classes, the theory of FSP soon became something more than mere study material to me; ...... has influenced the study of language worldwide ever since. ...... (and generally all western linguistic investigation into information structure) operates ...... (122) Then a famine struck all Egypt and Canaan, bringing great suffering.
MASARYK UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF EDUCATION
Presentation Sentences (Syntax, Semantics and FSP) Martin Adam
Brno 2013
Spisy Pedagogické fakulty Masarykovy univerzity svazek č. 162 Faculty of Education Work 162
To the memory of Jan Firbas & Aleš Svoboda
Reviewed by: Prof. PhDr. Libuše Dušková, DrSc., Ústav anglického jazyka a didaktiky Filozofická fakulta, Univerzita Karlova Prof. PhDr. Eva Hajičová, DrSc., Ústav formální a aplikované lingvistiky Matematicko-fyzikální fakulta, Univerzita Karlova
© 2013 Martin Adam © 2013 Masarykova univerzita ISBN 978-80-210-6440-9
TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Abbreviations and Symbols..................................................................7 Prologue...........................................................................................................................9 Acknowledgements................................................................................................ 11 1 The Preliminaries and Fundamentals.................................................... 13 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4
Introduction. ..........................................................................................................13 The Phenomenon of Presentation. ......................................................................... 14 Research Objectives............................................................................................... 16 The Research Corpus.............................................................................................. 16 1.4.1 Subcorpus A – Fiction Narrative.................................................................19 1.4.2 Subcorpus B – Biblical Narrative................................................................20 1.5 Methods and Procedure......................................................................................... 23 2 The English Verb.................................................................................................. 25 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4
Opening Remarks. ................................................................................................... 25 The English Verb: Morpho-Syntactic Aspects...................................................... 26 The English Verb: Syntactic-Semantic Classification......................................... 27 The English Verb: Semantics.................................................................................. 29 2.4.1 Dynamic Semantics......................................................................................30 2.4.2 Static Semantics........................................................................................... 32 2.5 Verb Semantics as Treated in the Present Study. ................................................ 34 2.5.1 A Note on Surface Structure and Deep Structure........................................ 35 3 The Theory of FSP................................................................................................. 37 3.1 FSP and Its Place in Linguistics. ........................................................................... 37 3.2 Functional Sentence Perspective........................................................................... 39 3.2.1 The linear modification factor.....................................................................40 3.2.2 The contextual factor...................................................................................42 3.2.3 The semantic factor...................................................................................... 43 3.2.3.1 3.2.3.2 3.2.3.3 3.2.3.4
The Presentation Scale............................................................................... 45 The Quality Scale....................................................................................... 46 The Combined Scale.................................................................................. 46 The Extended Presentation Scale............................................................... 47
3.2.4 Intonation..................................................................................................... 48 3.2.5 The hierarchy of communicative units......................................................... 49 3.3 The English Presentation Verb through the Prism of FSP................................... 51 3.3.1 Explicit expression of existence or appearance on the scene......................52 3.3.2 Implicit expression of existence or appearance on the scene...................... 53 3.3.3 FSP research into Pr-verbs.......................................................................... 53
3.4 FSP & Other Theories of Information Structure. ............................................... 54 3.4.1 Hajičová, Sgall et al.: Topic-Focus Articulation.........................................55 3.4.2 Chafe: Activation......................................................................................... 56 3.4.3 Halliday, Quirk, Greenbaum, Leech, Svartvik etc.: Information Processing................................................................................56 4 The Classification of Pr-Sentences........................................................ 59 4.1 Pr-sentences typology in Subcorpus A................................................................... 60 4.1.1 Subtype 1: Existential There-construction...................................................62 4.1.2 Subtype 2: Rhematic subject in preverbal position...................................... 66 4.1.3 Subtype 3: Fronted Adverbial & S – V inversion.........................................68 4.1.4 Subtype 4: Locative Th-subject & Rh-object...............................................69 4.1.5 Summary...................................................................................................... 69 4.1.6 Special FSP features of fiction narrative..................................................... 71 4.2 Pr-sentences typology in Subcorpus B.................................................................. 72 4.2.1 Subtype 1: Existential There-Construction.................................................. 73 4.2.2 Subtype 2: Rhematic subject in preverbal position...................................... 74 4.2.3 Subtype 3: Fronted adverbial & S–V inversion........................................... 76 4.2.4 Subtype 4: Locative Th-subject & Rh-object...............................................76 4.2.5 Summary...................................................................................................... 77 4.2.6 Special FSP features of biblical narrative................................................... 79 4.3 Comparison of Fiction Narrative and Biblical Narrative................................... 82 5 Syntactic-Semantic Analysis of the Pr-Verbs.................................. 85 5.1 Statistics and Procedure. ......................................................................................85 5.2 Exhaustive List of Pr-Verbs: Analysis.................................................................. 87 5.2.1 Subtype 1A – Existential construction with verb other than be...................91 5.2.2 Subtype 2 – Rhematic subject in preverbal position.................................... 95 5.2.3 Subtype 2A – Rhematic subject in preverbal position with S-V affinity.....109 5.2.4 5.2.5 5.2.6 5.2.7
5.2.3.1 Subject-Verb Semantic Affinity: Classification....................................... 118 5.2.3.2 Thetic Sentences...................................................................................... 129
Subtype 2B – Rhematic subject in preverbal position – Disappearance... 132 Subtype 2C – Rh subject in preverbal position – Syntactic Discontinuity.... 135 Subtype 2D – Rhematic subject in preverbal position – Extended Pr-Scale......................................................................................137 Subtype 3 – Fronted adverbial with S-V inversion....................................138 5.2.7.1 Copular Clauses with a Context-dependent Nominal Part...................... 142
5.2.8 Subtype 3A – Fronted Adverbial with S-V Inversion – Subjunctive........... 147 5.2.9 Subtype 4 – Locative Th-subject & Rh-object...........................................148 5.3 Summary of the Analysis: Statistics................................................................... 150 6 Conclusions.......................................................................................................... 153 6.1 Occurrence and Syntactic Typology of Pr-scale Sentences............................. 153 6.2 Syntactic-Semantic Nature of English Pr-Verbs............................................... 157 6.2.1 Semantic, Syntactic and FSP Markers of the Pr-Verb............................... 159
Epilogue........................................................................................................................ 167 References...................................................................................................................169 Sources...........................................................................................................................179 Appendices....................................................................................................................181 Appendix 1 – The Complete List of Pr-sentences (the Corpus)................................... 181 Appendix 2 – The Complete List of Pr-Verbs............................................................... 216 Summary in Czech / České resumé.................................................................221 Index.................................................................................................................................223
List of Abbreviations and Symbols (in alphabetical order) A Book of Acts AofQ the DSF of an Ascription of Quality B the DSF of a Bearer of Quality B21 Bible pro 21.století (a recent Czech translation of the Bible) C D. Lodge’s Changing Places (as a corpus item) // complex-transitive (in syntactic analysis) CD communicative dynamism Co copular Com Combined Scale ČEP Český ekumenický překlad (Czech translation of the Bible) ČSP Český studijní překlad Bible (Czech translation of the Bible) D ditransitive DSF the dynamic-semantic function DTh Diatheme / diathematic Ex. / Exx Example / Examples Ext Extended Presentation Scale FSP Functional Sentence Perspective FSp the DSF of a Further Specification I intransitive verb J Gospel according to St John KJV King James’ Version of the Bible Kral. Bible Kralická L Gospel according to St Luke M Gospel according to St Matthew (as a corpus item) // monotransitive (in syntactic analysis) N C. S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe NIV the New International Version of the Bible NP noun / nominal phrase Pass passive Ph the dynamic-semantic function of a Phenomenon to Be Presented PP prosodic prominence Pr- Presentation / Presentational Pr the DSF of a Presentation / the Presentation Scale Q the DSF of a Quality / the Quality Scale R Book of Revelation Rh rheme / rhematic RhPr rheme proper Set the DSF of a Setting Sp the DSF of a Specification SVO, etc. sentence types / patterns (subject – verb – object, etc.) Th theme / thematic ThPr theme proper
TME Tr TrPr VNP *
temporal-modal exponent transition / transitional transition proper verbo-nominal predication non-existent / unacceptable sentence
(The abbreviations for individual semantic verb classes according to Levin 1993 are not included here; for further reference, see Fig. 39 in Section 5.2)
Prologue Once upon a time there was a little boy. ~Matěj Adam~ On the very day when I began to write this preface to the present study my four-year old son Matěj came to me and said, “Daddy, I’m going to perform a puppet show for you, okay?” And, having quickly prepared the necessary props, he got started – since he was logically speaking Czech I am giving the English translation of the first lines of this authentic piece of language here: Once upon a time there was a little boy. Suddenly Spiderman came to him. And there was a big cobweb. And in the cobweb a fly was buzzing. (…) To be honest, I could not help jotting down these lines right away. Incredibly, every single sentence he uttered presents something new on the scene, in this case even in the literal sense. In other words, being totally unaware of the fact that his Dad was about to embark on his habilitation dissertation dealing with sentences that implement the Presentation Scale, he unconsciously provided me with a motto par excellence! The three inconspicuous sentences actually embody a number of possibilities how to present new phenomena into discourse. What an illustration of its everydayness and legitimate significance (I sincerely doubt that my son wanted to please me this way and that his linguistic awareness was awakened to such an extent). At the same time, it should be added that the sequence of three presentational sentences in a row is definitely not common and is rather related to the character of the very beginning of the puppet show. Indeed, linguistically speaking, two essential patterns take turns in human verbal communication: one either introduces something or somebody new in the (verbal and situational) context, conveying primarily the entity’s existence, or gives some further information on this entity, specifying its quality, action and the like. Thus, the idea (and necessity) of presenting a phenomenon on the scene represents one of the essential pillars of human communication. The present treatise proposes to examine the sentences that employ different syntactic and semantic means to communicate such presentation – seen from the point of view of the theory of functional sentence perspective (FSP). On a more personal note, it was definitely Jan Firbas who awakened my interest in functional syntax, especially in the theory of FSP. Thanks to his personality and his inspiring classes, the theory of FSP soon became something more than mere study material to me; gradually it was transformed in my eyes into a dear adventure worth pursuing. In my fourth year, this passion led me to the decision to write my diploma thesis in the area of FSP. In
The original Czech wording: Byl jednou jeden chlapeček. / Najednou k němu přišel Spiderman. / A byla tam velká pavučina / a v ní bzučela moucha (…)
the months to come, I found in Jan Firbas an outstanding supervisor. To this day I remember how enchanted I was by his pedagogical performance during as well as outside the classes, and also by the wonderful, intriguing realm of FSP that was to become a dear leitmotif of my career soon. As to the structure of the text, the treatise – being based on my habilitation thesis (Adam 2012d) – is subdivided into a number of chapters, going roughly from a more theoretical background towards an analysis and its interpretation. Chapter 1 discusses the phenomenon of presentation and sets the basic co-ordinates of the treatise, giving detailed information its topic, research objectives, the structure of research corpus as well as the methods used during the investigation. The two following chapters provide the theoretical background of the research and discussion presented later. While in Chapter 2, the main topic of the study – the English verb – is explored from several theoretical standpoints: in terms of syntax, semantics and FSP, Chapter 3 introduces the necessary fundamentals of the method used as primary research tool throughout the study, namely the theory of functional sentence perspective (FSP). Chapter 4 then offers the syntactic-semantic classification (typology) of Presentation sentences found in the corpus. Chapter 5 explores the syntactic semantic characteristics of individual Pr-verbs as well as several special aspects of Pr-sentences that fall outside the scope of the basic treatment carried out within Chapter 4. In Chapter 6 conclusions will be drawn with a view of the whole study. Apart from these, the study is equipped with List of Contents, List of Abbreviations, Appendix featuring the basic corpus data, and the Epilogue. In addition, a few words should be said about one more feature common to the individual chapters: each of them begins with a motto. Expectedly, the mottoes were selected to fit the topic of the respective chapters; I must admit, however, that some of them do not primarily (yet purposefully, I believe) collocate with the field of linguistics. I hope that this somewhat daring deed of mine will not hinder the real and respectful matter of the treatise, but rather point to other, extralinguistic aspects of language in a creative, at times lighthearted, yet admissible way. As has been notoriously known, both Vilém Mathesius and Jan Firbas (inevitably inspiring numerous followers) repeatedly subscribed to the shrewd idea that “language is a formidable fortress that must be attacked from all sides and with all means” (Firbas 1992a: xii). In this respect, I am offering the present treatise as a humble contribution to the ongoing linguistic siege carried out by those noble conquerors who have linked their research with linguistics, especially in the battlefield of FSP. Brno, October 2013
Martin Adam
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Acknowledgements Let me express my gratefulness to those whose presence in my life and career inspired both my research into FSP and, vicariously, the genesis of this treatise. My thanks are due to many. In the first place, I will always be thankful to those who ignited and truly shaped my fondness for functional linguistics and FSP in particular: Jan Firbas, Aleš Svoboda, Ludmila Urbanová and Jana Chamonikolasová. In terms of the present study, I am also grateful to Naděžda Kudrnáčová for her valuable advice and stimulating ideas. My most sincere thanks are extended to Libuše Dušková, my honourable mentor, who has generously provided me with motivation and inspiring guidance in my recent research. I would also like to express my gratitude to Rita Chalmers Collins for her conscientious proofreading of the final draft of the text, her sensitive suggestions as well as her everlasting friendship. Last but not least, I am indebted to my family, especially my wife Lucie and my sons Filip and Matěj, for their loving support and immense encouragement. I should also acknowledge that earlier versions of some passages of this study have already been published as research papers in the journals Brno Studies in English, Linguistica Pragensia, Ostrava Journal of English Philology, and selected segments also in my A Handbook of Functional Sentence Perspective: FSP in Theory and Practice.
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1
The Preliminaries and Fundamentals All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts. ~William Shakespeare~
1.1
Introduction
The theory of functional sentence perspective (hereafter abbreviated FSP) as aptly elaborated above all by Jan Firbas seems to have vindicated its firm place in the area of functional linguistics; it has been an integral and widely recognised part of the research into the theories of information structure. For more than a decade, my current research (instigated and supervised at its initial stages above all by the late Professors Jan Firbas and Aleš Svoboda) has been dealing with the theory of FSP, adopting the research methods prolifically elaborated by Firbas and the Brno branch of the Prague School followers (esp. Firbas 1992a, 1995; Svoboda 1981, 1989, 2006; Dušková 1988, 1998, 2008; Chamonikolasová 2005, 2007, 2010, 2011). Following late Firbasian tradition, my research into the area of the theory of FSP has predominantly dealt with the text material of religious discourse, to be more specific of biblical texts of narrative, dialogic and poetic character (see above all Adam 2004, 2008 and 2009). The principal focus has predominantly been on FSP at the hypersyntactic (suprasentential) level (cf. Firbas 1995b; Daneš 1974; Pípalová 2008; Dontcheva-Navrátilová 2009: 124ff), viz. the establishment and operation of the dynamic semantic tracks, the phenomenon of the functional macrofield, notional homogeneity (or original Firbasian ‘trend of thought’, cf. Firbas 1961: 94), syntactic-semantic features of religious text such as patterning, gradation, information density or the manifestation of ideology seen through the optics of FSP (summarised in Adam 2009). On top of that, the projection of auctorial intentions and strategies into FSP and their aesthetic effect were explored (see e.g. Adam 2010). As has been mentioned above, recently, however, the field of research interest has been shifted towards the core of language itself, strictly speaking to the role of the English verb operating typically in the transitional layer of the text, especially in the sentences implementing the so-called Presentation Scale (Adam 2010, 2011a, 2011b, 2011c, Adam and Kudrnáčová 2010). Likewise, the text material analysed has been lately somewhat changed in terms of its genre; while the first research stage was almost exclusively concerned with religious discourse, the recent investigation into the realm of FSP is focused – apart from the religious written narratives of the New Testament – on fiction narrative texts. In conclusion, for the purpose of this treatise both fiction narrative and biblical narrative texts will be used (for details on the structure of the corpus under examination see Section 1.4 of this chapter). These will be discussed in terms of the occurrence, function and operation of the sentences implementing the Presentation Scale, with special regard to the role of the English transitional verb and its capacity to express existence or appearance on the scene (see below).
Shakespeare (1992: 224)
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1.2
The Phenomenon of Presentation
Before the main objectives of this treatise are specified, at least a few words should be said about the idea of presentation itself since this concept seems to lie at the root of the present discussion. As has been addressed in the Preface, the idea of presentation of an actor on the scene (to stick to the sapient Firbasian tradition of using theatrical terminology) seems to be at the core of human existence and everyday communication. Logically, any act of ours must be naturally preceded by an introduction of the participants of communication. Hence the Shakespearean introductory motto of this chapter – it exactly depicts (not only literally) what is meant by presentation on the scene and entrances and exits of the participants. To make use of Mathesius’ ideas that are admittedly building also on other authors’ research, it is possible to claim that first one has to present a phenomenon (typically a person, an object) to be able to say something about it. Mathesius (1961, 1975) noticed the language universal of every utterance having a theme and a rheme, and to formulate the basic principles of what was to be labelled FSP only later. According to Mathesius’ studies on the Czech word order, the theme of a sentence represented the point of departure, i.e. what is being talked about, while the rheme was connected with the core of the message, i.e. what is being said about the theme (Mathesius 1961: 91-92; 1975). Analogously and illustratively enough, in the context of the theatre, the theatre script – before the dialogues are offered – has to announce or present the persons that are going to enter the stage, such as in Enter Hamlet and Players. Enter Polonius, Guildenstern, and Rosencrantz and the like. Only then can the actors act in the true sense of the word and produce their utterances. Though usually infrequent, the sentences that present somebody or something on the scene are obviously vital for further information conveyed by the rest of the text. In the framework of FSP every sentence implements one of the dynamic semantic scales: Presentation Scale (Pr-Scale) or Quality Scale (Q-Scale) respectively, which functionally reflect the distribution of communicative dynamism and operate irrespective of word order (these will be discussed in detail in Chapter 3). As early as the initial stages of his FSP research, Firbas came up with the idea of the so-called dynamic semantic scales that are implemented in sentences (thoroughly treated in Firbas 1992a). Generally speaking, every sentence implements one of the dynamic semantic scales, which functionally reflect the distribution of communicative dynamism and operate irrespective of word order (Firbas 1992a). The phenomenon of presentation, which is under investigation in the present treatise, is – in terms of language realisation – projected into the so-called Presentation Scale. To offer at least a brief outline, the Presentation Scale includes three basic dynamic semantic functions. Firstly, every act of communication is set by the scene (the dynamic semantic function (DSF) of a Setting; abbreviated as Set) of the action, i.e. typically temporal
One of the true pioneers in the study of word order (and so information structure) was for example Anton Marty, a Swiss philosopher of language, or a French classical scholar Henri Weil, who prophetically distinguished between ‘the movement of ideas’ and ‘the syntactical movement’. In his understanding, “Words are the signs of ideas; to treat of the order of words is, then, in a measure, to treat of the order of ideas” (Weil 1887 [1844]: 11). In addition, Weil’s contemporary, Hungarian polymath Sámuel Brassai, was the first to notice word order differences between Hungarian and Indo-European languages and to reveal that word order in Hungarian sentences is based on a division between a topic and a comment (Brassai 1860). Similarly, developing his ideas in an identical direction, a German general linguist and Sinologist Georg von der Gabelentz (1891) dealt with the distinction between a so-called ‘psychological subject’ and ‘psychological object’. For further details and data on other pioneers of investigation into information structure see e.g. Adam 2012c.
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and spatial items of when and where the action takes place. Secondly, the existence or appearance on the scene is typically conveyed by a verb (Presentation of Phenomenon; Pr) and, thirdly, the major, most dynamic element (Phenomenon; Ph) is literally ushered onto the scene. Cf. a prototypical sentence implementing the Presentation Scale: (1)
And now (Set) a very curious thing (Ph) happened (Pr).
In ex. (1), the most dynamic element of the sentence (a very curious thing) performs the dynamic semantic function of a Phenomenon that is presented on the scene; the verb (happened) operates in the transition and performs the DSF of Presentation. The basic communicative field is opened by the least dynamic element of the sentence, a temporal adverbial (And now), which forms the Setting. At this point, it is inevitable to address, at least in a nutshell, one more aspect of FSP interpretation. It has been noted above that the verb operating in Pr-Scale sentences (Pr-verb) presents something new on the scene (not all English verbs, actually a limited part of verbs, can express presentation). In relation to their presentation role, Firbas claims that a verb can present a new Phenomenon on the scene “if it expresses the existence or appearance on the scene with explicitness or sufficient implicitness” (Firbas 1995b). In other words, the capacity of the verb to present a context-independent subject on the scene is tightly related to the verb’s lexical semantics. Prototypically, the verbs that express existence/appearance explicitly are represented by verbs such as come, appear, occur, turn up, happen, arrive, come up, etc. (cf. Firbas 1992: 60). This group of verbs represents a more-or-less closed set; most of the verbs could be identified and enumerated without any further investigation (see also Dušková 2008: 70-73). Conversely, the verbs in the lexical semantics of which the existence/appearance on the scene is implied only, is more-or-less open and can hardly be generally specified, the reason being their most varied and heterogeneous lexical semantics (cf. flash, boil, buzz, believe, coil, throw, etc.). Consequently, creating an exhaustive list of these implicit verbs is practically impossible. The point is that these types of verbs are also, under certain conditions, apparently capable of expressing the existence or appearance on the scene even though they do not convey the meaning of appearance in a straightforward manner; in other words, they do so with sufficient implicitness. Analogously, Sgall, Hajičová and Buráňová (1980: 40 qtd. in Firbas 1992: 65) claim that the verbs of existence/appearance do not form a clear-cut category. One of the research objectives then may be identified as the syntactic-semantic features of the Pr-verbs; the point is that such characteristics may throw light on dubious cases in FSP interpretation, distribution of communicative dynamism and subsequent assigning the dynamic semantic functions to individual elements. Furthermore, it should be emphasised that the distinction between the Presentation and the Quality Scales in the theory of FSP represents one of the cornerstones of theme-rheme articulation in general. The semantic content of the English verb in the Presentation Scale along with its semantic relations to other sentence elements (including the phenomena related to the expression of existence or appearance on the scene) will be treated in detail in Chapters 3 and 4 of the present treatise.
The examples adduced will be from now on numbered consecutively in the ascending manner throughout the whole study irrespective of individual chapters. The code in the parenthesis refers to the source of the example in the corpus; see Section 1.4 that deals with the corpus make-up and the List of Abbreviations. In some of his previous writings, Firbas used also the collocation ‘unmistakable implicitness’ with the obvious intention to point to certain necessary features of such implicit expression of existence/ appearance on the scene (see e.g. Firbas 1975: 50).
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Apart from the author’s eminent interest in the topic, also one more aspect should be mentioned at this point. Whereas the verb is well-researched in the area of its FSP (i.e. dynamic semantic) qualities (among other qualities its tendency to act typically in the transition layer or the double-sided capacity to interconnect the theme and the rheme), the static semantic character of the English verb – especially against the background of its syntactic structure – has been tackled only occasionally and usually primarily in relation to other linguistic issues (cf. Firbas 1992a, Dušková 1998, 1999, 2008, Adam 2011). In other words, the research into the domain of FSP actually lacks a detailed and systematic treatment of the static semantic nature of the transitional verb. The present treatise should therefore offer a deeper, corpusbased and well-evidenced study of the issue in its entirety, the first step taken being the realm of the sentences implementing the Presentation Scale.
1.3 Research Objectives Based on what has been said above, the key research objectives of the treatise may be formulated as follows: 1) The occurrence and the syntactic-semantic typology of Pr-scale sentences within the fiction narrative texts and the New Testament narrative texts; 2) The dynamic and static semantic as well as syntactic character of the English verb functioning within the Presentation Scale (henceforward Pr-verb); the research questions may be formulated as follows: a) What are the syntactic-semantic features that enable the verb to serve as a Pr-verb in the Presentation Scale and thus present a Phenomenon on the scene? b) Where are the boundaries between the maximum degree of implicit expression of existence or appearance on the scene and a verbal content that allows “only” for a qualitative use of the verb within the Quality Scale? 3) Functional, FSP-based comparison of the fiction narrative and biblical narrative in terms of employment of Pr-Scale sentences. The research objectives stated above derive from two working hypotheses. According to the Research Hypothesis 1, the verbs operating in the sentences that implement the Presentation Scale manifest a set of syntactic semantic features that may be identified on the basis of the corpus analysis. Research Hypothesis 2 centres on the assumption that the set of Pr-verbs detected in the corpus will significantly differ in terms of their types and incidence in accordance with the two types of corpus genres under investigation – fiction narrative and biblical narrative.
1.4
The Research Corpus
As has been mentioned above, the research corpus basically consists of two types of texts, i.e. two genre sets of sub-corpora: fiction narrative texts and biblical (strictly speaking
The verb acting within sentences implementing the Quality Scale will necessitate an incomparably larger corpus and definitely deserves a separate, more substantial research. Thus, this area lies outside the scope of the present treatise and will be discussed only marginally to complete the picture. Terminologically speaking, the term Pr-verb was – for the sake of brevity – for the first time used in Adam 2010; other authors use the full-fledged expression such as presentational verb or verb operating in the Presentation Scale (cf. e.g. Firbas 1992a, Svoboda 2006, Dušková 2008, Chamonikolasová 2010).
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New Testament) narrative texts. Narrative texts have proved to be a rich source of numerous FSP phenomena, Pr-sentences included. The two genres were chosen to provide a vantage ground for a representative functional comparison and to avoid one-sided analysis. The results of the research should thus furnish the reader with a more plastic picture of the operation of Pr-scale sentences in two types of discourse. To be more specific, the two following texts create the corpus: Fiction Narrative: The Chronicles of Narnia. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, a novel by Clive Staples Lewis (London: Harper Collins, 1950) [in the corpus abbreviated as N]. Changing Places: A Tale of Two Campuses, a novel by David Lodge (London: Penguin Books, 1979) [in the corpus abbreviated as C]. (Both the fiction narrative texts were manually excerpted from the respective printed versions of the books, the full text version of which is available on the CD attached to the present treatise; for publication details see the Bibliography section.) Biblical Narrative: The Gospel according to St. Luke [in the corpus abbreviated as L]. The Gospel according to St. Matthew [in the corpus abbreviated as M]. The Book of Acts [in the corpus abbreviated as A]. The Book of Revelation [in the corpus abbreviated as R]. The Gospel according to St. John (a part) [in the corpus abbreviated as J]. (All the biblical texts are found in the New Testament and are used in the New International Version of the Bible, as downloaded from http://biblos.com/. The full text version is available on the CD attached to the habilitation treatise; for publication details see the Bibliography section). As to the statistic data, the whole corpus under examination consists of 207,366 words, out of which 124,671 words (i.e. 60.1%) represent the fiction narrative subcorpus (Subcorpus A), whereas the New Testament narrative subcorpus (Subcorpus A) is formed by 82,695 words (i.e. 39.9%). In regards to the incidence of the sentences implementing the Presentation Scale, which is the topic of the present treatise, the ratio is slightly different though analogous: out of the total of 1,000 Pr-sentences, Subcorpus A contains 488 Pr-sentences, i.e. 48.8%, and Subcorpus B encompasses 512 Pr-sentences, which makes up 51.2%. All the texts that form the research corpus were exploited in their entirety but for the Gospel according to St John, which was used only partly (starting from its beginning) just to replenish the desired corpus to the amount of 1,000 pieces of Presentation sentences. Such a number of occurrences (actually enabling the normalised rate statistics) are believed to make the research data more representative, transparent and serviceable. In terms of FSP, within the corpus there are altogether 11,395 basic distributional fields, which are technically counted as finite clauses; non-finite clauses are regarded as separate
Strictly speaking, for the sake of a homogeneous corpus, declarative sentences were excerpted only; imperative, exclamative or interrogative sentences implement the Presentation scale extremely seldom anyway. A negligible number of Pr-sentences were contained within direct speech in the research material and so the direct speech/ pure narrative distinction is not relevant to the present study. On top of that, if Pr-sentences do occur in direct speech, it follows the same principles and patterns as it does within narrative text.
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communicative units within the basic distributional fields. In other words, a compound sentence with two main clauses, for instance, is seen as a set of two basic distributional fields, whereas a complex sentence is regarded as one single distributional filed in which the subordinate clause forms either the theme, or less frequently, the rheme of the sentence. Since the topic of the discussion is the occurrence and typology of sentences that implement the Presentation Scale, these were excerpted, arranged and tagged in the research corpus proper (see Appendix 1). In the corpus, the first column of the chart signifies the subtype (the classification of the subtypes along with the descriptors used will be treated in Chapter 4 in detail), the second one offers the individual basic distributional fields as excerpted from the sources, and the last one offers the original source in the corpus. Such reference is of two kinds: the source is given either referring to the page in the book in the case of fiction narratives (e.g., N13 stands for page 13 of The Chronicles of Narnia) or, in the case of biblical narrative texts by referring to the chapter and verse number respectively (e.g. M2:14 stands for chapter 2, verse 14 in Matthew). For other abbreviations of the sources see the list of sources above or the individual statistical charts below. In addition, if there are more Pr-sentences on the same page in the fiction narrative texts, lower-case letters are used to differentiate separate fields, such as in N72a.10 Fig. 1: Sample Fraction of the Corpus Subtype 1 1 2 2 1
Sentence There are the trees. But there are trees that would betray us to her; And now a very curious thing happened. Just below them a dam had been built across this river. Above the dam there was what ought to have been a deep pool but was now, of course, a level floor of dark green ice.
Source N69b N69c N70 N71 N72a
As has been said above, out of all the 11,395 basic distributional fields in the corpus material, 1,000 instances of sentences that implement the Presentation Scale were identified, which represents 8.8%. Apparently, a low number of the basic distributional fields in the corpus follow the pattern of the Pr-Scale. It is possible to claim, however, that the number of Pr-scale occurrences is – in comparison with other texts – still relatively high. To illustrate, in other fiction narrative texts under scrutiny in terms of FSP (viz. recent analyses of works by Čapek, Leacock, Orwell, Updike, and Wilde respectively) the incidence of sentences implementing the Pr-Scale is usually about 5-8% (see the results published by Řezníčková 2009; Tillhonová 2009; Wachsmuthová 2009 and 2011; Doležalová 2010 and 2012; Hurtová 2009, 2010; cf. Adam 2010 and 2011c). For the sake of a complete statistical picture of the corpus, below is a table that represents in absolute numbers and percentage the statistics of occurrence of sentences implementing Pr- or Q-Scale respectively in the corpus.
10
This procedure is in full harmony with the research methods used by Firbas and Svoboda (cf. especially Firbas 1992a, Svoboda 1989). For a thorough discussion on possible ways of tagging an FSP-based corpus including some truly pioneering suggestions see e.g. Drápela 2011a and 2011b.
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Fig. 2: Statistical Data of the Corpus The whole corpus: 207,366 words Basic distributional fields: Abs. Q-scale 10,395 Pr-scale 1,000 Total 11,395
% 91.2 8.8 100.0
At this point, as the analysis of the corpus will be conducted to a certain extent separately for both fiction and biblical narratives, it seems important to provide the reader with more refined information on the structure, content and statistical data of both the subcorpora – Subcorpus A and B respectively.
1.4.1 Subcorpus A – Fiction Narrative As a genre, the narrative represents one of the most common and, at the same time, versatile text types in literature, giving a sequence of fictional (or even non-fictional) events (the Latin word narrare means “to recount”) (cf. Labov 1972). Basically, narratives are associated with stories (or story writing) and are both author- and culture-specific (cf. Toolan 2001). As such, the narrative mode is expected to supply a syntactically and semantically rich text material offering a relatively high incidence of Pr-sentences. Below are two tables that display basic statistical data on the two fiction narratives, i.e. texts 1 and 2 (the statistics of the focal area of the treatise – the Pr-sentences – is in bold print): Fig. 3: Text 1 (N) The Chronicles of Narnia (39,229 words) Abs. Basic distributional fields 3,067 247 Pr-scale
% 100.0 8.1
Fig. 4: Text 2 (C) Changing Places (85,442 words) Abs. Basic distributional fields 2,879 241 Pr-scale
% 100.0 8.4
As to the basic literary as well as stylistic nature of the two British novels under examination, it will be necessary to split the Subcorpus A into the two independent parts. The book, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, by C. S. Lewis is an example of juvenile literature and is firmly rooted in the tradition of the so-called fantasy genre (of the Tolkien tradition). The book was published in 1950, and apart from English it has also been published in 47 other languages. It is actually the first book of the seven-volume series titled The Chronicles of Narnia. “Time” magazine included the novel in its TIME 100 Best English-language Novels from 1923 to 2005.11 C. S. Lewis (1898-1963) was a British novelist, academic (Professor of Medieval and Renaissance English at Magdalene College,
11
“All Time 100 Novels”, in Time. October 16, 2005. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
19
Cambridge), but also “medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian and Christian apologist from Ireland”12 (see also Wellman 1996: 50-63; Gardner 1966: 418-420). He is well known for his fictional work including the Narnia series and The Screwtype Letters. The plot of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is the following: four children escape their London home which is endangered by WW2 air raids to find temporary shelter at an old professor’s house in the country. One day, through a magic wardrobe, they arrive in a fantasyland called Narnia ruled by a wicked witch – the White Queen – who had replaced the righteous and lawful sovereign – Aslan the lion. The children take part in a breathtaking adventure of the fight between good and evil. Eventually, the bad magic is broken through Aslan’s personal sacrifice. In relation to the plot it is vital to note that the Narnia series is believed to represent a Christian allegory of Jesus Christ and the concept of salvation; this fact is both appreciated by some and despised by others. The other fiction narrative, David Lodge’s Changing Places: a Tale of Two Campuses, though being a novel as well, falls into a slightly different category. It is the first book (1975) of Lodge’s trilogy of ‘campus novels’. Lodge (born 1935) was Emeritus Professor of English Literature at the University of Birmingham (1960-1987). After his retirement, he became a full-time writer. Furthermore, he is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, was Chairman of the Judges for the Booker Prize for Fiction in 1989, and is the author of numerous works of literary criticism and literary theory13. Inspired by his experience of teaching in California, the (humoristic) novel Changing Places: A Tale of Two Campuses looks at two academics: Englishman Phillip Swallow from the University of Rummidge, and Morris Zapp, an American from the University of Euphoria. They participate in an exchange programme and, incidentally, exchange more than expected as they “swap politics, lifestyles and wives”.14 Though representing two different genres for an essentially different audience, the two novels selected are believed to have a number of common denominators: (1) they are both novels in which narrative passages clearly prevail and which contain relatively large descriptive passages; (2) they are both written by academics whose style and language is generally admired both by the public and the experts; thanks to their education, academic erudition and affiliation, both Lewis and Lodge are considered true masters of the English language; (3) with their major writings, they both have evidently contributed to the canon of modern British literature; (4) both their books represent a part of a larger cycle published by the respective authors. As a result, the two novels were found suitable for the research purposes of the present study.
1.4.2 Subcorpus B – Biblical Narrative The biblical narrative (strictly speaking a selection of the New Testament narrative texts) represents still a sub-genre of narrative, being a text-type sui generis. For the purpose of the present investigation the New International Version of the Bible (hereafter abbreviated NIV) will be used. The NIV translation is widely quoted and represents by far the most cited modern translation nowadays. As will become clear from the juxtaposition of the percentage of Pr-sentences within Subcorpora A and B, it is possible to claim that the average number of Pr-scale occurrence 14 12 13
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._S._Lewis http://www.contemporarywriters.com/authors/?p=auth62 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Changing_Places
20
in biblical narrative (9.9%) is – in comparison with e.g. fiction narratives (8.2%) – relatively high. Obviously, the overall number of Pr-Scale sentences may substantially differ in terms of various text types; interestingly enough, religious written discourse generally displays a higher percentage of Pr-Scale sentences, such as ca 9-12% in the New Testament gospels and Pauline epistles (see Adam 2011). At this point it is possible to say that such a relatively high occurrence of Pr-sentences in religious discourse seems to be associated with some characteristic features of religious writing such as information density, pragmatic and emotive appeal, doctrinal nature, stylised character, comparably high degree of potentiality, etc. (cf. Adam 2009, 2010). Below are the respective tables offering basic statistical data on the biblical narratives, i.e. Texts 3-7: Fig. 5: Text 3 (L) Luke (24,799 words) Basic distributional fields Pr-scale
Abs. 1,643 147
% 100.0 8.9
Abs. 1,480 108
% 100.0 7.3
Abs. 1,506 128
% 100.0 8.5
Abs. 820 109
% 100.0 13.315
Fig. 6: Text 4 (A) Acts (23,247words) Basic distributional fields Pr-scale Fig. 7: Text 5 (M) Matthew (23,117 words) Basic distributional fields Pr-scale Fig. 8: Text 6 (R)
15
Revelation (11,532 words) Basic distributional fields Pr-scale
15
Significant is the relatively higher incidence of Pr-sentences in the Book of Revelation (13.3% vs. 7-9%); it appears that this specific feature may be ascribed to its highly descriptive character. The point is that this book of the Bible presents, in a prophetic way, things that are yet to come, giving numerous detailed descriptions of different events, persons, creatures and objects, all of them being a matter of the future. Consequently, these are, as a rule, given as context-independent agents or entities. Logically enough, most of these descriptions are presented to the reader via Presentation sentences of different kinds. Also Quinn (http://www.bible.ca/ef/ topical-the-book-of-revelation.htm) confirms that the Revelation “contains the use of brilliant imagery and usually is descriptive of perilous times of great upheaval. It is a prophetic book which foretells of things which will happen sometime after it was written (…)”.
21
Fig. 9: Text 7 (J) John (3,391 words), a fraction Abs. Basic distributional fields 234 20 Pr-scale
% 100.0 8.5
From the point of view of stylistics, pragmatics and the genre, the Bible represents a very special set of texts originating throughout the period of almost 12 centuries, containing varied literary genres: narrative, legislative, prophetic, liturgical, poetic, doctrinal, etc. Most of the texts were circulating in the oral form and were gradually fixed in writing only later (Douglas 1982: 483-486). The Bible consists of two major parts – the Old and the New Testaments. Roughly speaking, the former covers the history of the Hebrew nation, the Law and numerous prophesies, thus forming the basic source of the Jewish religion; the latter contains the four gospels that record the main moments in the life of Christ (offered as parallel accounts by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), the book of the Acts of Apostles, Pauline and other epistles and the book of Revelation. It is New Testament books that were used for the purpose of the excerpts and the research corpus thanks to their more-or-less narrative character. Christians believe that the Bible is “an inspired word of the living God and was written down by people under the influence of the Holy Spirit” (Warfield 1959: 133). Due to the long period of its development and canonisation it is necessary to provide modern translations from original languages, i.e. from Hebrew and Aramaic in the case of the Old Testament, and from Old Greek in the case of the New Testament. The canon of the New Testament was established relatively late – the separate books were all written in the first century AD, and by the end of the year 100 AD the New Testament was already a fixed set of biblical writings (Douglas 1982: 485-487). As early as the second century AD church representatives commonly referred to the books of the New Testament as an authority. Nowadays, there are dozens of different English translations of the Bible. Until recently, the Authorised Version played the dominant role in the English-speaking world and has done perhaps most “to inculcate a national consciousness of a religious language” (Crystal and Davy 1969: 150). However, today’s scholars as well as the believers themselves agree that this translation, while “retaining a certain grandeur and power of evocation lacking in other versions, is no longer relevant to modern needs” (ibid.). The New International Version of the Bible (NIV) used for the purpose of the present study is a relatively new translation made by over a hundred scholars working directly from the available Greek texts, starting in 1965, under the supervision of the International Bible Society. The translation committee wanted to provide the reader with an accurate translation, and “one that would have clarity and literary quality and so prove suitable for public and private reading, teaching, preaching, memorizing and liturgical use” (Kohlenberger 1997: xxiv). The NIV translation was first published in 1973. One of the advantages of this version is that it preserves some measure of continuity with the long tradition of translating the Scriptures into English. The first concern of the NIV translators was “the accuracy of the translation and its fidelity to the thought of the biblical writers. (…) Samples of the translation were tested for clarity and ease of reading by various kinds of people – young and old, highly educated and less well educated, ministers and laymen” (Kohlenberger 1997: xxiv).
22
It follows that from the point of view of the style, the New Testament narrative texts differ remarkably from their fiction narrative counterparts. Whereas the main function of the biblical texts is described as didactic, ideological, persuasive, and – to a certain extent – fixed and ritualised, that of the fiction narratives is rather related to entertainment, ‘non-stylised’ narration and emotiveness, though in the case of C. S. Lewis’ book one may readily speak of a relatively high level of implicit didactic content. Previous research into the area of the religious texts has indicated that there is actually a whole range of stylistic properties that may be related to the stylised character of religious texts – such a discourse tends to be, in its nature, direct, subjective, persuasive, transparent and unambiguous (for details see Adam 2009: 89-90; cf. Urbanová 1998 and 2001: 52-55). In other words, the Bible may be, in many ways, viewed as a counterpart to the authentic, non-stylised language; its principal task is to present religious beliefs and to persuade the readers. This is not to say that there are no overlaps between the two discourses; one should rather speak of opposite tendencies, resulting from different motivations (cf. Urbanová 2008). To what extent the differences mentioned above are reflected in the functional, syntactic and semantic make-up of the sentences in the corpus is one of the questions posed by the present treatise.
5.5 Methods and Procedure The current author’s research – as it is reflected in the present treatise – exploits several research methods; these may be summarised as follows: The analysis and the subsequent interpretation are strictly corpus-based and so cannot be simply generalised outside the scope of the genres, text types and text material studied; see Section 1.4 above; The main research method is the theory of functional perspective as prophetically sketched by Mathesius, congenially elaborated by Jan Firbas, and, last but not least, creatively amended by Aleš Svoboda (see especially Chapter 3); The syntactic, semantic (both static and dynamic) and FSP analysis16 of the Pr-sentences as well as the Pr-verb will be firmly anchored in the Anglo-Saxon (and Czech) theoretical background of syntax (Quirk, Greenbaum, Halliday, Huddleston, Pullum, Biber, Levin, Daneš, Dušková, etc.); see especially Chapter 2 of the present treatise; The syntactic typology and classification of Pr-sentences will be based on the generally Praguian framework of functional-structural approach, above all the theory of functional sentence perspective (Mathesius, Vachek, Firbas, Svoboda, Dušková, Tárnyiková, Chamonikolasová); see especially Chapter 4. To comment briefly on the procedure used in the following chapters, it can be said that first the theoretical background along with the previous research conducted in the field will be discussed; these sections will be followed by analytical and conclusive chapters.
16
These three points of view are practically in agreement with Firbas’s (1992) and Daneš’ (1964) three-level approach to syntax.
23
2
The English Verb In Principio erat Verbum. In the beginning was the Word. ~Gospel of John 1:1~
2.1
Opening Remarks
If I am to daringly take advantage of the motto anticipating this chapter, then, with the reader’s permission, I may claim that the Koine Greek logos (λόγος)/Latin verbum can be perceived – apart from its first-plan denotation (i.e. “the word”) – also as “the verb”. The point is that in the context of its New Testament use (but also outside) the word conveys the expression of an active thought, mental action or saying; biblically speaking, it is preeminently used of Christ. In its broad term meaning, verbum can also denote “reasoning expressed by words”.17 Except for the obvious reference to the religious discourse (which forms one half of the research corpus), there are two other reasons for the somewhat unforeseen choice of the motto. Firstly, if, seen from the perspective of one of the essential Christian doctrines, in the beginning there was the Word, the following must be said: unfortunately, it did not use to be the case as far as the present research is concerned. As has been conceded above, in the initial stages my research into FSP was mostly preoccupied with hypersyntactic (suprasentential) FSP analysis, such as the constitution and operation of the thematic and the rhematic layers of the text, semantic homogeneity and distributional macrofields, the principal attention being paid to the rhematic track. Admittedly (and consequently), some of the delicate subtleties of FSP were inevitably neglected. The English verb, for instance, was largely understood as a clear-cut entity within FSP as it really operates in the transition and – from the point of view of dynamic semantics – is relatively deprived of its semantic load. However, it should be added instantly that such understanding depicts just one side of the coin; the other one equips the verb with the capability to carry a substantial portion of the static semantic load (especially in the rheme). In this respect, the present topic, i.e. the character of the English verb operating in the scope of the Presentation Scale sentences, represents a new milestone in the research. Contrary to the previous topics, this pioneering step of ours means to shed light on the very core of the morpho-syntactic and semantic nature of the English Pr-verb. Thereby it is hoped that such a contribution will offset what was, in this sense, disregarded in the past. The second reason is related to the topic of the treatise itself; incidentally, it is again anticipated by the introductory motto of this chapter. The quote from John 1:1 (which opens not only a chapter of the Gospel of John, but also the whole Gospel) presents the most important piece of information (i.e. the context-independent notion of the Word) in compliance with the principle of end-focus. It follows that it actually represents a Pr-sentence and thus conforms to the topic of the treatise. In the following subchapters, the verb will be treated from the point of view of both grammar (on the morpho-syntactic level) and semantics, as well as from the standpoint that
17
http://strongsnumbers.com/greek/3056.htm
25
is crucial in terms of the present treatise – FSP; these three perspectives will be crucial to the subsequent practical analysis of the verb operating in the pr-sentences. The section dealing with the morpho-syntactic character of the verb is by no means meant to be an exhaustive account of the topic; principally, only those essential grammatical issues concerning the verb that are related to the research topic of the treatise (and thus have influence on the FSP role of the verb) will be discussed. At times, the English verb characteristics will be functionally compared to their Czech counterparts.
2.2
The English Verb: Morpho-Syntactic Aspects
Generally speaking, the verb occupies a central syntactic and semantic position within the language system of all natural Indo-European languages since it determines not only the structure of the sentence and its semantic content, but also the functional relationships within the sentence. The English verb as a part of speech is defined by its morphological categories (person, number, tense, mood and voice) on the one hand, and its syntactic function in the sentence on the other (Quirk et al. 1985: 24-25, Dušková et al. 1988: 165). The basic syntactic function of the finite verb is that of the predicate, whereas non-finite verb forms may also perform other syntactic functions (Huddleston and Pullum 2002: 1173ff; Dušková et al. 1988:165). As to the manner of expression of verbal categories, these are partly synthetic (i.e. formal mutations of verb stem), partly analytic (i.e. combinations of an inflected form with one or more auxiliary verbs), and partly non-verbal elements (e.g. the categories of person or number are indicated mostly solely by the subject) (Dušková et al. 1988: 165). Contrary to its Czech counterpart (which is a representative of a synthetic language), the English verb tends to form complex verb phrases in which verbal categories are expressed analytically (Quirk et al. 1985: 79ff). In terms of word-formation, the English verb is in its structure rather neutral (again unlike Czech) and is not restricted to the word-class of verb only; it can readily adopt a form of a noun, or even an adjective. In the English grammar, three main morpho-syntactic types of verbs are generally distinguished: lexical verbs (i.e. regular and inflected verb forms that express actions, events and states and they can stand alone), auxiliary verbs and modal verbs (Carter and McCarthy 2006: 227-234; cf. Dušková et al. 1988: 166-203). Formally, the lexical verb may be formed as a single-word verb, such as swim, remove or a multi-verb word (basically phrasal, prepositional or phrasal-prepositional), such as put up or look after (Dušková et al. 1988: 203, Quirk et al. 1985: 1178-1181). As has been mentioned above, as far as morphology of the verb is concerned, the English verb categories are the following: person, number (both being the so-called congruent categories which express the concord of the finite verb and its subject in person and number), tense, mood and voice, which are typical of the verb as such (Dušková et al. 1988: 213ff). It goes without saying that all the verb categories have their vital grammatical and semantic consequences. However, these will not be treated here in detail except in those cases when the morphological categories will emerge during the analysis proper.
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2.3
The English Verb: Syntactic-Semantic Classification
The syntactic-semantic classification of English is based on the criterion whether the structure of the verb requires a complementation or not, and if so, what sort of complementation18 it is (Dušková et al. 1988: 206-211). In principle, grammarians distinguish (i) copular verbs (they generally ascribe a quality / an attribute to their subject, while their lexical meaning approximates zero), and (ii) full verbs (either with or without a complementation, i.e. the obligatory replenishment of the verb on the right side of the verb; in other words, the verb valency determines the number and type of necessary constitutive sentence elements) (Quirk et al. 1985: 1168-1171; cf. Dušková et al. 1988: 206-207; 349). The concrete realisation of the verb valency patterns is then very varied. As the verb usually does not operate within the sentence in absolute isolation, it is inevitable to consider its role in the relevant linguistic environment (the valency19 of the verb). The valency of the verb is often understood as the maximal number of obligatory elements that are required by a verb to complete its meaning (cf. Budai 1997). Allerton (1982: 2) views valency as “the different potentials that individual verbs have for occurring in a variety of sentence structures”. In other words, in his understanding (which is incidentally common to other grammarians mentioned in this chapter), valency “is seen as the capacity a verb has for combining with particular patterns of other sentence constituents” (Allerton 1982: 2). The verb complementation is then concerned with necessary elements that follow the verb in a declarative clause and are crucial for the completion of communication; the default type of internal complement being an object (Huddleston and Pullum 2002: 216). The verbs that are able to complete an utterance themselves and require no complementation in a particular utterance are labelled as intransitive (and hence monovalent). Other verbs require a different degree of complementation (typically a direct object, two objects, or an object and an adverbial) and so are, in their syntactic-semantic nature transitive – e.g. monotransitive, ditransitive (and hence divalent, trivalent) etc. (Quirk et al. 1985: 1168-1170, Carter and McCarthy 2006: 539ff). In connection with transitivity20, Dušková (1988: 207ff) speaks of the tendency of the English verb towards neutrality; in her view, many English verbs do not manifest transitivity / intransitivity within the verb form proper as an identical verb form is used for both cases. On top of that, inherently intransitive verbs (or their meanings) may also be under certain condition used transitively (Dušková et al. 1988: 208). In such uses, the subject of the intransitive verb is the agent of the action denoted by the verb and this role is also kept with the object in a transitive use (The general marched the soldiers). The transitive verbs proper then imply the object or goal that is influenced by the verbal action; Dušková notes that, “the semantic relations between the verb and its object are very varied” (Dušková et al. 1988: 208). Also Quirk et al. (1985: 1168) admit certain functional ambiguity and point out that “many verbs are versatile enough to allow for several complementation types…” so “it is likely to be misleading to talk of ‘monotransitive verbs’ etc.” Instead, they suggest that verbs have ‘monotransitive use / function’. Anyway, grammarians agree that there is a common and 18
19
20
Verb complementation, unlike more general and facultative modification, is an obligatory syntactic completion of the verb (cf. Quirk et al. 1985: 53ff). Valency is usually considered as an umbrella term, “which covers the scrutiny of all the possibilities of linking at various levels. Some linguists attribute valency to verbs only whereas others regard valency to be the linking ability of any linguistic element and speak of the valency of all word classes, especially of adjectives and nouns” (Budai 1997: xvii-xviii). Transitivity is a category in the grammatical analysis of clause/sentence constructions, with particular reference to the verb’s relationship to dependent elements of structure (Crystal 1990: 316).
27
solid “ground of meaning in the various uses”, even though one verb may belong to a number of complementation types (Quirk et al. 1985: 1168). Analogously, Huddleston and Pullum (2002: 216) see transitivity as a phenomenon applicable to functions or ‘uses of verbs’, rather than the verbs themselves. In agreement with Huddleston and Pullum (2002: 218), who distinguish five canonical constructions in terms of transitivity (both ordinary and complex variants of intransitive, monotransitive and ditransitive constructions respectively), Quirk et al. (1985: 1169ff) give the following semi-exhaustive systematic lists of different verb types as to their complementation. Below is a simplified outline of the essential subtypes, illustrative examples adduced from Quirk et al. (1985: 1170-1216). Cf.: 1) Verbs in intransitive function a) Pure intransitive verbs (John has arrived.) b) Verbs which can be transitive with the same meaning (I am reading /a book/.). c) Verbs which can also be transitive (The car stopped.) 2) Verbs with copular complementation a) Adjective phrase as a subject complement (The girl seemed very restless.) b) Noun phrase as a subject complement (William is my friend.) c) Complementation by an adjunct (The kitchen is downstairs.) 3) Verbs with monotransitive complementation (SVO) a) Complementation by a noun phrase as direct object (The news shocked our family.) b) Complementation by a noun phrase as a prepositional object (They agreed on it.; People look down on him.21) c) Complementation by a finite clause (I regret that he should be so stubborn.; Can you confirm which flight we are taking?22) d) Complementation by a non-finite clause (They supposed the children to be guilty.; I love listening to music.; I dislike him driving my car.23) 4) Verbs with complex transitive complementation (SVOC and SVOA) a) Adjective phrase as object complement (That music drives me mad.) b) Noun phrase as object complement (She appointed him secretary.)24 c) Complementation by object and adjunct (Take your hands out of your pockets.) d) Object + to-infinitive, bare infinitive, -ing participle and -ed participle25 (They knew him to be a spy.; I heard someone slam the door.; I caught Ann reading my diary.; We saw him beaten by the World Heavyweight Champion.) 5) Verbs with ditransitive complementation (SVOC and SVOO) a) Noun phrases as both indirect and direct object (He gave the girl a doll.; He found her a loyal friend.) 23 21 22
24 25
An example of the phrasal-prepositional type. A that-clause type vs. a Wh-clause type. Infinitive type vs. -ing gerund type vs. -ing participle clause with subject: I dislike him driving my car (fused participle) vs. I dislike his driving my car (gerund). Both subtypes may act also as object complements following prepositional verb (He took me for a fool.) Verbs with complex transitive complementation can adopt non-finite variants (to-infinitive, bare infinitive, -ing participle and -ed participle).
28
b) Object and prepositional object (John offered some help to Mary.) c) Indirect object + that-clause object (John convinced me that he was right.; He promised to me that the debt would be repaid.26) d) Indirect object + finite wh-clause object (John asked me what time the meeting would end.) e) Indirect object + wh-infinitive clause object (The instructor taught us how to land safely.) f) Indirect object + to-infinitive clause object (I advised Mark to see a doctor.)
In relation to valency of the English verb, also Allerton (1982: 80ff) in his monographic study offers a systematic set of Valency Structures, which is based on a sophisticated complex of English verb ‘elaborators’, i.e. possibilities of verb complementation. Specifically, he distinguishes the following categories of verb valency structures in English: 1) zero-valent valency structures – no true elaborator needed; even the subject is purely grammatical (e.g. It is snowing. It drizzled.) 2) monovalent valency structures – intransitive verbs that take a single elaborator, typically the subject (valency structure S+Vlexical) (e.g. John laughed.), or copular verb construction (It was stuffy). 3) divalent valency structures – invariably, the first elaborator is the subject ), while the second one differs (typically object, predicative, adverbial, etc.) (e.g. They attacked the castle. I know him.) 4) trivalent valency structures – the verbs take a subject and other two elaborators such as object, predicative, adverbial (e.g. Oliver took Elizabeth some flowers. Oliver drove me mad.) 5) tetravalent valency structures – a limited group only (e.g. The firm charged Oliver a large sum for the job.) It follows that the English verb can operate in two or even more types of valency structures; this is labelled as multiple valency structure (cf. intransitive, transitive, ditransitive or even copular use of the verb to get respectively: We couldn´t get into the house. I got few letters. Can you get me a ticket? It´s getting dark).
2.4
The English Verb: Semantics
As the primary method applied in the present research is based on the theory of FSP, the main distinction made in the area of the semantics of the English verb should be related above all to the juxtaposition (and interrelation) of static semantic approach on the one hand, and dynamic (FSP) semantic approach on the other. Such an approach is, incidentally, in full accordance with Dokulil and Daneš’ (1958) understanding of the distinction between the static and the dynamic perspective of language. The point is that advocating the dynamic approach to the semantic analysis, FSP represents a logical counterpart of what is usually referred to as static (lexical) semantics. In FSP, the semantic content definitely plays a significant role, being actually one of the three basic factors acting in written discourse; it joins the other two factors of the linear modification and the immediately relevant context (Firbas 1992a: 14-6). Firbas himself (1992a: 86) claims that 26
A prepositional variant of the same.
29
(…) a distinction is to be made between two angles from which a semantic and grammatical sentence structure can be viewed: static and dynamic. Viewed from the static angle, the structure is unrelated to any context; it does not operate in an act of communication. Viewed from the dynamic angle, it does operate in an act of communication and is linked with a particular contextual situation. Hence, the present treatise will – especially in its later chapters – look at the role of the English verb operating in the Pr-scale sentences from the point of view of both dynamic and static semantics (first attempts of this nature were endeavoured in Adam and Kudrnáčová 2010). I believe that such an integrated approach may reveal more about the functional character of the transitional verbs operating in Quality and Presentation dynamic semantic scales respectively.
2.4.1 Dynamic Semantics First, it should be added at this point that the Brno concept of FSP research (personified in the figure of Jan Firbas) has consistently applied predominantly the dynamic standpoint in the study of semantics within FSP; the static semantic approach has been used only marginally. At the same time, Svoboda (2005: 228) rightly argues that, “Out of the factors of functional sentence perspective, the dynamism of semantics is probably the least researched area”. In this respect, the present study tries to contribute to this FSP investigation. As a matter of fact, the Brno approach towards the study of FSP has organically connected both the dynamic and the static approaches toward the semantic analysis (sometimes labelled as a ‘dual semantics’, e.g. in Dušková 2008: 67) as opposed to topic-focus articulation, i.e. TFA, for instance. Dynamic semantics is, to a certain extent, an accompanying phenomenon of the FSP functions (theme – transition – rheme) as such. Especially the area of the English verb seems to be rather peculiar (and sometimes even neglected) in this respect. Whereas the relations between FSP functions and the corresponding dynamic semantic functions are principally symmetrical and straightforward (e.g. the DSFs of Phenomenon and Specification are always rhematic, or DSFs of Setting and Quality Bearer are invariably themes), the verb (both Pr and, as a rule Q) operates in the transition, but also – if there is no successful competitor – can act in the rheme (cf. Dušková 2008: 71). In other words, it is exclusively the verb that represents a potentially heterogeneous, double-faced element capable of fulfilling two dynamic semantic functions – those of presentation and quality27. As such, the verb (and its role in perspectivising the sentence either towards or away from the subject) definitely deserves a thorough treatment in terms of the dynamic and static semantics28. As has been stated above, the semantic approach favoured in the theory of FSP is the dynamic one; ‘dynamic’ means here that the theory deals with the function of language at the very moment of utterance (Firbas 1992a, 1995). FSP explores the information structure of utterances and the relationships between the units of information in the utterance in the immediately relevant context, i.e. at the very moment of utterance. Thus it approaches a piece of language from the dynamic perspective:
27
28
Strictly speaking, also thematic occurrences of the English verb can be observed, even though their incidence is – especially in comparison with their transitional counterparts – rather limited. In the present treatise, due to its focus, the transitional verb only will be studied thoroughly; both the thematic and the rhematic uses of the verb, being outside the scope of the research conducted, will not be discussed. For references to rhematic verb, see e.g. Řezníčková 2009 and 2011 or Klímová 1981.
