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INTRODUCTION
Modern linguistics shows great interest in the problems of elliptical sentences, which can arise both in spoken language and in works of fiction.
Phenomena such as informality, ease of communication, allow you to shorten the statement, use only those parts of the sentence that are necessary to understand the meaning. Therefore, the study of the ellipsis is necessary to understand the processes associated with the economy of linguistic means, occurring in all modern languages.
The economy of language means is a phenomenon that constantly occurs in all languages. The works of many scientists are devoted to this problem, including such well-known names as A. Martinet, P. Zumthor, O. Jespersen, A. Doza, H. Wunderlich, W. Havers, V. Gorn, R.A. Budagov, V.V. Borisov, B.A. Malinin, R.I. Mogilevsky.
After analyzing the trends in the development of such a linguistic phenomenon as ellipsis, we can conclude that the need to save language resources is one of the main reasons for the emergence of elliptical sentences. According to most scientists, incomplete sentences occur mainly in colloquial speech.
It should be noted that the tendency to shorten the statement is the most widespread in the language.
Why has the study of language saving tools become relevant only relatively recently? The need to transmit more information, increase the information capacity of the statement, due to the development of technological progress, the quantity and quality of not only oral, but also written communication between people. Reducing the statement allows you to increase the information capacity of the statement, and a wide variety of means of saving in different stylistic groups - to convey emotional and stylistic-semantic shades. The foregoing determines the relevance of this study.
The object of research is ellipsis as a natural process in the language.
The subject of the research is the types of elliptic sentences in modern English.
The aim of the study is to describe and analyze the types of elliptical sentences in English
Tasks set in the work:
- Define elliptical sentences. Describe their varieties.
- To reveal the reasons for the appearance and distribution of elliptical sentences.
- To characterize elliptical sentences in English, to describe their originality.
The material for the study was the original texts of works of fiction by English-speaking authors.
Elliptic sentences are an expression of economy of language means. In the process of reduction, especially in dialogical speech, we get short elliptical constructions, which are much smaller than ordinary sentences in volume. Of interest is the identification of sentence members that are omitted with the preservation of information.
The practical significance of the work. The results obtained can be used in lecturing and conducting seminars in courses of general and comparative linguistics, translation, theoretical and practical syntax, stylistics, grammar; on special courses devoted to the problems of ellipsis.
Chapter 1. Theoretical foundations and principles of the study of ellipsis
The first step was taken by those scientists who tried to reveal the "mystery" of the structure of elliptic/incomplete sentences (S. Balli, A. Martinet, A. Doza) The second step was to study these structures based on comparison with "full" sentences, not only formal, but and the content side of "incomplete" sentences. The third step was an attempt by a number of scientists to leave the path of comparison and take the path of studying elliptical sentences as a norm of the language, as structures functioning in conditions of dialogic and monologic unities, on the basis of articulation with other structures of these texts (L.I. Iliya, N.M. Vasilyeva, A.F. Bondarenko, L.V. Kosonozhkina).
It should be emphasized that all these theories study ellipsis as a phenomenon of the language system. Language as a tool for communication and exchange of thoughts between all members of society uses the sentence as the main form of communication. The sentence expresses not only a message about reality, but also the attitude of the speaker towards it [Vinogradov 1969].
According to V.V. Vinogradova, “the psychological or logistical defense of the thesis about the necessary duality (or duality) of any sentence has always been based on separation from concrete historical linguistic material and almost always relied on idealistic premises about the identity or parallelism of speech and thought processes and on the denial of the reflection of objective reality in speech. » .
For example, such phenomena as informality, ease of communication, allow you to shorten the statement, use only those parts of the sentence that are necessary to understand the meaning, omitting the rest. This leads to the formation of either elliptical or simply incomplete sentences.
That is, speaking of elliptical sentences, we mean “grammatically and intonationally designed according to the laws of a given language, integral units of speech, which are the main means of forming, expressing and communicating thoughts about some reality and the speaker’s attitude to it; binomial syntactic complexes in which two main members (subject and predicate) are quite definitely expressed, or, in more complex cases, the subject group and the predicate group ", in which (i.e. in sentences) this or that element is omitted.
