Linguistic encyclopedic dictionary. Means of expressing negation in Russian

Expressing negation syntactically

The syntactic way of expressing negation is possible because the dialectically interconnected grammatical categories of affirmation and negation constitute a binary one-dimensional, therefore neutralizable, opposition. The common semantic feature of the members of this opposition is the establishment of a semantic connection in a sentence between concepts expressing an actor or action, an object and a sign of an object. The differential feature of this opposition is the nature of this semantic connection: if the connection between the concepts of agent and action is qualified as positive, the sentence implements a grammatical statement (you won my bet): if the semantic connection between them is regarded as absent, the negative sentence is actualized (you did not win my bet).

It is generally accepted that the main content of linguistic negation is formal-logical negative meanings - the meaning of non-inherence, non-belonging to an object of any attribute, non-existence, non-existence, absence of an object. The relationship between logical and linguistic negation can be characterized as a relationship of semantic identity, since the logical category of negation, constituting the main content of the linguistic category of negation, “does not fill it entirely.” The linguistic category of affirmation and negation also performs other functions, has relative independence and has its own volume of meanings that is inadequate to the logical category.

The categorical meaning of linguistic negation is the expression of the absence of an object or its attribute. The latter include properties, qualities, connections, relationships, actions, states. Analysis of the relationship between linguistic negation reveals the appropriateness of the following consideration of this relationship: negation and modality in the narrow sense, existing in two varieties - objective and subjective, are independent categories that can function in parallel; negation and modality in a broad sense are correlated through the concept of predicativity.

Comparative analysis the functioning of negation at two hierarchical levels of language allowed us to conclude that there are two particular denotative meanings of negation - meanings corresponding to logical ones, and meanings different from them, although genetically related to logical ones.

Variability negative syntactic construction in terms of content, it is associated with the strengthening and weakening of the meaning of negation. Strengthening and weakening of denial manifests itself in the form of intensification - deintensification negative values. Intensification - deintensification of negation is interpreted as the interaction of negation with the category of intensity, reflecting all differences reduced to the categories of quantity, magnitude, value, strength. The intensity of the manifestation of the action of a state or quality is usually expressed by intensifying particles or combinations with them: too much, too, too far, too altogether.

He was altogether too excited too sleep (Wells).

Old Jayden was too much of a Forsyte to praise anything freely (Galsworthy).

He had drawn too far to draw back (Cronin).

My child, you are too young to think of falling in love (Wild).

Abbreviated negation

In circumstances where it is perfectly acceptable to abbreviate the intended use short forms, usually use a similar method. Typically this is colloquial form:

He isn't coming - he's not coming

We aren't ready - we're not ready

They haven"t caught him - they"ve caught him

She won't miss us - she'll not miss us

For example, the form I "m not coming does not have an alternative in the left column. It is logical to assume that in sentences and questions there should be a construction like am I not correct? But this form is used only in some formal cases. It was replaced in colloquial speech by aren't I correct? Over time, aren't gradually began to transform into a lighter and more universal aint. Now aint has gained universal recognition: aint, as a universally replacing form, is used instead of haven't, isn't, aren't, etc.

· Negation in impersonal sentences and phrases

Sometimes the word not is attached not to the verbal part of the sentence, but to another element of the sentence - the nominal part, and is placed in front of the word or phrase that it negates. When the negated nominal part is the subject, no inversion occurs:

Not all the passengers escaped unhurt. (Leech)

Not a single word did he utter. (Leech)

No nation can afford to offend its allies - not even the USA. (Leech)

To negate an impersonal sentence, we place a negative unit before the verb phrase:

Not having read the book I can"t tell you whether it is worth buying. (Leech)

I asked her not to interfere. (Leech)

Transferred negation

After some verbs, such as believe, suppose, think, the particle not, which belongs to the subordinate clause with the conjunction that, is transferred to the main clause:

I don"t believe that you two have met, haven"t you? (Leech)

= (I believe you two haven"t met)

I don"t suppose that anyone will object to my sentence. (Leech)

= (I suppose anyone (no one) won"t object to my sentence)

I don't think you need to worry. (Leech)

= (I think you needn"t worry)

· Grammatical behavior of negative particles.

In grammatical terms, the overall effect of all negative units is to create a sentence that has a connotation of negation. This means that certain characteristics of negative sentences are formed not only with the help of the particle not, but also with other units of negation:

1. After negation, any is used instead of some:

No one has any doubts about his ability. (Leech)

I rarely get any sleep after the baby wakes up. (Leech)

I"ve spoken to hardly anyone who disagrees with me on this point. (Leech)

2. A negative unit at the beginning of a sentence introduces subject inversion. This construction sounds somewhat elevated and rhetorical:

Only after a long argument did he agree to our plan. (Leech)

2. Negative words are followed by positive tag-questions rather than negative ones:

|She never/scarcely seems to care| does she?

|You won't forget the shopping| will you?

Compare:

|You"ll remember the shopping| won"t you?

Negation and means of its expression in English

Introduction.

As you know, language is a historically developed system of sound, vocabulary and grammatical means that objectifies the work of thinking and is a tool of communication, exchange of thoughts and mutual understanding of people in society.

Each language, including English, is a dynamic system that has its own characteristics. grammatical structure, the components of which are two interconnected sections: morphology and syntax. This work is aimed at studying one of the phenomena of such a grammatical section as syntax, which considers the words in a sentence, the sentence itself, its structure, features and types. Considerable attention is also paid to the morphological and lexical components.

The relevance of this topic lies in the fact that negation in the English language is a multifaceted phenomenon that requires constant understanding, changing along with the development of the language, the difficulty of which to study and understand mainly lies in the discrepancy with the Russian language. Despite the many works and studies carried out by scientific linguists, the problem of denial remains poorly understood.

