Курсовая работа: Structural-semantic and functional features of the category of voice in languages of different system

The factual expression of time either directly states the astronomical time of an event, or else conveys this meaning in terms of historical landmarks. Under this heading should be listed such words and phrases as in the year 1966, during the time of the First World War, at the epoch of Napaleon, at the early period of civilization .

In the context of real speech the above types of time of naming are used in combination with one another, so that the denoted event receives many sided and very exact characterization regarding its temporal status.

Of all the temporal meanings conveyed by such detailing lexical denotation of temporal meaning conveyed by such detailing lexical denotation of time, the finite verb generalizes in its categorical forms only the most abstract significations, taking them as dynamic characteristics of the reflected process. The fundamental divisions both absolute time and of non-absolute relative time find in the verb a specific presentation, idiomatically different from one language to another. The form of this presentation is dependent, the same as with the expression of other grammatical meanings, on the concrete semantic features chosen by a language as a basis for the functional differention within the verb lexeme. And it is the verbal expressions of abstract, grammatical time that forms the necessary background serving as a universal temporal "polarizer" and "leader", the marking of time would be utterly inadequate. Indeed, what informative content should be following passage convey with all its lexical indications of time, if it were with all its lexical indications of time achieved through the forms of the verb – the unit of the lexicon which the German grammarians very significantly call "zuwort" – the "time word".

My own birthday passed without ceremony, I would as usual, in the morning and in the afternoon went for a walk in the solitary woods behind my house. I have never been able to discover what it is that gives these woods their mysterious attractiveness. They are like no woods I have ever known (S.Maugham).

In Modern English, the grammatical expression of verbal time, i.e. tense, is effected in two correlated stages. At the first stage, the process receives an absolute time characteristic by means of apposing the past tense to the present tense.

The marked member of the opposition is the past form. At the second stage, the process receives a non- absolute relative time characteristic by means of opposing the forms of the future tense to the forms of no future making. Since the two stages of the denotation are expressed separately, by their own oppositional forms and besides, have essentially different orientation characteristics, it stands to reason to recognize in the system of the English verb not one but two temporal categories. Both of them answer the question: in the "what is the terming of the process?" But the first category, having the past tense as its strong member, expresses a direct retrospective evalution of the time of the event reflected on the utterance finds its adequated location in the temporal context, showing all the distinctive propeties of the lingual presentation of time mentioned above.

In accord with oppositional marking of the two temporal categories under analysis, we shall call the first of them the category of "prospective time", or contractedly prospect.

The category of primary time, as has just been stated, provides for the absolutive expression of the time of the process denoted by the verb, i.e. such an expression of it as given its evolution, in the long run, in reference to the moment of suffix –(e)d, nemic interchange of more or less individual specifications. The suffix marks the verbal form of the past time leaving the opposite is to be rendered by the formula "the past tense – the present tense", the latter member representing the non-fast tense according to the accepted oppositional interpretation.

The specific features of the category of primary time, that it divides all the tense forms of the English verb into two temporal planes: the plane of the present and the plane of the past, which affect also the future forms very important in this respect is the structural nature of the expression of the category: the category of primary time is the only verbal category of primary time is only the category of immanent order which is expressed by inflexional forms. These inflexion forms of the past and present coexist in the same verb+entry to speech with the other, analytical models of various categorical expression, including the futures; on the other hand, the future of the present, is prospected from the present; on the other hand, the future of by the speaker the meaning of the present with this connotation will be conveyed by such phrases at this very moment, or this instant, or exactly now, or some other phrase like that. But an utterance like "now while i’m speaking" breaks the notion of the zero time proper, since the speaking process is not a momentary but a durative element. Furthermore, the present will still be the present if we relate to such vast periods of time as this month, this year, in our epoch, in the present millennium, etc. The denoted stretch of time may be prolonged by a collocation like that beyond any definite limit. Still furthermore, in utterances of general truths as for instance, "Two plus two makes four" or "The sun is a star", the idea of time as such is almost suppressed the implication of constancy, unchangeability of the truth at all times being made prominent. The present tense as the verbal form of generalized meaning covers all these denotations, showing the present time in relation to the process as inclusive of the moment of speech incorporating this moment within its definite or indefinite stretch and opposed to the past time.

