Concepts of investigation of complex sentences

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Concepts of investigation of complex sentences

semantic sentence predicative

Moiseienko S.M.

Volkova О.А.

The article focuses on the study of the basic structural, semantic and pragmatic properties of complex sentences in the English and Ukrainian languages. Sentence is one of the basic concepts of syntax; the statement, which tells about something and is designed for visual or aural (in writing) perception. A sentence is characterized by communicativity, relative autonomy, structural integrity, predication, modality and intonation. Structural patterns summarize the types of predicate relations. Oppositions of structural patterns by expressed syntactic features of predicate relations form system links between these structural patterns and create paradigmatics of sentences.

Language is known to exist in two interrelated mental processes: the mind (a set of language tools and schemes that are stored in human memory) and speech (creation of sentences and the text reflecting extra-linguistic reality).

Language means - phonemes, morphemes, words and word forms - do not have self-sufficient value. They exist only for speech, i.e. for sentences and text. This is only stock, disparate elements which, with their help to convey some message, information, opinion, still need some way to be organized, united, using their properties. Therefore, syntax plays the decisive role in the speech.

The study of complex sentence has a long history. Despite the significant achievements of the national (I.R. Buniyatova, YO. Zhluktenko, O.M. Morohovskyy, G.G. Pocheptsov) and foreign (S. Allen, R. Lass, E. Trauhot, R. Stockwell, A. Fisher) syntactic thought, a lot of problems in the study of syntax of English sentences in historical perspective remain unexplored. In particular, there is a need for further development of syntactic studies in diachrony and rethinking of evolutionary processes having taken place in the structure and semantics of complex sentences.

The relevance of the study is determined by the need to study the structural and functional features of a complex sentence in the context of solving the general problem of its origin and formation. This will help reveal the mechanisms of syntactic change and is caused by the general direction of modern linguistic research to solve problems of the language functioning.

The purpose of the study is to establish the basic structural, semantic and pragmatic properties of complex sentences in the English and Ukrainian languages.

This purpose outlines the following specific objectives:

- identify the historical conditions of formation of a complex sentence;

- disclose the main features of a complex sentence;

- systematize factual material that represents a paradigmatic manifestation of a complex sentence.

To solve the outlined objectives it is applied methodological principles of language as a system of effects that operates and follows the laws of dialectics, the unity of form and content, total and partial etc.

The object of research is complex sentences in the English and Ukrainian languages.

The subject of study acts structural, semantic and functional features of complex sentences in the English and Ukrainian languages.

Theoretical problems of the study of a complex sentence.

Typological description of individual languages should be based on individual characteristics of languages, regular and irregular events, and this description should be structural.

«The type of language, - Reformatskyy states - should be determined based on the grammatical structure» [6, p. 5-7].

It is known the English and Ukrainian languages belong not only to different branches of the Indo-European family of languages (the first - to German, the second - to Slavic) but also to different structural types as the first is mainly the analytic language where grammar relations in a sentence are passed by free morphemes, and the second is the inflected language where relations and grammatical meanings are transmitted using grammatical bound morphemes - inflections [2, p. 311].

It is known the language is a system. Each system has its own structure. Structure is a way of organizing the system, its internal structure. In particular, the language has a four-level structure. Phonological level is the lowest, followed by morphological, lexical-semantic, and syntactic level is the highest.

Syntax is a level of language that is exploring more sophisticated units than a word. Syntactic level as any other language level has its constituent units such as a phrase and a sentence.

Sentence is one of the basic concepts of syntax; the statement, which tells about something and is designed for visual or aural (in writing) perception.

The main features of a sentence. Unlike words and phrases a sentence is characterized by communicativity (a sentence semantics is correlated with the primary logical form of thought - judgment, which contributes to the transmission of specific content in logically understandable forms and sentence structure is able to enter into any form of communication, fit in speech situation); relative autonomy (each sentence expresses a complete thought and is separated from other sentences with pauses); structural integrity (it is based on a certain structural model).

The main features of a sentence, except communicativity, are predication and intonation. Predication is a correlation of content of a sentence with reality. Thanks to the predication content of a sentence is treated as real (occurred, occurs or will occur) or surreal (possible, desirable, etc.). Predication is formed by a category of method and modality. Modality is treatment of a speaker to content of a sentence. Meaningful basis of modality is concept of evaluation such as intellectual (rational) and emotional. Modality is expressed by inserted units (to seem, to say, definitely, probably, etc.), modal particles (though, perhaps), special intonation, word order (What a good day!) and others. C. Bally considered that any statement has a factual content (dictum) and its evaluation (modus). There is another, a broad interpretation of modality in linguistics, which essentially coincides with the above definition of predication.