Thanks to the huge number of ways to negate an English sentence and its members, the following problem has arisen: in what cases will the means of negation used be the most accurate and appropriate.

The object of study of this work is negative sentences, which are understood as sentences in which the connection between the subject and the predicate or between various members of the sentence is denied.

The subject of the study is linguistic methods and means of expressing negation.

The purpose of this work is to review the most common ways of expressing negation in modern English.

Job objectives:

consider ways and means of negation in the structure of a sentence;

determine the main means of expressing negation in English;

1.1. Negation in philosophy

The term “negation” was introduced into philosophy by Hegel, but he put an idealistic meaning into it. From his point of view, the basis of negation is the development of ideas, thoughts. Marx and Engels, retaining the term “negation”, interpreted it materialistically. They showed that negation is an integral moment in the development of material reality itself. Denial is also inherent in the development of knowledge and science. Each new, more perfect scientific theory overcomes the old, less perfect one. Negation is not something introduced into an object or phenomenon from the outside, it is the result of its own, internal development. Objects and phenomena, as we already know, are contradictory and, developing on the basis of internal opposites, they themselves create the conditions for their own destruction, for the transition to a new, higher quality. Denial is the overcoming of the old on the basis of internal contradictions, the result of self-development, self-movement of objects and phenomena (Gubsky 1999:180).

In contrast to the metaphysically interpreted “denial,” which emphasizes the gap and opposition between the features of the previous and subsequent stages of change, dialectical “denial” presupposes a connection, a transition from one stage to another. The dialectical understanding of negation proceeds from the fact that the new does not completely destroy the old, but preserves all the best that was in it. And not only preserves, but also processes, raises to a new, higher level. (Gubsky 1999:183)

As can be seen from the above theses, negation does not completely destroy the old, but moves it to a new level, which can be correlated with both logic and language. Next, let’s draw a parallel between this concept and logic and language itself.

1.2. Negation in logic and linguistics

Negation has always been the object of both linguistics and formal logic. From the point of view of formal logic, negation is “... logical operation, contrasting a true judgment with an untrue one, a false judgment with a non-false judgment, indicating the inconsistency of the predicate with the subject or forming an addition to a given class...” (Kondakov 1971:56). It is noted that what leads to a negative judgment is not the simple non-discovery of an expected other specific object, since the non-existence of one consists in the existence of the other. In other words, denial is not a direct reflection of reality and its connections, but a way of our considering them, based on contrast with the original positive facts.

In linguistics, the essence of linguistic negation has been defined in different ways. Proponents of the psychological concept interpret negation as a purely subjective manifestation of the human psyche (Grinneken 1907; Jespersen 1958; Potebnya 1958, etc.). Denial is interpreted as the generation of various mental (sensory) reactions of the speaker, as an expression of a feeling of resistance or prohibition (Grinneken 1907); as an explication of what is felt as a contradiction between the expected (or generally possible) and the actual, as a reflection of a feeling of disappointment, contrast (Delbrück 1887), a feeling of disgust (Jespersen 1918), etc. Thus, according to this concept, denial does not act as a reflection of reality, but as a manifestation of the human psyche, his psychological and emotional feelings.

Negation is a communicative operation that rejects or corrects the addressee’s opinion, that is, negation is a speech act whose purpose is not to communicate new information, but to refute the addressee’s opinion.

In theoretical terms, negation is an assertion of non-existence. In a negative judgment, the negation can be directed either at its entire content or at the connection between the subject and the predicate; In language, negation is expressed by the word “no.” We can recognize any judgment as correct or incorrect, but it would be unreasonable to do this at the same time (the law of contradiction and the law of negation of the third). Not a single positive statement is associated with negation. The statement “this flower is not fragrant” has meaning even when the flower has no smell at all. Under any conditions, the correct meaning when negating a predicate is, first of all, a formal negative (contradictory) meaning, and any other, narrower, more definite meaning must still prove its validity. Being a universal category of language with complex and multidimensional semantics and a diverse arsenal of means of expression, negation receives a separate interpretation in the light of each new direction of linguistics.

Negation is one of the original, semantically indecomposable semantic categories characteristic of all languages of the world, which cannot be defined through simpler semantic elements. Negation is an element of the meaning of a sentence that indicates that the connection established between the components of the sentence, in the opinion of the speaker, does not really exist or that the corresponding affirmative sentence is rejected by the speaker as false. Most often, a negative statement is made in a situation where the corresponding affirmative one was made earlier or is part of the general presumption of speakers.

Denial - English - negation - expression using lexical, phraseological, syntactic and other means of language that the connection established between the elements of the statement does not really exist. Negation can be absolute (absolute negation) or related to the statement and is then called syntactic (syntaxique) or connective (conjunctive). A conjunctive negation can refer to a concept (lexical negation) or a sentence (phrasal negation). Simple negation, regardless of its form, is one in which there is nothing but the idea of negation; A complex negation or negative word is a negation with which the concept of time (never), person (nobody) or object (nothing) is associated. Semi-negation is a word that serves to weaken a statement, such as hardly - barely.

In order to reveal the fullness of the concept of negation, to most broadly define the ways and means of its expression, we need to analyze cases of its use in speech. For this purpose, it is necessary to trace cases of use of negation in the syntactic structure of a sentence and highlight individual morphological and lexical means. Let's look at this in more detail below.

Chapter II. MEANS OF EXPRESSING DENIAL

IN ENGLISH

2.1. Negation in English sentence structure

According to the nature of the attitude towards reality expressed in the sentence, they are divided into affirmative and negative. Denial is often accompanied by affirmation, both potential and expressed. Sentences that include grammatically formulated negation and affirmation are called negative-affirmative. Such sentences can be either simple or complex. With a non-union connection between parts of a complex sentence, the combination of affirmation/negation can be one of the means of communication that also serves to express the meaning of comparison.

