Causative constructions with the verbs to make, to let, to have, to get

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Causative constructions with the verbs to make, to let, to have, to get

V.M. Sokolova

(Vinnytsia)

Анотація

semantics verb english ukrainian language

Стаття присвячена зіставному вивченню семантики каузативних конструкцій із дієсловами to make, to let, to have, to get та з українськими дієсловами змушувати, дозволяти. Дослідження базується на прикладах уживання конструкцій англійської (to make smb do smth `змушити кого- небудь робити що-небудь') та української мов (дозволяти кому-небудь-робити/не робити що-небудь), які утворюються за допомогою вище поданих дієслів. Актуальність статті зумовлена необхідністю системного аналізу семантики каузативних конструкцій (далі КК) із дієсловами to make, to let, to have, to get у зіставному аспекті. Предметом дослідження є семантика та структура каузативних конструкцій, які виражають дію або результат, який був досягнутий шляхом каузативної дії в англійській та українській мовах. Мета полягає у проведенні семантичного аналізу одиниць дослідження та визначенні спільних і відмінних ознак англійських та українських каузативних конструкцій з поданими дієсловами. У статті наведена класифікація каузативних дієслів із дієсловами to make, to let, to get. Крім того, визначено відсоткове співвідношення частотності вживання каузативних конструкцій із дієсловами to make, to let, to have, to get в англійській та українській мовах (укр. змушувати, дозволяти) на матеріалі художніх текстів.

Ключові слова: каузативність, каузативна конструкція, каузативна ситуація, результативна / нерезультативна каузація, каузативний стан.

Abstract

Vladyslava Sokolova CAUSATIVE CONSTRUCTIONS WITH THE VERBS TO MAKE, TO LET, TO HAVE, TO GET

The article is devoted to the comparative research of the causative constructions with the English verbs to make, to let, to have, to get, and the Ukrainian verbs змушувати, дозволяти. The research is based on the examples of the English (to make smb do smth) and the Ukrainian (дозволяти кому-небудь робити що-небудь) constructions, the verbs to make, to let, to have, to get as a part of the causative constructions. The relevance of the article is determined by the necessity of systematic semantic analysis of the causative constructions including the above mentioned verbs. The subject of the research is the semantics and the structure of causative constructions in the English and the Ukrainian languages. The aim of the research lies in carrying out the semantic analysis of the causative constructions and revealing the common and the different features in both languages. The classification of the causative constructions which includes the verbs to make, to let, to have, to get has been presented. The article is based on the examples from the English and the Ukrainian belles-lettres texts, the productivity of the causative constructions with the verbs to make, to let, to have, to get has also been defined.

Key words: causativity, causative construction, causative situation, effective causation, causative state.

1. Theoretical overview of the causative constructions

The research of causation in the regular and typological aspects is one of the most relevant branches of linguistics. The founders of causation theory V. P. Nedyalkov (Nedyalkov, 1964), G. G. Silnitsky (Silnitskij, 1974), and M. Shibatani (Shibatani, 2002) developed the foundations of causative theory. Further on, various aspects of the category of causation were analysed by a number of researchers, i. e., O. O. Zaluzhna (Zaluzhna, 2014), G. O. Zolotova (Zolotova, 2005), O. S. Cordi (Cordi, 2004), M. V. Kuznetsova (Кузнецова, 1973), L. I. Kulikov (Kulikov, 1993), I. M. Kuchman (Kuchman, 2013), D. Song (Song, 1996) who issued a series of scientific articles devoted to the causative verbs.

The present article is devoted to the comparative research of causative constructions (hearafter CC) with the English verbs to make, to let, to get and the Ukrainian verbs змушувати, дозволяти. Causative construction implies any construction denoting causative situation (Eng. to make smb do smth, Ukr. дозволяти кому-небудь робити що-небудь `to let smb do smth').

In the article, the causative constructions are analysed on the basis of two non-related languages which are characterized by different structure (English and Ukrainian) which is stipulated by the heightened interest for the comparative and typological research of the language phenomena during the last decades.

