As you know, there are two articles in English: the definite article “the” and the indefinite one “a”. It has become a tradition to also single out the so-called “zero” article, which is found in the contexts where neither the definite nor the indefinite article is used. It is better to speak of the zero article rather than of the absence of the article for the same reason that we ascribe the zero marker to the “unmarked” member of the opposition. We speak of zero units in situations where the grammatical meaning needs to be made explicit.

     The answer to the question “what do we need articles for?” can’t be too simple. We might have to enumerate quite a few functions articles can be used in. Some of them are common for all the three articles, others are only characteristic of individual function words. This is what we are going to speak of.

    

1. The Use of Articles as Determiners

   

The invariant function of all the articles (i.e. the function all of them are used in) is that of determination. Any human language has a system of devices used to determine words as parts of speech. In analytical languages the article is the basic noun determiner. In synthetic languages, like Ukrainian and Russian the same function is performed by inflexions.    

     e.g. Read the poem and comment on determiners:

   Twas brilling, and the slithy toves     Варкалось, хливкие шорьки

  Did gyre and gimble in the wabe.      Пырялись по наве.

  All mimsy were the borogoves,          И хрюкотали зелюки,

  And the mome raths outgrabe.           Как мюмзики в мове.

 

2. The Use of Articles as  the Theme-and-Rheme Markers

   

     The second function the articles can be used in is that of the theme-and rheme markers. As you know, the theme is the information already known, and the rheme is the semantic focus of the utterance, the new idea that is being introduced. An utterance where there is only the rheme can’t be understood. For example, if I entered the room and said something like that to you, “What about a wedding dress for Jane?” you would not understand anything, for there are three rhematic pieces of information in this utterance:

1. Jane (you don’t know who she is).
2. Jane’s forthcoming marriage.
3. You have to take care of Jane’s wedding dress.   

Utterances that only contain the theme sound ridiculous. Can you imagine me saying something like that, «Let me share something important with you. This is a table.» You would probably think, something is wrong with me.

     Traditionally the grammatical subject coincides with the theme, and the grammatical predicate is the rheme of the utterance. Still there are situations where there are disagreements between grammatical and communicative subjects and predicates.

     In languages like Ukrainian or Russian the final position of the word in the sentence is rhematic, and the initial position is thematic. In English the same function is performed by the indefinite and the definite articles correspondingly. It is important to remember this principle when you translate something into English, for example:

      До кімнати увійшов чоловік.    A man entered the room.

     Чоловік увійшов до кімнати.     The man entered the room.

 

3.The Use of Articles as Generalizers

 

    The object denoted by the word is called the “referent”. Referents can be concrete, if something is said about a concrete object or phenomenon, and general, if what we say is true for the whole class of objects.

     e.g. I have a dog at home (a concrete dog).

            The dog is man’s friend (any dog).

In the second sentence the definite article is used as a generalizer. The generalizing function can be performed by both the definite, the indefinite and the zero article. The zero article is used in the plural or with uncountable nouns, for example:

Conscience and cowardice are really the same things.

     Iron is metal.

     When concrete nouns are used in generic sense, they are usually preceded by the definite article. The indefinite article may be used when two classes of objects are compared, for example:

     A dog is stronger than a cat.

If asked for an explanation, I would say that the general conclusion about the strength of cats and dogs is first made on the level of individuals, i.e. to determine who is stronger we would probably have to get a dog and a cat to fight. Then we would pick up another dog and another cat, until some general conclusion could be drawn. This is the reason the indefinite article appears in this sentence.

     It is also important to remember that different parts of the utterance have to agree with one another semantically. So the articles are mostly used in their generalizing function in utterances characterized by generic reference, for example:

     The noun is a part of speech which denotes substance.

     The tragedy of life is indifference.

 

4. The Use of Articles as Concretizers

 

The generalizing function of articles is opposed to that of concretization. The latter is realized through some specific functions which are different for definite, indefinite and zero articles.

 

            FUNCTIONS OF THE INDEFINITE ARTICLE

     The indefinite article can be used in four functions:

1. The classifying function
2. The indefinitizing function
3. The introductory function
4. The quantifying function

Each of them is realized under specific contextual conditions.

