Syntactic Processes, their Types and Ways of Realisation

Syntactic processes are various in the contrasted languages and they find their realisation only in word-groups and sentences. The realisation of these processes in English and Ukrainian syntaxemes may be achieved both by isomorphic and allomorphic ways and means, the main of which are as follows:

1. Extension which is achieved in both contrasted languages through adding subordinate components to an element that is the head/nucleus, i.e. subordinating in the syntaxeme. Extension in English and Ukrainian syntaxemes may be achieved both by syndetic, i.e. explicit, synthetic or analytical means or (which is more often in English) asyndetically, i.e. only by way of placement of components. These processes are naturally realised in smaller and larger syntactic units which are word-groups and sentences. The former consist of two or more notional words connected by isomorphic or allomorphic grammatical means and expressing some sense. Eg: this book - these books, to see somebody - to see him; books for reading, library books, worth reading, red from excitement, to read much/well, very well, etc. Such and the like word-groups are known to be syntactically free contrary to stable (усталені) or phraseological word-groups as, for example: to throw light, to set free, to make steps, etc. All word-groups in sentences usually perform the syntactic function of a part of the sentence.

As to their structure, word-groups can be unextended, i.e. consisting of two notional words (read well, nice flowers, good enough) and extended which consist of more than two notional words, e.g. to go to work every day, not to know what to do, strike the iron while it is hot, etc. Such and the like word-groups function as extended parts of the sentence as, for example, the extended subject in the following sentence:

- her dark short hair was neat... її чорні коротенькі коси були

and glossy. (Maugham) гладенькі й лиснючі.

Similarly extended in both contrasted languages may also be the simple and compound predicates, objects with attributive adjuncts and also adverbial modifies. For example, a simple phrasal predicate performed by an extended word-group:

She gave him a slightly rueful smile. Вона ледь помітно окинула його (Ibid.) невеселим поглядом.

Extended in both contrasted languages may equally be the compound nominal predicate as in the following English sentences and their Ukrainian structural equivalents:

Their mother is one of the village їхньою матір'ю є одна з цих

girls. (Ibid.) сільських дівчат.

Practically isomorphic by their structure are also extended objects with the adjunct attributes in both contrasted languages. Thus, the simple (unextended) word-group her face may be extended and function as an extended object in the following sentence:

There was almost a frown on her По щирому, відкритому, гарному

frank open pretty English face. (Ibid.) обличчі англійки сковзнула тінь

несхвалення.

Extension may be achieved in English with the help of asyndetic clustering of nouns or other parts of speech forming syntactic (and semantic) strings of words or a regular tandem. For example: school library --» school library books --» new school library books --» school library books readers. Or such syndetic word-groups as production and sale prices, production and also sale prices changes, etc. Such and the like clusters of nouns or nominal sense groups, as was shown above, perform in English and Ukrainian utterances the functions of different extended parts of the sentence. Cf. the subject: The latest New York and Washington terrorist air attacks were aimed at intimidating America. (USA Today) The object: Cuba pays great attention to this year's cane sugar production, etc.

Extension of adverbial components is realised likewise, i.e. asyndetically. And not only in English, but in Ukrainian as well. Eg:

" It (house) is just round the bend, " Будинок там зразу за поворотам, по to the left, a few hundred yards''. ліву руку, кілька com ярдів звідси".

(S.Hill)

Ukrainian has no asyndetic substantival word - groups of this kind, though analytical joining of components may be observed in some cases of extension as well. Cf.: можна спати --» можна довше спати --» можна взавтра довше поспати --» можна взавтра вранці довше поспати. Consequently, the Ukrainian language is not completely devoid of extension via asyndetic clustering, though Ukrainian asyndetic clusters do not go into any comparison with the possible analytical ways

and means of extension in the syntactic units of present-day English. Even though many of them, as will be shown further, are of isomorphic nature in both these languages.

Apart from the above-named ways of realisation of syntactic processes achieved through extension, there are some others having isomorphic nature in the contrasted languages as well. They are: a) Apposition, which is equally often employed in English and Ukrainian. Eg: a woman doctor, the city of Kyiv/London, Shevchenko the poet, Shevchenko the painter, we all, they all, etc. Similarly in Ukrainian: жінка-лікар, місто Київ, Шевченко-поет, Шевченко-маляр, ми всі, вони всі.