Causative construction which underlies the language communication is supposed to reflect the variety of all possible extraordinary non-language situations, on the one hand, and to put in order its concepts through the generalised character of the structure schemes and semantic configurations, on the other hand. Meeting these requirements the language can effectively function as a mode of communication and the way of mental activity of a human being (Zaluzhna, 2014).

Different aspects of the category of causation were analysed on the basis of the empirical material in such languages as English, Ukrainian, Russian, French, German, etc.

A lot of approaches to the research of the essence of causation can be singled out. For example, G. M. Alina, O. Y. Gordon, M. V. Kuznetsova, I. M. Kuchman, L. O. Melnik, etc. investigate causation within the framework of the functional semantical field. The view of causation as a lexical grammatical field is shared by such linguists as, B. Comri, L. I. Kulikov, M. Shibatani, and O. V. Zemskova regard causation as grammatical category; some other researchers refer causation to the sphere of semantic syntax (G. G. Silnitsky). T. A. Yashenko uses cognitive approach to the studying of causation and O. G. Maksapetyan studies extralinguistic aspects of the causation category.

The relevance of the article is determined by the necessity of systematic semantic analysis of the causative constructions especially those formed by the English verbs to make, to let, to have, to get and the Ukrainian verbs змушувати, дозволяти.

The subject of the research is the semantics and the structure of causative constructions in the English and Ukrainian languages formed by the English verbs to make, to let, to have, to get and the Ukrainian verbs змушувати, дозволяти. For example:

(1) Eng. There was a roar that seemed to make the pavement heave; a shower of light objects pattered on to his back (Hailey);

(2) Eng. It was terribly dangerous to let your thoughts wander when you were in any public place or within range of a telescreen (Hailey);

(3) Ukr. Батьки спонукали мене до навчання (Kuchman, p. 2) `The parents caused me to study';

(4) Ukr. Батьки наказували мені вчитись (Kuchman, p. 2) `The parents ordered me to study'.

The aim of the research lies in carrying out the semantic analysis of causative constructions and revealing the common and distinctive features in both languages.

The material, on which the research is based, consists of 225 constructions (125 constructions in English and 100 constructions in Ukrainian) which were singled out due to the method of complete excerpt from the English and the Ukrainian text sources, for example, Arthur Hailey «Hotel», Maugham W. S. «Theatre», George Orwell, «1984», Барка В. «Жовтий князь», В. К. Винниченко «Сонячна машина», etc.

Causation as the language representation of causative and effective relations is a special type of relations which indicates the totality of certain conditions under which some phenomena, facts, events, processes, take place. They are connected with something, cause the appearance of something, influence something, etc. (Zaluzhna, p. 15).

Causation finds its expression on all the language levels: morphological, syntactical, lexical causatives can be singled out.

Morphological means of causation form the grammatical category of the verb as a part of causative construction in all the languages where they exist. They are formed by means of adding the prefixes and / or suffixes to the stem of the intransitive verb. Typology of the morphological causatives is represented in research by V. B. Kasevich, V. P. Nedyalkov, D. Song, and M. Shibatani, etc.

Syntactical causatives represent the analytical type of causation which occurs in the languages without productive morphological causatives. Most of Indo-European languages (among which English, German, French, Ukrainian and Russian) belong to this type (Zaluzhna, p. 18).

Syntactical causatives are notable for the presence of special causative link-verbs which can be combined with any non-causative verb and form a causative construction, for example, Eng. make + INF, Germ. lassen + INF, Fr. fair + INF. For example, Eng. Lucas made Sarah go away.

L. I. Kulikov and D. Song suppose that it is necessary to distinguish syntactical causatives and constructions which include causative and effective relations but are formed without link-verbs (Kulikov, p. 51), for example: Eng. It got dark so we went home; Ukr. Стемніло, тому ми пішли додому.

