Seminar 11 syntax of the text Points for Discussion

1. Text as an object of linguistic study.

2. Inter-sentence connections in the text. The phenomenon of parcellation.

3. The textual linguistics.

Points for Reports

1. Textual categories (from M.A.K., R. Hasan “Cohesion in English” in the book by

Blokh M.Y., Semionova T.N., Timofeyeva S.V. Theoretical English Grammar.

Seminars. Moscow, 2007, Pp. 408-411)

2. Types of sequence-signals (from W. N. Francis “The structure of American English”

in the book by Blokh M.Y., Semionova T.N., Timofeyeva S.V. Theoretical English

Grammar. Seminars. Moscow, 2007, Pp. 404-408)

Literature

1. Blokh m.Y. A Course in Theoretical English Grammar. Moscow, 2006.

2. Blokh m.Y., Semionova t.N., Timofeyeva s.V. Theoretical English Grammar.

Seminars. Moscow, 2007.

3. Beaugrande R., Dressler W. Introduction to Text Linguistics. – L., N.Y., 1996.

4. Lectures on syntax (this book).

5. Iofic L.L., Chakhoyan L.P., Pospelova A.G. Readings in the theory of English

Grammar. – Leningrad, 1972.

6. Leech Y., Svartvik G. A Communicative Grammar of English. Moscow, 1986.

7. Воробьева О.П. Текстовые категории и фактор адресата. Киев,1993.

8. Гальперин И.Р. Текст как объект лингвистического исследования. М.,

1981.

9. Дигмай В.Н. Абзац, сложное синтаксическое целое, компоненты текста.

Общее и различное // Филологические науки, 2002, №2, стр. 56-66.

11. Мещеряков В.Н. К вопросу о модальности текста // Филологические

науки, 2001, №4, стр. 99-105.

12. Москальская О.И. Грамматика текста. – М.,1981.

13. Никитин М.В. Курс лингвистической семантики. –

С.-Петербург, Научный центр проблем диалога, 1996.

14. Солодуб Ю.П. Интертекстуальность как лингвистическая проблема //

Филологические науки, 2001, № 4, стр. 45-54.

15. Тураева З.Я. Лингвистика текста. М., 1986.

Practical tasks

I. State the type of inter-sentence relation. Identify the means of sentence

connection:

1. We don’t wish them ill. We don’t wish them well. We do not call them. We do

not see them. We simply detach.

2. Cannot believe Gary the Builder. Have left him a message every day this

week and nothing. No reply. Maybe he’s sick or something. Also keep getting

whiff of really horrible smell on stairs.

3. I paused at the French windows, looking around nervously. Heart lurched

when located him, standing on his own, in traditional Mark Darcy party mode,

looking detached and distant. He glanced towards the door where I was

standing and for a second we were locked in each other’s gaze before he gave

me a confused nod, then looked away. Then I noticed Rebecca crouched down

beside him with Constance.

4. They need to change the image because they need to recruit more people into

the prison service. But another point I’d like to make is that a large proportion

of the prisons in this country were built in the 19 century.

5. I mean this marriage. I mean his letting that blooming young girl marry

Casaubon.

6. There is a solution to this turbocharged madness. I would like to suggest that

we all get back in the saddle. Yes, that’s right, horses worked perfectly fine

for 2000 years or so. Think of the problems this would solve. We could get rid

of the cumbersome hunks of steel, the expensive monthly payments and the

annoying car alarms.

7. Generally, nobody gives a damn about anything – as long as they are safe.

Although in fact no one is safe.

8. Last year, 41000 people were killed in car crashes in Russia. This is the

equivalent of almost twenty catastrophes, or a major war, yet few people give

this slaughter much thought. The deaths happen daily, almost imperceptibly,

like a disease.

9. He has achieved his objective with a big industry. The general public,

however, has proved to be a trifle more tricky.

10. I have experienced this from both sides. As a junior surgeon you are

constantly at the mercy of your bleeper – forever shuttling between clinics,

the operating theatre, the wards and the administration. You resent anything

that distracts you from this. You begin think of the patients as the enemy.

As a patient one gets quite a different perspective. The doctors are hiding

from you all day, and when they do pop up everything has already been

decided on.

II. Analyze the following examples to single out the phenomenon of parcellation

and that one which is its opposite (fusion). Comment on the structure of the

sentences, specifying the formal properties of these phenomena:

1. I’m going to be marvelous: elegant, vivacious, beautifully dressed. Oh,

though. Do not have long dress.

2. Mark was talking to Rebecca. Again. She whispered something in his ear,

then burst out into a horrid hooting laugh.

3. He is unable to see you and she held the door open.

4. The air-hostess came down the aisle to warn the passengers they were

about to land and please everyone fasten their safety belts.

III. Analyze the following text. State the types of inter-sentence connections and

the connective elements, point out the textual categories (if any) realized in

the text.

Recent advances in human embryology and genetic engineering have raised the issue of how this knowledge ought to be used, and it is now a matter of considerable public concern and debate.

There are two main areas in which such research is widely regarded as

being beneficial, and the first of these is in the field of conception. Doctors can

help otherwise infertile couples to have children using the so-called “test-tube

baby” technique. Although there was considerable controversy when the first

such experiments were introduced, there is now a general acceptance that the

process is both safe and useful.

The second area is that of research into genetically transmitted diseases.

Some of these only affect children of a particular sex, as is the case with

haemophilia, which only affects males. In such circumstances, by determining

the sex of the child in advance, doctors can ensure that the disease will not be

passed on. In addition to this, research into human genetics offers the potential

of finding the causes for other diseases and their eventual cures.

On the other hand, there is deep-rooted hostility towards scientists who

interfere with nature and human life. This suspicion has a long history, and is

reflected in literary works such as Frankenstein and Brave New World. In

addition to this, however, there is wide-spread revulsion at the real-life

“experiments” that have been carried out in the past. As a result, there is a

common fear that scientific developments in genetics will inevitably be abused

and that they will lead inexorably towards “designer children” other worse

excesses.

In conclusion, it can be said that research in these areas needs to be regulated rather than banned. There are many potential benefits as well as dangers, and therefore, if this research is to be continued, it must be carried out under strict supervision and controlled by well-balanced legislation.