GRAMMATICAL CLASSES OF WORDS

The term “parts of speech” is accepted by modern linguistics as a conventional, or “non-explanatory” term (“name-term”) to denote the lexico-grammatical classes of words correlating with each other in the general system of language on the basis of their grammatically relevant properties.

There are three types of grammatically relevant properties of words that differentiate classes of words called “parts of speech”: semantic, formal and functional properties.

- The semantic criterion refers to the generalized semantic properties common to the whole class of words, e.g.: the generalized meaning of nouns is “thingness”,

 of verbs process,

 of adjectives substantive property,

 of adverbs non-substantive property.

-The formal criterion embraces the formal features (word-building and word-changing) that are characteristic for a particular part of speech, e.g.: the noun is characterized by a specific set of word-building affixes, cf.: property, bitterness, worker, etc., and is changed according to the categories of number, case and article determination: boy-boys, boy – boy’s, boy – the boy – a boy, etc. Combinability is also a relevant formal feature for each particular part of speech; for example, verbs can be modified by adverbs, while nouns cannot (except in specific contexts).

-The functional criterion ------the most characteristic functions of the noun are those of a subject and an object; the only function of the finite form of the verb is that of a predicate; the adjective functions in most contexts as an attribute; the adverb as an adverbial modifier.

 

Traditionally, all parts of speech are subdivided on the upper level of classification into notional words and functional words.

 Notional words, which traditionally include nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns and numerals, have complete nominative meanings, are in most cases changeable and fulfill self-dependent syntactic functions in the sentence.

The noun, for example, as a part of speech, is traditionally characterized by 1) the categorial meaning of substance (“thingness”), 2) a specific set of word-building affixes, the grammatical categories of number, case and article determination, prepositional connections and modification by an adjective, and 3) the substantive functions of subject, object or predicative in the sentence.

. Functional words, which include conjunctions, prepositions, articles, interjections, particles, and modal words, have incomplete nominative value, are unchangeable and fulfill mediatory, constructional syntactic functions.

The major formal grammatical feature of this subdivision is their open or closed character. The notional parts of speech are open classes of words, with established basic semantic, formal and functional characteristics.

There are only four notional classes of words, which correlate with the four main syntactic positions in the sentence: nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. They are interconnected by the four stages of the lexical paradigmatic series of derivation, e.g.: to decide – decision – decisive – decisively.

The functional words are closed classes of words: they cannot be further enlarged and are given by lists. The closed character of the functional words is determined by their role in the structure of the sentence:.

As for pronouns and the numerals, according to the functional approach they form a separate supra-class of substitutional parts of speech, since they have no function of their own in the sentence, but substitute for notional parts of speech and perform their characteristic functions. The difference between the four notional parts of speech and substitutional parts of speech is also supported by the fact that the latter are closed groups of words like functional parts of speech.

The three supra-classes are further subdivided into classes (the parts of speech proper) and sub-classes (groups inside the parts of speech). For example, nouns are divided into personal and common, animate and inanimate, countable and uncountable,

pronouns are subdivided into personal, possessive (conjoint and absolute), objective pronouns, demonstrative, reflexive, relative, etc.;

 numerals are subdivided into cardinal and ordinal, etc.

LECTURE 5

NOUN: GENERAL

The categorial meaning of the noun is “substance” or “thingness”. Nouns directly name various phenomena of reality and have the strongest nominative force among notional parts of speech:. Nouns denote things and objects proper (tree), abstract notions (love), various qualities (bitterness), and even actions (movement).

Formally, the noun is characterized by a specific set of word-building affixes and word-building models, which unmistakably mark a noun, among them:

- suffixes of the doer (worker, naturalist, etc.),

-suffixes of abstract notions (laziness, rotation, security, elegance, etc.),

-special conversion patterns (to find – a find), etc.

 As for word-changing categories, the noun is changed according to

-the categories of number (boy-boys), case (boy-boy’s),

-and article determination (boy, a boy, the boy).

. The noun is the only part of speech which can be prepositionally combined with other words, e.g.: the book of the teacher, to go out of the room, away from home, typical of the noun, etc.

 The most characteristic functions of the noun in a sentence are the function of a subject and an object e.g.: The teacher took the book.

On the basis of “type of nomination” proper nouns are opposed to common nouns.

 Common nouns present a general name of any thing belonging to a certain class of things, e.g.: river – any river, boy – any boy,

while the proper nouns have no generalized meaning; they serve as a label, a nickname of a separate individual being or thing, e.g.: Mississippi, John, New York, etc.

animate nouns the former denoting living beings the latter denoting things (man, woman, dog), are opposed to phenomena (tree, table). inanimate nouns,  

On the basis of “personal quality” human animate nouns (person nouns man – he, woman – she, ), denoting human beings, or persons, are opposed to non-human nouns (non-person nouns e.g.: the sun - he, the moon - she ) , denoting all the other referents.

On the basis of “quantitative structure” of the referent countable (variable) nouns table – tables, are opposed to uncountable (invariable) noun (sugar), s, the former denoting discrete, separate things which can be counted and form discrete multitudes

LECTURE 6

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