Typologically, causative syntactical constructions have been scrutinised by B. Comri, L. I. Kulikov, and D. Song. Syntactical causatives are also researched by such linguists as S. Babcock and R. M. Dixon.

Lexical causatives (or synthetical causatives) contain the semantics of causation in their inner semantic structure and, at the same time, have no formal causative indicators. Lexical means of expressing the causative semantics are characterised by the language universality and are observed in all the languages of the world (Zaluzhna, p. 19).

According to G. G. Silnitsky, causative verbs in their semantic structure indicate to the causal state, i. e. the state that undergoes causation (Silnitsky, p. 80).

In M. Shibatani's opinion, causative situation must meet the following requirements:

1) Causal action and the action which undergoes causation are separated in time in such a way that the action which undergoes causation can take place only after the causal action;

2) Causal action and the action which undergoes causation are interdependent and the existence of the latter is possible only on condition that the causal action is fulfilled. If the causal action does not take place, the action which undergoes causation does not happen as well (Shibatani, p. 35).

Syntactical causative relations of causality appear due to the relations of the sequence and government. According to the way of the sequence, causality has the following pattern: “to do smth, so that A becomes B”. And causality in accordance with the way of government has the following pattern “to do smth, so that A is in B” or “to do smth, so that B is A” (Zaluzhna, p. 17).

Linguists single out several types of causative constructions which are built with the help of causative verb, for example, analytical, lexical, morphological, analytically-morphological, syntagmatical, etc. (Kuchman, p. 1).

N. D. Arutyunova divides causatives into opened, hidden, and synthetic (Arytyunova, p.15).

Hidden causatives can be divided into one- and two-agent predicates. Two-agent causatives indicate two events.

According to the final result, causative constructions are divided into:

1) Benefactive causative constructions in which one can observe the fact of positive action (Arutyunova, p. 15);

2) Neutral causative constructions in which the recipient or the object is indifferent towards the causation which it undergoes;

3) Deteriorant causative constructions in which the negative result from the point of view of the recipient is described (Arutyunova, p. 15).

The most common way of expressing causative relations is to use causative verbs in which the semantic structure has different levels of complexity. According to this criterion, causative verbs can be divided into two groups:

1) Syntactic causative verbs which express only the organizational constant. In English, this function is fulfilled by the verbs to let, to get, to make.

2) Categorical causative verbs in which the semantic structure is more complicated. Besides the organisational constant, it also contains the constant which denotes the means of causation. These verbs are also called instrumental - Eng. to order, to ask, to persuade; Ukr. наказувати, просити, переконувати. The semantic structure of the latter means includes the seme of causation and the differential seme denoting way of causation (organisational constant and the state of the antecedent):

to persuade - to cause sb to do sth

by being a good reason for doing it.

I. M. Kuchman singles out the following classification of causative constructions in the English and the Ukrainian languages (Kuchman, p. 2):

In the English language, they are represented by four types:

a) half-auxiliary causative verb + object of causation + infinitive. For example:

(5) Eng. My antennae perked up as I tried to force her to make eye contact with me (Weis- berger);

b) auxiliary causative verb + object of causation + infinitive. For example:

(6) Eng. But I will see something that he cannot see such as a bird working and get him to come after dolphin (Christie);

c) auxiliary causative verb + object of causation + Participle I / II. For example:

(7) Eng. I'll go up and get things unpacked (Christie);

d) half-auxiliary causative verb + object of causation + adverb + noun. For example:

(8) Eng. Saying those words she shocked me_into _: semiwakefulness (Weisberger).

Syntactical causative constructions in Ukrainian are represented by the following types:

a) Half-auxiliary causative verb + subject + infinitive. For example:

(9) Ukr. Лікарі поки що не дозволяють Софії Іванівні мандрувати (Honchar) `The doctors do not let Sifiya Ivanivna travel'.

b) Half-auxiliary causative verb + object of causation + combination of adverbial modifier and noun. For example:

(10) Ukr. Старий граф знову взявся за свої мемуари, заклавщи^руки_ за спину (Barka) `The old earl got down to his memoires again having laid his hands behind the back'.

Nevertheless, causation does not find its wide expression in the Ukrainian language, i. e. these branches of semantics are expressed partially (Kuchman, p. 1).

Thus, the classifications of the causative constructions in the English language are more developed than in the Ukrainian language.

2. Causative constructions with the English verbs TO MAKE, TO LET, TO HAVE, TO GET and the Ukrainian verbs ЗМУШУВАТИ, ДОЗВОЛЯТИ

Some linguists refer this type of causative constructions to permissive causation which is made up by means of the verb to let.

Within permissive causation, several causative constructions can be singled out. They are as follows: Eng. to let smb do smth, Ukr. дозволяти кому-небудь робити що-небудь; Eng. to get smb to do smth, Ukr. змусити кого-небудь робити що-небудь; Eng. to make smb do smth, Ukr. змусити кого-небудь робити що-небудь. For example:

(11) Eng. It was terribly dangerous to let your thoughts wander when you were in any public place or within range of a telescreen (Orwell);

(12) Ukr. Але цього разу їй довелося змиритись, залишилася вдома, бо лікарі поки що не дозволяють Софії Іванівні тривалих мандрівок (Honchar) `But this time she had to reconcile with it and stay at home, because the doctors to not let her make long trips'.

But, such causative constructions can also be called - constructions with link-verbs. The first group of the causative, constructions with link verbs, is built by means of the verb to let and has the following pattern: “X lets (causes) Y do smth”. Being a causative link-verb, the verb to let possesses the meaning `to enable causation'. For example:

(13) Eng. Too late, he knew that in letting Dodo go, he had made the greatest error of his life (Hailey);

(14) Ukr. Трудо! Коли ти ще раз дозволиш собі так1_сл_рва, будеш дуже каятись Потім, що це ще за нова богозневажлива комедія? (Barka) `Truda! If you let yourself say such words again, you will regret doing it. And what a blasphemous comedy it is?'.

In the examples (13) and (14) it is necessary to indicate that the main semantic feature is the presence / absence of permission. In the Ukrainian example, the semantics of absence / prohibition has more intensive expression. Moreover, the causative construction with the verb to let can be represented with the following pattern: “X suggests Y doing smth” or “X prohibits Y doing smth”. The particle not is used if the causative construction with link- verb has the meaning of prohibition.

The verb to make as a part of a causative construction has the following meaning: `to cause something to happen, or cause a particular state or condition'. The pattern of the causative construction with link-verb can be represented in the following way: “X makes Y do smth”.

In the Ukrainian language, such meaning can be expressed through the seme of «змусити». But, this type of the causative construction with link verb is not productive in this language. For example:

(15) Eng. There was a roar that seemed to make the pavement heave; a shower of light objects pattered on to his back (Capote);

(16) Ukr. Дещо він схопив, дякуючи швидкості думки, але вони, «згори», маючи партійний механізм і сніг, змусили проморозитись (Barka) `He grasped somehow being thankful for the speed of a thought, but they made him freeze due to having a party mechanism'.

As for semantic peculiarities of the causative link-constructions, it is necessary to state that there is a different level of tension in these constructions. For instance, the causative construction Eng. to make somebody feel at home, Ukr. змусити почувати себе як вдома; does not have such a high level of tension as in the following construction: Eng. to make somebody be silent; Ukr. змусити кого-небудь мовчати.

The verb to get as a part of a causative construction possesses the meaning `to persuade or force someone to do smth'. The corresponding construction does not exist in the Ukrainian language - there is only the verb that forms the causative construction. The first pattern can be presented in the following way: “X causes Y to do smth”. For example:

(17) Eng. She got two other girls to go with her, slipped offfrom the hike, and spent the whole afternoon following a strange man (Capote).