An external syntactic transformation may equally be achieved via parenthetic and inserted words, word-groups or sentences that are incorporated into the structure of a syntactic unit by addition or insertion. For example:

B. Detachment is one more common way of external syntactic exten sion that is presumably of isomorphic nature in most languages. De tached (відокремленими) in English and Ukrainian may by any second ary part of the sentence and detachment is achieved through extension by means of subordination. These may also include subordinating con junctions or regular expansion, which is realised by way of co-ordination that may be achieved usually with the help of co-ordinate conjunctions.

For example, detached attributes:

They're (Negroes) just like children Таж вони просто як діти - такі ж -

just as easy-going, and always singing добродушні і завжди то співають, and laughing... (D. Parker) то сміються собі...

A detached apposition (also functioning as an extended part of the sentence):

And you know, he had this old І знаєте, у нього навіть нянькою була

coloured nurse, this regular old стара негритянка, справжнісінька

nigger mammy and he just simply негритоска мемі, і він просто любить

loves her. (Ibid.)* її.

Extension can also be achieved by other syntactic means, among which quite productive and often employed in the contrasted languages may be, for example, the one referred to as

C. Specification. This kind of syntactic process presents a way of syn tactic extension in English and Ukrainian which is achieved via a syntac tic element/part of the sentence usually modified by one or more other complementing elements of the same nature and syntactic function. Though not necessarily of another lexico-grammatical class of words. As for example:

" I'm not very tall, just average." Я не дуже висока, якраз середня.

(A. Wilson)

' See more about the realisation of extension in English in: И.П. Иванова, В.В. Бурлакова, Г.Г. Почепцов. Теоретическая Грамматика современного английского языка. - М.: Высшая школа, 1981, р. 213-226.

" She's got heaps of drink there - " У неї там багато різних напоїв: віскі, whisky, cherry brandy, сruте de черрі-бренді, молочний лікер",

menthe" (Ibid)

Hence, in the first sentence the meaning of the predicative not very tall is specified, made more precise by the second part of the predicative half just average. Practically an identical process is observed in the second sentence where the objective complement heaps of drink is specified by the names of these drinks: whisky, cherry brandy, crume de menthe. Similarly specified are the equivalent componental parts in their Ukrainian translated sentences. Cf. не дуже висока, якраз середня; різні напої: віскі, черрі-бренді, молочний лікер.

Specification is more often employed for the identification of adverbial parts of the sentence as in the following example:

In the evening, about eight о'clock, Увечері, десь біля восьмої години, він he went dejectedly to call on Denny, пішов у невеселому настрої до Денні. (Cronin)

Alongside of extension, though formed on cardinally different principles of enlargement (on the basis of co-ordinate connection of componental parts) and yet performing the same syntactic functions of different parts of the sentence in the contrasted languages is also expansion.

2. Expansion as a syntactic process is equally aimed at enlarging the content of word-groups and sentences in either of the contrasted languages. It is no less often resorted to than extension though by its nature it is a completely different syntactic process representing a co-ordinate joining of components which are syntactically equal in rank. Connected in this way and maintaining the syntactic status of componental parts of the syntactic units unchanged may be in English and Ukrainian various parts of speech functioning as expanded parts of the sentence. Expansion is usually achieved by way of addition (termed so by Почепцов 1971: 121). The formed in this way (through addition) strings of components usually function as homogeneous parts of the sentence. For example, homogeneous subjects:

The police, the fishmonger, boys Полісмени, торгівець рибою, учні, що

going to school, dozens of people йшли до школи, десятки людей маха-

" When did you get in? " - Ти коли прибув сюди?

" Yesterday morning". (H.E. Bates) - Вчора ввечері.

Here the subject (" you") and the predicate of the sentence (" did you get in") are omitted both in the English sentence and in its Ukrainian variant. Similar omissions may commonly be observed in spoken utterances in English and Ukrainian:

" I suppose you' ve left school? " - Ти, здається, покинув школу?

" Last term". (Ibid.) - Минулого семестру.

The adverbial modifier Last term in the last sentence accumulates the meaning of the whole previous utterance, or more precisely the whole its primary predication word-group " you've left school" that has a corresponding Ukrainian equivalent " Ти покинув школу? " Consequently, ellipsis as a syntactic process performs in both languages absolutely identical functions. Its transformational potential is mostly used in both languages for economising the speech effort as well as for achieving the necessary expressiveness in oral and written speech.

Maintained as a result of omission may sometimes be only the object in the elliptical sentence:

" What do you want from me? " - Що ти хочеш від мене?

" Everything". (Ibid.) - Все.