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The static meaning is not yet modified by the process of functional syntactic structuration. It is conveyed by the naming units (implemented as words or word groups) before they are subjected to the process. Participating in the process, FSP modifies the meanings of the naming nits, which come to co-constitute communicative units. Through the interplay of FSP factors, FSP determines the positions of communicative units, i.e. their degrees of CD, in the development of the communication that takes place within the sentences. It is in this manner that meaning acquires a dynamic aspect – that they become dynamic. (Firbas 1991: 89) It follows that from the point of view of dynamic semantics (as adopted by FSP) the English verb tends to have a relatively empty meaning and serves as a mediator between the subject and other sentence elements. Firbas sees the English verb to be also a transition between the theme and the rheme. Under these circumstances, the verb either ascribes a quality to the subject, bridging its specification, or presents something new on the scene if it expresses the existence or appearance on the scene with “explicitness or sufficient implicitness” (Firbas 1995b: 65; cf. Adam 2009: 92-4). Elaborating on the dynamic character of FSP treatment of semantics, Firbas claims that, “through the interplay of FSP factors, FSP determines the positions of communicative units, i.e. their degrees of CD, in the development of the communication that takes place within the sentence” (Firbas 1991: 89). It has been largely taken for granted that – within the realm of FSP – the verb in English is usually semantically weak; it has a relatively emptied meaning, and serves as a mediator between the subject and other sentence elements. Also Vachek, observing an analogous tendency of the English verb, argues that, “in English the old Indo-European function of the verb i.e. that of denoting some action has been most perceptibly weakened” (Vachek 1995: 23). Apart from that, being a part of an analytical language, “the English finite verb form appears to be much less dynamic in character (…) and frequently ceases to be the unmatched instrument of predication, being often reduced to something that very closely resembles a copula” (Vachek 1976: 342). This fact corresponds with what was described by Firbas in his writings (see e.g. Firbas 1992a: 69-71; 88-93). As he puts it, “performing the Pr, the AofQ or the Q-function, the verb tends to mediate between elements participating in the development of the communication” (Firbas 1992a: 69). Firbas also points out that the English verb can “point in two directions – in that of the Th and the Rh – and simultaneously to link the Th and the non-Th” (Firbas 1992a: 91; see also discussion below). Nevertheless, as Firbas maintains, the relative semantic weakness of the English verb does “not impair the communicative efficacy of the English sentence” (Firbas 2010: 210). In his foresightful study (Firbas 1975) on the concept of existence/appearance on the scene, Firbas goes on in his defence of the functionality of the English transitional verb, saying that, “the very opposite is true: being semantically weak, the English verb may serve as a transitional element, allowing the rhematic nominal elements to come into prominence and so adding to the concreteness of English expression” (Firbas 2010: 210). As mentioned several times, from the point of view of dynamic, verbs typically represent transitional elements (cf., e.g., Firbas 1992a and Adam 2009) in that they are endowed with the function of linking the thematic and the non-thematic section of the sentence (Firbas 1992a: 91, and Adam 2009: 92-94). Under the circumstances, the verb either ascribes a quality to the subject, bridging its specification, or presents something new on the 31
scene if it expresses the existence or appearance on the scene with “explicitness or sufficient implicitness” (Firbas 1995b: 65; cf. Adam 2009: 92-4)29.
2.4.2 Static Semantics Semantically speaking, the verb is usually said to denote a word that conveys notions of action or state (Dušková et al. 1988: 165). To follow the Praguian functionalistic line here, Mathesius (1975: 58) also sees the verb as an entity statically expressing transient characteristics (qualities). In her basic semantic classification of English verbs Dušková (1988: 211-213) exploits a number of criteria according to which she classifies the English verb in the following way. From the point of view of definiteness / indefiniteness of the verbal action (i.e. telicity), she distinguishes telic and atelic verbs. Telicity is the property of a verb that presents an action or event as complete or as directed to a certain goal. A verb (or better said – predication) with this property is said to be telic, while a verb or verb phrase that presents an action or event as incomplete is said to be atelic. Presence or absence of telicity has significant grammatical consequences: atelic actions display the difference between simple and progressive conjugation only in terms of transitoriness or topicality of the action. The difference of telic actions lies in the completion of the action (Dušková et al. 1988: 211). From the point of view of dynamism of the verb action, the English verbs are classified either as dynamic (i.e. those denoting actions, activities and processes), or non-dynamic (stative), i.e. those conveying the meaning of states, relations and attitudes (Dušková et al. 1988: 212213; Greenbaum and Quirk 1990: 48; Leech 1987). Somewhat contrary to the FSP understanding of the English verb, from the point of view of static semantics the verb represents the main organising element in the formation of the sentence; it is well known that it shapes the sentence in that it plays a decisive role in determining participant roles. It may be argued that this formative function of verbs in the static semantic structuration of the sentence runs counter to their (prototypical) transitional status in terms of the degrees of communicative dynamism as placed on them. As has been suggested by Adam and Kudrnáčová 2010, this discrepancy between static semantics and dynamic semantics is, however, imaginary only. It can be reconciled by appealing to the fact that the formative function of the verb subsumes the verb’s mediating (transitional) role (meant here in terms of static semantics). In other words, the verb plays a mediating role both in the dynamic semantic structuration of the sentence and in its static semantic structuration. An explanation may be offered. The mediating position of verbs in the dynamic semantic structuration of the sentence is, in actual fact, in accord with their position in the static semantic structuration of the sentence. Let me recall that verbs play a crucial role in determining the type of participant roles. It should be realised that, in doing so, they also determine the nature of the relations existing between the participants (this is only natural because the type of a participant role is also constituted by its relation to the other participants in a sentence). That is, verbs provide the link between the participants and, in this respect, they fulfil a mediating role. It should be added that verbs bring into mutual relationship both participant roles (arguments) and non-participant roles (adjuncts). Their mediating role is therefore not confined to participants only but also covers non-participants, which are, as aptly formulated by Frawley (1992: 148), “less structurally attached to the verb”.
29
The realm of dynamic semantics will be discussed in greater detail in the next chapter dealing specifically with FSP. See also Firbas 1992a: 86-87.
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As to the classification of the English verb in terms of (semantic) verb classes, the situation is rather labyrinthine. By definition, verbs classes are usually understood as sets of semantically-related verbs sharing a range of linguistic properties, such as possible realisations of arguments, or interpretation associated with each possible argument realisation (Levin 1993). Above all, it should be said that there is usually no single canonical or even “correct” typology as the head meaning of many verbs simply falls into more than one category, or some have secondary meanings in some other semantic domain. On top of that, different schools of linguistics (not to speak of different individual grammarians) give somewhat differing classifications. When speaking about semantic verb classes, the usual starting point may be traced back to Fillmore 1970 in his study “The Grammar of Hitting and Breaking” and the papers published by his later continuators, such as Jackendoff 1990, Croft 1991, or Rappaport Hovav and Levin 1998, 2008, to name just a few. Generally, however, it can be claimed that most verbs have core meanings belonging to only one semantic domain (cf. Levin 1993). As noted above, the most common distinction made in the area of the static semantic character of the English verb is that of the dichotomy stative vs. dynamic. Stative verbs are usually said to include e.g. verbs of state, involuntary perception, cognition, affection, and position. On the contrary, dynamic verbs encompass, for instance, the verbs of three senses, verbs of duration, voluntary perception, etc. (Quirk et al. 1985: 132-133; Longacre 1976).30 In addition, verbs are traditionally classified according to two other criteria. Firstly, according to the semantic content – e.g. manner of motion verbs, sound verbs, verba sentiendi (perception verbs), verba dicendi, change of state verbs, weather verbs, verba efficiendi, verba operandi, etc. Secondly, according to their participation in argument alternations – causative alternation, dative alternation, locative alternation, etc. In accordance with such a two-fold approach is the long-term and systematic research carried out by a distinguished American semanticist Beth Levin. In her canonical book on verb classes in English (Levin 1993), Levin manifested correlation between semantic properties and syntactic roles of verbs on the basis of her thorough analysis of 3,200 English verbs. She classifies verbs according to the combination of relevant syntactic semantic alternations, namely e.g. transitivity alternations (e.g. middle constructions, conative constructions or body part ascension constructions; Levin 1993: 25ff), alternations involving arguments within the VP (ibid. 45ff), oblique subject alternations (ibid. 79ff), passive alternations (ibid. 85ff), alternations involving postverbal subjects (ibid. 88ff), etc. Commenting on and summarising the classifications of the verb classes, Levin states that whereas the first criterion yields a “fairly fine-grained semantic classification” (altogether 48 broad classes), the latter criterion provides me with “a coarsergrained semantic classification, which appears to have more grammatical relevance than the other”, giving a total of 79 alternations (Levin 2009). The alternations then serve as a basis for construing the verb semantic classes (Levin 1993: 111ff), such as Verbs of Motion31, Verbs of Existence, Verbs of Colouring, Verbs of Perception, Verbs of Removing, Verbs of Social Communication, Verbs Involving the Body, etc. As Levin’s understanding of semantics of the English verb and her nicely refined verb classification seem to meet best the need stipulated by the present treatise (i.e. the syntactic semantic interface), it is her categorisation that will serve as the essential background for my analysis. 30
31
For a thorough treatment of the issue of the semantic classification of the English verb (including different linguistic approaches to the topic) see also http://www.ilc.cnr.it/EAGLES96/rep2/node10.html. For a detailed and thorough study on motion verbs, see e.g. Kudrnáčová 2008.
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To look at the matter of verb static semantics yet from a different angle, within the framework of so-called case grammar, the issue of verb classification is treated with regard to the thematic roles stipulated. Chafe’s classification is built on the grounds of four main criteria, resulting in four main verbs types: states (i.e. state verbs that are associated with patient and “describe the state or condition of a single argument), processes (referring to “a change of condition or state in its argument”, actions (expressing “something that the verb argument does or performs”, and action processes that relate both to actions and processes (i.e. non-state verbs) (Levin 1993). As a result, Chafe distinguishes several syntacticsemantic relations, namely Agent, Patient, Experiencer, Beneficiary, Complement, Locative and Instrument (cf. also Vogel 2010). Cook (1979), building partly on Chafe (1970), for instance, bases his matrix classification on a vertical parameter that has four values: state verbs, process verbs, action verbs and action processes, while the other parameter has four other values: either with no further nuclear role added, or with experiencer, benefactive or locative added as further nuclear elements (Cook 1979: 63-65). Also Biber et al. (1999: 360-364) offer their own classification of verbs into semantic domains, distinguishing activity verbs (these primarily denote actions and events with agentive meaning of the subject), communication verbs (such as announce, call), mental verbs (denoting cognitive and emotional activities and states experienced by humans, their subject often has the semantic role of recipient), verbs of facilitation or causation (such as allow, cause), verbs of simple occurrence (reporting typically physical events occurring without any volitional activity, e.g. become, happen), verbs of existence or relationship between entities, and aspectual verbs, such as begin, continue, that convey the stage of progress of some other event or activity.
2.5 Verb Semantics as Treated in the Present Study The present paper discusses the semantic characteristics of the English verb operating in the transitional sphere of the clause. Logically enough, the main concern of the discussion and the research will be the manner in which the Pr-verbs are under favourable contextual conditions capable of expressing the existence or appearance on the scene, i.e. their primary semantic characteristics (cf. Firbas 1992a: 86). In the scope of the present treatise, the theory of FSP – applying naturally above to all dynamic semantics – will be amended by the corresponding insights deriving from the area of static semantics of the verb. Current research has shown that outcomes of dynamic semantic analysis may be organically and fruitfully complemented by its static counterpart; as a result, the overall picture of the language under examination is more coherent. The treatise aims to show that static semantics – more specifically, verbal semantic content – play an important role in shaping the resultant dynamic semantic scale of a sentence. On the one hand, research has indicated that taking into consideration also static semantics can shed light on the complex relations in terms of the transitional verb and other sentence elements. On the other hand, it can possibly signal areas that are problematic and troublesome. To achieve this desired effect, the semantic aspects of verbs operating in sentences implementing the Pr-scale will be examined and exemplified by means of statistical and FSP analysis of a sample corpus based on religious discourse. In other words, it is believed that not only does such a dual perspective describe language in its complexity, but it also seems to be vital for a thorough semantic analysis of a text, notably in the area of the verb. As has been suggested several times, the semantic (both static and dynamic) analysis of the verb on the one hand will be functionally contrasted with the syntactic structure 34
of the verb, especially in terms of its valency and complementation. It is hoped that such a comparative juxtaposition of the two verb characteristics will elucidate the inherent semantic-syntactic aptitude of the English verb to preferably operate either in the Presentation or Quality Scale.
2.5.1 A Note on Surface Structure and Deep Structure At this point, at least a few words should be said on the difference between the socalled surface structure on the one hand and the deep (underlying) structure of sentences on the other as it is closely related to the topic of the present study. Nowadays, it is generally taken for granted that a sentence structure may be theoretically approached from two basic angles, i.e. understood at two levels of representation. It was Chomsky’s Aspects of the Theory of Syntax (1965) that actually gave rise to this concept and has influenced the study of language worldwide ever since. To put it in rough co-ordinates, it can be said that whereas the surface structure reflects the syntactic (visible) make-up of the sentence, the deep structure embodies the core semantic relations within the sentence structure32. In practice, the two structures are mutually identifiable and transformable through grammatical transformations. Chomsky was convinced that different languages manifest remarkable similarities regarding their deep structures that in fact reveal what is otherwise concealed in their surface structures. Although Chomsky altered and developed the idea of the surface vs. deep structure in language repeatedly (virtually abandoning this concept in general before the turn of the millennium), the theory certainly remains, in its essence, purposive, especially in the structural-functional interface (Chomsky 1995; cf. Jackendoff 1974). To put it in a different, yet compatible way, syntax as such represents (and describes/ analyses) the surface layer of language, while semantics deals with the underlying structure of language, including the layer of language study that may be described as that of information structure (FSP). It follows that these levels are mutually interrelated and interdependent. To illustrate the practical consequences as seen through the optics of the structural linguistic tradition, I can take the following two pairs of sentences – exx (2a), (2b), (3a) and (3b): (2a) (2b)
Paul gave Peter a book. Peter was given a book by Paul.
It can be readily said that (2a) and (2b) display an identical deep structure; though in the passive version the role subject is fulfilled by the patient (2b), not by agent as in (2a), the underlying structure remains the same. It is not to say of course that the effect achieved is identical as well; it is the functional perspective of the sentence that is evidently affected by changes in its surface structure. In the sentence (2b), for instance, the emphasis is obviously placed on the final element due to the end-focus principle, while in (2a) it is the direct object 32
In the context of Chomskyan Transformational-Generative Grammar, the deep structure was, with certain simplification, devised for technical reasons relating to early semantic theory and a struggle for the so-called context-free grammars. However, the greatest incentive (partly under the influence of Chomsky’s pupils, such as Lakoff, Postal, Katz, McCawley) was given by a reflexion of the fact that in the formal, explicit description of language it is vital to take into account also semantic aspects (unlike the original American descriptivist teaching). Furthermore, Chomsky emphasises the importance of modern formal mathematical devices in the development of grammatical theory (cf. e.g. Chomsky 1957, 1965 and 1995).
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that carries the most prominent piece of information. An analogous principle may be observed in example (3a) and (3b) in which the locative subject configuration (3a) is functionally replaced by an existential phrase (3b), the underlying (deep) structure being the same: (3a) (3b)
The letter bore her signature. There was her signature on the letter.
Grammatical transformations of this sort have proven to be a powerful tool in linguistic analysis and interpretation, especially in the area of functional syntax (on the notion of deep word order see e.g. Dušková 2008: 222; Drápela 2011b: 69); at times, they will be developed in discussions on the syntactic and semantic character of the sentences in the chapters to come. Incidentally, such an approach follows the well-known Mathesian principle of proceeding from the function/meaning to the form.
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3
The Theory of FSP A semiotic system without FSP would not be a language. ~M. A.
3.1
K. Halliday ~33
FSP and Its Place in Linguistics
As has been said many a time above, the overall framework of the present study as well as the primary method used for collecting the corpus data, its analysis and interpretation is the theory of functional sentence perspective (FSP). In short, FSP explores how a piece of information is produced in the act of communication, and also how different elements are given different communicative prominence, i.e. are emphasised (foregrounded) or made less significant (backgrounded) to achieve the author’s communicative intention. In FSP, the very moment of utterance (or perception of a sentence) is thus a phenomenon of paramount importance (Firbas 1994). As Chamonikolasová (2000: 139) aptly notes Firbas’s approach is “an approach of an independent observer who studies utterances without speculating about the process in the speaker’s or listener’s consciousness”. Before the fundamentals of the theory are outlined in greater detail, it will be necessary to define its position among other linguistic theories.34 Though unique and autonomous, the theory of FSP may be labelled – in its essence and thanks to its field of research – by several linguistic hallmarks. Principally, it belongs among the so-called theories of information structure/information processing that, roughly speaking, deal with the distribution of information over different communicative units (Quirk et al. 1985: 1356-1377; Chafe 1994; Halliday 1994; Sgall, Hajičová and Panevová 1986; see also notes on ‘information packaging’ discussed thoroughly e.g. in Tárnyiková 2009; cf. Štekauer 2000: 177ff). It should be noted here that the most prominent theories actually have their roots in and thus may be readily linked to the tradition of the Prague School. As FSP looks at individual sentences from the point of view of their function in the relevant context, it manifests many features of text linguistics and definitely draws on some of its major methods. Text linguistics views texts as elements strung together in definable relationships (see e.g. van Dijk 1985 or de Beaugrande and Dressler 1981), dealing with the analysis of the surface structures that unify the text (cohesion) on the one hand and the deep semantic relations between the elements (coherence) on the other. These concepts derive basically from the British discourse analysis approach represented by Halliday and Hasan (1989). Text linguistics treats the text material from varied perspectives; it is, however, unified by interest in describing language from the higher-level, suprasentential perspective as well as in the role of context and communicative approach. Text grammarians take into consideration concepts such as hypersyntax (i.e. the syntactic structure of the whole text), standards of textuality and text types (de Beaugrande and Dressler 1981: 3ff), discourse topic and the representation of discourse content (proposition) (van Dijk 1977 or Kintsch 1974), 33 34
M. A. K. Halliday 1974: 53 (qtd. also in Adam 2003b) For further details on the theory of FSP see above all Firbas 1992a (Functional sentence perspective in written and spoken communication). See also survey studies and summarising outlines such as Dušková 2005b; Svoboda and Hrehovčík 2006; Štekauer 2000: 177ff; Adam 2007 and 2009.
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cohesion (texture) and coherence (e.g. Halliday and Hasan 1989), schemata as higher-level complex knowledge structures (van Dijk 1981: 141ff), context, text-world as a network of relations between elements (Beaugrande and Dressler 1981) etc. Last but not least, as far as the principal historical trends of linguistics are concerned, FSP is naturally interconnecting both structural and functional approaches in the Praguian sense. Combining the approaches adopted by formalists and functionalists, the theory of functional sentence perspective draws on the findings presented by the scholars of the Prague School of linguistics. The key figure in the study and elaboration of FSP, Jan Firbas, found his inspiration in the teaching of his predecessor, Vilém Mathesius whose research was apparently instigated by the pioneering investigation presented e.g. by Weil, Paul, Marty and Gabelentz (for references and further details see Adam 2011d). Mathesius was a true pioneer in the implementation of functional analysis of sentences viewing the sentence as a dynamic phenomenon developing in the act of communication (as opposed to the traditional formal analysis that considers a sentence a static body). The following section gives a brief account of the genesis of the theory of FSP. In his prolific and linguistically prophetic research, Mathesius noticed the language universal of every utterance having a theme and a rheme, and formulated the basic principles of what was to be labelled FSP only later (Mathesius 1975; cf. Vachek 1995; Štekauer 2000: 177-178). According to Mathesius’ studies on the word order in Czech, the theme of a sentence represents the point of departure, that is “what is being talked about” (and hence is retrievable from the context), while the rheme is connected with the core of the message, that is “what is being said about the theme” (most often something that is not known from the context of the act of communication)35. The natural, unmarked (objective) sequence of these segments of communication is theme-rheme; the reversed word order is a marked (subjective) one, usually signalling an emotive flavour to the message conveyed (Svoboda and Hrehovčík 2006). Beginning in the 1950s, Jan Firbas started to investigate the principles of word order outlined by Mathesius; for instance he re-examined Mathesius’ claim that English seems to be “less susceptible to the theme-rheme articulation than Czech because of its relatively fixed word order (grammatical word order)” (Firbas 1957; cf. Svoboda and Hrehovčík 2006). Firbas gradually elaborated and broadened the theory, making it more systematic. For the first time, he labelled the theory ‘functional sentence perspective’ in his English resume in Firbas 1957.36
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Mathesius felicitously introduced the two key terms of FSP, i.e. theme and rheme, on the basis of the Greek (thema) and (rhema) which literally mean ‘what is being talked about’ and ‘what is being said about the theme’, i.e. ‘the utterance’, respectively. Incidentally, the original Old Greek expression ‘rhema’ was also used by Aristotle and Plato to designate the sentence as such or even the verb or predication (see e.g. Guthrie 1977: 220). To my knowledge, in the New Testament context, the notion was also used to denote the Word of God in the sense of Christ’s utterance; Christ as the eternal Word (extendable to Church) is then labeled (logos) (cf. Kittel et al. 1985: 508). Cf. John 8:20 “These words (rhemata) Jesus spoke in the treasury teaching in the temple; and no one laid hold of him for his hour had not yet come” or 1 Peter 1:25 “But the word (rhema) of the Lord remains for ever. And this word (rhema) is the good news that has been brought to you.” As Jan Firbas explained, when coining the term ‘FSP’ he tried to make use of Mathesius’ felicitous Czech coinage ‘aktuální členění větné’; however, as English ‘actual’ is not an exact equivalent of Czech ‘aktuální’, another term had to be found in English. Building on Mathesius’ term ‘Satzperspective’ and inspired by Vachek’s addition of the adjective ‘functional’, Firbas suggested a brand new label: functional sentence perspective (Firbas 1957). Young Firbas’s authority – Professor Vachek – approved of this suggestion (Svoboda 2003). As a result, since 1957 the term, abbreviated FSP, started its adventurous and fortunate journey.
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3.2
Functional Sentence Perspective
First, it is prudent to outline the basic fundaments and terminological terminus a quo of the theory of FSP. As has been hinted above, the core of Firbas’s theory of FSP lies in the functional approach towards sentences; they are viewed as phenomena operating at the very moment of utterance (Firbas 1994). It follows that the core of Firbas’s FSP lies in the functional approach: he claims that every meaningful element of communication is a carrier of so called communicative dynamism (CD) – a phenomenon described originally by Mathesius himself – and hence pushes the communication forward. By a degree of communicative dynamism of an element, Firbas understands “the relative extent to which the element contributes towards the development of the communication” (Firbas 1964: 270). In other words, a degree of CD is the relative communicative value within the utterance in the act of communication (the topic of CD is treated in detail in Section 3.3.2 below). The sentence is “a field of semantic and syntactic relations that in its turn provides a distributional field of degrees of communicative dynamism (CD)” (Firbas 1986: 47, 1992a: 14-15). According to FSP, sentence elements serve as communicative units with different degrees of CD. The degrees of CD are determined by the interplay of FSP factors involved in the distribution of degrees of CD: (1) linear modification, (2) context, (3) semantic structure, and (4) in spoken language, the interplay of these factors is logically joined by a fourth factor – intonation. On the basis of the interplay of the factors involved, the distribution of CD over individual units becomes transparent. The sentence then may be segmented into the theme/non-theme sections. However, Mathesius’ two-fold functional division of the utterance (theme – rheme) was extended by Firbas into a structure of theme – transition – rheme (the non-thematic section is formed both by transition and rheme). According to the degrees of CD, there are basically two directions in which the theme and the non-theme are arranged: either the unmarked sequence of theme – non-theme or the marked variant of non-theme – theme. It follows that every sentence has one of the two following perspectives. In the first variant, the sentence is perspectived (i.e. oriented) towards the subject (A newcomer appeared on the platform.), the subject being the high point of the message, and the verb – being a ‘tray’37 on which the new phenomenon is presented – introduces the subject on the scene. In the other variant, the sentence is perspectived away from the subject (She will be eighteen.), in the process of which something is said about the subject and the verb mediates a quality / specification of the subject. The determination of the sentence perspective (basically either presentational or qualitative) seems to be essential in the functional analysis of a sentence. To decide whether the sentence is perspectived towards or away from the subject has proved to be the most suitable starting point of the FSP analysis. Such an initial step may clarify the distribution of the degrees of CD and thus the thematic and non-thematic parts of the utterance respectively.38 37 38
According to his own testimony, Firbas (1975: 57) owed this highly illustrative expression to Hatcher (1956). If there is more than one interpretation of the interplay of the three basic factors and so the sentence perspective is not transparent, we speak of genuine potentiality of FSP analysis. In his earlier writings, Firbas labeled the same phenomenon as ‘multifunctionality’ (see e.g. Firbas 1975: 55). It must be made clear, however, that such cases of functionally ambiguous sentences are quite a rare phenomenon. In most cases, the distribution of the degrees of CD is unambiguous and the FSP interpretation of a sentence is transparent. Nevertheless, as Firbas puts it, the functional analysis occasionally does not lead to one single interpretation. He hastens to add that, “further research may prove some types of alleged multifunctionality not to be multifunctional at all, but the system of means of FSP is not a closed one and the interplay of means of FSP can hardly be regarded as invariably equivocal” (Firbas 1975: 55). In his key monograph (Firbas 1992a) Firbas mentions
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All in all, CD is variation in the communicative value of different parts of an information unit. The common, unmarked distribution of CD follows the linear progression of an information unit and ranges from low information value at the beginning of the information unit to high information value at the end. The tendency to place items carrying a high degree of CD in the final position is labelled as the principle of end-focus. The tendency to position syntactically heavy elements at the end of the clause (as new information tends to be expressed in greater detail, i.e. in more words) is referred to as the end-weight principle (on extraposition cf. e.g. Tárnyiková 2009: 108ff; Quirk et al. 1985: 1391ff; on non-extraposition and FSP see e.g. Kaltenböck 2012). According to the different degrees of CD, one may divide a distributional field into two basic parts: theme and non-theme (which is subdivided into transition and rheme); the Firbasian theme is not necessarily associated with the initial position in the sentence. Since the sentence is a field of relations, it is necessary to define what is actually meant by a basic distributional field. Firbas (1992a: 15-17) agrees with Svoboda that, “a sentence, a clause, a semi-clause and even a nominal phrase serve as distributional fields of CD in the act of communication, and their syntactic constituents (e.g. subject, predicative verb…) serve as communicative units”. As a rule, non-rhematic subordinate clauses are taken as separate units, whereas main clauses can be analysed further into individual communicative units (Adam 2006, Svoboda 2003; cf. Firbas 1992a, 1995). Sentence elements serve as communicative units of different degrees of communicative dynamism – the most prominent part of information is the high point of the message, i.e. the most dynamic element; other components of communication are less dynamic and thus have lower degrees of CD. It follows that if a syntactic constituent (Level 1) is realised by further communicative units (clauses, semi-clauses or NP), it provides a sub-field, i.e. a field of lower rank (Level 2); within such a sub-field all its constituents operate as separate communicative units with their own FSP. It is also important to note that there is no one-to-one correspondence between communicative units and grammatical structures (a communicative unit may be a whole clause or e.g. a noun phrase). In the analysis presented later in this study, the communicative units of the sentences are treated separately according to the gradual rise of the degrees of communicative dynamism. In the four sections to come, the basic FSP factors will be discussed one by one: linear modification, context, semantics, and intonation.
3.2.1 The linear modification factor Within the hierarchy of the non-prosodic FSP factors, the lowest in rank is occupied by the linear modification factor. It operates on the basis of word order and, at the same
the phenomenon of potentiality several times. He argues that – in written discourse – real cases of potentiality are extremely exceptional and that an equivocal, unclear FSP interpretation is often rooted either in an inappropriate understanding of the FSP principles in general or in the fact that one does not consider all three factors operating in FSP, i.e. their interplay. By the way – recalling my own experience – it should be made clear that Firbas was very cautious to use the term ‘potentiality’ even in dubious cases of interpretation and was reluctant to provide premature judgments and/or make excuses. The situation is somewhat different in spoken discourse, in which Firbas regards intonation as a decisive tool: “By eliminating potentiality, intonation disambiguates the FSP function of an element and frequently also the perspective of the entire distributional field. As it does not create a discrepancy between the two distributions, elimination of potentiality contributes towards the establishment of perfect correspondence between them” (Firbas 1992a: 181).
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time, along with context and semantics, within the framework of FSP (Firbas 1992a: 118). In the development of communication, the meanings of individual elements continually move closer to the high point of the message to finally fulfil the communicative purpose of the author (Firbas 1992a: 105). The elements, showing different degrees of CD, differ in the extent to which they contribute to the development of communication. If fully implemented, linear modification induces the sentence elements to manifest a gradual rise in CD within the sentence. In English, however, the prominent word principle is the grammatical principle; the sentence has to satisfy the requirements of ordering the individual sentence elements in accordance with their syntactic functions (Chamonikolasová 1998: 23; Firbas 1992a: 104106). In the sentence, developing the communication, individual meanings continually move closer to the high point of the communication. In this step-by-step development, moving closer to this point that signals the completion of the message and thus fulfils the language user’s communicative purpose, the meanings gradually gain in communicative value. In doing so, the elements differ in the extent to which they contribute to the development of communication and show different degrees of CD (Firbas 1992a: 7). Below is a simplified outline of the linear rise of the degrees of CD accompanying two sample sentences (the size of the boxes symbolises the gradual rise in CD); the graphical outlook of the diagram is adopted from Svoboda (2005):
The meeting Theme
will take place Transition
at 5 o’clock. Rheme
All Indo-European languages display a strong tendency to permit linear modification to assert itself, though not to the same extent. If fully implemented, linear modification induces the sentence elements to manifest a gradual rise in CD in the direction from the beginning to the end of the sentence. In other words, as Bolinger (1952: 288) puts it, “gradation of position creates gradation of meaning, when there are no interfering factors”. Firbas refers to such an arrangement as the basic distribution of the degrees of CD (Chamonikolasová 1998). In Czech, the FSP linearity principle represents the leading power governing the syntax of sentences: the further an element is in the sentence the more prominence it carries (objective, unmarked word order). If there is another word order in Czech (subjective), it is viewed as marked, e.g. emotionally. In Czech, this effect is usually achieved by means of violation of the unmarked Th-Rh sequence; in such a marked version, the sentences start with a rheme. In English, however, the prominent word order principle is the grammatical principle; the sentence has to satisfy the requirements of ordering the individual sentence elements in accordance with their syntactic functions (subject, verb, object, adverbial) (Chamonikolasová 1998). Interestingly enough, even the English rhematic subject is considered unmarked by native speakers of English. Though Mathesius claimed that English is less susceptible to the principles imposed by FSP, it became clear later on that this observation of his was not based on proper understanding. It will be beneficial to realise that while in Czech the markedness is signalled by deviation from the theme-rheme sequence, in English the marked flavour consists in the deviation from the grammatical word order (Firbas 1992a). So, sometimes the grammatical principle violates the FSP linearity principle – e.g. if the highest degree of CD 41
is carried by the subject, the sentence starts with the most prominent element, the rhematic subject may be, on the contrary, extraposed (Quirk et al. 1985: 1391ff) or one may make use of a cleft sentence (Quirk et al. 1985: 1383ff).
3.2.2 The contextual factor In the hierarchy, the most powerful FSP factor in the English language is the contextual factor (superior to both semantics and linear modification). Context is a complex phenomenon related to the concepts of given (context-dependent) information and new (context-independent) information (Chamonikolasová 1998: 24). Generally speaking, given information (context-dependent) represents what the sender considers shared knowledge, something clearly known by both sender and receiver, whereas new information (contextindependent) is what has not been introduced to the discourse and is not clear from the situational or verbal context. The notion of context is a very complex one and different schools of linguistics have different opinions as to the very definition of context and its understanding. From the linguistic point of view, there are basically three main types of context: (i) pragmatic /experiential context (i.e. context of human experience shared by the speaker and the listener; context in the broadest sense); (ii) situational context (i.e. context of a concrete situation in the Hallidayan sense, cf. Halliday and Hasan 1989: 12; 44-49; and (iii) verbal context (i.e. the preceding and/or the following text; e.g. anaphoric or cataphoric reference). In the theory of FSP, the understanding of context is even narrower: Firbas (1992a: 21-40) introduces the concept of retrievability/irretrievability from the immediately relevant context, which plays a crucial role in the process of the distribution of the degrees of CD over the sentence elements. The immediately relevant context represents only a fraction of the entire verbal and situational contexts; Firbas’s criterion is the actual presence of the information in the listener’s immediately relevant context. Information is given “if it is present in, and hence retrievable from, the immediately relevant context and/or if the referent suggesting it is present in, and hence retrievable from, the immediately relevant situational context” (Firbas 1992a: 37-8). The actual, physical presence of the piece of the information in the immediately relevant context is emphasised, as opposed to the condition that the speaker assumes “that the information is present in the addressee’s consciousness” (Firbas on Chafe’s approach 1992a: 37 and 1987d: 54). Apparently, in Firbasian understanding, the immediately relevant context encompasses the verbal and situational context relevant at the very moment of communication. In some situations, for example, an item may be known from the preceding situational context, but still, not retrievable from the immediately relevant one. By retrievability Firbas understands the possibility to ‘find’ and ‘bring back’ the information in the immediately relevant context.39 In FSP, it is not enough if the piece of information is present in the experiential context only – such a piece of information would be then merely deducible from the wider context, not retrievable though.40 It will be beneficial to add that there are language elements that
39
40
Let me recall at this point that to illustrate the concept of retrievability Firbas would often use the example of the Golden Retriever – a breed of dog that retrieves a shot duck to bring it to its master, the hunter. The killed duck must physically be there. Otherwise the dog could not find it and retrieve it. Similarly, one cannot retrieve a piece of information if it is not physically present in the immediately relevant context. For this purpose, in contrast to the well-established ‘retrievability’, I coined the term ‘deducibility’ (Adam 2000; 2006), the Czech counterparts being ‘vyveditelnost’ vs. ‘vyvoditelnost’ respectively. The term was approved by Jan Firbas in our private communication.
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are always retrievable from the immediately relevant context, sometimes labelled as eternal themes (Svoboda 1983). Logically, these are above all items referring to ‘now’ and ‘here’ and then the addresser and the addressee (typically personal pronouns, such as I or you). To sum up, a retrievable piece of information must be present (and hence retrievable) from the immediately relevant context; a mere assumption or deducibility is not sufficient for the purpose of FSP. In the framework of the immediately relevant context, several scholars have examined the average length of retrievability span (especially Svoboda 1981), or the position of the given element in the functional structure of the preceding sentence(s) (Hajičová and Vrbová 1982). It follows from the research that an element has to be re-expressed within approximately seven clauses after its first occurrence in order to remain thematic. In this way, by means of expression and possible re-expression, “the language user keeps on introducing information previously unexpressed into the flow of communication” (Firbas 1992a: 25). The retrievability span is the stretch of text in the course of which a piece of information remains retrievable without being re-expressed; the immediately relevant context is then formed by all the retrievability spans that are open (‘alive’) at the moment of utterance. It should be noted that in the framework of FSP, the concept of the immediately relevant context distinguishes only two basic (polar) degrees of retrievability: either an element of the sentence is retrievable (and thus relatively less dynamic) or irretrievable from the immediately relevant context (and thus more dynamic). If all the three FSP factors (their interplay) are taken into consideration, though, one gets a more refined and subtle continuum of the degrees of CD, which reflects more precisely the communicative vales of individual sentence elements.
3.2.3 The semantic factor Interestingly – yet justifiably enough – Svoboda claims that, “out of the factors of functional sentence perspective, the dynamism of semantics is probably the least researched area” (Svoboda 2005: 228). In the hierarchy of FSP factors, the semantic factor stands between context and linear modification. The degree of CD of an element is co-determined by its semantic character and the character of its semantic relations to other elements (Firbas 1992a: 66-69; Svoboda 1989: 119-120). For instance, Firbas examined the semantic power of the English verb and concluded that an item known from the context (contextdependent) is obviously semantically weaker than those context-independent ones (Firbas 1979: 51; cf. Firbas 1992a). According to the dynamic-semantic functions of performed by individual elements of a clause, Firbas distinguishes two types of dynamic-semantic scales: the Presentation scale and the Quality scale (Firbas 1992a: 66-69, see also Firbas 1979: 5053; and later below). Following the Firbasian tradition, it will be beneficial to begin the discussion on the operation of the semantic factor of FSP by an in-depth treatment of the character of the English verb, viz. its semantic content and its semantic relations to other communicative units within the sentence (Firbas 1992a: 41-45). First it should be noted that, from the perspective of its lexical semantics, the English verb “remains the most adequate conveyer of the predicative categories of tense and mood”, yet if seen from the angle of dynamic semantics, is usually relatively weak and serves as a mediator between the subject and other sentence elements; for example Firbas (2010: 210) comments that, “the English verb show considerable losses in communicative value”. This fact, however, does “not impair the communicative efficacy of the English sentence” (ibid): 43
The very opposite is true: being semantically weak, the English verbs may serve as a transitional element, allowing the rhematic nominal elements to come into prominence and so adding to the concreteness of English expression.” (Firbas 2010: 210) Due to the tendency to nominal predication observed in English (see e.g. Vachek 1976 and 1995), predication tends to be expressed by non-verbal elements (nouns), whereas in Czech, for instance, predication is typically expressed by the verb (although also in Czech the verb rarely completes the development of communication). It follows that in the FSP analysis, the role of the immediately relevant context must be taken into consideration: the English verb tends to be the mediator (transition) between the theme and the rheme. Thus, the verb is presenting something new on the scene if it expresses the existence or appearance on the scene with explicitness or sufficient implicitness (Firbas 1995b: 65); usually, these are verbs such as come, appear, occur, etc. Sometimes, in the absence of a successful competitor (a more dynamic element), though, the verb is the most prominent and thus rhematic item (cf. And then they arrived.). Another fact that deserves mentioning is that native speakers of English view some elements as rhematic even though these do not occupy the predictable end-position (and do not follow the end-focus principle) (Svoboda 1983): A terrifying noise was heard from the window. In Czech, however, the same idea will be expressed by a totally reversed word order (the most dynamic element occurs at the very end of the sentence). The English verb is treated in FSP principally as two communicative units (Firbas 1992a: 41-87): the information conveyed by (i) the so-called categorial exponents of the verb, and (ii) the notional component of the verb. Whereas the categorial exponents express the formal grammatical features of the verb realised by temporal and modal exponents (TMEs), the notional component is decisive in terms of the actual semantic content carried by the verb and is, as a rule (in the absence of any other more dynamic element in the sentence), regarded more dynamic (i.e. carries a higher degree of CD) than TMEs. The FSP nature of the English verb will be discussed in detail in Section 3.3.5 of this chapter (see also Section 2.4.1 on dynamic semantics above). Having explored the issue of different dynamic semantic load of individual elements of the sentence in numerous cases, Firbas came up with the idea of so called dynamic semantic scales, which functionally reflect the distribution of CD and operate irrespective of word order (1992a: 69). In the scales, each element is ascribed one of the dynamic-semantic functions (DSFs) (Firbas 1992a: 66-69; Svoboda 1989: 12-15; 119-120; see below). The items of both scales are arranged in accordance with a gradual rise in CD from the beginning to the end of the sentence reflecting the interpretative arrangement. In Firbas’s understanding, the concept of the dynamic semantic scales is of a general and universal nature within the language system as such, even though their application may be somewhat flexible (Firbas 1992a: 69). He came to the conclusion that every sentence may manifest two different perspectives, “either is the communication oriented towards the subject, to be more precise, a phenomenon presented by the subject, or it is perspectived towards the quality of the subject, or even the specification of its quality” (Firbas 1992a: 66). In contrast with a static approach towards semantic functions of sentence constituents (e.g. affected participant, agent, instrument etc.), the dynamic semantic functions may change in the course of the act of communication; the same element may thus perform different functions in different contexts and under different conditions. In principle, Firbas distinguishes two types of dynamic-semantic scales: the 44
Presentation Scale41 and the Quality Scale. The labels ‘presentation’ and ‘quality’ have to be understood in the widest sense of the word (Chamonikolasová 1998). It follows that some verbs, for instance, tend to express existence or appearance on the scene, while others are especially capable of ascribing a quality to the subject. Nevertheless, all verbs are, generally speaking, (at least theoretically) suitable for flexible participation in both types of scales. The question remains what are the implicit syntactic-semantic features (criteria) that enable the verb to serve as a Pr-verb in the Presentation Scale or as a Q-verb operating within the Quality Scale. As has been postulated several times above, the discussion in the three chapters to come should provide answers to this question. At this point, it should be noted that the distribution of degrees of CD within a sentence is not necessarily implemented linearly, and so it is common to distinguish between the actual linear arrangement of sentence elements on one hand, and their interpretative arrangement on the other (Firbas 1986, 1992a). The interpretative arrangement is defined as “the arrangement of the sentence elements according to the gradual rise in CD irrespective of the positions they occupy within the sentence” (Firbas 1986: 47). The two arrangements may either coincide, or there are differences of other kinds. It is the interpretative arrangement that plays an important role in the development of the dynamic-semantic layers and that is why it is used in the charts of FSP analysis. Interestingly enough, in languages with more-or-less free (or flexible) word order (Czech and other Slavic languages), the interpretative arrangement tends to be in harmony with the actual linear arrangement of the sentences as in such languages the FSP linearity is the governing principle. The English language, on the other hand, being a language with a relatively fixed word order, is governed by the grammatical principle and so manifests functional deviations from the actual linear arrangement of sentences.
3.2.3.1 The Presentation Scale
The Presentation Scale (Pr-Scale) includes three basic dynamic semantic functions (DSFs): firstly, there is a scene (Setting) of the action, usually temporal and spatial items of when and where the action takes place. Secondly, the existence or appearance on the scene (see above) is typically conveyed by a verb (Presentation of Phenomenon) and, thirdly, the major, most dynamic element (Phenomenon) is literally ushered onto the scene. Cf. the following sentence and its functional analysis in the interpretative arrangement: Fig. 10: The Presentation Scale Setting (Set) theme on the platform 41
Presentation of Phenomenon (Pr) transition appeared
Phenomenon Presented (Ph) Rheme A newcomer
Firbas (1992a: 87) admits that in his earlier writings he tended to use the term ‘Existential Scale’ (and similarly he named the DSF of Presentation (Pr) was labelled “the dynamic semantic fiction of expressing appearance/existence on the scene”, App/Ex). Later, however, he preferred the term ‘Presentation Scale’, the only reason being for him a more illustrative depiction of the idea of dynamic approach towards utterance. As Firbas himself explained, “The original terms did not cause any difficulty as long as they were understood as expressing concepts of the dynamic approach, and the dynamic notion of existence/appearance on the scene was not confused with the statically viewed semantic content of existence/appearance on the scene” (ibid.).
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3.2.3.2 The Quality Scale
The Quality Scale (Q-Scale) represents, in principle, an opposite in comparison with the Presentation Scale. Something new (Specification) is said about the subject (Bearer of Quality). The verb usually performs the transitory DSF of Quality. Naturally, all actions typically have a scene as well as the time in which they happen (i.e. the spatial and temporal Settings). The three model sentences below illustrate possible realisations of the Quality Scale; the second gives an example of the copular ‘be’ performing the DSF of Ascription of Quality, and the third one provides an example of the DSF of Further Specification. Fig. 11: The Quality Scale
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(Set)
Bearer of Quality (B)
Ascription42 of Quality (AofQ)
theme
theme
transition
Tomorrow
the party It He
‘s
Setting
Quality
Specification
(Q) transition / rheme begins cool! will go
(Sp)
Further Specification (FSp)
rheme
rheme
at 7. to school
on Tuesday.
In a natural, authentic language, the two basic scale configurations may be found in two more variants: the so-called Combined Scale and the Extended Presentation Scale.43
3.2.3.3 The Combined Scale
In the typology of sentence perspective scales, the Combined Scale stands in between the Pr- and the Q-Scales. Firbas (1992a: 67) as well as Svoboda (1989: 14-15) interpret it as a merger of the two basic perspectives. The Combined Scale implementation means that a Phenomenon is being presented and, at the same time, something new is said about it by means of Specification (cf. Chamonikolasová and Adam 2005: 217-229). In such cases, Firbas (1992a: 67-68) says that the distributional field, making use of a syntactic semantic ‘shortcut’ (Firbas 1975: 67) – “telescopes the Ph-function and the B-function into the subject”, reflecting the following usual version of interpretative arrangement (Firbas’s example from 1992a: 67):
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43
If Specification is not present in the Quality Scale, the rheme proper element performs a DSF of Quality (and the verbal, usually copula-like element performs the DFS of Ascription of Quality (AofQ) as in John was totally blind. Apart from the Presentation, Quality and Combined Scales, Svoboda (2005) also distinguishes the so-called Bifunctional or Multifunctional Pr/Q Scale. By this variant he means sentences in which it is almost inevitable to accept a potentially double interpretation, such as in Raindrops (Ph/B) / tapped (Pr/Q) / on the tin roof (Set/ Sp); such two-faced, ‘oscillating’ sentences are said to typically occur, in Svoboda’s (2005) opinion, in poetic, i.e. typically informationally dense literary discourse (cf. Adam 2002, 2006, 2011b). What seems to be the decisive moment for an appropriate interpretation and understanding of the Bifunctional Scale sentences is not only the immediately relevant context (which alone “does not disambiguate all the case” (Svoboda 2005: 227), but also a wider textual context, such as whole paragraph or chapter (cf. Svoboda 2005: 226-228; Firbas 1995). The present study treats such sentences, as a rule, as examples of the Presentation Scale, admitting that they usually represent borderline cases or cases of potentiality (for further details see Chapter 6 and Conclusions).
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Fig. 12: The Combined Scale Setting (Set) Ages ago
Phenomenon Presented (Ph)
Bearer of Quality (B)
a young king
Quality
Specification
(Q)
(Sp) capriciously and despotically.
ruled
However, in Chamonikolasová (2005) and Chamonikolasová and Adam (2005), it was shown that the semantic structure of the sentence above and the like corresponds almost precisely to the Quality Scale, differing only in the absence of a previous introduction of the subject (Pr) into the context of communication. In other words, what Firbas labels a Combined Scale may actually be abandoned and readily re-evaluated as a variant of the pure Quality Scale.
3.2.3.4 The Extended Presentation Scale
There is, nevertheless, another sentence type that may be regarded as somewhat special within the traditional Firbasian framework of dynamic semantic scales. Its existence and structure were first described in Adam 2003b within his FSP analysis of biblical discourse (in this study, such sentences are, in accord with later Chamonikolasová’s conception, denoted as presentation sentences containing a ‘double rheme’), and elaborated systematically in Chamonikolasová 2005, 2010 and Adam and Chamonikolasová 2005. The structure of sentences implementing this type of interpretative scale actually corresponds very closely to the Presentation Scale, differing only in the presence of the Specification, which is not part of the pure Presentation Scale as defined by Firbas.44 Fig. 13: The Extended Presentation Scale Setting (Set) In these days
Presentation of Phenomenon (Pr) John the Baptist
Phenomenon Presented (Ph) came
Specification (Sp) preaching in the Desert of Judaea.
To sum up, recent research into the area of the dynamic-semantic scales has confirmed the applicability of the modification of the original framework of dynamic semantic scales developed by Firbas (summarised in Firbas 1992a) and supplemented by Svoboda (most notably in Svoboda 1989). The modification consists in the recognition of the occurrence of a Specification within the Presentation Scale in semantically dense sentences (Adam and Chamonikolasová 2005). As a result, Chamonikolasová (2005: 64-65) presented a modified framework, which abandons Firbas’s concept of the Combined Scale associated with certain Presentation Scale patterns (i.e. patterns implementing the Extended Presentation Scale) and certain Quality Scale patterns (i.e. patterns in which the B-element had not been introduced in the previous context; cf. Chamonikolasová). As Chamonikolasová (2005) concludes, the modification is obviously compatible with the original framework and contributes to a more precise analysis of language in the act of communication.
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The occurrence of such a ‘double rheme’ in certain types of presentation sentences was identified in several passages of the Gospel according to Matthew and Luke (The New Testament, New International Version of the Holy Bible; see Adam 2003b). Some distributional fields displayed a considerable degree of potentiality, which creates difficulties in the interpretation of dynamic semantic functions (cf. Adam 2003b: 129-134; 165-7).
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3.2.4 Intonation Intonation operates as a factor of FSP (the only prosodic one) only in spoken discourse45. It actually comprises a set of prosodic features in its broad sense: pitch, rhythm and stress. It follows that a sentence is perspectived towards its most dynamic element (rheme proper) and “it is this element that almost invariably becomes the intonation centre bearer (i.e. the element with the highest degree of prosodic prominence)” (Headlandová Kalischová 2009: 66-67). Consequently, under favourable circumstances, intonation can disambiguate and affect the interplay of non-prosodic factors, or even change the overall distribution of CD and so even the initial sentence element can bear the highest degree of CD. Firbas likened intonation to running attitudinal commentary; in his opinion, intonation keeps commenting on the content of utterances (that is why intonation can even change the overall distribution of CD). Major studies on prosodic features (e.g. O’Connor and Arnold 1973 and Crystal 1969) claim that there is a connection between the theme-rheme articulation (the distribution of the degrees of CD over individual communicative units) and the degrees of so called prosodic prominence (PP). In his key monograph, Firbas (1992a) examined the relation between the operation of non-prosodic FSP factors (linear modification, context and semantics) and the features affecting degrees of PP.46 In view of the main topic of the present treatise – i.e. the Pr-Scale sentences and the Prverb – one more facet related to intonation should be tackled at least briefly. In the sentences implementing the Pr-Scale, the nuclear stress should logically fall on the most dynamic, hence rhematic element of the sentence, i.e. on the phenomenon Presented – the subject. Apparently, non-native speakers of English, subconsciously following the end-focus pattern when intoning the Pr-sentences, misplace the nucleus. In her study on FSP and intonation, Headlandová Kalischová (2010), for instance, claims that the Czech non-native speakers of English under her examination did not, as a rule, observe the appropriate distribution of prosodic prominence and automatically shifted the intonation centre onto the last element of the sentence. The core of this inappropriate, yet expectable deviation lies in the different prosodic FSP requirements of English and Czech (for details see Headlandová Kalischová 2010: 71). Interestingly enough, though, numerous experiences of the author as well as Firbas himself (Firbas in personal communication, 2000) admit that even native speakers of English do not unequivocally put prosodic emphasis on the Phenomenon but on the Pr-verb or the adverbial Setting even if these are definitely less dynamic. The core of this observation probably lies in an instinctive submission to the prevailing – and thus “more natural” endfocus tendencies in English.
45
46
It should be noted, however, that intonation plays an important disambiguating role in FSP cases of potentiality and so a question arises as to whether it is generally possible to disregard intonation in written discourse. Some texts are written to be read out loud or recited, for instance, such as sermons or biblical readings in the case of religious discourse. Intonation then serves as a latent, accompanying feature of FSP structure of written text determined by the interplay of all the three basic FSP factors; if such an interplay does not bring an equivocal interpretation, intonation may “tip the scales”, thus acting as a distinctive, not accompanying any more, feature. Throughout the discussion offered in analytical chapters of the study intonation will therefore be taken into consideration when this disambiguating function of prosody is needed (esp. aspects like rhythm, sentence stress, habitual way or reciting certain texts etc.). As has been suggested above, there is a relation between the degrees of communicative dynamism and degrees of prosodic prominence. Even if the relationship is rather close, one cannot say, however, that these two coincide. Firbas distinguishes three types of this relationship between CD and prosodic prominence: perfect correspondence, non-selective non-re-evaluating intensification, selective non-reevaluating intensification, and reevaluating intensification (Firbas 1992a: 154-156). As the present study is not concerned with spoken discourse, the intonation factor will be examined only occasionally, with regard to FSP interpretation.
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3.2.5 The hierarchy of communicative units In accordance with the distribution of the degrees, which results from the interplay of the three basic FSP factors (context, linear modification, and semantics), each sentence constituent corresponds to one communicative unit. During their FSP research, Firbas (summarised in 1992a, 1995) and Svoboda (esp. 1968, 1981 and 1989), actually supplementing one another, elaborated a sophisticated and gradually refined set of dynamic semantic units. Principally, Firbas classifies communicative units as thematic, or non-thematic (viz. transitional and rhematic). Svoboda contributed to the delicacy of the theme-rheme continuum by adding, for instance, the category of a diatheme or transition proper oriented (Svoboda 1981, 1989; cf. Firbas 1992a: 79ff). Units carrying a lower degree of CD form the thematic part of the sentence and those carrying a higher degree of CD form – together with the so-called transition47 – the non-thematic part of the sentence (Firbas 1992a: 66-86; cf. Chamonikolasová 1998: 35). The interpretative arrangement of the communicative units – starting from the unit carrying the lowest degree of CD – is the following: Fig. 14: The theme-rheme structure theme proper Th
Theme diatheme DTh
Transition transition transition proper Tr TrPr
Rheme rheme Rh
rheme proper RhPr
The individual types of communicative units and their typical manifestation in texts are discussed in detail in the following sections. Thematic units In sentences (basic distributional fields), the thematic units provide a foundation for the message to be conveyed and are expressed by means of the following types: Set-elements, B-elements or any other elements that are context-dependent (Firbas 1992a: 69-73). The least dynamic thematic elements perform the function of theme proper (ThPr), the most dynamic thematic elements, on the other side, perform the function of diatheme (DTh). ThPr is usually expressed by context-dependent elements that are firmly established in the thematic layer, i.e. have already occurred in a thematic function in the utterance. Typically, the themeproper layer is occupied by grammatical units of a minimum size such as unstressed personal pronouns. DTh is usually performed by context-dependent elements which were only just introduced in the immediately relevant context and have not performed a thematic function yet. The diatheme layer may contain any sentence constituents; apart from typical personal pronouns, there may also appear full nominal subjects, if occurring for the first time in the thematic layer.
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The tripartition in FSP (Th-Tr-Rh) is actually a unique concept of the Brno branch of FSP research, ‘forecasted’ already by Mathesius, embodied especially in the person of Jan Firbas, but also taken over and elaborated by Svoboda. Originally, in earlier years, also Firbas, following Mathesius’ footprints, distinguished between theme and rheme only. Interestingly, also the transitional verb actually falls into two categories (categorial exponents vs. notional component; see above). The Praguian ‘Lesser Town’ tradition (Topic Focus Articulation, i.e. TFA) of information structure theory, as well as e.g. Halliday or Greenbaum, do not distinguish transition and see the distributional field of communication as two-fold (in TFA it is either contextually bound or unbound).
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Transitional units The transitional layer (forming, together with rheme, the non-thematic part of the utterance) consists of the transition proper (TrPr) and the most dynamic transitional element, transition (Tr). The transitional sphere as a whole adds to the information set by the thematic elements and, at the same time, forms a real transition to the rhematic section. Typically, the transitional layer is made up of the predicative verb. As the concept of the multifunctional transitional elements is rather complex, the reader is referred to Firbas 1992a: 77-79. Generally speaking the transitional layer is formed by the categorial exponents and notional components (see also above). The TrPr layer is constituted by the categorial exponents (i.e. formal realisation) of the verb (tense, mood, aspect, person, number and polarity); the categorial exponents are signalled, for example, by auxiliaries, endings or suffixes. The categorial exponents of the verbs have a triple linking role in the sentence: (i) they link the subject with the predicate (syntax level); (ii) they link Th and Rh (FSP level); and (iii) they link the content of the sentence with the extralinguistic reality (Firbas 1992a: 88-89). Transition is then made up of the notional component (lexical meaning) of the verb – the semantic content or, rarely, by the nominal part of the predicate. It performs the dynamic semantic function of Quality or Presentation. Interestingly, as long as the notional component of the verb is irretrievable from the immediately relevant context, it carries a higher degree of CD than the categorial exponents (Firbas 1992a: 89-93). As has been mentioned above, under favourable conditions (when there is no successful competitor in terms of CD), the notional component of the verb abandons the transitional layer to complete the message as the most dynamic element of the distributional field. It should also be added that it is the notional component of the transitional verb that will be under the focus in the present treatise. Especially when talking about verb semantics, the verb’s notional component will be taken into account whereas the categorial exponents (occupying the transition proper layer) will often be put aside. Generally speaking though, the transitional predicate in its syntactic-semantic entirety is the topic of this study, and so will be referred to as ‘the verb’. Rhematic units As has been mentioned above, the rhematic elements exceed the Tr- and Th-units in their degrees of CD. They include rheme proper (the most dynamic element of the whole sentence) and rheme, which comprises any elements carrying a higher degree of CD than Tr and a lower degree of CD than RhPr. Through the interplay of FSP factors, an element can become rhematic if it conveys entirely irretrievable information (Firbas 1995a). In fact, the RhPr layer may be occupied by any element. The classical representative of the RhPr layer is an actor introduced on the scene for the very first time, performing the dynamic semantic function of Phenomenon presented (when the Presentation Scale is implemented) or Specification (in the case of the Quality Scale). If Specification is not present in the Quality Scale, the rheme proper element performs a DSF of Quality and the verbal, usually copula-like element performs the DFS of Ascription of Quality (see above). The Rh layer is usually constituted by those rhematic elements that are less dynamic than rheme proper. To sum up, the interpretative arrangement (from the lowest to the highest degree of CD) of the thematic and the non-thematic units (from left to right starting from the units carrying the lowest degree of CD, also symbolically) is as follows: 50
ThPr
DTh
Tr
TrPr
Rh
RhPr
The thematic, the transitional and the rhematic units are not necessarily present in one sentence; two of them, nevertheless, must always be implemented: RhPr and TrPr.
3.3
The English Presentation Verb through the Prism of FSP
While Chapter 2 dealt with the English verb from the point of view of syntax and semantics in a general sense, the time has come to treat the English (typically transitional) verb from the point of view of its role in sentences implementing the Presentation Scale. In other words, from now on the verbs operating in the sentences that implement the Presenattion Scale – being the main focus of the present study – will be discussed48. It has been clarified above that although within the theory of FSP the English transitional verb is typically seen as relatively weak, semantically, however, it plays a vital role in constituting and perspectiving the sentence. Under the circumstances, the verb either ascribes a quality to the subject, bridging its specification, or presents something new on the scene. Since the topic of the present paper is the sentences that implement the Presentation Scale, only the Pr-verbs will be examined in this section. It is important to recall that, according to Firbas the Pr-verbs the existence or appearance on the scene49 with “explicitness or sufficient implicitness” (Firbas 1995b: 65; cf. Adam 2009: 92-4). The corpus findings contain both instances of verbs that do so in an explicit way and those which achieve the same semantic goal in a more-or-less implicit manner (see below). Prototypically, these are verbs such as come, appear, occur, come down, be born, turn up, etc. Research has convincingly shown, however, that other types of verbs are also capable of expressing the existence/appearance even though not in a straightforward manner; in other words, they do so with sufficient implicitness (Firbas 1992a, 1995; cf. Ertl 1917: 112; Svoboda 1981: 39-92; Uhlířová 1987: 100; Adam 2009b). Different sorts of Pr-verbs, such as overshadow, seize, shine, pour, feed, blow or preach and many others were actually identified in the present research corpus.
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It should be noted at least tentatively here that apart from the prototypical Presentation Scale also some variants of the Quality Scale implementations are – at their deep, underlying structure – capable of communicating “presentation of a phenomenon” of a certain kind. To be more exact, the DSF of the rhematic Specification sometimes conveys a notion of a new entity and thus indirectly presents it on the scene; the verb semantics is, in this respect, somewhat lowered, actually performing an underlying function of Presentation. Cf. e.g. Some men brought to him a paralytic, lying on a mat (Mt 9:2), see also Mt 9:9 or Mt 12:22, and many others. Hatcher (1956), for example (as quoted in Firbas 1992a: 63) considers such cases implied Presentation Scale: I have got a book can be transformed into purely presentational There is a book in my possession (see Hatcher 1956: 44-45). Recently, this somewhat liberal yet partly legitimate understanding of implied presentation on the scene was described by Haupt (2003: 35) and Řezníčková (2011). In the present study, however, the sentences implementing the Presentation Scale will be treated in the traditional Firbasian manner, according to which the DSF of a Phenomenon presented must be performed by the subject of the sentence. Unlike mere existence on the scene, which denotes predominantly the existence of somebody or something in its duration and is understood as static, the dynamic concept of appearance on the scene – even if containing the notion of existence too – mainly conveys the moment of the beginning of the existence and the manner in which the existence begins and thus the entity becomes noticeable. Usually, the two sets of verbs in the scope of the Presentation Scale are viewed as functionally equal (cf. Firbas 1992a: 87).
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3.3.1 Explicit expression of existence or appearance on the scene The corpus data revealed basically two static semantic groups of verbs that may be seen clearly as those expressing the existence or appearance on the scene in an explicit way. First, these are verbs of going and coming – e.g. come, arrive, enter, step in, fall, rush up, step out, come down; second, there are verbs that convey the notion of appearance proper, such as appear, occur, be born, turn up, go up. The Pr-verbs falling into the category of verbs of going and coming are, in their nature, dynamic and carry the meaning of certain motion50. Fulfilling the Firbasian idea of existence on the scene, they mediate this existence from the dynamic point of view, placing emphasis on the motion process proper. Cf.: (4) And soon after that a very strange person stepped out from among the trees. (N13b)51 (5) …and from a hole in the roof smoke was going up. (N72a) Such Pr-verbs denote a simple movement action performed by the phenomenon that is being presented on the scene of communication. The set of verbs as such is not extremely varied as to the meaning carried by the verbs; these verbs rather convey simple motion actions such as that of going, coming, following, or returning that actually lack any further specification of a more subtle meaning. In other words, it is the final localisation of the mover that is semantically most prominent. As Kudrnáčová described it, such verbs deal with physical translocation, rather than manner of motion; the culmination point is thus usually highlighted (Kudrnáčová 2008; Adam and Kudrnáčová 2010). The verbs of appearance proper in their nature actually reflect the definition of Firbasian appearance on the scene with explicitness. Such Pr-verbs are concerned more with the appearance per se rather than with the motion involved. It is possible to speak of appearance as a non-scalar, polar phenomenon; somebody or something appears on the scene without any prior presence, i.e. from nothing to full existence. Analogously to the findings discussed in the present paper, Kudrnáčová claims that “the intrinsically contrastive character of (dis)appearance is underlain [sic] by the strict bipolarity of the path, lacking a transitional phase” (Kudrnáčová 2008, 47). (6) …and horrible ideas came into his head. (N73b) (7) Instantly the same dwarf whom Edmund had seen with her before appeared. (N99c)
50
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In his treatise on valency of the English verb, Allerton (1982) describes this syntactic verb group – using his own terminology – as a divalent valency structure No.17 patterning as S + V + Adverbial Elaborator, especially of the directional character. Apart from classical Pr-verbs like come, go, arrive, sit, lie, stand, reside he lists for instance verbs such as step, travel, live, occur, etc. (Allerton 1982: 101). In addition, he sees this syntactic group as an underlying variant of existential there-clauses (see Allerton 1982: 95). From now on, the transitional verbs (including the existential there-construction) in the examples will be underlined with a solid line, whereas the rhematic subjects will be marked in bold for the sake of transparency. Specific features discussed will be, at times, presented as underlined with a dashed line.
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3.3.2 Implicit expression of existence or appearance on the scene Interestingly, all different sorts of verbs, such as send, strike, await, buzz, wake (the silence), chirp, shine were identified in the research corpus. Seemingly, they come from different semantic groups of verbs and do not have much in common. Research has indicated (Adam 2010, 2011a, 2011c) that one of the most significant features of such Pr-verbs occurring in the corpus may be described as a certain degree of semantic affinity between the Pr-verb itself and the clause subject (cf. Firbas 1992a: 60; Dušková 2008). Such affinity seems to reveal a significant semantic feature of what may be considered to express existence or appearance on the scene in an implicit way. (8) (9)
A bee buzzed across their path. (N120e) At that moment a strange noise woke the silence. (N128)
In recent papers (see esp. Adam 2010 and 2011a), I introduced several sentences in which a certain sort of semantic affinity was detected. This treatise, however, will attempt a more delicate typology of such sentences and a possible revelation of some of the underlining (syntactic and/or semantic) principles (see esp. Chapters 4 and 6).
3.3.3 FSP research into Pr-verbs As has been stated several times above, the key concept connected with Presentation Scale sentences is necessarily connected with the issue of expression of existence/appearance on the scene. Apart from the scholars mentioned below as those dealing with FSP matters from the ‘hard-core’ Brno viewpoint, there are a few others who had their say in the study of information structure, especially in the area of FSP in the Czech language. Let me tackle some of their studies at least briefly. As mentioned above, Mathesius (1961: 94) differentiated between the objective/ unmarked word order and the subjective/marked/emotive word order; this comes to the fore especially when comparing the Czech language linearity principle and the English grammaticalised word order; in this connection, he also discusses, even though marginally, the role of the English verb. Another study dealing with such sentences dates back to the dawn of the 20th century: Václav Ertl (1917: 112) noticed the relation between the presenting verb and other sentences elements, especially the subject. He gives examples such as Uprostřed chrámu vynikalo malé lešeníčko... [in-the-middle of-temple stood-out little scaffolding]; or Na hradě byl vrchním velitelem pan Jan Šembera z Boskovic... [at castle the-commanderin-chief was Sir Jan Šembera of Boskovice]. For instance, Ludmila Uhlířová (1987: 100) discusses Czech Pr-sentences such as Skončily prázdniny [finished holidays]; Kvetou blatouchy [bloom marcs marigolds]; Rozezněly se zvony [started-to-ring bells] or Přišel telegram [arrived telegram] (cf. Skřivánková 2010: 21). Analogous English sentences will be explored in detail later in my study. In his summarising monograph, Firbas enumerates a number of Pr-verbs identified in his corpora; here are some of these in alphabetical order: arrive, be in sight, become plain, come forward, come into view, come up, crop up, emerge, exist, evolve, develop, grow out of, happen, issue, recur, rise, spring up, show up, take place, etc. (for a full account of the Pr-verbs given by Firbas, see Firbas 1992a: 60-64). It can be readily claimed that all of these verbs are – in terms of their degree of expressing existence or appearance on the scene in an 53
explicit or sufficiently implicit way – in full concordance with what the present analysis and current research suggest (Adam 2010, 2011a; see also Dušková 2008). To name just a few Pr-verbs for the sake of illustration, here are some that were not detected by Firbas: be on the move, come out, come over, fall, happen, rush up, lie, sit, stand, stick, strike down, or sweep into sight. The full range of Pr-verbs detected in the corpus under examination along with a more profound semantic analysis will be discussed in the following chapters. Svoboda (1981: 39ff) touched upon the issue of existence/appearance on the scene along with the functional difference between the Presentation and Quality Scales respectively in his study on diatheme, examining the Old English written religious discourse. In his later studies (see esp. Svoboda 2005), he explicitly dealt with the topic of presentation on the scene in relation to the so-called Bi- or Multifunctional dynamic semantic scale. Also Dušková (1998; 2008) explores the area of the English Pr-verbs, including the issue of semantic affinity observed between the subject and the predicate (2008: 72-74). Drawing on Firbas (1992a: esp. 60-62), she classifies the Pr-sentences occurring in her corpus, gives examples of both transitive and intransitive Pr-verbs and comments on the role of the passive, fruitfully adopting both a static and a dynamic semantic approach. In her conclusions, Dušková (2008: 75-76) suggests a number of possible vistas that should be opened to provide a thorough functional description to both the Presentation Scale and the Pr-verb in English. It is hoped that the present study will not only portray the syntacticsemantic nature of the English Pr-verb but also broaden the horizons of the FSP research in this respect. As far as the relative flexibility of English transitional verbs to operate within both the basic scales, Chamonikolasová (2008: 46) also concluded that although some verbs seem to have a tendency to express the existence or appearance of the subject on the scene and to function within the presentation scale, while other verbs tend to express the quality of the subject and to function within the quality scale, all verbs are flexible and in actual communication are capable of participating within both types of dynamic semantic scales. In agreement with the research topics discussed above and the objectives stipulated in Chapter 1 of this study, the following questions may arise: What is the implicit semantic load that enables a verb to serve as Pr-verb in the Presentation Scale? What and where are the boundaries between the maximum degree of implicit expression of existence or appearance on the scene and a verbal content that allows “only” for a qualitative use of the verb in the Quality Scale? These legitimate questions represent the core of the present study and will be thoroughly addressed in the discussion that follows, especially in Chapters 4, 5, and 6.
3.4
FSP & Other Theories of Information Structure
To complete the picture, the concluding section of the chapter is devoted to otherthan-FSP approaches to this area, viz. the TFA theory, Chafe’s approach and the Hallidayan tradition (for a thorough treatment of this topic, see Chamonikolasová 2012). Due to space limitations of the present study, these can be logically touched upon only marginally, i.e. in an outlining manner only.
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3.4.1 Hajičová, Sgall et al.: Topic-Focus Articulation In the scope of the generally Praguian tradition, the traditional counterpart of the Brno investigation into the realm of FSP (Firbas, Svoboda, Golková, Dušková, Chamonikolasová), is definitely represented by the Praguian ‘Lesser Town’ concept represented above all by Eva Hajičová, Jarmila Panevová, last but not least, Petr Sgall. Their method of research and the whole concept came to be labelled as TFA approach, i.e. Topic-Focus Articulation. In short, anchored in the framework of the so-called functional generative description of language (FGD)52, it deals with description of language, dependency relations and with languagedependent means of the expression of the topic-focus articulation. The primary opposition in the TFA theory is represented by contextual boundness, which then allows for the distinction of the topic – focus distinction. Seeing ‘aboutness’ as a key concept of information processing (and unlike Firbasian (FSP) tripartite understanding of the set of communicative units), at the surface level the TFA approach makes use of a bipartite classification: topic – focus (given – new). As such, it is said to “allow for the possibility of describing the TFA not only as concerning the intrinsic dynamics of the process of communication, patterned in the utterance (sentence occurrence) but also as constituting the structure of the sentence itself, i.e. grammar” (Sgall, Hajičová and Buráňová 2003; cf. the summarising work by Sgall, Hajičová and Panevová from 1986). At the deep level, nevertheless, it works with the multilayered (not strictly bipartite) scale; analogously to FSP, for instance, it sees the verb as a typical operator between the topic and the focus of the sentence, even though the semantic category of transition is not formally adopted. It sees the sentence as a “unit of the interactive system of language”, an entity anchored in the context (ibid.). It follows that, in the framework of syntactic dependency, “the default order of items depending on a verb (i.e. the order of thematic roles and adverbials) is considered to be fixed in a given language” (Peregrin 2002: 262)53. In language description and analysis, the TFA follows two principles (Sgall, Hajičová and Buráňová 2003: 165-166): (i) it stresses the opposition of unmarked (primary, prototypical, although not always the most frequent) items at all levels and their marked (secondary, peripheral) counterparts which only occur under specific contextual and other conditions; (ii) it understands the basic syntactic relation to consist in that of syntactic dependency, i.e. in the relation between a head word and its dependents (arguments and adjuncts) Firmly associated with the TFA approach is the Prague Dependency Treebank54, a unique computational corpus serving the TFA investigation (see especially Buráňová, Hajičová and Sgall 2000, Hajičová, Panevová and Sgall 2002, and Hajičová 2003). Finally, let me put forward my deep conviction that – though based on somewhat different principles and differing in some of the key concepts – at a more general level TFA is functionally compatible and on good terms with the theory of FSP. 52
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“FGD represents a certain bridge between functional and formal approaches to syntax. Although it provides a very detailed description of the formal aspects of language, distinguishing surface and underlying structures, it also takes into consideration semantic/pragmatic criteria. It applies the methodology of a formal analysis of language, incorporating the results of the research within structural linguistics, especially those acquired by members and followers of the Prague School of Linguistics.” (Chamonikolasová 2007: 57). For reference to the FSP and semantic role of spatial and temporal adverbials as seen from the Firbasian perspective, see e.g. Povolná 2003 and 2011, and Uhlířová 1974. See http://ufal.mff.cuni.cz/pdt2.0/.
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3.4.2 Chafe: Activation One of the principal pursuits in Chafe’s (1994) research is represented by the relation of language and the human mind. Logically, also in the matter of information processing, Chafe adopts a cognitive attitude. Above all, he explores the concept of activation, i.e. whether an idea is present in or absent from someone’s consciousness; such an idea may be thus active, semi-active or inactive. On the basis of the degree of activation, an entity may be considered new, or accessible or given (i.e. activated) in the human mind. The increase in activation from a certain state to activated state is referred to as activation cost (Chafe 1994: 71-73). Unlike Firbas’s concept of context-dependence which is based exclusively on “an objective observer’s recognition of the presence or absence of a piece of information in a very narrow concept of discourse context” (Chamonikolasová 2000: 139, 2012), however, Chafe’s understanding of the matter lies in the speaker’s prediction of whether an idea is active or inactive in the listener’s consciousness (Chamonikolasová 2000). Firbas himself repeatedly disputed some of Chafe’s claims and vice versa. The point is that in the theory of FSP, the understanding of context is much narrower. As has been explained above (see Section 3.3.2), Firbas (1992a: 21-40) introduces the concept of retrievability/ irretrievability from the immediately relevant context, which plays a crucial role in the process of the distribution of the degrees of CD over the sentence elements. The immediately relevant context represents only a fraction of the entire verbal and situational contexts; Firbas’s criterion is the actual presence of the information in the listener’s immediately relevant context. Information is given “if it is present in, and hence retrievable from, the immediately relevant context and/or if the referent suggesting it is present in, and hence retrievable from, the immediately relevant situational context” (Firbas 1992a: 37-8). The actual, physical presence of the piece of the information in the immediately relevant context is emphasised, as opposed to the condition that the speaker assumes “that the information is present in the addressee’s consciousness” (Firbas on Chafe’s approach 1992a: 37 and 1987d: 54). Contrary to FSP, Chafe (1994: 71-92) describes the distinction between given and new information in terms of activation cost which is determined by “the amount of mental effort that the discourse participants have to employ in order to activate an idea in their consciousness”. If the speaker thinks that a certain idea “is already active in the listener’s consciousness at the moment of utterance, the idea is identified as given” (Chamonikolasová 2000: 3). If he/she thinks it is inactive and has to be activated, it is identified as new. According to Chafe (1994: 78-79), givenness may be established both by linguistic and non-linguistic means. A previously inactive idea, which was introduced linguistically into discourse usually remains active, i.e. given, for a certain period time and then “recedes into the semi-active state” (for further details on Chafe’s approach, see esp. Chamonikolasová 2000 and 2012).
3.4.3 Halliday, Quirk, Greenbaum, Leech, Svartvik etc.: Information Processing One should be aware of the differences betw een the understanding of information processing of the Firbasian school on the one hand, and the traditional western linguistics represented by scholars such as Sir Randolph Quirk, Sidney Greenbaum and Geoffrey Leech on the other (see e.g. Quirk et al. 1985: 1361ff; Leech and Svartvik 1994: 193-199). Basically, the two approaches differ in some aspects of terminology and, to a certain extent, in the very concept of information structure. 56
In terms of linguistic labels, there are several differences between the two approaches, the most significant being the notions of topic and focus (or comment) as counterparts to FSP labels of theme – rheme. As has been mentioned above, Quirk et al.’s understanding (and generally all western linguistic investigation into information structure) operates with a bipartition; FSP is in its tripartition classification of communicative units (theme – transition – rheme) unique. As far as the very concept of information structure theory is concerned, it can be stated that whereas for Firbas the rheme is simply the most dynamic portion of information presented (and the theme is the opposite) irrespective of the position in the sentence, for Quirk et al. the theme and the focus are associated with their position in the sentence (theme – initial, focus – final). While in the theory of FSP a theme is defined as an element carrying a low degree of CD (Firbas 1992a: 72), Quirk et al. (1985: 1361), following Halliday’s tradition, claim that “...usually, we apply the term ‘theme’ to the first element of a clause...” Consequently, in both approaches, in unmarked (neutral) sentences, the topic is related to the given information and the focus (unmarked focus) to new information, so the topic usually coincides with the subject. The reason for this difference derives from the fact that Firbas deals with the degrees of CD, so even a highlighted subject is a focus (rheme). In Quirk et al.’s view, when the focus is moved from its predictable position at the end of the clause to an earlier position, this is considered to be a marked focus, which often indicates contrast or correction. For Firbas, on the contrary, every carrier of the highest degree of CD is a focus (rheme), irrespective of the position in the sentence. In some clauses, the marked pattern of distribution of CD emphasises the initial element of the information unit; according to Quirk et al., the theme and focus coincide (merge) and this case is labelled as marked theme, which may manifest the following qualities: emphatic, contrastive or semi-given, while for Firbas, it is again a rheme (for further details, see e.g. Quirk et al. 1985: 1361ff ; Leech and Svartvik 1994: 193-199; for a systematic survey of the theories of information structure see also Chamonikolasová 2012; cf. Dontcheva-Navrátilová 2005: 44-47).
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4
The Classification of Pr-Sentences The reality of the matter is that presentation is everything. Whether you’re selling a product, pitching an idea, (…) or even deciding what to wear. ~Alex ~55
Once again, the introductory motto of this chapter is daringly used as a launching pad for the debate that follows. Although the motto itself does not speak of presentation in the purely linguistic (let alone FSP) sense, but rather deals with the areas of business and personal development, it does nicely depict the significance of presenting something for the first time in a discourse. Let me begin the discussion with the possible classification of the sentences from the corpus that implement the Presentation scale by introducing the following set of model sentences (NB: the model sentences are not taken from the corpus): (10) (11) (12) (13) (14) (15) (16) (17)
All of a sudden, there was a picturesque castle on the hill. All of a sudden, on the hill there was a picturesque castle. All of a sudden, there appeared a picturesque castle on the hill. All of a sudden, a picturesque castle appeared on the hill. All of a sudden, a picturesque castle could be seen on the hill. All of a sudden, on the hill was a picturesque castle. *All of a sudden, the hill bore / held / carried a picturesque castle. All of a sudden, the hill offered a view of / unveiled a picturesque castle.
In all the model sentences adduced above (10-17) a recurring semantic pattern seems to be the common denominator, even though their syntactic configurations differ. To continue with the FSP terminology, all of the sentences present something new, a phenomenon, on the scene; namely a picturesque castle is being presented and the scene is set by means of the hill. However, this unified goal is achieved in a number of different ways. It follows that modern semantics (see e.g. Croft 2003, Goldberg 1997 or Talmy 2000) sees the relationship between syntactic construction and its semantic content as complementary; the syntactic configuration in itself carries meaning and is thus a projection of the argument. Example (10), for instance, represents probably the most prototypical semantic-syntactic way of presenting a phenomenon on the scene in English: the existential construction in its quintessential form featuring the spatial adverbial in the end position. Its variant in ex. (11) offers the existential construction with the fronted spatial adverbial; in it, the notional subject (i.e. the phenomenon presented) literally follows the end-focus principle and occupies the final position itself, manifesting the ultimate function of the existential construction that lies in postponing the grammatical subject from its predictable position to the end of the sentence. The model sentence in ex. (12) then brings yet another alternative version of the existential construction in which the prototypical verbum existenciae, i.e. the existential verb to be is replaced by a presentational verb appear. Let me add that under favourable circumstances 55
http://www.aialex.com/2008/04/26/presentation-is-everything/
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(prosodic prominence given to the finally-positioned adverbial), on the hill could of course be the rheme. A presentational verb (incidentally appear again) is also used in ex. (13), the syntactic structure of which follows strictly the SVO pattern, violating thus the linearity principle according to which the distribution of the degrees of communicative dynamism would run from the lowest to the highest. Instead, the subject (the phenomenon presented) occupies, even if it carries the highest degree of CD in compliance with the requirements of the English syntax, a front position of the sentence. A very similar pattern may be observed in ex. (14), the difference being the exploitation of the passive voice of the verb of perception accompanied by a modal verb. The model sentence (15) seemingly reflects, in its implied version, the existential phrase seen e.g. in ex. (10); nevertheless, the verb to be is not a part of the existential construction as such here, actually functioning as a presentational verb in a configuration with S-V inversion. Peculiar and nonsensical though it may appear, the model example (16) derives from a possible configuration of presentational sentences in English in which a special construction featuring the so-called locative subject is employed. In this particular sentence, though, such a pattern does not work; more examples and a deeper discussion will be provided later in this chapter. The final model sentence in the set above, ex. (17), exemplifies a phrasal or even metaphorical presentation of the phenomenon on the scene; again, more will be said about such sentences later in this chapter. Obviously, there are many more aspects of presentation that have not been commented on in detail or that were totally neglected. The goal of this introductory section was not to give a full account of the syntactic semantic nature of Pr-sentences, but to stress the variety of configurations of this relatively limited type of sentence. It should rather serve as a springboard for further discussion that follows.
4.1
Pr-sentences typology in Subcorpus A
First, the typology of presentation sentences will be carried out on the material of the Subcorpus A, i.e. the fiction narrative texts, which consists of the two following texts: C. S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and D. Lodge’s Changing Places. With regard to a preliminary typology of Pr-Sentences gained in recent years of research (see Adam 2010a, 2011a), the corpus data were processed in terms of different syntactic subtypes. To be precise, four separate syntactic patterns were identified and labelled as Subtypes 1-4 (see below). Let it be said that Tárnyiková (personal communication) justifiably suggests that the four subtypes identified represent a somewhat heterogeneous set of patterns, defined according to differing criteria, be it the syntactic construction, subject semantics, or the position of selected sentence elements. She claims that one deals rather with one single type (Existential construction) with several variant subtypes. It should be noted at this point that though carried out independently, the classification acquired and presented in this paper is virtually in harmony with what Dušková offers in her study (1998) on differentiation of the syntactic forms of the Presentation Scale (cf. Adam 2010, 2011b, 2001c). I believe that even if the set of subtypes is relatively miscellaneous, it is both generally derived from the syntactic picture of the sentences analysed and does reflect the state of the art. Moreover, the typology is currently subject to further corpus-based research with an open possibility of a more refined modification after due consideration. In Sections 4.1.1- 4.1.4, these individual subtypes will be discussed and illustrated by specific examples. 60
Tables 15-17 below summarise the basic statistical data on the occurrence of the Prsentences in the whole Subcorpus A as well as in both the texts used separately (for further details concerning the individual corpora, such as numbers of words, see Chapter 1 of this study). Fig. 15: Statistical Data of Text 1 (N) Basic distributional fields Pr-Scale Total
Abs. 247 3,067
% 8.05 100.00
Abs. 241 2,879
% 8.40 100.00
Fig. 16: Statistical Data of Text 2 (C) Basic distributional fields Pr-Scale Total
Fig. 17: Statistical Data of the Whole Subcorpus A (N+C) Basic distributional fields Pr-Scale Total
Abs. 488 5,946
% 8.20 100.00
Generally, the following data will be based on a joint statistical profile of the whole Subcorpus A, i.e. on the total numbers derived from the analysis of the separate sub-corpora of Texts 1 and 2. At times, the two texts used will be compared. To complete the picture of the syntactic patterns that constitute the Pr-sentences in the research corpus, it should be pointed out that some authors (see esp. Birner and Ward 1998: 123; 2001: 18-23, summarised e.g. in Tárnyiková 2009: 93-100) admittedly provide a somewhat wider range of presentational constructions. First of all, Tárnyiková, for instance, considers the term “existential sentences” to be “a rather simplifying cover-term for all the functions of there-sentences” (2009: 93). Deriving from Birner and Ward (1998) and thus taking into consideration the crucial difference between “hearer-new” and “discoursenew” information, she distinguishes two types of there-constructions, admitting that such a distinction may at times be blurred and problematic (cf. also Quirk et al. 1985: 1406; Birner and Ward 1998: 98). Firstly, it is existential-there, which denotes mere “hearer-new” existence of an entity and which is prototypically realised by there+be constructions. Secondly, it is the presentative (presentational) there-construction, which denotes a more dynamic process of bringing something “discourse-new” into sight and is prototypically patterning as there+verb other than be (Tárnyiková 2009: 96-97). It follows that the existential there-constructions, apart from its prototypical there + be + indefinite noun phrase (NP), may be realised with a definite NP in the rhematic section. In Tárnyiková’s (2009: 98) view, “in existential there-constructions, definiteness is not expected to signal hearer-old information but rather information that is formally definite but (…) intended to introduce hearer-new entity”. Following in the footsteps of Birner and Ward (1998: 123ff), Tárnyiková (2009: 98-100) provides five subtypes of existential thereconstructions with a definite NP: (i) hearer-old entities treated as hearer-new, i.e. “reminders”; 61
(ii) hearer-new tokens of hearer-old types (“new instance” of a “known type”); (iii) hearerold entities newly instantiating a variable (“list interpretation”); (iv) hearer-new entities with individuating description; (v) false “definites”. Besides, the presentational there-constructions may be then used to usher new information to discourse (i.e. not to the hearer). In the corpus under investigation, three source samples featuring a definite NP were detected, representing the first three subtypes with definite NPs respectively; in exx (18)-(20) the corresponding subtype is indicated at the end: here were the coats hanging up as usual, and a smell of mothballs, and darkness T and silence, and no sign of Lucy. (N31a) – subtype (ii) (19) (“Why, who are you afraid of?” said Peter. “There’s no one here but ourselves.”) “There are the trees”, said the Beaver. (N69b) – subtype (i) (20) (There were lovely stone shapes that looked like women but who were the spirits of trees.) There was the great shape of a centaur and a winged horse and a long lithe creature that Edmund took to be a dragon. (N97c) – subtype (iii)
(18)
Before the individual syntactic subcategories of Pr-sentences are presented below, it should be clearly stated that the present chapter (Chapter 4) deals with basic identification of separate syntactic variants of Pr-sentences and their overall classification. Hence, all other details concerning general semantics of Pr-sentences as well as the static semantics of the Pr-verbs seen against the background of their dynamic semantics, and the application of the desired syntactic-semantic approach will be discussed in Chapter 5.
4.1.1 Subtype 1: Existential There-construction Generally speaking, the data analysis of all the Pr-sentences shows that by far the most frequent subtype of Pr-Scale sentences is definitely represented by the existential/ presentational there-construction (65%) in the corpus, manifesting an exceptionally stable incidence in both the texts analysed (64 and 66% respectively). Syntactically, the existential there-clauses constitute a somewhat specific phenomenon in the area of FSP interpretation, as the distribution of the degrees of communicative dynamism does not follow the “common” linearity principle. Firbas speaks, in this connection, of “permanent obviousness” of the thereconstructions in the immediately relevant context (Firbas 1992a: 24). For the writer and the reader it is obvious what this there-element means and hence its notion is permanently present in the situational context. Firbas argues that the existential there, “though semantically very weak, is not totally stripped of all meaning, ...and acts as an indicator of a scene expressed by a genuine adverbial of place” (Firbas 1992a: 24). Some authors even dispute any original semantic load of the existential there; what is crucial, though, is the fact that the existential construction explicitly indicates existential predication, which is a constitutive component of the syntactic-semantic structure of the Presentation Scale (Dušková 2005b). Consequently, the existential there is assigned the Set-function and is entirely context-dependent. Interestingly enough, besides the thematic existential there, only exceptionally is there another thematic Setting in the sentences of Subtype 1 in the Subcorpus A. As has been said, the existential there-clauses are specific in their linear modification, i.e. word order arrangement: unlike most sentences that implement the Pr-scale, in the existential clauses the notional subject is usually postponed towards the end of the sentence; it may also be fronted. In connection to the set of criteria used for her classification of highlighting 62
constructions in English, Tárnyiková mentions two remarkable observations: (i) ‘there is’ construction functions as a mere “subject-shifter”, clefting, for instance, can “highlight any sentence element with the exception of the finite form of the predicate” (Tárnyiková 2009: 111). (ii) Whereas other highlighters (such as it-clefts, pseudo-clefts) are “felt to be marked in relation to their basic (underlying) structures, ‘there is’ is supposed to be unmarked in relation to the non-derived structure” (Tárnyiková 2009: 112). In other words, the Phenomenon is not presented in the initial part of the sentence, but on the contrary, it actually represents the culminating peak of the information structure; the English grammatical principle requiring the SVO wording is thus overridden by the linear modification FSP factor. In relation to this aspect, Dušková points out that not only is the existential construction the most frequent regarding the Pr-Scale sentences, but also “the only neutral form in the sense of being unmarked with respect to deviation from both the grammatical word order and the basic distribution of communicative dynamism” (Dušková 2005b: 17). Cf. the following existential sentences excerpted from Texts 1 and 2: (21) (22)
There’ll be hawks. (N9c) There was no truly safe place to live in Euphoria. (C55)
In example (21), for instance, the notional subject (hawks) is context-independent and conveys the information towards which the communication is perspectived. Thus, it carries the highest degree of CD and performs the Ph-function. The verbal element is then transitional and mediates between the theme and the non-theme (for a detailed discussion of the existential there-clause, see also Firbas: 1992a: 24, 59 and Breivik 1983). Prototypically, owing to the end-focus principle achieved by the existential there configuration, the postverbal section of existential constructions is more developed and syntactically rich. Though the most frequent pattern is represented by the bare, “ontological” construction Th (there) – Tr (be) – Rh (indefinite NP) (Quirk et al. 1985: 1406), there are numerous existential constructions that comprise adverbials, either in initial, medial or final positions (for details on functional effects of individual configurations see discussions below): Fig. 18: Incidence of Subtypes of There-Constructions There-Constructions Without adverbials – ex. (21) above in initial position – ex. (23) below in medial position – ex. (24) below With adverbials in final position – ex. (25) below Total (23) (24) (25)
Abs. 227 34 5 45 311
% 73.0 10.9 1.6 14.5 100.0
Above the dam there was what ought to have been a deep pool but was now, of course, a level floor of dark green ice. (N72a) And perhaps, deep, deep down, there is, at the root of present jubilation, the anticipation of sexual adventure. (C28a) [It’s – it’s a magic wardrobe.] There’s a wood inside it. (N28a)
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In their research on FSP of existential constructions, Rohrauer and Dubec (2011: 28) identified two main syntactic patterns containing an adverbial: (i) one in which the adverbial performs the DSF of a Diatheme, i.e. Th (There) – Th (Adv) – Tr (V) – Rh (notional subject; NS), and, (ii) one in which the adverbial carries a higher degree of CD than the notional subject either with or without another adverbial in the thematic section, i.e. Th (There) – (Th (Adv)) – Tr (V) – Rh (NS) – RhPr (Adv). In accordance with the present findings, they conclude that “adverbials in both samples performed three FSP functions: transition proper oriented element, diatheme, rheme proper” (ibid. 28). Also in my corpus, the medial adverbials (see e.g. ex. (24) above) perform the DSF of the Transition Proper or Diatheme, whereas the second most frequent sub-category of adverbials, initial adverbials, are exclusively diathematic (see e.g. exx (27) and (28) below). The final adverbial position (i.e. the most frequent one) may alternatively be realised (if not diathematic again, i.e. due to its high degree of CD and context-independence) as a rhematic Specification (see e.g. exx (26), (31) and (32) below): Th (There) – Tr (V) – Rh (NS) – RhPr (Specification), i.e. as a construction implementing the Extended Presentation Scale (see below), but this one is much rarer (25 occurrences, 8%), such as in (26)
There are horrid little mice crawling over him. (N156)
Interestingly, by far the most frequent (23 occurrences out of 34 adverbials placed initially, i.e. 68%) initial element within existential constructions is And, at times, in its functional variants And now or And then. Its relatively high incidence within the whole Subcorpus A (23 occurrences per the total of 311 sentences, i.e. 7%) is even beaten by Text 1 if taken separately where it amounts to 11%. It appears that such initially-positioned conjunctions in existential there-constructions represent a specific feature of Text 1 (N); it might also be tentatively ascribed to the narrative character of the text under examination, which typically uses such discourse markers either to cohesively link the sentence to its preceding verbal context or to begin a new portion of the narration or a new idea. On top of that, it also seems to be related to the typically abrupt, dramatic or tension-evoking way of C. S. Lewis’ narrative idiolect, cf.: (27) (28) (29)
And then there was a light ahead of her. (N12a)56 And now there was no mistaking it. (N57a) And there’s another thing too. (N65)
The classical there+be construction may be of course realised as there+verb other than be (cf. Quirk et al. 1985: 1408-1409), i.e. as the presentative there-construction (cf. Tárnyiková 2009: 96). The presentational verb added then actually substitutes for the existential be (as has been mentioned, for details on the particular set of verbs employed in this syntactic pattern and their semantics, see Chapter 5 of the present paper). The corpus features 12 occurrences of this alternative, i.e. 4% of all existential phrases. Cf.: (30) …and there stood a jewelled cup full of something that steamed. (N38b)
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It should be noted that in ex. (27) the intonation centre may be theoretically – depending on the distribution of the degrees of prosodic prominence – as well placed on the adverbial ahead; the perspectived of the sentence would be different, of course. An analogous comment may be made concerning ex. (29).
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It is worth mentioning that in some sentences following this pattern, the rhematic notional subject is further specified and thus creates a sort of Extended Presentation Scale (cf. Chamonikolasová and Adam 2005); see exx (31) and (32). In other words, the extension attached to the prototypical Presentation Scale is obviously not confined only to the subtype with rhematic preverbal subject. In the corpus, the Extended variant of the Presentation Scale usually features a notional subject (rheme) further developed by Specification realised typically by an -ing clause, past participle clause or a comparative clause.57 Cf.: (31) (32)
I nstantly there appeared a round box, tied with green silk ribbon, which, when opened, turned out to contain several pounds of the best Turkish Delight. (N38c) Across it there ramped a red lion, as bright as a ripe strawberry at the moment when you pick it. (N108a)
Among other things, the corpus findings show that a relatively large number of existential constructions display the use of a negative element, such as no (which is the most frequent negative element here), not, nothing, none, never, etc. Namely, out of 158 sentences the corpus provides 75 occurrences patterning as existential construction with a negative element in predication, which makes up a surprising proportion of 24%. It seems that the frequent occurrence of negation in existential constructions has to do with the presentation of something new on the scene, even if in such cases it concerns rather a non-existent element. From the point of view of FSP, also non-existence may be regarded as presentation of a certain kind, presentation with a minus (analogously to disappearance as opposed to appearance on the scene). Examples are adduced below: (33) (34) (35)
But there’s never been any of your race here before. (N82a) There’s nothing I can do about it. (C121c) And of course there was no chance of going back to get it now. (N91a)
To complete the picture of the syntactic configuration of the existential sentences under examination, the following remark should be made: the existential sentences manifest a noticeable incidence of modal elements (above all may, might, would, can, used to), viz. 25 modal modifications (ca 8%). It seems that modality represents one of means that can modify the relatively fixed and straightforward structure. Cf.: (36) (37)
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I don’t say there may not be something of the better-the-devil-you-know attitude behind it. (C232a) There might be stags. (N9b)
Also Wachsmuthová (2011: 25-26) gives examples of classical there-existential construction (as well as that with verbs other than be), in which the notional subject (rheme) is further developed typically by an –ing clause, such as … and there will be stalls in the square selling trinkets and souvenirs; or …and there is a large poster in the centre announcing: Grand festival du chocolat. She, being actually in harmony with what Chamonikolasová (2005: 65 and 2010) claims, interprets such sentences as those implementing the Extended Presentation Scale. In this respect, she also gives examples of such Extended Pr-sentences in which a comparison by simile is found: Glamours swim between us like golden smoke or Crinkly Cellophane paper wraps it like a covering of ice; these, however, fall into the category of preverbal rhematic subject.
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The Pr-verbs occurring in existential constructions (other than be) will be now explored in terms of their capability to express the existence or appearance on the scene. Strictly speaking, the analysis will be conducted at the syntactic-semantic interface, i.e. both the syntactic properties of the verb and its semantic load will be systematically taken into consideration. It is hoped that such an integrated approach will then reveal the essential syntactic-semantic equipment of Pr-verbs serving in existential constructions.
4.1.2 Subtype 2: Rhematic subject in preverbal position In terms of the Subcorpus A data analysed, the second most recurring subtype of the Pr-Scale sentence pattern may be described as that with a rhematic subject in initial, i.e. preverbal position (25%); it is felt that such a configuration is perceived as the prototypical, canonical type connected with the Presentation Scale (cf. Dušková et al. 1988: 62; 531-532). In it, the initial sentence element is typically represented by a context-independent subject, which is only then followed (in concord with the requirements of the English word order principles) by the verb, which expresses existence or appearance on the scene (cf. Dušková 1999: 248-250). The sentence may be also opened with a scene-setting temporal or spatial thematic adverbial (see ex. (30)), the position of which is quite volatile – compare exx (30) and (31); the end-focus principle is not applied, though (cf. Subtype 3). (38) (39) (40)
And now a very curious thing happened. (N70) A slow cruel smile came over the Witch’s face. (N99b) Amanda appeared at the door, arrayed in her school uniform – dark maroon blazer, white shirt and tie, grey skirt. (C207)
Exceptionally, the Pr-Scale sentence is further syntactically and semantically broadened by a Specification and thus implements the Extended Pr-Scale. The typical Sp-modification in such extended variants of the Presentation Scale is represented by an infinitive clause (41) and (43) or an extensive specifying noun phrase such as in ex. (42): (41) (42) (43)
ymphs who lived in the wells and Dryads who lived in the trees came out to dance N with the Fauns. (N 19d) A man from Johnson’s came round this morning with a huge bunch of red roses which he said you had sent by Interflora. (C122a) At 6 am yesterday, the Eseph Fence Company arrived to erect a 10-foot high steellink. (C159)
As for FSP articulation, the word order of Subtype 2 actually violates the end-focus principle observed in English. If fully implemented, linear modification induces the sentence elements to manifest a gradual rise in CD in the direction from the beginning to the end of the sentence. In other words, let me recall that it demonstrates one of Bolinger’s classical maxims, “gradation of position creates gradation of meaning, when there are no interfering factors” (Bolinger 1952: 288). It should be recalled at this point that while in Czech the word order is relatively flexible (i.e. the further an element is in the sentence the more prominence it carries), in English the prominent word order principle is the grammatical one. The English sentence has to satisfy the requirements of ordering the individual sentence elements in accordance with their syntactic functions. Nevertheless, sentences with a rhematic subject 66
in preverbal position are, as a rule, considered unmarked by native speakers of English (exceptions may be observed in connection to prosodic re-evaluating intensification; cf. Firbas 1992a: 154-156). In Czech with end-focus principle being most respected, on the contrary, a rhematic subject is untypical if not highly exceptional and can be justified only under special prosodic or other emphatic conditions (cf. Dušková 1999: 281). A special subcategory is then represented by Pr-sentences in which the Pr-verb manifests itself in a passive form, such as: (44) (45) (46)
Just below them a dam had been built across this river. (N71) Word has been sent that you are to meet him. (N81b) A new Eden is being created in the People’s Garden in Plotinus. (C155)
Generally speaking, due to the grammatical principle of the English language, passive presents the syntactical means of FSP that helps to arrange sentence elements according to their degree of CD. For example, it makes it possible for an initial element (original, agentive subject) to be placed in the final or pre-final (post-predicative) position to achieve end-focus58; in exx (44)-(46) however, the most dynamic elements are the subjects of the passive sentences. Passive constructions follow the same pattern of a context-independent subject and a transitive Pr-verb; the scene is prototypically set by an adverbial. Both the examples (44) and (45) represent a somewhat special case of a syntactic discontinuity, in ex. (45) it is realised by a that-clause. Whereas ex. (44), owing to the initial thematic adverbial, could be used without the discontinuity (Just below them a dam across this river had been built), such arrangement is unlikely in ex. (45). The primary reason for the use of passive in these sentences is obviously the vagueness of the agent. It seems that the passive construction within Pr-Scale sentences enables certain detachment from the agent of the action and so allows for the grammatical subject to be highlighted. Unlike previous Pr-sentences, such Prverbs frequently come from different semantic classes of verbs. Existence is unmistakably implied for example by sentences expressing effected goals of action, viz. by the lexical field of the so-called verba efficiendi (i.e. verbs of production) – such as build, create or make; the result of the action is an outcome of an activity, a particular production (cf. Firbas 1975: 63; 1992a: 62-63). The agent is not expressed, which, incidentally, seems to be related to the presentational potential of the verb. Cf. some selected Firbas’s examples (Firbas 1992a: 62 qtd. in Dušková 2008: 72): (47a) (47b) (47c) (47d)
Quite a number of new houses have been built in our town. Powerful machines have been constructed. An uncanny impression is thereby created. A new method has been developed.
As Firbas says on account of the employment of passive in connection to verbs of production, “An effected goal is an outcome (result, consequence) of a production process: it has been brought by it into existence. If context-independent, an element expressing an effected goal takes the development of the communication further than the element expressing the production process” (Firbas 1992a: 63). 58
This premise is in full harmony with Mathesius’s functional understanding of the English passive construction. For him, passive is one of the most efficient grammatical tools that can be used to change the English word order, which is relatively fixed (cf. Mathesius 1975: 153-163; for a comparison with Czech, see e.g. Mathesius 1947: 294-301 or Skřivánková 2010).
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4.1.3 Subtype 3: Fronted Adverbial & S – V inversion In this subtype, an adverbial is fronted and the subject is highlighted through the principle of end-focus (NB: unlike Subtype 2); as a result, subject – verb inversion takes place. I understand inversion in Crystal’s (1988: 200) narrow sense as “the reverse order of subject and predicate” (cf. Tárnyiková 2009: 105)59. The subject is, of course, context-independent and the verb fulfils the role of presentation on the scene. The typical verb inverted is to be. In other words, as Tárnyiková maintains, “inversion is a process that also enables the subject of the utterance to be highlighted by allowing the subject to occupy final (rhematic) position in the utterance” (Tárnyiková 2009: 105). It follows that such presentation constructions are usually used in literary style and, therefore, their incidence in the corpus is still relatively high (8%). A substantial difference can be traced in the comparison of the two texts analysed: whereas the fiction narrative of Text 2 amounts to 3.3% of Subtype 3, the corresponding incidence in Text 1 is 13%. As the genres of both the sub-corpora are functionally identical, it seems that the reason for such a difference lies in individual auctorial style. (48) And next to Aslan stood two leopards of whom one carried his crown and the other his standard. (N125) (49a) Long live the Queen! (N61A) (49b) Long live the true King! (N109) (50) And here’s a packet of tea. (N100b) (51) Outside, hunched slightly against the wind, hands thrust deep into the pockets of his jeans, making a bulge like codpiece was Charles Boon. (C118) A very peculiar construction is represented in (49a) and (49b). Both the sentences are excerpted from Text N and have no precedent – in terms of their syntactic configuration – in any other subcorpus under investigation. The core of the exclamative construction lies in the formulaic use of subjunctive mood. The question is whether the elements “the Queen”/“the King” respectively really carry the highest degree of communicative dynamism, performing thus the DSF of a Phenomenon. Though feeling inclined to accept this interpretation, I am well aware of the potential possibility to see the two elements as context-dependent; this would tip the scales towards the implementation of the Quality scale, of course. Example (50) is an instance of a sentence with a fronted adverbial here. At first sight, it may seem to perform an analogous role to the existential there; however, it is not so grammaticalised and carries without any doubt locative meaning. In ex. (51), the rhematic subjects come at the end of the sentence distributional field, even though the preceding passage describing the circumstances and preparing thus the way for the Phenomenon to come is relatively heavy. Interestingly enough, the sentence (51) is found in the original text at the very end of the final paragraph of a chapter; the subject presented (Charles Boon), as a matter of fact the very final element of the chapter, is thus presented as the climax, the culminating highlight of one section of the text. One may speak of end-focus effect in the scope of a distributional macrofield (cf. Adam 2009). The rhematic subject then becomes the theme of the first lines of the next chapter, following the pattern of linear thematic progression (cf. Daneš 1974; cf. Pípalová 2008: 41ff).
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The point is that sometimes “inversion” is understood as “any change in so-called canonical word order which results in a non-canonical, i.e. marked word order configurations” (Tárnyiková 2009: 105).
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4.1.4 Subtype 4: Locative Th-subject & Rh-object (52) The banner bore a red rampant lion fluttering in the breeze. (N123d) (53) Inside, the cave had the damp feel and smell of a place that had not been lived in for several days. (N59d) By far the least frequent subtype of Pr-Scale sentences (2% on average in the corpus) is modelled by a peculiar transitive construction that – at least at first sight – seems to implement the Quality, rather than the Presentation Scale, displaying a thematic subject and a rhematic object (cf. Quirk et al. 1985: 747-748). Nevertheless, such an approach would adopt only a surface stance. In its deep structure (stipulated both by FSP and its semantic roles), “the scene-setting nature of the subject (the theme) finds expression in adverbial construction, while the phenomenon appearing on the scene (the rheme) assumes the syntactic function of a subject” (Dušková 1998: 40). This interpretation may be corroborated by two other semantically corresponding syntactic variants of (52): (52a) ~ There was a red rampant lion fluttering in the breeze on the banner. (52b) ~ On the banner there was a red rampant lion fluttering in the breeze. In ex. (53), the element the damp feel... one can observe an untypical use of the definite article as the unit is clearly context-independent. In my opinion the use of the within a contextindependent NP may be ascribed to the employment of the hearer-new tokens of hearer-old types, i.e. “new instance” of a “known type”, something that can actually be retrieved from previous hearer’s experience even if we do not deal with an existential there-construction here (Birner – Ward 1998: 123ff; Tárnyiková 2009: 98-100). At the same time, the use of the definite article definitely results from the cataphoric reference it serves; the definite article refers to the postmodification of the head element (the damp feel and smell of...).60 For more details concerning both the syntactic and the semantic makeup of the construction with a locative subject and for more examples see Section 5.2.9.
4.1.5 Summary Finally, it should be said that the relative incidence of the four subtypes that were identified in the Subcorpus A appears to be dependent on the text genre and register. Whereas the corpus under discussion (fiction narrative) displays the highest number of the existential construction (on average 65%), other text types manifest preference of the rhematic subject in preverbal position (see e.g. the commentaries on the typology of Pr-sentences in biblical narratives with theological load in Section 4.2.5 below). Also the overall number of Pr-Scale sentences may substantially differ in terms of various text types; as has been noted above, e.g. religious written discourse generally displays a higher percentage of Pr-Scale sentences, such as 12% in New Testament gospels and Pauline epistles (see Adam 2010 and Lingová 60
In her review of my habilitation thesis (2013, unpublished), Chamonikolasová suggests that it would be beneficial to consider certain idiomaticity of to have the feel of / to have the smell of (in the sense of to feel/look like, to smell like). She argues that if the verb to have is interpreted as a part of the idiomatic verbonominal phrase which ascribes a quality to the subject (the place); the sentence would then implement the Quality Scale, of course. Again, one has to admit a certain degree of potentiality within FSP analysis of some sentences on the border between Presentation and Quality Scales.
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2008). Rohrauer and Dubec (2011) also examined two text types (viz. fiction and academic prose) from the point of view of FSP, focusing primarily on the existential constructions. Their research shows a higher occurrence of bare existential structures in fiction than in academic prose which they ascribe to “the tendency of fiction writers to achieve dramatic effect” (Rohrauer and Dubec 2011: 31)61. Below are summative charts (Fig. 18-21) with the individual incidence of the four aforementioned subtypes of Pr-sentences in Subcorpus A discussed. Fig. 18: Incidence of the Subtypes of Pr-sentences in Text 1 (N) Pr-Scale Sentences Subtype 1 – Existential there-construction Subtype 2 – Rhematic subject in preverbal position Subtype 3 – Fronted adverbial & S-V inversion Subtype 4 – Locative Th-subject Total
Occurrence 158 54 32 3 247
% 64.0 21.9 13.0 1.1 100.0
Occurrence 162 68 8 3 241
% 67.3 28.2 3.3 1.2 100.0
Fig. 19: Incidence of the Subtypes of Pr-sentences in Text 2 (C) Pr-Scale Sentences Subtype 1 – Existential there-construction Subtype 2 – Rhematic subject in preverbal position Subtype 3 – Fronted adverbial & S-V inversion Subtype 4 – Locative Th-subject Total
Fig. 20: Incidence of the Subtypes of Pr-sentences in Subcorpus A Pr-Scale Sentences Subtype 1 – Existential there-construction Subtype 2 – Rhematic subject in preverbal position Subtype 3 – Fronted adverbial & S-V inversion Subtype 4 – Locative Th-subject Total
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Occurrence 320 122 40 6 488
% 65.6 25.0 8.2 1.2 100.0
In their corpus, three FSP patterns construed as existential constructions were identified: (a) Th – Tr – Rh (notional subject), which is the primary one; (b) variant 1: Th – Tr/Rh (verb), which “serves to affirm the existence of a phenomenon on the scene rather than to introduce it into the flow of communication”; and variant 2: Th – Tr – Rh (notional subject) – RhPr (adverbial specification), Extended Presentation Scale (Rohrauer – Dubec 2011: 31).
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Fig. 21: Incidence of the Subtypes of Pr-sentences in Subcorpus A
350 300 250 Text 1 Text 2
200 150
Subcorpus A
100 50 0
Subtype 1
Subtype 2
Subtype 3 Subtype 4
In conclusion concerning this Section on fiction narrative, the analysis of the corpus data definitely speaks in favour of a fruitful interface of both the dynamic semantics (FSP) and static semantics towards language material. Not only is such a complex approach a helpful tool for a more in-depth FSP analysis, but it also appears to make the FSP interpretation more precise. At times, the dynamic-static semantic analysis in the confines of FSP has proven to be capable of eliminating cases of potentiality (especially in relation to the phenomenon of semantic affinity). Regarding the outlook for future research, there are several vistas open that obviously deserve attention. Above all, a functional comparison of various genres and register other then narrative in terms of Pr-Scale sentences should identify further significant differences, such as the ratio of Subtype 1 vs. Subtype 2 constructions mentioned briefly above. All these issues – in more general terms – seem to represent promising steps in FSP research into the phenomenon of presentation. At this point, it should be noted that many of the aspects covered in this chapter (such as subject-verb affinity, discontinuity, the issue of disappearance etc.) will be discussed in detail in Chapters 5 and 6.
4.1.6 Special FSP features of fiction narrative Fiction narrative texts represent by far the most typical literary genre, perhaps outside dialogue. As such, they provide necessary background for the dialogues in the story and thus foster the plot itself. Stylistically speaking, they are relatively less formal (depending of course on the author and the specific book), and the story itself is highlighted, unlike, for instance religious writings, in which the didactic and theological purpose prevails. All this can be functionally supported by the findings in the area of FSP analysis of the texts. It should be emphasised that the different realisation forms of the Presentation Scale, even if they all do express existence/appearance on the scene, differ in the degree of (stylistic) markedness employed. As Dušková (1998: 41) maintains, such markedness is “defined on the one hand by deviation from the word order rules, and on the other by deviation from the basic distribution of CD (or the principle of end-focus)”. Consequently, such deviations may bring about different stylistic effects. Only Subtype 1, i.e. existential there-construction and 71
Subtype 4, i.e. locative subject correspond with both the word order requirements and the basic linearity (CD distribution) principles. While the existential construction is used in by far the most (65.5%), the Pr-sentences following the syntactic pattern of Subtype 4, i.e. locative subject, represent the least frequent structure (amounting to 1.2%) and thus corroborating its relative rarity and written discourse applicability. It follows that the two remaining Subtypes (2 and 3) violate one of the rules observed prototypically by the English language and so are stylistically marked. Subtype 2 (25%) follows the word order principle, but does not conform to the basic distribution of CD in the English sentence, presenting the rheme in the initial position (Phenomenon). As a matter of fact, the opposite is true about Subtype 3 (8.2%): the end-focus information structure is kept, while the word order rules are – due to the inverted arrangement of the sentence elements – violated (see also Dušková 1998: 42). To illustrate, let me at least mention the absolute prevalence of existential constructions at the expense of more formal configurations with S-V inversion or fronted rhematic elements in the research corpus. Overall, the natural linearity in the sense of Th-Rh sequencing is thus enhanced and the flow of the narration is – in comparison with other genres – more fluent and smooth, at times relatively easier to follow. Fiction narratives, thanks to their down-to-earth nature and typically non-stylised manner, are definitely closer to the spoken mode of English, namely face-to-face conversation, than biblical narratives are (cf. Biber et al. 1999: 29-31; Crystal and Davy 1969: 147-150).
4.2
Pr-sentences typology in Subcorpus B
As has been noted in the initial chapter of the study, for the purpose of the present investigation into Subcorpus B (the New Testament narrative), the New International Version of the Bible (abbreviated NIV) will be used. In its entirety, Subcorpus B consists of 82,695 words. It contains altogether 5,683 basic distributional fields, out of which there are 512 distributional fields that implement the Pr-Scale, i.e. 9%. Tables 22-27 below summarise the basic statistical data on the occurrence of the Pr-sentences in the whole Subcorpus B as well as in all the texts (3-7) used separately (for further details concerning the individual corpora, such as numbers of words, see Chapter 1 of this study). Fig. 22: Statistical Data of Text 3 (L) Basic distributional fields Pr-Scale Total
Abs. 152 1,643
% 9.30 100.00
Abs. 113 1,480
% 7.6 100.00
Abs. 133 1,506
% 8.80 100.00
Fig. 23: Statistical Data of Text 4 (A) Basic distributional fields Pr-Scale Total Fig. 24: Statistical Data of Text 5 (M) Basic distributional fields Pr-Scale Total
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Fig. 25: Statistical Data of Text 6 (R) Basic distributional fields Pr-Scale Total
Abs. 114 820
% 13.90 100.00
Abs. 20 234
% 8.5 100.00
Fig. 26: Statistical Data of Text 7 (J) Basic distributional fields Pr-Scale Total
Fig. 27: Statistical Data of the Whole Subcorpus B (L+A+M+R+J) Basic distributional fields Pr-Scale Total
Abs. 512 5,683
% 9.0 100.00
Analogously to Subcorpus A, the corpus data were processed in terms of different syntactic subtypes. To be precise, four separate syntactic patterns were identified (see below). It should be said that the relative incidence of the four subtypes appears to be dependent on the text genre and register. Recently, also other text types have been examined in regards to such a classification especially in the discourse of fiction narrative (see e.g. Adam 2011c) and so the results gained will be, at times, functionally compared with the following ones. Since the syntactic parameters (the structure of Subtypes 1-4) observed within Subcorpus B are logically analogous to those discussed in Subtype A (Section 4.1), and to avoid repetitive passages, the following discussion will be predominantly focused on those genre-specific features that are typically traceable in the biblical narratives.
4.2.1 Subtype 1: Existential There-Construction The existence/appearance on the scene may be logically expressed by means of the existential phrase, in which the existential there is invariably assigned the Set-function and is entirely context-dependent (its notion is permanently present in the situational context). It follows that the existential construction explicitly indicates existential predication, which is a constitutional component of the syntactic-semantic structure of the Presentation Scale (cf. Dušková 2005a and 2005b). On top of that, unlike most Pr-scale sentences, in the existential configuration of sentence elements the notional subject is postponed towards the end of the sentence and so the English grammatical principle requiring the SVO wording is thus overridden by the linear modification FSP factor. Cf.: (53) There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel. (L2:36) (54) In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an evil spirit. (L4:33) (55) There were no needy persons among them. (A4:34) (56) That same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question. (M22:23b)
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Traditionally, the existential construction is ranked by far as the most frequent subtype of Pr-Scale sentences (see e.g. Dušková 2005a and 2005b; Adam 2011). Nevertheless, unlike the non-religious narrative texts under scrutiny, in the present subcorpus the incidence of Pr-sentences containing the existential there-construction is only 22% (mostly at the expense of Subtype 2, i.e. the rhematic subject in preverbal position). This surprising finding is apparently connected with the stylistic disposition of the gospel narratives, viz. formality and almost absolute absence of colloquial language; even spoken, conversational language used in scripted dialogues in the New Testament is rather stylised (see Adam 2009a). In the fiction narrative examined in Adam 2011, for instance, the existential construction was used in an overwhelming majority of 64% of all Pr-sentences. Another difference in comparison with fiction narrative may be observed in the total absence of the existential construction realised as there + verb other than be (this is unprecedented in fiction narratives) or a relatively low number of existential clauses containing a negative element, such as no, not, nothing, none, never, etc., which are remarkably frequent in fiction narratives (Adam 2011); see examples 47 or 48. It seems that both the lack of phrases such as there existed and the low occurrence of negation in existential constructions has to do with the character of the New Testament writings: on the one hand their formal and sacred nature and, on the other hand, their tendency towards unequivocal, straightforward or even patterned expression that is obviously related to the theologically didactic purposes (cf. Adam 2009).
