Peculiarities of functioning of grammatical means in expressive compressed texts

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Peculiarities of functioning of grammatical means in expressive compressed texts

N. Lysenko

Oles Honchar Dnipro National University

The article deals with the investigation of grammatical means of achieving expressiveness in compressed texts. In addition, the peculiarities of functioning of these means are considered in the article. Researches of linguistic expressive means are closely related to stylistics, thus, expressive means in compressed texts are, first of all, represented by stylistic devices as the expressive discourse is actualized through stylistics. Grammatical level of the language is traditionally subdivided into morphological and syntactical, correspondingly we distinguish between morphological and syntactic grammatical expressive means. Thus, at the morphological level compressed texts are usually characterized by the use of certain parts of speech with expressive meanings. Here mostly belong such categories of words as adjectives and adverbs. Other morphological means may include the use of different tenses. As to syntactic level, the expressive means in the compressed texts are represented by syntactic synonymy, inversion, the use of different syntactic structures (sentence types), the use of short sentences in answers to questions, different types of repetition, ellipse, direct speech, parallel constructions. On the whole, both grammatical morphological means and grammatical syntactic ones are rather productive in achievement of expressiveness in the compressed texts.

Key words: compressed text, expressiveness, grammatical means, expressive means, morphological level, syntactical level, anecdote, emotionality.

Н.О. Лисенко

Особливості функціонування граматичних засобів у експресивних стислих текстах

Дніпровський національний університет імені Олеся Гончара

У статті в загальному вигляді досліджуються граматичні засоби досягнення експресивності в стислих текстах. Крім того, у статті розглядаються особливості функціонування зазначених засобів. Дослідження експресивних засобів у мові тісно пов'язані зі стилістикою, саме тому експресивні засоби в стислих текстах, насамперед, представлені стилістичними засобами, оскільки експресивний дискурс актуалізується через стилістику. Граматичний рівень мови традиційно поділяється на морфологічний і синтаксичний рівні, відповідно розрізняють морфологічні та синтаксичні граматичні експресивні засоби. Таким чином, на морфологічному рівні стислі тексти зазвичай характеризуються використанням окремих частин мови з експресивними значеннями. До них переважно відносяться такі категорії слів, як прикметники та прислівники. Інші морфологічні засоби можуть включати використання різних граматичних часів. Що стосується синтаксичного рівня, то експресивні засоби в стислих текстах представлені синтаксичною синонімією, інверсією, використанням різних синтаксичних конструкцій (типів речень), використанням коротких речень у відповідях на запитання, різними видами повторів, еліпсом, прямою мовою, паралельними конструкціями. Загалом, як граматичні морфологічні засоби, так і граматичні синтаксичні засоби виступають досить продуктивними в досягненні експресивності в стислих текстах.

Ключові слова: стислий текст, експресивність, граматичні засоби, експресивні засоби, морфологічний рівень, синтаксичний рівень, анекдот, емоційність.

Н.А. Лысенко

Особенности функционирования грамматических средств в экспрессивных сжатых текстах

Днепровский национальный университет имени Олеся Гончара

Статья посвящена исследованию грамматических средств достижения экспрессивности в сжатых текстах. Кроме того, в статье рассматриваются особенности функционирования этих средств. Исследования языковых экспрессивных средств тесно связаны со стилистикой, поэтому они представлены в сжатых текстах, прежде всего, стилистическими приемами, т.к. экспрессивный дискурс актуализируется через стилистику. Грамматический уровень языка традиционно подразделяют на морфологический и синтаксический, соответственно различают морфологические и синтаксические грамматические экспрессивные средства. Таким образом, на морфологическом уровне сжатые тексты обычно характеризуются использованием определенных частей речи с экспрессивными значениями. К ним в основном относятся такие категории слов, как прилагательные и наречия. Другие морфологические средства могут включать использование разных времен. На синтаксическом уровне экспрессивные средства в сжатых текстах представлены синтаксической синонимией, инверсией, использованием различных синтаксических конструкций (типов предложений), использованием коротких предложений в ответах на вопросы, различными видами повтора, эллипсом, прямой речью, параллельными конструкциями. В целом как грамматико-морфологические, так и грамматико-синтаксические средства весьма продуктивны в достижении экспрессивности в сжатых текстах.

Ключевые слова: сжатый текст, экспрессивность, грамматические средства, экспрессивные средства, морфологический уровень, синтаксический уровень, анекдот, эмоциональность.

The article deals with the issue of existing grammatical means, which are used in compressed texts in order to achieve their expressiveness. This issue is relevant as today more and more attention of linguists is drawn to the research of expressive compressed texts and the variety of linguistic means of their creation.