In this paper, we will rely on the definition of an ellipsis given in the Linguistic Encyclopedic Dictionary, edited by V.N. Yartseva: ellipsis is “an omission in a speech or text of an implied language unit, a structural “incompleteness” of a syntactic construction” .
In the sphere of a sentence, the following is defined as an ellipsis: a) the omission of one or another member of the sentence, a component of the statement, easily recoverable from the context; b) the absence of any component of the utterance, easily recoverable from a specific speech situation; c) zero link.
Symmetry as a factor organizing the matter of language was comprehended already in the first quarter of our century. Louis Martin projected the principle of symmetry into artistic speech. He stated that symmetry, when it appears in speech, may be approximate; that any symmetrical syntactic figure must have some kind of center, even if it is not expressed morphologically; that symmetry is characteristic of literary speech, while spontaneous speech tends mainly to asymmetry. The principle of symmetry was formulated by such scientists as N. Chomsky and R.O. Jacobson. So, if we return to the problems of ellipsis, then this figure can be considered as an asymmetry that occurs in spontaneous speech.
Syntactic ellipsis is based on analogy - a special construction of the elliptical part, which allows you to accurately determine what is not expressed.
A semantic ellipsis occurs when what is omitted in a sentence can be inferred from the context.
The absolute ellipsis arises on the basis of the partial ellipsis, in which the common term implied in the second part of the compound sentence is present in its first part. In the case of an absolute ellipsis, the common term does not appear at all, which is the result of not only the semantic weakening of the common element, but also the ever-increasing semantic meaning of the composed terms.
“An ellipse is not a means of syntactic connection ... it is one of the possible consequences of the presence of syntactic links expressed by other syntactic means or context and situation. But once having arisen, of course, the ellipse, in turn, indicates the presence of certain syntactic connections.
The semantic criterion in the description of the ellipse in the work of P. Giraud forces the author to consider such sentences as elliptic in which the norm of the language is violated. This means that the essence of what is said or written can be accurately understood by reproducing the original full sentence. But this is only possible using linguistic and extralinguistic context factors.
The semantic criterion of semantic conjecture as an approach to revealing the essence of elliptical sentences can be found in the works of many linguists: F. Bruno, A. Doza, M. Grevisse. This term was first introduced by S. Bally, taking as the basis for the definition of an ellipse a semantic criterion that contributes to the understanding of meaning without the presence of a speech fact.
The classification of elliptic sentences was carried out in the work of L.S. Barkhudarov on the basis of the method of explication of the word, represented by the zero option: syntagmatically replenished (from the surrounding context) and paradigmatically replenished (replenished from similar constructions found in the language).
In 1969 I.F. Wardul suggested deriving a common basis for elliptic and non-elliptic sentences and using the concept of "invariant" as such. The study of the ellipsis as the non-use of a syntaxeme, the content of which is recoverable, is possible only by correlating variants and using the method of substituting omitted members. He summarizes that the absence of an equivalent result when substituting indicates the absence of an ellipsis.
M.Ya. Bloch, for the definition of an ellipsis, takes as a basis the theory of actual articulation. The function of truncation of the structure of a sentence with an ellipsis, from his point of view, is to determine the rheme of the statement, just as in an untruncated sentence, this function is to determine the logical semantic stress.
Ellipsis is the source of the appearance of new syntactic constructions in the grammatical structure of the language. In all periods of the development of English and French, we can note the process of spreading a sentence by expanding its members, forming new phrases and complicating syntactic links between parts of a sentence.
Second half of the 19th century can be called the period of time when the appearance of ellipsis in sentences began to become more common. Naturally, we are talking not only about the appearance of this phenomenon in colloquial speech, but also about the frequent use of elliptical structures in the works of art of that time, in newspaper headlines.
G.N. Akimova notes that one of the main processes in modern scientific speech is the "folding" of complex sentences and the increase in all kinds of "turns". This is due to the tendency towards the accuracy of expressing the concepts of scientific speech. In our opinion, this remark is true in relation to the language as a whole.
