Category of number 1 страница

Linguistic representation of the objective category of quantity

Number category realized through opposition: singular-plural

1. Singular form may denote oneness – individual separate object

2. generalization: meaning – class of objects

3.indescriteness (нераздельность) (uncountableness) [money, milk] см. Ниже

The category of number is expressed by the opposition of the plural form of the noun to the singular form of the noun. The strong member of this binary opposition is the plural, its productive formal mark being the suffix -(e)s [-z, -s, -iz ] as presented in the forms dog — dogs, clock — clocks, box — boxes. The productive formal mark correlates with the absence of the number suffix in the singular form of the noun. The semantic content of the unmarked form, as has been shown above, enables the grammarians to speak of the zero-suffix of the singular in English.

{G} 1.2. The main grammatical categories of noun

The other, non-productive ways of expressing the number opposition are vowel interchange in several relict forms (man — men, woman — women, tooth — teeth, etc.), the archaic suffix -(e)n supported by phonemic interchange in a couple of other relict forms (ox — oxen, child — children, cow — kine, brother — brethren), the correlation of

individual singular and plural suffixes in a limited number of borrowed nouns (formula — formulae, phenomenon — phenomena, alumnus— alumni, etc.). In some cases the plural form of the noun is homonymous with the singular form (sheep, deer, fish, etc.).

The category of number: single and plural. The essential meaning of singular and plural form shows that one object is meant or many objects are meant. The opposition is one more than one. However the category of number gives rise to several problems.

Plural: existence of several objects

The most general quantitative characteristics of individual words constitute the lexico-grammatical base for dividing the nounal vocabulary as a whole into countable nouns and uncountable nouns. The constant categorial feature "quantitative structure" is directly connected with the variable feature "number", since uncountable nouns are treated grammatically as either singular or plural. Namely, the singular uncountable nouns are modified by the non-discrete quantifiers much or little, and they take the finite verb in the singular, while the plural uncountable nouns take the finite verb in the plural.

The two subclasses of uncountable nouns are usually referred to, respectively, as singularia tantum (only singular) and pluralia tantum (only plural). In terms of oppositions we may say that in the formation of the two subclasses of uncountable nouns the number opposition is "constantly" (lexically) reduced either to the weak member (singularia tantum) or to the strong member (pluralia tantum).

Pluralia Tantum and Singlaria Tantum. We have two types of noun which differ from all others in the number. They do not have the usual two forms but only one form. The nouns which have only the plural form are usually termed as Pluralia Tantum. The nouns which have only the singular form are termed as Singlaria Tantum.

Among the Pluralia Tantum are such nouns as scissors, shorts, jeans, etc. They include nouns of two types. The first group includes the nouns which denote material objects consisting of two halves. The second group denotes a more or less indefinite plurality. If we compare the English with the Russian we will find that in some cases they correspond to each other. But other nouns do not correspond ('alum). The reason why the given object is denoted by a Pluralia Tantum noun is not quite clear. Close to the group of Pluralia Tantum are some names of sciences and names of diseases.

Singlaria Tantum. Among them we have nouns denoting material substances (milk, sugar, butter, etc.). Besides they include the names of abstract notions (justice, freedom). Some of them strictly speaking denote notions which are outside of the category of number.

Divided into 3 groups

1. nouns in which opposition discr, indiscr: both forms are used [dogs, cats]

2. discr and indiscr not used both = singularia tantum, pluralia tantum

singularia tantum Groups: proper names, abstract nouns, material nouns, collective nouns

pluralia tantum: names of object 2 or more?pounds [jeans], names of sciences [physics], names with homogeneous forms

3. The number of opposition is not expressed but revealed lexically and syntactically in context

A sheep is/are eating grass

{G} 2. General characteristics of the verb and the categories of the adjective

Features:

Meaning – property

Forms: degrees of comparison

According to the meaning adjectives classified into qualitative, relative

Relative adjectives express such properties of a substance as are determined by the direct relation of the substance to some other substance. E.g.: wood — a wooden hut; mathematics — mathematical precision; history — a historical event; table — tabular presentation; colour — coloured postcards; surgery — surgical treatment; the Middle Ages — mediaeval rites.

