PORADNIK JĘZYKOWY

ISSUE 9 / 2013

ARTICLES AND DISSERTATIONS

  • Joanna Zaucha : The risk of continuation. About certain semantic and syntactic features of Polish expressions: itd., itp., etc., i in.

    The aim of this paper is to present remarks about syntactic and semantic features of Polish expressions: itd., itp., etc., i in., which are called “indicators of continuation”. The author shows that they have a different distribution. The appearance of a given indicator depends mainly on what kinds of objects are enumerated in the utterance. Presumably, their semantic content is not identical, as well. Nevertheless indicators of continuation share general semantic load: (i) they presuppose that it possible to enumerate more of the type of objects the speaker was talking about, (ii) they presuppose the enumerated objects are not random, (iii) they signal the speaker’s silence about what else could be enumerate and his/her silent call for completion of the utterance by the addressee.

    The paper presents also the logical consequences of using an indicator of continuation in the middle or final position in a sentence. In the final section the author discourages from using indicators of continuation in texts that should be precise, such as lexicographic definitions, as they introduce unwelcomed vagueness to an utterance.

  • Alicja Wójcicka : The Polish verb [ktośi ] dał [komuśj ] do zrozumienia, że p (someone implied something to someone). A syntactic-semantic analysis
    The object of this paper is a description of syntactic and semantic properties of the Polish predicate [ktośi] dał [komuśj] do zrozumienia, że p. Before commencing an analysis of its meaning, the author describes the predicate-argument structure of this verb and discusses definitions of the verb dać do zrozumienia (to imply) in selected dictionaries of the contemporary Polish language. Describing semantic properties of the examined predicate, the author compares it with other predicates belonging to the same group of verbs of speech, which indicate that the addressee is required to engage in interpreting the message. In the conclusion part, the author presents a description of the meaning of the discussed unit of language.
  • Katarzyna Dróżdż-Łuszczyk : Syntactic and semantic properties of the verb debatować (to debate)
    This paper is dedicated to a semantic and syntactic analysis of the lexeme debatować (to debate). The point of departure to the presented discussions is the observation that certain dictionaries suggest the existence of both the relation between debata (a debate) and debatować (to debate) and the synonymity of debatować (to debate) and dyskutować (to discuss). This paper presents arguments speaking for the fact that both the postulated relations are much more complicated. The author focuses on a syntactic analysis in order to make an attempt at confronting the meaning of the lexemes debata and debatować, on the one hand, and debatować and dyskutować, on the other hand. The conclusion to the discussion is the statement that the description of verbs such as debatować or dyskutować goes beyond the discussions regarding the speech of one person and requires consideration for relations between individual utterances forming a macro-dialogue.
  • Marta Zuchowicz : What does zapomnieć się (to forget oneself) mean?
    The object of this paper is a semantic description of the Polish verb ktośi zapomniał się (someone forgot himself/herself). Firstly, the author describes special syntactic properties of the predicate, refers to its definitions in selected dictionaries of contemporary Polish and compares the predicate with the verb ktośi zapomniał się w czymśj (someone forgot himself/herself in something). Secondly, the author presents and characterises semantic components of the meaning of the lexical entity ktośi zapomniał się.
  • Joanna Koœścierzyńska : The idea of a way of doing something – a sample of semantic explication
    The paper discusses a problem related with a meaning of a way of doing something. The semantic analysis of sentences with ‘sposób’ (‘a way’) has pointed at the simplest unit of language: ‘…w taki sposób, że …’ (‘…such that…’). Its explication has required a study of the occurrence and the thematic-rhematic structure of sentences based on this schema. Describing idea is treated as a relation between the main action verb and the parts of reality which deal with this action.
  • Natalia Żochowska : Semantic description of the lexical unit odruchowo (instinctively) against other adverbs concerning thinking, will and awareness
    The analysis undertaken in this paper concerns the adverb odruchowo (instinctively), which functions in modern general Polish. In order to find semantic components of this unit, I examine various semantic limitations imposed thereby on verbs and I make an attempt to explain from where such limitations arise. I compare the adverb in question with units such as niechcący (unintentionally), bezwiednie (involuntarily) and bezmyślnie (thoughtlessly) in the study. Each of the comparisons regards a different feature of the examined unit. At the end of the paper, I suggest semantic explication of the analysed adverb.
  • Joanna Muszyńska : Is piękny (lovely) always lovely?
    The object of this paper is the usages of the adjective piękny (lovely) and the adverb pięknie (lovely), which are recorded in dictionaries as their separate meanings (usually with the qualifier ironically). The author, by overviewing this type of utterances (five types), confirms the hypothesis that such a meaning of the lexemes is non-existent, since markedness is manifested at the level of parole, belonging to the sphere of pragmatics. It results from operations on the meaning (applying various types of devices, such as intonation) rather than the meaning itself and therefore it should not be treated as such.
  • Dorota Kruk : Diachronic and synchronic description of the noun mężczyzna (a man)
    The object of the analysis performed in this paper is the lexeme mężczyzna (a man) viewed from two perspectives: diachronic and synchronic. In part one, which regards the history, the author concentrates on the origin and the primary meaning of this form (and its Proto-Slavic equivalent), as well as on the type of the semantic transformations undergone by mężczyzna over ages. In part two, in turn, the author characterises the semantic, grammatical and pragmatic properties of mężczyzna in contemporary Polish, its syntactic properties and collocations in which it occurs.
  • Emilia Kubicka : Where adverbs come from or why it is easier to describe adverbials than adverbs

    The central problem in this paper is the way in which the adverb exists: Is its status similar to the status of verbs, nouns, adjectives, or maybe – when we consider that the adverb is usually derived from other parts of speech, like adjectives or nouns – it “does not really exist”? This question evokes further ones: How “real” are parts of speech? What is the difference between them and the categories of speech which are considered as universal? Is it possible to compare adverbs (verbs, nouns, adjectives, etc.) in different languages?

    In spite of these difficulties, the author tries to defend the thesis that the adverb – considered as Coseriu’s category of speech – really exists.

  • Marzena Stępień : Metatextuality as a characteristic of parenthetical expressions
    The aim of this paper is to establish whether metatextuality is a feature of parenthetical expressions. Firstly, I refer to M. Grochowski’s [1983] paper on metatextuality and parenthesis. Secondly, I look into the expressions which meet the conditions of parenthesis and how they are presented in selected Polish linguistic studies. Afterwards, I organise the gathered expressions into classes and try to verify the hypothesis about their potential metatextuality.
  • Piotr Batko : On “saved sentences”
    This paper addresses the issue of the so-called “saved sentences”. The latter are defined here as phrases which are aimed at testing the semantic component of a certain expression and receive a qualification ‘semantically correct’, but only at the second attempt; at first they are judged as deviant (negative linguistic material). What makes them acceptable is first of all the unique feature of natural language to render diverse meanings coherent, yet the procedures of (moral) relativisation and thought experiment are also crucial here. The author illustrates the aforementioned operations with examples derived from the relevant literature, as well as with his own examples.

OLD AND CONTEMPORARY DICTIONARIES

REVIEWS

  • Anna Wajda : A. Markowski, W. Pawelec (red.), Oblicza polszczyzny (Faces of the Polish language), Warszawa 2012

WORDS AND PHRASES