AHMETOVA SAIDA
the
master-teacher of the International
Kazakh-Turkish University,Turkistan
STYLISTIC POTENTIAL OF PARTICIPLE
This article deals with the stylistic potential of
participle
The participle is a non-finite form of the verb which has a verbal and
an adjectival or an adverbial character. The
stylistic potential of non-finite verb forms, such as the participles, lies in
their ability to express specific connotations[1, p. 8].
It is a form that ‘participates’ in the features of
the verb as in (b) and of the adjective (e.g. a).
a) The sun was warming
the brush house, breaking through
its crevice sin long streaks.
b) Kino felt the rage and hatred melting toward fear. [5].
The
use of non-finite forms of the verb such as the participle I in a sentence communicates
certain stylistic connotations to the utterance. Such examples usually
represent the second type of grammatical metaphor formed by the transposition
of the lexical and grammatical meanings.
Like the tense distinctions of all the verbals, those of the participle
are not absolute but relative. Participle I Indefinite Active and Passive
usually denotes an action simultaneous with the action expressed by the finite
verb[5].
•
Kino's
hand crept into his breast where his knife hung on a string, and then he sprang
like an angry cat, leaped striking and
spitting for the dark thing he knew was in the corner of the house.
•
So
important was this day that an old man came to see, riding on the stalwart shoulders of his nephew
•
The
trackers scuttled along, stopping,
looking, and hurrying on.
•
And
in the surface of the pearl he saw Coyotito lying in the little cave with the top of his head shot away. [5].
Likewise
continuous forms do not always express continuity of the action and are
frequently used to convey the emotional state of the speaker. Actually all
'exceptions to the rule' are not really exceptions. They should be considered
as the forms in the domain of stylistic studies because they are used to
proclaim the speaker's state of mind, his mood, his intentions or feelings[3, p. 67]..
The
continuous forms may help to express:
a) conviction, determination, persistence:
•
Thus
Kino's future was real, but having set
it up, other forces were set up to destroy it, and this he knew, so that he
had to prepare to meet the attack.
•
Consequently
Kino was afraid of plans, but having
made one, he could never destroy it.
b) impatience, irritation:
•
He
felt the evil coagulating about him,
and he was helpless to protect himself
•
And
as though she too could hear the Song of Evil, she fought it, singing softly the melody of the
family, of the safety and warmth and wholeness of the family.
•
But
the evil was all about, hidden behind
the brush fence, crouched beside the
house in the shadow, hovering in the
air. [5].
c)
surprise, indignation,
disapproval:
•
Kino
stood in the door, filling it, and
hatred raged and flamed in back of his eyes, and fear too, for the hundreds of
years of subjugation were cut deep in him.
•
Sometimes
it rose to an aching chord that caught the throat, saying this is safety, this is warmth, this is the Whole.
•
Then,
snarling, Kino had it, had it in his
fingers, rubbing it to a paste in his
hands. [5].
The
participles I and II are mostly used in the literary texts for their adjectival
functions. Because using them the author may fully describe a picture of a
character with many little details. For instance,
•
They
made a quick soft-footed procession into the center of the town, first Juana
and Kino, and behind them Juan Tomas and Apolonia, her big stomach jiggling with the strenuous pace, then all the
neighbors with the children trotting on
the flanks.
•
But
the evil was all about, hidden behind
the brush fence, crouched beside the
house in the shadow, hovering in the
air. [5].
Sometimes
Participle I Indefinite denotes an action referring
to no particular time, it denotes things which happen in the imagination of the
character. For instance,
•
In
the pearl he saw Juana and Coyotito and himself standing and kneeling at the high altar, and they were being
married now that they could pay.
•
In
the pearl he saw Coyotito sitting at a
little desk in a school, just as Kino had once seen it through an open
door. And Coyotito was dressed in a jacket, and he had on a white collar, and a
broad silken tie. Moreover, Coyotito was writing on a big piece of paper. Kino
looked at his neighbors fiercely. "My son will go to school," he
said, and the neighbours were hushed. Juana caught her breath sharply. Her eyes
were bright as she watched him, and she looked quickly down at Coyotito in her
arms to see whether this might be possible.