The subject (you) and the predicate (want) in this sentence are omitted in English and consequently they may be omitted in Ukrainian. Moreover, the subject in Ukrainian elliptical sentences may often be omitted as well, though not the predicate, which is impossible in English in such sentences as the following one: Рахунки за імпорт газу надійшли? -Давно надійшли (or simply: надійшли).

The omitted subject in this Ukrainian definite personal sentence is clearly reflected in the categorial (plural) ending of the predicate надійшли (рахунки). Since the English language has no definite personal sentences, no omission of its subject and maintaining of the predi-

cate (as in Ukrainian) is ever possible. Nevertheless, English predicates may often be partly reproduced in elliptical sentences which is, on the other hand, only in some cases possible in Ukrainian:

" Do you think I'm a selfish brute? " - Ти що, вважаєш мене грубою

егоїсткою?

" Of course not, Frank, you know - Звичайно ні, Франку, ти ж знаєш, що I don't. не вважаю.

" Can you believe me? " - Ти можеш мені повірити?

" Sure I can." (I. Carry) - Безперечно, можу/Звичайно, можу.,

Therefore, the auxiliary and modal verbs in the last two-sentences (" I don't", " I can") represent the meaning of the predicates " Do+think" and " Can+believe". Modal verbs in Ukrainian mostly maintain this substituting functions as well (cf. Ви можете взавтра мені зателефонувати? — Можу/ or He можу). Sometimes it is stylistically quite relevant and there is common use of such English elliptical sentences as in answers to the following interrogative sentence: " Had you forgotten I was a policeman? " - ' Was? ' " You are a policeman". (L.P. Hartley)

Among other internal syntactic process pertaining to the English or to Ukrainian oral and written speech the following are most often employed:

2. Representation (репрезентація) which is a particular process of syntactic substitution alien to the Ukrainian language. It represents a kind of reduction in which the component of a syntaxeme is used to present the content of the whole syntactic unit, which remains in the preceding syntaxeme but its meaning is implicitly represented by some element. For example: " I don't know if he's hungry, but I am." (I. Baldwin) Here the linking verb am in the closing co-ordinate clause (but I am) represents the whole subordinate clause " if he's hungry".

No less often used alongside of the linking verb in present-day English is the syntactic substituting particle to. Eg. " He thought of making another phone call, but he realised that he was afraid to". (Ibid.) The representing particle to in the final clause here is used as a kind of replacement for the prepositional object performed in the sentence by the word-group making another phone call. Similarly in the replying sentence to the following one: " I'm a fool to tell you anything". And the

answer to this sentence is: " You'd be a bigger fool not to". (J. Carre)

Here the representing part not to in the replying sentence is used instead of the adverbial part of the first sentence to tell you anything. Representation may also be realised with the help of such words as not, one, do/did and even with the help of the syntactic formant ' -s/-s', as in the following sentence: The other voice was raised now, it was a woman's. (Maugham) The -' s in the sentence represents/ substitutes the noun voice, i.e. a woman's voice.

3. Contamination (суміщення) is another internal process in which two syntaxemes merge into one predicative unit as in the following sentence: The moon rose red. This means: The moon rose + she was red. Or in Ukrainian: Наталка прибігла сердита, задихана. (О. Гончар), i.e. Наталка прибігла + (Наталка) була сердита + (Наталка) була задихана. Or: Шлях лежить великий. (О. Довженко), i.e. шлях лежить + шлях великий.

Partly close to contamination is also the secondary predication construction with the English past participle that has practically an identical equivalent construction in Ukrainian. Cf. They found the door unlocked (that is: they found the door, it/which was unlocked). Вони застали двері, відімкненими: вони застали двері, вони/ які були відімкненими.

4. Compression represents a syntactic process which is closely con nected with reduction and with the secondary predication complex as illustrated above, but it exists only in English. This syntactic process is most often observed in English with the nominative absolute participial constructions, which are usually transformed in speech. Cf. He stood beside me in silence, his candle in his hand. (C. Doyle) The nominative absolute participial construction in this sentence is a reduced transform from the construction his candle being or having been in his hand. The Ukrainian transformed variants of this secondary predicate/complex will be either a participial/diyepryslivnyk construction тримаючи свічку в руці, or a co-ordinate clause а свічка була в руці, or simply зі свічкою в руці.

The mentioned above external and internal syntactic processes do not completely exhaust all possible ways of transformation taking place

within English and Ukrainian sentences. And yet they graphically testify to the existence of isomorphic and allomorphic features that characterise respectively the syntactic systems of each contrasted language.