Etymology of shall / will

§ Etymologically they are the verbs of obligation (shall) and volition (will).

§ shall/will and should/would are in their immediate etymology modal verbs.

Abraham Lincoln: ‘I will never be old enough to speak without embarrassment when I have nothing to say’ .

 

Syntagmatic / paradigmatic relations. Types of paradigmatic relations.

Paradigmatic::Syntagmatic relations

ž PR comprise all the units that can also occur in the same environment. ž PR are relations based on the principles of similarity. ž PR exist between the units that can substitute one another ž PR are identified with ‘language’ ž  are referred to as relations ‘in absentia’ = in the absence.

ž SR are intermediate linear relations between units in a segmental sequence. ž  SR may be observed in utterances ž SR are identified with ‘speech’ ž are described by the Latin ‘in praesentia’ (= in the presence)

PARADIGMATIC RELATIONS

can be of three types: semantic, formal and functional.

Semantic PR are based on the similarity of meaning:

Goods to be delivered = goods for delivering.

The days are getting longer and longer – The days are growing longer and longer.

Formal PR are based on the similarity of forms (exist between the members of a paradigm): mouse – mice; ask – asked – will ask – is asking.

Functional PR are based on the similarity of function. (established between the elements occuring in the same position).

Det: a, the, this, his, Ann’s, some, each, etc.

Syntagmatic (horizontal) axis
Unlike the paradigmatic relationships, the syntagmatic relationships of a word are not about meaning. They are about the lexical company the word keeps (collocation) and grammatical patterns in which it occurs (colligation).

ž Main types of syntagms

types of notional syntagms:

- Predicative (the combination of subject and predicate) SV: We live, The sun is shining

- Objective (VO): Buy clothes; meet friends

- Attributive (AttributeN): old houses; nice thought

- Adverbial (notional word (V,Adj, Adv) + Adv. modifier): very well (Adv+Adv); simply the best (Adv+Adj)

 

Oppositions in grammar. Binary privative opposition.

Grammatical opposition:

The opposition (in the linguistic sense) may be defined as a generalised correlation of lingual forms by means of which a certain function is expressed.

The correlated elements (members) of the opposition must possess two types of features: common features and differential features.

Common features serve as the basis of contrast, while differential features immediately express the function in question.
The oppositional theory was originally formulated as a phonological theory.

Theory of oppositions:

N. S. Trubetskoy, a member of the Prague Linguistic Circle, developed it at the turn of the 20^th century for the purposes of phonological research; later it became widely employed in the analysis of grammatical categories.

MEMBERS OF OPPOSITION

ž “Marked”, “strong”, or “positive” (symbol +) member of the opposition is characterized by the presence of the differential feature. Eg: girls

ž “Unmarked”, “weak”, or “negative” (symbol -). member of the opposition is characterized by the absence of the differential feature. Eg: girl .

Types of oppositions

ž Privative

ž gradual

ž equipollent

ž Binary (2 members)

ž Ternary (3 members)

ž Quaternary (4 members)

Privativeopposition                                    

members of the opposition are characterized by the presence/absence of a certain differential feature, which serves as the formal mark of one of its members

Gradual opposition

is formed by a series of members which are distinguished not by the presence or absence of a differential feature, but by the degree of it, cf.: big – bigger - biggest

Equipollent opposition

is formed by members, which are distinguished by a number of their own features, eg suppletive forms: one - first, go – went; correlation of the person and number forms of the verb be: am – are – is (was – were).

In various contextual conditions, one member of an opposition can be used in the position of the other, counter-member ("oppositional reduction" or "oppositional substitution“).

 

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