The means of saving language means should include such phenomena as contractions, contractures of words, complex abbreviated words used instead of multicomponent phrases, numerous types of abbreviations, i.e. abbreviation of a single word or a whole phrase, truncation of various types, alphabetisms (alphabetisms), initialisms, graphic and lexical abbreviations, acronyms, elliptical formations, sentence compression. In addition, the tendency to shorten words by increasing the frequency of using various abbreviations has become very noticeable.
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Description
Conclusion
To achieve the goal of the work, which was to study elliptic constructions in modern English, we solved a number of problems.
First of all, we studied the concept of ellipsis and came to the conclusion that this phenomenon has not yet been fully studied in linguistics. Ellipsis is identified with an incomplete sentence (within the framework of the structuralist approach), it is defined as the grammatical incompleteness of sentences (from the point of view of the grammatical approach) or even as the loss of a component from the phrase (from the point of view of the semantic approach). In this work, an ellipsis is understood as a gap in the speech or text of the implied language unit, i.e. structural incompleteness of a particular syntactic construction.
In this work, we found out that the ellipsis has its own specific features in the str...
Introduction 3
Chapter 1 The concept and features of elliptical structures 5
1.1 Definition of ellipsis 5
1.2 Structural and semantic features of the ellipse 9
1.3 Ellipsis functions in English 13
Chapter 2 Functioning of Elliptical Structures in Modern English 16
2.1 Elliptical designs in fiction 16
2.2 Elliptical designs in English media 21
2.3 Comparison of ellipsis functions in different functional styles of English 23
Conclusion 26
References 28
Introduction
Introduction
Elliptic constructions in English (and other languages of the world) have become of interest to linguists relatively recently. Up until the 19th century. in linguistics there were no serious works on this linguistic phenomenon. However, today scientists are trying to study this linguistic phenomenon from various aspects. Such interest in ellipsis is due to the fact that this phenomenon reflects many fundamental problems of linguistics, such as the relationship between language and thinking, forms and meanings, etc. The study of the ellipsis is necessary to understand the process of saving speech means and efforts in various types of communication.
Based on the foregoing, the relevance of the topic of the work lies in the insufficient knowledge of the problem of elliptic constructions in domestic and foreign linguistics and in the great prospects of these studies.
The research is based on the linguistic works of both domestic and foreign scientists, such as L.S. Barkhudarov, V.V. Vinogradov, I.R. Galperin, V.V. Gurevich, I.P. Ivanova, B.A. Ilyish, R. Quirk, A.M. Peshkovsky and others.
The aim of the work is to study elliptic constructions in modern English.
To achieve the goal, it is necessary to solve a number of tasks:
1. Study the definition of the concept of "ellipsis".
2. Consider its features and functions in English.
3. Analyze elliptical constructions in various functional styles of the English language.
4. Conduct a comparative analysis of the structural and functional features of the ellipse in different texts.
The object of the study is the linguistic features of the English language.
The subject of the study, which determined the topic of the work, was elliptic constructions in English.
The novelty of the work lies in the fact that elliptical structures are analyzed based on a comparison of their structure and functions in various functional styles.
The theoretical significance of the work lies in the fact that the results of the study can be used to better understand a foreign text, to study the lexicology and grammar of applied linguistics.
The practical significance of the study lies in the possibility of using the results of the work in theoretical courses of grammar and lexicology of the English language, at seminars and practical classes in these disciplines.
The material of the study is elliptical structures found in a work of art (50 units) and in the headings of media texts (50 units).
Sources of material: the work of art by N. Gaiman "Coraline" and articles from the British newspaper "The Guardian" (in the amount of 50 article headings).
Research methods: observation method, description method, empirical method, comparative method.
The structure and scope of the work: the work consists of an introduction, two chapters, a conclusion and a list of references.
Fragment of the work for review
As E.M. Ezikeva, in the elliptical construction used to save speech means, the well-known folk wisdom is manifested that “brevity is the sister of talent”.
In an effort to save speech resources and effort, the ellipsis often has a simple structure. Despite this, it shows a high degree of information capacity.
Another function of the ellipsis is to avoid duplication of information or tautology. In this case, the use of an elliptical construction is due to purely linguistic motives.