Today in linguistics special attention is drawn to the study of expressiveness and the means of its achievement in the text. According to T. Vynokur, expressiveness is related to stylistic meanings which correspond to a certain type of expressive semantics, complicating the lexical or grammatical phenomenon of a language [1, p. 43]. As to grammatical means in a compressed text, this issue has been under investigation of N. Kalashnyk and N. Hetman, offering to treat text compression from the point of view of three degrees of compression, which occurs due to namely syntactic grammatical means [2].

This article is devoted to consideration of the main grammatical means, which not only help to compress information, but also make texts expressive. The aim of the article is to identify grammatical means of compression that promote expressiveness and to study the process of functioning of these means on the examples of compressed texts in English.

On the morphological level expressive compressed texts are characterized by the use of such categories of words as adjectives and adverbs. Such adjectives and adverbs in the process of their use may lose their basic, subject-logical meaning and act only in the emotional sense of enhancing quality, for example, awfully nice, terribly sorry etc. Such word combinations are characterized by the feature of logical mutual exclusion of concepts that are part of this word combination.

For example,

Mary: John says I'm pretty. Andy says I'm ugly. What do you think, Peter?

Peter: I think you 're pretty ugly [3, p. 221].

In this example the adjective `ugly" is used in the meaning of `unattractive in appearance', as well as the adverb `pretty" in the meaning of `quite, to a large degree', which performs the function of intensifier of meaning of the adjective ` ugly" in the word combination `pretty ugly' But first `pretty" was as well used as an adjective and expressed the meaning `pleasant to look at'. Mary says John finds her pretty while Andy thinks she is ugly, and then asks Peter's opinion about her appearance. Peter replied using the structure `pretty (adverb) + adjective/adverb', i.e. Peter thinks Mary is ugly enough.

Here is another example of an anecdote:

PUPIL: "Would you punish me for something I didn 't do?" TEACHER: "Of course not."

PUPIL: "Good, because I haven't done my homework" [3, p. 190].

In the mentioned above example there is no deviation from the traditional rules of grammar. According to the content of this anecdote, first the pupil asks if he will be punished for what he didn't do (with the help of Past Simple: `I didn't do"). Having received the satisfactory answer from the teacher, the pupil admits what exactly he didn't do - `I haven't done my homework" - this time with the help of Present Perfect, referring to the recently completed action. Thus, the use of the Past Simple in the first sentence indicates that the pupil once didn't do something and if he would be punished for this. And Present Perfect reveals the true meaning of the question about the possible punishment as at the moment the pupil hasn't done hi s homework. Owing to the use of different tenses and meanings expressed by them, the stylistic expressiveness of this text is achieved.

Concerning syntactic means, first of all, at this level it is necessary to take into account the syntactic synonymy, i.e. the transfer of approximately the same subject- logical information by different syntactic constructions with various functional - stylistic and expressive colouring and connotations. That is, syntactic colouring is a deviation from the general or neutral use. Among the main syntactic means of achieving expressiveness of the text found in our examples, we can first mention inversion, the use of different syntactic structures (sentence types), the use of short sentences in answers to questions, different types of repetition, ellipse, direct speech, parallel constructions.

Inversion is an unusual arrangement of sentence elements and is aimed at enhancing the expressiveness of the utterance. It is known that in an English sentence each of its members has a certain place that is determined by the way of its syntactic expression, connections with other words and a type of a sentence. Inversion is a deviation from the usual order of members of a sentence, in the result of which certain element becomes isolated and receives special connotations of emotionality and expressiveness.

Here is an example of the slogan of the Guinness Irish Stout beer advertising campaign:

Out of the darkness comes light [4].

In this example we observe the inversion of the predicate ` comes", which precedes the subject `light". Beer in this slogan is compared to `light", i.e. the advertised product in this case is perceived as something bright and positive, and in order to draw attention to these qualities a special order of the principal parts of the sentence is applied.

Here is an example of an anecdote with the use of repetition:

A: I have the perfect son.

B: Does he smoke?

A: No, he doesn't.

B: Does he drink whiskey?

A: No, he doesn't.

B: Does he ever come home late?

A: No, he doesn't.

B: I guess you really do have the perfect son. How old is he?

A: He will be six months old next Wednesday [3, p. 98].

The special feature of this text is the use of repetitions in answers to questions. One of the participants of the dialogue claims that he has an ideal son, so when he's asked if his son smokes, or drinks whiskey, or ever comes home late, he constantly gives the same answer - “No, he doesn't.” A funny solution appears when the question “How old is he?” arises and it turns out that h e will be only six months old.

The purpose of the use of repetitions in answers to questions in this example is to create a growing emotional tension in confirmation of the existence of an ideal son, but in fact it leads to the increase of the effect of deceived expectation.

Generally, repetition is such a figure of speech that consists in repetition of sounds, words, morphemes, synonyms and syntactic constructions. In emotionally high speech the repetition of words usually conveys the emotional state of th e speaker, and is not designed to create any effect. However, the repetition of words in the author's speech is not a consequence of the mental state of the speaker, but it aims at a certain stylistic effect - the emotional impact on the reader. Repetitions convey significant additional information of emotionality, expressiveness and stylization, and also serves as an important means of connection between sentences.