4.2.2 Subtype 2: Rhematic subject in preverbal position Untypically, this subtype of Pr-sentences matchlessly overrides all other three subtypes in numbers covering ca 65% of all Pr-sentences (the incidence in case of other New Testament narrative texts examined is comparable). This most recurring subtype of the Pr-Scale sentence pattern is formed by a rhematic subject in initial, preverbal position. In its character, it is sometimes labelled as prototypical or even canonical type in connection with the Pr-Scale (Dušková 2005a). In it, the initial sentence element is represented by a contextindependent subject, which is only then followed (in concord with the requirements of the English word order principles) by the verb, which expresses existence/appearance on the scene (Adam 2011). The sentence may also be opened/closed with a scene-setting temporal or spatial thematic adverbial, the position of which is quite volatile – in examples (57) and (58) see the sections underlined with a dashed line: (57) A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped. (L8:23) (58) Suddenly a great company of heavenly host appeared with the angel. (L2:13) (59) After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem. (M2:1) (60) Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads. (R12:3) A special subcategory is represented by sentences in which the Pr-verb manifests itself in a passive form, such as in (61) below. Passive constructions follow the same pattern of a context-independent subject and a Pr-verb; the scene is prototypically set by an adverbial. The passive construction within Pr-Scale sentences obviously allows for detachment from the agent of the action and so enables the grammatical subject to stand out. Unlike fiction 74
narratives though, such Pr-verbs are extremely rare in the corpus under discussion and are not recruited from the lexical field of so-called verba efficiendi such as build or make, the result of which is a particular production (Adam 2011; cf. Firbas 1992a: 62-63). (61) As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out – the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. (L17:12a) The analysis of the corpus shows that one of the most significant features of the Prverbs occurring in Subtype 2 is a certain degree of semantic affinity between the Pr-verb itself and the clause subject (cf. Firbas 1992a: 60). In other words, the action conveyed is so semantically inherent and subject-related that it is the subject that takes over the communicative prominence at the expense of power of the verbal content (Adam 2011). The static semantics of the verb then – even if expressing a specific type of action – is reduced to that of presentation. Cf.: (62) (63) (64)
A large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside. (L8:32) A spirit seizes him and he suddenly screams. (L9:39) And when the south wind blows, you say, ‘It’s going to be hot,’ and it is. (L12:55)
The action content of the verbal element is so natural of the agents employed that the full verb serves to denote a form of existence or appearance on the scene. The verb that operates in semantic affinity with its subject semantically supports the character of the subject. In other words, feeding is an inbred activity for pigs and thus in ex. (62) the highest degree of communicative dynamism is definitely carried by the subject; similarly, it is quintessential for an evil spirit to seize someone – ex. (63), or for wind to blow – ex. (64). Thus, the dynamic semantic role of the verb used is reduced to that of presentation and the communicative lead is taken by the respective subjects/agents. Such Pr-verbs almost prototypically originate from the semantic category of verbs denoting natural or even supernatural phenomena that are typically unaffected by people, such as weather or the transcendental – see exx (63) and (64). Furthermore, it seems that unlike fiction narratives such an implicit expression of existence or appearance on the scene is much more frequently achieved through non-sensory verbs in the present corpus. The fiction narratives, on the contrary, display a high percentage of verbs denoting visual, acoustic and other sensory manifestation of an action (for details see Adam 2011). The phenomenon of semantic affinity between the subject and the verb will be discussed in detail in Chapters 5 and 6. In several sample texts forming the Subcorpus B, a relatively remarkable number of sentences implementing the Extended Presentation Scale were detected. Text 5 (Matthew), for instance, features 16 cases out of 105 occurrences of Subtype 2. In the illustrative examples below, the Specification section of the Presentation scale sentences is always underlined with a dashed line (in ex. (65) the -ing non-finite clause, in (66) the infinitive clause): (65) Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, [and laid them at his feet; and he healed them]. (M15:30) (66) Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. (M24:1)
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4.2.3 Subtype 3: Fronted adverbial & S–V inversion In this subtype of Pr-sentences, an adverbial is fronted and, as a result, the subject– verb inversion takes place; the subject is, of course, context-independent and the verb fulfils the role of presentation on the scene (see e.g. Quirk et al. 1985: 521-522; Dušková et al. 1988: 540-541). The inverted pair of the Pr-verb and the context-independent subject is often preceded by Set-phrases typically realised as adverbial, adjectival, participial phrases. As Tárnyiková (2009: 105) argues, their “frequent function is to build cohesive ties with the prior text stretch and at the same time to increase the possibility of highlighting the subject”, as in (67) (68)
nd now, in the two Boeings, falls simultaneously the special silence that precedes A an airliner’s landing. (C52b) Across the threshold lay a great wolf. (N97g)
In ex. (69) below, apart from S–V inversion and fronted adverbial, passive voice construction is also employed, which is, as a rule, not observed in other occurrences of this subtype (this aspect along with the semantic character of Pr-verbs used in Subtype 3 will be discussed in Chapter 5 in Section 5.2.7). (69)
t his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat A what fell from the rich man’s table. (L16:20)
It should be noted that the incidence of such Pr-sentences (i.e. Subtype 3) in the corpus is relatively low: 8%. Contrary to this finding, the previous research showed that constructions with S-V inversion are used more frequently in fiction (cf. 13% in a fiction narrative; see e.g. Adam 2011c). It follows that every use of inversion (cf. Crystal 1988: 200) provides the piece of text with a hallmark of stylistic markedness. In accordance with my observations, Tárnyiková also mentions that in narrative texts (which are my focus in the present treatise), “inversion is used to contribute to the vividness of the events described” (Tárnyiková 2009: 106). Cf.: (70) (71)
ut behind him, on a much higher seat in the middle of the sledge sat a very different B person – a great lady, taller than any woman that Edmund had ever seen. (N33d) There, shining in the sunrise, larger than they had seen him before, shaking his mane stood Aslan himself. (N159a)
4.2.4 Subtype 4: Locative Th-subject & Rh-object For the sake of completeness, let me also comment on the Subtype 4, which has been traced in FSP analyses in terms of the classification of the Pr-scale sentences (Adam 2011), namely the constructions containing the so-called locative thematic subject along with a rhematic object. In Subcorpus B, exclusively the verb have is exploited within Subtype 4. Cf.: (72) You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols … (R2:14) 76
As usual, narrative texts manifest about 1–2% of such sentences (see Section 4.1.4 above); in the corpus under analysis (Subcorpus B), the incidence of Subtype 4 amounts to 0.8%. This peculiar transitive construction – at least at first sight – seems to implement the Quality, rather than the Presentation Scale as it contains a thematic subject. Nevertheless, such an approach would adopt only a surface stance. In its deep structure (stipulated both by FSP and its semantic roles), it should be regarded as a clear implementation of the Pr-scale (Adam 2011). After all, also Dušková claims that “the scene-setting nature of the subject (the theme) finds expression in adverbial construction, while the phenomenon appearing on the scene (the rheme) assumes the syntactic function of a subject” (Dušková 1998: 40). It will be fair to note that in other New Testament narratives that were subject to a similar (yet not published) analysis, several instances of this subtype were usually detected, even though their occurrence was low.
4.2.5 Summary As has been demonstrated above (see especially Section 4.1.5), there is a striking difference between the two subcorpora studied in terms of individual syntactic semantic subtypes. While the predominant (about 65% on average) subtype in Subcorpus A is clearly Subtype 1 (existential construction), the configuration of presentational elements in the biblical narrative texts (Subcorpus B) is most often realised as a rhematic subject in preverbal position (Subtype 2). To be more specific, the New Testament narrative manifests up to 65% of Subtype 2 vs. 20% of Subtype 1. Subtype 4 (the locative Th-subject) similarly ranks among the syntactic configurations with a very limited incidence and Subtype 3 (fronted adverbial & S-V inversion) ranks as the penultimate construction in the hierarchy. Below is the summative set of charts (Figs 28-32) offering the basic statistical data on individual text samples analysed in terms of Pr-sentences; Tables 33 and 34 then give the summary of the whole Subcorpus B. Fig. 28: Incidence of the Subtypes of Pr-sentences in Text 3 (L) Pr-Scale Sentences Subtype 1 – Existential construction Subtype 2 – Rhematic subject in preverbal position Subtype 3 – Fronted adverbial & S-V inversion Subtype 4 – Locative Th-subject Total
Abs. 34 112 4 0 150
% 22.7 74.7 2.6 0.0 100.0
Abs. 33 77 3 0 113
% 29.2 68.1 2.7 0.0 100.0
Fig. 29: Incidence of the Subtypes of Pr-sentences in Text 4 (A) Pr-Scale Sentences Subtype 1 – Existential construction Subtype 2 – Rhematic subject in preverbal position Subtype 3 – Fronted adverbial & S-V inversion Subtype 4 – Locative Th-subject Total
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Fig. 30: Incidence of the Subtypes of Pr-sentences in Text 5 (M) Pr-Scale Sentences Subtype 1 – Existential construction Subtype 2 – Rhematic subject in preverbal position Subtype 3 – Fronted adverbial & S-V inversion Subtype 4 – Locative Th-subject Total
Abs. 19 86 19 0 124
% 14.3 64.6 14.3 0.0 100.0
Abs. 22 45 43 4 114
% 19.3 39.5 37.7 3.5 100.0
Abs. 4 8 5 0 17
% 23.5 47.1 29.4 0.0 100.0
Abs. 112 328 68 4 512
% 21.9 64.1 13.2 0.8 100.0
Fig. 31: Incidence of the Subtypes of Pr-sentences in Text 6 (R) Pr-Scale Sentences Subtype 1 – Existential construction Subtype 2 – Rhematic subject in preverbal position Subtype 3 – Fronted adverbial & S-V inversion Subtype 4 – Locative Th-subject Total Fig. 32: Incidence of the Subtypes of Pr-sentences in Text 7 (J) Pr-Scale Sentences Subtype 1 – Existential construction Subtype 2 – Rhematic subject in preverbal position Subtype 3 – Fronted adverbial & S-V inversion Subtype 4 – Locative Th-subject Total Fig. 33: Incidence of the Subtypes of Pr-sentences in Subcorpus B Pr-Scale Sentences Subtype 1 – Existential construction Subtype 2 – Rhematic subject in preverbal position Subtype 3 – Fronted adverbial & S-V inversion Subtype 4 – Locative Th-subject Total
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Fig. 34: Incidence of the Subtypes of Pr-sentences in Subcorpus B
80 70 60
L
50
A
40
M
30
R J
20 10 0
Subtype 1
Subtype 2
Subtype 3
Subtype 4
To sum up, Section 4.2 of the present study looked at the Pr-sentences within the discourse of New Testament narratives. As usual, four basic subtypes of such sentences were identified, discussed and illustrated by corpus examples. So far, the analysis has searched for answers to the questions what? and how?. Logically, the conclusive comments will try to shed light on possible interpretation of the findings presented and hereby provide answers to the question why?. All that has been said above about the specific features of Pr-sentences within the discourse of the New Testament narratives seems to have one common denominator. The specific syntactic make-up of Pr-sentences studied (such as the overwhelming preponderance of Subtype 2) has definitely to do with the special role of the text in question, especially its stylistic and ideological nature. The tendency towards a straightforward presentation of different phenomena on the scene is apparently related to the communication of ideology in the Gospels. Ideology reflects and fulfils the main purpose of the religious communication: to persuade the reader of the veracity of the Christian doctrine (Adam 2009). According to van Dijk, discourse “has a special function in the expression, implementation and especially the reproduction of ideologies, as it is only through language use, discourse or communication… that they can be explicitly formulated” (van Dijk 1998: 316-317). The research presented indicates that to achieve this, Christian ideology – apart from linguistic phenomena such as lexical and semantic density, a high degree of persuasion, explicitness, or syntactic reiteration (Adam 2009b; cf. van Dijk 1998) – is also effectively presented via peculiar FSP (syntactic semantic) patterns, namely preference of the rhematic subject in preverbal position, or semantic affinity of the verb and subject (for further details see the following section).
4.2.6 Special FSP features of biblical narrative As has been noted several times, contrary to fiction narrative texts (cf. esp. Adam 2011 or Dušková 1998; see also Section 4.1.6 of the present study), the New Testament narrative seems to employ a slightly different set of FSP as well as purely syntactic configurations in terms of the sentences implementing the Pr-scale. 79
Above all, the overwhelming preponderance of Subtype 2 (64.1%; in some biblical narrative texts virtually 3/4 of all cases), is striking. In this Subtype, one can observe the clauses featuring a rhematic subject in preverbal position, at the expense of other subtypes, including the existential construction, which in fiction narrative occupies a clearly prominent position. The question remains why it is particularly this subtype that is so frequent in the New Testament discourse. Firstly, the core of such a high occurrence of Subtype 2 appears to be connected with the style of biblical gospels, namely with its formality and literary nature. The most dynamic element – the rheme embodied in the subject – is fronted and so the classical arrangement of the English sentence (following the end-focus principle) is functionally violated. So, secondly, such a pattern makes it possible for the reader to watch the scene with a special focus on the actors coming and leaving; individual participants of communication as if on parade in the setting of the scene, appearing one by one. One almost feels as a detached observer of a puppet play, watching individual figures that are being moved by the invisible hand of the Creator. This simplistic idea of presentation on the scene is prototypical for most New Testament texts researched so far (see Adam 2009b, 2011); the configuration with a rhematic subject in preverbal position seems to be able to depict it best. Apart from the obvious stylistic markedness, as Dušková (1998: 41) claims, “English appears to tolerate deviations from the basic distribution of CD more readily than those from the word order rules” – this is true especially in Subcorpus B. In this respect, Subtype 3, i.e. Adv – V – rhematic S (13.3%) seems to be felt as even more stylistically marked than Subtype 2 (rhematic S – V – Adv) as it substantially deviates from the word order principles required by the English language (cf. Dušková 1998: 42). It did not use to be the case, say, two centuries ago, though – then, the S-V inversion structures certainly represented a much more productive construction. It follows that modern, presentday English tends to express predication (and also other grammatical structures) preferably in an even more analytic way; as a result, the grammatical principle appears to play an exceedingly important role, with fewer exceptions from the canonical word order. Subtype 1 (existential there-construction) then, unlike fiction narratives, amounts to 21.9%, taking the second place in terms of incidence in Subcorpus B even though it ranks as the top construction on the scale of markedness. Completing the picture is Subtype 4 (locative subject), which, accounting for almost zero incidence, evidently testifies of a limited use of such syntactically specific constructions. The second special facet of the issue detected repeatedly in the FSP analysis of the New Testament narrative writings may be labelled as the use of the so-called ‘generic presentation’. By generic presentation I understand a contextually bound, genre-related transitional verb that is untypically capable of presenting a Phenomenon on the scene, even if under normal conditions this would not happen. In the research corpus, the co-ordinate system of such generic presentations is prototypically the religious discourse. The point is that the verb believe in ex. (73) would – outside the religious context – almost invariably perform the dynamic semantic function of a Quality, i.e. a transitional verb through which a Specification is ascribed to a Bearer of Quality in the sentences implementing the Q-Scale. Cf.: (73)
They believed what suited them.
Nevertheless, in the context of the New Testament, for instance, the verb believe (both transitive and intransitive) tends to serve the function of a Pr-verb in the scope of the Pr-scale. 80
Its meaning then denotes “coming to Christ”, i.e. the act of conversion. The following two examples are taken from the New Testament’s Book of Acts for illustration: (73a) … and a great number of people believed (and turned to the Lord). (A11:21b) (73b) Crispus, the synagogue ruler,… believed in the Lord. (A18:8a) It is actually the semantic, contextually determined affinity between the verb and the subject. Analogously, the subject complement blessed may be understood as an example of such generic presentation, which incidentally appears throughout the biblical texts under investigation: (74) (75) (76) (77)
Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. (L6:20) Blessed are the barren women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed! (L23:29) Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me. (M11:6) Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, … (R1:3a)
In ex. (74), for instance, the whole clause is perspectived towards the subject (you who are poor), performing the rhematic dynamic semantic function of a Phenomenon to be presented and entering the communication for the first time. The very fact that these people are blessed can be viewed as something implied or even taken for granted. Also from the viewpoint of the wider context of the Bible, the act of beatitudes itself is not entirely unknown: perhaps most notably, it is the famous passage of the so-called the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12), which starts Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven…. In the context of this quote, Jesus apparently specifies who is blessed and why. Seen from this perspective, the verbal expression (are blessed) constitutes the transition only and may be considered to be a part of the predication suggesting “existence or appearance on the scene with sufficient implicitness” (Firbas 1992a: 88-9; for details on the Beatitudes e.g. Adam 2009 and also Section 5.2.7.1 of the present study which deals with the specific FSP, syntactic and semantic make-up of the copular clauses containing a contextdependent nominal part of the predicate). The third syntactic semantic feature related to the corpus-based FSP analysis of the Pr-sentences has been treated in some detail above: certain degree of semantic affinity between the Pr-verb itself and the clausal subject. On a comparative note, it should be said that unlike fiction narratives (in which about 30% of Subtype 2 display semantic affinity), the New Testament texts manifest a relatively low occurrence of such sentences (9%). Interestingly enough, these cases, however, may be characterised by a typically religious affinity sui generis: the Pr-verbs convey existence but, much more frequently, appearance of a Phenomenon on the scene as such via peculiar presentation concepts. As a rule, such clauses deal with transcendental, supernatural, religion-bound phenomena. Prototypically, the reader is confronted with angels, i.e. God’s messengers, heavenly hosts, and the like. Their coming onto the scene (realised nearly exclusively through the verb appear) is then happening as appearance par excellence: (78) Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. (L1:11) 81
(79) Suddenly a great company of heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, (…) (L2:13) (80) Another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. (R14:17) (81) And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” (L3:22b) Such a semantic propinquity between the subject and the Pr-verb as a matter of fact exactly reflects the definition of the Firbasian idea of appearance on the scene with explicitness.
4.3 Comparison of Fiction Narrative and Biblical Narrative Although both the fiction and the biblical texts fall into the category of narrative discourse, it has been shown that the two variants of the same literary genre manifest a somewhat different makeup as to the use and syntactic-semantic configuration of the Presentation sentences. Perhaps the most striking difference may be observed in terms of the incidence of individual syntactic subtypes of Pr-sentences. As visible from the charts of analysis above, whereas the fiction narrative (Subcorpus A) predominantly relies on the use of existential phrase (up to 65%), the New Testament narratives (Subcorpus B) typically prefer the rhematic subject in preverbal position (up to 78%). In other words, the fiction narrative texts strongly prefer constructions that conform to both the word order rules and the basic distribution of the degrees of CD62, thus maintaining the unmarked character of the text, whereas the New Testament Narrative appears to favour structures in which one of the principles is obviously violated: Subtype 2 (which does not follow the unmarked information structure), and Subtype 3 (which does not correspond with basic distribution of CD in a neutral English sentence). Thus, the New Testament narrative shows a statistically significant preference of stylistically marked constructions. It seems that such a discrepancy lies in the stylistic character of the two discourses under investigation. While the fiction texts may be characterised as popular narratives (novels) in which also informal, conversation-like style is employed, the biblical writings definitely make use of a much more formal style. One has to take into consideration the specific role of the New Testament narratives in question, especially their stylistic and ideological nature. The tendency towards a straightforward presentation of different phenomena on the scene is apparently related to the communication of ideology in the Gospels (cf. Adam 2011b). Ideology reflects and fulfils the main purpose of the religious communication: to persuade the reader of the veracity of the Christian doctrine (Adam 2009). According to van Dijk discourse “has a special function in the expression, implementation and especially the reproduction of ideologies, as it is only through language use, discourse or communication (...) that they can be explicitly formulated” (van Dijk 1998: 316-317). The research presented indicates that to achieve this, Christian ideology – apart from linguistic
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It can be argued that the existential there-construction partly deviates from the neutral information structure of the English sentence in that it often features the Setting (typically the adverbial of place) in the final position. However, as Dušková (1998: 41) concludes in her study on syntactic forms of the Pr-Scale realizations, its actual distribution in texts confirms its neutral character; in her opinion, “a thematic element in the postintonation-centre shade (cf. Firbas 1980) is a fairly common feature of modern English prosody”.
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phenomena such as lexical and semantic density, a high degree of persuasion, explicitness, or syntactic reiteration (cf. Adam 2006, van Dijk 1998) – is also effectively presented via peculiar FSP (syntactic semantic) patterns, namely preference of the rhematic subject in preverbal position, generic presentation, or semantic affinity between the verb and subject. It has become clear that also the overall number of Pr-Scale sentences may substantially differ in terms of various text types. As has been noted above, e.g. religious written discourse generally displays higher percentage of Pr-Scale sentences, such as 9-12% in New Testament gospels and Pauline epistles (see Adam 2010 and Lingová 2008). The incidence of Prsentences in fiction narrative usually ranks between 5-8%. The general variability in terms of incidence of Pr-sentences in different genres is also illustrated by the table below: Fig. 35: Incidence of Pr-sentences across sub-genres (Sub-)genre Incidence in % Reference Sources Internet chat 1-2 Adam 2011 E-mails 2-3 Hurtová 2010 biblical poetic text 3-6 Adam 2006, 2009 Adam 2006, 2010, present study; Hurtová fiction narrative 5-8 2009; Řezníčková 2009; Wachsmuthová 2011; Doležalová 2012 biblical narrative 9-12 Adam 2010, present study technical texts >15 Řezníčková 2011, Chudašová 2012 Obviously, the incidence of Pr-sentences in the corpus under investigation is due to stylistic qualities relatively high, especially in comparison with an extremely low occurrence of Pr-scale sentences in the Internet chat. In comparison with other text registers studied in terms of the occurrence of Pr-scale sentences in other corpora, the Internet chat definitely ranks among the sub-genres with the lowest incidence of Pr-sentences. Relevant as well as more generalising conclusions based on the contrastive view of the two Subcorpora will be drawn in the Conclusions (Chapter 6).
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5 Syntactic-Semantic Analysis of the Pr-Verbs “They’ve a temper, some of them – particularly verbs, they’re the proudest – adjectives you can do anything with, but not verbs – however, I can manage the whole lot! Impenetrability!” ~Lewis Carroll~63
5.1
Statistics and Procedure
As has been repeatedly noted in one of the introductory chapters of the present study, on the one hand, the English verb represents a key element of the sentence, and on the other hand – from the point of view of the dynamic semantics – manifests a relatively high degree of versatility. The point is that the verb can potentially perform two dynamic semantic functions – that of a Quality or Presentation. The DSF performed by the verb in a particular sentence in the immediately relevant context derives from the well-known interplay of all the basic FSP factors. Apart from the semantic content of the verb (which seems to be primary), to a very large extent it depends on the contextual conditions as well as the linear modification of the sentence. The Pr-verbs, the role of which was partly discussed in the previous chapter in connection to the Pr-sentences typology, will be now explored in terms of their capability to express the existence or appearance on the scene. Strictly speaking, the analysis will be conducted at the syntactic-semantic interface, i.e. both the syntactic properties of the verb (valency, complementation) and its semantic load will be systematically taken into consideration. It is hoped that such an integrated approach will then reveal essential syntactic-semantic equipment of Pr-verbs that enables them to serve in the Pr-sentences. First of all, a summarising ‘Top 13’ table outlining the incidence of the most frequent Pr-verbs used in the corpus will be presented. The numbers given are absolute occurrences out of the 1,000 Pr-sentences under discussion. It is believed that such frequency can reveal much about semantic load of the English Pr-verb; the most used Pr-verbs should carry the most typical features of the verbs that are capable of denoting existence or appearance on the scene. In Fig. 37 below, the absolute numbers are given irrespective of individual subtypes studied in the previous chapter; for instance, if only Subtype 2 was analysed in terms of verb frequency, the verb come would, of course, take the first place. Interestingly, about 70% of the Pr-sentences from the corpus (ca 700 sentences) contain the first five Pr-verbs form the Top 13 sequence, i.e. be, come, appear, go, rise or their derivatives. Yet, the unexpected variability and incidence of other verbs in the chart is also worth mentioning; ca 200 sentences in the corpus contain a verb, the occurrence of which is one or two instances. This fact actually testifies of the significance of verb semantics. Expectedly, the most frequent Prverbs are invariably recruited from the semantic group of verbs explicitly denoting existence or appearance on the scene; the verbs that do so implicitly, appear on the other side of the 63
Carroll (1872: 72)
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scale, scoring several times only, some of them even once (e.g. chirp, buzz, clatter, flash, swirl, etc.) Fig. 37: Top 13 Incidence of verbs in the corpus (per 1,000 sentences) Place 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Verb & its forms be (lexical existence) 64 come, come out / up / over / along appear go rise be (auxiliary in passive constructions) stand / stand up fall follow arise enter arrive stick, sit
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Occurrence 426 178 33 27 24 22 21 20 15 12 10 6 3
A few words should be now said about the procedure of the analysis to follow. As has been mentioned, the individual Pr-verbs excerpted from the corpus will be discussed in separate groups according to the typological subtypes of Pr-sentences (Subtypes 1-4, see Chapter 4). Both their syntactic properties and their semantic load will be taken into account. On top of that, at times, specific aspects of the Pr-verbs that deserve a more complex exploration will be treated thoroughly here (such as semantic affinity of the verb and subject or the use of passive); these have been tackled only in Chapters 4 and 5 as a detailed analysis would hinder transparency of the discussion. It should be noted that these phenomena by no means represent just an additional or even marginal topic for discussion, but on the contrary, a crucial part within the present investigation into the syntactic-semantic nature of the English Pr-verb. Many special aspects of Pr-verbs that have been introduced earlier in the study will thus be now studied in more detail, accompanied by a number of examples from the corpus and functional interpretation. As to the method used, the analysis will draw on the theoretical fundamentals in the field of syntax and semantics of the verb as introduced in Chapters 2 and 3 of the present treatise, i.e. those laid especially by Quirk et al. (1985), Allerton (1982) and Levin (esp. 1993). For the purpose of the study of the verb syntactic patterns, the software Erlangen Valency Patternbank will also be exploited occasionally65. Section 5.2 below will offer, one by one, individual charts with all verbs falling into the given typological category. Every
64
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The number of items containing (there) was, were, been would be somewhat distorted by the fact that it covers not only was/were used in Subtype 2, but also in Subtype 1 (existential constructions such as there was) and passive configurations (was brought). That is why its incidence was split into two separate categories. The presentational passives, semantically speaking, would otherwise fall into the category of transitive presentation verbs of course. http://www.patternbank.uni-erlangen.de/cgi-bin/patternbank.cgi - Erlangen Valency Patternbank. Cf. also A Valency Dictionary of English: A Corpus-Based Analysis of the Complementation Patterns of English Verbs, Nouns and Adjectives (Topics in English Linguistics) by Ian F. Roe and Dieter Gotz (authors), and Thomas Herbst and David Heath (editors).
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verb will be described in terms of its syntactic and semantic structure and amended with an example from the corpus. Then, the special aspects mentioned above will be discussed in relation to the category under analysis. Finally, generalising conclusions will be drawn.
5.2
Exhaustive List of Pr-Verbs: Analysis
First of all, before the exhaustive list of Pr-verbs grouped according to typological types is given and discussed, the set of principal descriptors should be introduced. Fig. 38 below lists the symbols (i.e. abbreviations) of five basic syntactic types of verb complementation according to Quirk et al. (1985: 1169ff). At times, Allerton’s (1982) minute classification of syntactic verb patterns will also be taken into account. Fig. 38: Types of verb complementation Symbol I Co M C D
Type of Complementation intransitive copular monotransitive complex transitive ditransitive
Example John has arrived. William is my friend. The news shocked our family. Take your hands out of your pockets. He gave the girl a doll.
It should be pointed out here that the verbs under investigation will be examined exclusively in their particular use in the corpus, i.e. not in all their syntactical configurations possible. Thus, for instance the verb stand will be marked with “I” (intransitive) as in For a second, his nephew stood motionless. Cf. I cannot stand his behaviour, which would be labelled with “M” for its monotransitivity. Fig. 39 below gives a selected list of Levin’s semantic classification of the English verb (Levin 1993: 111ff; 250ff), viz. The abbreviated descriptors of the semantic classes (in total, she gives 48 semantic verb classes), along with full titles of the separate verb semantic groups and subgroups, and examples. As has been noted above, her key opus is traditionally taken as a cornerstone for the semantic analysis of the English verb. Levin explains that “verb classes arise because a set of verbs with one or more shared meaning components show similar behaviour; (...) for instance, the meaning components contact and motion are common to the Hit verbs and the Cut verbs... (Levin 1993: 17). Before she gives the full array of individual “syntactically relevant and semantically coherent” alternations and the semantic verb classes, Levin aptly mentions, “the verb classes (...) should be ‘handled with care’, since there is a sense in which the notion of verb class is an artificial construct” (Levin 1993: 17). That is also why individual categories may partly overlap at times, i.e. a single verb may fall into more than one category depending on the context, lexical meaning and its particular use in the sentence. For example the verb coil can be listed within The Verbs of Creation and Transformation (if its meaning denotes producing a product) and, at the same time, it may belong to the class of the Verbs of Motion (strictly speaking the Manner of Motion verbs) as it may express the way somebody, e.g. a parade, moves through a street. Even verbs whose possible classification may be triple or quadruple are not extremely rare (Levin 1993: 111ff).
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Fig. 39: Semantic classes of the verb (fraction) according to Levin 1993 Symbol Semantic class Ani66
App
Asp
Att
Bod
ChP
ChS
Com
66
67
66 67
Examples + detailed classification
Verbs of Sounds Baa, bark, buzz, chirp, crow, moo, neigh, oink, purr, roar, of Animals tweet, twitter, etc. Appear, arise, awake, spread, rise, etc. (Appear Verbs), Verbs of assert, manifest, show, present, etc. (Reflexive Verbs Appearance, of Appearance), die, disappear, perish, etc. (Verbs of Disappearance Disappearance), happen, occur, recur, transpire, etc. (Verbs and Occurrence of Occurrence)67 Begin, cease, continue, end, finish, etc. (Begin Verbs), Aspectual Verbs complete, discontinue, initiate, quit, etc. (Complete Verbs) Blend, combine, connect, fuse, join, link, merge, mix, etc. (Mix Verbs), alternate, amalgamate, associate, coincide, Verbs of compare, interchange, interlink, interrelate, unify, etc. Combining and (Amalgamate Verbs), band, cluster, group, pair, shake, Attaching collect, append, attach, fasten, stick, etc. (Shake Verbs), cement, tape, glue, nail, pin, screw, seal, staple, stitch, etc. (Tape Verbs), etc. Verbs Involving Hiccup, blow, blink, breathe, exhale, wink, curtsey, yawn, the Body swallow, etc. Give, lend, loan, rent, trade, etc. (Give Verbs), administer, contribute, donate, return, transfer, etc. (Contribute verbs), allocate, assign, grant, guarantee, etc. (Verbs of Future Verbs of Change Having), present, provide, etc. (Verbs of Providing), equip, of Possession invest, reward, get, buy, earn, gain, lease, etc. (Verbs of Obtaining), barter, change, exchange, swap, etc. (Verbs of Exchange), berry, fish, mushroom, pearl, etc. (Berry Verbs) Break, crack, shatter, smash, split, tear, etc. (Break verbs), bend, crease, fold, wrinkle, etc. (Bend Verbs), cook, Verbs of Change roast, simmer, steam, etc. (Cooking Verbs), close, open, of State divide, drain, inflate, kindle, blacken, acidify, accelerate, caramelize, etc. (Other Alternating Verbs of Change of State) Ask, explain, narrate, preach, recite, read, tell, write, etc. (Verbs of Transfer of a Message), tell (only), babble, chant, cry, growl, grumble, roar, shout, whisper, yell, etc. (Verbs Verbs of of manner of Speaking), cable, e-mail, phone, signal, wire, Communication fax, etc. (verbs of Instrument of Communication), speak, talk (Talk Verbs), argue, chat, confer, gossip, etc. (Chitchat verbs), announce, declare, mention, remark, say, state, suggest, etc. (Say verbs), etc.
The abbreviations as well as the table arrangement are mine and are used in the charts for their brevity. NB: The individual semantic groups’ abbreviations are arranged in their alphabetical order, not according to their frequency or significance. In her book, Levin (1993) admits that the individual semantic classes are not arranged hierarchically and that is why this question is left open for future research (some of it was done later; see e.g. Levin – Rappaport Hovav 1998). In Levin (1993) the major semantic verb classes are further classified into fine-grain categories; here, the main ones with typical verb representatives attached are given only
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Con
Cre
Cut Des
Emi
Exi
Ing
Jud
Kil
Mot
Verbs of Contact by Impact
Hit, strike, swat, spank, etc.
Build, grow, knit, sculpt, etc. (Build Verbs), bake, boil, Verbs of grill, roast, etc. (Verbs of Preparing), coin, construct, Creation and create, produce, etc. (Create Verbs), beat, coil, compress, Transformation shake, squeeze, etc. (Knead Verbs), alter, change, convert, transform, turn, etc. (Turn Verbs) Chip, cut, hack, saw, scratch, slash, etc. (Cut Verbs), bore, Verbs of Cutting carve, drill, grate, grind, mash, mince, prune, slice, etc. (Carve Verbs) Blitz, decimate, demolish, destroy, devastate, exterminate, Destroy Verbs obliterate, ruin, wreck Beam, blaze, flame, flash, flicker, gleam, glitter, glow, shine, sparkle, twinkle, etc. (Verbs of Light Emission), beat, blast, buzz, chirp, clatter, click, cling, ding, hiss, howl, jingle, Verbs of plop, rattle, ring, sing, splash, wheeze, whine, whistle, etc. Emission (Verbs of Sound Emission), reek, smell, stink (Verbs of Smell Emission), bubble, dribble, drip, leak, puff, radiate, shed, spill, sprout, steam, sweat, etc. (Verbs of Substance Emission), Exist, linger, live, stay, etc. (Exist Verbs), bloom, blow, foam, rot, rust, wither, etc. (Verbs of Entity-Specific Modes of Being), bow, creep, drift, dance, float, hover, tremble, undulate, etc. (Verbs of Modes of Being Involving Motion), echo, resonate, sound, etc. (Verbs of Sound Existence), Verbs of swarm, creep, herd, bulge, etc. (Verbs of Group Existence), Existence bow, fly, hang, kneel, loom, sit, stand, etc. (Verbs of Spatial Configuration), meander, cascade, drop, sweep, weave, etc. (Meander Verbs), border, bridge, cross, encircle, enclose, follow, frame, hug, overhang, rim, span, surround, etc. (Verbs of Contiguous Location) Drink, eat (Eat Verbs), chew, crunch, nibble, sip, slurp, suck, etc. (Chew Verbs), consume, devour, ingest, etc. (Devour Verbs of Verbs), banquet, breakfast, brunch, dine, feats, graze, lunch, Ingesting picnic, snack, etc. (Dine Verbs), breastfeed, feed, handfeed, spoonfeed, etc. (Verbs of Feeding), etc. Applaud, bless, celebrate, compliment, forgive, greet, honour, pardon, praise, salute, thank, toast, welcome, etc. (Positive Judgement Judgement Verbs), condemn, criticise, denounce, insult, Verbs mock, persecute, punish, rebuke, reproach, ridicule, scold, shame, etc. (Negative Judgement Verbs) Assassinate, butcher, execute, kill, massacre, murder, Verbs of Killing slaughter, slay, etc. (Murder Verbs), crucify, drown, hang, poison, shoot, strangle, etc. (Poison Verbs) Arrive, come, enter, go, etc. (Directed Motion / Path Verbs), abandon, desert, leave (Leave Verbs), rotate, bounce, swing, spin (Manner of Motion Verbs), canoe, bicycle, boat, taxi Verbs of Motion (Verbs of Motion Using a Vehicle), dance, jive, rumba, waltz, etc. (Waltz verbs), chase, follow, pursue, track, etc. (Chase Verbs) 89
Per
Pos Pre
Psy
Put
Rem
Rus Sen Soc Thr …
Verbs of Perception Verbs of Assuming a Position Verbs with Predicative Complements
See, hear, notice, see, sense, smell, taste, etc. (See Verbs), eye, glimpse, inspect, observe, scent, sight, view, watch, etc. (Sight verbs), gape, glaze, look, peep, stare, etc. (Peer verbs), feel, look, smell, sound, taste (Stimulus Subject Perception Verbs) Bend, bow, crouch, hang, kneel, lean, lie, sit, squat, stand, stoop, etc.
Appoint, nominate, elect, etc. (Appoint Verbs), declare, believe, confess, etc. (Declare Verbs), characterise, certify, enrol, etc. (Characterise Verbs) Affect, agonise, astonish, entertain, horrify, strike, surprise, tease, tempt, terrify, threaten, thrill, trouble, upset, worry, Verbs of etc. (Amuse Verbs ), admire, adore, appreciate, enjoy, like, Psychological love, value, dislike, fear, hate, regret, etc. (Admire Verbs), State care, mind, grieve, suffer, rejoice, delight, etc. (Marvel Verbs) arrange, install, place, put, position, set, etc. (Put Verbs), hang, lay, lean, sit, etc. (Verbs of Putting in a Spatial Configuration), drop, lift, lower, raise (Verbs of Putting with Verbs of Putting a Specified Direction), dribble, drip, pour, spill, etc. (Pour Verbs), coil, curl, loop, roll, spin, twist, whirl, wind, etc. (Coil Verbs), etc. Delete, discharge, dismiss, eliminate, expel, extract, ostracise, remove, separate, etc. (Remove Verbs), banish, deport, evacuate, etc. (Banish Verbs), clear, clean, drain, Verbs of empty (Clear Verbs), erase, leach, purge, rub, shave, Removing sweep, trim, etc. (Wipe Verbs), defraud, kidnap, lift, pinch, plagiarize, rob, smuggle, steal, etc. (Verbs of Possessional Deprivation), etc. Verbs of Delay, hesitate, linger, loiter, etc. (Verbs of Lingering), Lingering and hasten, hurry, rush, etc. (Verbs of Rushing) Rushing Verbs of Deliver, hand, mail, post, send, etc. (Send Verbs), bring, take Sending and (only); carry, drag, pull, push, etc. (Carry Verbs), bus, cart, Carrying drive, ferry, truck, wheel, etc. (Drive Verbs) Verbs of Social Correspond, marry, meet, etc. Interaction Verbs of Cast, catapult, kick, pass, shoot, throw, toss, bombard, stone, Throwing etc. … …
In the discussion below, the individual verb classes will be described in more detail, including their subclasses distinguished by Levin (1993). Note that the verbs in individual charts are arranged in alphabetical order. Every representative is diagnosed in terms of both its syntactic and semantic properties and illustrated by one example extracted from the research corpus. Note that the semantic class of the verb in the given context is provided only since many verbs can actually display numerous meanings, cf. for instance the following five uses of the verb blow, falling into five different verb semantic classes and subclasses: 90
(82a) He has blown his nose. Verb Involving the Body (82b) I blew a glass with a blowpipe. Verb of Creation and Transformation (82c) A flag was blowing in the breeze. Verb of Existence (Entity-Specific Modes of Being) (82d) The wind is blowing. Weather Verb (82e) The train whistle blew. Emission Verb (Verbs of Sound Emission)
5.2.1 Subtype 1A68 – Existential construction with verb other than be69 Verb
Syntax Semantics
(there) appear
I
App
(there) arise
I
App
(there) come
I
Mot
(there) exist
I
Exi
(there) go
I
Mot
(there) ramp
I
Mot
(there) rise
I
App
(there) sit
I
Exi
(there) stand
I
Exi
(there) stay
I
Exi
(there) stick
I
Exi
(there) sweep (into sight)
M
Exi
Example And instantly there appeared a round box, tied with green silk ribbon… (N38c) About that time there arose a great disturbance about the Way. (A19:23) And at the same time there came into his head what seemed a perfectly lovely idea. (N96a) …there has long existed a scheme for the exchange of visiting teachers… (C 13) Overhead there went a flurry of foul wings and a blackness of vultures and giant bats. (N154) Across it there ramped a red lion, as bright as a ripe strawberry at the moment when you pick it. (N108a) Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist. (M11:11) In Lystra there sat a man crippled in his feet… (A14:8) And there stood a jewelled cup full of something that steamed. (N38b) Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. (A2:5) And out of the hair there stuck two horns, one on each side of his forehead. (N13c) And at last there swept into sight a sledge drawn by two reindeer. (N33b)
From the point of view of syntax, in Levin’s terms, Subtype 1A represents one of the two essential alternations in which postverbal “subjects” (i.e. subjects in the deep sense) are observed. To be more specific, Levin classifies my Subtype 1A as There-Insertion. In it, “the hallmark …is the presence of there before the verb and the postverbal appearance of a noun phrase which would otherwise appear as the surface subject” (Levin 1993: 90). Unlike the prototypical there + be construction, the corresponding configuration of there + other verb than be not only expresses the very existence but also – to a certain extent – the manner in 68
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The verbs falling into the Subtype 1 (pure existential construction) are excluded from this analysis for obvious reasons: there is only one verb representing this configuration of Presentation Scale sentences (there + be). Unlike the Typology of Presentation sentences in previous chapter of the study, Subtype 1 (classical existential construction) will not be subject to present analysis as it was discussed in Chapter 4 in detail and, as this category does not, of course, display semantic variability.
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which the entity exists (cf. there stood vs. there sat etc.). It follows that the prototypical representatives of the alternation are logically verbs that fall into the semantic classes of Verbs of Existence, Verbs of Appearance, Verbs of Motion, etc. (for details, see the discussion below). Looking at the corpus data I may say that the variability of verbs used in the there + other verb than be construction is unexpectedly high. The most expectable verb classes in the existential construction are obviously verbs falling into the category of Verbs of Existence (exist, stay) and Verbs of Appearance, Disappearance and Occurrence (appear, arise). These two classes will now be dealt with one by one. The pure Verbs of Existence (Exist verbs), by definition, denote the existence of an entity at some location (cf. Levin 1993: 250) and unlike the subcategory of verbs of entity-specific modes of being (see the section on Subtype 2A below), these are not found in locative alternation. The verb stick seems to represent a somewhat different category, though existential as well. In the example sentence from the corpus (ex. 83a below), the verb is definitely used as intransitive and existential. Levin ranks stick within the broad class of Verbs of Existence among verbs of modes of being involving motion (similarly also tremble, oscillate, swirl, etc.). In her view, such verbs typically describe “states of existence of inanimate entities that involve types of motion typical of these entities” and, “reflecting this property, these verbs take a very limited range of subjects” (Levin 1993: 252). Of course, there may appear occurrences of stick in totally different syntactic semantic configurations. Cf.: (83a) And out of the hair there stuck two horns,…(N13c) (83b) It will be inevitable to stick it on the wall. A few comments should be made on existential verbs sit and stand found in the research corpus. Their semantic load does express existence at a location, nevertheless does so with a specific flavour of spatial configuration within the co-ordinates of some location; Levin, in accordance with this observation, gives examples such as hang, kneel, rest, swing, etc. (Levin 1993: 255). Even though the use of such verbs in there + Exist verb constructions is purely intransitive, in other contexts these verbs can have transitive interpretation, such as in the causative alternation (84b). Cf.: (84a) In Lystra there sat a man crippled in his feet… (A14:8) (84b) Surprisingly, Ms Steinway sat the young boy at the very back of the room. There is one more Pr-verb in this section that deserves my attention, viz. sweep. It occurs in the following sentence: (85)
And at last there swept into sight a sledge drawn by two reindeer. (N33b)
In essence, in Levin’s view, the verb sweep belongs to the category of existential verbs of entity-specific modes of being; here, nevertheless, the verb forms a figurative collocation with the prepositional phrase into sight and so should not be considered in its physical sense exclusively. It does describe the manner in which the entity (the sledge) is coming to be in a particular state of existence, but at the same time, it, in my opinion, also suggests something about the manner of motion. In concord with this statement, Dowty (1979) labels 92
such verbs (apart from sweep verbs such as meander, twist, weave, cascade, wind, climb, etc.) as “pseudo-motional locative” verbs (Levin 1993: 256). Such verbs denote both motion and existence at the same time; even verbs that describe the location of the entity in the first plan, in this extended sense they do behave like verbs of motion as well. Levin aptly classifies them as Meander Verbs, i.e. verbs of motion “that are being used to describe the location of a long continuous object such as a road or a river” (Levin 1993: 256-257). In other words, the manner in which such entities behave seems to be inherent to their “long continuous” character – a road climbs up the hill, a river meanders along the forests, or a creek cascades down the slope. Analogously, the sledge sweeps into sight. The next verb class represented in the Subtype 1A is – logically enough – the category of the Verbs of Appearance, Disappearance and Occurrence, which naturally denote appearance (whether in the positive or negative sense) of an entity on the scene. To simply contrast existence and appearance, e.g. Kudrnáčová states that “the entity’s appearance somewhere represents a dynamic version of the entity’s being in a place” (Kudrnáčová 2006: 91). In the Subtype 1A section of the research corpus the verbs appear, arise, rise were detected. Typically, yet not invariably, these verbs take prepositional phrase complements, frequently fronted (see e.g. Among those born of women…or About that time…in the chart above). Furthermore, such verbs are usually not used in transitive configurations with a causative interpretation. Levin adds e.g. the following class members: awake, burst, form, materialise, result, stem, etc. (Levin 1993: 258-259). Apparently, while the verbs collocating with existential there in the existential constructions discussed above represent clear-cut examples of verb denoting existence or appearance on the scene, there are others that deserve further comments, such as the remaining verb class identified in Subtype 1A that Levin labels as Verbs of Motion (Levin1993: 263ff). First of all, it will be necessary to map the distinction between the Verbs of Inherently Directed Motion on the one hand and the Verbs of Manner of Motion on the other. Whereas the Verbs of Inherently Directed Motion “include a specification of the direction of motion, even in the absence of an overt directional complement” (Levin 1993: 264), the Verbs of Manner of Motion denote motion that “typically, though not necessarily, involves displacement, but none of them specifies an inherent direction as part of its meaning” (ibid.). The Subtype 1A section of the corpus under examination contains two examples of inherently directed motion (go, come) and only one example of verb of manner of motion (ramp). In other words, go and come do not in any sense specify the manner of motion, i.e. the way the entity is moving; one just understands that the entity is moving in some direction. Cf. the communicative unit underlined with a dashed line in (86): (86) And at the same time there came into his head what seemed a perfectly lovely idea. (N96a) To put this another way, it seems that the more the verb of motion is stripped of its directionality, the more a specification on the part of other sentence elements is needed. Also Kudrnáčová proposes that “the relative sparsity of semantic information in the depiction of the motion situation in question enables us to profile the localisation with greater force” (Kudrnáčová 2006: 91). In example (86), the path is then construed as a directional phrase into, which, in logical contrast with out of, “represents a spatial axis with a strictly bipolar structure” (ibid.). 93
Levin points out that different verbs of inherently directed motion “differ as to how they can express the goal, source, or path of motion” (Levin 1993: 264). Contrary to such verbs, ramp specifically denotes the manner or means of motion; in the absence of a prepositional phrase specifying direction, none of these verbs indicates the direction of motion (cf. Levin 1993: 264-266). Levin gives the following examples of verbs of manner of motion: bounce, drift, coil, roll, slide, etc. Incidentally, the ramp sentence can serve as a suitable example of different syntactic alternations of one underlying idea. Compare the authentic quote from the corpus with a corresponding didactic sentence that makes use of preverbal rhematic subject: (87a) Across it there ramped a red lion… (N108a). (87b) ~ A lion ramped across it. On top of that, it is possible to trace in the corpus yet another sentence that fits the deep structure discussed above (87c), this time an example of Subtype 4, i.e. the Locative Subject (this example was already adduced in another chapter of the study as (52), (52a) and (52b). Consider the following sentence along with its classical existential alternations: (87c) The banner bore a red rampant lion fluttering in the breeze. (N123d) (87d) ~ There was a red rampant lion fluttering in the breeze on the banner. (87e) ~ On the banner there was a red rampant lion fluttering in the breeze. At this point, it would be beneficial to look at the subcorpora under investigation from the comparative point of view. Surprisingly, the incidence of the existential construction + verb other than be is evidently identical (11 instances in each) in both Subcorpus A (fiction narratives) and Subcorpus B (biblical narratives). It seems that such a configuration generally compensates – to comply with the present day English standards – what is used in the highly formal and stylistically somewhat marked texts of the New Testament, viz. the S-V inversion. Nevertheless, the corpus data proved the opposite. In conclusion it is possible to say that even though the existential construction is the most frequent Pr-sentence syntactic pattern in fiction narrative, its variant with exist verb other than be seems to be relatively rare. In terms of occurrence in the fiction narrative corpus, for instance, they appear to be rather on the periphery of Pr-sentences, scoring 7.5% only. It follows that, in agreement with Dušková’s observations (Dušková 1998: 42), they seem to be stylistically marked. In terms of syntactic disposition to serve in Pr-Scale sentences, the Pr-verbs found within the existential construction with verbs other than be proved to be largely intransitive, and with a limited modification on the right side. From the semantic point of view, the Pr-verbs in Subtype 1A recruit from the following three broad semantic verb classes: Verbs of (i) Existence, (ii) Appearance, (iii) Motion. More detailed conclusions will be drawn after all the subtypes of Pr-scale sentences have been discussed.
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5.2.2 Subtype 2 – Rhematic subject in preverbal position Verb
Syntax Semantics
accost
M
Soc
appear
I
App
approach
I
Mot
arise
I
App
arrive
I
Mot
attack
M
Con
await be
M Co
Exi Exi
bear
M+Pass
App
be (in progress, in sb’s hand, on the move, present)70
7071
Example Touts shivering in the doorways of strip-clubs accosted him every few yards. (C111) Amanda appeared at the door, arrayed in her school uniform. (C207) When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. (M17:14) Also a dispute arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest. (L22:24) While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived. (M26:47a) As a man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, robbers attacked him and grabbed everything he had. (L10:30) But there a terrible surprise awaited them. (N59c) Over two thousand troops were in the city. (C172) Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you. (L2:11)
Co
Exi
…where a spectacular sunset was in progress. (C78b) Aslan is on the move. (N107a) His winnowing fork is in his hand. (M2:12) (The next day Paul and the rest of us went to see James,) and all the elders were present. (A21:18)
I
Asp
But now that the snow had begun again the scent was cold and even the footprints were covered up. (N112)
I
Pre
A great number of people believed (and turned to the Lord). (A11:21b)
D+Pass
Sen
And a great number of people were brought to the Lord. (A11:24)
build
M+Pass
Cre
carry
M+Pass
Sen
M
Cre
I
Mot
I
App
begin believe (in the Lord) bring (to the Lord)
coil sb’s way come come about71 70
71
Just below them a dam had been built across this river. (N71) Now a man crippled from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, … (A3:2) On Sunday a huge procession of Garden supporters coiled its way through the streets of Plotinus. (C160) A slow cruel smile came over the Witch‘s face. (N99b) This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. (M1:18)
For a detailed discussion on the FSP interpretation of copular clauses see Section 5.2.7.1 of the present treatise. Naturally, phrasal verbs and phrasal-prepositional verbs (such as come about or come down to) are dealt with separately here, i.e. not as single lexemes (come), as their meanings may differ.
95
72
come along
I
App
come down
I
Mot
come in
I
Mot
I I+PrP
Mot App
come together
I
Exi
come up
I
App
create
M+Pass
Cre
crucify
M+Pass
Kil
descend
I
Mot
M+Pass
Cre
draw up
I
App
enter
M
Mot
fall
I
Mot
fall off
I
Mot
M+Pass
ChP
follow
M
Mot
fume
I
Exi
gather
I
Exi
D+Pass
ChP
go along
I
Mot
go up
I
Mot
come out come to life
do
find
give
72
While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. (L5:12) The gods have come down to us in human form! (A14:11) But when the king came in to see the guests… (M22:11) Morris, in dressing-gown, comes out. (C243) And now his hind legs had come to life. (N165) When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. (A2:6) A Western film comes up on the TV screen. (C247) A new Eden is being created in the People‘s Garden in Plotinus. (C155) Two robbers were crucified with him. (M27:38) And the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. (L3:22a) Wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. (A2:43) A second police car drew up beside them. (C191a) But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, … (R11:11a) From the sky huge hailstones of about a hundred pounds each fell upon men. (R16:21) Wherever the Robin alighted a little shower of snow would fall off the branch. (N63b) No lie was found in their mouths. (R14:5) A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him. (L23:27) …and to his right the oil refineries of St Gabriel fumed into the limpid air. (C56) Meanwhile, when a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus began to speak first to his disciples… (L12:1) All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. (M28:18) (Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain,) and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. (L7:11)72 A howl and a gibber of dismay went up from the creatures when they first saw the great Lion pacing towards them. (N148d)
From Chapter 5 on, if it is necessary to give the immediately relevant verbal context to the sentences under discussion (preceding or following sentences), for the sake of an easier differentiation from the main sentence it will be provided in square brackets, such as in [Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain,] and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. (L7:11) – either in the chart or in the discussion below.
96
greet
M
Jud
hand
M+Pass
Sen
hang
I
Exi
happen hear
I M+Pass
App Per
hurry in
I
Rus
inch sb’s way
M
Mot
lean
I
Pos
meet
M
Soc
open
M+Pass
ChS
I
Mot
M+Pass
Cre
rear up
I
App
reign
I
Exi
rise
I
Mot
rush up
I
Rus
M M+Pass
ChP Sen
shuffle out / in
I
Mot
sit
I
Exi
skim by
I
Mot
spread
I
App
spring up
I
Mot
plane in pour
seize send
As he entered the Department Office to check his mailbox, Mabel Lee greeted him. (C183b) The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. (L4:17) Just out of sight to his left a pall of smoke hung over the great military and industrial port of Ashland… (C56b) And now a very curious thing happened. (N70) A voice is heard in Ramah: … (M2:18) As the door slid open and they entered, Karl Kroop hurried in beside them. (C182b) As soon as he got inside, the communication door opposite opened and Alice Slide inched her way apologetically into the room, clutching a large stack of files. (C213a) A solitary woman was leaning against the balustrade, staring moodily at the Bay. (C78a) As you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. (L22:10) Another book was opened, which is the book of life. (R20:12) A silver jet, with engines cut back, planed in from the north almost at his eye level. (C170b) A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. (L6:38) A wall of suburbs suddenly rears up behind Mary Makepeace‘s head. (C53b) Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. (R19:6) When he opened the Abyss, smoke rose from it like the smoke from a gigantic furnace. (R9:2) At that moment with a rush and a snarl a Wolf rushed up to them. (N132) A spirit seizes him and he suddenly screams. (L9:39) Word has been sent that you are to meet him. (N81b) As the students shuffled out through the door, Rupert Sutcliffe shuffled in, a tall, stooped, melancholy figure, with ill-fitting glasses that kept slipping to the end of his nose. (C217b) Two blind men were sitting by the roadside… (M20:30) Then houses, hills, trees, hangars, trucks, skim by in recognisable scale, like old friends seen after a long separation. (C53d) … that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. (A11:28b) Then a wind sprang up. (N92a) 97
squat
I
Exi
stand
I
Exi
stand up
I
App
start
I
Asp
step (into the spotlight)
I
App
step out
I
App
stop
I
Asp
strike
M
Psy
strike down
I
App
M+Pass
Cre
travel
I
Mot
turn up
I
App
walk out
I
Mot
welcome
M
Jud
take
A sallow youth with a mop of frizzy hair was squatting outside, smoking a cigarette. (C65) A great crowd of people were standing all around the Stone Figure… (N148a) But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, who was honored by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin. (A5:34) An argument started among the disciples as to which of them would be the greatest. (L9:46) A blonde wearing a minuscule lace apron over black underwear and stockings stepped into the spotlight. (C114) And a soon after that a very strange person stepped out from among the trees into the light of the lamppost. (N13b) Right then three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea stopped at the house where I was staying. (A11:11) …and terror struck those who saw them. (R11:11b) Shafts of delicious sunlight struck down on to the forest floor… (N119a) In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (L2:1) Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: ... (L14:25) For the moment then and unless any further evidence turns up, we must assume that she is telling the truth. (N51b) A few minutes later the Witch herself walked out on to the top of the hill. (N137a) Now when Jesus returned, a crowd welcomed him, for they were all expecting him. (L8:40)
First of all, let me comment on the most productive semantic verb classes that were identified in the Subtype 2 Pr-sentences. Expectedly, and in accordance with the preceding Subtype 1A, the Pr-verbs (altogether 93 verbs) in this area most frequently recruit from the semantic verb classes of the Verbs of Motion (21 occurrences) – both Verbs of Directed Motion (go up, come, enter) and Verbs of the Manner of Motion (inch, plane in, descend, skim by), the Verbs of Existence (14) and the Verbs of Appearance, Disappearance and Occurrence (13); these three categories make up 45% of all Pr-verbs in the Subtype 2 under discussion (48 items). Whereas the incidence of Verbs of Appearance was the highest category in the existential constructions with verb other than be, here, it is the category of the Verbs of Motion that overrides all the rest. For details on the classification of these three fundamental semantic verb classes, see the discussion of Subtype 1A above. Four other semantic verbs classes occur more than twice in this Subtype: Verbs of Creation and Transformation (5 items, such as create, do), the Verbs of Sending and Carrying (4 – bring, carry, hand, send), the Aspectual Verbs (3 – start, stop, and begin), and the Verbs 98
of the Change of Possession (find, give, seize). The remaining categories are represented by a low number of occurrences – Verbs of Killing (crucify), the Verbs of Perception (hear), the Verbs of Lingering and Rushing (rush), or Verbs of Judgement (greet, welcome). Most of the verbs mentioned here will be discussed in a greater detail below. From the point of view of surface syntax, most of the verbs detected are intransitive (46 items out of 93 total, i.e. 50%), the second place being taken by monotransitive verbs (26), typically found in passive constructions (see below), the third one occupied by copular verbs (2) and two occurrences of a ditransitive verb identified in the Subtype 2 (bring, give). Looking at the interface of the semantic verb classes on the one hand and the syntactic configurations in which the verbs occur, a number of remarkable patterns may be observed. The first one is represented by the verb classes that are used in the configuration M+Pass, i.e. a monotransitive verb used in the passive construction (altogether 13 items); such a verb actually ‘loses’ its transitivity and in this particular use becomes intransitive.73 Namely, the corpus features (within the Subtype 2) above all the Verbs of Sending and Carrying – see ex. (88), the Verbs of Creation and Transformation – exx (89)-(90), the Verbs of Appearance – ex. (91), and the Verbs of the Change of Possession – ex. (92). Cf.: (88) (89) (90) (91) (92)
Word has been sent that you are to meet him. (N81b) Just below them a dam had been built across this river. (N71) A new Eden is being created in the People’s Garden in Plotinus. (C155) Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you. (L2:11) No lie was found in their mouths. (R14:5)
Especially the Verbs of Creation and Transformation, i.e. the so-called verba efficiendi (verbs of production), in which the result of the action is a particular production (cf. Firbas 1992a: 62-63) appear to be typically used in passive constructions in Pr-sentences. In such configurations, the rhematic subject occupies the initial, preverbal position in the English sentence and thus invariably carries the highest degree of CD despite the usual end-focus principle. Semantically speaking, such sentences convey a meaning of a subject that is created in a certain way; the additional setting of the context is prototypically given by context-dependent units, such as prepositional phrases, or adverbial phrases (see examples (88) and (89) above). Ex. (89), owing to the initial thematic adverbial, could be interpreted / used without the discontinuity (Just below them a dam across this river had been built). The primary reason for the use of passive in these sentences is obviously the vagueness of the agent. It seems that the passive construction within Pr-Scale sentences enables certain detachment from the agent of the action and so allows for the grammatical subject to be highlighted. Another category sui generis – viz. M+Pass combined with a Verb of Perception – is exemplified by the following sentence in ex. (93a) (the sense verbs, if projected in the passive, also make it possible for a transitive verb to operate in the Pr-sentences). It seems that the unexpressed agent of the action represents a relevant characteristic feature of such Pr-constructions (cf. Dušková 2008: 73): 73
The passives in Pr-sentences can be considered deep transitive verbs; their intransitivity nature is related to the rhematicity of the subject and their semantics: the passive forms of verba efficiendi present on the scene a phenomenon which has been created, the passive forms of the verbs of perception present a phenomenon via senses. In prototypical passives with an unexpressed agent the subject is typically thematic – the rheme is most often represented by the verb or adverbials.