As for the intonation, it has an exceptional role in the forming of a sentence. Any word can be a sentence, if it is said with a certain intonation (Look! Rain? Forward!). Obviously, neither modality, no predication can be expressed without intonation at all.

As for the nature of the sentence in the science of language, there are three views: 1) determination of a sentence by the communicative function and assigning it to the speech; 2) determination of a sentence by structural and grammatical grounds and attributing it to several languages; 3) allocation of two units - sentence and statement, the first of which is characterized as a kind of structural model and belongs to the language and the second - as a linguistically filled model with some intonation contour and belongs to language.

The third important concept is the distinction between sentence and statement. Some scientists find such criteria for a sentence as a grammatical structure and tonal autonomy; others take into account only the structure and tonal autonomy is regarded as a sufficient criterion for a statement. Thus, according to the third concept a sentence is a virtual abstract linguistic unit, the structure of which is described excluding its lexical content and expressed communicative task. Statement is a specific speech unit, characterized by linear implementation of a virtual model, communicative purpose, intonation design and situational value. As noted by S.O. Kart - sevskyy, a sentence is a grammatical structure, which is characterized by the presence of the predicate and a statement (expression) is updated unit of communication [3, p. 251]. Here we must stress the obligation of intonation in statement. A sentence is studied by structural (constructive) syntax, and statement - by current (communicative, functional) syntax. Though most linguists distinguish theoretically a sentence and statement, the term statement has not found wide applications, usually in this sense the term sentence is traditionally used with the specification of the communicative (functional) aspect.

The structural patterns of a complex sentence. Structural patterns summarize the types of predicate relations, so their number is limited. They have a national specificity, but types of predicate relations by content are common. If a structural pattern of a simple sentence is a linguistic form of predication, a structural pattern of a complex sentence is a way of communication between the predicative parts that make up a complex sentence.

To a positional pattern, except main members it is included various distributors, i.e. minor members of the sentence (in the traditional sense) or actants and subactants (in modern terminology). Generalized pattern of the sentence can be schematically represented as [5, p. 146]:

A pattern of members of a sentence

It is believed that structural patterns are laid only in the system of language and positional patterns are formed in speech. Since syntax starting with a word form, then is divided into syntax of a word combination, syntax of a simple sentence, syntax of a complicated sentence, syntax of a complex sentence and syntax of a text, each of these branches of single syntax has specific rules and patterns. Mastering of them provides, on the one hand, the right formation of statements of various types, clear and intelligible transmission of opinion to others, on the other hand, the correct understanding of others' statements.

Oppositions of structural patterns by expressed syntactic features of predicate relations form system links between these structural patterns and create paradigmatics of sentences. Questions of paradigmatics of a sentence do not have a clear solution. In transformational grammar (N. Chomsky and his school) the paradigmatics of a sentence is structural different but semantically comparable syntactic structures (sentences), which is equivalent to paraphrase. P. Adamets treats paradigmatics extended: it is a hierarchically organized system, which includes a core sentence and all its transforms that involve changes in the syntagmatic structure under stability of semantics; all modifications due to changes in modal and phase value; all variations caused by changes in the morphological categories of voice, time, manner, number [l, p. 79]. Formulated by P. Adamets principle aims to build a common system of language as a set of polynomial and hierarchically organized paradigms of a limited number of core models, i.e. what can be called syntactic field of a sentence.

Some concepts interpret paradigmatics of a sentence as a set of all morphological variations of a sentence [4, p. 257]. Obviously, they take into account only proper model transformations within the categories of time, modality, person, number, gender and voice by communicative purpose.

Conclusions. Sentence is one of the basic concepts of syntax; the statement, which tells about something and is designed for visual or aural (in writing) perception. A sentence is characterized by communicativity, relative autonomy, structural integrity, predication, modality and intonation.

A structural pattern of a simple sentence is linguistic forms of predication, the structural pattern of a complex sentence is a way of communication between the predicative parts that make up a complex sentence. To a positional pattern, except main members it is included various distributors, i.e. minor members of the sentence (in the traditional sense) or actants and subactants (in modern terminology). Oppositions of structural patterns by expressed syntactic features of predicate relations form system links between these structural patterns and create paradigmatics of sentences.

History of research of a complex sentence indicates a gradual transition from formal, semantic research methods to communicative-paradigmatic methods that cover widely all the features of a sentence taking into account its context.

The study does not claim a comprehensive review of the theory of sentences, including complex. The paper has a number of open questions for further study, as discussed above aspects of the problem do not exhaust all its sides. Promising is seen the possibility of using the main statements and conclusions of the article in the further study of comparative syntax of the English and Ukrainian languages.

References

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