The second type of the causative link-constructions can be represented in the following way: “X causes changes of the state of Y”. For example:

(18) Eng. I'll go up and get things unpacked (Christie).

The verb to cause can be used to build up the causative constructions and they are translated into the Ukrainian language as `спричиняти' and in most cases this meaning is used in the wordcombination викликати асоціації. In the English language, the verb to cause has much more variants of usage in the causative constructions. For example:

(19) Eng. I have a worry that this should cause scandal (Capote);

(20) Ukr. Хіба ось така стрічка, що зникає перед тобою десь у безвістях, може своїм виглядом не викликати в нас_пе.вні_е..моції? (Honchar) `Could such a line, which disappears in front of you in obscurity, cause any emotions looking at you?'.

Causative constructions with link-verbs with the verb to have are less productive and can be represented with the following pattern: `to have something done'. For example:

(21) Eng. She had her clothes made in Paris, both for the stage and for private life (Maugham).

The analysis of the empirical material in the English and the Ukrainian languages shows that the causative constructions with link-verb formed by means of the verb to let are the most productive constructions in both languages under analysis (Eng. 53 constructions, what makes up 42 % out of the sum total of all causative constructions; Ukr. 44 constructions, 44 % out of the sum total of all causative constructions). This type of causative constructions in the English is more productive than in Ukrainian. The results are presented in the table 1 below.

Table 1 Semantics of the English verbs TO LET, TO MAKE, TO GET, TO HAVE and the Ukrainian verbs ДОЗВОЛЯТИ, ЗМУСИТИ in causative constructions

It is necessary to state that causative constructions are divided into effective and non-effective constructions. Effective constructions are usually formed up by means of the verbs Eng. to kill, to solicit, to frighten; Ukr. вбити, випросити, налякати. Non-effective causative constructions are built up by means of the verbs Eng. to let, to make; Ukr. дозволити, змусити (Zaluzhna, p. 22). For example:

(22) Eng. The Party prisoners seemed terrifiedpfspeakingjto anybody, and above all of speaking to one another (Orwell);

(23) Ukr. Ще більше: бачить, якрудяво-сива велика голова перехилилася до чорно-синьої стриженої, й на обох обличчях витиснений такий вираз, од якого принцеса зупиняється і злегка лякається (Barka) `Even more he observes a head with grey and hair leaning towards the one with dark hair, both faces have such an expression that would make the princess stop and get scared a bit'.

Non-effective causation can be expressed in both languages with the help of Participle II (terrified of speaking to anybody) or by means of the following construction: Subject + Predicate + Object.

The action of causation and its result are in semantics of different constructions in the examples of non-effective causation in both languages. For example:

(24) Eng. It was terribly dangerous to let your thoughts wander when you were in any public place or within range of a telescreen (Orwell);

(25) Ukr. Теж вимагають: плати зразу! А я нічого не маю. Що робити? (Vynnychenko) `They get us pay at once! And I've got nothing! So what shall I do?'.

The most productive type of causation is non-effective causation. This type estimates 64 % out of the sun total (80 constructions). In the Ukrainian language, the most productive type of causation is also non-effective causation. It makes up 62 % out of the sum total of 62 constructions.

Conclusion

The analysis of the empirical material demonstrates that the causative constructions with link-verbs in the English and the Ukrainian languages are the most productive type of causation. The analysis of the empirical material in the English and the Ukrainian languages shows that the causative constructions with link verbs formed by means of the verb to let are the most productive constructions in the above mentioned languages under analysis (Eng. 53 constructions, what makes up 42 % out of the sum total of all causative constructions; Ukr. 44 constructions, 44 % out of the sum total of all causative constructions).

The analysis of the empirical material shows that in both languages under analysis the most productive type is non-effective construction in which the action of the causation and its result are in semantics of different lexemes. This type estimates 64 % out of the sun total (80 constructions). In the Ukrainian language, the most productive type of causation is also non-effective causation. It makes up 62 % out of the sum total of 62 constructions.

References

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