Meaning of the articles and meanings of functional determiners

Having established the functional value of articles in oppositional assessment, we can now, in broader systemic contraposition, probe the correlation of the meanings of articles with the meanings of functional determiners. As a result of this observation, within the system of the determiners two separate subsets can be defined, one of which is centered around the definite article with its individualizing semantics (this - these, that - those, my, our, your, his, her, its, their), and the other one around the indefinite article with its generalizing semantics (another, some, any, every, no). The type of the division is such as to show the integration of the article meanings into the total semantic volume of the determiners. In other words, the observation inevitably leads us to the conclusion that the article determination of the noun as a specific grammatical category remains valid also in such cases when the noun is modified not by the article itself, but by a semi-notional determiner. This is clearly seen in equivalency confrontations such as the following:

But unhappily the wife wasn't listening. - But unhappily his wife wasn't listening.

The whispering voices caught the attention of the guards. - Those whis­pering voices caught their attention.

What could a woman do in a situation like that? - What could any woman do in that sort of situation?

At least I saw interest in her eyes. - At least I saw some interest in her eyes.

Not a word had been pronounced about the terms of the document. -No word had been pronounced about those terms.

The demonstration of the organic connection between the articles and semi-notional determiners, in its turn, makes it possible to disclose the true function of the grammatical use of articles with proper nouns. E.g.:

"This," said Froelich, "is the James Walker who wrote 'The Last of the Old Lords'" (M. Bradbury). Cf: This is the same James Walker.

I came out to Iraq with a Mrs. Kelsey (A. Christie). Cf: The woman was a certain Mrs. Kelsey.

It was like seeing a Vesuvius at the height of its eruption. Cf: The sight looked to us like another Vesuvius.

"I prophesy a wet August" said Old Moore Abinger (M. Dickens). Cf.: Next August will be a wet month, unlike some other Augusts in retrospect.

In the exemplified grammatical uses transpositional features are re­vealed similar to those the article acquires when used with a noun charac­terized by a contrary semantic base. On the other hand, the analysis of these cases clearly stamps the traditional proper name combinations with embedded articles, both of the onomastic set {Alexander the Great, etc.) and the toponymic set (The Hague, etc.) as lexicalized collocations that only come into contact with the periphery of grammar.

In conclusion

The essential grammatical features of the articles exposed in the above considerations and tests leave no room for misinterpretation at the final, generalizing stage of analysis.

The data obtained show that the English noun, besides the variable categories of number and case, distinguishes also the category of deter­mination expressed by the article paradigm of three grammatical forms: the definite, the indefinite, the zero. The paradigm is generalized for the whole system of the common nouns, being transpositionally outstretched also into the system of proper nouns. Various cases of asymmetry in the realization of this paradigm (such as the article determination of certain nouns of the types singularia tantum and pluralia tantum), similar to, and in connection with the expression of the category of number, are balanced by suppletive collocations. Cf: progress - a kind of progress, some progress - the progress; news - an item of news - the news, etc.

The semi-notional determiners used with nouns in the absence of articles expose the essential article meanings as inbuilt in their semantic structure.

Thus, the status of the combination of the article with the noun should be defined as basically analytical, the article construction as such being localized by its segmental properties between the free syntactic combina­tion of words (the upper bordering level) and the combination of a gram­matical affix with a notional stem in the morphological composition of an indivisible word (the lower bordering level). The article itself is a spe­cial type of grammatical auxiliary.

ЛИТЕРАТУРА:

1. Блох, М.Я. Теоретическая грамматика английского языка : Учеб. / М.Я. Блох. – 5–е изд., стер. – М. : Высш. шк., 2006. – 423 с.

2. Блох, М.Я. Теоретические основы грамматики : учеб. / М.Я. Блох. – 3–е изд., испр. – М. : Высш. шк., 2002. – 160 с.

3. Blokh, M.Y. A course in theoretical English grammar / M.Y. Blokh. – M., 1983.