Referential and pragmatic-discourse properties of Lithuanian reference impersonals: 2sg-IMP, 3-IMP and ma/ta-IMP

Fuente: Redalyc
Gespeichert in:
Bibliographische Detailangaben
1. Verfasser: Lidia Federica Mazzitelli
Format: Artículo científico
Sprache:en
Veröffentlicht: Vilniaus Universitetas 2019
Schlagworte:
Online-Zugang:
Tags: Tag hinzufügen
Keine Tags, Fügen Sie den ersten Tag hinzu!
_version_ 1876430906353254400
author Lidia Federica Mazzitelli
author_facet Lidia Federica Mazzitelli
contents Referential and pragmatic-discourse properties of Lithuanian reference impersonals: 2sg-IMP, 3-IMP and ma/ta-IMP Lidia Federica Mazzitelli Multidisciplinarias (Ciencias, Ciencias Sociales, Artes y Humanidades) ma ta semantics pragmatics participles In this paper I describe the semantics, pragmatics and the discourse functions of three Lithuanian agent-defocusing constructions, featuring the non-referential use of second person singular/third person verbal forms and the non-agreeing participial forms in ma/ta. These three constructions can all be defined as impersonal, in the broader sense of the word, as the agent (or the main participant, whatever its semantic role may be) is constructed as non-referential: I label them 2sg-imp, 3-imp and ma/ta-imp. My corpus consists of original Lithuanian texts (a short story and entries on an Internet forum) and of the Lithuanian translations of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s novella Le Petit Prince and J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. My analysis shows that 2sg-imp are preferably used to express generic agents (anyone) and 3-imp are preferably used to express referential indefinite agents (someone), while ma/ta-imp are referentially flexible. 2sg-imp are pragmatically marked in that they are used to express empathy between the speaker and the pool of potential referents; they are mostly used in specific discourse types, such as opinion statements and life drama situations. 3-imp are preferred in situations where the indefiniteness of the agent is relevant to the development of the narrative; ma/ta-imp are instead preferred when the agent is irrelevant, and the focus is on the event itself. The behavior of Lithuanian 2sg-imp, 3-imp and ma/ta-imp is consistent with the one already described for similar constructions in other European languages. 2019 artículo científico 2029-8315 https://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=693974521002 https://www.redalyc.org/journal/6939/693974521002/ https://www.redalyc.org/journal/6939/693974521002/html/ https://www.redalyc.org/journal/6939/693974521002/693974521002.epub https://www.redalyc.org/journal/6939/693974521002/movil https://doi.org/10.15388/Kalbotyra.2019.2 en http://www.redalyc.org/revista.oa?id=6939 Kalbotyra application/pdf Vilniaus Universitetas Kalbotyra (Lituania) Vol.72
format Artículo científico
id redalyc_693974521002
institution Redalyc
language en
publishDate 2019
publisher Vilniaus Universitetas
spellingShingle Referential and pragmatic-discourse properties of Lithuanian reference impersonals: 2sg-IMP, 3-IMP and ma/ta-IMP
Lidia Federica Mazzitelli
Multidisciplinarias (Ciencias, Ciencias Sociales, Artes y Humanidades)
ma
ta
semantics
pragmatics
participles
Referential and pragmatic-discourse properties of Lithuanian reference impersonals: 2sg-IMP, 3-IMP and ma/ta-IMP Lidia Federica Mazzitelli Multidisciplinarias (Ciencias, Ciencias Sociales, Artes y Humanidades) ma ta semantics pragmatics participles In this paper I describe the semantics, pragmatics and the discourse functions of three Lithuanian agent-defocusing constructions, featuring the non-referential use of second person singular/third person verbal forms and the non-agreeing participial forms in ma/ta. These three constructions can all be defined as impersonal, in the broader sense of the word, as the agent (or the main participant, whatever its semantic role may be) is constructed as non-referential: I label them 2sg-imp, 3-imp and ma/ta-imp. My corpus consists of original Lithuanian texts (a short story and entries on an Internet forum) and of the Lithuanian translations of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s novella Le Petit Prince and J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. My analysis shows that 2sg-imp are preferably used to express generic agents (anyone) and 3-imp are preferably used to express referential indefinite agents (someone), while ma/ta-imp are referentially flexible. 2sg-imp are pragmatically marked in that they are used to express empathy between the speaker and the pool of potential referents; they are mostly used in specific discourse types, such as opinion statements and life drama situations. 3-imp are preferred in situations where the indefiniteness of the agent is relevant to the development of the narrative; ma/ta-imp are instead preferred when the agent is irrelevant, and the focus is on the event itself. The behavior of Lithuanian 2sg-imp, 3-imp and ma/ta-imp is consistent with the one already described for similar constructions in other European languages. 2019 artículo científico 2029-8315 https://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=693974521002 https://www.redalyc.org/journal/6939/693974521002/ https://www.redalyc.org/journal/6939/693974521002/html/ https://www.redalyc.org/journal/6939/693974521002/693974521002.epub https://www.redalyc.org/journal/6939/693974521002/movil https://doi.org/10.15388/Kalbotyra.2019.2 en http://www.redalyc.org/revista.oa?id=6939 Kalbotyra application/pdf Vilniaus Universitetas Kalbotyra (Lituania) Vol.72
title Referential and pragmatic-discourse properties of Lithuanian reference impersonals: 2sg-IMP, 3-IMP and ma/ta-IMP
topic Multidisciplinarias (Ciencias, Ciencias Sociales, Artes y Humanidades)
ma
ta
semantics
pragmatics
participles
url https://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=693974521002
https://www.redalyc.org/journal/6939/693974521002/
https://www.redalyc.org/journal/6939/693974521002/html/
https://www.redalyc.org/journal/6939/693974521002/693974521002.epub
https://www.redalyc.org/journal/6939/693974521002/movil
https://doi.org/10.15388/Kalbotyra.2019.2