99
(93a) A voice is heard in Ramah: … (M2:18) (93b) They heard a voice in Ramah: … In the passive constructions (93a), unlike active voice structures (see the model active transformation in 93b), the only obligatory element is the patient, which is construed as the subject of the sentence. Also Firbas (1992a: 48) sees sensory properties of verb’s semantics as vital here: “Let us note that it is in terms of visual and acoustic perception that the notions conveyed by the subjects are presented to the reader’s attention, and in this way induced to appear on the scene”. Semantically, in the passive constructions (unlike the active ones), the relationship between the subject and the predication is given unequivocally (Dušková et al. 1988: 254). Let me recall that even if the relation between the active and the passive can be ranked among cases of syntactic synonymy, in particular utterances they are functionally different (Dušková et al. 1988: 253; see also comments in Section 2.5.1 in the present study). The main difference is then the facultative presence of the agent in the passive constructions; in exx (88)-(93) above the agent is not expressed, as it seems to be irrelevant, redundant or even unknown (cf. Glaubaufová 2010: 41). It follows that in the passive configuration of sentence elements the patient (i.e. grammatical subject) occupies the preverbal position, while the optional agent / adverbial the postverbal position. As such, thanks to its specific linear arrangement of sentence elements, the passive construction can logically be a powerful tool within the functional sentence perspective, namely to achieve a shift in viewpoint. Biber, for example, maintains that since the passive “involves a restructuring of the clause”, it is not a simple variation in word order (Biber et al. 1999: 935). In his opinion, the passive form “demotes the agent of the verb, while giving topic status to the affected patient” (Biber et al. 1999: 477 qtd. in Glaubaufová 2010: 41). Hence, even though the subject in the passive constructions is typically thematic, in the interplay of FSP factors and especially the nature of determiners or quantifiers can reshuffle the distribution of the degrees of CD in favour of a rhematic subject see exx (81)(86a) again. Relevant to the topic – and to the present study – is also the static semantic load of the predicate. Although intransitivity seems to be one of the core syntactic characteristics of the Pr-sentences, even verb types patterning as D+Pass, i.e. a ditransitive verb in the passive construction, i.e. in an intransitive use, were found in the subtype under current investigation. Dušková (2008: 73) suggests that ditransitive verbs such as bring or hand are in their passive form disposed to Pr-function, saying that the goal of the action realised by indirect object can be understood as Setting, and the verb as Pr-function. Cf.: (93) (94) (95)
[When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me] All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me...” (M28:18) A sword was given to me. And a great number of people were brought to the Lord. (A11:24)
The examples (93)-(95) may obviously raise questions concerning the basic distributions of the degrees of CD. Potentially, the communicative units to me and to the Lord could be interpreted as Specifications and so the sentences would implement the Quality Scale; in the given contexts, these units are clearly context-dependent. It follows that both 100
the verbs – give and bring – due to their semantic load and syntactic valency can, however, perspective the sentences in both directions – i.e. in the sense of either presentation of a new phenomenon on the scene or ascribing a specification to the context dependent subject. Apart from the verb semantics, it is the subjects that tip the scales: both are context independent and carry the highest degree of CD; thus, the sentences are perspectived towards these subjects. Consequently, despite being unusually ditransitive, sentences (93)-(95) can be readily labelled as those implementing the Presentation Scale. A few words should be said about sentences of Subtype 2 that do not convey the meaning directly, but through more complex structure and often with a metaphorical content. Verbs in such sentences are typically monotransitive (occasionally ditransitive) and thus require a more complex modification in the right part of the sentence. Cf. the following examples extracted from the corpus: (96) On Sunday a huge procession of Garden supporters coiled its way through the streets of Plotinus. (C160) (97) A blonde wearing a minuscule lace apron over black underwear and stockings stepped into the spotlight. (C114) (98) (As soon as he got inside, the communication door opposite opened) and Alice Slide inched her way apologetically into the room, clutching a large stack of files. (C213a) (99) […then, while his hindquarters were still obviously stone, the lion shook his mane and all the heavy, stone folds rippled into living hair. Then he opened a great red mouth, warm and living, and gave a prodigious yawn.] And now his hind legs had come to life. (N165) The figurative, metaphorical expressions inch sb.’s way, coiled sb.’s way, step into the spotlight, or come to life definitely express the existence or appearance on the scene, even if in an implicit way. They all usher the subjects onto the scene, presenting thus new, contextindependent phenomena, yet the degree of implicitness differs. Whereas in exx (96) and (97) the immediately relevant context along with the grammatical signals available, viz. the indefinite articles, clearly perspective the sentences towards their subjects presented, in the two other sentences (98 and 99) there may arise doubts as to the distribution of the degrees of CD. At first sight, the sentences may be theoretically interpreted as those implementing the Q-Scale, perspectivising the flow of information away from the subject. The immediately relevant context (given also in the parentheses) makes it clear that the subjects represent the most dynamic pieces of information and that the communication is perspectived towards them. In ex. (98) the person (Alice Slide) is appearing for the very first time and the predicate, though untypically complex, actually presents her on the scene. True enough, the sentence also features a set of specifying postverbal elements; these, in my opinion, do bring contextindependent information but are not successful competitors of the subject. Ex. (98) is then an example of a sentence that implements an Extended Presentation Scale. Analogously, sentence (99), in the given context, presents a new phenomenon on the scene; the reader is following an enumeration of a series of magical changes on an animal’s body that was turned into stone – its individual parts are now coming to life again one by one. The final step is his hind legs – these actually appear alive on the scene; at the same time this element is evidently made context-independent owing to its obviously contrastive character (see e.g. Firbas 1980: 131; 1985: 36-38; 1992b: 171, 173-174 and 1995a:22). 101
As has been noted many times above, what seems to be substantial in the appropriate FSP interpretation of individual sentences is the static semantic of the Pr-verb, both in the surface and the deep structure sense. The point is that syntax as such operates at the surface level; only when seen at the interface with static semantics, a syntactic analysis may reveal essential processes in the language. To illustrate, ex. (96) will be used once again (all the other three figurative predicates from exx (97)-(99) may be interpreted in an analogous way, though): (96) On Sunday a huge procession of Garden supporters coiled its way through the streets of Plotinus. (C160) In its surface syntax structure, the predicative verb is monotransitive; nevertheless, it can be readily claimed, I believe, that in its deep structure, i.e. semantically, it behaves as an intransitive verb. In other words, the static semantic load of the predicate coil its way in fact expresses analytically, i.e. in a complex, itemised way, what can be conveyed by a single-word verb on other occasions – such as by means of (prepositional) verbs meander / thread / tunnel. On top of that, the Czech – synthetic – equivalent, for instance, could also express the same semantics by a single-word verb, e.g. V neděli se ulicemi Plotinu vinulo nespočetné procesí zastánců parku74 (translated by MA). To complete the mosaic, let me compare another example of a very similar nature, in which the predication is construed as a metaphor and in its deep structure understanding actually displays an intransitive verb: (As soon as he got inside, the communication door opposite opened) and Alice Slide inched her way apologetically into the room, clutching a large stack of files. (C213a) Finally, it should be admitted that some of the Pr-sentences detected in the corpus within the syntactic semantic Subtype 2 may be labelled as borderline cases. In other words, such sentences do not unequivocally represent the Presentation Scale, above all due to the character of the transitional verb they contain; as has been emphasised several times above, it is the transitional verb that determines the direction (perspective) in which the sentence is arranged – towards or away from the subject. Let me recall that a verb that is capable of operating within the Presentation Scale and so expresses existence or appearance of a context-independent phenomenon on the scene, must do so with explicitness or sufficient implicitness. It follows that some of the categories commented on in this subchapter principally fall into the category of explicit (or at least sufficiently implicit) expression of existence of appearance (prototypically, Verbs of Existence, of Appearance, but also the Verbs of Motion, of Creation, of Sending, of Perception, of Lingering and Rushing, Aspectual Verbs and the Verbs of the Change of Possession). The remaining categories represented by a much lower number of occurrences, such as Verbs of Killing (crucify) or Verbs of Judgement (greet, welcome), appear to be dubious in the same sense. Let me attempt at throwing some more light on such borderline cases. First of all, compare the following examples (rhematic elements are in bold): (100a) [A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho,] and robbers attacked him. (L10:30; NIV)
74
Admittedly, also the Czech language may manifest a multiword (analytic) equivalent here: V neděli si ulicemi Plotinu razilo cestu nespočetné procesí zastánců parku.
102
(100b) [A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho,] when he fell into the hands of robbers. (L10:30; CET) (100c) [A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho,] and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him halfdead. (L10:30; KJV) (100d) [Jeden člověk šel z Jeruzaléma do Jericha] a padl do rukou lupičů; [ti jej obrali, zbili a nechali tam ležet polomrtvého.] (Lukáš 10:30; ČEP) (100e) ανθρωπος τις κατεβαινεν απο ιερουσαλημ εις ιεριχω και man certain was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and λησταις περιεπεσεν οι και εκδυσαντες αυτον… robbers (he) encountered which also having stripped him…
(Lk10:30; Greek Interlinear Translation – Textus Receptus)
Let me begin the discussion on borderline cases with the corpus ex. (100a), the predicate of which is, at least at first sight, potentially capable of operating in both Presentation and Quality Scales (not to mention the fact that it is typically primarily connected, due to its semantic load, with the Quality Scale). In other words its presentational potential seems to be reduced almost to zero. The point is that the transitional verb in ex. (94a) (attack) does not clearly fall into the category of the verbs explicitly expressing existence or appearance on the scene. Even its implicit expression appears to be somewhat dubious; attack is a prototypically ditransitive verb, requiring obligatory complementation on the right side. Furthermore it is not used here in its passive form. So what is the real distribution of the degrees of CD over individual communicative units? Let me consider the three basic FSP factors governing written discourse: linear modification, context and semantics. Starting with those features that are unequivocal, it can be stated that the sentence subject (Robbers) is obviously context-independent, which is also supported by the use of the zero determiner; as a result, the subject does not seem to have any successful competitor in terms of the degree of CD. Here are the facts that potentially operate in the opposite direction (i.e. towards the Q-Scale interpretation, in which the verb would be rhematic, fulfilling the DSF of a Quality): the subject occupies the initial position of the sentence, i.e. does not follow the prototypical end-focus principle. To sum up, the only remaining decisive variable is the sentence semantics, above all the static semantic load of the verb. Once again, the principal question maybe formulated as follows: is the verb attack capable of expressing existence or appearance on the scene at least in an implicit way? (As has been stated above, the explicit expression is out of question here.) Research has indicated that a vital role in such an interpretation is played by the very semantics of the verb, namely its capacity to manifest a traceable link to the subject, i.e. the relative semantic affinity of the subject and the transitional verb. In other words, it appears that the more the verb is semantically related to the sentence subject, the more probably the sentence implements the Presentation Scale. It follows that in the particular example under discussion (100a), the verb attack can be seen as that of expressing typical activity that robbers do. To put it differently, under the circumstances, attacking somebody represents a natural phenomenon accompanying the subject (robbers). Theoretically speaking, similar could be said for instance about verbs rob, beat and the like. To conclude, the semantic link between the verb and the subject has been found transparent enough to make it possible for the verb to present the subject on 103
the scene, i.e. to convey existence or appearance on the scene in an implicit way. Since communicative prominence is given to the left side from the verb, the communicative value of the verb modification on the right is then logically reduced to being thematic (him). At this point, it should be noted that the interpretation given above can also be indirectly corroborated by different English translations of the New Testament, viz. the Contemporary English Translation (CET; see ex. 100b) and the traditional, authorised King James Version (KJV; ex. 100c). In them, the communicative units containing the notion of robbers/thieves are clearly rhematic; these versions as well as all other thirteen English versions scanned75, nevertheless, unlike sentence (100a), invariably implement the Q-Scale, in which into the hands of robbers and other corresponding units perform the DSF of Specification. Analogously, also the Czech translation follows the same pattern (100d). The obvious rhematicity may also be additionally corroborated by the Koine Greek original text, given in ex. (100e) according to the Textus Receptus version; in it, though fronted thanks to Greek word order principles76, the rhematic robbers item operates clearly within the Q-Scale, being a Specification again. In this respect, the presentational character of Lk10:30 has been traced in the NIV version only.77 To complete the picture, let me briefly comment on another sentence, in which robbers play an important role in the narration. In ex. (101), a seemingly analogous syntactic semantic structure may be observed (in the square brackets, the necessary verbal context is given as usual): (101) [ When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots. And sitting down, they kept watch over him there. Above his head they placed the written charge against him: this is Jesus, the King of the Jews.] Two robbers were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. (M27:35-38) Although the context, the functional perspective of the sentence and the main participants of the act of communication seem to be identical, the syntactic makeup of the sentence is different. Robbers form the rhematic layer of the sentence again, but this time the interpretation is, I believe, unambiguous: the difference lies in the use of the passive construction. As has been stated above, the M+Pass configuration represents a fairly common pattern that occurs in Pr-Scale sentences. The point is that owing to its passive use, a transitive
75 76
77
http://biblos.com/ Old Greek had a more or less free word order and so an element found towards the end of a sentence is characterized by a higher degree of communicative dynamism (Wallace 1996; Cross 2005). In the Greek original examples presented throughout the thesis, also the English literal translation is adduced (individual units in English are translated word for word below the Greek expressions). Incidentally, the TFA theory of information processing applies in such ambiguous cases a somewhat different, yet functional approach; the presentational vs. qualitative interpretation of the context-independent subject is tightly related to the ‘delimitation’ features (determination and/or quantification) of the agent: (i) if the NP displays a nature of indeterminacy or specification, we deal with existence/appearance on the scene, whereas the adverbial is a Setting – V Karpatech žijí MEDVĚDI. V parcích by měly kvést RůŽE.; (ii) if the NP features an agent that embodies a specific subgroup of a certain class characterised by a certain quality, we do not deal with existence/appearance, but the adverbial of time or place fulfils the DSF of a Specification – Růže by měly růst pod oknem. Matka chce bydlet v Praze. (For details see especially Benešová 1973: 193-195 and Sgall et al. 1980: 40ff). Nevertheless, to my understanding, such a distinction appears to be relatively simplistic as it does not take into consideration the decisive role of the semantic links between the agentive subject and the transitional verb. It can be applied to a great number of dubious cases; however, it fails to work above all in the sentences where an obvious degree of semantic affinity that gives rise to presentational potential may be observed.
104
verb is, as it were, capable of presenting a new Phenomenon on the scene. Seen from the point of view of static semantics, however, a question may arise concerning this sentence as to the capacity of the verb crucify to express the existence or appearance. Drawing on Firbasian concept of ‘disappearance’, it can be argued that such a verb constitutes a sort of functional opposite of verba efficiendi dealt with in greater detail earlier in the present treatise (cf. verbs such as make, build, create, produce). One deals, in other words, with a negative semantic polarity of the identical idea – instead of creation there is the phenomenon of destruction or annihilation.78 Time has come to consider also another set of somewhat borderline cases falling into the category under examination (Subtype 2), in which the distribution of the degrees of CD is not unambiguous. Before the discussion proper is carried out, let me compare the following set of examples: (102) [ A man in the crowd called out, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child.] A spirit seizes him [and he suddenly screams; it throws him into convulsions so that he foams at the mouth. It scarcely ever leaves him and is destroying him.] (L9:39) (103) [As he entered the Department Office to check his mailbox,] Mabel Lee greeted him. (C183b) (104) Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. (R19:6) (105) [Just out of sight to his left a pall of smoke hung over the great military and industrial port of Ashland,] and to his right the oil refineries of St Gabriel fumed into the limpid air. (C56) (106) And a great number of people believed (and turned to the Lord). (A11:21b) (107) And a great number of people were brought to the Lord. (A11:24) (108) [Now when Jesus returned], a crowd welcomed him, [for they were all expecting him]. (L8:40) Apparently, what one may observe in exx (102)-(108) is a remarkable set of verbs that cannot easily be labelled as those expressing existence or appearance on the scene with explicitness: seize, greet, reign, fume, believe, etc. Do they do so at least with sufficient implicitness? The point is that they (i) do not recruit from the prototypical semantic verb categories, such as Verbs of Appearance, Existence, Motion, Change of Possession, Sending and Carrying and the like (see above), and, (ii) to make the situation even less transparent, are monotransitive. Does their static semantic load contain something that enables the verbs to present new phenomena on the scene? To answer these questions, let me examine the sentences given above separately, commenting on their syntactic semantic structure. By means of functional comparison, I believe I may be able to arrive at a (tentative) conclusion in terms of whether such sentences implement the Quality or Presentation Scale. It follows that if these sentences do employ the Pr-Scale, the verb characteristics must be justifiable as those conveying existence or appearance on the scene; in other words, the presentation capacity of the verb must be evidently traceable in its static semantics. So is there a common denominator of the semantics of individual transitional verbs used in exx (96)-(102) that would manifest such a presentation capacity?
78
The concept of disappearance will be thoroughly discussed later in the thesis, viz. Section 5.2.4 below.
105
To begin with, let me have a look at ex. (102) and its verbal and situational context. In it, a boy’s spiritual obsession is described by his father: A spirit seizes him (and he suddenly screams). Taking into consideration the basic FSP factors, the following may be said: even if the semantics of the clause is not at first sight transparent, I may claim that the element A spirit is definitely entirely context-independent (which is also signalled by the indefinite article), whereas him is clearly context-dependent. Obviously, the linear modification of the clause, going actually contrary to the end-focus principle, accumulates the most dynamic portion of information, the high point of the message, at the very beginning of the distributional field. But what about the verb? As has been noted above, it does not clearly present the spirit on the scene. In fact, it can – perhaps much more easily and more frequently – specify what the agent does, implementing thus the Quality Scale. However, what can be said about seize is that it is semantically related to the subject of the clause – A spirit; “seizing” somebody, similarly as descending, obsessing, attacking, seems to be an innate action done by a spirit. Ex. (104) displays a similar case of such affinity; “reigning” can be regarded as the most natural way of existence of a ruler, i.e. God in this sentence. Furthermore, in the context of the spiritual battle between good and bad as described in the last chapters of the Book of Revelation it is definitely the identity of the winner and the result of the spiritual warfare that is highlighted. To put it differently, the Lord God Almighty is not here a Bearer of Quality about whom is said that he reigns, but through the innate and self-contained act of reigning he is presented as the victor. It follows that the verbs seize and reign are capable of expressing existence or appearance on the scene thanks to their semantic content, which is so tightly related to the semantics of the subject. An analogous comment may be readily made about another sentence from the set above – in ex. (105) the oil refineries of St Gabriel are again context-independent in the immediately relevant context, while the verb phrase along with the adverbial modification fumed / into the limpid air represent a semantically associated action, directly connected with the subject. In other words, the context-independent subject is presented by means of a verb that expresses an inherent quality of the subject. Incidentally, in a view of Levin’s classification of the verb semantic classes, I see such verbs (or rather the semantic link between the verb and its subject) logically as those expressing existence on the scene in a specific way, namely Verbs of Entity-Specific Modes of Being (such as bloom, blow, foam, rust, wither, etc.) and Verbs of Spatial Configuration (such as creep, drift, dance, float, hover, tremble, undulate, etc.). Tightly related to such cases of semantic affinity between the verb and the subject is also ex. (106) in the set above. It is taken from the New Testament text: And a great number of people believed. Some aspects of similar cases were partly but marginally discussed in connection to the syntactic semantic typology of Pr-sentences in Chapter 4. I described the use of verb such as believe in the religious context as cases of generic presentation. The given type of context proved to be a vital factor of FSP interpretation as the semantic link between the verb semantics and the subject make it possible for the verb to present a context dependent phenomenon on the scene. Let me recall that by generic presentation I understand the use of a contextually bound, genre-related transitional verb that is untypically capable of presenting a Phenomenon on the scene. The point is that the verb believe in ex. (106) would – outside the religious context – almost invariably perform the dynamic semantic function of a Quality. As a result, I have to do with another case of apparent semantic affinity between the verb and the subject and so a sentence that implements the Presentation Scale. Indirect evidence of such an interpretation may also be seen in a structurally analogous sentence appearing in the same 106
passage (A11:24): And a great number of people were brought to the Lord, in which, thanks to the verb semantics and the use of passive, there is no doubt concerning the presentational interpretation (my understanding is actually in agreement with Hatcher’s observations; see Hatcher 1956 qtd. in Firbas 1992a: 63). Let me conclude the present discussion on the sentences in which the capacity of the transitional verb to express existence or appearance on the scene with explicitness or sufficient implicitness is somewhat blurred or at least borderline by considering exx (103) and (108): [As he entered the Department Office to check his mailbox,] Mabel Lee greeted him and [Now when Jesus returned], a crowd welcomed him, for they were all expecting him. At first glance, the two sentences appear to implement the so-called Combined variant of the Quality Scale; evidently, a new, context-independent participant of communication is introduced on the scene and, at the same time, something is said about the subject. Only the semantic load of the verb can tip the scales and reveal the right perspective of the sentence then; the point is that while the Extended variant of Pr-Scale (Set – Ph – Pr – Sp) also displays the Pr-verb, in the Combined Scale a Specification is ascribed to the Phenomenon, which becomes the bearer of Quality, but the Pr-verb is elliptical (cf. Set – Ph – B – Sp). In the given context of ex. (103) (the main character returning to the office and meeting an entirely new person), both interpretations seem possible. Nevertheless, I dare claim that it is again obvious generic presentation in the given context that makes me feel inclined towards the presentational interpretation. When people meet a new person they greet one another; this fact is so natural in such situations that the verb semantics appears to be stripped of its semantic qualitative load, being reduced to that of presentation / appearance / existence. On top of that, also intonation potentially exerted on the sentence – the nuclear stress obviously falls on the subject – testifies of the presentational interpretation. Analogously, in ex. (108), the natural, usual act of welcoming is taking place upon the arrival of Jesus among the crowds that were eagerly waiting for him. Thus, welcome can serve as a Pr-verb, and the sentence may implement the Pr-Scale even though in other contexts this verb typically operates in Quality Scale sentences, ascribing a Specification to a Bearer of Quality. Having discussed the sentences that display borderline characteristics of the Presentation Scale, I believe that it is possible to claim that the common denominator of such cases is the very semantics of the verb. To be more specific, it is the presence or absence of the semantic link between the verb and the subject, or the context-bound generic presentation respectively that proved to be vital criteria in the area of dynamic semantic scales. It appears that the more the verb’s static semantics is linked to the subject or the specific context, the more probably the verb can operate in the Pr-Scale, even if under normal circumstances that would not be the case. If the opposite is true, i.e. the transitional verb is semantically more linked to its right modification, the sentence implements the Quality Scale. Cf. the following two sentences below (102a and 104a) that were made artificially to form functional counterparts to exx (102) and (104) given and discussed above. Note that in the examples below the framed areas suggest the primary semantic link; the transitional verb is underlined and the rhematic element in bold as usual): (102) A spirit seizes him. (Pr-Scale) (102a) This time the spirit seized Mr. Humphrey. (Q-Scale) (104) Our Lord God Almighty reigns. (Pr-Scale) (104a) Our Lord reigns in all realms on the earth and in heaven. (Q-Scale) 107
In exx (102a) and (104a), the verb is obviously – as far as its static semantics is concerned – associated more with the object/adverbial modification on the left and the sentences implement the Quality Scale. In ex. (102a), for instance, the victim of seizure is evidently more prominent than the context-dependent subject and is also semantically associated with the verb semantics; similarly, the verb reign in ex. (104a) seems to be semantically linked primarily to the dominion of reign, while the subject is clearly contextdependent. On top of that, the right modification is, as a rule, syntactically heavier in Q-scale sentences. In other words, the direction as well as the weight of the verb modification plays a vital role in sentence perspective and its interpretation. Cf. several sentences, namely exx (109)-(118) from the corpus that, in my opinion, invariably implement the Quality Scale (strictly speaking, its Combined variant which features both a context-independent subject, i.e. Phenomenon-Bearer and Specification): (109) A tiled floor and a small oil lamp burning to prevent the water pipes from freezing give the whole place a slightly spooky ecclesiastical atmosphere. (C134) (110) A small landslip on Pythagoras Avenue has made a house unsafe for habitation. (C155) (111) A noon rally and march yesterday to protect the University’s seizure of the People’s Garden erupted into a brutal battle between the police and demonstrators lasting all afternoon. (C159) (112) An extraordinary meeting of the Rummidge University Students’ Union, attended by over 1000 students, voted today to endorse and continue the “sit-in” already initiated by 150 left-wing extremists yesterday evening. (C159)79 (113) A small, queerly shaped package addressed in Hillary’s handwriting gave him a moment of queasiness until he saw that it had come by surface mail and had been posted months ago. (C184) (114) On the street side of the plaza, a fundamentalist preacher and a group of chanting Buddhist monks vied with each other for the souls of those less committed to the things of this world. (C193) (115) But unfortunately a cop on traffic duty had observed the manner of Morris’s arrival. (C209) (116) Now Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was going on. (L9:7) (117) [As Jesus was saying these things], a woman in the crowd called out, “Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you.” (L11:27) (118) [When Jesus had finished speaking], a Pharisee invited him to eat with him. (L11:37) At first sight the sentences above are of a seemingly identical character with the borderline cases discussed earlier – they contain a context-independent subject in preverbal position; nevertheless, there is a set of significant distinctive features that lead me to the qualitative interpretation; these can be summarised as follows: - relatively heavy, more detailed modification on the right (the preverbal section can be relatively developed, too); in other words, ‘something new is said about the subject’ (cf. e.g. Mathesius 1975; Firbas 1992)
79
Examples (110)-(112) represent a somewhat special case as these are extracted from a section of the novel which is written in the form of a series of paper articles; hence their journalistic style.
108
- presence of specifying information in post-verbal position, i.e. something is said about the subject - a semantic link between the verb and its right modification (V-O, V-C), not with its subject - the verbs are monotransitive and ditransitive, not intransitive - the verbs do not have the capacity to express existence or appearance on the scene, at least in an explicit way; they also seem to carry a more general meaning - S-V semantic affinity is typically not observed I believe that these syntactic semantic features enumerated above can throw some light on the fuzzy borderline between the verbs that can potentially serve in Presentation Scale sentences and those that tend to mediate some specifying information about the subject. Namely, these are transitivity, character of modification, static semantics of the verb (capacity to express existence/appearance), the ‘direction’ of the primary semantic link, and presence/absence of S-V semantic affinity. Let me also recall that numerous English verbs are, at least potentially and under favourable conditions, capable of operating in both Pr- and Q-Scales. Some, on the contrary, never occur in the Pr-Scale sentences since their capacity to express existence/appearance on the scene seems to be reduced to zero, above all due to their semantic content, which is too focused and specific to be able to present a new Phenomenon on the scene. To sum up, the Pr-verbs falling into the Subtype 2 are most often intransitive Verbs of Appearance, of Existence, of Motion, and, to a certain degree, Verbs of Change of Possession, of Sending and Carrying, and the like. The relatively frequent incidence of the semantic subclass of the Verbs of Entity-Specific Modes of Being should be pointed out as it evidences the significance of the semantic link between the Pr-verb and the subject. In the case of verb phrases construed as metaphorical predications or passive constructions (such as verba sentiendi), the verbs can also be mono- or even ditransitive. Furthermore it was shown that even in the case of the mono- or ditransitive verbs transitivity may be actually regarded as result of the metaphorical construction manifesting itself at the surface level. In its deep structure, i.e. semantically, it behaves as an intransitive verb. In other words, the tendency towards intransitivity seems to be – at least latently – present in most syntactic semantic Prverb structures.
5.2.3 Subtype 2A – Rhematic subject in preverbal position with S-V affinity Whereas the previous subchapter dealt with the phenomenon of semantic affinity between the Pr-verb and the clause subject only marginally, above all to throw light on borderline or dubious cases of Pr-Scale sentences, the present subchapter focuses on Prsentences that manifest such an affinity in an overt way. Before sentences belonging to Subtype 2A are discussed in detail, an exhaustive list will be presented.
109
Type
Syntax Semantics
appear (relig.)
I
blaze
I
blow
I
boil
I
bore
M
break in and steal
I
break out
I
buzz
I
chirp
I
circulate
I
clatter
I
come down
I
come up
I
converge
I
crow
I
destroy
M
encircle
M
envelope
M
explode
I
fall
I
Note /Example Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, App standing at the right side of the altar of incense. (L1:11) Before the throne, seven lamps were blazing. Emi (R4:5b) (The rain came down, the streams rose,) and Exi the winds blew...) (M7:25) The potatoes are boiling (and the kettle is ChS singing). (N74c) Cut A searing pain bored into his hand. (C84) ...and where thieves break in and steal. Des+Rem (M6:19b) On that day a great persecution broke out App against the church at Jerusalem. (A8:1) Ani A bee buzzed across their path. (N120e) Close beside the path they were following, Ani a bird suddenly chirped from the branch of a tree. (N119d) Exi Another joint was circulating. (C96b) A National Guard helicopter clattered over the Emi Euphoric State campus yesterday, spraying tear gas over some 700 students. (C162) The rain came down, (the streams rose, and the App winds blew...) (M7:25) But when the sun came up, (the plants were App scorched). (M13:6) Three images of himself converged in the App triptych of mirrors over Desirée‘s dressingtable. (C175) I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, Ani you will deny three times that you know me. (L22:34) Do not store up for yourselves treasures on Des earth, where moth and rust destroy. (M6:19a) A rainbow, resembling an emerald, encircled Exi the throne. (R4:3) While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, (and a voice from the cloud Exi said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased....”) (M17:5) A bomb exploded in the men‘s john on the ChS fourth floor. (C121b) A segment of light from the corridor fell across Mot the floor. (C83d)
110
fasten (itself on sb.’s hand)
D
Att
feed
I
Ing
flame
I
Emi
flash
I
Emi
flow give (a chuckling sound)
I
Emi
M
ChP
hang
I
Exi
honk and hum
I
Emi
hover
I
Exi
intervene
I
Pre
lift sb.’s hand (in salute) meet (sb’s eyes)
I
Put
M
Soc
peer
I
Per
percolate
I
Exi
M+Pass
Com
race along
I
Mot
rainbow
I
Emi
ring out
I
Emi
rise
I
Mot
seize
M
ChP
shine
I
Emi
preach
(Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire,) a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. (A28:3) A large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside. (L8:32) Desirée‘s red plaits flamed against the saffron pillows of the huge bed. (C173) As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. (A9:3) ... and wine flowed. (N179d) In the wood behind them a bird gave a chuckling sound. (N157a) Just out of sight to his left a pall of smoke hung over the great military and industrial port of Ashland… (C56b) (The Avenue was getting busy.) Cars honked and hummed in the road. (C117a) A ghost of a smile hovered on Mrs Swallow‘s lips. (C86c) …and then the campus police intervene (and occasionally the Plotinus police forces too…) (C132f) …and a solitary security man in his shelter lifted a lazy hand in salute. (C181d) There a beautiful sight met their eyes. (N127a) The face of Melanie Byrd peered apprehensively through the aperture. (C94a) …through which a delicious aroma of bacon and coffee now began to percolate from the kitchen below. (C205b) Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it. (L16:16) Down on the ever-moving Shoreline Freeway, the cars and trucks raced along like Dinky toys. (C170a) The spume of rotating water sprinklers rainbowed in the sun… (C181c) At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him! (M25:6a) (The rain came down), the streams rose, (and the winds blew...) (M7:25) And great fear seized all who heard what had happened. (A5:5) ...and though the moon was shining many of them were carrying torches. (N148b) 111
sing
I
Emi
sing (a hymn)
M
Emi
spring up
I
Mot
steam
I
Emi
strike
M
Con
sweep down
I
Mot
swirl
I
Exi
swoop down
I
Mot
throw (a pool of violet light)
M
Thr
triumph
I
Exi?
wake (the silence)
M
ChS
(The potatoes are boiling) and the kettle is singing. (N74c) On the screen a lot of nuns, photographed from behind, were singing a hymn. (C91a) A light breeze sprang up, which scattered drops of moisture from the swaying branches and carried cool, delicious scents against the faces of the travellers. (N120d) Two cups steamed on the bedside table. (C230) Then a famine struck all Egypt and Canaan, bringing great suffering. (A7:11) Before very long, a wind of hurricane force, called the “northeaster,” swept down from the island. (A27:14) Cloud swirls round Philip Swallow‘s plane. (C53c) The first helicopter of the day swooped down upon the Euphoric State campus. (C171c) A spotlight threw a pool of violet light on to the stage. (C112) (“Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?”...) “See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. (He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”) (R5:5) And once more Peter said nothing, for at that moment a strange noise woke the silence suddenly. (N128)
As usual, let me first consider the verbs operating the Pr-sentences falling into the Subtype 2A (rhematic preverbal subject with S-V affinity) from the point of view of syntax. The list contains 51 verbs that manifest such affinity of the subject and the transitional verb, out of which 39 are used as transitive, 12 as monotransitive, and one ditransitive. The verbs occurring in their monotransitive use are, analogously to the preceding subtypes, often construed as metaphors; the figurative content of the monotransitive structures is observed e.g. in the following verb phrases: throw a pool of light, and meet sb.’s eyes. The corpus also contains non-figurative transitive constructions such as give a chuckling sound, lift sb.’s hand in salute, sing a hymn, encircle (the throne), envelope (them) and fasten itself on sb.’s hand, which represent verbo-nominal structures, SVO or SVOA patterns respectively; these will be commented on in detail below when their semantics is discussed. Only one occurrence of M+Pass construction was detected (is being preached). Looking at the chart, it may be concluded that the primary valency feature of the Pr-verb found in Subtype 2A is intransitivity; as has been noted above in Section 5.2.2, the monotransitive structures may also be – seen form the viewpoint of their deep structure – interpreted as intransitive. This approach can be corroborated by intransitive functional equivalents of the transitive structures: throw a pool of light ~ shine, meet sb.’s eyes ~ appear, give a chuckling sound ~ chuckle, fasten itself on sb.’s hand ~ sting / bite. 112
As to the verb modification of the Pr-verbs within Subtype 2A, it should be mentioned that typically, in case of intransitive verbs the postverbal modification is very limited, usually featuring a spatial adverbial, both context-dependent and context-independent (exx 119 and 120). In case of the verbs used monotransitively the complementation of the verb is logically realised as direct object (exx 121 and 122): (119) (120) (121) (122)
A ghost of a smile hovered on Mrs Swallow’s lips. (C86c) Two cups steamed on the bedside table. (C230) And great fear seized all who heard what had happened. (A5:5) Then a famine struck all Egypt and Canaan, bringing great suffering. (A7:11)
Ex. (122) represents, at the same time, an example of the sentence implementing the Extended Pr-Scale, in which the Specification is construed as an -ing clause. Occasionally, the spatial / temporal adverbial is fronted such as in exx (123) and (124): (123) In the wood behind them a bird gave a chuckling sound. (N157a) (124) Before very long, a wind of hurricane force, called the “northeaster”, swept down from the island. (A27:14) In the corpus, two special syntactic semantic structures were identified, viz. peculiar pair co-ordinated verb groupings (sequences of co-ordinate predications): break in and steal and honk and hum. Cf.: (125) [Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy] and where thieves break in and steal. (M6:19b) (126) [The Avenue was getting busy.] Cars honked and hummed in the road. (C117a) Such constructions – usually referred to as verbal hendiadys80 – actually come under the category of pseudo-coordination (Quirk et al. 1985: 978-979) as they may be regarded as single functional units even if their syntactic surface structure comprises two co-ordinate items (see e.g. Hopper 2002: 146-149; Tárnyiková 2007: 106-107; Burchfield 1996: 245). Hendiadys is a traditional figure of speech used for emphasis attested by many classical references, such as the Bible and Shakespeare (cf. Wallace 1996: 276-277). True hendiadys are symmetrical in form (two co-ordinate elements), but non-symmetrical in functional hierarchy (hence pseudo-coordination) (Tárnyiková 2007: 108). Tárnyiková (2007: 106), giving a number of analogous examples such as try and come, go ahead and think or start and create, understands hendiadys as a scalar notion, in which “the first predicate is interpreted as being in a satellite relationship to the second element, understood as its nucleus” (ibid.). It follows that two syntactic constituents are capable of conveying the hendiadys meaning only on the provision that they appear together in one syntactically and semantically homogeneous unit. In this respect, in my opinion, the two examples extracted from the corpus – (125) and (126) above – may be seen as borderline, definitely not the core representatives of the phenomenon. It may be argued that they do semantically intensify the meaning conveyed (e.g. 80
As Tárnyiková (2007: 107) clarifies exploiting Hopper’s (2002: 146) definition, the latinised term hendiadys (from Greek hen dia duoin ‘one by means of two’) “names a figure of medieval rhetoric in which a semantic modifier-head complex is presented as a coordinated compound. In it, a single conceptual idea is realized by two distinct constituents.”
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honked and hummed is more emphatic then mere honked, not to speak of the obvious effect of alliteration etc.), but they achieve such an intensification rather by means of synonymous parallelism than through crystal-clear use of hendiadys in terms of their pseudo-co-ordinate nature (for details on the intensifying use of coordination see Quirk et al. 1985: 980). Let me support the idea of hendiadys being suitable tools of presenting subject on the scene in the deep sense of a single Pr-verb by bringing several examples from Subtype 2 (rhematic preverbal subject): (127) [While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house], many tax collectors and “sinners” came and ate with him and his disciples. (M9:10) (128) While he was saying this, a ruler came and knelt before him [and said, “My daughter has just died…] (M9:18a) It seems that exx (127)-(128) fulfil the idea of syntactically symmetrical yet functionally asymmetrical character of hendiadys more precisely than the two preceding ones. Interestingly, all these four examples of hendiadys detected in the research corpus come from the Gospel of Matthew, i.e. the religious, New Testament narrative since Hopper maintains that hendiadys is primarily used as a device “of the spoken (colloquial if not highly colloquial) mode of language use” (Hopper 2002: 148ff). Generally speaking, pseudo-coordination of the try and come pattern tends to be used in informal style; Quirk et al., for instance, claim that I’ll try and come tomorrow is “roughly equivalent to I’ll try to come tomorrow, but is more informal in style” (Quirk et al. 1985: 978). In contrast to their observations, some of my hendiadys examples come from the highly literary style of the New Testament. It is only fair to state that Hopper (ibid.) also hastens to add, “their existence is also reflected in the simulation of conversational passages in the written mode (e.g. in the language of fiction…)”, which may be the case of ex. (130), which is found in the dialogic section of the narration. Not all constructions resembling the pseudo-coordinate hendiadys function in this manner (i.e. are not capable of presenting a context-independent subject on the scene), though. To illustrate, below are two examples in which the two neighbouring verbs, in my opinion, do not represent such pairs. As far as ex. (129) is concerned, the point is that one deals here with a compound sentence, in which the first clause is a Presentation one (came presents the context-independent subject on the scene), and the second clause implements the Quality Scale. In the case of ex. (130) one may probably speak of pseudo-coordination; however, the Quality Scale is implemented again (the pseudo-coordinated verb phrase performing the Q-function and your hand being the most dynamic element of the distributional field, performing the DSF of Specification): (129) T hen John’s disciples came // [and asked him, “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?”](M9:14) (130) But come and put your hand on her, [and she will live]. (M9:18b) To sum up the discussion on the function and form of hendiadys, let me recall that one deals with a syntactically symmetrical yet functionally asymmetrical grouping; at least on the level of FSP these sequences of co-ordinate predications functionally operate as single communicative units, i.e. as one transitional verb. Nevertheless, such an interpretation may evoke the following question: If such hendiadys-patterning Pr-verbs function as one unit, can 114
they express existence or appearance on the scene with explicitness or sufficient implicitness? Do such sentences at all implement the Presentation Scale? The point is that structures such as came and ate (127) would then lose their presentational capacity and their semantics would be reduced to that of ascribing a Quality to the Bearer; thus the sentence would implement the Quality Scale in its Combined variant. Compare, for instance, the modified interpretation of ex. (127). Cf.: (127a) [While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house], many tax collectors and “sinners” (Ph+B) came and ate (Pr+Q) with him and his disciples (Sp). (M9:10) In other words, to follow up with the Firbasian claim concerning the Combined Scale81 (Firbas 1992a: 67) that the distributional field “telescopes the Ph-function and the Bfunction into the subject”, I can readily say that, also the dynamic semantic functions of both Presentation and Quality are telescoped into the verb. Incidentally, Svoboda noticed that the Phenomenon presented actually coincides with the Bearer of Quality and is introduced on the scene in medias res, i.e. without any actual presentation (cf. Svoboda 2005: 226). Whether structures such as come and eat or break in and steal may perform the dynamic function of Presentation and thus express existence/appearance on the scene at least implicitly or whether they should be interpreted as two separate units and thus serve in two distributional fields remains an open question. Research has indicated that they are double-faced in this respect and display certain interpretative potentiality; also Tárnyiková admits that verbal hendiadys has “a midway status between co-ordination and subordination” and as such “presents a formidable problem for the analyst” (Tárnyiková 2007: 112). Provisionally, I am leaving the issue of the role of hendiadys and its operation in terms of FSP to further discussion. Having discussed the syntactic aspects, let me now pay attention to the other significant plan of the Pr-verbs identified as those occurring in Subtype 2A, i.e. in sentences containing a rhematic preverbal subject: their static (as well as dynamic) semantics. As usual, the analysis will be begun by looking at the semantic classes of the Pr-verbs. Whilst the most frequent verb semantic groups in Subtypes 1A and 2 were evidently represented by Verbs of Existence, Verbs of Appearance and Verbs of Motion, Subtype 2A displays a remarkably differing set. Out of the total of 51 verb items on the list, the highest occurrence is represented by Verbs of Emission (12 cases, i.e. 6%), whether these are verbs denoting sound emission (ring out, clatter, hum, honk, sing) or verbs conveying emission of visual effects related to light (shine, flash, blaze, rainbow, flame): (131) A National Guard helicopter clattered over the Euphoric State campus yesterday. (C162) (132) [The buzz of a helicopter told him he was now in the militarized zone, though you wouldn’t otherwise have guessed that there was any trouble at the University on this side of the campus, he thought, as he steered the car through the broad entrance on the West perimeter, past lawns and shrubberies] where the spume of rotating water sprinklers rainbowed in the sun. (C181c)
81
It should be noted that although Firbas (1992a, 1995) consistently uses the expression Combined scale, the function of such sentences has been recently understood as a functional variant of the Quality Scale (Chamonikolasová & Adam 2005, Dušková 2008: 73-74).
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(133) At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!…’ (M25:6a) (134) [As he neared Damascus on his journey], suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. (A9:3) Levin defines the semantic class of the Verbs of Emission as that involving “the emission of a stimulus or substance that is particular to some entity”, adding, “consequently, these verbs take a very limited range of subjects” (Levin 1993: 233). Incidentally, such delimitation appears to be in concord with my observations concerning the semantic affinity operation between the verb (predication) and the subject – here, for instance, a helicopter clatters, or a light from heaven flashes. In this sense, verbs in this class describe intrinsic properties of their subjects, resembling the verbs of entity-specific modes of being (cf. Levin 1993: 250; Dušková 1999). This aspect of the Pr-verbs of Subtype 2A will be treated in detail later in this subchapter. Also the following semantic verb class is of a strikingly similar nature – the Pr-verbs buzz, chirp, crow; these verbs describe the sound characteristic of a particular animal species. Though classified by Levin as Verbs of Sound Made by Animals, they actually functionally coincide with Verbs of Emission or even Verbs of Manner of Speaking if used in the framework of human sound (cf. Levin 1993: 212; 204-206). The common denominator is the production of sound, the difference being the faunal or inanimate source (see exx (135)-(137) below). (135) A bee buzzed across their path. (N120e) (136) Close beside the path they were following, a bird suddenly chirped from the branch of a tree. (N119d) (137) I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me. (L22:34) Altogether, the corpus of Subtype 2A displays 15 cases (8%) in which some emission of acoustic or a visual effect may be observed. In accord with the previous syntactic subtypes (1A and 2), also Subtype 2A manifests a number of Pr-verbs that fall into the category of Verbs of Existence (12 occurrences, i.e. 6%), namely its two subsets labelled by Levin as (i) Entity-Specific Modes of Being / Modes of Being Involving Motion (circulate, percolate, hover, swirl, hang, float, flutter), which was partly discussed above, and (ii) a novice category referred to as Contiguous Location (envelope, encircle). First, compare the examples illustrating subset (i): (138) Cloud swirls round Philip Swallow’s plane. (C53c) (139) Another joint was circulating [and this time Philip took a drag or two]. (C96b) (140) Just out of sight to his left a pall of smoke hung over the great military and industrial port of Ashland… (C56b) In the sentences that present a new phenomenon on the scene employing a Pr-verb of Entity-Specific Modes of Being (exx (138)-(140)), the verbs describe a state of existence that “is typical of certain entities, and concomitantly, each of them occurs with a very limited set of subjects. In this respect, these verbs are like the verbs of emission” (Levin 1993: 251). In other words, one deals with an obvious, entity-related semantic link between the subject 116
(the entity) and the verb (the type of predication) again. For example, in ex. (140) the state of being of a pall of smoke is hanging over a place. The situation is entirely different in the case of a joint, which can hardly be hanging over something, but is – and this is its typical if not the only possible way of existence – circulating among the people present (incidentally, etymologically speaking, this circulatory character of sharing “a joint”, i.e. a cannabis stub, gave the joint its name82). Admittedly, some of the Verbs of Existence identified in Subtype 2A can be, strictly speaking, classified as Verbs of Modes of Being Involving Motion since their semantic load conveys, apart from the sense of existence, a certain motion – e.g. circulate, flutter or swirl, unlike hang, ferment, rust, or wither do express some kinetic quality. Again, one may observe motion typical of the entities in question; as Levin adds, “reflecting this property, these verbs take a very limited range of subjects” (Levin 1993: 252). As most of these verbs can occur in different contexts (animate, inanimate, human etc.), some of the verb items may be cross-listed and the individual subclasses may overlap. As has been said above, generally speaking though, they all belong to the broad semantic verb class of Verbs of Existence. Let me look at the subset (ii) now, i.e. the Verbs of Existence that express a Contiguous Location (in my Subtype 2A corpus the verbs encircle and envelope were detected). The selfexplanatory label makes it clear that such verbs denote predications that deal with proximity in space, i.e. describe a spatial relation between two entities that are “contiguous in space”, namely between the two entities expressed by the subject and the object of the sentence. Cf.: (141) [At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian.] A rainbow, resembling an emerald, encircled the throne. (R4:3) (142) While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, [and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”] (M17:5) Drawing on the examples (141) and (142) I may also conclude that the contiguity is accompanied by a “circular existence”. To put it differently, the entity expressed by the subject (A rainbow… or a bright cloud respectively) so to speak embraces or covers in the circular manner the other entity, expressed by the direct object (the throne or them respectively). On top of that the context-independent subjects themselves seem to have an inherent capacity to physically enwrap or cover an entity. Levin gives further examples of this subset: bound, blanket, cap, enclose, fence, frame, rim, surmount, etc. (Levin 1993: 257). Interestingly, from the syntax viewpoint, these verbs are invariably transitive, the obvious reason being the inbred semantic and syntactic link between the subject and the object. To complete the picture of semantic verb classes employed in the Subtype 2A, let me briefly enumerate the remaining Pr-verb types. Some of these verbs were dealt with in greater detail in the section dealing with Subtypes 1A and 2, and, at the same time, most of them will be treated in relation to the phenomenon of semantic affinity between the subject and the Prverb below. A relatively limited number of instances is represented by Verbs of Appearance (such as come up, come down, or appear, which is typically related to the appearance of 82
„Online Etymological Dictionary“. Etymonline.com. http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?l=j&p=3. Retrieved 2011-04-20.
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angles in the biblical narrative and rather falls into the category of the religious generic presentation), Verbs of Motion (race along, spring up, swoop down, sweep down), or Verbs of Change of Possession (seize, give), Verbs of Change of State (boil, explode, wake), Verbs of Removing (steal) or Verbs of Perception (peer).
5.2.3.1 Subject-Verb Semantic Affinity: Classification
As has been argued many a time above, the (potential) semantic affinity operating between the Pr-verb and the rhematic subject appears to play an even more important role in the basic distribution of the degrees of CD then had been assumed in the past. Recent research has indicated that it actually represents one of the leading criteria that enable a verb to act in the Presentation Scale (Adam 2010, 2011a, 2011b, 2011c; cf. Firbas 1992a: 60). To be more specific, the corpus findings show that 77 sentences (i.e. ca 21%) out of all sentences of Subtype 2 (total 360) manifest an obvious degree of subject-verb semantic affinity. Such occurrence seems to unveil a significant semantic feature of what may be considered to express existence or appearance on the scene in an implicit way. Already in Chapter 4 dealing with the classification of the sentences implementing Pr-Scale a number of occurrences of such an affinity was detected; this resulted in providing a refined typology of Pr-sentences, especially in Subtype 2 (Rhematic subject in preverbal position). As the phenomenon of S-V affinity in Pr-scale was also treated marginally only in the Chapter 5 so far, and, as a rule, more or less in relation to FSP interpretation of borderline cases, the present subsection is going to focus on the S-V affinity in a more detailed and systematic way, attempting a more delicate typology of such sentences and a possible revelation of some of the underlining (syntactic and/or semantic) principles. To begin with, let me consider the following set of examples: (143) (144) (145) (146) (147) (148)
A bee buzzed across their path. (N120e) At that moment a strange noise woke the silence. (N128) A searing pain bored into his hand. (C84) A dark spidery shadow flashed across the gardens on the hillside. (C171b) ...and a light shone in the cell. (A12:7b) A rainbow, resembling an emerald, encircled the throne. (R4:3)
First of all it will be fair to say that the analysis that follows presupposes the fact that the finally-positioned spatial adverbials in sentences (143), (145), (146), (147) and (148) do not carry the high point of the message, i.e. are not the rhemes proper. To illustrate there are three examples below (relevant Czech translations), in which the rhemes proper are obviously represented by the subjects that are positioned invariably finally. Even though the English – Czech comparison is not a primary tool of the present analysis, the point is that such an interpretation is functionally corroborated by the Czech official translations at hand: (143b) Přes cestu jim přeletěla bzučící včela. (Letopisy Narnie: Lev, čarodějnice a skříň)83 (147b) [Najednou u něho stál anděl Páně] a v žaláři zazářilo světlo. (ČEP)84 (148b) …a vůkol toho trůnu byla duha, na pohledění podobná smaragdu. (Kral.)85 85 83 84
Fragment 2005 http://www.biblenet.cz/ http://www.bible-kralicka.cz/
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Of course, the presentational interpretation could be affected or changed by relevant intonation which would place the nuclear stress on these adverbial elements (across their path, into his hand, across the gardens on the hillside, etc.). In such cases, the context-independent subjects (a bee, A strange noise, A searing pain, etc.) would perform the DSFs of Bearers of Quality and the sentences would implement the Combined variant of the Quality Scale. From the point of view of the presentational interpretation, in exx (143)-(148) the action is obviously so semantically inherent to the subjects (i.e. so strongly subject-related) that it is the subject that takes over the communicative prominence at the expense of power of the verbal content (cf. Adam 2011c). The static semantics of the verb then – even if expressing a specific type of action – is reduced to that of presentation. In other words, it is tightly connected with the inbred activity or manifestation of the subject. The semantic content of the verbal element is so natural of the agents employed that the full verb serves to denote a form of existence or appearance on the scene in an implicit way. Incidentally, the research executed so far has suggested that it is the semantic affinity between the subject and the verb that represents the key element of the Firbasian concept of implicit expression of existence/appearance (Firbas 1992a: 88-89; 1995: 65). In other words, the verb that operates in semantic affinity with its subject semantically supports the character of the subject. One may readily say that buzzing is an inbred activity for bees and thus in ex. (143) the highest degree of communicative dynamism is definitely carried by the subject. Similarly, it is most natural for a strange noise to wake silence (ex. (144)), or for the light to shine (ex. (147)), etc. Incidentally, a very similar set of instances following identical principles has also been repeatedly identified in other corpora of narrative character, including several of Firbas’s and Svoboda’s examples that were actually not discussed in terms of their semantic affinity. Cf. Svoboda’s sentence serving as a prototypical example of the Presentation Scale (2005: 217): (149) A dog barked in the distance. As has been mentioned, also Firbas (1992a: 60-61) detected a number of examples of S-V semantic affinity; he observed its effect within several Pr-sentences. He considers such an affinity to be “an interesting type of implicitness” through which the transitional verb can present a new phenomenon on the scene and prepare the way for the phenomenon to be presented (Firbas 1992a: 60). Among other Firbas’s observations, one deserves special attention – Firbas noticed that a frequent type of sentence has a context-independent subject presenting a phenomenon appearing on a human body, which performs the DSF of a Setting (see e.g. elements into June’s face, or over the shepherd’s head in the exx (150) and (152) below: (150) A wave of azalea scent drifted into June’s face. (151) And now big spots of light gleamed in the mist. (152) A goldfinch flew over the shepherd’s head. As mentioned above, the dynamic semantic role of the verb used in such sentences is reduced to that of presentation and the communicative lead is taken by the respective subjects/ agents. A crucial role when interpreting the sentences as to the dynamic semantic function implemented is undoubtedly played by the immediately relevant verbal and situational 119
context (Firbas 1992a: 59-61; Adam 2009). In his discussion on such cases, Svoboda also takes it for granted that “context will decide whether the Pr-scale or the Q-scale is employed” (for details along with examples see Svoboda 2005: 225). The presentational interpretation of Pr-sentences with subject-verb affinity can be – apart from the major role of the context – additionally corroborated by two facts. Firstly, it is the placement of the nuclear stress on the rhematic subject in English86 (the intonation centre is noted by capital letters) – cf. exx (153)-(156): (153) Then a wind sprang up. (N92a). (154) And the moon came out. (N92c) (155) A bee buzzed across their path. (N120e) (156) [As he neared Damascus on his journey], suddenly a light around him. (A9:3)
from heaven
flashed
Secondly, by the Czech corresponding equivalent translation of the clauses in which the rhematic subject – according to the principle of end-focus – invariably occupies the final position in the sentence – cf. exx (153a)-(156a): (153a) Pak se zvedl vítr. [Then rose-refl. wind] (154a) A vyšel měsíc. [And came-up moon] (155a) Přes cestu jim přeletěla včela. [Across road to-them flew-over fly] (156a) Na cestě, když už byl blízko Damašku, zazářilo kolem něho náhle světlo z nebe. [On road, when already he-was near Damascus, shone around him suddenly light from heaven] (Skutky apoštolské 9:3) In accordance with what has been said above, Dušková (2008: 72-73) also mentions semantic affinity of the verb and the subject as an accompanying phenomenon of Pr-sentences. Commenting on various possibilities favouring the presentational interpretation, she claims that the Pr-verbs manifesting affinity may be – with identical effect – functionally replaced by verbs that express existence/appearance on the scene in a purely explicit manner. Thus, the sentence (143) above, for instance, could be analogously expressed by means of an explicit Pr-verb accompanied by a locative adverbial construction in the object position (143a), not to speak of an existential there-construction proper (143b). Cf.: (143) A bee buzzed across their path. (N120e) (143a) A bee appeared / perched on their path. (143b) There was a bee on their path. A parallel transformation is naturally unheard of in the sentences implementing the QScale; in them, something new is said about the context-independent Bearer of Quality and
86
It will be fair to admit that research has indicated that the intonation nucleus is not invariably placed on the rhematic subject though; especially in the case of the sentence type with adverbials, such as in A bee buzzed across their path (N120e) also the following realisation might be theoretically observed: A bee buzzed across their path, even if the most dynamic element is definitely the subject. This phenomenon seems to be related to natural “folk intonation” which sometimes intuitively places the nuclear stress according to the end-focus principle at the very end of the sentence, especially if the distributional field is extended by the adverbial phrase and so the “appropriate” stress on the rhematic subject would be “too far” from the end of the sentence. For further details on “folk intonation” see also Adam 2009: 94-96.
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the predication does not express existence/appearance on the scene any more. It follows that the verb(s) used cannot be replaced by a Pr-verb without changing the FSP of the sentence. Cf. exx (143c) and (143d): (143c) On the windowsill (Th;Set), the bee (Th;B) buzzed (Rh;Q) (and flew away). (143d) [As the scary spider was approaching the cobweb,] the bee (Th;B) buzzed (Tr;Q) in despair (Rh;Sp). Let me now draw my attention to the main goal of this subchapter, i.e. the semantic classification of the phenomena (subjects) that display an obvious degree of affinity with the Pr-verbs. The point is that the subject – and especially its static semantics seen in relation to the semantics of the verb – seems to play an even more significant role in the sentence perspective; the potential semantic link between the subject and the predicate constitutes the core of the capability of the transitional verb to present a new phenomenon on the scene with sufficient implicitness. As has been demonstrated above, semantically, the Pr-verbs that manifest semantic affinity with their subjects are almost prototypically recruited from a relatively limited semantic category of verbs generally related to sensory (acoustic, visual etc.) perception. This observation would be rather simplifying, though. Below is a tentative (because partly overlapping in places) classification of these categories, with numerous examples from the corpus adduced. Note that though the categories may be partly copying the verb semantic classes according to Levin (see above), the set of classification criteria here is somewhat different – it principally focuses on the semantic load carried by the subjects, and only secondarily on the verbs. Expressing existence/appearance on the scene with sufficient implicitness, all of the examples below congruently implement the Pr-Scale: A. Natural/supernatural phenomena unaffected by people, such as weather: (157) (158) (159) (160) (161)
A light breeze sprang up. (N119d) And the moon came out. (N92c) The sun shone. (C20) A cloud swirls round Philip Swallow’s plane. (C53c) Shafts of delicious sunlight struck down on to the forest floor… (N119a)
Let me at least briefly comment on one particular aspect of the examples (158) and (159) adduced above, in which the subjects are the moon and The sun respectively. Closely related to their syntactic make-up is the question of definiteness of the subjects in Prsentences. Contrary to the “prototypical” use of the indefinite article in Pr-sentences, subjects in these two examples make use of the definite article, apparently not used in the anaphoric way. This, nevertheless, does not violate the concept of context-independence of the subjects but obviously denotes the uniqueness of the phenomenon (the Sun, the Moon and the like). Cf. a somewhat peculiar example of another use of the definite article in the Pr-sentences in exx (162) and (163) below: (162) (163)
The potatoes are boiling… (N74c) …and the kettle is singing. (N74d) 121
In these examples, the subject is clearly context-independent and yet the definite article is employed. This case can be seen as a result of both colloquial use of language in the particular dialogue and of the fact that potatoes (and tea talked about in the second part of the sentence) are to represent a commonplace snack. Moreover, the core of this particular pattern appears to lie in a specific type of sentences, referred to as thetic. As such constructions deserve special attention, these will be dealt with separately in Section 5.2.3.2 below. B. Fauna (and flora): (164) A bee buzzed across their path. (N120e) (165) Close beside the path they were following, a bird suddenly chirped from the branch of a tree. (N74d) (166) In the wood behind them a bird gave a chuckling sound. (N148b) (167) I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me. (L22:34) The examples adduced above clearly fall into the semantic category of animal acoustic manifestation, which can be readily connected with their typical, most natural manner of being, of their prototypical existence. It seems, however, that whereas exx (164)-(166) express existence or appearance on the scene with sufficient implicitness that can be ascribed to the semantic affinity manifested between the verbs and the subjects, ex. (167) may bring about doubts. In it, the rooster is clearly context-independent within as well as outside the retrievability span, yet it is marked with a definite article. As a result, the sentence may implement either the Combined Scale, in which something is said about the contextindependent rooster and so crows would be rhematic, or if the sentence was functionally reflecting the Presentation Scale, the verb crow would merely express presentation of the phenomenon and the rhematic sphere would be occupied by the rooster. I should admit a certain degree of interpretative potentiality here as there are logical arguments in favour of both interpretations. For instance, let me consider the Koine Greek original along with the three most used Czech translations of the passage (arranged chronologically): (167a) ὁ δὲ εἶπεν Λέγω σοι - And he said I tell you
Πέτρε οὐ Peter in no
μή way
πρὶν ἢ τρίς ἀπαρνήσῃ μή three times until you will deny
φωνήσει σήμερον will crow today εἰδέναι knowing
ἀλέκτωρ the rooster
(Lk 22:34; Greek Interlinear Translation – Textus Receptus)
με me
(167b) On pak dí: Pravím tobě, Petře, nezazpíváť dnes kohout, až prve třikrát zapříš, že neznáš mne. [...will-not-sing today rooster...] (Lukáš 22, 34; Bible Kralická, Theophilos 3) (167c) Ježíš mu řekl: “Pravím ti, Petře, ještě se ani kohout neozve, a ty už třikrát zapřeš, že mne znáš.” [...not-yet rooster will-sing...] (Lukáš 22, 34; Český ekumenický překlad, Theophilos 3) (167d) On mu však odpověděl: “Říkám ti, Petře, než ráno zakokrhá kohout, třikrát zapřeš, že mě znáš.” [...before will-sing rooster...] (Lukáš 22, 34; Bible 21, Theophilos 3) 122
(167e) Ježíš řekl: „Pravím ti, Petře, že dnes nezakokrhá kohout, dokud třikrát nezapřeš, že mne znáš.“ [...today will-not-sing rooster...] (Lukáš 22, 34; Český studijní překlad Bible) Interestingly, the examples (167a), (167b), (167d) and (167e) in unison feature an inverted word order in comparison with ordo naturalis87, i.e. V-S. The Greek original text does so apparently in agreement with the linearity principle observed by the Koine syntactic rules; also both the oldest and the two most recent authorised Czech translations place the rooster (Czech kohout) in a final, i.e. rhematic position. This fact, incidentally, partly eliminates the possible diachronic reason for such a position. Apart from this short comparative excursion there is one more aspect worth mentioning: it is the topic of this section itself – the semantic affinity of the verb with the subject (rooster – crow). In a way, rooster is prototypically associated with the sound of crowing, thus being a symbol of signalling the beginning of the day. In my opinion such an obvious affinity hand in hand with context-independence of the subject naturally prevails here, tipping the scales in favour of the presentational interpretation. C. Facial expressions / bodily feelings: Another relatively frequent type of sentences with context-independent subjects that display a semantic affinity with the verb is represented by the area of the human body, such as facial expressions, or bodily feelings. Due to their corresponding semantics, exx (170) and (171) are listed here even if the verbs pass and come express the existence/appearance on the scene rather explicitly and the semantic affinity is not a necessary condition for the verb to be capable of denoting presentation: (168) (169) (170) (171) (172)
A searing pain bored into his hand. (C84) A ghost of a smile hovered on Mrs Swallow’s lips. (C86c) An expression of great pain passed over his big, brown face. (C182a) A slow cruel smile came over the Witch’s face. (N99b) The face of Melanie Byrd peered apprehensively through the aperture. (C94a)
Likewise, Firbas offers several examples of Pr-sentences in which there is “a contextindependent subject presenting a phenomenon appearing on a human body, the element(s) expressing the body or some part of it performing the role of a setting” (Firbas 1992a: 61). In his examples below, “appearance on the scene is metaphorically expressed by a verbobject combination” (Firbas 1992a: 61 quoting Svobodová 1966), claiming that in such sentences the object expresses a phenomenon that is “filled, permeated or covered by another phenomenon. The latter appears within the space provided by the former. The latter is the phenomenon to be presented; the former serves as the setting (scene) for the presentation” (ibid.). Actually, all three verbs used represent items with untypically large valency; force is in fact trivalent (force its way through Aunt Ann’s lips). Firbas argues that via such semantic affinity “the verb prepares the way for the phenomenon to be presented” (ibid); notation and underlining mine:
87
For details on the concept of Firbasian ‘ordo naturalis’ see above all Firbas 1979.