Qualitative adjectives, as different from relative ones, denote various qualities of substances which admit of a quantitative estimation, i.e. of establishing their correlative quantitative measure. The measure of a quality can be estimated as high or low, adequate or inadequate, sufficient or insufficient, optimal or excessive. Cf.: an awkward situation — a very awkward situation; a difficult task — too difficult a task; an enthusiastic reception — rather an enthusiastic reception; a hearty welcome — not a very hearty welcome;

Forms: adjectives has degrees of comparison [good-better-best]

3 degree: positive, comparative, superlative (always have definite article)

Express different peculiarities of one object or objects with another object with respect in a certain property. Only those adjectives have degrees of comparison which denote properties capable of appearing in different degree. Some not capable according to their semantics or lexical meaning [middle - middler]

Analytical comparative degree – more, most

Degrees of comparison by means of inflexion –er, -est

Few adjectives may form suppletive form: good-better-best]

Function: in sentence – adjective, predicative

Syntactical function: adjective performs functions

• attribute to a noun

• predicative [I’m fine]

in phrase - adj + noun [large room], noun+ajd [time immemorial]

adj + preposition + noun [free from danger]

verb + adj [ taste bad]

{G} 3.1.General characteristics of the verb and the categories of the verb

The English verb is the most complex part of speech. It performs the central role in realizing predication (= connection between situation and utterance and reality)

The English possessed a lot of grammatical categories.

1. grammatical meaning of the verb = verbality (вербальность) – ability to denote a process developing in time Denote: processes, states, forms of existence

2. verb possesses grammatical categories of tense, aspect, voice, mood, person, number, phase, finitude (завершенность) The common categories: finite/ non-finite, voice, aspect, phaseGrammatical categories of the English verb find their expression, syntactical and analytical forms Formative elements expressing these categories are affixes, inner inflexion, function words.

Some categories have only syntactical forms [person, number] Other only analytical forms [voice]

Categories have both syntactical and analytical forms [mood, tense, aspect]

The processual categorial meaning of the notional verb determines its characteristic combination with a noun expressing both the doer of the action (its subject) and, in cases of the objective verb, the recipient of the action (its object); it also determines its combination with an adverb as the modifier of the action. In the sentence the finite verb invariably performs the function of the verb-predicate, expressing the processual categorial features of predication, i.e. time, aspect, voice, and mood.

The non-finite verb performs different functions according to its intermediary nature (those of the syntactic subject, object, adverbial modifier, attribute), but its non-processual functions are always actualised in close combination with its processual semantic features.

Syntactical features of the verb. The most universal:

1. ability to be modified by adverbs

2. ability to perform the syntactic function of the predicate

Criteria is not absolute. Only final forms of the verb can perform this function.

Non-finite – in any other function

Classification: morphological, lexical-morphological, syntactical, functional - см. ниже

1. Specific word building - stem types: all verbs

• simple [go]

• sound replacive [blood-bleed]

• stressed replacive [‘transport – trans’port]

• expanded– by means of prefixes, suffixes

The typical suffixes expanding the stem of the verb are: -ate (cultivate), -en (broaden), -ifу (clarify), -ise(-ize) (normalise). The verb-deriving prefixes of the inter-class type are: be- (belittle, befriend, bemoan) and en-/em- (engulf, embed). Some other characteristic verbal prefixes are: re- (remake), under- (undergo), over- (overestimate), sub- (submerge), mis-(misunderstand), un- (undo), etc.

2. composite/compound verbs [n. blackmail – v. blackmail]

3. phrasal verbs [give a smile, have a bath]? – always have equivalent in ordinary verb

The phrasal verb stems occupy an intermediary position between analytical forms of the verb and syntactic word combinations. Among such stems two specific constructions should be mentioned. The first is a combination of the head-verb have, give, take, and occasionally some others with a noun; the combination has as its equivalent an ordinary verb. Cf.: to have a smoke — to smoke; to give a smile — to smile; to take a stroll — to stroll.

The second is a combination of a head-verb with a verbal postposition that has a specificational value. Cf.: stand up, go on, give in, be off, get along, etc.

{G} 3.2.General characteristics of the verb and the categories of the verb

? Ways of forming past tense: regular, irregular

Syntactically: according to the nature of predication?: finite, non-finite

The grammatical categories which find formal expression in the outward structure of the verb and which will be analysed further are, first, the category of finitude dividing the verb into finite and non-finite forms; second, the categories of person, number, tense, aspect, voice, and mood, whose complete set is revealed in every word-form of the notional finite verb.

Валентность - syntagmatic(синтагматические) properties: obligatory(обязательные), optional

The combining power of words in relation to other words in syntactically subordinate positions is called their syntactic "valency".

The obligatory valency is such as must necessarily be realised for the sake of the grammatical completion of the syntactic construction. For instance, the subject and the direct object are obligatory parts of the sentence, and, from the point of view of sentence structure, they are obligatory valency partners of the verb. Consequently, we say that the subjective and the direct objective valencies of the verb are obligatory. E.g.: We saw a house in the distance.

