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Realization of Existence in Lithuanian and English

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Realization of Existence in Lithuanian and English LITHUANIAN UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES FACULTY OF PHILOLOGY DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH PHILOLOGY AIDA JALINSKIENĖ REALIZATION OF EXISTENCE IN LITHUANIAN AND ENGLISH MA Paper Academic Advisor: Dr. Eglė Petronienė Vilnius, 2012 VILNIUS PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF PHILOLOGY DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH PHILOLOGY REALIZATION OF EXISTENCE IN LITHUANIAN AND ENGLISH This MA paper is submitted in partial fulfilment of requirements for the degree of the MA in English Philology By Aida Jalinskienė I declare that this study is my own and does not contain any unacknowledged work from any source. (Signature) (Date) Academic Advisor: Dr. Eglė Petronienė (Signature) (Date) 2 CONTENTS ABSTRACT……………………………………………………………………………………...…4 INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………………………….....5 1. THE PRINCIPLES OF SENTENCE GRAMMAR…………………………………………...…8 2. THREE-LEVEL APPROACH TO SYNTAX……………………………………………….....13 2.1 Semantic analysis of the sentence………………………………………………..........14 2.2 Communicative analysis of the sentence……………………………………………...22 2.2.1 Given and New information………………………………………………....22 2.2.2 Theme and Rheme…………………………………………………………...23 2.2.3 Unmarked and Marked Themes…………………………………………......25 2.3 Formal analysis of the sentence…………………………………………………….....27 3. LINGUISTIC FEATURES OF EXISTENTIAL PROCESSES IN LITHUANIAN AND ENGLISH………………………………………………………………………………………….31 3.1 General characteristics of existential sentences……………………………………….31 3.2 Structural properties of existential sentences in Lithuanian and English……………...32 4. COMMUNICATIVE ANALYSIS OF LITHUANIAN EXISTENTIAL SENTENCES AND THEIR ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS………………………………………………….…………38 4.1 Data and methods of research………………………………………………………....38 4.2 Results and discussions……………………………………………………………......39 4.2.1 Analysis of main clauses – syntactic transformations……………………….39 4.2.2 Analysis of main clauses – semantic transformations……………………….46 4.2.3 Analysis of main clauses – translation inadequacies………………………...56 4.2.4 Analysis of subordinate clauses……………………………………………..58 CONCLUSIONS…………………………………………………………………………………..68 SUMMARY……………………………………………………………………………………….69 REFERENCES…………………………………………………………………………………….71 APPENDICES………………………………………………………………………………….....75 3 ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to analyze Lithuanian existential sentences and their translations into English with the aim of evaluating the susceptibility of the two languages to the principle of functional sentence perspective (FSP), or the communicative principle. Existential processes inherently involve one participant – Existent - which is the most important information in a communicative situation describing existence. In producing existential sentences, existential verbs take one argument which performs the function of subject and appears in sentence final position as is determined by the priniple of FSP. In other words, the Predicate-Subject sequence at the syntactic level corresponds to the Theme-Rheme sequence at the communicative level. Languages vary with respect to the realization of existential meaning. The method chosen for the investigation of the selected sentences is content analysis. The research demonstrated that the Lithuanian existential sentences are structured in accordance with the pattern of the communicative principle. The corresponding English sentences did not always have Theme– Rheme sequence but in the majority of cases they reflected the communicative structure of the Lithuanian existential sentences. The communicative adequacy of the translation was effected with the help of particular syntactic and semantic transformations. Context also played an important role. It appears to be a powerful means of realization of FSP in English when the grammatical principle works counter to the communicative principle in producing sentences. 4 INTRODUCTION Language is a complex instrument which helps us to transmit and get information. People have always striven to understand the nature of language and the principles of its functioning. Attempts to explain how a language functions have been made by many linguists and grammarians since ancient times. For centuries, the studies have developed in two directions: formal and functional. The functional approach proved to be a real incentive in sentence studies when the sentence is analysed in relation to its context. The functional approach concerned with how syntax interacts with semantics and pragmatics. It explains the process of producing a sentence to fit in a particular text to perform a particular communicative function. From the semantic point of view, a sentence reflects a concept of reality. From