123
(173) Through Aunt Ann’s compressed lips a tender smile forced its way. (174) For a moment or two big tears brimmed her eyes. (175) A dumb and grumbling anger swelled his bosom. Generally, it could be said that the configuration with a transitive verb and a direct object prototypically occurs in sentences in which predication is construed as a figurative expression. It should be noted that examples of Pr-sentences in which appearance is expressed metaphorically will be dealt with separately in the present treatise in Section F below. D. Inherent qualities/actions of inanimate objects:
(176) Two cups steamed on the bedside table. (C230) (177) Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. (M8:30) (178) A bomb exploded in the men’s john on the fourth floor. (C121b) (179) Cars honked and hummed in the road. (C117a) (180) …and to his right the oil refineries of St Gabriel fumed into the limpid air. (C56c) (181) A silver jet, with engines cut back, planed in from the north almost at his eye level. (C170b) (182) Then a famine struck all Egypt and Canaan, bringing great suffering. (A7:11) (183) Another joint was circulating. (C96b) (184) …and then the campus police intervene [and occasionally the Plotinus police forces too…] (C132f) (185) A spirit seizes him and he suddenly screams. (L9:39) (186) [When they had gone,] an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. (M2:13) By far the most frequent semantic area of Pr-sentences displaying a degree of semantic affinity between the verb and the subject may be characterised as inbred, inherent qualities of inanimate objects. It seems that this affinity subtype (i.e. inherent qualities/actions of inanimate object) lies at the core of the S-V semantic affinity. As has been stated several times above such qualities are so typical of the context-independent entities that the lexical semantics of the verb is actually reduced to that of presentation; the remaining semantic load is – thanks to the high degree of communicative dynamism carried by the subject as well as the semantic affinity – is backgrounded and functionally suppressed. In other words, in ex. (176), for instance, steaming is so inherent for cups of tea that the sentence can be functionally rephrased in the following way: (176a) There were two cups (steaming) on the bedside table. Analogously, the affinitive pairs pigs – feed, bomb – explode, cars – honk and hum, refineries – fume, jet – plane in, famine – strike, or the religious spirit – seize and the frequently recurring pair angle – appear, etc. clearly follow the same syntactic-semantic pattern (a number of these S-V affinities and the question of “generic presentation” have been discussed in detail above, see e.g. Section 4.2.6). Sometimes, the pairs are realised as S-Vtransitive (nuns – sing a hymn, solitary security man – lift a lazy hand in salute): 124
(187) [Returning to the living-room to fetch a cigar, he found O’Shea asleep and Bernadette looking sullenly bored.] On the screen a lot of nuns, photographed from behind, were singing a hymn. [‘Seen your aunt yet ?’ he inquired. Bernadette shook her head.] (C91a) (188) [The buzz of a helicopter told him he was now in the militarized zone, though you wouldn’t otherwise have guessed that there was any trouble at the University on this side of the campus, he thought, as he steered the car through the broad entrance on the West perimeter, past lawns and shrubberies where the spume of rotating water sprinklers rainbowed in the sun and] and a solitary security man in his shelter lifted a lazy hand in salute. (C181d) In them, I observe a strong tendency to actually express an intransitive action in the deep structure (in this interpretation sing a hymn can be understood as intransitive sing, and lift a lazy hand in salute could be decoded as intransitive salute. Admittedly, the exx (187) and (188) manifest, in my opinion, a certain degree of interpretative potentiality and could theoretically be interpreted as sentences implementing the Combined Scale. The power of S-V semantic affinity observed along with the immediately relevant context in which the sentences appear tentatively makes me arrive at the conclusion that one most probably deals with sentences perspectived in accordance with the Presentation Scale. E. Sensory effects/perception (acoustic, visual, olfactory etc.) Also some of these examples have already been treated in some detail above, especially in Chapter 4; therefore they will not be discussed here separately. However, there is one comment that deserves the reader’s attention. It should be admitted that some of the semantic categories (marked A – F) naturally overlap, such as in the case of the affinitive pair bird – chirp, which may be listed both in group B (Fauna) and in group E here as one deals with an acoustic effect. Another illustration may be seen in the pair pain – bore, which can be logically related both to group C (Bodily feelings) and to group F (Figurative expressions). It is believed, nevertheless, that even such a rough and to a certain extent simplifying categorisation reflects the principal semantic areas that display a tendency towards S-V affinity in pr-sentences. After all, the lexical semantics of the English Pr-verbs is not black and white or one sided, but, on the contrary, rather multifaceted, and so the overlaps are only natural. (189) A dark spidery shadow flashed across the gardens on the hillside. (C171b) (190) …a delicious aroma of bacon and coffee now began to percolate from the kitchen below. (C205b) (191) A National Guard helicopter clattered over the Euphoric State campus yesterday, spraying tear gas over some 700 students. (C162) (192) Before the throne, seven lamps were blazing. (R4:5b) (193) Cars honked and hummed in the road. (C117a) (194) [The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep]. At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ (M25:6a) In ex. (194) one once again encounters the use of the definite article at a contextindependent subject; the formal definiteness is probably related to the specification in the direct speech which is in fact a genuine part of the cry. 125
F. Figurative expressions (metaphor or personification): (195) There a beautiful sight met their eyes. (N120e) (196) A segment of light from the corridor fell across the floor. (C83d) (197) A spotlight threw a pool of violet light on to the stage. (C112) (198) At that moment a strange noise woke the silence. (N128) (199) On Sunday a huge procession of Garden supporters coiled its way through the streets of Plotinus. (C160) (200) Just out of sight to his left a pall of smoke hung over the great military and industrial port of Ashland… (C56b) (201) [‘It’s a beautiful day,’ he said, setting down the tray and going to the window. He adjusted the louvres of the Venetian blinds so that the sunshine fell across the room in long strips.] Desirée’s red plaits flamed against the saffron pillows of the huge bed. (C173) As has been mentioned several times above, a relatively high number of Pr-sentences base their predication on a figurative expression, namely a metaphor or personification. Such a figurative content appears to have to do with the deep “intransitive understanding” of SV transitive structures: meet sb.’s eyes (195), throw a pool of light (197), wake the silence (198), or coil sb.’s way (199) or prepositional verb phrases such as fall across st. (196) or hang over st. (200). A somewhat special case may be observed in ex. (201), which evokes two possible interpretations again – one towards the Pr-Scale and the other one towards the Quality Scale; in the given context, nevertheless, I feel inclined to say that Desirée’s red plaits are irretrievable from the immediately relevant context, which – in connection with the S-V semantic affinity – tips the scales toward the presentational interpretation. The verb flame is then both affinitive with the subject and metaphorically expresses the existence of the entity on the scene. In other words, apart from the S-V semantic affinity, it is the metaphorical character of the semantic load that turns a commonplace V-O syntactic combination into a structure that is capable of expressing existence/appearance on the scene in the implicit way. Without the figurative sense, the constructions would implement the Quality Scale; the direct objects would perform the DSFs of Specifications and the subject in such sentences would be context-dependent, of course. Cf. presentational exx (197) and (198) from the list above with their functional counterparts clearly implementing the Quality Scale extracted from the same corpus (New Testament) – exx (197a) and (198a) below. As above (beginning of Chapter 4), the framed areas suggest what I have called the primary semantic link; the transitional verbs are underlined and the rhematic elements are presented in bold as usual: (194) A spotlight threw a pool of violet light on to the stage. (C112) (194b) [There was a spear in his hand] and so he threw it at David. (1Samuel 18:10-11) (195) At that moment a strange noise woke the silence. (N128) (195a) [The disciples went] and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” (M8:25) At this point in the discussion, a more general and summarising remark concerning the purely syntactic make-up of Pr-sentences is in order, namely a commentary on transitivity. It has been noted above that the Pr-verbs typically tend to originate in the intransitive (though 126
sometimes can act as transitive) group of the English verb; such sentences follow usually the SV or SVA sentence types patterns (see also Quirk et al. 1985: 1169-1170, on monovalent verbs see Huddleston and Pullum 2002: 219). Research has indicated that Pr-verbs appear to tend towards relatively simple syntactic structures, whereas a more complex modification of the verb (i.e. a multiple valency) usually speaks in favour of quality verbs (Q-verbs). However, especially in the area of S-V semantic affinity, the Pr-verbs are also recruited among transitive verbs (ordinarily patterned as SVO or SVOA). Some of the examples above obviously fall into the semantic category of Pr-verbs expressing existence or appearance on the scene with sufficient implicitness in a metaphorical way and following the SVOA pattern in the present corpus. To sum up, the transitive character of the verb seems to go hand in hand with the metaphorical nature of the phrase88. Though the observations above seem to be in accord with the general linguistic tendencies, the conjectures concerning the role of transitivity in the framework of syntactic semantic characteristics of Pr-verbs inevitably remain a subject to further research. Incidentally, the Pr-sentences falling into group F (figurative meaning) – examples (195)-(201) seem to be in concord with Svoboda’s interesting instance of a sentence from Čapek presenting a phenomenon through “the manner of its momentary appearance” (Svoboda 2005: 224); notation and underlining mine: (202) …stříbrným zvukem / odkapává / osamělá studna. [(with) silvery sound / is-dripping / solitary well] Also Haupt identified a special subcategory of Pr-verbs, viz. verbs that express activities typical of the given subject for “decorative purposes” (Haupt 2003: 43-44), actually coinciding with my categories A and D. He gives the following example from his Czech corpus: (202a) Vtom se k němu přibelhal kulhavý stařík. [suddenly to him hobbled (refl.) limping old-man] With certain simplification it is possible to say that such examples are generally more likely to appear in languages like Czech, i.e. in languages in which the transitional verb takes a relatively wider range of different verbs of motion (připotácet se, přikodrcat se, došourat se, etc.), while e.g. English seems to prefer more general verbs such as come, go, arrive and the like. On top of that, they are typically used in fiction and so are determined stylistically. In relation to the phenomenon of S-V semantic affinity, Headlandová Kalischová (2010) discusses in her treatise on English intonation (mis)used by Czech speakers several examples of Pr-sentences actually manifesting such a semantic affinity. Building above all on Halliday (1967: 38-39), Schmerling (qtd. in Gussenhoven 1986: 88), and Cruttenden (1986: 82-83), she aptly summarises a number of characteristic features of Pr-sentences (even if seen from the perspective of phonetics). Such sentences – labelled here as high frequency collocations – are characterised by (i) a peculiar placement of intonation nucleus, i.e. on the subject, (ii)
88
Dušková discusses the issue of (in)transitivity in connection to the use of passive voice in Pr-sentences (Dušková 2008: 72-73); she points out that especially ditransitive verbs, such as bring or hand, are capable in their passive form of expressing presentation. In her view, “the goal of action expressed with an indirect object can be understood as the scene, and the verb as appearance on the scene induced from outside” (Dušková 2008: 73; transl. by MA).
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typically intransitive verbs with inanimate objects, and (iii) by their general reference to “(dis)appearance or misfortune” (Headlandová Kalischová 2010: 70-71). Especially the last feature mentioned certainly adds a new aspect to the list above. However, her observations are obviously in full compliance with the finding presented in this study. In the two examples below she points out the importance of the immediately relevant verbal and situational context; the sentences are taken from a dialogue in which a set of problems detected in a house are enumerated: (203) (204)
The stairs are a bit dangerous. And the roof is leaking.
Headlandová Kalischová (ibid.) adduces these examples to manifest the wrong placement of the intonation nucleus by the Czech speakers. However, the two sentences cannot be functionally interpreted in the same way. It is obvious that ex. (203) does not represent a sentence that implements the Presentation Scale; the subject (the stairs) is not presented anew on the scene, hence it is context-dependent and its rhematic character is apparently caused by the FSP factor of contrast89. On top of that, there is no semantic affinity between the verb and the subject, or perhaps only a latent one. However, the problematic condition of the stairs does not seem to be an inherent quality of such an entity. Obviously, something is said about the subject, its shortcoming is being described. Conversely, in ex. (204) the semantic content of the verbal element in the given verbal and situational context (leak) is so natural to the agent employed that the full verb serves to denote a form of existence on the scene more than the action proper. Another difference is the intransitive character of the verb. Interestingly enough, the Czech non-native speakers of English under examination did not, as a rule, observe the appropriate distribution of prosodic prominence and “automatically” shifted the intonation centre onto the last element of the sentence. The core of this inappropriate, yet expectable deviation lies in the different prosodic FSP requirements of English and Czech (for the details see Headlandová Kalischová 2010: 71). In conclusion to the present subchapter dealing with the prototypical type of Prsentences with special regard to the S-V semantic affinity the following should be said. In such distributional fields, the Pr-verbs seem to semantically support the character of their subjects, preparing “the way for the phenomenon to be presented” (Firbas 1992a, 61). Semantic affinity was detected in a significant number of sentences with a rhematic subject; apart from the classical Subtype 2A cases of S-V affinity were also described in Subtype 2 – viz. the so-called Meander verbs (for details see the discussion in Sections 5.2.1 and 5.2.2). On the basis of an array of corpus examples, a number of semantic categories of semantic affinity were identified and, in addition, some special syntactic aspects of such sentences were examined, such as the tendency towards intransitivity (even in the case of transitive verbs) as seen from the perspective of the deep structure. Most often this happens in sentences with metaphorical semantic load or in passive constructions.
89
Firbas distinguishes several types of such a rhematisation through additional irretrievable information – namely by means of contrast, summary, selection and identification (see e.g. Firbas 1980: 131; 1985: 36-38; 1992b: 171, 173-174 and 1995a:22). All these are means that can be utilized to decontextualise a context-dependent element.
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5.2.3.2 Thetic Sentences
As has been anticipated in connection with the use of the definite article in Subtype 2A sentences above, special attention should be paid to the sentences patterning as relatively short structures with a tentatively context-independent subject peculiarly determined by the definite article (The potatoes are boiling). In my earlier discussion the fact that potatoes represent a commonplace food was given preliminary prominence. As has been suggested, however, the core of this particular pattern appears to lie, in my opinion, in a specific type of sentences, referred to as ‘thetic or sometimes ‘all-new sentences’. To begin with my little digression concerning this peculiar sort of sentences let me consider the following set of corpus examples first (to differentiate these sentences from other, classical examples of Pr-sentences, the dashed line is used to underline the relevant sections): (205) [“So you’ve come at last!” she said, holding out both her wrinkled old paws. “At last! To think that ever I should live to see this day!] The potatoes are boiling… (N74c) (206) … and the kettle is singing [and I daresay, Mr Beaver, you’ll get us some fish.”] (N74d) (207) [And that night there was a great feast in Cair Paravel, and revelry and dancing,] and gold flashed… (N179c) (208) ... and wine flowed... (N179d) Sentences (205)-(208) express a predication that can be characterised by a single idea (hence ‘thetic’, i.e. point-by-point character) – it almost seems that the subject and the verb (or, functionally speaking, the basis and the nucleus) merge into one compound predication. As Mathesius puts it, “everything is new” (hence the term ‘all-new sentences’, see Mathesius 1975: 81-83; 87-88). It follows that they can hardly be split into the theme and the rheme. Accordingly, Mathesius (1975: 87) discusses such a sentence pattern under the heading on one-element thetic sentences90, i.e. sentences in which one of the two basic elements is not present. He argues that there are actually two subtypes of one-element sentences: the first one results from certain incompleteness, usually realised as “omission of one of the two basic elements, because its expression is either unnecessary or impossible” (ibid. 82). Yet, such a sentence fully satisfies the definition of the sentence as the elided element is fully recoverable from the verbal context (the example is taken from Mathesius 1975: 82-83): (209) Nesmysl! [nonsense] My exx (210) and (211) are rather representatives of the second variant, namely “oneelement sentences whose substance consists in a communication that in itself is conceived as an indivisible content whole” (Mathesius 1975: 82): (210) Je teplo. [is warm] (211) Svítá. [dawns]
90
Mathesius distinguishes between verbal and verbless one-element thetic sentences, the former existing e.g. in Czech (Hřmí [thunders]; Prší [rains]), not in English (Mathesius 1975: 87).
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Such sentences, in which nothing is lacking from the complete meaning, simply “state the existence of a fact and hence are called thetic” (ibid. 83). In Czech, of course, such subjectless sentences occur without restrictions, while in English such one-element constructions are impossible. This brings me to the idea that a similar structure, seen form the functional perspective, may actually be observed in English sentences as The potatoes are boiling, with the proviso that these are understood as sentences implementing the Pr-Scale (otherwise, they would ascribe a Quality to the subject. As Mathesius further comments, unlike Czech ones, the English thetic sentences express “nominally a subject that either affects us through our senses or is somehow connected with intention or behaviour of the speaker or hearer” (Mathesius 1975: 87). Related to the nominal tendency of modern English, thetic sentences (again unlike Czech) do not necessarily convey positive or negative excitement: cf. Czech emotive exclamation Tatínek! [Father]; vs. English neutral The bell, which would have to be translated into Czech as a two-element sentence Někdo zvoní [Somebody is ringing]; (for further details and examples see Mathesius 1975: 87-88). Within information structure theories, the counterpart of ‘thetic’ is usually ‘categorical’, the former being topicless and ‘all-new’, the latter containing a topic (Kuroda 1972, Sasse 1987, Ladusaw 1994, Lewis 2001). To define this polar notion, Kuroda (1972: 154), admittedly deriving his conception from Brentano (1874), says that this theory assumes, unlike either traditional or modern logic, that there are two different fundamental types of judgements, the categorical and the thetic. Of these, only the former conforms to the traditional paradigm of subject-predicate, while the latter represents simply the recognition or rejection of material of a judgement. Moreover, the categorical judgement is assumed to consist of two separate acts, one the act of recognition of that which is to be made the subject, and the other, the act of affirming or denying what is expressed by the predicate about the subject. As has been suggested above, the idea that all sentences are either categorical or thetic originated with the work of Franz Brentano (1874) and was elaborated by his pupil Anton Marty (1908). As Lewis claims, “the theory describes thetic judgements to be the simple recognition or rejection of some judgement material (i.e. proposition)” (Lewis 2001: 3)91. Within his comments on the dynamic and the static approach that can be adopted to analyse the functions of different sentence elements Firbas (1992a: 86-87) also actually treats the question of thetic sentences, even though he does not use this label. In this passage, he argues that verbs that – from the static point of view (i.e. lexical semantics) – “do not even suggest the characteristic of appearance/existence are not excluded from performing the dynamic Pr-function, although they are particularly suited to perform the dynamic Q-function” (Firbas 1992a: 87). To illustrate, he uses the following example, actually analogous to my sentence – cf. ex. (206) above:
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Similarly, Kuroda (1972) observes in Japanese syntax two analogous types of statements: categorical judgments (sentences with logical subjects) and thetic judgments (sentences with no logical subjects): “Kuroda (...) uses this theory to explain a syntactic phenomenon in Japanese, at the same time applying restrictions to the constituents of the two judgments. The phenomenon in question is the selection of syntactic markers by the NP in subject position. The syntactic subject selects either –ga or –wa as a marker. Sentences that select –ga have the same translation as those that select –wa.” (Lewis 2001: 3)
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(212) The kettle boils. Firbas says that in this sentence, ex. (210), the subject kettle is clearly contextindependent, and it certainly permits the Ph-perspective; the verb would then perform the Pr-function. He goes one to add that “if context-dependent, on the other hand, it prevents the Pr-perspective and permits only the Q-perspective, the verb performing the Q-function” (Firbas 1992a: 87). Firbas concludes, “Statically speaking, the verb boil is not a verb of appearance/existence”. It has become clear that when talking about one-element sentences (and about the FSP interpretation of such sentences) it is the immediately relevant context that plays a crucial role (cf. Sæbø 2006: 31-33, Mathesius 1975: 86-87). Going back to my introductory example, for instance, in The potatoes are boiling, the subject may theoretically be clearly contextdependent. Yet the situational linguistic context rather suggests that the subject is irretrievable from the immediately relevant context – see ex. (205) above. Furthermore, there is in fact nothing else potatoes can do (this would point to semantic affinity, incidentally), which is also reflected in the use of overtly transitive verb. In the deep structure sense, nevertheless, one may speak of intransitive use. At the same time it seems that it is not entirely possible to interpret The potatoes are boiling/ ...the kettle is singing as classical representatives of the Presentation Scale; due to the dubious issue of their subjects’ context (in)dependence, they appear to be somewhere in the “gray zone”, at the interface between clear-cut Presentation Scale and Quality Scale sentences. Unfortunately, it is the context (in)dependence of the subject that plays a decisive role here (if there were not for the definite article, the interpretation would inline to Pr-Scale, of course, cf. A bee buzzed across their path.). Tentatively speaking, there is one more difference between The potatoes.../The kettle... on the one hand and A bee...on the other. Namely, it is their operation in the wider discourse: whereas the bee is definitely a part of the discourse, being an item of description in the narrative which consists of a number of similar descriptors, it seems that the phrases The potatoes are boiling / The kettle is singing represent really the whole act. On top of that, buzzing, unlike boiling, is rather dynamic and so is more disposed to express presentation on the scene; the boiling potatoes evoke a rather static image. I believe that a very similar conclusion can be made concerning the exx (207) and (208) – wine flowed and gold flashed, which again express more a static description, an image, even if they lack the definite articles, probably due to the fact that they convey notions of uncountable substances. I also find remarkable that such sentences are found in the text in pairs or even clusters, they never occur independently – exx (205) and (206) create one series, the other one is formed by exx (207) and (208). The corpus contains yet one more series of similar sentences: within three New Testament verses there are six short structures that can be understood as thetic ones. Actually these are two larger compound sentences, formed by (213)-(215) and (216)-(218) respectively: (213) (214) (215) (216) (217) (218)
The rain came down… (M7:25a) ...the streams rose… (M7:25b) ...and the winds blew ... (M7:25c) The rain came down… (M7:27a) ...the streams rose… (M7:27b) ...and the winds blew ... (M7:27c) 131
Again, it is somewhat difficult to identify the rheme and the theme in these sentences, including the degrees of communicative dynamism of individual units. The question remains again whether the subjects are context-dependent or context-independent, as they appear for the first time in the immediately relevant context, yet are determined with definite articles. Rather than interpretative potentiality though, the thetic character of the units seems to stand at the root of this dubious situation. To sum up, I admit I am far from claiming that such sentences are genuine examples of what linguists label as thetic sentences; the interpretative difficulties along with the special syntactic and semantic features of the sentences suggest that. The FSP nature of these distributional fields is at least close to such interpretation. Of course, a more general conclusion could be drawn after better-evidenced and more in-depth research has been made.
5.2.4 Subtype 2B – Rhematic subject in preverbal position – Disappearance Disappearance or absence of an entity represents a somewhat special phenomenon within the Firbasian theory of FSP and as such definitely deserves individual attention. The basic structure remains the same as in all Subtype 2 sentences – a rhematic subject is placed in preverbal position. The point is that nothing is actually presented on the scene, but, conversely, something is disappearing from the scene. Firbas (1992a: 166) also comments on a sentence in which the verb stop “implicitly expresses non-existence/disappearance and therefore performs the Pr-function in the presence of a context-independent subject as a successful competitor” (cf. Chamonikolasová 2010): (219) ... the engine had stopped. (Firbas 1992a: 165) Type
Syntax Semantics
(not) appear
I
App
burn up
I
Des
come out
I
Mot
drop
I
App
fall
I
App
M+Pass
ChP
I
Mot
M+Pass
Per
I
App
(never) find go (not) hear
lack
Note /Example When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved. (A27:20) A third of the earth was burned up,… (R8:7b) With shrieks, evil spirits came out of many, [and many paralytics and cripples were healed.] (A8:7) The sun had dropped behind the rooftops. (C117b) Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes [and he could see again.] (A9:18) No workman of any trade will ever be found in you again. (R18:22b) The glory had gone from the afternoon. (C117c) [With such violence the great city of Babylon will be thrown down, never to be found again.] The music of harpists and musicians, flute players and trumpeters, will never be heard in you again. (R18:22a) The sense of purpose was lacking… (C116a)
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lose
I
App
(not) occur
I
App
part
I
App
pass away
I
App
(not) reach
M
ChP
roll away
I
App
(never) shine
I
Emi
stop
I
App
throw
M+Pass
Thr
vanish
I
App
Much time had been lost. (A27:9) No earthquake like it has ever occurred since man has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake. (R16:18b) Presently the clouds parted overhead… (N63c) [I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.] Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. (L21:33) If this is the case, however, no rumour of it has reached Philip‘s ego. (C28b) Finally, the clouds rolled away. (N92b) The light of a lamp will never shine in you again. (R18:23a) The snow had stopped. (N102a) [The second angel sounded his trumpet,] and something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea. (R8:8) [The fruit you longed for is gone from you.] All your riches and splendor have vanished, never to be recovered. (N84c)
Syntactically, the disappearance verbs do not violate the tendency observed within Pr-verbs syntactic characteristics – vast majority, to be more specific 15 out of 19 verb items are found in their intransitive use. Three monotransitive verbs (find, throw, hear) are used in passive, and one monotransitive verb is used in active voice. The semantic character of disappearance verbs has in fact been touched upon when Subtype 2 was treated in detail. To recall the basic contours of my discussion, it should be said that verbs such as disappear, vanish, die, destroy and the like actually represent a functional opposite of verba efficiendi (i.e. verbs of production such as make, create, build), but also Verbs of Existence and, most notably, Verbs of Appearance. However, the disappearance verbs display negative semantic polarity of the identical idea. As has been said above, instead of creation there is the phenomenon of destruction or annihilation. Functionally, they largely belong to the semantic verb category of the verbs of appearance. In accordance with what has just been said, in her subtle classification Levin (1993: 258-260) labels the whole category as Verbs of Appearance, Disappearance, and Occurrence. From the perspective of lexical (static) semantics, most verbs of Subtype 2B (12 occurrences out of 20, i.e. 60%) logically come from this particular category; this semantic verb class has been thoroughly discussed several times in preceding sections of the present study. The principle of negative semantic polarity (appearance → disappearance) may also be observed in other verb classes identified in subtype 2B – six of the verbs are used with a negative element (not or never), such as (not) hear (Verb of Perception), (never) shine (Verb of Emission), (never) find (Verb of Change of Possession). The set is completed by two representatives of specific verb classes – throw (Verb of Throwing) and burn (Destroy verbs) which are negative in themselves, conveying the meaning of disappearance by deliberate motion or destruction by fire respectively. 133
Interestingly, a number of Subtype 2B sentences display subjects that are determined by definite articles: (220) [Wherever the Robin alighted a little shower of snow would fall off the branch.] Presently the clouds parted overhead [and the winter sun came out]. (N63c). (221) [First the snow stopped. Then a wind sprang up and it became freezing cold.] Finally, the clouds rolled away [and the moon came out. It was a full moon and, shining on all that snow...] (N92b) (222) [And so at last they all got outside and Mr Beaver locked the door (...) and they set off, all carrying their loads over their shoulders.] The snow had stopped [and the moon had come out when they began their journey.] (N102a) (223) [The sun had dropped behind the rooftops and he shivered in a sudden gust of chill wind off the Bay.] The glory had gone from the afternoon. (C117c) The point is that all of the subjects are invariably context-independent and still yet they are syntactically realised as NPs determined with definite articles. In this respect, exx (220)(223) functionally resemble the thetic sentences discussed in the preceding subchapter, viz. Section 5.2.3.2. Except for their overt definiteness they typically appear in serial patterns, usually in the framework of other context-independent and semantically related subjects appearing (in the true sense) on the scene: clouds parted – the winter sun came out (220), a wind sprang up – it became freezing cold – the clouds rolled away – the moon came out (221), The snow had stopped – the moon had come out (222). In other words, something is appearing on the scene while something else is disappearing, or vice versa. At first sight such a relatively high incidence of these patterns might seem to be related either to the text type (fiction narrative) or even the author’s individual style; this is, however not the case – the complete set of thetic sentences discussed in the previous passage is extracted from the New Testament corpus, viz. from the Gospel of Mathew. Rather, the occurrence of such patterning clusters of thetic character may have to do with two other aspects: (i) the topic (description of weather conditions), and (ii) the tension and sudden changes in the narration. Besides, the corpus contains sentences that have seemingly resembling structures but actually implement the Quality Scale. An example of such misleading/potential cases may be illustrated by exx (223) and (224) below: (224) [The snow was falling thickly and steadily,] the green ice of the pool had vanished under a thick white blanket, [and from where the little house stood in the centre of the dam you could hardly see either bank.] (N84c) (225) [‘I suppose it meant absolutely nothing to you?’ he said bitterly, hanging his head.] The sun had dropped behind the rooftops [and he shivered in a sudden gust of chill wind off the Bay…] (C117b) In my opinion, these two sentences, though syntactically analogous to previous examples, do not implement the Presentation scale, but the Combined variant of the Quality Scale. In the framework of the immediately relevant context something is said about the subjects, and so even if context-independent, they have successful competitors and do not carry the high point of the message; the informational peak (the rheme proper) is borne by the spatial adverbials in the final position, i.e. Specifications (for the sake of clarity the 134
adverbials in question are underlined with a dashed line). The unified, unanalysable semantic content (which is typical of the thetic sentences) is hereby distorted. What is missing is also the paired structure.
5.2.5 Subtype 2C – Rh subject in preverbal position – Syntactic Discontinuity The Pr-sentences that feature the rhematic subject in preverbal position that can be characterised by syntactic discontinuity actually represent a syntactic variant of Subtype 2. However, as such cases occur in the corpus in a relatively high number, a separate subchapter is dedicated to them. Since the verbs and their semantic classes recur and have been commented on in previous section of the study, this more-or-less marginal syntactic category will not be presented in the form of the usual chart. Instead, consider the following set of corpus examples: (226) And the power of the Lord was present for him to heal the sick. (L5:17) (227) But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them. (L5:35) (228) As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, (Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.) (L9:51) (229) The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. (L16:22) (230) The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. (L17:22) (231) The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. (L19:43) (232) As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another; (every one of them will be thrown down.) (L21:6) (233) For the time will come when you will say, ‘Blessed are the barren women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’. (L23:29) (234) The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them. (M9:15) Semantically, the Pr-verbs used are almost uniform in their lexical semantic load – different grammatical forms of come are used seven times out of nine occurrence of the subtype, the other two Pr-verbs being be present and approach; come is the Verb of Motion, approach represents the Verbs of Appearance, while be present is a copular form of the Verb of Existence. All the verbs used are intransitive. Syntactically, the sentences invariably follow the discontinuity pattern; due to the lengthy, syntactically heavy character the noun phrase (context-independent clausal subject) is split into two segments: the initially placed definite NP (The time/The days/The power of the Lord) and the postmodifying rest of the rheme usually beginning with when placed in the final position (cf. Quirk et al. 1985: 1397-1398). Incidentally, the definite article used is caused by the postmodification of the noun phrase. Out of the total of nine sentences with syntactic discontinuity detected, seven display the fixed patter of The time + Pr-verb + when.... The sentences can theoretically occur in non-discontinued versions; however, these are not common and the end-focus effect would be lost. Furthermore, the sentences would be likely to be less comprehensible or even awkward due to the lengthy clausal subjects, particularly when compared with the relatively short rest of the sentence (cf. Leech and 135
Svartvik 1994 [1975]: 208). Consider the transformed examples below in contrast to exx (233) and (234): (233a) For the time when you will say, ‘Blessed are the barren women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ will come. (234a) The time when the bridegroom will be taken from them will come. In agreement with my observations, Quirk et al. (1985) also argue that there are basically two possible motivations to interrupt a noun phrase to insert another sentence element: (a) “to achieve a stylistically well-balanced sentence in accordance with the norms of English structure; in particular to achieve end-weight” (ibid. 1398), and (b) “to achieve an information climax with end-focus” (ibid.). It seems that both the motivations are applicable in the sentences with syntactic discontinuity in exx (226)-(234) and so the two reasons coincide (Quirk et al. 1985: 1399; cf. Dušková et al. 1988: 524-525; Leech and Svartvik 1994 [1975]: 208-209). Remarkably enough, all the examples of discontinuous noun phrases within Prsentences have been identified in Subcorpus B, i.e. in the religious, New Testament narrative texts only. Strictly speaking it is – with one exception – exclusively the Gospel of Luke that makes use of such constructions within the research corpus, even though all three synoptic gospels utilise roughly the same content, including the repertoire of stories, dialogues, parables poetic texts, etc. (cf. Guthrie 1990: 125-126; Knight 2005). Why Luke? I believe that this syntactic stylistic device might be attributed to the Apostle Luke’s writer identity – it is historically evidenced that unlike the other evangelists, he received excellent education (before joining Christ he was an active physician) and it is claimed that his writings (apart from the Gospel also the Book of Acts) represent the most literary ones out of all the four New Testament gospels (see e.g. Guthrie 1990: 119).92 Interestingly, in the Greek (Koine) original text the linear arrangement asserts itself fully – the complete rhematic NP is as a whole shifted to the very end of the sentence and so the end-focus is achieved without discontinuity (this holds true for all the Greek versions available93). Below is the Greek original text of Luke 5:35, cf. ex. (227): (227a) ελευσονται δε ημεραι και οταν απαρθη will come moreover days also when shall be taken away απ αυτων ο νυμφιος… from them the bridegroom… (L10:30; Greek Interlinear Translation – Textus Receptus)
92
93
To illustrate, the opening of the Gospel of Luke was once evaluated as “the most finely composed sentence in the whole of post-Classical Greek literature.” (Cross 2005): “Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us, even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word; it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus, that thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed” (L1:1; King James Version; Theophilos) http://biblos.com/luke/5-35.htm
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Also the Czech authorised translations (Český ekumenický překlad, Bible Kralická and Bible 21), both recent and archaic, follow in the same footsteps, strictly adhering to the linearity principle going from the lowest to the highest degrees of communicative dynamism: (227b) Přijdou však dny, kdy od nich bude ženich vzat… [will-come however days when from them will-be bridegroom taken-away…](Lk 5,35; ČEP) (227c) Ale přijdouť dnové, a když odjat bude od nich ženich… [however will-come days and when will-be taken-away from them bridegroom…] (Lk 5,35; BK) (227d) Přijdou dny, kdy jim bude ženich vzat… [will-come days when to-them will-be bridegroom taken-away…] (Lk 5, 35; B21)
5.2.6 Subtype 2D – Rhematic subject in preverbal position – Extended Pr-Scale The Pr-sentences with the rhematic subject in preverbal position, in which the PrScale is extended by a Specification have been already identified and partly discussed in Section 4.1.2 (fiction narrative) and 4.2.2 (New Testament narrative). Also the theoretical account of the operation of the Extended Presentation Scale (especially in contrast with the so-called Combined Scale) was provided in Section 3.3.3 of the treatise. Therefore, the present subchapter will be – in agreement with the goal of Chapter 5 – focused above all on the syntactic-semantic characteristics of the transitional verb operating in the Extended variant of the Pr-Scale. First of all, let me consider the following (incomplete) set of selected corpus examples illustrating Subtype 2D (both the Phenomena to be presented and the final Specification are in bold): (235) A man from Johnson’s came round this morning with a huge bunch of red roses which he said you had sent by Interflora. (C122a) (236) Some men came carrying a paralytic on a mat. (L5:18) (237) Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. (L18:10) (238) [As Jesus approached Jericho], a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. (L18:35) (239) On the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. (A13:44) (240) After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush in the desert near Mount Sinai. (A7:30) (241) A few days later King Agrippa and Bernice arrived at Caesarea to pay their respects to Festus. (A25:13) (242) That same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question. (M22:23a) (243) [While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper,] a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table. (M26:7)
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Let me briefly recall that the Extended variant of the Presentation Scale actually contains both a context-independent subject (Phenomenon function) ushered on to the scene by means of a Pr-verb (Presentation function) and a context-independent Specification that is obligatory in the final position. It follows that unlike the Combined Scale, the Presentation (the Pr-verb) is physically present (for details see Chamonikolasová 2010; Chamonikolasová and Adam 2005; cf. Dušková 2008: 73-74). In regards to the semantic verb classes used to present the context-independent subjects on the scene in Subtype 2D, most verbs are traditionally recruited from the semantic classes of Verbs of Appearance (come round, arrive), Verbs of Existence (sit, stand), and Verbs of Motion (come, go up, gather). There appear no other verb semantic classes within Subtype 2D. As far as the syntactic realisation of the context-independent, invariably finallypositioned Specifications is concerned, the Presentation scale is prototypically extended by (i) a full infinitive non-finite clause – exx (237), (239), (241); (ii) an -ing gerund non-finite clause – e.g. (236) and (238); or (iii) an adverbial in its final position, here e.g. adverbial of circumstance (exx (235), (242) and (243)), or a spatial adverbial (ex. (240)). Statistically speaking, out of the total of 39 occurrences of the Extended Presentation Scale in the corpus, in 18 cases (46%) the full infinitive clause is used; the second highest incidence is represented by the -ing clause (15 occurrences, 38%), the third place is taken by the adverbials (16%).
5.2.7 Subtype 3 – Fronted adverbial with S-V inversion This sub-section deals with the syntactic-semantic characteristics of the transitional Pr-verb operating within presentation constructions with a fronted adverbial followed by a S-V inversion (for details see Section 4.1.3). As usual, before the Pr-verbs operating in the Subtype 3 sentences are discussed, their exhaustive list will be presented below: Type be
Syntax Semantics Co9
Exi
come
I
Mot
fall
I
Mot
find
M+Pass
ChP
give
D+Pass
ChP
lay
M+Pass
Exi
lie
I
Exi
see
M+Pass
Per
Note /Example And out in the middle, and partly on top of the dam was a funny little house shaped rather like an enormous beehive. (N72d) Then came a sound even more delicious than the sound of water. (N119c) And now, in the two Boeings, falls simultaneously the special silence that precedes an airliner‘s landing. (C52b) In her was found the blood of prophets and of the saints, and of all who have been killed on the earth. (R18:24) To him was given a large sword. (R6:4b) At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. (L16:20) Across the threshold lay a great wolf. (N97g) [Then God’s temple in heaven was opened,] and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant. (R11:19a)
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sit
I
Exi
stand
I
Exi
write
M+Pass
Com
On the sledge, driving the reindeer, sat a fat dwarf who would have been about three feet high if he had been standing. (N33c) Right in the very middle stood a huge shape like a man, but tall as a tree, with a fierce face and a shaggy beard and a great club in his hand. (N97d) On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. (R21:12b)
To begin with, let me recall that out of the total of 115 Subtype 3 Pr-sentences, 40 (35%) are found in the Fiction narrative (Subcorpus A), while almost twice as many, 75 (65%) items represent the New Testament narrative (Subcorpus B). This fact probably has to do with a relatively more formal text type of the Bible, in which inversion finds its solid ground for literary and stylistic reasons; in the fiction narrative texts, on the contrary, more space is given to the existential there-construction and the rhematic subject in preverbal position (cf. e.g. Adam 2011c). In terms of the Pr-verbs semantic identity, by far the most frequent Pr-verb in Subtype 3 is definitely the verb be as copula (57 occurrences, 50%) as in (244) … and against the walls were gumboots and oilskins and hatchets and pairs of shears and spades and trowels and things for carrying mortar in and fishing-rods and fishing-nets and sacks. (N75d) (245) On his jerkin, arranged in three neat rows like military medals, are a dozen or more lapel buttons in psychedelic colours. (C34a) Interestingly, within the whole religious subcorpus (Subcorpus B) 45 occurrences (i.e. 60%) of this syntactic Pr-sentence subtype (fronted adverbial with S-V inversion) can be traced in the Book of Revelation, patterning especially as These + are + the... (Rh). Cf. the examples below: (246) These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword: ... (R2:12) (247) These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze: ... (R2:18) (248) These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. (R11:4) (249) These are the true words of God. (R19:9b) Such a construction consisting of the anaphoric subject and the copular verb be most probably represents another sort of a borderline case as syntactically it seems to rather follow the information structure of the Quality Scale. However, the construction – actually functioning as the existential there-construction complemented by a definite NP – appears to serve as a specific means of presentation within the New Testament narrative texts (for details see below). Strictly speaking, it is obviously its identifying function (Dušková et al. 1988: 350-351; 412-413) and also its capacity to refer deictically to extralinguistic situation (Quirk et al. 1985: 374) that makes it possible for such predication to present a new phenomenon on the scene; if such a copular predication expressed pure qualification (such as in These are the most beautiful ones) the sentence would invariably implement the Quality Scale. To sum 139
up, I believe that even though the structure displays an overtly Quality Scale character, in its deep, underlying structure it implements a Presentation Scale. This variant (These are...), incidentally, occurs 10 times within Subtype 3, always with the definite article in the complement (out of which 8 times it is the fixed phrase These + are + the words of..., as in exx (246), (247) and (249). What is more startling, always in the Book of Revelation. One deals here with a formula-like expression, used to introduce the importance and authority of the writer’s message that follows immediately afterwards94; these formulae are perhaps more typical of the author (by tradition the Apostle John; see e.g. Harris 2006 or Douglas et al. 1982:1148-1150) and the epistolary character of the Book of Revelation passages under discussion than the style of the New Testament texts in general (for details see e.g. Douglas et al. 1982: 382-383; 1149). Apart from the stylistic motivation, the phrase is used to highlight the most dynamic element of the utterance achieving the endfocus. The presentational interpretation of such sentences may also be corroborated both by the original Greek text (246a) and at least one Czech translation – ČEP (246b). Incidentally, apart from this verse also other corresponding verses investigated follow analogous patterns: (246a) …ταδε …these things
λεγει says
ο he who
εχων has
την the
ρομφαιαν… sword…
(2:12; Greek Interlinear Translation – Textus Receptus)
(246b) ...Toto praví ten, který má ostrý dvousečný meč... [...this he-says he who has sharp double-edged sword...] The copular be aside, in absolute numbers, the second most frequent verb is come (18 occurrences, 15.7%). Come is a representative of the Verbs of Motion, to be more specific, the Verbs of Inherently Directed Motion/Path Verbs (cf. Levin 1993: 263ff). In the lexical-semantic load of such verbs, the manner of motion and more specific description of the motion are missing; in this respect, they explicitly express existence, or rather appearance on the scene par excellence. In addition, this fact is totally in accordance with the use of come in Subtype 2, in which Verbs of Motion play an important role, too. (250) Then came a horrible, confused moment like something in a night mare. (N129a) (251) [In his right hand he held seven stars,] and out of his mouth came a sharp doubleedged sword. (R1:16)
94
To provide the verbal context of ex. (246) for instance, here is an extract from the relevant passage (the section in question is underlined): 19“Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. (…) 12“To the angel of the church in Pergamum write: These are the words of him who has the sharp, doubleedged sword. 13I know where you live – where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city – where Satan lives. 14Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality. 15Likewise you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16 Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth (…) (R1:19; 2:12-16; NIV).
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The other verb types are represented by sit (five occurrences, 4.3%), stand (five occurrences, 4.3%) and lie (one occurrence, 0.9%). Both the verbs fall into the semantic class of Verbs of Existence, strictly speaking Verbs of Spatial Configuration (cf. Levin 1993: 255). Typically, the postverbal rhematic section of Subtype 3 sentences is rather extensive and heavy and so end-focus and end-weight effects are achieved coincidentally (this is also applicable for Subtype 3 examples above; cf. Tárnyiková 2009: 109). As usual, the S-V inversion is preceded by spatial adverbials; it seems that it is spatial adverbials more than other adverbial types that go hand in hand with S-V inversion: (252) Right in the very middle stood a huge shape like a man, but tall as a tree, with a fierce face and a shaggy beard and a great club in his hand. (N97d) (253) A little way off at the foot of a tree sat a merry party, a squirrel and his wife with their children and two satyrs and a dwarf and an old dog-fox, all on stools round a table. (N113a) (254) Across the threshold lay a great wolf. (N97g) Four times a monotransitive verb in passive voice (M+Pass) has been identified within Subtype 3 in the research corpus – see the three illustrative examples below: (255) At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. (L16:20) (256) [Then God’s temple in heaven was opened,] and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant. (R11:19a) (257) In her was found the blood of prophets and of the saints, and of all who have been killed on the earth. (R18:24) (258) On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. (R21:12b) Again, the sentence is begun with a spatial adverbial, which is then followed by the V-S sequence (inversion). Two of the examples – (256) and (257) – contain a noun phrase determined with a definite article; these are related to the syntactic character of the phrases, namely the cataphoric reference, of course, not with the context-independence of the subjects. As has been mentioned, the transitional verbs are used in the passive form here; from the point of view of their lexical semantics, they belong to the following semantic verb classes: lay – Verbs of Putting (viz. Verbs of Putting in a Spatial Configuration, which is actually close to Verbs of Existence); see – Verbs of Perception (as presentational, these can be used in passive only); find – Verbs of Change of Possession, and a novice Pr-verb detected for the first time during the analysis, write – Verbs of Communication (Verbs of Transfer of a Message). To conclude my discussion on Subtype 3 (Pr-sentences with a fronted adverbial followed by S-V inversion), one more remarkable syntactic-semantic configuration identified in the corpus should be explored: a ditransitive verb used in the passive voice (D+Pass): (259) [Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make men slay each other.] To him was given a large sword. (R6:4b) (260) [And I saw the seven angels who stand before God,] and to them were given seven trumpets. (R8:2) 141
In both the examples virtually identical patterns may be observed: the thematic part is occupied by context-dependent prepositional phrases (anaphorically pointing to the preceding communicative unit), the transition is represented by the ditransitive verb in passive, and the context-independent rhematic section comes at the end of the sentences. At this point, the following should be said: such a ‘clumsy’ marked configuration tends to be used in formal texts with highly literary stylistic flavour. Incidentally, the Greek original script may also corroborate this somewhat unusual construction and so it might be that the Greek text had some influence on the English translation: (259a) ... και ... and
εδοθη was given
αυτω to him
μαχαιρα a sword
μεγαλη great
(R6:4b; Greek Interlinear Translation – Textus Receptus)
From the point of view of FSP, the passive as such is in fact employed much more frequently in the sentences implementing the Quality Scale, perspectiving the communication away from the subject (cf. Firbas 1992a: 62). Here, however, under the circumstances, the utterances are obviously perspectived towards the context-independent subject (Phenomenon), which indicates the presentation interpretation; the temporal or – more often – spatial adverbial then performs the Set-function and the transitional verb expresses the existence or appearance on the scene. Needless to say, the sentence perspective really does depend on the Firbasian “interplay of FSP factors” at the very moment of utterance (Firbas 1992a: 11-12, 51 and 62). In addition, let me recall that the passive voice seems to be especially suitable for enabling a transitive verb – making it “intransitive in the deep-structure sense” – to serve as a Pr-verb in the Pr-Scale. Semantically speaking, the verb give falls into the category of the Verbs of Change of Possession (more specifically Give Verbs), which has been exemplified several times above. Give Verbs (for instance unlike other subgroups of Verbs of Change of Possession, such as Contribute Verbs) do allow for the dative alternation (Levin 1993: 45, 138-139) – see ex. (159b) in contrast to ex. (159c): (159b) They gave him a large sword. (159c) *They contributed (administered/submitted...) him a large sword.95
5.2.7.1 Copular Clauses with a Context-dependent Nominal Part
As has been mentioned in the previous section, at times the occurrence of a contextindependent subject in a sentence leads to a presentational realisation of copular sentences, in which the nominal part of the predicate is context-dependent (see also Section 4.2.6 of the present study; cf. Dušková et al. 1988: 536). The point is that copular predication naturally (and inherently) operates in the scope of different semantics – it is most often employed to introduce a context-independent, rhematic piece of information realised as a subject complement, i.e. to say something new about the context-dependent subject. In other words, copular predication prototypically ascribes a Quality to a Bearer of Quality within the Quality
95
Levin argues that the fact that this subcategory of the Verbs of Change of Possession (i.e. Contribute Verbs) does not allow dative alternative and can be “attributed to their Latinate character” (Levin 1993: 45, 139).
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Scale. Conversely, the core function of existential predication (typical of the Presentation Scale) is to present a context-independent Phenomenon on the scene. It goes without saying that in such cases the lexical semantics of the corresponding form of the verb be (the copula) is semantically completed by the nominal part96. Also in her series of articles dealing with syntactic constancy of the subject complement both in Czech and English, Dušková (2004: 57-71 and 2005: 1-17) among other things explores the FSP role of the subject complement. Basing her investigation on the essential assumption “that syntactic structure is subordinate to the information structure (...) especially in respect of the general principle of end focus (Quirk et al 1985: 18.3) or end placement of the rheme” (Dušková 2004: 57), she concludes that the FSP function of the subject complement is overwhelmingly rhematic, hence in English postverbal (ibid. 68). In the corpus, especially the somewhat problematic structure in which the nominal part of the predicate is unequivocally context-dependent and, what is even more, is placed initially, amounts to relatively high numbers in Subtype 3 (15 occurrences, 13%): (261) Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (M5:3) (262) Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. (M5:4) (263) Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. (M5:5) (264) Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. (M5:6) (265) Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. (M5:7) (266) Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. (M5:8) (267) Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. (M5:9) (268) Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. (M5:11) (269) Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me. (M11:6) (270) Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, … (R1:3a) (271) … and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near. (R1:3b) (272) Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on. (R14:13) (273) Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. (R20:6) (274) Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy in this book. (R22:7) (275) Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. (R22:14) Technically, the exx (261)-(275) come from two texts of the corpus only, namely the Gospel of Matthew and the Book of Revelation. It is obvious that the distributional fields under discussion display a highly fixed pattern beginning with a initially-located subject complement Blessed and holy (273) / Blessed (all other examples) (for details see e.g. Adam 2003a; 2009: 96-99). Admitting certain degree of potentiality, in Chamonikolasová and Adam (2005: 62), in which just a few examples were detected and analysed, I interpret such constructions as those implementing the Presentation Scale, strictly speaking its Extended 96
Similarly to the copula be, also other ‘light verbs’ such as make, get, take, give, have or do mediate the lexical semantic load of the nominal part that follows (make noise, give thanks, have dinner). Due to their low activation cost, Chafe refers to them as ‘low-content verbs’ (Chafe 1994: 111 qtd. in Chamonikolasová 2007: 80).
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type if they contain the causal Specification (e.g. for they will be comforted in (262))97. Admittedly, some of the examples above do not display such an extension and so follow the pattern of the Presentation Scale proper – see e.g. (269), (270), (272)-(274). It should be recalled that my interpretation then was anchored in Firbas’s analysis of examples taken over from Quirk et al. (1985: 1380-1381)98. Firbas indirectly implies the presentational interpretation of those examples, advocating it in the following way: Let us note that the examples arrange the elements in what may be termed presentation order, in which the initial element is followed by an intransitive verb and a context-independent subject. This presentation order reflects linear modification and strengthens the perspective of the communication towards the context-independent subject, occurring in end position. (Firbas 1992: 47 qtd. in Dušková 2008: 74-75) Below are listed the examples Firbas (Firbas 1992: 47 qtd. in Dušková 2008: 74) uses in his argumentation (numbering and formatting are mine): (276) (His answer was a disgrace;) equally regrettable was his departure immediately afterwards. (277) (Her face was stony) and even stonier was the tone of her voice. (278) Especially remarkable was her oval face. (279) Faint grew the sound of the bell. Dušková (2008: 74-75) points out the use of restrictive subjuncts (especially), additive subjuncts (equally, even) that are typically used to signal the rheme, and to the poetic flavour of ex. (279), and justifiably objects to the presentational interpretation of such sentences, claiming that it does not actually take into consideration the fact that through the contextdependent nominal part of the predication (Blessed) the subject is qualified. The point is that in all the examples (261)-(275) the nominal element is neither standing in contrast to other elements nor fronted, and there is likewise no comparative (cf. exx (276)-(279)). In Dušková’s opinion, “the verbonominal predications (be regrettable, be remarkable, be stony) cannot be considered as presentation – if understood in its lexical meaning” (Dušková 2008: 74; transl. MA). As noted above, the fronted position of the nominal part of the predicate is not typical of the English sentence structure. As Dušková maintains, in English the initial placement of the nominal part of verbo-nominal predication represents a “remarkable deviation from the grammatical word order” and that such configuration is therefore restricted to cases, “in which the context-dependent nominal part of the predicate is particularised or is used in
97
98
This short passage, usually referred to as the Beatitudes, is an essential part of the so called ‘Sermon on the Mountain’, where Christ preaches on the very basic principles that should be applied in one’s life. The Beatitudes represent the opening part of the ‘Sermon’ and introduce the whole section of the Gospel according to St. Matthew. The traditional heading of the passage – Beatitudes – comes from Latin root beatus (= blessed, blissful, consecrated) and anticipates the core of the text. Jesus opens his sermon by saying who is blessed and why, in the context of the kingdom of heaven; this seemingly simple statement, as will become clear later, is a little ambiguous (for further details on FSP specific features of biblical poetic texts see Adam 2003a; 2009: 96-97). Dušková (2008: 74) also rightly mentions these sources (Firbas 1992a: 47; Quirk 1985: 1380-1381) as a possible motivation of my presentational interpretation.
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a comparative” (Dušková 2008: 74; transl. MA). It can be assumed that the initial position of blessed in exx (261)-(275) may also be – at least partly – attributed both to the original Greek wording and Greek style which may have been adopted by translators into English (incidentally, all the examples of the copular sentences with verbonominal presentation with the complement placed initially were invariably excerpted from the New Testament, i.e. Subcorpus B. In a way, the Greek original thus offers a clue to the interpretation – the linear arrangement of the Greek clause reflects the presentation order. (261a) Μακάριοι οί πτωχοί Blessed-are the poor (261b) Μακάριοι Blessed-are
οί the
τώ πνεύματι˙ in spirit
πενθούντες˙ (ones) mourning
Ότι... because... Ότι... because...
(M5:3; Greek Interlinear Translation – Textus Receptus)
The corpus, however, also reveals other syntactic types of the verbonominal constructions; they fall into the category of Subtype 2 (rhematic subject in preverbal position), but they can serve as good examples of the FSP interpretation of such copular clause (therefore they have already mentioned in Section 5.2.2): (280) [Then signalling to the children to stand as close around it as they possibly could, so that their faces were actually tickled by its whiskers, it added in a low whisper –] “They say Aslan is on the move. (N70a) (281) [A solitary woman was leaning against the balustrade, staring moodily at the Bay,] where a spectacular sunset was in progress, [the orange globe of the sun just balanced, it seemed, on the suspension cables of the Silver Span bridge.] (C78a) (282) [“I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.] His winnowing fork is in his hand, [and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”] (M3:12) To corroborate the presentational interpretation it should be said that the nominal post-copular parts in exx (280)-(282) may be easily transformed into predications containing explicit presentation constructions: Aslan is on the move →Aslan is coming a spectacular sunset was in progress → there was a spectacular sunset / a spectacular sunset could be seen His winnowing fork is in his hand → there is a winnowing fork is in his hand Let me have a look at one more analogous example detected, in which the contextdependent complement in final position does contain a restrictive modifier (special), this time from a different source (not from the research corpus):
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(283) [The building of the St Michael tract was already begun in 1735 after plans by Joseph Emanuel Fischer von Erlach, but was only completed in 1893.] The wrestling and falling Herculean figures flanking the St Michael Portal, and the wall fountains on the facade are special eye-catchers.99 It is obvious that in the four examples adduced (exx (280)-(283)), the subjects are clearly context-independent (the verbal context is given in parentheses as usual, wider context is available in the Appendix) and that the communication is perspectived towards them as there is no successful competitor. The verbonominal predications then perform the Pr-function. It follows that copular clauses with verbonominal predicates represent a legitimate means of presenting a Phenomenon on the scene in an implicit manner, even if they are employed neither in a comparative structure, nor are they necessarily specified by focusing subjuncts, whether restrictive subjuncts or additive. One more sentence identified in the corpus functionally belongs to the category with the context-independent nominal part of the predicate positioned initially: (284) Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, [your kingdom come, your will be done…] (M6:9ff) Being a section the so-called Lord’s Prayer, this distributional field was thoroughly explored in Adam (2009: 91-92). Due to the relative informational density and the difficulties arising from the poetic character of the text (see especially Adam 2003a), the FSP analysis of the sentences raises questions concerning interpretative potentiality. To be more specific, the question is whether the clause is perspectived towards or away from the subject (your name). The following interpretation was offered in Adam 2003 and 2009: the communicative unit your name should be understood as entirely context-independent in the given context, conveying the most dynamic portion of information. That is why it is considered a rheme proper performing the DSFs of a Phenomenon. In the scope of the whole passage of the Lord’s Prayer, the notion of your name is related to God, and as such it is of crucial importance to the message; there is actually a whole string of these elements: your name → your kingdom → your will.... This dynamic semantic track culminates, as it were, in the clause yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. The transitional notions of your name, your kingdom and your will are presented here as ultimate concepts, the sovereignty of which does not depend on the process they are involved in (be hallowed, come and be done)100 (Adam 2009: 91-92). It follows that also the pattern be hallowed is disposed to present a new Phenomenon on the scene; on top of that, here, it is occupying the non-canonical initial position. In addition, yet in harmony with the general topic of the present treatise, it should be emphasised at this point that there is one more reason for the Blessed / are /... and Hallowed be /... pattern to be capable of existence or appearance of a phenomenon on the scene: S-V affinity. Specifically, the following affinitive semantic links may be traced in the sentences (as one deals with theologically oriented concepts, explanatory comments are added in brackets):
99
100
Freudenthaler (2005: 28) In the other distributional fields, the particular places where the process is realized (the scene) – e.g. in your will be done it is on earth as it is in heaven is not then rhematic either and performs the dynamic-semantic function of a Setting (in the prayer the believer is not commanding God where his will should be done, but expresses his/her wish what should be done) (Adam 2009: 92).
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(be) blessed – the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (this semantic pair depicts one of the key, even if complex, New Testament principles: those who are not proud and so need God’s help and mercy will receive it, and so are / will be blessed) (be) hallowed – your (=God’s) name (the inherent quality of the Creator’s name is that it should be worshipped and thus hallowed) Similarly, the context-dependent complements placed non-initially manifest S-V semantic affinity. Note that both the three preceding and the two following examples of SV affinity denote dynamic (as opposed to static) events (on the this type of predication see Dušková et al. 1988: 351, 412): Aslan – (be) on the move (Aslan is the ruler of the country who has temporarily been deprived of his rights and all the people of the nation have been waiting for him for ages to come back, to “be on the move”; can be reworded as Aslan is coming etc. – see above) A spectacular sunset – (be) in progress (when one enjoys a sunset, it must be in progress, it never is static; if visible, it always is “in progress”; the sentence can be easily paraphrased as a presentation of a visual perception as A spectacular sunset could be seen etc. – see above) His winnowing fork – (be) in his hand (if a fork / shovel is to work appropriately, it must be in somebody’s hand) In conclusion, the semantic affinity may be seen as another common denominator of the copular sentences that have been interpreted as presentational. It follows that since there is certain semantic affinity observable between the subjects and the VPs the sentences are even more likely to be interpreted as those implementing the Presentation Scale. The copular verb used exclusively in all the excerpted examples is be, i.e. the “most central copular verb, and the most neutral in meaning” (Quirk et al. 1985: 1174). As far as lexical semantic content of the nominal part of the Pr-predications in Subtype 3 is concerned (bless, hallow), they both are recruited from the semantic class of the Verbs of Judgement. Such verbs typically relate to “a judgement or opinion that someone may have in reaction to something”, whether positive (as here) or negative (Levin 1993: 195-196).