The optional valency, as different from the obligatory valency, is such as is not necessarily realised in grammatically complete constructions: this type of valency may or may not be realised depending on the concrete information to be conveyed by the utterance

verbs of directive active (see, take, give)

non-directive

Grammatical meaning of transitivity (переходность): transitive, intransitive

Verbal transitivity, as one of the specific qualities of the general "completivity", is the ability of the verb to take a direct object, i.e. an object which is immediately affected by the denoted process. The direct object is joined to the verb "directly", without a preposition.

Functional classification:

• notional (full lexical meaning)

• semi-notional (modal, link, auxiliary) – ослабленная семантика

The class of verbs falls into a number of subclasses distinguished by different semantic and lexico-grammatical features.

On the upper level of division two unequal sets are identified: the set of verbs of full nominative value (notional verbs), and the set of verbs of partial nominative value (semi-notional and functional verbs). The first set is derivationally open, it includes the bulk of the verbal lexicon. The second set is derivationally closed, it includes limited subsets of verbs characterised by individual relational properties.

Notional verbs undergo the three main grammatically relevant categorisations.

The first is based on the relation of the subject of the verb to the process denoted by the verb. – actional, stative

The second is based on the aspective characteristics of the process denoted by the verb, i.e. on the inner properties of the process as reflected in the verbal meaning. – aspect - continuous

The third is based on the combining power of the verb in relation to other notional words in the utterance.

{G} 3.3.General characteristics of the verb and the categories of the verb

On the basis of the subject-process relation, all the notional verbs can be divided into actional and statal. Actional verbs express the action performed by the subject, i.e. they present the subject as an active doer (in the broadest sense of the word). To this subclass belong such verbs as do, act, perform, make, go, read, learn, discover, etc. Statal verbs, unlike their subclass counterparts, denote the state of their subject. That is, they either give the subject the characteristic of the inactive recipient of some outward activity, or else express the mode of its existence. To this subclass belong such verbs as be, live, survive, worry, suffer, rejoice, stand, see, know, etc

Category of tense

Reflects objective category of time.

Essential characteristic of this category is reflects the time of the action to the time of utterance. This category is realized through the opposition. The major opposition is the opposition of past and present. It is the best to be regarded as contrast of past and non-past. A lot of scholars did not recognize the existance of Future tenses. This category is realized by means of auxiliary verbs [will, shall – partly modal]. This verbs do not necessary occur rather in future time sentences.

Category of aspect

Linguistic representation of objective category of manner of action. It is realized through the opposition Continuous/ Progressive or not. Realization of this category is connected with lexical meaning of verbs. There are verbs do not occur with Progressive aspect [love, hate, see].

{G} 3.4.General characteristics of the verb and the categories of the verb

Category of voice

Form of the verb may show if the agent is the doer or the recipient of the action. Objective relations between action subject/object find the expression as grammatical category of voice in language. This category is realized through opposition Active/ Passive voice.

Realization of the voice category is restricted because of the grammatical meaning of transitivity.

Classification of verbs is very complex and comprises 6 groups

1. verbs which used only transitive [to mark, raise smth]?

2. verbs with main transitive meaning [to build, make, see]

3. verbs of intransitive meaning and secondary transitive meaning – непереходный используется как переходный

Ex: he laughed me into the agreement. – довел до смеха, что я согласился

He danced me out of the room. – затанцевал, что из комнаты

4. verbs of a double nature, used transitively and intrasitivey. Both meanings – equivalents

[drive home]

5. verbs that are never used in the passive voice [become]

6. verbs that realized the passive meaning only in special context [live, sleep, work, jump, sit]

Category of mood

Most controversial, expresses the relations between actions which denoted by the speaker and actual reality. From the point of view the speaker, he\she may treat action as real/ unreal.

Problematic or aspect or as imaginary phenomenon.

The most controversial question in the category of mood - problem of number and types of mood.

The most popular in grammar has become the system of Moods which was put forward by professor Смирницкий, Блох.

There are three moods in English

• the Indicative Mood

• the Imperative Mood

• the Oblique Mood

1. Subjunctive I

2. Suppositional

3. Subjunctive II

4. Conditional

{G} 4. Syntax as the science of construction speech. The definition of the sentence.

Aim of theoretical grammar

Aim of theoretical grammar = to provide theoretic description of the grammatical system and to study the process the grammatical formation of the utterance.

Purpose of the theoretical grammar: disclose and formulate regularities of the correspondence between the plan of content and plan of expression (план выражения, план содержания).