Dialogic speech, in which ellipsis is most often found in English, is characterized by the fact that the process of thinking coincides with the process of communication, i.e. communication takes place on the fly. In this regard, elliptical constructions within the framework of the dialogue acquire the character of inconsistency, ill-conceived speech.
If we compare English with other languages, we can note the various functions of the ellipsis. For example, I.R. Halperin notes that in German the subject can be omitted in a sentence only in emotionally elevated speech in the appropriate context. In English, the phenomenon of ellipsis is typical of colloquial speech, not only emotionally elevated.
Moreover, a number of elliptical constructions are widely used in the English language, and therefore they can become clichés of colloquial speech, and if they are widely repeated, they become phraseological units. For example: Glad to meet you.
All of the above functions are observed, as a rule, in colloquial speech. The use of ellipsis in everyday communication is due to the situationality inherent in colloquial speech, the presence of non-verbal means of communication, such as gestures, facial expressions, etc. Sometimes the use of ellipsis in conversational communication is due to the structural organization of the text.
However, in addition to the colloquial-everyday variety of the language, elliptical constructions can also be used in other types of communication. For example, V.N. Yartseva notes the widespread use of ellipsis in oratory, in fiction as stylistic figures in order to create a dynamic narrative, greater expressiveness, enhanced expressiveness of the text.
According to the above ellipsis functions, these constructions in English have, by and large, a positive potential. However, not all researchers adhere to this point of view. For example, A.S. Butusova notes that ellipsis is the degradation of the language, the destruction of traditional grammar rules, linguistic deformation, the result of which can be a complete misunderstanding of the communicants of each other.
Based on the foregoing, we can conclude that elliptical constructions in English are best studied in terms of comparing their structure and functions in various functional styles. In our opinion, the best sources for the use of modern English are fiction, in which the ellipsis is a stylistic means, and media texts, in which the ellipsis has other functions than a work of art.
Chapter 2 Functioning of Elliptic Constructions in Modern English
2.1 Elliptical designs in fiction
The material for the study of the structure and functions of elliptical constructions in English is the texts of various functional styles: the style of fiction and journalistic style. The choice of research material is due to the fact that, in our opinion, these functional styles are able to show all the diversity and modification of the English language. Moreover, the style of fiction is very different from journalism: if in literature the main function is the aesthetic function, then in journalism elliptical constructions, which are used, as a rule, in the headlines of newspaper texts, perform mostly an attractive function, i.e. encourage the reader to read the article.
To begin with, let's consider the elliptical structures used in the frames of the artwork by N. Gaiman "Coraline". In this work, an ellipsis is found both in dialogues and in a monologue narrative.
In their structure, the elliptical structures found in the work of art are very diverse.
Most often, the full grammatical stem is omitted in the sentence, i.e. subject and predicate, which is found in the characters' remarks. For example:
They kept saying Coraline. Not Caroline. Not Caroline at all. In the highlighted sentences, grammatical bases are omitted: “it is”.
"How are your dear mother and father?" asked Miss Spink. / "Missing," said Coralline. – In the given example, the ellipsis is observed in the response to the question, in which the grammatical stem “they are” is omitted.
Within the framework of dialogical speech in the work of N. Gaiman, the construction “there is / are” is often omitted:
In the car on the way back home, Coraline said, "What's in the empty flat?" / "I don't know. Nothing, I expect. It probably looks like our flat before we moved in. Empty rooms."
Both main members of the sentence undergo an ellipsis within the framework of imperative constructions. Semantically, such sentences express an order. As in the following example, the semantics of the ellipsis is a command to the dog:
"Oh, it's you, Caroline," she said. "Angus, Hamish, Bruce, down now, lovies. It "s only Caroline. Come in, dear. Would you like a cup of tea?"
In rather rare cases, the main members of the sentence are omitted in conjunction with minor members. This structural type of ellipsis is possible, firstly, in response to the question:
"When do you go back to school?" asked her mother. / "Next week," said Coraline.
Secondly, this elliptic construction is used in the function of asking for information again:
"We"ve been waiting for you for a long time," said Coraline's other father. / "For me?" / "Yes," said the other mother.
Within the framework of elliptical structures, only one of the main members is omitted.
The subject is omitted exclusively in dialogic speech, when simulating informal communication of characters:
"Where"s your ticket?" "Haven"t got one."