5.2.8 Subtype 3A – Fronted Adverbial with S-V Inversion – Subjunctive As mentioned above when discussing the syntactic semantic typology of Pr-sentences, a special subtype of the presentation constructions with S-V inversion is represented by the use of subjunctive mood in two different distributional fields (Quirk et al. 1985: 839; cf. Dušková et al. 1988: 196ff, 248-249). This rather peripheral grammatical device (mostly limited to fixed, formulaic phrases in British English) can be illustrated by the two following corpus samples: (285) Long live the Queen! (N61a) (286) Long live the true King! (N109)
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In exx (285) and (286) one may observe clearly context-independent subjects (postponed to the final position in the sentence due to the S-V inversion and the end focus principle). The definite articles modifying the subjects are a result of the uniqueness of the entities, not context-dependence, of course. The subjects are preceded by the transitional presentation verb live, which definitely can express existence on the scene in an explicit way. From the point of view of communicative dynamism it is possible to claim that the subjects are presented on the scene and, consequently, it is their existence that carries the highest degree of CD; they are not qualified by any other element. The corpus offers one more example of a sentence featuring a verb used in subjunctive mood: (287) The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. (R22:21) Here, the S-V order is not inverted though; the subject occupies – in agreement with the requirements of the English word order governed by grammar – the initial position (i.e. following the pattern of Subtype 2). On top of that, the presentational interpretation of ex. (287) may be corroborated by the immediately relevant context: the sentence is a blessing directed at God’s people who are thus context-dependent; the grace of the Lord Jesus then represents the phenomenon presented on the scene.
5.2.9 Subtype 4 – Locative Th-subject & Rh-object Subtype 4 manifests an entirely different syntactic structure in comparison with Subtypes 1-3. It achieves the basic distribution of the degrees of CD through a locative subject construction of the adverbial element (Quirk et al. 1985: 747-748; Dušková et al. 1988: 535-536; 1999: 248ff). As has been discussed above (see e.g. Section 4.1.4) even if this syntactic subtype seems to implement the Quality rather than the Presentation Scale, displaying a thematic subject and a rhematic object, in its deep structure (stipulated both by FSP and its semantic roles), it conceals a presentation idea. As Dušková aptly says, “the scene-setting nature of the subject (the theme) finds expression in adverbial construction, while the phenomenon appearing on the scene (the rheme) assumes the syntactic function of a subject” (Dušková 1998: 40). Such constructions actually make it possible for the linear modification to assert itself fully – the elements in the sentence are arranged according to the gradual rise of the degrees of CD, from left to right, with the rheme proper culminating in the final position. Locative subjects in English typically derive from an internal locative expression, which undergoes inversion to the subject position of the sentences (on locative inversion in general, see e.g., Levin 1993: 49; Bresnan 1994; Levin and Rappaport Hovav 1995: 218ff). Let me first consider the examples (285)-(287), which, in my opinion, represent clearcut cases of the locative thematic subject and rhematic object construction: (288) [A wonderful pavilion it was—and especially now when the light of the setting sun fell upon it—with sides of what looked like yellow silk and cords of crimson and tent-pegs of ivory; and high above it on a pole] a banner which bore a red rampant lion fluttering in the breeze which was blowing in their faces from the far-off sea. (N123b) 148
(289) The walls of his room bore plentiful evidence of his marksmanship in the form of silently snarling stuffed animals. (C23b) (290) Inside, the cave was dark and cold and had the damp feel and smell of a place that had not been lived in for several days. (N59d) It should be recalled that the presentational nature of these sentences can be approved through functional transformations; to illustrate, below are possible transformation variants of ex. (286): (286a) There was plentiful evidence of his marksmanship in the form of silently snarling stuffed animals on the walls of his room. (Subtype 1) (286b) On the walls of his room was plentiful evidence of his marksmanship in the form of silently snarling stuffed animals. (Subtype 3) As there are not many examples of Subtype 4 (as they are generally rather peripheral), let me consider examples offered by Dušková (formatting is mine): (291) This road carries a lot of traffic. (Dušková 1998: 40) (292) His eyes held a very unpleasant glint. (Dušková 1999: 248) (293) The letter bears your signature. (ibid.) (294) His voice held a note of entreaty. (ibid.) (295) The manor now houses a museum of cultural history. (Dušková et al. 1988: 535) (296) The manor now has a museum of cultural history in it. (Dušková et al. 1988: 536; cf. Firbas 1992a: 63) Ex. (296) is actually a reworded transformation of ex. (295) that makes use of the verb have, which can definitely be interpreted as indicating the existence/appearance of a phenomenon on the scene (cf. Firbas 1975: 62 commenting on Hatcher 1956); have is stripped of its possessive meaning here and is actually semantically emptied in this sense). Thus, the rhematic element which would normally be realised as the subject standing in the initial position is removed from the beginning of the sentence, which is then occupied by an element that is thematic. Note the doubled expression of the locative reference – the manor and in it in ex. (296). The presentational nature of the locative subject construction can also be manifested by its paraphrasing by means of an existential there-construction: (297) There is a museum of cultural history in the manor. (ibid.) The corpus under analysis contains some more examples of Pr- sentences where the verb have is used to present a phenomenon on the scene through the locative construction, not to denote possession of an entity. However, the real extent to which have denotes or does not denote possession is at times hard to determine (see e.g. examples (299), (300) or (302) below; one definitely deals with a certain degree of language potentiality here. The point is that the possessive meaning of have must be weakened to allow for a presentational interpretation; otherwise such subjects (especially those with personal, not locative, agents) would clearly denote a specification and thus implement the Quality Scale:
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(298) It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. (R21:12a) (299) Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. (R3:4) (300) You have a traitor there, Aslan. (N138) (301) …but it has a bed in it. (C122b) (302) You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality. (R2:14) Sometimes, the presentational have in the locative subject construction is accompanied by a past participle element (dashed line) as in: (303) You have two thousand troops camped in this small community, helicopters buzzing overhead. (C197b) (304) He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. (R19:12b) Quantitatively speaking, the verbs occurring in Subtype 4 are rather limited – there are only two verb types detected in the corpus, viz. have and bear. From the point of view of syntax, both bear and have (and similarly house, hold and carry identified outside my corpus) are monotransitive. As regards their semantic load, as has been mentioned above, they seem to be quite general and auxiliary-like, denoting existence/appearance on the scene. Apart from their relatively emptied meaning, it should be pointed out that they – perhaps with the exception of the prevailingly existential have – often manifest a certain degree of semantic affinity with their grammatical subjects: banner – bear; manor – house; eyes – hold (a glint); voice – hold (a note); road – carry. Note that the limited semantics of have is then, as a rule, optionally amended by a specifying participial element: troops – have ... camped; a name – have ... written.
5.3
Summary of the Analysis: Statistics
This section should systematically summarise the findings deriving from the analyses carried out in Chapter 5, which was dealing with the syntactic and semantic analysis of the presentation verbs identified in the corpus. The summary will be presented in the form of illustrative charts with summative statistics. For further details, the reader is referred to Appendix 1 and Appendix 2 that offer the full list of tagged Pr-sentences, and a complete list of all Pr-verbs accompanied by the basic syntactic, semantic and FSP characteristics respectively. Relevant conclusions deriving from the data presented will be drawn in the next chapter (Chapter 6). The individual charts will show statistical data on the following aspects of the present investigation: Pr-verbs studied in terms of their transitivity/valency (Fig. 40), their semantic classes (Fig. 41), their capacity to express existence/appearance on the scene in an explicit/ sufficiently implicit manner (Fig. 42), and potential disposition of individual subtypes to express existence/appearance on the scene (Fig. 43).
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Fig. 40: Pr-verbs: Transitivity Intransitive (I/Co) active Monotransitive (M) passive active Ditransitive (D) passive Total
21 18 1 2
Abs. 96
% 69.5
39
28.3
3
2.2
138
100.0
Fig. 41: Pr-verbs: Semantic Classes Verbs of Appearance, Occurrence and Disappearance Verbs of Motion Verbs of Existence Verbs of Emission Verbs of Creation Verbs of Change of Possession Verbs of Change of State Verbs of Sending and Carrying Verbs of Animal Sounds Destroy Verbs Aspectual Verbs Verbs with Predicative Complements Verbs of Perception Verbs of Communication Verbs of Lingering and Rushing Verbs of Judgement Verbs of Contact by Impact Verbs of Ingestion Verbs of Killing Verbs of Putting Verbs of Cutting Verbs of Social Interaction Verbs of Combining and Attaching Verbs of Assuming a Position Verbs of Throwing Verbs of Psychological State Verbs of Removing Total Fig. 42: Pr-verbs: Capacity to express existence/appearance Explicit Sufficiently Implicit Total
Abs. 63 75 138
% 45.7 54.3 100 151
Abs. 27 25 24 11 6 5 4 4 3 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 138
% 19.6 18.1 17.4 8.0 4.3 3.6 2.9 2.9 2.1 2.1 2.1 2.1 2.1 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 100.0
Fig. 43: Pr-verbs: Disposition of individual subtypes to express existence/appearance Subtype 1A 2 2A 2B 2C 2D 3 3A 4
there-construction + verb other than be Rh-subject in preverbal position Rh-subject in preverbal position (with obvious S-V semantic affinity) Rh-subject in preverbal position (disappearance) Rh-subject in preverbal position (discontinuity) Rh-subject in preverbal position (Extended Pr-Scale) fronted adverbial + S-V inversion fronted adverbial + S-V inversion (subjunctive) locative Th-subject with + Rh-object
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Disposition to express existence/ appearance exclusively explicit both explicit and implicit exclusively implicit both explicit and implicit both explicit and implicit exclusively explicit largely explicit exclusively explicit exclusively implicit
6
Conclusions Every day you make progress. Every step may be fruitful. Yet there will stretch out before you an ever-lengthening, ever-ascending, ever-improving path. You know you will never get to the end of the journey. But this, so far from discouraging, only adds to the joy and glory of the climb. ~Sir Winston Churchill~
The aim of the study has been to investigate the area of one of the two principal dynamic semantic scales operating within the Firbasian theory of the functional sentence perspective, namely the Presentation Scale. Based on a corpus analysis, the study has focused above all on the syntactic typology of Pr-sentences (the syntactic means of expressing existence/ appearance on the scene) and on the syntactic semantic character of the presentation verbs. In accordance with this aim, Chapter 6 will, logically enough, try to provide a more general interpretation of the topics discussed in the preceding sections of the study. It will comment on the preliminary hypotheses stated at the beginning of the investigation as well as the two key objectives of the study (the occurrence and the syntactic typology of Prscale sentences within the fiction and biblical narrative texts – Section 6.1; and the dynamic and static semantic as well as syntactic character of the English verb functioning within the Presentation Scale – Section 6.2). One of the underlying aspects of both objectives will be a functional, FSP-based comparison of the fiction narrative and biblical narrative in terms of employment of Pr-Scale sentences.
6.1 Occurrence and Syntactic Typology of Pr-scale Sentences The occurrence and the syntactic classification of the Pr-Sentences within the two main subcorpora were examined in Chapter 4 of the study. Four different syntactic subtypes were detected in the research material as the means of realization of the Pr-scale sentences in English narrative texts, both fiction (Subcorpus A) and biblical ones (Subcorpus B). Tables 44 and 45 below offer a summative account of the basic data, comparing the two subcorpora – in absolute numbers, percentage and a corresponding graph of relative incidence respectively: Fig. 44: Relative Incidence of the Subtypes of Pr-sentences in Subcorpora A and B in Comparison Occurrence of Subtypes of Pr-Scale Sentences Subtype 1 – Existential construction Subtype 2 – Rhematic subject in preverbal position Subtype 3 – Fronted adverbial & S-V inversion Subtype 4 – Locative Th-subject Total 153
Subcorpus A Subcorpus B 320 (65.6%) 112 (21.9%) 122 (25.0%) 328 (64.1%) 40 (8.2%) 68 (13.3%) 6 (1.2%) 4 (0.8%) 488 (100.0%) 512 (100.0%) Σ 1,000 (100.0%)
Fig. 45: Relative Incidence of the Subtypes of Pr-sentences in Subcorpora A and B in Comparison (%)
70 60 50 40
Subcorpus A Subcorpus B
30 20 10 0
Subtype 1 Subtype 2 Subtype 3 Subtype 4
Even though some of the findings concerning the Pr-sentences typology were duly commented on in the corresponding sections of Chapter 4, let me now attempt at throwing some light on several more general outcomes of the analysis (to present the conclusions in a transparent way, the individual observations are numbered below). (1) Probably the most striking, and thus most relevant, fact deriving from the analysis can be described as a virtually opposite ratio of Subtypes 1 and 2 as seen against the background of comparison between Subcorpora A (65.6% vs. 25.0%) and B (21.9% vs. 64.1%). In other words, the leading syntactic realisation of Pr-sentences in fiction narratives is definitely the existential there-construction, while the New Testament narratives show a strong preference of the Rh subjects in preverbal position. It appears that this remarkable discrepancy may be ascribed above all to stylistic characteristics of the two text types, the biblical narrative being definitely more formal. It should be made clear that formality is determined stylistically and is by no means connected with the generally archaic flavour of biblical translations since the translation used for the purpose of the present study (NIV) was first published as late as 1973 (see also Section 1.4.2)101. Apart from the obvious higher degree of formality, the New Testament texts also represent a stylised, non-genuine narrative (for details see e.g. Crystal and Davy 1969: 147ff; Adam 2007). On top of that, it is of high importance that the primary task of the biblical narratives is didactic, i.e. that of conveying ideology, not entertaining.102 All these features of religious
101
102
The point is that – taking the diachronic perspective into consideration – if an older biblical translation was used for the analysis, Subtype 3 (fronted adverbial with S-V inversion) would most probably gain more prominence since it used to be a relatively common grammatical structure (cf. Jane Austen’s novels, for instance). In the course of my research into the domain of the theory of FSP on the textual material of religious discourse, ideology has appeared to be one of the most prominent phenomena existing in the analysis – in both the linguistic and extra-linguistic sense. New Testament texts in general have proved to represent a type of persuasive discourse and, as such, both create and reflect ideology. The task of religious discourses is twofold: to record texts that serve as a source of ideology and, at the same time, to produce texts that legitimise particular acts conducted in the name of ideology. According to van Dijk, “discourse has a special function in the expression, implementation and especially the reproduction of ideologies, since it is only through language
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language make the New Testament narrative a specific genre (cf. Biber et al. 1999: 29ff; Biber 2009; Ghadessy 1988). In conjunction with their discussion on the specifics of the language of religion, Crystal and Davy (1969: 171) even characterise religious English as “formally very different from all other varieties of the language (and) probably the most clearly marked variety of all.” (2) Conversely, the fiction narrative seems to fulfil primarily the poetic function of language, using language as means of narration as such. Furthermore, their principal task is to entertain in the broadest sense of the word and thus amuse the reader, adhering therefore to the general, natural tendency of the English language to place the most dynamic elements towards the end of the sentence. This is clearly manifested by the preference of syntactic structures featuring the rhematic (notional) subject in the postverbal part of the sentence (the Subtypes 1, 3 and 4 amount to 75% of all Pr-sentences in Subcorpus A). The New Testament texts, on the contrary, violate the end-focus principle much more frequently, preferring clearly Subtype 2, in which the rhematic subject is – thanks to the grammatical constraints of English – placed initially. (3) What the two subcorpora have in common is a highly limited incidence of Subtype 4 (the locative subject construction), namely 1.2% and 0.8% respectively. It can be assumed that this finding consists in a generally low occurrence of this specific syntactic and lexically limited structure. (4) Another common denominator shared by both the subcorpora is a relatively stable and comparable occurrence of Subtype 3 (fronted adverbial followed by S-V inversion). It follows that the incidence of this subtype is relatively low – 8.2% and 13.3% respectively (the slightly higher incidence in Subcorpus B is probably due to the obviously more formal character of the biblical narrative). It is worth noting that there is, nevertheless, one exception among all the texts under analysis: Text 6 (the Book of Revelation; abbreviated as R in the corpus) manifests a specific set of individual syntactic subtypes of Pr-sentences, in which the highest scores are represented both by “predictable” and genre-typical Subtype 2 (39.5%) and, surprisingly, Subtype 3 (37.7%). This fact seems to be mainly rooted in a somewhat specific auctorial style of the writer (supposedly the Apostle John), whose literary style is regarded by experts to be highly specific if not extraordinary, displaying “unusual features” (Douglas 1982: 1149; see also more detailed comments on the authorship of the Book of Revelation in Tenney 1961: 387).103
103
use, discourse or communication… that they can be explicitly formulated” (van Dijk 1998: 316-7). FSP analyses of the religious texts have indicated that there is actually a whole range of stylistic properties that may be related to the stylised character of religious texts. While the language of genuine conversation manifests indirectness, impersonality, attenuation, accentuation and vagueness (Urbanová 2001: 52-55), it is possible to say that the religious discourse is characterised by the opposite: directness, personal involvement, persuasion, clarity and unambiguity. In other words, the primary aim of genuine authentic language is human communication, whereas the language of the Bible may be, in many ways, viewed as its counterpart; its principal task is to present religious beliefs and to persuade the readers. That is why Christian ideology, being related to faith, doctrinal significance, and personal beliefs, is naturally and inevitably interwoven in religious discourse (see also Adam 2007 and 2009). R. H. Charles once said that the Revelation’s author’s Greek “does not resemble any other human being’s Greek” (Charles qtd. in Douglas 1982: 1149).
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(5) The data that can be derived from the analysis (esp. Chapter 4) and their preliminary interpretation (such as phenomena of semantic affinity, disappearance, thetic sentences, etc.) make it now possible for me to provide a refined outline of the syntactic realisations of the sentences that implement the Presentation Scale within the corpus. In Fig. 46 below, the basic syntactic subtypes (1-4) are listed (in bold print) along with their subtypes that have been traced in the corpus (e.g. 1A is a subtype of 1). Every item in the table is illustrated by one example excerpted from the corpus. Incidentally, the numbers used here are identical with the numbers found in the corpus in the Appendix 1. Fig. 46: A Refined Typology of Pr-sentences Subtype + Alternations Existential there-construction
1 1A 2
there + verb other than be
Rhematic subject in preverbal position manifesting obvious semantic affinity expressing disappearance or 2B absence containing a definite NP + 2C syntactic discontinuity implementing the Extended 2D Presentation Scale Fronted adverbial & S-V inversion 3A subjunctive 2A
3 4
Locative Th subject and Rh object
Example There are whole rooms full of Turkish Delight. There stuck two horns, one on each side of his forehead. Then a man named Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue, came. A bee buzzed across their path. The clouds rolled away. The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them. A farmer went out to sow his seed. Close beside this sat the White Witch. Long live the Queen! The banner bore a red rampant lion fluttering in the breeze.
(6) As has been noted in the introductory part of the study, one of the research hypotheses proposed the assumption that the set of Pr-verbs detected in the corpus will significantly differ in terms of their types and incidence in accordance with the two types of corpus genres under investigation – fiction narrative and biblical narrative. To complete the mosaic-like picture that is formed in terms of a functional comparison between the fiction narrative vs. New Testament narrative texts, let me summarise the principal FSP as well as stylistic features that can be derived from the analysis (for further details see Sections 4.1.6. and 4.2.6; see also Urbanová 2001; 2008; cf. Dontcheva-Navrátilová 2009: 6-9): Fig. 47: Selected Features of Pr-sentences: Subcorpora A and B in comparison Typical Features Prevalent syntactic realisation of Pr-sentences Absolute incidence of Pr-sentences Main language function
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Subcorpus A Subtype 1 (65.6%) 8.2% Poetic, Entertaining
Subcorpus B Subtype 2 (64.1%) 9.3% Didactic, Ideological
Style Occurrence of “generic” affinity (Many people believed) Occurrence of syntactic discontinuity Occurrence of interpretative potentiality
6.2
purely narrative, tendency towards informality
stylised narrative, formality, literariness
none
exclusively here
none none
exclusively here exclusively here
Syntactic-Semantic Nature of English Pr-Verbs
Let me embark with several more general comments concerning this research area. Firstly it should be said that the application of both the static (lexical) semantics and the dynamic semantics approach towards the text material proved to be a fruitful step. In this respect (i.e. in the field of FSP) the two semantic disciplines appear to be truly inseparable, especially in terms of the identification of Pr-scale sentences and their FSP interpretation. The point is that the dual understanding and application of semantics (i.e. both static and dynamic) determines not only the transitional verb and its lexical semantic load, but also for the sentence perspective in general and hence the implementation of the dynamic semantic scales. A number of observations made within the present research would not have been possible if the static semantics had not been taken into consideration, viz. the S-V affinity. An analogous benefit can definitely be seen in the systematic application of the three-level approach to the language material utilised in the present study – going from the most surface level to the deepest one I may speak of (i) syntax, (ii) lexical semantics and (iii) FSP (cf. Daneš 1964). According to the Research Hypothesis 1 stated in the introductory part of the study, the verbs operating in Pr-sentences manifest a set of syntactic semantic features that may be identified on the basis of the corpus analysis. This working hypothesis is logically reflected in the following three research objectives: - What are the (implicit) syntactic-semantic features that enable the verb to serve as a Prverb in the Presentation Scale? - Where are the boundaries between the maximum degree of implicit expression of existence or appearance on the scene and a verbal content that allows “only” for a qualitative use of the verb within the Quality Scale? Before conclusions are drawn, it will be beneficial to provide a brief comparative summary of all types and subtypes of dynamic semantic scales that were tackled in the course of the present study (and in FSP research in general). The point is that the borderline between some of them may be tricky and/or misleading and, sometimes, even the essential distinction between the Presentation and the Quality Scales respectively may seem deceptive. Therefore, apart from the Pr-scale, also the Q-scale examples will be included. The following conclusive remarks should provide several satisfactory answers. To be more specific, drawing on the findings of the present study, I feel inclined to see the Firbasian system of dynamic semantic scales as a more-or-less continuous spectrum or cline of relations rather than a black-and-white, i.e. polar set. The principal distinguishing criterion within such 157
a gradient is then the relative degree of explicitness of existence/appearance expressed. The summary will be first outlined in Fig. 48 and then discussed in more detail below (the chart and its preliminary discussion were presented first in Adam 2011a). Fig. 48: Tentative Spectrum of the degree of explicitness of existence/ appearance on the scene
1
2
Subtypes of the scales Pure Pr-Scale expressing existence/appearance with explicitness Pr-Scale expressing existence/appearance with sufficient implicitness
Q-Scale with a context3 independent subject (i.e. the so-called Combined scale) 4
Pure Q-Scale with a context-dependent subject
Example
Note
A new boy came into the classroom.
Invariably intransitive (I) verbs
A bee buzzed across their way. A strange noise woke the silence.
Typically I, but also transitive (T) verbs; can be replaced by an explicit Pr-verb; S-V affinity
A boy opened a can of Coke.
Transitive verbs
The boy showed me a text message.
Both transitive and intransitive verbs with more concrete semantics
Looking at the chart, it will become evident that it is especially the grey, i.e. blurred zone around the ‘seam’ between Categories 2 and 3 that deserves special attention as an unequivocal borderline appears to be subtle if existent at all. In other words, it is exactly the breakpoint area where the semantic load of the verb in question necessarily tips the scales. Example sentences from Categories 2 and 3 look, at least at first sight, identical; true enough, if one employs only syntactic approach. Once both dynamic and static semantic approaches are adopted, though, the two sets of sentences can be seen from two different perspectives. As the explanatory notes in Fig. 48 suggest, it is the very semantics of the verbs that makes the difference. At this point let me assume that some verbs (Category 2) “unmistakably imply, or under certain conditions are capable of unmistakably implying, appearance or existence on the scene” (Firbas 1992a: 60) thanks to them (i) being prevailingly intransitive (69.5%) – i.e. tending towards a relatively simple modification; (ii) operating typically in sentence types SVA, SVO or SVOA; (iii) being exchangeable with an explicit Pr-verb such as appear or come; and (iv) most notably, manifesting the subject – verb semantic affinity. The other verb group (Category 3) – even if operating in analogous syntactic configurations – cannot express existence/appearance and so is destined to serve as verbs ascribing a Quality or Specification to the subject in the Q-scale only. To sum up, the implicit semantic load that enables a verb to serve as Pr-verb in the Presentation Scale is inevitably related to its syntactic, lexical and semantic characteristics, such as valency, transitivity or semantic affinity. On the other hand, the verbs falling into Category 3 in Fig. 48 are invariably transitive (patterning as SVO or SVOA) and fulfil the dynamic semantic function of a Quality in Firbasian Combined Scale. In it, as Firbas (1992a: 67) says, the distributional field “telescopes the Ph-function and the B-function into the subject”; the Phenomenon presented actually coincides with the Bearer of Quality and is introduced on the scene in medias res, i.e. without any actual presentation (cf. Svoboda 2005: 226). It should be noted that although Firbas (1992a; 1995) consistently uses 158
the expression Combined scale, the function of such sentences have been recently understood as a functional variant of the Quality Scale (Chamonikolasová – Adam 2005; Dušková 2008: 73-74). Much has been said about the traditional Pr-verbs of Category 1 in Fig. 48 above; in short, they express existence/appearance on the scene with unequivocal explicitness. Category 4 then covers the classical Q-Scale instances with context-dependent subjects and verbs (both transitive and intransitive) that convey a distinctly more concrete semantic load than Prverbs. Q-verbs are capable of expressing a rhematic specification or ascribing a quality to the subject. In the spectrum of explicitness of existence or appearance, Q-verbs much more directly express a particular action (as opposed to mere existence/appearance); the existential meaning of existence is rather implicit and, so to speak, limited to the minimum. And, vice versa, the qualitative content of Pr-verbs is reduced to that of presentation. Evidently, the FSP of the English sentence is co-determined by the lexico-semantic nature of the verb (cf. Dušková et al. 1988: 531). The leitmotif of the study has been the search for a set of syntactic semantic features of the Pr-verb that makes the English verb (potentially) capable or predisposed to serve in the transition of Pr-scale sentences, especially in the case of verb representing Subtype 2 (rhematic preverbal subjects)104. So, what are the markers of presentational potential, what is the X-factor? Also, what does the Firbasian ‘sufficient implicitness’ in expressing existence/ appearance on the scene refer to exactly? The paragraphs below will look at these topics under a magnifying glass.
6.2.1 Semantic, Syntactic and FSP Markers of the Pr-Verb Let me recall that research has convincingly evidenced that – apart from the dynamic semantics – it is the static semantic load of the verb that actually determines the sentence perspective (even though the semantics of the Pr-verb was through simplifying optics regarded as something clear-cut and equivocal). It can be argued that the English (Pr-) verb acquires its dynamics in the immediately relevant context, the base being its static semantic equipment. The situation, though seemingly transparent, is surely not black and white; verbs cannot be distinguished as purely Presentational or purely Qualitative. True enough, most verbs can actually serve in the Quality Scale sentences only since their semantics contains practically no presentational potential (such as verb eat, forget, grumble, understand, etc.). Only a relatively limited group of verbs (though larger than expected) can operate in both the Pr- and the Q-Scale (exist, appear, come, flash, etc.), depending on the syntactic and semantic circumstances in the sentence (see below). These double-faced verbs have logically posed the main research question. (In this respect, to be more precise, I should rather speak of verbs in Pr or Q use respectively) Research suggests that there are virtually no verbs that would be capable of operation in the Pr-Scale only. Let me start the conclusive outline of the grey-zone verbs in the area of their lexical semantics. Fig. 41 presented in the Summary to Chapter 5 (see Section 5.3) enumerates all the semantic classes of the Pr-verbs identified in the corpus, arranging the individual classes in accordance with their relative incidence. The leading verb class (though not prevailingly) is 104
In the remaining three main subtypes (viz. Subtypes 1, 3 and 4) the situation is definitely more transparent and the range of Pr-verbs used was proved to be relatively more limited. Details were thoroughly discussed in Chapter 5.
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represented by the Verbs of Appearance (19.6%), while the Verbs of Existence (17.4%) take the third place. Surprisingly, the second place is occupied by the Verbs of Motion (18.1%) that proved to serve as prominent verb class within Pr-scale sentences, especially the subclass of the Verbs of Entity-Specific Modes of Being that inherently manifests a high degree of semantic S-V affinity (motion as such is definitely a frequent way of explicit appearance on the scene, after all). The explicit expression of appearance on the scene is also undoubtedly manifested by two more semantic verb classes detected, even if these rank much lower, namely the Verbs of Creation (4.3%) and the Verbs of Sending and Carrying (2.9%), which definitely convey the notion of a phenomenon coming to life and hence appearing somewhere. The other semantic verb classes that operate within the area of Pr-Scale express, on the contrary, existence/appearance on the scene in an implicit manner, the most prominent being the Verbs of Emission (8.0%). As has been suggested, the Verbs of Emission as well as the remaining verb classes (most notably perhaps the Verbs of Animal Sounds) are capable of expressing existence/appearance on the scene only implicitly, i.e. in their firstplan-semantic load they typically denote other sorts of action. Their lexical semantic load, however, displays certain disposition to present a phenomenon on the scene, the necessary condition being closely related to their semantic link with the subject (see the discussion on the S-V affinity further below). It should be stated that the number and diversity of the noncanonical (implicit) verb classes surpass my expectations. Out of the total of 138 different verbs acting in the Pr-Scale sentences, 75 verbs (54.3%) fall into the category of verbs whose primary meaning is not the expression of existence/appearance on the scene – see Fig. 42 (for the complete list of Pr-verbs along with their capacity to express existence/appearance explicitly or sufficiently implicitly see Appendix 2). This in a way unexpected ratio seems to be in accordance with Firbas’s implied conviction that the verbs capable of the explicit expression of existence/appearance on the scene do not represent a majority and is certainly based on the aforementioned different semantic character of the two groups of verbs. Let it be said that the capacity to implement the Pr-Scale is without any doubt essentially an inherent feature of (primarily) intransitive verbs (amounting to 69.5% in the research corpus), since no genuine complementation is needed, especially in the case of some prototypical semantic verb classes (Verbs of Existence, of Appearance and of Motion). Research presented in this study has shown, nevertheless, that also a surprisingly high number of other semantic verb classes are disposed to presenting a phenomenon on the scene under certain conditions, even though they typically operate in the framework of the Quality Scale. As far as the disposition of individual syntactic subtypes to express existence/ appearance, the reader is referred to Fig. 43 in Section 5.3 of the previous chapter: individual categories (such as Subtypes 1A, 2, 2A, 2B, etc.) were ascribed a note specifying their overall capacity to present a context-independent phenomenon on the scene. Though some of the subtypes contain both the verbs that are capable of such presentation and the verbs that can achieve the same goal in an implicit way only (e.g. Subtypes 2, 2B or 2C), others show an unequivocal preference towards one of the two possibilities only. For instance, while the there-construction + verb other than be (Subtype 1A) makes use of explicit expression of existence/appearance, the configuration of the rhematic subject in preverbal position displaying obvious S-V semantic affinity (Subtype 2A) expresses the same implicitly. As has been mentioned several times above, perhaps the most remarkable aspect of the semantic makeup of the English Pr-verbs (and statistically significant) is the semantic affinity between the predicative verb itself and its subject (its syntactic features will be discussed thoroughly later). Research has indicated that it is such affinity that typically makes 160
it possible for a verb to serve as the Pr-verb in the Pr-Scale (A bee buzzed across their path. A bird chirped on the twig.); in other words, it seems to constitute the common denominator (i.e. the potential X-factor) of the verbs that can express existence/appearance on the scene in an implicit manner. Semantic S-V affinity between the verb and the subject appears to be a major aspect of the verb’s capacity to operate in the Pr-Scale sentences. Generally speaking, this sort of affinity proved to be much more significant than it seemed before, being latently present in virtually all Pr-sentences in which the presentation is expressed in the verb implicitly only. On top of that, as has been shown, the verb’s presentational capacity is practically ‘dormant’ even in configurations, which in their surface syntactic structure use a transitive verb or in syntactically complex phrases (cf. e.g. metaphorical structures such as On Sunday a huge procession of Garden supporters coiled its way through the streets of Plotinus. A spotlight threw a pool of violet light on to the stage.). Such a potential (latent) capacity of the transitional verb can be awakened, i.e. activated, if the verb displays the semantic affinity with the subject and other criteria permit (e.g. the passive, metaphorical nature, underlying or surface transitivity) and, most importantly, if the interplay of FSP factors permits (apart from semantics and the ‘contradictory’ linear modification, it is the immediately relevant context, of course). Let me put it the following way: once the deep structure allows for this presentational interpretation, then if the communicative dynamism of the other elements permits, the verb could perspective the sentence towards the subject. Also in passive constructions, the semantic affinity between the subjects and the mono- or even ditransitive predicative verbs plays an important part, actually mediating the presentational potential at the deep level (To him was given a large sword. A man who was demon-possessed and could not talk was brought to Jesus.); otherwise the capability of a transitive verb appears to be substantially limited if not impossible. I also demonstrated more-or-less obvious elements of semantic S-V affinity as a common semantic denominator in the constructions containing a locative subject (The manor now houses a museum. The banner bore a red rampant lion.), hendiadys (...a ruler came and knelt before him...), verbonominal predication in copular clauses (Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth.), thetic sentences (The potatoes are boiling.), the so-called generic presentation (And a great number of people believed.), etc. Nevertheless, one should not see such affinity as a necessary condition for the verb to operate in the Pr-Scale; research showed that also verbs without such affinity with their subjects can present a phenomenon on the scene – mostly owing to the immediately relevant context, including expression of contrast, selection etc. Rather, the S-V semantic affinity is to be seen as a potential quality that, under favourable circumstances, can trigger off the presentational function. To sum up, semantic S-V affinity between the Pr-verb and the subject seems to stand at the root of the question concerning the (semantic and syntactic) criteria that enable the English verb to act as a Pr-verb in the sentence. In this respect, such semantic affinity – being the ‘minimal presentational potential’ – proved to be a truly formative force operating in the constitution of the Presentation Scale sentences. Haupt (2003: 36) suggests that most verbs, in fact, “imply the meaning of existence of their subjects”, saying that “if something burns, it must necessarily exist”, etc. In his opinion, the verb meaning can be divided into two parts: “one part conveying only the meaning of existence, the other conveying what is left; all the ‘other’ meaning carried by the verb apart from that conveying the existence on the scene is labelled as the ‘semantic residue’ (ibid.). It follows that e.g. the verb blow – if operating in a Quality Scale sentence – manifests a large semantic residue, whereas “in connection with the noun wind the semantic residue amounts to zero” (ibid.). In this respect, “a large semantic 161
residue increases the probability that the verb will perform the Q-function” (ibid.). Here, Haupt’s conception obviously matches with my understanding of the vital role of semantic S-V affinity in perspectiving the sentence. The function and potential effects of the semantic S-V affinity is inevitably and obviously connected to the syntactic roles of individual sentence elements and the relations between them. Thus, syntactically speaking, the research presented in this treatise suggests that one of the cornerstones of the Pr-Scale sentences is definitely the verb’s valency and syntactic modification. To be more specific, I can generally claim that the richer the verb’s modification on the right (in postverbal position), i.e. the more valent is the verb, the more likely the sentence will implement the Quality Scale, and, vice versa (incidentally, the English language is generally typical of more complex valency on the left than Czech, which directs verb valency, as a rule, in the right of the sentence). It follows that prototypically the Pr-verbs are intransitive (69.5%); this is closely related to the essence of transitivity: a substantial part of the semantic load of the English transitive verb is transposed to its communicatively more dynamic complementation, i.e. the object that logically serves as a Specification in the Quality Scale sentence. Conversely, in the Pr-scale sentences, the verbs are prototypically intransitive (or at least can operate as intransitive in their deep structure as was shown above); the main semantic load is thus carried by the lexical semantics of the subject, i.e. the contextindependent Phenomenon, and in the semantic (affinity) link to the Pr-verb. Let it be highlighted that – apart from lexical semantics of the verb – in the course of the present investigation into the Pr-Scale it has been (partly unexpectedly) the lexical semantics of the subject along with its semantic link to the verb that represents a decisive force in the sentence perspective. Also Firbas (1975: 68; 1992) and Dušková (see e.g. her summary in 1999: 247ff) naturally see the role of the subject, along with the role of the predicate, as a crucial semantic and FSP factor acting in perspectiving the English sentence. The point is that unlike the Czech sentence the English one manifests a strong tendency “to construe the theme as the subject” (Dušková 1999: 247). To be more specific, research proves that what matters most in fact is the extent to which the static semantic load of the subject is semantically linked to the predicative verb; the stronger the interconnection (e.g. in the case of S-V affinity), the more likely the verb is capable of performing the Pr-function. Such a link is also typically manifested in the syntactic plan: the Pr-verb is semantically linked to the left, i.e. to the subject, and, consequently, the presentational potential comes to the fore. It follows that the lexical semantics of the Pr-verb is thus partly reduced to that of presentation, the semantic residue being minimal (cf. Haupt 2003) . Conversely, the verb operating in the transition of the Q-Scale is syntactically more complex in its right modification, and so more load is semantically added to the expression of existence, increasing thus the semantic residue.105 Below is the graphical expression of this
105
With a certain degree of simplification it may be claimed that, as a matter of fact, the subject – Pr-verb relation functionally resembles the syntactic semantic structure of verbonominal phrases (VNP), but in a reversed manner: while in the VNP the lexical semantics (along with the highest degree of CD) is, so to speak, shifted to the nominal part and the verb is semantically weakened (have → a bath), in Subtype 2 of Pr-sentences the semantic shift runs in the opposite direction (a bird ← chirped). In other words, also the Pr-verb “loses its primary lexical meaning” and “only fills its verbal predicative role” (Andor 2010: 189; cf. Jespersen 1942: 116-118). It follows that the meaning of the whole Pr-sentence patterning as Subtype 2A is then primarily expressed by the subject and its predication is limited to that of existence. In my opinion, such an ‘over-pour’ of static semantic load and CD is closely related to the character of the English language in general, in which the borderline between the noun and the verb seem to be relatively blurred, for example in comparison with Czech (cf. Mathesius 1936: 69).
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complementary relation as well as a symbolic diagram depicting the difference between the Pr-potential and the semantic residue of the English ‘grey-zone’ verbs – exx (305) and (307); one should not forget, however, that every prototypical Pr-verb such as in ex. (306) can under different conditions also operate in the Q-Scale – see ex. (308). It is therefore perhaps more appropriate to speak of verbs in Pr- or Q-use. Cf.: (305)
A bird ← chirped on the twig.
Pr-Scale
(306)
A star ← appeared in the sky.
Pr-Scale semantic residue
Pr-potential
(307) It chirped → so loudly .
Q-Scale
(308) It appeared → in the north .
Q-Scale
Pr-potential
chirp/appear in Pr-use
chirp/appear in Q-use
semantic residue
Under the circumstances, the verb semantically tends either towards the subject (Phenomenon – exx (305) and (306)), or towards the Specification – exx (307) and (308). Thus, the very perspective of the sentence, i.e. the core of FSP interpretation caused by the functional ‘swing of the pendulum’, is then functionally reflected – thanks to the syntactic semantic relations among the elements – in the two polar types of the dynamic semantic scales, viz. Presentation or Quality. Cf. the syntactic semantic characteristics of verbs that can most probably operate in the Q-scale exclusively since they display zero presentational potential and their semantic residue in fact represents the whole semantic load (suggest, invent, love, prohibit, refuse, and the like). Thus, such verbs are invariably transitive and in comparison with the prototypical Pr-verbs manifest a more concrete semantic load, the presentational potential being virtually zero. Cf.: (309) She suggested → another solution .
Q-Scale
(310) He invented → a phenomenal sort of machine .
Q-Scale suggest/invent as pure Q-verbs
semantic residue
For the sake of transparency, one may imagine the crucial interpretation of the sentence in terms of the dynamic semantic scales as real set of scales with two balancing trays, on which it is either the cluster of the subject + its link to the verb, or the cluster of the verb + the heavy right modification, that ‘overweighs’ the other side of the scales. Incidentally, Firbas speaks about ‘tipping the scales’ in relation to decisive moments in FSP interpretation, 163
especially in dubious cases (see e.g. Firbas 1992a; 1995). In the syntagmatic plan the verb is a central unit, i.e. a sort of pivot pin, around which the sentence can be ‘pivoted’, turned either away from or towards the subject, perspectiving thus the sentence as Presentation or Quality Scale. The decisive determinant is the transitional verb; the semantic syntactic content of the verb determines the perspective the sentence implements. The grey arrows denote the dominant syntactic and semantic link (potentially) exerted between the verb and the neighbouring elements (the DSFs of Phenomenon or Specification respectively). Cf. Figures 49 and 50: Fig. 49: The role of the English transitional verb in perspectiving the sentence (Presenation Scale)
Fig. 50: The role of the English transitional verb in perspectiving the sentence (Quality Scale)
To conclude, on the basis of the research carried out in the framework of the present study, the following can be said about the capacity of the English verb to operate in the PrScale: i. It typically recruits above all from the semantic classes of Verbs of Existence, of Appearance, Occurrence and Disappearance, of Motion, etc. (expressing the existence/ appearance on the scene explicitly), or semantically entirely different semantic classes of the Verbs of Emission, of Creation, of Change of Possession, of Sounds of Animals, etc. (implicitly). (The verbs that express existence/appearance on the scene implicitly even outnumber their counterparts with explicit expression of presentation). ii. The X-factor enabling the transitional verb to express existence/appearance with sufficient implicitness is the semantic-syntactic link (affinity) between the verb and the subject; in the Pr-Scale, the verb’s lexical semantics is primarily linked to that of the subject, whereas in the Q-Scale its semantics is primarily connected with the semantics of the postmodification. 164
iii. Semantically speaking, the more added to the presentational capacity of the verb (i.e. the larger is the semantic residue), the more probably the verb will operate in the Q-Scale sentences, and vice versa. iv. From the point of view of syntax, the more complex is the valency of the verb, the more likely it will perform the Q-function, and vice-versa (apart from the prototypical intransitive verbs, also monotransitive and even ditransitive verbs may convey presentation on the scene, the typical enhancing markers of presentational potential being e.g. the use of passive, verba sentiendi, metaphorical verb phrases; it goes without saying that these markers are usually accompanied by a certain degree of semantic S-V affinity). Finally, it should be pointed out (definitely in concord with Jan Firbas) that the role and FSP analysis of the English transitional verb must be seen strictly against the background of the functional interplay of all the three FSP factors: context, linear modification and semantics (Firbas 1992). The verb does play a crucial role in the sentences, yet it does so exclusively in the syntactic and semantic framework of the whole sentence. In addition, the present study as a matter of fact corroborates the Firbasian necessity to take into account all the three basic FSP factors in their interplay; a semantic analysis of the English transitional verb, if applied in isolation, i.e. without considering the syntactic (word order) make-up of the sentences and/or the role of the immediately relevant context, would never be capable of providing a comprehensive and true picture of the issues under investigation.
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Epilogue Kosy na poli zvučí, nad nimi zas včela bzučí. V háji děva věnec vine, nedaleko potok plyne; v údolí příjemný větřík věje, rozsívač na roli seje. ~Vilém Mathesius~106 Unbelievable though it may seem, I came across the poem used in the motto by chance closely before completing the present study, when reading Mathesius’ memoirs. It is a sentimental example of Mathesius’ early poetry, yet it wonderfully depicts and illustrates the principal theme of the study (the graphical marking is mine). Amazingly enough, literally all the basic distributional fields of the poem implement the Pr-Scale, displaying great evidence of semantic S-V affinity in action. I could discuss different aspects of the Czech word order, sentence stress and intonation, syntactic and semantic relations among individual elements, rhythm and intonation constraints of Czech, but this would be outside the scope of these concluding remarks. On top of that, hyperbolically speaking, it seems that the red thread of buzzing and insects has marked the whole course of the study. In the Preface to this study I began with my son’s impromptu fairy-tale in which a fly was buzzing in the cobweb, later, in the main body of the study, I explored the phenomenon of semantic affinity as a key factor enabling a nonpresentational verb to serve in the Presentation Scale making use of the model sentence A bee buzzed across their path. Curiously, I am opening the Epilogue with a text, the second line of which says (in the English translation) Over them a bee is buzzing, written by one of the honourable forefathers of the study of information processing. Of course, this omnipresent feeling is partly due to the fact that one simply notices things that overfill his mind.107 Anyway, not only does this unplanned coincidence testify of the significance of the semantic S-V affinity in Pr-sentences, but it also nicely seals the study. In a sense, the circle is completed. It is obvious that the analyses and conclusions presented in the study definitely call for further research, e.g. in the area of the occurrence and function of Pr-sentences and Pr-verbs in other genres and text types, among others academic writing, technical texts, journalese, faceto-face conversation, not to speak of the English-Czech (or other language) confrontation (Existují dva druhy výtahů. vs. Z dálky se ozvala kukačka.). Moreover, the character of the transitional verbs operating within the Q-Scale was put aside in this study and logically needs to be explored systematically; as a matter of fact, their syntactic semantic character is naturally much broader and more varied than that of Pr-verbs. 106
107
Mathesius 2009: 249. Cf. the English word-for-word translation: [scythes ring on field / over them bee isbuzzing / in wood girl wreath (acc.) is-making / nearby creek is-flowing / in valley gentle breeze is-blowing / sower on field is-sowing]. Cf. the notoriously-known introductory descriptive lines of the Czech national anthem: Voda hučí po lučinách [water murmurs on meadows] / bory šumí po skalinách [pinewoods rustle on rocks] / v sadě skví se jara květ [in orchard glitters (refl.) of-spring blossom], etc. Incidentally, such Pr-sentences (Subtype 2) appear to be used frequently in poetic and informationally dense texts (cf. Adam 2003 and 2006).
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On a concluding note, the study is meant to be a modest contribution to the research in the field of functional sentence perspective; the aim of the treatise, however, has not been an exhaustive account of the topic. Admittedly, some interesting issues have been touched upon only briefly and would deserve a more thorough treatment. Being fully aware of the limitations, I am now offering this study to further academic discussion.
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Appendices Due to obvious space limitations, the appendices to the main body of the study contain the most important corpus data only, viz. the complete lists of both the Pr-sentences (Appendix 1) and the Pr-verbs (Appendix 2). To be able to consult the full texts (and contexts) of all the subcorpora used for the analysis the reader is referred to the enclosed compact disc.
Appendix 1 – The Complete List of Pr-sentences (the Corpus) The 1000 Pr-sentences extracted from the research corpus are arranged here in the following manner: According to the numbers (codes) of individual syntactic Subtypes (i.e. 1, 1A, 2, 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D, 3, 3A, 4). The numbers are found in the first column of the chart below. Individual subtypes are graphically separated from one another by means of a doubleline. Within the individual Subtypes, the sentences are grouped according to their relevant Texts (Text 1 – Text 7), i.e. in the following sequence that copies the ordering of individual texts in the corpus: N, C, L, A, M, R, J (Subcorpus A is graphically separated from Subcorpus B within individual subtypes by means of a dashed line). The corpus codes are found in the last column of the chart. In the framework of individual fiction narrative Texts, the sentences are arranged successively according to the paging (e.g. N7); if there are more Pr-sentences on the page, small-case letters are used to differentiate (e.g. N9a). In the biblical texts, sentences are traditionally tagged according to the ‘chapter:verse’ format (e.g. L1:5). Sub type 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Pr-sentence Once there were four children whose names were Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy. There‘s sure to be a row if we‘re heard talking here. There might be eagles. There might be stags. There‘ll be hawks. But when the next morning came there was a steady rain falling, so thick that when you looked out of the window you could see neither the mountains nor the woods nor even the stream in the garden. There‘s a wireless and lots of books. There was nothing else in the room at all except a dead bluebottle on the window-sill. There was nothing Lucy liked so much as the smell and feel of fur. …and found out that there was a second row of coats hanging up behind the first one. Then she noticed that there was something crunching under her feet. And then she saw that there was a light ahead of her. …wandering why there was a lamp-post in the middle of a wood. 181
Code N7 N8 N9a N9b N9c N9d N10a N10c N11a N11b N11c N12a N13a
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
And there‘ll be a roaring fire - and toast - and sardines - and cake. And there were rocks all about and little hills up and little hills down. In one corner there was a door which Lucy thought must lead to Mr Tumnus‘s bedroom… There was a nice brown egg, lightly boiled, for each of them, and then sardines on toast… I don‘t suppose there ever was a worse Faun since the beginning of the world. There‘s wood inside it… …and there‘s a Faun and a Witch. There‘s the back of it. There was no wood and no snow, only the back of the wardrobe, with hooks on it. …and there was still no sign of a break in the weather. …and then there was nothing for it but to jump into the wardrobe and hold the door closed behind her. There were the coats hanging up as usual, and a smell of mothballs, and darkness and silence, and no sign of Lucy. There was no answer… There was crisp, dry snow under his feet and more snow lying on the branches of the trees. Overhead there was pale blue sky, the sort of sky one sees on a fine winter day in the morning. There was not even a robin or a squirrel among the trees… There was no answer. Still there was no answer. But the moment it touched the snow there was a hissing sound… She seemed especially interested in the fact that there were four of them, and… You are sure there are just four of you? There are whole rooms full of Turkish Delight… There‘s nothing special about them. There is a country you can get to through the wardrobe. There was really only a year‘s difference. There‘s nothing there really. There is really something wrong with Lu. There are only three possibilities. There was nothing there when we looked. But there was no time. Lucy had had not time to have gone anywhere, even if there was such a place. If there really is a door in this house that leads to some other world… But do you really mean, sir, that there could be other worlds - all over the place, just round the corner - like that?
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N17 N18 N19a N19c N22 N28a N28b N28c N28d N30a N30b N31a N31b N32a N32b N32c N32d N33a N38a N39a N39b N40 N41 N46 N47a N47b N49 N51a N51c N51d N51e N51f N52a
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
My dear young lady, there is one plan which no one has yet suggested and which is well worth trying. There‘s nowhere else. There‘s something sticking into my back. And now there was no mistaking it. There were heavy, darkish clouds overhead and… There was a dead silence. Is there anything written on it? I wonder if there‘s any point in going on. There doesn‘t seem to be any certainty of getting into this country again. There‘s a robin, with such a red breast. There‘s no good frightening the girls. And there‘s another thing too. There‘s something moving among the trees over there to the left. There‘s no one here but ourselves. There are the trees. …but there are trees that would betray us to her; Above the dam there was what ought to have been a deep pool but was now, of course, a level floor of dark green ice. And where the water had been trickling over and spurting through the dam there was now a glittering wall of icicles. A little lower down the river there was another small river which came down another small valley to join it. Though the frozen pool was level with it on one side, there was a nasty drop to the lower river on the other. There were no books or pictures… …and instead of beds there were bunks, like on board ship, built into the wall. And there were hams and strings of onions hanging from the roof… There was a jug of creamy milk for the children and a great big lump of deep yellow butter in the middle of the table. ...that there‘s nothing to beat good freshwater fish if you eat it when it has been alive half an hour ago. There‘s no doubt he was taken off by the police. But there‘s not many taken in there that ever comes out again. There must be some way. If there is anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they‘re either braver than most or else just silly. But there‘s never been any of your race here before. No, no, there isn‘t a drop of real human blood in the Witch. There may be two views about humans… …but there‘s no two views about things that look like humans and aren‘t. Down at Cair Paravel there are four thrones. There was a dreadful pause. There was not even an echo in answer. 183
N52b N55 N56 N57a N58 N59a N60 N61b N62 N63a N64b N65 N66 N69a N69b N69c N72a N72c N72f N74a N75a N75b N75c N77a N77b N78 N79a N79b N81a N82a N82b N82c N83a N83b N84a N84d
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
There‘s no point in looking for him. …there‘s no use looking for him? The reason there‘s no use looking (…) is that we know already where he‘s gone. And there‘d be four new statues in her collection before you‘d had time to speak. There‘s not a moment to lose. And there‘s nothing that spoils the taste of good ordinary food half so much as the memory of bad magic food. And of course there was no chance of going back to get it now. And then too there was no road. There was nothing stirring; not the slightest sound anywhere. …he saw that there were dozens of statues all about - standing here and there rather as the pieces stand on a chess-board when it is halfway through the game. There were stone satyrs, and stone wolves, and bears and foxes and cata-mountains of stone. There were lovely stone shapes that looked like women but who were really the spirits of trees. There was the great shape of a centaur and a winged horse and a long lithe creature that Edmund took to be a dragon. He now saw that there was a dim light showing form a doorway on the far side of the courtyard. There was a flight of stone steps going up to an open door. There‘s no time to lose. ...and there‘s sugar, and some matches. Now don‘t you get fussing, there‘s a dear. There‘s five loads… There‘s a new and better sewing machine for you, Mrs Beaver. In this bottle there is a cordial made of the juice of one of the fire-flowers that grow in the mountains of the sun. …and there seemed to be decorations of holly. …on which there were stone plates and a stone plum pudding. There also seemed to be a curious noise all round them. When that happened there was a moment‘s silence. All round them though out of sight, there were streams, chattering, murmuring, bubbling, splashing and even (in the distance) roaring. And much nearer there was a drip-drip-drip from the branches of all the trees. Soon there were more wonderful things happening. And then, as if that had been a signal, there was chattering and chirruping in every direction, and then a moment of full song. There was no trace of the fog now. …and now there were white clouds hurrying across it from time to time. In the wide glades there were primroses. 184
N85a N85b N85c N87 N88 N89 N91a N91b N94a N96b N97a N97b N97c N97e N97f N100a N100c N101a N101b N107b N108c N113b N115 N116a N116b N117a N117b N119b N119e N120a N120b N120c
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
There‘s a kingfisher. There, far to the East, was something twinkling and moving. There were Tree-Women there and Well-Women (Dryads and Naiads as they used to be called in our world) who had stringed instruments; There were two great centaurs. There was also a unicorn, and a bull with the head of a man, an a pelican, and an eagle, and a great Dog. And it seemed to all of them that there was nothing to be said. But just where the land of Narnia met the sea there was something on a little hill, shining. I won‘t say there wasn‘t kissing and crying on both sides. But if you had gone on looking you would gradually have begun to think there was something odd about both the stump and the boulder. There is no need to tell you what Aslan was saying. There is no need to talk to him about what is past. Sire, there is a messenger from the enemy who craves audience. And there were low growls among all the animals present. And all over the hill there was a noise as if everyone had been holding their breath and had now begun breathing again. There‘s been something wrong with him all afternoon. Then there was more tying and tightening of cords. There are horrid little mice crawling over him. Soon there were birds singing all over the place. …and there was no Aslan. Though the Witch knew the Deep Magic, there is a magic deeper still which she did not know. There are a whole more on the landing! There was no time lost after that. There also seemed to be far more of them. And there were statues dotted all over the battlefield. There are other people wounded. And that night there was a great feast in Cair Paravel, and revelry and dancing… … and indeed for a long time there would be news of evil things lurking in the wilder parts of the forest. By likelihood when this post and this lamp were set here there were smaller trees in the place, or fewer, or none. There is soothing music playing. There are streaks of soot on the engine cowlings. There is something funny, he tells himself, about this plane. Something else there is, something he hasn‘t figured out yet. …and there is not much suspense or anxiety about the eventual outcome. ...here was no great Reckoning against which he could hoard his knowledge, so that it tended to leak away as fast as he acquired it.
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There was one respect alone in which Philip was recognized as a man of distinction, though only within the confines of his own Department. There had been times, lately, when he had begun to wonder whether he was entirely suited to the career on which he had been launched some fifteen years earlier. That is why there is a gleam in Philip Swallow‘s eye as he sits now in the BOAC Boeing, sipping his orange juice. Perhaps, but there was also a purely aesthetic appeal, more difficult to analyse, a subtle music of displaced accents, cute contractions, quaint redundancies and vivid tropes. And there‘s the fares… But if there were no children in the picture he couldn‘t readily put his finger on any reason why he should be in need of a wife. There was sex, of course, but in recent years this had played a steadily diminishing role in the Swallow marriage. There had always been, notoriously, more adulteries in fiction than in fact. There were, of course, the students. And perhaps, deep, deep down, there is, at the root of present jubilation, the anticipation of sexual adventure. There is an extra charge: Philip pays it gladly. Underneath that tough exterior of the free-thinking Jew there is a core of old-fashioned Judaeo-Christian fear-of-the-Lord. There is something vaguely familiar, but… She continues to gaze out of the window, though there is nothing to see except cloud, stretching to the horizon like an endless roll of roof insulation. Well, there is the Rummidge exchange, but you wouldn‘t be interested in that, Morris. There was always his research, of course, but some of the zest had gone out of that since it ceased to be a means to an end. …when each commentary was written there would be simply nothing further to say about the novel in question. Then there‘s Euphoric Times… There is no radio programme, no TV show, no expense account, no newspaper column. There‘s a great dark smudge over there. And then he wonders … whether there is a God. There was no truly safe place to live in Euphoria. There was no real winter in Euphoria. There‘s only the one. (Would there be a file on me somewhere?) Well, there might be. There are a few points you might like to bear in mind. But there was no action. There was, naturally, no baseball, football, hockey or basketball.