Such a syntactic method of compression as ellipse is usually the omission of logically necessary elements of the sentence. Ellipse should be treated as a stylistic category. For instance, in dialogic speech we observe not the omission of some member of a sentence, but its natural absence, i.e. it is not a conscious action. But in literary or written types of speech such absence of any member of the sentence is an omission, as well as a conscious action and hence it is a fact of stylistics. This technique has developed in written speech as a means of concise, emotionally - coloured speech.

First of all, here may belong the use of simple and incomplete sentences like in the following example:

Advice to Persons about to Marry: Don't [3, p. 105].

Owing to the incomplete sentence, which is constructed only with the help of an auxiliary verb with a negative particle - `don P, succinctly and concisely the thought-advice is addressed to those who are going to get married - `no'. The implication of this answer is the idea - do not do this (you shouldn't).

The purpose of such type of ellipse as the omission of conjunctions is to make speech more laconic:

A fiery tempered Southern business man wrote the following letter:

“Sir, my stenographer, being a lady, cannot type what I think of you. I, being a gentleman, cannot think it. You, being neither, will understand what I mean ' [3, p. 117]. grammatical expressive compressed text

In this text while enumerating the thoughts in the letter it is possible to use the conjunction `and" in place of the underlined parts, but instead these thoughts are separated by dots and presented in separate sentences.

Such type of ellipse as an emotional break in an utterance is usually used to convey the excitement of the speaker, or intentionally, but it is possible to guess the meaning of the not mentioned part.

“Didyou pass your exam ? ”

“Well, it was like this - you see -”

“Shake! Neither did I” [3, p. 62].

In this example, one of the participants in the conversation has not finished answering the question whether he passed the exam, because the other participant in this conversation treats a pause in the answer like the fact that he also failed the exam. Thus, here a short answer `no' is implied.

Direct speech as a stylistic device is a generalization and typification of the characteristics of internal speech. Improper direct speech, which has a communicative function, qualitatively changes the internal speech, giving it this function.

“Now look here,” the Army doctor snapped at the recruit, “you know very well you wouldn't come to me in civilian life with a little thing like this.”

“You 're right. I wouldn't,” replied the recruit. “I'd send for you ” [3, p. 90].

The mentioned above example is a short text of a dialogue with the use of direct speech. The direct speech makes this text expressive and concise due to the fact that it presents the result of certain mental efforts: first a person thought what he wanted to say, and then expressed his thought.

Another syntactic means of achieving expressiveness of the text is parallelism or parallel constructions:

A: When I stand on my head the blood rushes to my head, but when I stand on my feet the blood doesn't rush to my feet. Why is this?

B: It's because your feet aren't empty [3, p. 105].

The peculiarity of the mentioned above example is the opposition, which is accompanied by a change of objects in the sentence: `my head' - `my feet', as well as the use of, first, affirmative construction and then the negative one: `rushes' - `doesn't rush'. One of the participants of the dialogue says that when he stands on his head, blood flows to his head, but when he stands on his feet, blood does not flow to his feet - here, first, the object `head' is replaced by `feet', secondly, there appears negation of `rush' - `doesn't rush'. The main syntactically significant words in this example are the verb `stand' and the noun `blood'. The expressiveness of this text is achieved through the answer of another participant of the dialogue, who explains the reason by the fact that his feet (most likely, unlike the head) are not empty.

Thus, it can be concluded that grammatical means, including morphological and syntactic ones, play a significant role in achieving expressiveness in compressed texts. The main grammatical means of achieving expressiveness, which have been found in our examples, include the use of certain parts of speech, namely qualitative adjectives and adverbs, different grammatical tenses; inversion, different types of repetition, ellipse, direct speech, parallel constructions. In the future, it is possible to analyse these and other grammatical means of achieving expressiveness on the basis of various types of compressed texts in English.

References

1. Vinokur T. (2015). Zakonomernosti stilisticheskogo ispoTzovaniia iazykovykh edinits. [Patterns of stylistic use of language units]. Izdatel'stvo "FLINTA". 240 p. (in Russian)

2. Kalashnyk N., Hetman N. (2004). Kompresiia tekstu. Algorytm referatu i annotatsii. Osnovy perekladatsskogo referuvannia. [Text compression. Algorithm of abstract and annotation. Basics of translation abstracting]. Teoriia ta praktyka perekladu. [Theory and practice of translation]. Zaporizhzhia. P. 103-122. (in Ukrainian)

3. Pocheptsov G. (1982). Iazyk i yumor. [Language and humour]. Kiev: Vyscha shkola. 318 p. (in Russian)

4. Database of slogans. URL: http://www.textart.ru/database/slogan/list-advertising-slogans.html

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