Thus, if we say, "Two plus two makes four", the linguistic implication of it is "always, and so at the moment of speech". If we say "I never take his advice", we mean linguistically "at no time in terms of the current state of my attitude towards him, and so at the present moment". If we say, "In our millennium social formations change quicker than in the previous periods of man’s history", the linguistic temporal content of it is "in our millennium, that is, in the millennium including the moment of speech". This meaning is the invariant of the present, developed from its categorical opposition to the past, and it penetrates the uses of the finite verb in all its forms, including the perfect, the future, and the continuous.

Indeed, if the radio carries the news, "The two suspected terrorists have been taken into custody by the police", the implication of the moment of speech refers to the direct influence or after-effects of the event announced. Similarly the statement "You will be informed about the decision later in the day" describes the event, which although it ahs not yet happened, is prospected into the future from the present, i.e. prospection itself incorporates the moment of speech. As for the present continuous its relevance for to present moment it self-evident.

This, the analyzed meaning of the verbal present arises as a result of its immediate contrast with the past form which shows the exclusion of the action from the plane of the present and so the action itself as capable of being perceived all the verbal forms of the past, including the perfect, the future and the continuous. Due to the marked character of the past verbal form, the said quality of its meaning does not require special demonstration.

Worthy of note, however, are utterances where the meaning of the past tense stands in contrast with the meaning of some adverbial phrase reffering the event to the present moment. Cf.: Today again I spoke to Mr. Jones on the matter, and again he failed to see the urgency of it .

The seeming linguistic paradox of such cases consists exactly in the fact that their two-typed indications of time, one verbal grammatical and one adverbial-lexical approach the same event from two of opposite analysis. But there is nothing irrational here. As a matter of fact, the utterances present instances of two-plane temporal evaluation of the event described: the verb-form shows the process as part and gone, i.e. physically disconnected from the resent as for the adverbial modifier, it presents the past eent as a particular happening, belonging to a more general time situation which is stretch out up to the present moment inclusive, and possibly past the present moment into the future.

A case directly opposite to the one shown above is seen in the transpositional use of the present tense of the verb with the past adverbials, either included in the utterance as such, or else expressed in its contextual environment. E.g.: Then he turned the corner and what do you think happens next? He faces nobody else than Mr. Greggs accompanied by his private secretary!

The stylistic purpose of this transposition, known under the name of the "historic present" is to create a vivid picture of the event reflected in the utterance. This is achieved in strict accord with the functional meaning of the verbal present, sharply contrasted against the general background of the plane of the utterance content.

The combination of the verbs shall and will with the infinitive have of late become subject of renewed discussion. The controversial point about them is wether these combinations really constitute, together with the forms of the past and present, the categorical expression of verbal tense, are jus modal phrases whose expression of the future time does not differ in essence from the general future orientation of other combinations of modal verbs with the infinitive. The view that shall and will retain their modal meanings in all their uses was defended by such a recognized authority on English grammar of the older generation of the twentieth century linguists as O.Jesperson. In our times, quite a few scholars, among them the successors of Descriptive linguistics, consider these verbs as part of the general set of modal verbs, "modal auxiliaries" expressing the meanings of capability, probability, permission, obligation, and the like.

A well grounded objection is against the inclusion of the construction will+Infinitive. In the tense system of the verb on the same basis as the forms of the present and the past has been advanced by L.S.Barhudarov. His objection consists in the demonstration of the double making of this would be tense form by one and the same category; the combinations in question can express at once both the future form time and past form time which hardly makes any sense in terms of a grammatical category. Indeed, the principle of the identification of any grammatical category demands that the forms of thecategory in normal use shoul be mutually exclusive. The category is constituted by the opposition of its forms, not by their co-opposition.

However, reconsidering the status of construction shall/will+Infinitive in the eight of oppositional approach, we see that, far from comparing with the past – present verbal forms as the third member – form of the category of primary time, it marks its own grammatical category, namely, that of prospective time. The meaningful contrast underlying the category of prospect time is between an after action and non- after-action. The after-action or the future having its shall/will – feature, constitutes the marked member of the opposition.