Two negative particles sometimes form an affirmative sentence (a sentence with a double negative), since it involves the negation of a negation. In English, negation in a sentence can be expressed:

a) in the subject:

A woman become like their mothers. That is their tragedy. No man does.

That's his tragedy (Wild 1979:35).

All women become like their mothers. This is their tragedy. No man does this. This is his tragedy.

Nothing will induce me to part with Bunarry (Wild 1979:21).

Nothing will make me leave Banery.

What I suffer in that way no tongue can tell (Jerome 1994:16).

What I experienced in this way, no one can say.

b) in the predicate:

I haven't asked you to dine with me anywhere to-night (Wild 1979:20).

I didn't invite you to have dinner with me anywhere tonight.

I haven't the smallest intention of doing anything of the kind (Wild 1979:20).

I don't have the slightest intention of doing anything like that.

That is not very pleasant. Indeed, it is not even decent (Wild 1979:21).

It's not very pleasant. In fact, it's even indecent.

In the last example in the English sentence, negation is expressed

with the help of the negative particle not, and when translated into Russian, the negation is also conveyed by the negative particle not.

c) in addition:

I know nothing, Lady Blacknell (Wild 1979:30).

I don't know anything, Lady Blacknell.

took no interest in people apart from their social position (Graham 1976:9).

He showed a lack of interest in people, regardless of their social status.

d) in the circumstances of the time:

I never saw a woman so altered; she looks quite twenty years younger (Wild 1979:23).

I have never seen a woman so changed: she looks twenty years younger.

In fact, I am never wrong (Wild 1979:26).

Indeed, I am never wrong.

My own one, I have never loved anyone in the world but you (Wild 1979:28).

My dear, I have never loved anyone in the world except you.

By the way, in the last example, the negative pronoun never in the Russian sentence corresponds to the negative pronouns never and no one, as well as the verb in the negative form, whereas in the English sentence the verb is presented in the affirmative form. This is because in English, negation is grammatically expressed once.

e) with the entire sentence as a whole (using a negative conjunction):

There were no cucumbers in the market this morning, sir (Wild 1979:27).

There were no cucumbers at the market this morning, sir.

Unlike the Russian language, negation in an English sentence can be expressed only in one of the above ways.

I"ve never been so sure of anything in my life (Graham 1976:25).

I have never been so sure of anything in my life.

It should be borne in mind that what has been said applies only to the expression of negation in the same sentence. If there is not one, but two or more sentences, even if they are part of one complex sentence, then negation can be expressed in each of them:

She did not feel angry, she did not feel inclined to laugh, she did not

know what she felt (Graham 1976:75).

She didn't feel angry, she wasn't inclined to laugh, she didn't know what she was feeling.

He"d laugh and say that of course if he hadn"t been such a kid he"d never

have had cheek to ask her (Graham 1976:73).

He would have laughed and said that, of course, if he had not been such a child, he would never have dared to ask her.

His ear was perfect, and though he could not produce the right intonation himself he would never let a false one pass in anyone else (Graham 1976:21).

His hearing was excellent, and although he could not produce the correct intonation himself, he never allowed anyone else to go out of tune.

In addition, in one sentence a combination of negation in the main part of the sentence and negation in the verb phrase is possible. In infinitive, gerundial and participial constructions, negation can be expressed:

a) with the leading component - non-predicative form:

His father, not liking the idea of his going on the stage, had insisted on this (Graham 1976:28)

His father, who didn't like the idea of him going on stage, insisted on it.

“I"m awfully sorry,” I said, not knowing what else to say (Graham 1976:35).

“I’m really sorry,” I said, not knowing what else to say.”

b) with any subordinate component:

Long after the lorry had gone... Lanny stood there, staring at nothing, thinking of nothing, feeling nothing (P. Abrahams).

I believe him to have done nothing but harm... (Bentley).

Sometimes he would sit silent and abstracted, taking no notice of anyone (S. Maugham).

In infinitive, gerundial and participial constructions, as in a whole sentence, in English, unlike Russian, there can be only one negation:

Not having any friends \ having no friends

“Not having any friends.”

However, it is quite possible to have two negations: in the main part of the sentence and in a construction with a non-predicative form, for example:

Would it not be better not to tell your father? (J.London).

There's no danger of not winning your mother to our marriage (J. London).

Having no new companions, nothing remained for him but to read (J. London).

Speaking about ways to express negation in English, you should

note that there are different approaches to data classification. For example, linguists such as L.S. Barkhudarov and Stehling D.A. There are three ways of expression (Bardukharov 1973:289-291):

negative pronouns:

Nobody wanted to talk about it after that (Richard1984:44).

After that, no one wanted to talk about it.

But nothing happens here - inside (Richard1984:39). - But nothing happens

here - inside.

None of us has heard it, that we could remember (Richard1984:116). - None of us heard it, we could remember it.

Never thought that he was a spy. (George B. Mair).

negative conjunctions: neither... nor, not... nor,

But neither of you knew him as I did (Richard1984:46).

But none of you knew him like I did.

Bondarenko V.N. in his monograph “Negation as a Logical-Grammatical Category” he identifies the following six ways of expression: negative affixes; negative particles; negative pronouns and adverbs; negative conjunctions; negative prepositions are postpositions in some languages; as well as an implicit way of expressing negation.

In the next chapter we will look at the most common means of expressing negation in English in their linguistic categories.

2.2. Morphological means of expressing negation

Morphological ways of expressing negation include affixation, represented by prefixation and suffixation. They occupy a special position in word formation processes occurring in the English language. First of all, they, as a rule, do not form new parts of speech; the same prefix can, and does, form new words from different parts speech. Newly formed words remain the same part of speech from which they were formed, for example:

common (ordinary) - uncommon (unusual)

grateful (grateful) - ungrateful (ungrateful)

satisfactory (satisfactory) - unsatisfactory (unsatisfactory)

trained (trained) - untrained (untrained)

ability (ability) - disability (inability)

approval - disapproval (disapproval)

trust (trust) - distrust (distrust)

responsible (responsible) - irresponsible (irresponsible)

The most extensive group of prefixes in the English language are negative prefixes. Let's consider them in more detail.

The prefix un- occurs in different forms in many Indo-European languages. In modern English it is preserved in the form in which it was used in Old English. This is a very productive prefix and easily forms new words from different parts of speech:

ungrateful (ungrateful)

unwritten (unwritten)

unemployment (unemployment)

unhumanly (inhumanly)

Most often this prefix is found in adjectives and adverbs, for example:

The only thing that makes me unhappy is that I"m making you unhappy

(Graham 1976:49).

The only thing that makes me unhappy is that I make you unhappy.

Oh, Freda, that was unforgivable (Richard1984:26).

Oh Freda, that was unforgivable.

I think that"s unfair and also rather stupid and affected (Richard1984:25).

I think this is unfair and also quite stupid and unnatural.

Just as with the negative particle not-, words with the prefix un- express not just negation, but a new quality, new sign:

wise - means “wise; wise”, and unwise has a different meaning (unwise) and approaches the meaning of foolish (stupid; foolish; reckless). The word unhappy rather means miserable (miserable, poor). Usually, antonyms from adjectives with un- are formed not with the help of un-, but with the suffix less-, for example:

careful - careless (uncareful)

hopeful - hopeless (unhopeful)

thoughtful - thoughtless (unthoughtful)

Frankie listened breathlessly. His hand looked lifeless and pale. (Graham 1976:26).

Frankie listened with bated breath. His hand looked lifeless and pale.

The prefix in- is of Latin origin, akin to the Germanic prefix un-, and appears in loanwords from French:

The prefix in- has variants il-, im-, ir-; il- in words starting with l-, im- in words starting with p-, b-, m-, and ir- in words starting with r-, for example:

Some words undergo semantic shifts, for example “infamous” - “shameful”.

She had met innumerable people of all kinds and I think she summed them up shrewdly enough according to the standards of the small Virginian town where she was born and bred (Graham 1976:78).

She met countless different people, and I think she assessed them quite soberly according to the standards of the small town in Virginia where she was born and raised.

He"d have invented the most extravagant and incredible sins to confess to

(Richard1984:32).

He could invent the most extravagant and implausible sins in order to repent of them.

Must you talk in that awful dry inhuman way? (Richard1984:38).

Must you speak in such a terribly dry and inhuman way?

Was not indefatigable (Graham 1976:8).

He was tireless.

The prefix mis- is of common Germanic origin. It most often forms derivatives from verb stems, for example:

Some words have words of negativity, while others have “incorrect” expressions of action:

miscalculate - to make a mistake in calculation (“incorrectness”)

mistrust - not to trust (“negativity”).

I have never begun a novel with more misgivings (Graham 1976:3).

I've never started a novel with more mistrust.

The barometer is useless: it is as misleading as the newspaper forecast (Richard1984:70).

The barometer is useless: it is as misleading as the forecast in the newspaper.

The prefix dis- is of Latin origin and appeared in English in the Middle English period as part of borrowed French words:

Like most word-forming elements, they are not native English origin the prefix dis- as a means of forming English words began to be used with both French-derived stems and English stems. This prefix forms derivatives from the stems of nouns, verbs, adjectives:

I do not want the reader to think I am making a mystery of whatever it was that happened to Larry during the war that so profoundly affected him, a mystery that I shall disclose at a convenient moment (Graham 1976:52).

I do not want the reader to think that I am making a secret of anything that happened to Larry during the war that shook him so deeply, a secret that I will reveal at the appropriate moment.

When critics disagree the artist is in accord with himself (Wild 1979:19).

When critics don't get along, the artist is at peace with himself.

As a matter of fact, to be absolutely candid, I rather disliked him (Richard1984:23).

In fact, to be completely honest, I don't like him.

Didn't try to amuse himself with them, but he really distrusted them, disliked them (PJ, p.27).

He tried to pass the time with them, but he didn't really trust them, he didn't like them.

She is distressed now and trifle incoherent (Richard1984:41).

She is worried now and slightly inconsistent.

Francesca disarranged the bed (Richard1984:40).

Francesca left the bed in disarray.

The meaning of this prefix, or rather the meaning obtained by a derivative word with this prefix, is the negation of the quality, attribute or action expressed by the base of the derivative word.

The prefix anti- is of Greek origin; it is larger than the listed prefixes and retains its lexical meaning – ‘against’. This prefix appeared only in the New English period, its use is limited to the literary and bookish style of speech. Most often it is found in words expressing socio-political and scientific concepts: antifascist, anticyclone, anticlimax, antithesis. Some independence of the meaning of this prefix is also reflected in the graphic design of the derivative word; many such derivatives are written with a hyphen: anti-social, anti-aircraft, anti-Jacobin, etc.

The prefix counter- is of Latin origin, as well as anti-, retains its lexical meaning, which is why some researchers call it a prepositional prefix. It appeared in the Middle English period as part of French loanwords. Its meaning is approximately the same as that of anti- i.e. against. The use of this prefix is limited to the literary-book style of speech. Most common in socio-political literature, its independence is supported by writing with a hyphen: counter-act, counter-balance, counter-poise, counter-move.

So, we can draw the following conclusions: in the presence of negative suffixes and prefixes, a significant majority of negative affixes are prefixes. Many researchers note that the compatibility of negative affixes with the stems of various parts of speech varies both from language to language and within the same language.

For adjectives and (less often) nouns, the prefixes most often used are un- (a homonym to the verb un-), non-, in- (im-, il-, ir-, dis-, mis-. The closest in meaning are the prefixes un- , pop-, in-, as evidenced by the existence of doublet words that differ little from each other in their meanings:

nonprofessional - unprofessional

inacceptable - unacceptable unacceptable.

Thus, negative affixes in English are attached only to nominal stems. Verbal stems are not combined with negative affixes, because verbal negation is conveyed in this language by the analytical form of the verb with the particle not.

Above we looked at the means of expressing negative meaning at the morphological level. As it turns out, the meaning of negation can be conveyed using prefixes. Below we will dwell on lexical means that convey negative meanings: these are negative verbs, nouns, adverbs, pronouns.

2.3. Lexical means of expressing negation

The actual lexical way of expressing negation is the way of expression using verbs with a negative meaning, such verbs include:

To deny (not to do, not to decide)

He denied breaking into the shop (Murthy).

To doubt (doubt)

I doubt whether he was really able to do that (Christie).

To fail (to fail, not to cope)

I waved to Katherine, but failed to attract her attention (Christie).

This method of negation also applies to some nouns:

Failure (failure, collapse)

Bobby had a sort of failure (Christie).

Lack (lack, lack)

He used to have a lack of money (Wells).

Negative adverbs:

hardly (hardly)

We could hardly understand him (Christie)

scarcely (barely)

She scarcely seems to care, does she? (Murthy)

This way of expressing negation by parts of speech is actually a lexical way of expressing negation. The very words used in speech carry negative semantics. This is a fairly common method. Negation can move freely from one part of speech to another. So, for example, the verb - to fail (to fail) with the help of the suffix -lure forms the noun failure (failure), or -to doubt (to doubt) with the help suffix -ful- doubtful (doubtful).

Negative pronouns indicate the absence of an object or attribute. They are correlative, on the one hand, with indefinite pronouns, on the other hand, with generalizing ones, denying the existence of the concept that the mentioned pronouns express.

The pronoun no is combined with all classes of nouns with which the affirmative indefinite appears pronoun some and interrogative indefinite pronoun any. With objective nouns, no serves as a definition and is used only in the function of definition:

No cab came buy, but the street boys did… (Jerome)

That's no reason why I should have it. (B. Shaw)

There's no better reason. (G Elliot)

The negative pronoun no expresses the absence of something and is used as an adjective pronoun:

That's no reason why I should have it (Shaw, p.35)

There is no better reason (Elliot p.75)

Complex negative pronouns are used as the objective member of a sentence. The genitive form of the pronoun nobody (no one), acting as a determiner, can simultaneously serve as a determiner of a noun, for example:

It’s nobody’s fault, but your own.

Compound negative pronouns delimit person from ‘non-person’. Nobody, no one - personal, nothing - objective. Both structures are similar to complex indefinite and generalizing pronouns:

He cared for nobody and for nothing - except dominion and the wonders of his brain. (Benn)

The pronoun none can be personal and objective, have a singular or plural meaning; it appears in the sentence as an objective member:

None, not even Mary, dared cross-examine Ralph… (Benn)

None of us can hold on forever (Galsworthy).

None of us has heard it, that we could remember (Richard1984:116).

The none utility function is to replace the phrase ‘definition + definable’:

There was no apparent slope downward, and distinctly none upward, so for as a casual observer might have seen. (Dreis) (none = no slope)

Since the pronoun none is the equivalent of a substantivized phrase, it is combined with a verb in both singular and plural forms, depending on the meaning of the phrase:

None of them is going to get anything of me. (S. Lindsay)

None of them were conscious of the date’s dose (S. Heym)

None can replace combinations with nouns denoting both people and objects (personal and impersonal):

- “Have you got any spare pencil?” - “Nor, I have none...”

The group of negative pronouns includes the pronoun neither, which indicates that neither of the two persons mentioned performs the action and is not the subject of the state. In a sentence, the pronoun neither is used as an objective member of the sentence or definition:

Neither spoke, but the conversation that one could imagine was clearly as follows (Jerome).

In the definition function, neither serves as a definition of an objective noun: neither book, nor friend.

Expressing negation using the particle not

Particles in English are function words that are used to strengthen, clarify, limit or deny other words or phrases in a sentence. These are unchangeable words that clarify the meaning of other words, giving modal or expressive shades to other words or groups of words. They serve to form a semantic connection or grammatical form of a word and belong to the auxiliary parts of speech. The particle not most often refers to the predicate and through it to the entire content of the entire sentence, for example:

This did not prevent Julia from falling madly in love with him (Graham 1976:22).

This didn't stop Julia from falling madly in love with him.

She did not feel hurt or upset (Auth.) - She did not feel upset or offended.

The particle not is the main means of forming a negative sentence, but it can give a negative meaning to a word in cases where it appears with a singular noun with an indefinite article, and emphasizes the complete absence of the object denoted by the noun, for example:

Not a head turned to see us (Kutuzov L.).

Not a single head turned in our direction = No one turned their head in our direction.

Not a car has been sold (Kutuzov L.)

Not a single car (of those offered for sale) was sold.

The negative particle not is found in the following syntactic constructions, depending on the speaker’s goals to create a negative connotation of one or another part of the construction:

Giving a negative meaning to a verb predicate:

“Six weeks isn’t really long” she said… (Galsworthy)

“I don’t know” said Paul. (Lawrence)

I didn't hear you. (Lock)

Giving part of a sentence negative character:

Not one little sound of beast or bird or tree; not one bee humming! (Galsworthy)

He said not a word more. (Wells)

I was angry with Dalton for not telling me about it (Galsworthy).

He begged her not to go. (Dickens)

The answer to a question in combination with an adverb or modal word:

“Then there’s no danger?” - “Certainly not!” (Bennett)

“You certainly shall not go till you have told me all!” I said - “I would rather not, just now” (Bronte)

To negate a statement (with a negative pronoun):

“Are you going to tell him all about it?” - “Not I”. “Will he come and tell us?” - “Not he.” “I take a degree!” - cried Steerforth - “Not I” (Dickens)

To negate a predicate (after words expressing opinion, such as: to hope, to think, to believe, etc.):

“A man or your caliber is not likely to be ignorant of it” - “I hope not.”

“It’s possible to repair the ornament, Madam?” - “I'm afraid not” (Maurier)

After the conjunctions or, whether (if)...or, the particle not adjoins the verbs:

When I opened the door, …believe me or not, madam, …that man was gone! (Mansfield)

I don’t know whether they come or not. (Mansfield)

Thus, we were able to reveal that lexical means of expressing negation are those means whose very semantics is negation. In this case, the negative characteristic of a word from one part of speech freely passes into another part of speech in the process of word formation. Along with other means, lexical means provide the speaker with a rich choice of shades of negation, allow him to operate with linguistic means as accurately as possible, to form one or another language situation, achieve your goals in your speech. Vocabulary is the most accurate, expressive means of any state, it is through vocabulary that a person’s thoughts are voiced.

2.3 Expressing negation syntactically

A comparative analysis of the functioning of negation at two hierarchical levels of language allowed us to conclude that there are two particular denotative meanings of negation - meanings corresponding to logical ones, and meanings different from them, although genetically related to logical ones.

The variability of a negative syntactic structure in terms of content is associated with the strengthening and weakening of the meaning of negation. Strengthening and weakening of negation manifests itself in the form of intensification - deintensification of negative values. Intensification - deintensification of negation is interpreted as the interaction of negation with the category of intensity, reflecting all differences reduced to the categories of quantity, magnitude, value, strength. The intensity of the manifestation of the action of a state or quality is usually expressed by intensifying particles or combinations with them: too much, too, too far, too altogether.

He was altogether too excited too sleep (Wells).

Old Jayden was too much of a Forsyte to praise anything freely (Galsworthy).

He had drawn too far to draw back (Cronin).

My child, you are too young to think of falling in love (Wild).

Abbreviated negation

In circumstances where it is quite acceptable to abbreviate the subject of short forms, a similar method is usually used. As a rule, this is a colloquial form:

He isn’t coming - he’s not coming

We aren’t ready - we’re not ready

They haven’t caught him - they’ve caught him

She won’t miss us - she’ll not miss us

For example, the form I’m not coming does not have an alternative in the left column. It is logical to assume that sentences and questions should contain a construction like am I not correct? But this form is used only in some formal cases. It was replaced in colloquial speech by the appearance of aren’t I correct? Over time, aren’t gradually began to transform into a lighter and more versatile aint. Now aint has gained universal recognition: aint as a universally replacing form is used instead of haven’t, isn’t, aren’t, etc.

Negation in impersonal sentences and phrases

Not all the passengers escaped unhurt. (Leech)

Not a single word did he utter. (Leech)

No nation can afford to offend its allies - not even the USA. (Leech)

To negate an impersonal sentence, we place a negative unit before the verb phrase:

Not having read the book I can’t tell you whether it is worth buying. (Leech)

I asked her not to interfere. (Leech)

Transferred negation

After some verbs, such as believe, suppose, think, the particle not, which belongs to the subordinate clause with the conjunction that, is transferred to the main clause:

I don’t believe that you two have met, haven’t you? (Leech)

= (I believe you two haven’t met)

I don’t suppose that anyone will object to my sentence. (Leech)

= (I suppose anyone (no one) won’t object to my sentence)

I don't think you need to worry. (Leech)

= (I think you needn’t worry)

Grammatical behavior of negative particles.

After negation, any is used instead of some:

No one has any doubts about his ability. (Leech)

I rarely get any sleep after the baby wakes up. (Leech)

I’ve spoken to hardly anyone who disagrees with me on this point. (Leech)

2. A negative unit at the beginning of a sentence introduces subject inversion. This construction sounds somewhat elevated and rhetorical:

Only after a long argument did he agree to our plan. (Leech)

Negative words are followed by positive tag-questions rather than negative ones:

|She never/scarcely seems to care| does she?

|You won’t forget the shopping| will you?

Compare:

|You’ll remember the shopping| won't you?

CONCLUSION

In the course of the work, the most common means of expressing negation in the English language were investigated and analyzed. Examples from works of fiction by foreign authors were studied, which made it possible to most reliably and clearly determine the range of means used in literature to express the category of negation at different levels of language; Examples and excerpts from textbooks on dialogical speech were also used, which also turned out to be useful in identifying current methods of negation in a speech situation.

So, we can draw the following conclusions:

The main morphological means of negation are prefixation and affixation, with negative affixes being more common.

At the level of negative particles, not is the main means of forming a negative sentence, but it can give a negative connotation to individual parts of the sentence (for example, a predicate);

Lexical means of expressing negation are the most independent, due to the fact that the negative semantics of these universals is contained in them themselves, and negation freely moves from one part of speech to another, derived from it.

At the syntax level, the variability of a negative syntactic structure in terms of content is associated with the strengthening and weakening of the meaning of negation. For this purpose, particles that enhance negation are used: too, too much, too far.

Thus, we have identified the main means of negation in the English language, thereby fulfilling the methodological task set at the beginning of the study.

Bibliography

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Negation Denial -

element of meaning, which indicates that the connection established between the components of the sentence, in the opinion of the speaker, does not really exist (A. M. Peshkovsky) or that the corresponding affirmative sentence is rejected by the speaker as false (S. Bally). Most often, a negative statement is made in a situation where the corresponding affirmative one was made earlier or is part of the general presumption of speakers. Negation is one of the original, indecomposable semantic categories common to all, which cannot be defined through simpler semantic elements.