Syntax is the part of grammar which treats phrases and sentences.

Morphology is the part of the grammar which treats the forms of words, studies connections between forms found in different sentences.

Sentence is central syntactic construction which is used as the minimal communicative unit that has its primary actualize predication and definite structural scheme and possesses definite international characteristics.

There are two major part of the sent: subject and predicate – constitude the backbone of the sent, without them sent wouldn’t exist at all

Classifying sentences:

1.[ declarative, interrogative (special word order), imperative including emotional ], exclamatory(purely) – according to the type of communication. Every sent may be exclamatory (pronounced with emphatic intonation)(denote speakers feelings)

2. according to the structure of the sentence- simple, composite

From structural point of view sentences:

• Simple

• composite. Divided into compound (ССП) and complex (ССП)

Composite sentence is formed by 2 or more predicative lines (цепочки сказуемых). It expresses a complicated set of thought and reflects some intellectual efforts.

Two main types of connection

• subordination

• coordination

By coordination, clauses are arranged as units of syntactically equal rang (ранг, уровень).

By subordination, clauses arranged as unit of unequal rang. One is categorically dominated by the other.

(H) 1.1. Origin of the English dialect

Historical background and pre-Germanic Britain

The history of English language begins with the invasion of Germanic tribes (5th century). The British Isles were inhabited by prehistoric population and the earliest inhabitants were Celts (Celtic tribes) and they preceded(были предшественниками) the Germans.

They began to settle in Britain in the 7th c. B.C. The earliest and highly civilized tribe was the tribe of Britons (племя Бриттов).

They had driven the predecessors into (отодвинули предшественников)Ireland, Wales, Scotland. The third wave of Celtic settlers was the Belgae (белги). They came later and they settled the home countries.

The Celtic tribes spoke dialects belonging to the Celtic groups. It wasn't the only language spoken on the British territory. Celtic Britain was a province of the Roman Empire. The first attempt to occupy the British Isles was made by Julius Caesar before B.C.

The Celtic tribes began to penetrate into (проникать внутрь)the Isles and 100 years later under Empire of Roman.

The Romans brought to Barbarian Britain the administration (управление, контроль), their way of life and their language.

The Celtic tribes were influenced by Roman civilization. The Romans founded military settlements or campus. The names of these settlements survived in some place names Manchester – castra - крепость.

They built roads (strata via – мощеная дорога), towns of Roman soldiers and they named this towns - colonies. The word "colony" survived in some names - Colchester. The growth of towns was very considerable. Among the trading centers of Roman Empire London was the most significant. It was a small settlement. It turned into the intensive town.

Wealthy roman landowners lived there. Under Roman occupation the Celts in Britain were Romanized to a certain degree and the influence (вероятно была больше)must have been stronger in the town than in the country side.

The use of Latin language grew; the Romanization began in the 5th century and lasted up the period of West Germanic tribes. At this time most traces (черты, следы)of the Roman rule, economic and linguistic were destroyed(the period of West Germanic tribes). The Romans occupation of Britain lasted until the 5th century. In 410 the Roman legions were withdrawn(ушли, ретировались). The withdraw of the Roman Empire was final and the Roman Empire was breaking up. After the Romans had left the British Isles. The Roman speech affected (повлиял)the British language and they had acquired from the Romans and from the Romanized Celts new lexical units and concepts. But they had contacts with the Romans while they lived on the continent before the migration to Britain.

(H) 1.2. Origin of the English dialect

Their ties with the Latin language were strengthened in later ages. They marked the influence of Latin on Old English. The Germanic invaders made 2 kinds of linguistic contacts:

• with the spoken dialects of the Celtic grammar

• with the Latin language

Germanic settlement of Britain

Germanic raiders (германские рейды)began their attacks on Britain in the first half of the 5th century. And the conquest extended over a long period. The most part of Britain was colonized by the West Germanic tribes.

It lasted into the 6th century. The newcomers dispossessed(вытеснить) soon other Germanic tribes, they came in clans(кланы) and families. They migrated and the Germanic invasion was different from the Roman occupation. The invaders came from the western subdivision of Germanic tribes. They were Angles, Saxons, and Jutes.

The Jutes had been the first to arrive here from Jutland.

The tribes of Ancient Germans in Scandinavian remained isolated. Only small group crossed the Baltic Sea and settled in Jutland (Ютландия - полуостров в Дании и Германии, между Северным и Балтийским морями).

They occupied the land in the South-East of Britain. This part of Britain became known as the Kingdom of Kent.