•
And
in the pearl Kino saw himself and Juana squatting
by the little fire in the brush hut while Coyotito read from a great book. [5].
Participle II of transitive verbs has a passive meaning, Participle II
of intransitive verbs has no passive meaning; it is used only in compound
tense-forms and has no independent function in the sentence unless it belongs
to a verb which denotes passing into a new state[4, p. 84]., e. g.:
•
Kino
deftly slipped his knife into the edge of the shell. Through the knife he could
feel the muscle tighten hard. [5].
Some participles have lost their verbality altogether and have become
adjectives, e.g.
•
On
her hard bare feet she went to the
hanging box where Coyotito slept, and she leaned over and said a little
reassuring word.
•
But
ahead were the naked granite mountains,
rising out of erosion rubble and standing monolithic against the sky. [5].
When used out of context, some constructions may sound ungrammatical.
But in the context they may look quite normal although they denote a particular
situation. This generally happens when the pre-posed participle construction
presents a transformed version of the respective post-posed participle
construction.
•
On
her hard bare feet she went to the hanging box where Coyotito slept, and she
leaned over and said a little reassuring word.
•
Behind
him Juana's fire leaped into flame and threw spears of light through the chinks
of the brush-house wall and threw a
wavering square of light out the door [5].
Conclusion
The
investigation of stylistic potential of participle
has shown the following results:
The participle is a non-finite form of the
verb which has a verbal and an adjectival or an adverbial character. There are
two participles in English — Participle I and Participle II, traditionally
called the Present Participle and the Past Participle. The difference between
them is not a difference in tense, but chiefly a difference in voice.
•
It is a form that
‘participates’ in the features of the verb (Kino felt the rage and hatred melting toward fear) and
of the adjective (e.g. The sun was warming the brush house, breaking through its crevice sin long streaks.)
•
Some participles have
lost their verbality altogether and have become adjectives. (e.g. the hanging box, naked granite
mountains)
•
Participle I Perfect
Active and Passive denotes an action prior to the action expressed by the
finite verb. (e.g. Consequently Kino was afraid of plans, but having made one, he could never destroy it.)
•
Participle I Indefinite
Active and Passive usually denotes an action simultaneous with the action
expressed by the finite verb; depending on the tense-form of the finite verb it
may refer to the present, past, or future (e.g. The trackers scuttled along, stopping, looking, and hurrying on – past; ). Sometimes Participle I Indefinite denotes an action
referring to no particular time (e.g. In the pearl he saw Juana and Coyotito and himself standing and kneeling at the high altar,
and they were being married now that they could pay)
•
Participle II has no tense
distinctions; it has only one form which can express both an action
simultaneous with, and prior to the
action expressed by the finite verb; the latter case is more frequent. (e.g. But the evil was all
about, hidden behind the brush
fence, crouched beside the house in
the shadow, hovering in the air.)
•
When used out of
context, some constructions may sound ungrammatical. But in the context they
may look quite normal although they denote a particular situation. This
generally happens when the pre-posed participle construction presents a
transformed version of the respective post-posed participle construction. (e.g.
reassuring word - On her hard bare feet she went to the hanging box
where Coyotito slept, and she leaned over and said a little reassuring word.;
wavering square - Behind him Juana's fire leaped into flame and threw
spears of light through the chinks of the brush-house wall and threw a wavering square of light out the
door.)
References
1. Fowler, Roger. 1981. Literature as Social Discourse: The Practice of
Linguistic Criticism. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
2. Znamenskaya Ò.À. Stylistics of the English Language. Fundamentals of the
Course. – Ì., 2002.
3. Skrebnev Y.M. Fundamentals of English stylistics. Moscow, 1994.
4. Àðíîëüä
È. Â. Ëåêñèêî-ñåìàíòè÷åñêîå ïîëå â ÿçûêå è òåìàòè÷åñêàÿ ñåòêà òåêñòà // Òåêñò
êàê îáúåêò êîìïëåêñíîãî àíàëèçà â âóçå / Ñá. ñòàòåé. Ë., 1984. Ñ. 3-11
5. John Steinbeck,“The Pearl”