The category of prospect is also temporal, in so far as it is immediately connected with the expression of processual time, like the category of primary time. But the semantic basis of the category of prospect is different in principle from that of the category of primary time: while the primary time is absolutive, i.e. present – oriented the prospective time is purely relative; it means that the future form of the verb only shows that the denoted process id prospected as an after-action relative to some other action or state or event, the timing of which marks the zero-level for it. The two are presented, as it were, in prospective coordination: one is shown as prospected for the future, the future being relative to the primary time either present or past. As a result, the expression of the future receives the two mutually complementary manifestations: one manifestation for the present time – plane of the verb, the other manifestation for the past time – plane of the verb. In other words, the process of the verb is characterized by the category of prospect irrespective of its primary time characteristics, or rather as addition to this characteristic, and this is quite similar to all the other categories capable of entering the sphere of verbal time, e.g. the category of development (continuous in opposition), the category of retrospective coordination (perfect in opposition), the category of voice (passive in opposition): the respective forms of all these categories also have the past and present versions, to which in due course, are added the future and non0future versions. Consider the following examples: 1) I was making a road and all the coolest stunk. 2) None of us doubted in the least that Aunt Emma would soon be marveling again at Eustace’s challenging success. 3) The next thing she wrote she sent to a magazine, and for many weeks worried about what would happen to it. 4) She did not protest for she had given up the struggle. 5) Felix knew that they would have settled the dispute by the time he could be ready to have his say. 6) He was being watched chased by that despicable going of hirelings.

As we have already stated before, the future tenses reject the do-forms of the indefinite aspect, which are confined to the expression of the present and past verbal times only. This fact serves as a supplementary ground for the identification of the expression of protest as a separate grammatical category.

Of course, it would be an ill turn to grammar if one tried to introduce the above circumstational terminology with all its pedantic strings of "non’s" into the elementary teaching of language. The stringed categorical "non-terms" are apparently too redundant to be recommended for ordinary use even at an advaced level of linguistic training. What is achieved by this kind of terminology, however, is a comprehensive indication of the categorical status of verb-forms under analysis in a compact tense presentation. Thus whenever a presentation like that is called for, the terms will be quite in their place.

In analyzing the English future tenses the modal factor naturally should be through taken into consideration. A certain modal colouring of the meaning of the English future cannot be denied especially in the verbal form of the first person. But then, as is widely known, the expression of the future in other languages is not disconnect from modal semantics either and this is conditioned by the mere fact that the future action, as different from the present or past action, as different from the present or past action, cannot be looked upon as a genuine feature of reality. Indeed, it is only foreseen, or anticipated, or planned, or desired, or otherwise prospected for the time to come. In this quality, the Russian future tense does not differ in principle from the verbal future of other languages, including English, suffice it to give a couple of examples chosen at random:

Я буду рассказывать тебе интересные истории. Расскажу о страшных кометах, о битве воздушных кораблей, о гибели прекрасной страны по ту строну гор. Тебе не будет скучно любить меня (А.Толстой). Немедленно на берег.

The future of forms of the verbs in the future of the above Russian examples clearly expresses promise; those in the second examples render a command.

Moreover, in the system of the Russian tenses there is a specialized modal form of analytical future expressing intention (the combination of the verb стать with the imperfective infinitive). E.g. Что же вы теперь хотите делать? – Тебе это не касается что я стану делать. Япланобдумываю. (А.Толстой)

Within the framework of the universal meaningful feature of the verbal future, the future of the English verb is highly specific in so far as its auxiliaries in their very immediate etymology are words of obligation and tne survival of the respective connotations in them in backed by the inherent quality of the future as such. Still on the whole, the English categorical future of differs distinctly from the modal constructions with the same predicator verbs.

In the clear-out modal uses of the verbs shall and will the idea of the future either is not expressed at all or else is only rendered by way of textual connotation, the central semantic accent being laid on the expression of obligation, necessary, inevitability, promise, intention, desire. These meanings may be easily seen both on the examples of ready phraseological citation, and genuine everyday conversation exchanges.

The modal nature of the shall/will+Infinitive combinations in the cited examples can be shown by means of equivalent substitution: