Ïåäàãîãè÷åñêèå íàóêè/5.
Ñîâðåìåííûå ìåòîäû ïðåïîäàâàíèÿ
Øàëáàåâà Äèíàðà Õóòòûáàåâíà,
Âàãíåð Ìàðèíà Âëàäèìèðîâíà
Êàðàãàíäèíñêèé Ãîñóäàðñòâåííûé Óíèâåðñèòåò èì. Å.À. Áóêåòîâà
‘Say’ Verbs
as Communication Markers
We believe that there are two
main ways of reporting people’s words, thoughts, beliefs: direct and indirect
speech. Direct speech shows the reader that these are the exact words of the
speaker, so the information seems more honest and reliable. In novels, direct
speech is used to show conversations between characters [1: 56].
The object
of the investigation is the communication marker expressed by the ‘say’ verbs
in the fictional discourse. The data retrieved from the encyclopaedia dictionaries constitutes 515
units verified in 13 novels.
‘Say’, ‘tell’ and ‘ask’ are the most common verbs used in the informal spoken
reports. In novels, short stories, etc., a much wider variety or reporting
verbs are used [2: 73]. These include: acknowledge, add, admit, affirm, agree, announce, answer, argue, boast,
brag, caution, claim, assert, assure, complaint, conclude, confess, confirm,
convince, cry, declare, deny, emphasize, estimate, exclaim, explain, growl,
grumble, guess, imply, indicate, inform, insist, instruct, maintain, murmur,
mutter, note, notify, observe, persuade, point out, promise, protest, remark,
remind, repeat, reply, report, respond, roar, say, scream, shout, shriek,
sneer, stammer, state, suggest, tell, threaten, warn, whisper, write, yell,
advise to, ask to, beg to, command to,
direct to, forbid to, instruct to, oblige to, order to, request to, tell to,
urge to, want to [1: 184].
The verbal constructions and discourse
practices underlie direct reported speech in fictional discourse, especially
the ways speakers/authors verbally frame their reported speech.
A reporting clause accompanies
direct reports of somebody’s speech or thought. It specifies the speaker/thinker, the addressee (sometimes), the type of
act (e.g. ask, say, think, etc.), and
frequently also the mode of the act (e.g. abruptly,
apologetically, bitterly) [1: 196]. Such clauses
contain some kind of reporting verb, either a straightforward verb of
speaking/thinking (e.g. say, think) or a verb identifying the manner of
speaking (e.g. mutter, shriek), the type of speech act (e.g. offer,
promise), the phase of speaking (an aspectual verb such as begin,
continue) [3:135].
The clause containing the
reporting verb is often described as the main clause, with the direct speech in
object position. This analysis is obviously excluded where the verb in the
reporting clause doesn’t normally take a direct object (e.g. whimper, exult, and smile).
Reported
speech is commonly defined as reporting on something someone has said or
written in the past. The reporting verbs ‘say,’
and ‘talk,’ have been identified as default verbal markers framing
reported speech in conversational discourse. The mood- invoking reporting
verbal markers are primarily used in written discourse. ‘Ask’ is the only one that occurs in the collected data [2:74]. It
denotes the interrogative mode of the reported speech. Furthermore,
speakers/authors of reported speech use different strategies to introduce or
mark quoted speakers. Some of them are not specifically marked yet their
existence can be interpreted by taking the underlying operations of the turn
taking system into account. The collected data also show that speakers/authors
of reported speech make use of speech-signalling verbs such as ‘promise’ and ‘consult’ to foreshadow the coming of the reported speech. In
contrast to default reporting phrases mentioned earlier, these types of
reporting verbs embody illocutionary forces and presuppose the performative
modality of the projected reported speech.
The analysis
of fictional discourse practices surrounding reported speech shows the ways in
which speakers/authors of reported speech take multiple roles when reporting
personal and others’ speech. Furthermore, when reporting others’ speech, the
speakers index their stances toward the persons they quote and the content of
their speech. An examination of reported speech also reveals that analysis of
verbal markers framing reported speech cannot be isolated from surrounding
discourse practices.
Some of the salient points of
comparison between direct and indirect speech in fictional
narratives are presented in the table below.
Table 1
|
Direct and Indirect Speech: Features |
|||
|
|
(A) |
(B) |
(C) |
|
|
Direct speech: |
Indirect speech: |
Indirect speech: |
|
Use of |
Character's
discourse in 1st & 3rd person
narratives |
Narrator's
discourse in 3rd person narratives
|
Character's
discourse in 3rd person narratives
|
|
1.
Inverted |
Used. |
Not used. |
Not used. |
|
2.
Parataxis / Hypotaxis |
Secondary clause is paratactically linked to the primary
clause. |
Secondary clause is hypotactically linked to the primary
clause, and the subordinating conjunction, initiates the dependent clause. |
Secondary clause is hypotactically linked to the primary
clause, and the subordinating conjunction, initiates the dependent clause. |
|
3.
Pronouns |
Use of 1st person and 2nd person pronouns
to refer to personages existing in the discourse situation. |
1st and 2nd person pronouns
converted to 3rd person pronouns. |
a) 1st person narratives: 1st
person pronouns used by the narrator
to refer to himself. · 1st person pronouns are used by the character to refer to himself. · 2nd person pronouns to refer to the
characters who are being directly addressed to, and who were either the
addressers or addressees of the original discourse. · Otherwise, all 2nd person pronouns are
converted to 3rd person pronouns. |
|
4. Tense |
Use of present tense to describe
circumstances or entities existing within the discourse situation. |
Change of present tense
verbs to their past tense
equivalents. |
Present
tense may be used if the original speech is
in the immediate past of the act of reporting, and if the
circumstances or entities stated or described in the original speech still
exist. Otherwise, the past tense is
generally used, especially in relation to the reporting verb in the
main clause. |
|
5.Time |
When referring to events
which are proximate to the act
of speaking, relevant time
adverbials like now, today, yesterday, may be
used. |
Time
adverbials mentioned in 5A, are converted
to then, on that day / the day before, the day after
etc. |
Time
adverbials are used according to the currency or proximity of the reported event in relation to the
act of speech or narration; i.e. either
5A or 5B may be relevant. |
|
6.Demon- |
The ‘near’ demonstratives this, these, and here
are used to refer to entities or situations existing during the speech event. |
The ‘near’ demonstratives
are converted to ‘remote’
demonstratives: that, those, there. |
The ‘near’ demonstratives continue to be used if the entities or
situations existing during the original speech event still remain. Otherwise, the demonstratives are converted
to their ‘remote’ counterparts. Again, either 6A or 6B may be relevant. |
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