English non-finite participial clauses as seen through their Czech counterparts

Markéta Malá,Pavlína Šaldová

doi:10.35360/njes.346

Abstract

Based on the data from a parallel English-Czech corpus, the present study offers an analysis of 600 English V- ing participial clauses through their Czech translation correspondences, divisible into less and more explicit types. The less explicit Czech counterparts highlight the analytic character of English either in cases where the translation counterpart is synthetic (i.e. merging the meaning of the finite verb and the participle into one verb) or where the participle resembles, in its function, a preposition. The more explicit (i.e. finite-clause) Czech counterparts attest to the backgrounded information status and semantic indeterminacy of the English participial clause. Instead of an expected tendency to render their meaning in Czech by a similar, syntactically subordinated, structure, namely dependent clauses, it is the simple coordination that appears to represent best the semantic indeterminacy of the relation of the English participial clause to its superordinate element.

Highlights

Participial forms as a means of condensation are employed to a different extent in English and in Czech
In English the nonfinite V-ing forms appear both in an adverbial and a postmodifying function frequently, and they are not marked stylistically (e.g. I lay on my bed, tossing restlessly and We passed a sign pointing to the village, respectively)
As pointed out by Dušková (2012: 25) “[Mathesius] does not deny the English verb its basic function to express predication – English naturally expresses predication primarily by the verb – but as compared with other languages, it often displays verbo-nominal constructions where other languages have verbal forms of expression.“ “as shown by contrastive studies examining other points and aimed at other goals, differences in verbal and verbo-nominal means of expression between English and Czech keep manifesting themselves as a major, non-negligible feature conducive to various types of divergence.” Participial condensers, displaying a high ratio of divergent translation counterparts

Summary

Introduction

As pointed out by Dušková (2012: 25) “[Mathesius] does not deny the English verb its basic function to express predication – English naturally expresses predication primarily by the verb – but as compared with other languages, it often displays verbo-nominal constructions where other languages have verbal forms of expression.“ “as shown by contrastive studies examining other points and aimed at other goals, differences in verbal and verbo-nominal means of expression between English and Czech keep manifesting themselves as a major, non-negligible feature conducive to various types of divergence.” (ibid: 27) Participial condensers, displaying a high ratio of divergent translation counterparts (over 90 per cent, cf Table 2), seem to represent this tendency par excellence. Lit.: ... that me Secuko concerning (PREPOSITION) last-year’s breakup with Miyakes in-this-way questioned

SYN2010

Finite coordinate clauses

Findings

Conclusion