Saxons came from low-land Germany (равнинные германцы). They settled on the both banks of the river Thames. And they became known as west-, east-, middle and south Saxons.All of them consolidated into the Kingdom of West Saxons-Wessex.

Last came the Angles from the low basin of river Alba and Southern Denmark. They occupied the territory between the Wash and Hambour. They consolidated into the Kingdom - Mercia, Anglia and North Numbria (Northumbria).

The bulk of the population of England sprang of (отделиться)the newcomers, later under feudalism social differentiation and surviving Celtic tribes blended into(слились) one nation. The invader prevailed over natives and after the settlement Germanic dialects were spoken all over Britain with the exception of Wales, Scotland, Cornwall.

Old English dialects

The tribes who had settled in England spoke Old English dialects. They belong to the West Germanic dialects. These dialects were closely related and they (tribes) spoke the same dialect with slight dialectic distinction (variations). Gradually in the course of English period the nature of the dialects changed from tribal dialects. And these dialects were spoken by the people of the certain locality and the boundaries between the dialects had shifted (сместились). There was no correspondence between the tribal dialects of the invaders and the local dialect of the population of England. There was no intercourse(соц. взаимодействий) between the districts of Old English, that's why the dialects didn't blend(не смешались) together.

(H) 1.3. Origin of the English dialect

The term "Old English" isn't a name of a language in the modern sense. It is used to denote a group of West Germanic dialects, spoken in Britain from 6th-11th centuries and related through their common origin. They were separated from other Germanic dialects and they had joined evolution in Britain. Differentiation between the dialects became sharper in Britain due to isolation of different parts of the country. The Old English dialects had inherited similar traits from Germanic and developed new features and due to these features them from other Germanic dialects and from common Germanic.

We distinguish 4 dialects in Old English:

1. Kentish, spoken in Kent. Had developed from the speech of the Youths Jutes and was preserved in records from the 7th century

2. West Saxon dialect (Wessex) – the main dialect of the Saxon group. The earliest British manuscripts date in the 9th century

3. Mercian dialect, spoken in the Kingdom of Mercia and had developed from the language of the Angles

4. North Hungrian() dialect. Another dialect of Angles and it was spoken in the North of the river Humbra(Northumbria)

The distinction between Mercian and North Hungrian dialects shows that the languages didn't coincide with (совпадали)original dialects. The earliest records of the dialects refer to the 7th century. The features of most Old English dialects may be contrasted to those of other Germanic dialects. We termed them Old English language (not West Saxon).

(H) 2. Periods in the history of English

The first period, which may be termed Early Old English, lasts from the West Germanic invasion of Britain till the beginning of writing, that is from the 5th to the close of the 7th c. It is the stage of the tribal dialects of the West Germanic invaders, which were gradually losing contacts with the related continental tongues. The tribal dialects were used for oral communication, there being no written form of English.

The second historical period extends from the 8th c. till the end of the 11th. The English language of that time is referred to as Old English. The tribal dialects gradually changed into local or regional dialects. Towards the end of the period the differences between the dialects grew and their relative position altered(изменяться). They were probably equal as a medium of oral communication, while in the sphere of writing one of the dialects, West Saxon, had gained supremacy (превосходство)over the other dialects. The language of this period is usually described synchronically and is treated as a more or less stable system.

The third period, known as Early Middle English, starts after 1066, the year of the Norman Conquest, and covers the 12th, 13th and half of the 14th c. It was the stage of the greatest dialectal divergence caused by the feudal system and by foreign influences – Scandinavian and French. The dialectal division of present-day English owes its origin to this period of history. Under Norman rule the official language in England was French, or rather its variety called Anglo-French or Anglo-Norman; it was also the dominant language of literature.

The fourth period – from the later 14th c. till the end of the 15th – embraces (в объятиях)the age of Chaucer, the greatest English medieval writer and forerunner (предвестник)of the English Renaissance. We may call it Late or Classical Middle English. It was the time of the restoration of English to the position of the state and literary language and the time of literary flourishing(процветание). The main dialect used in writing and literature was the mixed dialect of London. The literary authority of other dialects was gradually overshadowed by the prestige of the London written language.

The fifth period is called Early New English, lasted from the introduction of printing to the age of Shakespeare. The first printed book in English was published by William Caxton in 1475. It was a time of great historical consequence: under the growing capitalist system the country became economically and politically unified. Caxton’s English of the printed books was a sort of bridge between the London literary English of the ME period and the language of the Literary Renaissance. This period was also a time of sweeping (отметания)changes at all levels, in the first place lexical and phonetic. The growth of the vocabulary was a natural reflection of the progress of culture in the new, bourgeois society.

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