Her pale lips mouthed, "Come back soon," although she said nothing aloud.
The omission of the predicate is observed in elliptical sentences used both in dialogues and in monologues of characters in a work of art:
Coralline sighed. "I don't have a ticket," she admitted. / "Another one," said the dog gloomily.
"How long does this go on for?" asked Coralline. "The theatre?"
You can stay here for ever and always. If you want to.
In some cases, the omitted predicate is replaced in the sentence by the corresponding auxiliary verb ("to be" or "to do"). In this case, we can also talk about the presence of an ellipsis in the sentence. For example:
Please. I'm sorry. I really am." - Here the auxiliary verb "to be" replaces the compound predicate "to be sorry".
"I didn't know I had another mother," said Coraline cautiously. / "Of course you do. Everyone does," said the other mother, her black-button eyes gleaming. - In this case, the auxiliary verb "do" replaces the predicate with the addition "have another mother".
By their structure, elliptical constructions can consist not only in the omission of the main members of the sentence. In the analyzed work of art, the omission of the auxiliary verb is often observed. For example:
"Mm. You know what I suggest, Miss Jones?" – In this example, the elliptic construction consists in the omission of the auxiliary verb “do” in the interrogative sentence.
"Don't wear green in your dressing room," suggested Miss Spink. / "Or mention the Scottish play," added Miss Forcible. – In the highlighted sentence, the auxiliary verb with the negation of "don't" is omitted as part of the elliptical construction.
We also note the structural types of elliptical structures, which are less frequent in the analyzed work of art:
- omission of the verb "to be" in the passive infinitive: He seemed pleased to have somebody to talk to. – As part of the “Complex Subject” construction, the “eem/consider… to be” construction is traditionally used;
- omission of minor members: "I" m an explorer," said Coraline. / "Of course you are, lovey," said Miss Forcible. - In this case, the verb "to be" (are) replaces the addition "an explorer";
- omission of the main clause within the conditional clause: "Can I go into the drawing room?" The drawing room was where the Joneses kept the expensive (and uncomfortable) furniture Coraline's grandmother had left them when she died. Coraline wasn't allowed in there. Nobody went in there. It was only for the best. / "If you don"t make a mess. And you don't touch anything.
The functions of introducing ellipsis into artistic narrative are also very diverse.
Since most often elliptical constructions are used within the framework of dialogues, one of the main functions of the ellipsis is to imitate informal everyday communication. For example:
"Hello, Caroline," said Miss Spink. "Rotten weather."
Within the framework of dialogues, the ellipsis is used as a function of a short answer to a question, which is also accepted in the conditions of informal everyday communication. For example:
She said to her mother, "Where does that door go?" / "Nowhere, dear."
In everyday communication, people often ask each other again in order to clarify the issue or understand what the interlocutor means. The function of asking for information also uses elliptical constructions, as in the following example:
"They used to send flowers to my dressing room. They did," she said. / "Who did?" asked Coraline.
The function of saving speech means is not often found within the framework of a work of art. However, in some cases one can observe clichéd elliptical sentences. For example:
"See you soon," said the dog.
Savings in speech means are also observed when simulating a telephone conversation:
Then she picked up the telephone, and opened the phone book and called the local police station. / "Police," said a gruff male voice.
Within the framework of fiction, elliptical constructions are used to add, clarify and complete the information given in the previous statement. In this case, the ellipsis performs an explanatory function. For example:
"It"s Coraline. Not Caroline. Coraline," said Coraline. - The italicized sentences, which are elliptical constructions, are used here to clarify the information given in the previous sentence.
"Don't wear green in your dressing room," suggested Miss Spink. / "Or mention the Scottish play," added Miss Forcible. – In this case, new information is added through the elliptical design.
"After lunch I thought you might like to play in your room with the rats." / "The rats?" / "From upstairs." - Here you can see a clarifying answer to the question in the previous sentence.
Elliptic constructions are widely used to describe a particular speech situation. For example, in the following excerpt from a dialogue in a work of art by N. Gaiman, an elliptical construction is used to show the character's busyness, his reluctant communication:
"Why don't you play with me?" she asked. / "Busy," he said. "Working," he added.