Negation can be expressed (they are sometimes also called negation), a negative prefix (cf. "incomplete", unbekannt, impossible), a negative form (okur 'he reads', okumaz 'he does not read'; I don't want - negative form) , or may not have a separate expression, i.e. be a component, as in Russian. “refuse” = ‘disagree’, English. fail 'not to succeed' ( intralexemal negation), or a whole sentence, cf. “You understand a lot,” “So that I can still contact him!” ( implied negation).

A sentence containing a negative word or a negative form of a verb is called negative (or grammatically negative). In a negative sentence, some statement () is always negated, which is called scope of action denial. The scope of the negation can be the entire sentence (“He didn’t come to work”) or only part of it (for example, in the phrase “The children don’t sleep because of the noise,” the circumstance of the reason is not included in the scope of the negation). A sentence may be ambiguous because of the ambiguous scope of the negation, for example: "She doesn't want to change the original plan because of you" = 1) 'You are the reason she doesn't want to change the plan' and 2) 'She doesn't want to It's only because of you that I change the plan." In oral speech, ambiguity is partially eliminated. A sentence that is entirely within the scope of negation is called a sentence with complete negation (otherwise - semantically generally negative); in a sentence with incomplete negation (or semantically partial negative) only one of the semantic components of the sentence is denied. Any sentence may have semantic components that are not negated -; for example, in the general negative sentence “I am not upset that he left,” the component “he left” is included in the scope of the negation, but is not negated.

Negation from the point of view of the role of the elements expressing it in the structure of a sentence occurs phrasal(expressed by a negative word as part of a predicate or a negative form of a predicate) and proverbial- not with the predicate. Most often, phrasal negation is complete, and conditional negation is incomplete (O. Jespersen, Peshkovsky). However, the opposite relationship is also possible: in the sentence “Few stayed until the end,” the verbatim negation is complete (“It is not true that many ...”), and in the sentence “We won’t see each other for a long time,” the phrasal negation is incomplete (“For a long time there will be no time for our meeting to take place').

Denial is called displaced, if it is attached not to the word to which it refers in meaning, but to another word that syntactically subordinates the first (cf. English. My observations didn't help me much‘My observations did not help me much’). Typically, a displaced negation is a negation at . It is also possible to shift the negation to, for example, “not in your sleigh” = ‘in not your sleigh’: the negation in meaning refers to, and is syntactically connected with the preposition that subordinates (through ) this pronoun.

One type of displacement is climb negation, when the negation is transferred from a subordinate clause to the main one (or from a subordinate to a subordinate verb or word); Wed English I don’t believe it is true ‘I think this is not true’, Jeg håber ikke at De blev bange‘I hope you weren’t scared’ (lit. - I don’t hope you were scared). Those who allow the rise of denial include such as Russian. “I think”, “I believe”, “expected”, “it seems to me”, “I want”, “I advise”, “I intend”, “should”; English suppose, imagine, reckon, guess, anticipate; it appears, sounds like etc. The ability of a predicate to “pull” negation is not fully predicted by its semantics: words that are close in meaning in different languages, often behave differently; for example, English suppose is capable of pulling negation, and rus. “believe” - no. If the negation in the main clause is displaced, then the subordinate clause turns out to be an acceptable context for words with negative polarization (see), as if it itself contained a negation.

For many languages, in particular, it is characteristic plural(or cumulative) denial. In languages with multiple negation, if there is a negative pronoun in a sentence, or a negative occurs, an “excessive” negation of the predicate is acceptable or even required; Wed not allowed by the rules of Russian grammar “Nobody saw him” and the correct one “Nobody saw him”. In other languages, multiple negation is prohibited by the language norm, cf. English Nobody ever saw him ‘Nobody has ever seen him’ (lit. - Nobody has ever seen him).

Another manifestation of negative agreement is negation in a subordinate clause, subordinate to verbs with the meanings ‘deny’, ‘prohibit’, ‘doubt’, ‘hold back’, ‘fear’, etc.; Wed rus. “I could hardly resist hitting him,” French. J'ai peur qu'il ne vienne 'I'm afraid that he will come.'

The formal features of the structure of negative sentences include the special design of some syntactic units that fall within the scope of phrasal negation - regular, displaced or even redundant. Thus, the direct object of a verb with a negation can be formalized not as an accusative, but as a genitive (cf. “He has no right to do this”). In the context of verbs with quantitative value, where Jespersen saw a special associated meaning in the negation, in reality the verb has a special meaning. Thus, the phrase “The bag does not weigh fifty kilograms” means ‘weighs less’ (and not ‘either less or more’). The point, however, is that “weighs” here means “reaches in weight”: “not” has its usual meaning of “wrong.”

The logical rule that the negation of a negation is equivalent to an affirmation also applies in natural language: when two negations are combined with the same word, the meaning will be affirmative. However, two negations usually do not exactly cancel each other out: a complex expression is usually weaker than a simple one, cf. “frequent” (≈ ‘quite frequent’) and “frequent”; “not without fear” (≈ ‘with some fear’) and “with fear”; English not uncommon and common.

Strict semantic equalities connect the so-called dual words, for example, “I allow” - “I demand”: “I do not allow...” = “I demand not...”; “I allow” = “I do not require or”; “I do not require” = “I do not allow”; “I require” = “I don’t allow, I don’t.” Other examples of pairs of words that are dual to each other: “possibly” - “necessarily”, “can” (meaning ‘I have permission’) - “obliged” (“must”), “all” - “some” (meaning 'although would be some'), etc. Hence the equality that Peshkovsky cites: “I can’t help but admit” = “I must admit.”

