THEME 6. Parts of Speech: Part II

Plan

1. Modern approach to the problem of classifying words into parts of speech.

2. A survey of parts of speech.

In modern linguistics parts of speech are discriminated on the basis of the following three criteria: semantic, formal and functional.

The semantic criterion presupposes the evaluation of the generalized meaning which is characteristic of all the subsets of words constituting a given part of speech. This meaning is understood as the categorial meaning of part of speech.

The formal criterion provides for the exposition of the specific inflexional and derivational features of all the lexemic subsets of a part of speech.

The functional criterion concerns the syntactic position of words in the sentence typical of a part of speech.

In accord with the described criteria, words are divided into notional and functional which reflects their division in the earlier grammatical tradition into changeable and unchangeable.

To the notional parts of speech belong the noun (1), the adjective (2), the numeral (3), the pronoun (4), the verb (5), the adverb (6).

The features of the noun within the identificational triad ‘meaning-form-function’ are correspondingly the following:

1) the categorial meaning of substance (thingness);

2) the changeable forms of number and case; the specific suffixal forms of derivation (prefixes in English do not discriminate parts of speech as such); the substantive functions in the sentence (subject, object, substantive predicative); prepositional connections; modification by an adjective.

The features of the adjective:

1) the categorial meaning of property; qualitative and relative;

2) the forms of the degrees of comparison for qualitative adjectives; the specific suffixal forms of derivation;

3) adjectival functions in the sentence (attribute to a noun, adjectival predicative)

The features of the numeral:

1) the categorial meaning of number (cardinal and ordinal);

2) the narrow set of simple numerals; the specific suffixal forms of derivation for ordinal numerals;

3) the functions of numerical attribute and numerical substantive.

The features of the pronoun:

1) the categorial meaning of indication (deixis);

2) the narrow sets of various status with the corresponding formal properties of categorial changeability and word-building;

3) the substantive and adjectival functions for different sets.

The features of the verb:

1) the categorial meaning of process (presented as finite process and non-finite process);

2) the forms of the verbal categories of person, number, tense, aspect, voice, mood; the opposition of the finite and non-finite forms;

3) the function of the finite predicate for the finite verb; the mixed verbal – other than verbal functions for the non-finite verb.

The features of the adverb:

1) the categorial meaning of the secondary property, i.e. the property of process or another property;

2) the forms of the degrees of comparison for qualitative adverbs; the specific suffixal forms of derivation;

3) the functions of various adverbial modifiers.

This has been a survey of the identifying properties of the notional parts of speech that unite the words of complete nominative meaning characterized by self-dependent functions in the sentence.

According to the tradition it is only unchangeable words that are treated under the heading of functional parts of speech. As for their individual forms as such, they are simply presented by the list since the number of these words is limited so that they needn’t be identified on any general, operational scheme.

To the basic functional series in English belong the article, the preposition, the conjunction, the particle, the modal word, the interjection.

The article expresses the specific limitation of the substantive functions.

The preposition expresses the dependencies and interdependencies of substantive referents.

The conjunction expresses the connection of phenomena.

The particle unites the functional words of specifying and limiting meaning.

To this series, alongside of other specifying words, should be referred verbal postpositios as functional modifiers of verbs, etc.

The modal word, occupying in the sentence a more pronounced detached position, expresses the attitude of the speaker to the reflected situation and its parts. Here belong the functional words of probability (probably, perhaps, etc.), of qualitative evaluation (fortunately, unfortunately, luckily, etc.) and also of affirmation and negation.

The interjection, occupying a detached position in the sentence, is a signal of emotions.

Each part of speech after its identification is further subdivided into subseries in accord with various particular semantico-functional and formal features of the constituent words. This subdivision is sometimes called ‘subcategorisation’ of parts of speech.

We have drawn a general outline of the division of the lexicon into part of speech classes developed by modern linguists on the lines of traditional morphology.

It is a fact universally acknowledged that the distribution of words between different parts of speech may to a certain extent differ with different author. This provokes some linguists for calling in questions the rational character of the part of speech, classification as a whole, gives them cause for accusing it of being subjective or ‘prescientific’. Such nihilistic criticism, however, should be rejected as utterly ungrounded.

Indeed, considering the part of speech classification on its merits one must clearly realize that what is above all important about it is the fundamental principles of word class identification and not occasional enlargements or diminutions of the established groups or redistributions of individual words due to reconsiderations of their categorial features.

The very idea of subcategorisation as the obligatory second stage of the undertaken classification testifies to the affective nature of this kind of analysis.

References:

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