In a number of cases, elliptical structures are used to characterize an order or call:
"Oh, it's you, Caroline," she said. "Angus, Hamish, Bruce, down now, lovies. It "s only Caroline. Come in, dear. Would you like a cup of tea?" - In this case, the elliptical design is used to describe the command to the dogs.
"Lunchtime, Coraline," said the woman. - in the above example, the omission of the main members (“it is”) implies a call to action by the interlocutor - to come to dinner.
Next, we compare the elliptical constructions used in fiction with the media ellipsis and identify similarities and differences.
2.2 Elliptical designs in English-language media
The material for analyzing the structure and functions of elliptical structures in the English-language media is the well-known British newspaper The Guardian. A large number of elliptical structures are observed in the headlines of newspaper articles, and in terms of their structure, the ellipsis quite often coincides with the types of ellipsis in a work of art analyzed above.
In the headlines of newspaper articles, the ellipsis is used in the form of the omission of both main members of the sentence, i.e. full grammatical basis:
Angela Merkel: enigmatic leader of a divided land. – In this sentence, the grammatical stem “she is” is omitted.
Often, the “there is / are” turnover is omitted, as in a work of art:
Sports Direct: some tips for MPs hoping to "grill" Mike Ashley.
Nursery "raised fears of radicalization over boy"s cucumber drawing".
We did not find the omission of the subject within the texts of the media, which, from our point of view, is connected with the peculiarities of journalistic texts. Journalistic texts, as a rule, do not allow ambiguity or reticence. Information must be objective and evidence-based.
However, the omission of the predicate in the framework of elliptical sentences is very common. For example:
BP to continue arts sponsorship deals despite cutting ties with Tate.
History not on George Osborne"s side in move from Treasury to No 10.
In some cases, in the headings of journalistic articles, a part of the compound predicate is omitted - the verb "to be". For example, the verb "to be" is omitted in the Continuous tense form:
Labor ‘not winning back swing voters’ under Jeremy Corbyn.
Stone Roses "preparing to release third album".
Also, the verb "to be" is omitted in passive constructions:
South Sudan journalist kidnapped and tortured.
Interrogative sentences used in the headlines of newspaper articles quite often do not contain an auxiliary verb, which is a violation of the grammatical norms of the English language. For example:
Petrol lit with a cigarette? Only in the movies
The story of cities, day 1: how Alexandria laid foundations for the modern world
We note another structural type of the elliptic construction - the omission of the linking union "that" in complex sentences. For example:
Cuts "will see 200,000 disabled people lose £3,000 a year".
If the structure of elliptical structures in the English-language media is similar to the structure of the ellipsis used in fiction, then the functions of elliptical structures within the Guardian newspaper are very different.
One of the main functions of elliptic constructions is the nominative function, i.e. the function of the title of the article, highlighting the key concepts described in the article. In this function, an ellipsis with the omission of the predicate is most often used. For example:
Budget 2016: George Osborne fuels speculation of nasty shocks.
UK fog: your underwhelming photos.
The function of saving speech means is more common here than in an English-language work of art. This is due, in our opinion, to the fact that the title should be brief and reflect the essence of the following article. For example:
Ed Vaizey to meet Bradford MPs over museum row.
Unite says government is reluctant to exempt NHS from TTIP.
London mayor race: why Zac Goldsmith claims the green belt is in danger.
To express the essence of the described event, an elliptical construction with an unexpressed part of the predicate can be used in the headlines of an English-language newspaper. For example:
US sailor arrested in Okinawa on suspicion of rape.
Interrogative sentences in media headlines take the form of an affirmative sentence using an ellipsis:
How a contested convention could allow Republicans to snatch Trump's crown.
Some headings, which are monologue in nature, have an imitation of dialogue. For this purpose, the title uses an elliptical question (in its semantics, it imitates asking for more information) and its explanation:
Cheaper cities? Economist index shows cost of urban life is going down.
Thus, the use of elliptical constructions in modern English depends, first of all, on the context and situation of communication and, in particular, on the functional style within which communication takes place.
2.3 Comparison of ellipsis functions in different functional styles of the English language
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