Peshkovsky A. M., Russian syntax in scientific coverage, M., 1956;
Jespersen O., Philosophy of Grammar, trans. from English, M., 1958;
Paducheva E.V., On the semantics of syntax, M., 1974;
Bondarenko V.N., Negation as a logical-grammatical category, M., 1983;
Boguslavsky I.M., Research on syntactic semantics: spheres of action of logical words, M., 1985;
Jespersen O., Negation in English and other languages, Kbh., 1917;
Klima E. S., Negation in English, in the book: The structure of language. Readings in the philosophy of language, Englewood Cliffs, 1964;
Smith S., Meaning and negation, The Hague, 1975;
Horn L. R., Some aspects of negation, in the book: Universals of human language, v. 4 - Syntax, Stanford, 1978.

E. V. Paducheva.

Linguistic encyclopedic dictionary. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia. Ch. ed. V. N. Yartseva. 1990 .

Synonyms:

See what “Denial” is in other dictionaries:

negation- Denial... Dictionary of Russian synonyms

NEGATION- philosopher category expressing a definition. type of relationship between two sequential. stages, states of a developing object. O. is a necessary moment of the development process. Dialectics in “...a positive understanding of the existing... includes... Philosophical Encyclopedia

NEGATION.- DENIAL. 1. In natural language, depending on location, a distinction is made between external and internal negation. External (propositional) serves to form a complex statement from another (not necessarily simple) statement. In him… … Philosophical Encyclopedia

negation- Denial, denial, denial, refusal, denial. // They say that carelessness is in the character of a Russian person: completeness, it is in the character of just a person. Gonch. // You're being naughty! she doesn't love him! Mushroom. I'm thinking about a thresher next year... ... Synonym dictionary

NEGATION- in grammar, an expression using various linguistic means that the connection between the elements of a statement is thought of as not really existing or absent. Denial can be expressed in separate words(Russian no, not, German nein, nicht,... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

Affirmative and negative sentences

The division of sentences into affirmative and negative is related with the content of the reality relations expressed in them.

The affirmative or negative nature of sentences is a reflection of the relationships between the phenomena of reality.

Thus, the sentences are called affirmative, if they transmit presence of connection between objects and their signs in reality, and negative, if they have this connection denied. Contrast on the principle of affirmativeness - negativity purely semantic. It is not a reflection of the opposition on the principle of real and unreal modality, but is only superimposed on the meaning of objective modality expressed in the sentence. Both affirmative and negative sentences can have both real and unreal modality.

Category of negation related to the structure of the sentence, it can be structurally significant. ABOUT the structural role of denial The opposition of certain types of sentences is evidenced by: when translating an affirmative sentence into a negative one, its structural type may change. In other cases, the category of negation does not affect the structure of the sentence.

Grammatically, negation is usually expressed by the particle Not, and the statement is its absence.

Denial can be full and partial.Complete negation is achieved by stating particlesNot before the predicate, such a sentence is called generally negative.

ParticleNot before other members of the proposal expresses partial denial. Such proposals are called partial negative, since as a whole they conclude the statement.

The negation of a sentence does not deprive it of its general affirmative meaning. before the subject, For example: It is not I who will see your mighty late age... (P.).

Thus, the category of negation is directly related to the category of predicability:“It is only the negation that stands with the predicate that makes the entire statement negative, while the negation that stands with any other member does not shake the general affirmative meaning of the statement.”.

However, the particle Not even with a predicate it does not always serve as a sign of a negative sentence.

Offer loses its negative meaning,

Firstly, when repeating a particleNot ; For example;

Secondly, when a particle acquires other shades of meaning:

assumptions-You've scoured the world, do you want to get married? (Gr.);

generalizations-Who hasn't cursed the stationmasters? (P.);

concerns-No matter what happens! (Ch.);

approval-Why not work!;

necessity-How can I not cry!

Can act as a negative particle particleneither , contributing additionally intensifying connotation:Not a soul in the living room (Ch.).

Particle neither when repeated serves as a union:He himself is neither rich, nor noble, nor smart (T.). Word neither here corresponds to the combination and not(conjunctive conjunction and negation).

Increasing denial is also achieved with the help negative pronouns and adverbs:Nothing foreshadowed bad weather (Ars.); The boy was never sick and never caught a cold (Inb.).

Particle neither does not always express a negative meaning: it can only act as an intensifying particle when conveying an affirmative meaning. This is typical for parts of a complex sentence that have concessive shade values: But no matter how girls all over the world talk, everything becomes sweet in their mouths (Fad.).

Grammatical feature a negative sentence can serve as a special negative wordNo , performing the function predicate in an impersonal sentence:There is no stronger beast than a cat (Kr.); There is no equal river in the world (G.).

Finally, negation can be expressed without the participation of special lexical means - using intonation,word order,some emotional particles. Such constructions are characteristic of the conversational style and are accompanied by subjective modal meanings. They are always expressive. For example: So I will be waiting for you! I also found a commander!

Position of A.M. Peshkovsky on the connection between the category of negation and predication and his division of sentences accordingly into general negative and particular negative applicable specifically to the sentence as a unit of language, since it is the predicate that is the bearer of the basic grammatical meanings of the sentence - modality and syntactic tense. However the same category of negation at the level of utterance, i.e. units of speech, manifests itself somewhat differently.

When a sentence (statement) is considered from the point of view of communicative needs (i.e. in speech), any component can become its center, and not just the predicate-predicate, since the statement is divided according to a different principle: into something given and new, communicated about this given.

For example: sentence Students went to practice from the point of view of communicative significance, it can contain three messages:

Students (and not anyone else) let's go to practice;

Studentsgo (rather than going, say, on foot) to practice;

The students wentfor practice (not rest).

The component of the statement emphasized in each case carries something new, i.e. purpose of the message. If we construct negative constructions in accordance with this division, then the particle does not need to be placed in front of these components:

Not students let's go to practice;

Studentsdidn't go for practice;

The students wentnot for practice .

Logical stress in such cases accompanies the word form in which there is a negation. This component contains the center of the message, i.e. that for the sake of which the utterance is made. In this case, the question of private and general negation is removed.