the syntactical point of view, it is seen as a unit over which grammar rules can be applied. Full understanding of a sentence and its meaning requires the unity of the semantic, syntactic and communicative levels of analysis. As noted by Firbas (1992, 14) ‘The communicative needs of the speaker are satisfied through twofold process: elements of thought – reflecting the extralinguistic reality, concrete or abstract – are denominated by naming units, which are combined to produce sentences’ with respect to the speaker’s communicative goals. The problem statement At the communicative level of the sentence languages demonstrate their ability to follow the pattern of functional sentence perspective (FSP). Yet, as noted by a number of linguists (Daneš 1974, Panhuis 1982, Firbas 1996, Valeika 2006, Petronienė 2007), different languages show different potential to meet the requirements of FSP. Synthetic languages, such as Lithuanian show greater potential while analytic languages, such as English in many cases follow the grammatical principle that governs the structure of the sentence. The question arises to what extent languages are governed by the principle of FSP and how their susceptibility to FSP affects the transmission of meaning from one language to another. The hypothesis of the research Keeping in mind the above mentioned assumptions, the hypothesis of the research is that the existential sentences in the Lithuanian language, generally following the pattern of FSP, have their equivalent realizations in the English language which is governed by the grammatical principle of word order. 5 The purpose of the research This work focuses on the realization of existence, or existential processes, in two structurally different languages, Lithuanian and English. It aims to analyze Lithuanian existential sentences and their translations into English with the purpose of evaluating the susceptibility of the two languages to the principle of FSP. The objectives of the research To achieve the purpose the following objectives are to be met: 1. Familiarize with the Systemic Functional Theory 2. Define the existential sentence as a three-fold unit 3. To establish the means of realization and the set of transformations needed to transfer the existential meaning from Lithuanian to English The scope of the research The present research is restricted to the analyses of the communicative aspects of three hundred Lithuanian existential sentences selected from J. Kazickas’ autobiography ‘Vilties Kelias’ and their translations in the book ‘The Odyssey of Hope’ translated by V.Arbas . Other types of sentences are not analysed in this study due to the limited scope of the paper. The research methods The analysis of Lithuanian existential sentences and their translations into English is carried out by using two approaches qualitative and quantitative. First, the examples of Lithuanian existential sentences and their translations are selected from the autobiographical book ‘Vilties kelias’ by J. Kazickas and its translation ‘The Odyssey of Hope’ by V.Arbas . The method chosen for the investigation of the selected sentences is content analysis. The research starts with the description of the communicative aspect of the Lithuanian existential sentences. This involves the description of the semantic structure of the sentence and the transitional syntactic level. Then, the analysis of the translated patterns of the Lithuanian existential constructions is carried out and the means used to realize the communicative structure of the Lithuanian sentence in English are identified. Finally, the material is subjected to quantitative analysis and the frequency of occurrence of particular patterns is counted. 6 The significance of the research This thesis has both a practical and a scientific relevance. The research will provide an insight into the organization of the sentence in English and Lithuanian and might be used by translators or interpreters whose work involves the above mentioned languages. The study can also be helpful to those who study English. The comparison of sentence structures in Lithuanian and English can help them to develop a better understanding of the ways the two languages operate and may improve their command of the English language. The scientific significance lies in the fact that although functional investigations are by no means lacking, they are not exhaustive and need further contrastive studies involving typologically different languages. Functional analysis of Lithuanian and English sentences based on translation can reveal differences and similarities in the functioning of the sentence in the languages being contrasted and thus show how one and the same semantic content is realized by different linguistic means to retain the same meaning. 7 1. THE PRINCIPLES OF SENTENCE GRAMMAR In order to explain how language works, linguists have tried to approach it from different points of
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