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There was soccer, which he thought he might get interested in, given time. There was a four-hour programme of sport on Saturday afternoons which he had settled down to watch expectantly. There was almost no time left for playing records. Well, if there‘s anything you want to see, just drop by… There were, of course, no commercials on the programme. There was a flurry of activity in the hall. There were problems about schooling and so on. There‘s only one view. At which moment there was a knock on his door. There must be some mistake! There were a number of personal reasons. In that cupboard there are one hundred and fifty-seven tobacco cans. And there are three types of story, the story that ends happily, the story that ends unhappily, and the story that ends neither happily nor unhappily, or, in other words, doesn‘t really end at all. There was a knock at his door. There was a knock on the door. There was still hope for Ireland, then. There‘s Mr Reilly at the door, looking out for us. There were three young men in the room and two young women. As a matter of fact there was a chick who flunked herself. Oh God, there was a terrible kind of pleasure in kneading the soft girl‘s body under his callused feet. Or there‘s this other room which I use as a study… There was a time when Morris would have snapped up a chance like this, teeth or no teeth. There was no answer. … for there was no changing-room in the cramped premises. There was no tease about it at all. But there was nothing ethical about my decision. There was a hint to that effect in your letter. …but there‘s been only one inquiry so far. There are signs of trouble on campus. There‘s nothing I can do about it. I said there must be some mistake because it wasn‘t my birthday or anything. There are two young Zapps, twins, called rather preposterously Elizabeth and Darcy. There‘s a student called Wily Smith, who claims he‘s black, though in fact he looks scarcely darker than me. There‘s nothing personal in it, of course. But there‘s no need to be downright sadistic about it. There is no system. 187
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There‘s nothing I can do about it. You didn‘t tell me, by the way, that there was a bomb explosion in your building shortly after you arrived. There‘s a whole chapter on how to write an epistolary novel, but surely nobody‘s done that since the eighteenth century? And suddenly there‘s murder in the air. Yes, I didn‘t think there was any point in worrying you by mentioning it. There‘s been no repetition of the incident,… …though there‘s still a good deal of disruption on campus due to the strike. Every now and then there is a confrontation at the Gate between the pickets and people trying to get through… …and there‘s usually a scuffle and a few arrests. I think myself that there‘s a lot to be said for the English system of clandestine patronage. There‘s been the most tremendous row going on all this week about a question of tenure. There are books there, too, not specially selected reading for the can but overspill from the rest of the house. There seems to be a general conspiracy here to pretend that I am lonely in your absence and must be invited out. There didn‘t seem to be anything else to do but ask her to stay the night, so I made some soup and packed her off to bed with a hot water bottle. And the next morning there are reports and photos in the Euphoric State Daily - that‘s the campus paper. There is a kind of outrageous logic in the notion that makes me think it may just be true. There seemed to be no point in upsetting you by saying anything about the episode. There was Charles Boon, propped up against the wall dressed in a towelling bathrobe and smoking a cigarette. I suppose, on reflection, there is something kind of incestuous about sleeping with the daughter of the guy you‘ve exchanged jobs with. Today there were no arrests for the first time in weeks. But there was nothing doing in Rummidge that night.. She says there is a movement for the liberation of women starting in America. There is talk of a sit-in next term. There is doubt, too, whether Governor Duck, an ex officio member of the University Council, would allow the lease to be approved. There was the hero of I am Curious Yellow, which they had gone to see in Esseph. There is a tide in the affairs of men, Philip. But there would be problems about visas. Of course, if I married an American citizen, there‘d be no problem. But there‘d be no visa problems. 188
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There was a kind of tropical storm. There had been something unnatural, unhealthy about it, afterall. There‘s plenty of room. You wouldn‘t otherwise have guessed that there was any trouble at the University on this side of the campus. Then I wish that there were more liberals like you. There was a photograph of the Garden, now rapidly reverting to a dusty waste lot. You saw Boon everywhere these day…, wherever there was a march, or a demonstration. You must believe me, Hilary, that there was absolutely nothing sexual in the arrangement at all. There were a few home-made placards in evidence, which declared „Troops off Campus“. There‘s a building, a church, being demolished down the road. There was much amusement around the duty-sergeant‘s desk at the appearance of a marble, belonging to Darcy, in his jacket pocket. Although there were State Troopers stationed on every intersection along Cable Avenue… …, there was little tension in the air. And there was a strong, peppery smell of gas in the Beta Bookshop. In all that time I don‘t suppose there was one hour when you didn‘t know, or couldn’t guess, what I was doing. But there‘s another sense, perhaps a more important one, in which the thesis has been proved right. …then you have to admit there does seem to be something wrong with the system. But there‘s more honesty, less hypocrisy about these matters... ...than there used to be. There was a gasp, a silence and a click. I never knew there were places like this in Rummidge. There was, believe it or not, a Rummidge scene of sorts, though you had to search quite hard for parts of it. There was a rose-tinted mirror behind Hilary‘s head in which she was able to make small, unobtrusive adjustments to his face when he wasn‘t occupied in looking down Hilary‘s neckline. Isn‘t there a chance of reconciliation? If there was a correct formula for accepting this kind of apology, Morris couldn‘t think of it. There was a roadhouse Morris knew that had a juke box loaded exclusively with forties swing records. There were huge gaps between the floorboards in the guestroom… There are some things I have to tell her before I leave. There was this nurse of his - a black-haired girl with no teeth. There was, naturally, no difficulty in finding parking space this early in the morning. 189
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There were also restrictions on the number of persons allowed into each office and classroom. But there was one feature of the new building that entirely redeemed it in Morris‘s eyes at least. One day there would be a conventional elevator as well, but as yet it wasn‘t in operation. Mr Elton was obviously implied to be impotent because there was no lead in the pencil that Harriet Smith took from him. There was a pause, in which he could hear Hilary breathing. …and there‘s bound to be a lot of disagreement. There are two names from the English Department. As teachers there was no evidence on which to discriminate between them. There‘s something else I wanted to But there are two gentlemen… and Mr Biggs of Security. Unfortunately, there was reason to believe that he might be intending violence to certain parties, in particular Professor Zapp. There‘s nothing in the house. There‘s plenty of time. I don‘t say there may not be something of the better-the-devil-you-know attitude behind it. There was no evidence that he‘d be armed, or that he was intending any violence to you personally. There‘s plenty of time. Now there‘s someone who really does need stability. There are two suitcases open, but not unpacked. There is a knock on the door. There is no sign of Morris and Desirée until they are discovered on the floor between the two twin beds. There are choices to be made. But if Morris is in favour there must be a twist in it somewhere. I say, there‘s Charles Boon. And there‘s Wily Smith! And there‘s the Cowboy and the Confederate Soldier! All I‘m saying is that there‘s a generation gap. As you are reading, you‘re aware of the fact that there‘s only page or two left in the book. But with a film there‘s no way of telling, especially nowadays. There‘s no way of telling which frame is going to be the last. In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah. There is no one among your relatives who has that name. And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.
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Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time ...and there was a severe famine throughout the land. And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet. In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an evil spirit. I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. There are six days for work. There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out. Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last. There in front of him was a man suffering from dropsy. ...what you ordered has been done, but there is still room. I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents. There was a man who had two sons. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. Where there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather. In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’ Some of the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus with a question. Now there were seven brothers. There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven. 191
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There will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people. There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. There was a written notice above him, which read: this is the king of the Jews. Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council, a good and upright man, who had not consented to their decision and action. Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say. There were no needy persons among them. When Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our fathers on their first visit. Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute? In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which, when translated, is Dorcas, who was always doing good and helping the poor. At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. In the morning, there was no small commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter. In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. There was a plot afoot among the Gentiles and Jews, together with their leaders, to mistreat them and stone them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. When they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. There were about twelve men in all. There is danger not only that our trade will lose its good name, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited. And there are proconsuls. If there is anything further you want to bring up, it must be settled in a legal assembly. In that case we would not be able to account for this commotion, since there is no reason for it. There were many lamps in the upstairs room where we were meeting. There are four men with us who have made a vow. Then everybody will know there is no truth in these reports about you, but that you yourself are living in obedience to the law. The Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, … ...that there are neither angels nor spirits. There was a great uproar, (and some of the teachers of the law who were Pharisees stood up and argued vigorously.) 192
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(I found that the accusation had to do with questions about their law,) but there was no charge against him that deserved death or imprisonment. There was no crowd with me, nor was I involved in any disturbance. But there are some Jews from the province of Asia, who ought to be here before you and bring charges if they have anything against me. There is a man here whom Felix left as a prisoner. Altogether there were 276 of us on board. There was an estate nearby that belonged to Publius, the chief official of the island. Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Christ. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. There is only One who is good. What then will there be for us? There was a man who had two sons. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. That same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question. Now there were seven brothers among us. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. For then there will be great distress, unequalled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equalled again. Wherever there is a carcass, (there the vultures will gather.) And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. But not during the Feast,” they said, “or there may be a riot among the people.” There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. Also before the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal. There was a great earthquake. (When he opened the seventh seal,) there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. There will be no more delay! At that very hour there was a severe earthquake and a tenth of the city collapsed. (The seventh angel sounded his trumpet,) and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever.” And there was war in heaven.
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There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or for anyone who receives the mark of his name. (Earth and sky fled from his presence,) and there was no place for them. (Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away,) and there was no longer any sea. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, (for the old order of things has passed away) There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west. (On no day will its gates ever be shut,) for there will be no night there. No longer will there be any curse. There will be no more night. Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. Now John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were constantly coming to be baptized. And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum. Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. …and out of the hair there stuck two horns, one on each side of his forehead. …and at last there swept into sight a sledge drawn by two reindeer. …and there stood a jewelled cup full of something that steamed. …and instantly there appeared a round box, tied with green silk ribbon, which, when opened, turned out to contain several pounds of the best Turkish Delight. There seemed, indeed, no more to say. …and at the same time there came into his head what seemed a perfectly lovely idea. …across it there ramped a red lion, as bright as a ripe strawberry at the moment when you pick it. Overhead there went a flurry of foul wings and a blackness of vultures and giant bats. You will know that there comes in the end a sort of quietness. There stood Peter and Edmund and all the rest of Aslan‘s army fighting desperately against the crowd of horrible creatures whom she had seen last night. Between the State University of Euphoria (colloquially known as Euphoric State) and the University of Rummidge, there has long existed a scheme for the exchange of visiting teachers in the second half of each academic year. Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. In Lystra there sat a man crippled in his feet, who was lame from birth and had never walked. About that time there arose a great disturbance about the Way. 194
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Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus. ‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. And there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake. (The first angel sounded his trumpet,) and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, (and it was hurled down upon the earth.) And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a great hailstorm. Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. And a soon after that a very strange person stepped out from among the trees into the light of the lamp-post. For the moment then and unless any further evidence turns up, we must assume that she is telling the truth. But there a terrible surprise awaited them. Wherever the Robin alighted a little shower of snow would fall off the branch. …and the winter sun came out and… And now a very curious thing happened. Just below them a dam had been built across this river. …and from a hole in the roof smoke was going up. …and horrible ideas came into his head. Just as the frying-pan was nicely hissing, Peter and Mr Beaver came in with the fish which Mr Beaver had already opened with his knife and cleaned out in the open air. Word has been sent that you are to meet him. The snow was falling thickly and steadily… Then a wind sprang up. …and the moon came out. A slow cruel smile came over the Witch‘s face. Instantly the same dwarf whom Edmund had seen with her before appeared. …and the moon had come out. …and the snow began to fall once more. Aslan is on the move. I think help of some kind will come to you. The snow was again falling as they came into the courtyard. But now that the snow had begun again the scent was cold and even the footprints were covered up. …and patches of green grass were beginning to appear in every direction. 195
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Shafts of delicious sunlight struck down on to the forest floor… They hadn‘t even known for certain that this was what would happen when Aslan came to Narnia. …and especially now when the light of the setting sun fell upon it. At that moment with a rush and a snarl a Wolf rushed up to them. A few minutes later the Witch herself walked out on to the top of the hill. A great crowd of people were standing all around the Stone Table… A howl and a gibber of dismay went up from the creatures when they first saw the great Lion pacing towards them. Another roar of mean laughter went up from her followers as an ogre with a pair of shears came forward and squatted down by Aslan’s head. When once Aslan had been tied on the flat stone, a hush fell on the crowd. A mad chase began. And now his hind legs had come to life. Horrible things were happening wherever she looked. …and brought them news that the White Stag had once more appeared in his parts. Nothing else happens. A wall of suburbs suddenly rears up behind Mary Makepeace‘s head. Then houses, hills, trees, hangars, trucks, skim by in recognizable scale, like old friends seen after a long separation. A sallow youth with a mop of frizzy hair was squatting outside, smoking a cigarette. A young man dressed in a black grained-silk shirt with a red kerchief knotted round his throat, accosted Philip‘s companion. A solitary woman was leaning against the balustrade, staring moodily at the Bay, … …where a spectacular sunset was in progress. One of the O‘Shea children stuck his head round the door. Laughter, exclamations and more sitar music were coming from the darkened living-room. After a longish pause, Deirdre came to the door (and called through it). Touts shivering in the doorways of strip-clubs accosted him every few yards. A blonde wearing a minuscule lace apron over black underwear and stockings stepped into the spotlight. The Hogans were there, and three other couples all from the English Department. …and to his right the oil refineries of St Gabriel fumed into the limpid air. Spring has really arrived. A new Eden is being created in the People‘s Garden in Plotinus. On Sunday a huge procession of Garden supporters coiled its way through the streets of Plotinus.
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A block of green ice one cubic foot in size fell through the roof of a house in south Rummidge last night. A silver jet, with engines cut back, planed in from the north almost at his eye level. Over two thousand troops were in the city. But they think Melanie is here too, as chaperone. As the door slid open and they entered, Karl Kroop hurried in beside them. As he entered the Department Office to check his mailbox, Mabel Lee greeted him. A second police car drew up beside them. Amanda appeared at the door, arrayed in her school uniform - dark maroon blazer, white shirt and tie, grey skirt. As soon as he got inside, the communication door opposite opened and Alice Slide inched her way apologetically into the room, clutching a large stack of files. You could still tell from the marks on the walls where the hunting trophies had hung. As the students shuffled out through the door, Rupert Sutcliffe shuffled in, a tall, stooped, melancholy figure, with ill-fitting glasses that kept slipping to the end of his nose. It was as well he did so, for another tile sprang from the wall above his head with a resounding crack like a bullet ricocheting and scattered in fragments just behind him. Three men entered the room. As he stood pondering on the landing Masters appeared before him moving slowly downwards, standing on his head. Morris, in dressing-gown, comes out. A Western film comes up on the TV screen. Inside the fence, National Guardsmen stand at ease. The Lord has done this for me. The Holy Spirit will come upon you… For the Lord’s hand was with him. Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come and has redeemed his people. In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you ...and the Holy Spirit was upon him. During the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. 197
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...and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. On another Sabbath he went into the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was shrivelled. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coast of Tyre and Sidon, who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out— the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. A great prophet has appeared among us. The Twelve were with him and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; Joanna the wife of Cuza, the manager of Herod’s household; Susanna; and many others. While a large crowd was gathering ...and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this parable: Now Jesus’ mother and brothers came to see him. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger. Now when Jesus returned, a crowd welcomed him, for they were all expecting him. Then a man named Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue, came and fell at Jesus’ feet, pleading with him to come to his house. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her. Now Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was going on. And he was perplexed, because some were saying that John had been raised from the dead, others that Elijah had appeared. Late in the afternoon the Twelve came to him and said... About five thousand men were there.
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Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.” The next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met him. A spirit seizes him and he suddenly screams; An argument started among the disciples as to which of them would be the greatest. As a man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, robbers attacked him and grabbed everything he had. A priest happened to be going down the same road. Later a temple helper came to the same place. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you. The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now one greater than Solomon is here. The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here. Meanwhile, when a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus began to speak first to his disciples, saying: “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, “Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you.” Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: ... ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us. Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth? A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 199
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Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. While they were listening to this, he went on to tell them a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once. One day as he was teaching the people in the temple courts and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, together with the elders, came up to him. Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread, called the Passover, was approaching. As you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Also a dispute arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest. An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. While he was still speaking a crowd came up, and the man who was called Judas, one of the Twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him At daybreak the council of the elders of the people, both the chief priests and teachers of the law, met together, and Jesus was led before them. A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him. The soldiers also came up and mocked him. It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, for the sun stopped shining. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd. Wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. Now a man crippled from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. The next day the rulers, elders and teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. 200
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Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and the other men of the high priest’s family. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, who was honored by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin. Some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men rallied to him. 37 After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and led a band of people in revolt. Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran. At that time Moses was born. And Saul was there, giving approval to his death. Suddenly a man in shining clothes stood before me. While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. Right then three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea stopped at the house where I was staying. The Lord’s hand was with them, … … and a great number of people believed (and turned to the Lord). … and a great number of people were brought to the Lord. One of them, named Agabus, stood up. … that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. Immediately mist and darkness came over him. The gods have come down to us in human form! But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. He came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was a Jewess and a believer, but whose father was a Greek. Many of the Jews believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men. A few men became followers of Paul and believed. Crispus, the synagogue ruler, and his entire household believed in the Lord; …and many of the Corinthians who heard him believed and were baptized. Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them. Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. 201
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Many of those who believed now came and… After we had been there a number of days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. The Lord’s will be done. (The next day Paul and the rest of us went to see James,) and all the elders were present. What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him? The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage! Five days later the high priest Ananias went down to Caesarea with some of the elders and a lawyer named Tertullus, (and they brought their charges against Paul before the governor.) Then Felix, who was well acquainted with the Way, adjourned the proceedings. After the men had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up before them and said: “Men, you should have taken my advice not to sail from Crete; then you would have spared yourselves this damage and loss. Last night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood beside me and said… When daylight came, they did not recognize the land, but they saw a bay with a sandy beach, where they decided to run the ship aground if they could. This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem. A voice is heard in Ramah: … People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. The axe is already at the root of the trees. His winnowing fork is in his hand. Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptised by John. ...and the angels came and attended him. Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him. His disciples cane to him, (and he began to teach them). your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Broad is the road that leads to destruction,) and many enter through it. When he came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. A man with leprosy came (and knelt before him). Then a teacher of the law came to him (and said:…) When he arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and “sinners” came (and ate with him and his disciples). Then John’s disciples came (and asked him).
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While he was saying this, a ruler came (and knelt before him and said: …) Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him (and touched the edge of his cloak). While they were going out, a man who was demon-possessed and could not talk was brought to Jesus. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me. ...and a man with a shrivelled hand was there. When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. ...and the birds came (and ate it up). The disciples came to him (and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?”) When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. The owner’s servants came to him (and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field?) The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus (and tested him by asking him to show them a sign from heaven.) When evening comes, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red’... When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. At that time the disciples came to Jesus (and asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”) As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. Large crowds followed him, (and he healed them there.) Now a man came up to Jesus (and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”) When evening came, (the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’) Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons (and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him.) As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. (Jesus entered the temple courts,) and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. (The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone;) the Lord has done this. 203
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(At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other,) and many false prophets will appear (and deceive many people.) For false Christs and false prophets will appear (and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible.) Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather. At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, (and all the nations of the earth will mourn.) Then the man who had received the one talent came. On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?” When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve. He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.” While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived. Those who had arrested Jesus took him to Caiaphas, the high priest, where the teachers of the law and the elders had assembled. (Now Peter was sitting out in the courtyard,) and a servant girl came to him. 17 So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” 38 Two robbers were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. Suddenly Jesus met them. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Another angel, who had a golden censer, came (and stood at the altar. ) (The third angel sounded his trumpet,) and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. When he opened the Abyss, smoke rose from it like the smoke from a gigantic furnace. And out of the smoke locusts came down upon the earth (and were given power like that of scorpions of the earth.) If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies. But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, … ...and terror struck those who saw them.
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A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads. No lie was found in their mouths; (they are blameless. ) A second angel followed (and said, “Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great, which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries.”) A third angel followed them (and said in a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand) Then another angel came out of the temple... ...and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, “Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.” Another angel came out of the temple in heaven, (and he too had a sharp sickle.) Still another angel, who had charge of the fire, came from the altar and called in a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, “Take your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the earth’s vine, because its grapes are ripe.” All nations will come (and worship before you…) From the sky huge hailstones of about a hundred pounds each fell upon men. One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came (and said to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits on many waters. ) Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. For the wedding of the Lamb has come, (and his bride has made herself ready. ) The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. (And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened.) Another book was opened, which is the book of life. One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came (and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”) The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, (and his servants will serve him. ) My reward is with me, (and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. ) Through him all things were made. The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there… ...and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding 205
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Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. An argument developed between some of John’s disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of ceremonial washing. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour. When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, (…) The potatoes are boiling… …and the kettle‘s singing. Close beside the path they were following, a bird suddenly chirped from the branch of a tree. A light breeze sprang up, which scattered drops of moisture from the swaying branches and carried cool, delicious scents against the faces of the travellers. A bee buzzed across their path. There a beautiful sight met their eyes. And once more Peter said nothing, for at that moment a strange noise woke the silence suddenly. The moonlight was bright. ...and though the moon was shining many of them were carrying torches. In the wood behind them a bird gave a chuckling sound. …and gold flashed… …and wine flowed… The sun shone. Cloud swirls round Philip Swallow’s plane. Just out of sight to his left a pall of smoke hung over the great military and industrial port of Ashland… A segment of light from the corridor fell across the floor. A searing pain bored into his hand. A ghost of a smile hovered on Mrs Swallow‘s lips. On the screen a lot of nuns, photographed form behind, were singing a hymn. The face of Melanie Byrd peered apprehensively through the aperture. Another joint was circulating. A spotlight threw a pool of violet light on to the stage. (The Avenue was getting busy.) Cars honked and hummed in the road. A bomb exploded in the men‘s john on the fourth floor. …and then the campus police intervene and occasionally the Plotinus police forces too… A National Guard helicopter clattered over the Euphoric State campus yesterday, spraying tear gas over some 700 students. Down on the ever-moving Shoreline Freeway, the cars and trucks raced along like Dinky toys. A dark spidery shadow flashed across the gardens on the hillside.
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The first helicopter of the day swooped down upon the Euphoric State campus. Desirée’s red plaits flamed against the saffron pillows of the huge bed. Three images of himself converged in the triptych of mirrors over Desirée’s dressing-table. The spume of rotating water sprinklers rainbowed in the sun… An expression of great pain passed over his big, brown face. …through which a delicious aroma of bacon and coffee now began to percolate from the kitchen below. Two cups steamed on the bedside table. Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, ... ...and the glory of the Lord shone around them, Suddenly a great company of heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favour rests.” A large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside. And when the south wind blows, you say, ‘It’s going to be hot,’ and it is. The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it. I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me. Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared... ...and a light shone in the cell. About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me. When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees. When a gentle south wind began to blow, they thought they had obtained what they wanted; Before very long, a wind of hurricane force, called the “northeaster,” swept down from the island. Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. The next day the south wind came up, (and on the following day we reached Puteoli.) 207
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But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt. Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy… ...and where thieves break in and steal. The rain came down… ...the streams rose… ...and the winds blew ... The rain came down… ...the streams rose… ...and the winds blew ... Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. But when the sun came up, (the plants were scorched). While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, (and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”) At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him! A rainbow, resembling an emerald, encircled the throne. Before the throne, seven lamps were blazing. (“Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?”...) “See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. (He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”) …and to his right the oil refineries of St Gabriel fumed into the limpid air. Then a famine struck all Egypt and Canaan, bringing great suffering. Presently the clouds parted overhead… …the green ice of the pool had vanished under a thick white blanket. Finally, the clouds rolled away… The snow had stopped… Then the moon disappeared… The sense of purpose was lacking… If this is the case, however, no rumour of it has reached Philip‘s ego. The sun had dropped behind the rooftops. The glory had gone from the afternoon. (I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.) Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. With shrieks, evil spirits came out of many, and many paralytics and cripples were healed. 208
M1:20 M2:13 M2:19 M6:19a M6:19b M7:25a M7:25b M7:25c M7:27a M7:27b M7:27c M8:24 M8:30 M13:6 M17:5 M25:6a R4:3 R4:5b R5:5 C56c A7:11 N63c N84c N92b N102a N103a C16a C28b C117b C117c L21:33 A8:7
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Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes (and he could see again.) Much time had been lost. When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved. A third of the earth was burned up, … ...a third of the trees were burned up, … ...and all the green grass was burned up. (The second angel sounded his trumpet,) and something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea. No earthquake like it has ever occurred since man has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake. (The fruit you longed for is gone from you.) All your riches and splendor have vanished, never to be recovered. (With such violence the great city of Babylon will be thrown down, never to be found again.) The music of harpists and musicians, flute players and trumpeters, will never be heard in you again. No workman of any trade will ever be found in you again. The sound of a millstone will never be heard in you again. The light of a lamp will never shine in you again. The voice of bridegroom and bride will never be heard in you again. When the wine was gone… While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born. And the power of the Lord was present for him to heal the sick. But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every one of them will be thrown down. For the time will come when you will say, ‘Blessed are the barren women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; This title was written on her forehead: mystery Babylon the great the mother of prostitutes and of the abominations of the earth. …the Nymphs who lived in the wells and the Dryads who lived in the trees came out to dance with the Fauns. High, high above the North Pole, on the first day of 1969, two professors of English Literature approached each other at a combined velocity of 1200 miles per hour.
209
A9:18 A27:9 A27:20 R8:7b R8:7c R8:7d R8:8 R16:18b R18:14 R18:22a R18:22b R18:22c R18:23a R18:23b J2:3 L2:6 L5:17 L5:35 L9:51 L16:22 L17:22 L19:43 L21:6 L23:29 M9:15 R17:5 N19d C7
Through the murk the dull red eye of a sun that had scarcely been able 2D to drag itself above roof level all day was sinking blearily beneath the C83a horizon, spreading a rusty stain across the snow-covered surfaces. A man from Johnson‘s came round this morning with a huge bunch of 2D C122a red roses which he said you had sent by Interflora. At 6 am yesterday, the Eseph Fence Company arrived to erect a 10-foot 2D C159 high steel-link. 2D Tax collectors also came to be baptized. L3:12 2D Some men came carrying a paralytic on a mat. L5:18 2D A farmer went out to sow his seed. L8:5 Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, 2D L8:20 wanting to see you.” Now the tax collectors and “sinners” were all gathering around to hear 2D L15:1 him. Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other 2D L18:10 a tax collector. As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside 2D L18:35 begging. 2D For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost. L19:10 The chief priests and the teachers of the law were standing there, 2D L23:10 vehemently accusing him. Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be 2D L23:32 executed. After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to Moses in the flames of 2D A7:30 a burning bush in the desert near Mount Sinai. All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and 2D A9:39 other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them. (Peter knocked at the outer entrance,) and a servant girl named Rhoda 2D A12:13 came to answer the door. On the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of 2D A13:44 the Lord. 2D The apostles and elders met to consider this question. A15:6 2D A man named Ananias came to see me. A22:12 A few days later King Agrippa and Bernice arrived at Caesarea to pay 2D A25:13 their respects to Festus. In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the Desert of Judea and 2D M3:1 saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for 2D M8:5 help. As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, 2D M9:27 “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood 2D M12:46 outside, wanting to speak to him. 2D Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you. M12:47 2D A farmer went out to sow his seed. M13:3
210
2D 2D 2D 2D 2D 2D 2D 2D 2D 2D 2D 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession.” Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them. Some Pharisees came to him to test him. Then little children were brought to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. That same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question. Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table. Many women were there, watching from a distance. Then a voice came from the throne, saying: “Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, both small and great!” Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name… your kingdom come And then came three steps down and five steps up, and then a kind of little upstairs hall and a door that led out on to a balcony. …and on one wall was a shelf full of books. On the sledge, driving the reindeer, sat a fat dwarf who would have been about three feet high if he had been standing. But behind him, on a much higher seat in the middle of the sledge sat a very different person - a great lady, taller than any woman that Edmund had ever seen. Straight on, beyond that, is the way to the World of Men. Behind them were coats hanging on pegs… 211
M13:16 M15:22 M15:30 M19:3 M19:13 M22:11 M22:23a M24:1 M26:7 M27:55 R19:5 M5:3 M5:4 M5:5 M5:6 M5:7 M5:8 M5:9 M5:10 M5:11 M6:9 M6:10a N10b N19b N33c N33d N42 N57b
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
…in front of them were snow-covered trees. And below the dam, much lower down, was more ice. And out in the middle, and partly on top of the dam was a funny little house shaped rather like an enormous beehive. And then between them, he thought, must be her palace, only a mile off or less. Here are the Sons and Daughters of Adam and Eve. …and against the walls were gumboots and oilskins and hatchets and pairs of shears and spades and trowels and things for carrying mortar in and fishing-rods and fishing-nets and sacks. Just inside the gate, with the moonlight shining on it, stood an enormous lion crouched as if it was ready to spring. Right in the very middle stood a huge shape like a man, but tall as a tree, with a fierce face and a shaggy beard and a great club in his hand. Across the threshold lay a great wolf. Close beside this sat the White Witch. And here‘s a packet of tea… And on the sledge sat a person whom everyone knew the moment they set eyes on him. A little way off at the foot of a tree sat a merry party, a squirrel and his wife with their children and two satyrs and a dwarf and an old dog-fox, all on stools round a table. Then came a sound even more delicious than the sound of water. In the very middle of this open hill-top was the Stone Table. And next to Aslan stood two leopards of whom one carried his crown and the other his standard. And beyond all this, miles away, was the sea. Then came a horrible, confused moment like something in a night mare. Here is you brother. And right in the middle, standing by the Table, was the Witch herself. Four Hags, holding four torches, stood at the corners of the Table. There, shining in the sunrise, larger than they had seen him before, shaking his mane stood Aslan himself. Here‘s another little winding stair. Here‘s a poor kangaroo. Before them were the sands, with rocks and little pools of salt water, and seaweed, and the smell of the sea and long miles of bluish-green waves breaking for ever and ever on the beach. And through the eastern door, which was wide open, came the voices of the mermen and the mermaids swimming close to the shore and singing in honour of their Kings and Queens. …and answering to the music inside, but stranger, sweeter, and more piercing, came the music of the sea people. Fair friends, here is a great marvel… But weighing against this comforting thought is the fact that he is traveling on a charter flight. 212
N57c N72b N72d N73a N74b N75d N94b N97d N97g N99a N100b N106 N113a N119c N123b N125 N127b N129a N136a N148c N151c N159a N168a N168b N178 N179a N179e N182a C11
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
On his jerkin, arranged in three neat rows like military medals, are a dozen or more lapel buttons in psychedelic colours. And now, in the two Boeings, falls simultaneously the special silence that precedes an airliner‘s landing. Beneath him, where the foothills flattened out to meet the Bay shore, was the campus, with its white buildings and bosky paths, its campanile and plaza. In the top right-hand corner one was an envelope addressed to himself. Outside, hunched slightly against the wind, hands thrust deep into the pockets of his jeans, making a bulge like codpiece, was Charles Boon. Among the other guests was Mrs Zapp, extremely tight, and in an aggressive mood. (The door opens) and in come Morris, Desirée, Hilary and Philip. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Sir, here is your mina; Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. See, Lord, here are two swords. Look, here is water. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others. Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight; Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. Look, here is the Christ! At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him! See, here is what belongs to you. Here comes my betrayer! With him was a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and the elders of the people. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons. Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, … … and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near. (And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands,) and among the lampstands was someone “like a son of man,” dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. (In his right hand he held seven stars,) and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. 213
C34a C52b C56a C62c C118 C123a C246b L16:20 L19:20 L22:7 L22:38 A8:36 A17:34b A20:9 M3:11 M12:18 M12:49 M24:23 M25:6b M25:25 M26:46 M26:47b M27:56 R1:3a R1:3b R1:13 R1:16
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands: I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance… These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword. These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. (After this I looked,) and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. (At once I was in the Spirit,) and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, … ...and seated on them were twenty-four elders. From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. (I looked,) and there before me was a white horse! To him was given a large sword. (I looked,) and there before me was a black horse! (I looked,) and there before me was a pale horse! (After this I looked) and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. (And I saw the seven angels who stand before God,) and to them were given seven trumpets. These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. (Then God’s temple in heaven was opened,) and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant. (Then I looked,) and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on. (I looked,) and there before me was a white cloud, … …and seated on the cloud was one “like a son of man” with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. Out of the temple came the seven angels with the seven plagues.
214
R2:1 R2:8 R2:12 R2:18 R3:1 R3:7 R3:14 R4:1 R4:2 R4:4a R4:4b R4:5a R4:6b R6:2 R6:4b R6:5 R6:8 R7:9 R8:2 R11:4 R11:19a R14:1 R14:13 R14:14a R14:14b R15:6
Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, (so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed.) (The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air,) and out of the 3 temple came a loud voice from the throne, saying, “It is done!” In her was found the blood of prophets and of the saints, and of all who 3 have been killed on the earth. 3 Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb! 3 These are the true words of God. (I saw heaven standing open) and there before me was a white horse, 3 whose rider is called Faithful and True. 3 (His eyes are like blazing fire,) and on his head are many crowns. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the 3 nations. 3 Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. 3 On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. (The wall of the city had twelve foundations,) and on them were the 3 names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of 3 fruit, yielding its fruit every month. 3 Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy in this book. Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to 3 the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually 3 immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. 3 In the beginning was the Word. 3 In him was life… 3 ...but among you stands one you do not know. 3 Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false. Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for 3 ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. 3A Long live the Queen! 3A Long live the true King! 3A The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Inside, the cave (…) had the damp feel and smell of a place that had not 4 been lived in for several days. ...and high above it on a pole a banner which bore a red rampant lion 4 fluttering in the breeze which was blowing in their faces from the far-off sea. 4 You have a traitor there, Aslan. The walls of his room bore plentiful evidence of his marksmanship in the 4 form of silently snarling stuffed animals. 4 …but it has a bed in it. You have two thousand troops camped in this small community, 4 helicopters buzzing overhead. 3
215
R16:15 R16:17 R18:24 R19:9a R19:9b R19:11 R19:12a R19:15 R20:6 R21:12b R21:14 R22:2 R22:7 R22:14 R22:15 J1:1 J1:4 J1:26 J1:47 J2:6 N61a N109 R22:21 N59d N123d N138 C23b C102b C197b
4 4 4 4
You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols …. Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates.
R2:14 R3:4 R19:12b R21:12a
Appendix 2 – The Complete List of Pr-Verbs Appendix 2, as has been noted above, offers the complete, alphabetically arranged list of all the Pr-verbs identified in the research corpus. The left-most column specifies the typological Subtypes in which the given verb occurs in the corpus. The columns labelled Syntax and Semantics respectively give the basic syntactic-semantic classification explored in detail in Chapter 5 at individual Subtypes. The last, right-most column indicates the verbs’ capability to express existence/ appearance on the scene with explicitness or sufficient implicitness as derived from discussions carried out in Chapter 5; admittedly, some of the items cannot be judged unequivocally (or are simply not black and white) and hence the qualification may be at times simplified.
accost
M
Soc
Explicit vs. Implicit expression of existence/ appearance Explicit
appear
I
App
Explicit
Subtype 2 1A, 2, 2A, 2B 2, 2C 1A, 2 2 2 2 2, 3 2 2 2, 2A 2A 2A 2A 2A 2A 2A 2 2 2B 2A
Verb
Syntax Semantics
approach I Mot arise I App arrive I Mot attack M Con await M Exi be Co Exi bear M+Pass App begin I Asp believe (in the Lord) I Pre blaze I Emi blow I Exi boil I ChS bore (into sb.’s hand) M Cut break in and steal I Des+Rem break out I App bring D+Pass Sen build M+Pass Cre burn up I Des buzz I Ani 216
Explicit Explicit Explicit Implicit Explicit Explicit Implicit Explicit Implicit Implicit Implicit Implicit Implicit Implicit Implicit Explicit Explicit Implicit Implicit
2 2A 2A 2 1A, 2, 2C, 3 2 2 2, 2A 2 2, 2B 2 2 2, 2A 2A 2 2A 2 2 2A 2 2 2B 2A 2 2A 1A 2A 2, 2A, 2B, 3 2 2A 2A 2, 2B, 3 2A 2A 2A 2 2 2 2, 3 2A 1A, 2B 2
carry circulate clatter coil sb.’s way come come about come along come down come in come out come to life come together come up converge create crow crucify descend destroy do draw up drop encircle enter envelope exist explode fall fall off fasten (itself on sb.’s hand) feed find flame flash flow follow fume gather give give (a chuckling sound) go go along
M+Pass I I M I I I I I I I I I I M+Pass I M+Pass I M M+Pass I I M M M I I I I
Sen Exi Emi Cre Mot App App Mot Mot Mot App Exi App App Cre Ani Kil Mot Des Cre App App Exi Mot Exi Exi ChS Mot Mot
Explicit Implicit Implicit Implicit Explicit Explicit Explicit Explicit Explicit Explicit Explicit Explicit Explicit Implicit Explicit Implicit Implicit Explicit Implicit Explicit Explicit Implicit Implicit Explicit Implicit Explicit Implicit Explicit Explicit
D
Att
Implicit
I M+Pass I I I M I I D+Pass
Ing ChP Emi Emi Emi Mot Exi Exi ChP
Implicit Implicit Implicit Implicit Implicit Explicit Implicit Explicit Implicit
M
ChP
Implicit
I I
Mot Mot
Explicit Explicit
217
2 2 2 2, 2A 2 2, 2B 2A 2A 2 2A 2 2A 2B 3 2 3 2A 2B 2, 2A 2B 2 2B 2B 2A 2A 2 2 2A 2A 2A 1A 2B 2 2 2A 1A, 2, 2A 2B 2 3 2, 2A 2 2A, 2B 2
go up greet hand hang happen hear honk and hum hover hurry in chirp inch sb.’s way intervene lack lay lean lie lift sb.’s hand (in salute) lose meet occur open part pass away peer percolate plane in pour preach race along rainbow ramp reach rear up reign ring out rise roll away rush up see seize send shine shuffle out / in
I M M+Pass I I M+Pass I I I I M I I M+Pass I I
Mot Jud Sen Exi App Per Emi Exi Rus Ani Mot Pre App Exi Pos Exi
Explicit Implicit Implicit Explicit Explicit Implicit Implicit Implicit Explicit Implicit Implicit Implicit Implicit Explicit Explicit Explicit
I
Put
Implicit
I M I M+Pass I I I I I M+Pass M+Pass I I I M I I I I I I M+Pass M M+Pass I I
App Soc App ChS App App Per Exi Mot Cre Com Mot Emi Mot ChP App Exi Emi App App Rus Per ChP Sen Emi Mot
Implicit Implicit Explicit Implicit Implicit Implicit Implicit Implicit Explicit Implicit Implicit Implicit Implicit Explicit Implicit Explicit Implicit Implicit Explicit Implicit Explicit Implicit Implicit Implicit Implicit Explicit
218
2A 1A, 2, 3 2 2 2, 2A 2 1A, 2, 3 2 2 1A 2A 2 2 1A 2, 2B 2, 2A 2 1A 2A 2A 2A 2 2B 2A 2 2A 2 2B 2A 2 2 3
sing sit skim by spread spring up squat stand stand up start stay steam step (into the spotlight) step out stick stop strike strike down sweep (into sight) sweep down swirl swoop down take throw throw (a pool of violet light) travel triumph turn up vanish wake (the silence) walk out welcome write
I I I I I I I I I I I
Emi Exi Mot App Mot Exi Exi App Asp Exi Emi
Implicit Explicit Implicit Explicit Explicit Explicit Explicit Explicit Explicit Explicit Implicit
I
App
Explicit
I I I M I M I I I M+Pass M+Pass
App Exi Asp Con, Psy App Exi Mot Exi Mot Cre Thr
Explicit Explicit Implicit Implicit Explicit Explicit Implicit Implicit Implicit Implicit Implicit
M
Thr
Implicit
I I I I M I M M+Pass
Mot Exi App App ChS Mot Jud Com
Explicit Implicit Explicit Implicit Implicit Explicit Implicit Implicit
219
Summary in Czech / České resumé Monografie s názvem Presentation Sentences (Syntax, Semantics and FSP), představující upravenou verzi habilitační práce autora, se zabývá syntaktickými, sémantickými a aktuálněčlenskými aspekty vět, které implementují tzv. Prezentační škálu (angl. Presentation Scale) a tedy prezentují na scéně kontextově nezapojený subjekt. Obzvláště pak zkoumá „prezentační slovesa“, tedy slovesa, která mohou takové uvedení na scénu (existenci či objevení se) komunikovat (Pr-verbs). Jak teoretická tak praktická část je pevně zakotvena v teorii tzv. aktuálního členění větného, v anglofonní jazykovědě známé jako funkční větná perspektiva (Functional Sentence Perspective; FSP). Předmětem zkoumání teorie FSP je tzv. výpovědní dynamičnost věty (communicative dynamism) v okamžiku promluvy, tedy prominence jednotlivých větných členů a způsob, jakým je možné skrze větu komunikovat záměr mluvčího, vyplývající ze vzájemné souhry tří hlavních faktorů: slovního pořádku, kontextu, sémantiky a v mluveném projevu navíc intonace. Věta je tak členěna na východisko výpovědi (theme) a nejdynamičtější část neboli jádro výpovědi (rheme). Teorie FSP, která v českém prostředí vychází z bádání Pražského lingvistického kroužku (především ze studií Viléma Mathesia) a která došla svého vrcholu v díle Jana Firbase, představitele brněnského pojetí FSP, je tak kromě sémantické a syntaktické analýzy sloves (Levin 1993; Quirk et al. 1985; Dušková et al. 1988) výsostnou metodou monografie. Kromě prací Firbasových se výzkum teoreticky i prakticky opírá o studie dalších pokračovatelů tradice brněnského přístupu ke studiu FSP, jako např. Aleše Svobody, Libuše Duškové nebo Jany Chamonikolasové. Základní cíl výzkumu je dvojí: (i) syntaktická typologie prezentačních vět, a (ii) sémanticko-syntaktický charakter prezentačních sloves. Práce vychází z funkční analýzy korpusu čítajícího celkem 207 366 slov; v jeho rámci bylo excerpováno 1000 prezentačních vět, a to v poměrném zastoupení jak z beletristických (Subkorpus A), tak religiózních narativních textů (Subkorpus B); srovnání obou typů textů je pak doplňujícím výzkumným aspektem práce (iii). Výskyt prezentačních vět v celém korpusu je 8,8% (8,3% v Subkorpusu A, respektive 9% v Subkorpusu B). Co se týče klasifikace prezentačních vět, byly detekovány čtyři základní typy: 1) existenční there-konstrukce (There are hawks), 2) preverbální rématický podmět (A cruel smile appeared on her face), 3) inverze podmětu a přísudku s předsazeným lokálním příslovečným určením (In the room appeared an angel of the Lord), 4) lokativní podmět (The banner bore a red rampant lion); u většiny těchto typů byly zjištěny také jejich syntaktické varianty. Nejčastější syntaktickou realizaci prezentační škály v angličtině představuje typ 1 (v subkorpusu beletristických narativních textů), respektive typ 2 (v subkorpusu religiózních narativních textů). Rozdílné zastoupení jednotlivých typů je připisováno rozdílnosti obou zkoumaných žánrů v rámci užitého stylu i účelu textů, částečně pak individuálnímu stylu autora (stručně řečeno, zatímco beletristické narativní texty jsou svým stylem i funkcí blízké mluvenému, a tedy neformálnímu modu jazyka, novozákonní vyprávění vykazují v rámci užitých prezentačních realizací mnohem vyšší stupeň jazykové formálnosti). Při analýze sémanticko-syntaktického charakteru anglických prezentačních sloves byla brána v úvahu nejen sémantika dynamická (jako faktor FSP), nýbrž také sémantika lexikální (statická). Bylo potvrzeno, že slovesa figurující v prezentační škále mohou být dvojího typu. 221
První z nich je početně relativně omezený; vyjadřuje existenci/objevení se na scéně explicitně a tzv. prezentační potenciál (presentational potential) je inherentně přítomen v jejich sémantice (typicky slovesa ryze existenční, slovesa objevení se na scéně/zmizení ze scény, a také slovesa pohybu – srov. exist, live, appear, come, arrive, disappear, apod.). Mnohem heterogennější se pak jeví skupina prezentačních sloves, která uvádějí na scénu kontextově nezapojený podmět pouze implicitně (např. buzz, shine, wake, hover, coil, clatter, steam, aj.); jejich prezentační potenciál je velmi malý, až nulový. Jde o to, že taková slovesa jsou ze své podstaty schopna vyjadřovat spíše specifikaci podmětu a tedy implementovat kvalifikační škálu (Quality Scale), a pouze v omezené míře – a za určitých podmínek – mohou denotovat i existenci či objevení se na scéně. Bylo zjištěno, že kapacita slovesa prezentovat nový fenomén na scéně je určena nejen obligátní přítomností kontextově nezapojeného podmětu a příznivým verbálním kontextem, nýbrž do značné míry také sémantickými vztahy ve větě. Důležitou součástí výzkumu se tak stalo zjištění, že společným jmenovatelem statické sémantiky takových sloves je typicky úzké významové propojení sémantiky podmětu a slovesa (S-V semantic affinity) – např. objevující se včela a bzučení jako prototypický způsob jejího objevení se na scéně ve větě A bee buzzed across their path. Kromě tohoto charakteristického rysu implicitní prezentační slovesa vykazují relativně jednoduchou postverbální komplementaci (většina z nich je netranzitivní); pokud se setkáváme v implikované prezentační škále s tranzitivními slovesy, vyskytují se často buď v trpném rodě (A sword was given to him) nebo v rámci metaforického vyjádření (A noise woke the silence). Celkem bylo ve výzkumném korpusu detekováno 138 různých sloves, která v daném kontextu prezentují na scéně kontextově nezapojený podmět. Statistické zpracování získaných dat ukázalo, že sloves, která jsou schopna vyjádřit existenci/objevení se na scéně implicitně je nejen relativně mnoho co do slovesných typů, ale také že v absolutních číslech je jich dokonce více (54,3%) než sloves, která uvádějí kontextově nezávislý podmět na scénu explicitně (45,7%). Závěrem lze říci, že propojení statické a dynamické (FSP) sémantiky anglického slovesa na jedné straně a jeho syntaktické charakteristiky na straně druhé se při analýze prezentačních škál ukázalo jako velmi plodné. Výzkum tedy mohl jak přinést nové poznatky o fungování sloves v rámci prezentačních vět, tak i naznačit možné nové směry v bádání v rámci FSP.
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Index A Adam, M. 9, 13, 14, 16, 18, 21, 23, 30, 31, 32, 37, 38, 40, 42, 46, 47, 51, 52, 53, 54, 60, 65, 68, 69, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 115, 118, 119, 120, 138, 139, 143, 144, 146, 154, 155, 158, 159, 167, 169, 171, 212 adverbial 15, 27, 29, 41, 48, 59, 62, 64, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 74, 76, 77, 78, 82, 99, 100, 104, 106, 108, 113, 119, 120, 138, 139, 141, 142, 148, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156 Allerton, D. J. 27, 29, 52, 86, 87, 169 Andor, J. 163, 169 appearance 13, 15, 16, 31, 32, 34, 44, 45, 51, 52, 53, 54, 65, 66, 71, 73, 74, 75, 81, 82, 85, 91, 93, 101, 102, 103, 105, 106, 107, 109, 115, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 126, 127, 128, 130, 131, 133, 140, 142, 146, 149, 150, 151, 152, 153, 157, 158, 159, 160, 161, 165, 173, 177, 189, 216 Ascription of Quality 6, 46, 50
B Bearer of Quality 6, 46, 47, 80, 106, 107, 115, 120, 142, 158 Beaugrande, R. 37, 38, 169 Biber, D. 23, 34, 72, 100, 155, 170 biblical narrative 13, 16, 18, 20, 21, 77, 79, 80, 83, 117, 153, 154, 155, 156 Birner, B. J. 61, 69, 170 Bolinger, D. 41, 66, 170 Brassai, S. 14, 170 Breivik, L. E. 63, 170, 173 Brentano, F. 130, 170 Bresnan, J. 148, 170 Brown, G. 170 Budai, L. 27, 170 Buráňová, E. 15, 55, 170, 177 Burchfield, R. W. 113, 170
C Carroll, L. 85, 179 Carter, R. 26, 27, 170 Černý, M. 169, 176 Chamonikolasová, J. 11, 13, 16, 23, 37, 41, 42, 45, 46, 47, 49, 54, 55, 56, 57, 65, 115, 132, 138, 143, 159, 169, 170, 171, 176 Chafe, W. L. 34, 37, 42, 54, 56, 143, 170 Chomsky, N. 35, 171 Chudašová, G. 83, 171 communicative dynamism 6, 14, 15, 32, 39, 40, 48, 60, 62, 63, 68, 75, 104, 119, 124, 132, 137, 148, 161, 173, 221 Conrad, S. 170
Cook, W. A. 34, 171 copular 6, 27, 28, 29, 46, 81, 87, 99, 135, 139, 140, 142, 145, 146, 147, 161 Croft, W. 33, 59, 171 Cross, F. L. 104, 136, 171 Cruttenden, A. 127, 171 Crystal, D. 22, 27, 48, 68, 72, 76, 154, 155, 171
D Daneš, F. 13, 23, 29, 68, 157, 171, 173, 174 Davy, D. 22, 72, 154, 155, 171 density 13, 21, 79, 83, 146 Diatheme 6, 64, 177 Dijk, T. A. van 37, 38, 79, 82, 83, 154, 155, 171 disappearance 65, 71, 105, 132, 133, 152, 156 ditransitive 6, 27, 28, 29, 87, 99, 100, 101, 103, 109, 112, 127, 141, 142, 161, 165 Dokulil, M. 29, 171 Doležalová, P. 18, 83, 171 Dontcheva-Navrátilová, O. 13, 57, 156, 172 Douglas, J. D. 22, 140, 155, 172 Dowty, D. R. 92, 172 Drápela, M. 18, 36, 169, 172 Dressler, W. U. 37, 38, 169 Dubec, P. 64, 70, 176 Dušková, L. 11, 13, 15, 16, 23, 26, 27, 30, 32, 36, 37, 53, 54, 55, 60, 62, 63, 66, 67, 69, 71, 72, 73, 74, 76, 77, 79, 80, 82, 94, 99, 100, 115, 116, 120, 127, 136, 138, 139, 142, 143, 144, 145, 147, 148, 149, 159, 162, 171, 172, 176, 177, 221 dynamic-semantic function 6, 146
E Eagleton, T. 172 Ertl, V. 51, 53, 172 existence 9, 13, 14, 15, 16, 31, 32, 34, 44, 45, 47, 51, 52, 53, 54, 61, 65, 66, 67, 70, 71, 73, 74, 75, 81, 85, 86, 91, 92, 93, 101, 102, 103, 105, 106, 107, 109, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 126, 127, 128, 130, 131, 132, 140, 142, 146, 148, 149, 150, 151, 152, 153, 157, 158, 159, 160, 161, 163, 165, 173, 175, 177, 216 existential there-construction 52, 71, 74, 80, 82, 120, 139, 149, 154 explicit 35, 51, 52, 54, 102, 103, 109, 120, 145, 148, 150, 152, 158, 160, 165
F fiction narrative 13, 16, 17, 18, 20, 23, 60, 68, 69, 71, 73, 74, 76, 79, 80, 82, 83, 94, 134, 137, 139, 153, 155, 156, 181 Fillmore, C. J. 33, 172
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Firbas, J. 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 23, 29, 30, 31, 32, 34, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 62, 63, 67, 75, 81, 82, 99, 100, 101, 107, 109, 115, 118, 119, 120, 123, 128, 130, 131, 132, 142, 144, 149, 158, 160, 162, 164, 165, 172, 173, 174 Freudenthaler, O. 146, 179 functional sentence perspective 6, 9, 10, 11, 13, 23, 30, 37, 38, 39, 43, 100, 153, 168, 169, 171, 172, 173, 174, 175, 177, 221 Further Specification 46
G Gabelentz, G. von der 14, 38, 173 Gardner, H. 20, 173 Ghadessy, M. 155, 173 Glaubaufová, L. 100, 173 Goldberg, A. 59, 173 Golková, E. 55, 174 Greenbaum, S. 23, 32, 49, 56, 170, 173, 174 Gussenhoven, C. 127, 174 Guthrie, D. 38, 136, 174
H Hajičová, E. 15, 37, 43, 55, 170, 174, 176, 177 Halliday, M. A. K. 23, 37, 38, 42, 49, 56, 57, 127, 174 Harris, S. L. 140, 174 Hasan, R. 37, 38, 42, 174 Hatcher, A. G. 39, 51, 107, 149, 174 Haupt, J. 51, 127, 161, 162, 174 Headlandová Kalischová, I. 48, 127, 128, 174 Hopper, P. 113, 114, 174 Hron, Z. 175 Hronková, N. 175 Huddleston, R. 23, 26, 27, 28, 127, 174 Hurtová, Z. 18, 83, 174
I implicit 15, 16, 23, 45, 51, 53, 54, 75, 101, 102, 103, 118, 119, 126, 146, 150, 152, 157, 158, 159, 160, 161 Intonation 48 intransitive 6, 27, 28, 29, 54, 80, 87, 92, 94, 99, 100, 102, 109, 112, 113, 125, 126, 128, 131, 133, 135, 142, 144, 158, 159, 160, 162, 165
J Jackendoff, R. 33, 35, 174 Jespersen, O. 163, 174
K Kaltenböck, G. 40, 175 Kavka, S. 169, 176 Kintsch, W. 37, 175 Kittel, G. 38, 175 Klégr, A. 175
Klímová, E. 30, 169, 175, 176 Knight, J. 136, 175 Kohlenberger, J. R. 22, 175 Kudrnáčová, N. 11, 13, 30, 32, 33, 52, 93, 169, 175 Kuroda, S.-Y. 130, 175
L Labov, W. 19, 175 Ladusaw, W. 130, 175 Leech, G. 32, 56, 57, 135, 136, 173, 175 Levin, B. 7, 23, 33, 34, 86, 87, 88, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 106, 116, 117, 121, 133, 140, 141, 142, 147, 148, 175, 176, 221 Lewis, S.-M. 6, 17, 19, 20, 23, 60, 64, 85, 130, 173, 174, 175, 178, 179 lexical semantics 15, 43, 124, 125, 130, 141, 143, 157, 159, 162, 163, 165 Lingová, L. 69, 83, 175 Lodge, D. 6, 17, 20, 60, 179 Longacre, R. E. 33, 175
M macrofield 13, 68, 169 Marty, A. 14, 38, 130, 175 Mathesius, V. 10, 14, 23, 32, 38, 39, 41, 49, 53, 67, 109, 129, 130, 131, 163, 167, 172, 175, 176 McCarthy, M. 26, 27, 170 modification 27, 29, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 47, 48, 49, 60, 62, 66, 73, 85, 94, 101, 103, 106, 107, 108, 109, 113, 127, 144, 148, 158, 161, 162, 164, 165, 170
N nominal phrase / NP 6, 40 notional homogeneity 13
P Panevová, J. 37, 55, 170, 174, 177 passive 6, 33, 35, 54, 60, 67, 74, 76, 86, 99, 100, 103, 104, 107, 109, 127, 128, 133, 141, 142, 151, 161, 165 Peregrin, J. 55, 176 Phenomenon 6, 14, 15, 16, 30, 45, 46, 47, 48, 50, 51, 63, 68, 72, 80, 81, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 115, 138, 142, 143, 146, 158, 162, 163, 164, 173 Pípalová, R. 13, 68, 176 Povolná, P. 55, 176 Presentation 6, 9, 10, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 25, 30, 35, 43, 45, 46, 47, 50, 51, 53, 54, 59, 60, 62, 64, 65, 66, 69, 70, 71, 73, 75, 77, 82, 85, 91, 101, 102, 103, 105, 106, 107, 109, 114, 115, 118, 119, 122, 125, 128, 131, 134, 137, 138, 140, 143, 147, 148, 153, 156, 157, 158, 161, 163, 164, 167, 169, 171, 178, 221 prosodic prominence 6, 48, 60, 64, 128, 173 Pr-potential 163
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Pr-scale 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 30, 34, 62, 73, 76, 77, 79, 80, 83, 94, 118, 120, 153, 157, 159, 160, 162 Pr-verb 15, 16, 23, 25, 45, 48, 53, 54, 67, 74, 75, 76, 80, 81, 82, 85, 86, 92, 102, 107, 109, 112, 114, 116, 117, 118, 120, 121, 135, 138, 139, 141, 142, 157, 158, 159, 161, 162, 163 Pullum, G. K. 23, 26, 27, 28, 127, 174
Q Quirk, R. 23, 26, 27, 28, 32, 33, 37, 40, 42, 56, 57, 61, 63, 64, 69, 76, 86, 87, 113, 114, 127, 135, 136, 139, 143, 144, 147, 148, 173, 174, 176, 221
R Rappaport Hovav, M. 33, 148, 175, 176 religious 13, 21, 22, 23, 25, 34, 54, 69, 71, 74, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 106, 114, 117, 124, 136, 139, 154, 155, 169 Řezníková, I. 18, 30, 51, 83, 176 rheme 6, 14, 15, 16, 18, 25, 30, 31, 38, 39, 40, 41, 44, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 57, 60, 64, 65, 69, 72, 77, 80, 129, 132, 134, 135, 143, 144, 146, 148, 221 Roe, I. F. 86, 176 Rohrauer, L. 64, 70
S Sæbø, K. J. 131, 176 Saussure, F. de 176, 179 Scale 6, 9, 119, 169, 171, 221 Combined 6, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 21, 25, 35, 45, 46, 47, 48, 50, 51, 53, 54, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 77, 78, 80, 82, 83, 91, 94, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 113, 114, 115, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 125, 126, 128, 130, 131, 134, 137, 138, 139, 140, 142, 143, 144, 147, 148, 152, 153, 156, 157, 158, 159, 160, 161, 162, 163, 164, 165, 167, 222 Schmerling, S. F. 127, 176 semantic affinity 53, 54, 71, 75, 79, 81, 83, 86, 103, 106, 109, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 131, 147, 150, 152, 156, 158, 160, 161, 167, 222 semantic residue 161, 162, 163, 164, 165 Sentences Presentation 59, 60, 70, 77, 78, 129, 130, 153 Setting 6, 14, 15, 30, 45, 46, 47, 48, 62, 82, 100, 119, 146 Sgall, P. 15, 37, 55, 170, 174, 176, 177 Shakespeare, W. 13, 113, 179 Skřivánková, M. 53, 67, 177 Specification 6, 30, 46, 47, 50, 51, 64, 65, 66, 75, 80, 104, 107, 108, 113, 114, 137, 138, 144, 158, 162, 163, 164
Štekauer, P. 37, 38, 177 subject 6, 14, 15, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 33, 34, 35, 39, 40, 41, 43, 44, 46, 47, 48, 50, 51, 53, 54, 57, 59, 60, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 86, 91, 94, 95, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 106, 107, 108, 109, 112, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 135, 137, 138, 139, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 148, 149, 150, 152, 153, 155, 156, 158, 159, 160, 161, 162, 163, 164, 165, 172, 177, 198, 203 Svartvik, J. 56, 57, 136, 173, 175 Svoboda, A. 11, 13, 16, 18, 23, 30, 37, 38, 40, 41, 43, 44, 46, 47, 49, 51, 54, 55, 115, 119, 120, 127, 158, 169, 177
T Talmy, L. 59, 177 Tárnyiková, J. 23, 37, 40, 60, 61, 63, 64, 68, 69, 76, 113, 115, 141, 177 Tenney, M. C. 155, 177 theme 6, 14, 15, 16, 18, 30, 31, 38, 39, 40, 41, 44, 45, 46, 48, 49, 57, 63, 68, 69, 77, 129, 132, 148, 162, 167, 172, 221 Tillhonová, G. 18, 177 Toolan, M. 19, 177 transition 7, 15, 16, 25, 30, 31, 39, 40, 44, 45, 46, 49, 50, 55, 57, 64, 81, 142, 159, 162, 176 transitive 6, 27, 28, 29, 54, 67, 69, 77, 80, 87, 92, 93, 99, 105, 112, 117, 124, 126, 127, 128, 131, 142, 158, 159, 161, 162, 163
U Uhlířová, L. 51, 53, 55, 177 Urbanová, L. 11, 23, 155, 156, 177, 178
V Vachek, J. 23, 31, 38, 44, 176, 178 Vogel, R. 34, 178 Vrbová, J. 43, 174
W Wachsmuthová, Z. 18, 65, 83, 178 Wallace, D. B. 104, 113, 178 Ward, G. 61, 69, 170 Warfield, B. B. 22, 178 Weil, H. 14, 38, 178 Wellman, S. 20, 178
Y Yule, G. 170
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Scientific Board of Masaryk University prof. PhDr. Ladislav Rabušic, CSc.; prof. RNDr. Zuzana Došlá, DSc.; Ing. Radmila Droběnová, Ph.D.; Mgr. Michaela Hanousková; doc. PhDr. Jana Chamonikolasová, Ph.D.; doc. JUDr. Josef Kotásek, Ph.D.; Mgr. et Mgr. Oldřich Krpec, Ph.D.; prof. PhDr. Petr Macek, CSc.; PhDr. Alena Mizerová; doc. Ing. Petr Pirožek, Ph.D.; doc. RNDr. Lubomír Popelínský, Ph.D.; Mgr. David Povolný; Mgr. Kateřina Sedláčková, Ph.D.; prof. MUDr. Anna Vašků, CSc.; prof. PhDr. Marie Vítková, CSc.; Mgr. Iva Zlatušková; doc. Mgr. Martin Zvonař, Ph.D.
Presentation Sentences (Syntax, Semantics and FSP) Mgr. Martin Adam, Ph.D. Published by Masaryk University in 2013 First edition, 2013 150 copies Printed by Reprocentrum, a.s., Bezručova 29, 678 01 Blansko ISBN 978-80-210-6440-9