1. The classifying function of the indefinite article is realized in

the so-called classifying utterances. Their invariant sentence pattern is: N + Vbe + N1. Those are:

a) structures with the verb “to be”, for example:

  This is a computer.

      b)exclamatory sentences beginning with “what” or such.

      e.g. What a long story! He is such a nuisance!

      c) sentences including an adverbial modifier of manner or comparison, for example:   

     e.g. You look like a rose! She works as a teacher.

2. The indefinitizing function is realized when the referent of the

noun is not a real thing, but it exists in the speaker’s imagination only. Those are sentences containing modal verbs or verbs with modal meaning, forms of the Subjunctive Mood, Future Tense forms, negative and interrogative sentences.

e.g. I wish I had a home like you do.

       Have you ever seen a living tiger?

3.  The introductory function

     Before sharing some information about the object, we need to introduce it to the hearer. Fairy tales can be used as ideal illustrations of the use of the indefinite article in its introductory function.

     e.g. Once upon a time there lived an old man. He had a wife and a daughter. He lived in a small house.

4. The quantifying function

     The indefinite article developed from the numeral “one”. The meaning of “oneness” is still preserved when the article is used with nouns denoting measure, like “a minute”, “a year” or “a pound”.

 

              FUNCTIONS OF THE DEFINITE ARTICLE

     The definite article may be used in the following functions:

1. The identifying function

When we speak, we may want to point out to something that both us and the hearer perceive with our organs of feeling. There are five different ways of getting the information about something existing in the objective reality. We can see it (Do you like the picture?), hear it (I believe, the music is too loud), feel it (The pillow is so soft!), smell it (What is the name of the perfume?) or taste it (The soup tastes bitter).

2. The definitizing function

     The object or thing denoted by the noun is presented as a part of some complex. In modern science the term “frame” is often used. The frame is a structurally organized system of images. For example, the frame “classroom” includes a window, a blackboard and a door. So if both the speaker and the hearer know what classroom they are speaking of, the constituents of the classroom don’t need any special concretization, and the indefinite article will be used.

     e.g. I want to talk to the rector (even if you have never met the man).

3. The individualizing function

     The object in question may be presented as a unique thing with the hearer’s attention focused on its distinguishing features, which are represented with the help of a particularizing attribute. The object is singled out from the class it belongs to. The particularizing attribute can be expressed by:

     a) adjectives in the superlative degree

        e.g. This is the easiest way out.

     b) ordinal numerals

        e.g. I have forgotten the first word.

    c) attributive relative restrictive clauses

         e.g. I need the book I bought yesterday.

 

                 FUNCTIONS OF THE ZERO ARTICLE

     In most cases the zero article performs the same functions as the indefinite one. The difference is that the combinability of the latter is restricted to the group of countable nouns used in the singular form, whereas the zero article combines with uncountable nouns and countable nouns in the plural.

     e.g. It was a large room with many windows.

            The toasts were in champagne.

     Still there are situations where the zero article is used in its specific functions which are different from those of the indefinite article. When used with the zero article, the noun loses its general grammatical meaning of thingness to a certain degree and acquires the meaning of qualitativeness. For example, the nouns “day” and “night” used with the zero article stand for “light” and “darkness” rather than time units.

Theoretical Grammar

Kolomiytseva O.A.

LECTURE 14: THE SUBJECT MATTER OF PSYCHOLINGUISTICS

      For many years language was approached as just a system, outside the processes of its acquisition and use. Nowadays it has become quite popular to study language in action, taking into account the human factor. There has been a great interest in the analysis of different parameters of the communicative speech situation, like time place and social environment. It is evident that when we speak, we are influenced by everything around us as well as by our own inner selves. It would be very easy to analyze texts, if people spoke like computers, following the principle of formal logic and that of economy. Luckily, it is not so. If we were absolutely logical, trying to relate to others, our speech would be very dull and lifeless.

             Psycholinguistics is one of several linguistic disciplines which  focus on the relationship between language structures and the one who uses them It stands on the borderline between Psychology and Linguistics. The subject matter of Psychology is the nature and function of the human soul. The term itself is derived from the two Greek words “psyche” which means “soul” and “logos” which stands for “science”. There are three aspects in the human soul: “mind”, “will” and “emotions”, and all of them are studied by Psychology. The subject matter of Psycholinguistics is, of course, narrower. It is not concerned with human soul as it is. Its scope of interest is human ability to use language.

        On the other hand, Psycholinguistics is not a completely independent discipline, it is a branch of General Linguistics.

        Psycholinguistics can be briefly defined as a branch of language science studying speech behavior of man. B.Skinner, a famous American psychologist, suggests that language is a part of a more encompassing human behavior.

       Psycholinguistics was officially recognized as a discipline, as a branch of linguistics in 1953, in the city of Bloomington, USA. It was based on the principles of the “theory of information”. The key terms that were used were “sender”, “channel” and “recipient”. The importance of using the channel effectively was underlined. The channel is described in terms of “effectiveness” and “reliability”. The effectiveness of the channel is related to the number of the bites of information that can be conveyed for a certain time unit. It means that the more information is conveyed for, let us say, an hour or a minute the more effective the channel is.

  The reliability of the channel can be defined as the answer to the question “Is there any difference between what was sent and what was received?” To increase the reliability the speaker may want to speak slower, repeating the same over and over again, which, of course, will decrease the effectiveness of the channel. It has been proved for example that the study material covered by an average half-an-hour lecture could be successfully presented for just twenty minutes, if the teacher were after the efficiency of the channel only. However, it would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, for the students to receive pure semiological (or logical) information, not dissolved by any flashbacks or jokes.   Normal speech is half-reliable and half-effective.

       In 1954 a book by Ch. Osgood and L. Sebeok was published. The title of it was “Psycholinguistics: A study of Theory and Research Problems” and it gave birth to psycholinguistics as an independent discipline. Psycholinguistics is defined as “a science which provides for the use of linguistic analysis of grammar to identify the mental and behavioral processes which underlie language acquisition and development”. Ch. Osgood suggested a three-level model of the derivation of the utterance. The speaker (sender) realizes his communicative intention step by step, level by level, choosing one of the possible phonetic, lexical and morphological variants. According to P.L. Newcomer and D.D. Hannill, psycholinguistics is the study of the mental processes which underlie the acquisition and use of language.

      A.A. Leontyev, defines the subject matter of psycholinguistics as the relationship between language system and linguistic competence. What is meant, scholars no longer focus on language as a system, but they also analyze the person’s ability to use the linguistic units and structures more effectively.

 

PSYCHOLINGUISTIC FACTORS

 

       Psycholinguistics focuses on the speaking individual. Therefore,

I. the human factor is extremely important in defining psycholinguistics as an independent discipline. It is not the product of speaking, that is of greatest importance, it is also the speaking person, with all of its strengths, weaknesses, creative abilities and disturbances. It is interesting to study the differences between women’s and men’s speech, for example. Men and women are sure to speak differently, because their personalities are not the same. Children’s speech is something to be studied too. It can hardly be denied that teenagers speak somewhat differently from senior adults. The speaker’s personality type as well as his current emotional state can’t but affect the choice of language structures.

    II. Another thing is the situation factor. If we look at any text more or less carefully, we will see that all the parameters of the communicative speech situations are somehow reflected in it. We can basically determine where and when this or that conversation takes place.

     III. Experimental factor is important too. The experiment is generally recognized as the leading method of psychology. The experiment helps to create an artificial situation, allowing the speaker to resort to special linguistic devices, those that are of special interest to the scholar. On the other hand, the experimental situation may cause the speaker to exercise certain linguistic abilities, so that the scholar may determine whether the latter are well developed, underdeveloped or impaired. Tests are extremely popular in psycholinguistic studies. 

IV. The abnormal factor

     Linguistics has always been a normocentric discipline. It means that linguists have analyzed “correct” texts only. It has never been clear what is to be done with “wrong” texts. Stories derived by illiterate people, foreigners or mentally sick individuals were merely defined as “incorrect’ and, therefore, not considered worth studying at all. However, those texts do exist, so something must be done with them. The term “wrong” is not a very lucky one, because it adds nothing to the understanding of what those texts are actually like and what are the mechanisms that bring them into being. It was the Russian academician L.V. Scherba that suggested the term “negative speech material”, including everything that does not meet the existing norms and standards. Here are some genres or types of the text that L.V. Scherba considers negative: