Realization of implicit lexical-grammatical categories of noun in the songs of English speaking group “Evanescence”

1. oneness (individual separate object – a cat);
2. generalization (the meaning of the whole class – The cat is a domestic animal);
3. indiscreteness (нерасчлененность or uncountableness  - money, milk).

The plural form may denote:

1. the existence of several objects (cats);
2. the inner discreteness (внутренняя расчлененность, pluralia tantum, jeans). [7; 8].

To sum it up, all nouns may be subdivided into three groups:

1. The nouns in which the opposition of explicit discreteness/indiscreteness is expressed : cat::cats;
2. The nouns in which this opposition is not expressed explicitly but is revealed by syntactical and lexical correlation in the context. There are two groups here:

1. Singularia tantum. It covers different groups of nouns: proper names, abstract nouns, material nouns, collective nouns;

2. Pluralia tantum. It covers the names of objects consisting of several parts (jeans), names of sciences (mathematics), names of diseases, games, etc.

3. The nouns with homogenous number forms. The number opposition here is not expressed formally but is revealed only lexically and syntactically in the context:e.g. Look! A sheep is eating grass. Look! The sheep are eating grass. [7; 8].

As a matter of fact, those nouns which have no number opposites are outside the grammatical category of number. But on the analogy of the bulk of English nouns they acquire oblique (or lexicon-grammatical) meanings of number. Therefore singularia tantum are often treated as singulars and pluralia tantum as plurals. [11; 34].

This is justified both by their forms and by their combinability.

When combinability and form contradict each other, combinability is decisive, which accounts for the fact that ‘police’ or ‘cattle’ are regarded as plurals, and ‘measles’, ‘mathematics as singulars.

The lexicon-grammatical meaning of a class (or of a subclass) of words is, as we know, an abstraction from the lexical meanings of the words of the class, and depends to a certain extent on those lexical meanings. Therefore singularia tantum usually include nouns of certain lexical meanings. They are mostly material, abstract and collective nouns, such as sugar, gold, butter, brilliance, constancy, selfishness, humanity, soldiery and peasantry. [11; 35]

Yet it is not every material, abstract or collective noun that belongs to the group of singularia tantum (e. g. a plastic, a feeling, a crowd) and, what is more important, not in all of its meanings does a noun belong to this group.

As we have already seen, variants of the same lexeme may belong to different subclasses of a part of speech. In most of their meanings the words joy and sorrow as abstract nouns are singularia tantum.

But when concrete manifestations are meant, these nouns are countable and have plural opposites, e. g. the joys and sorrows of life.

Likewise, the words copper, tin, hair as material nouns are usually singularia tantum, but when they denote concrete objects, they become countable and get plural opposites: a copper – coppers, a tin – tins, a hair – hairs.

Similarly, when the nouns wine, steel, salt denote some sort or variety of the substance, they become countable.

All such cases are not a peculiarity of the English language alone. They are found in other languages as well.

‘Joy’ and ‘a joy’, ‘beauty’ and ‘a beauty’, ‘copper’ and ‘a copper’, ‘hair’ and ‘a hair’ and many other pairs of this kind are not homonyms, as suggested by some grammarians, [11; 35] but variants of lexemes related by internal conversion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Conclusion

The noun as a part of speech has the categorial meaning of "substance" or "thingness". It follows from this that the noun is the main nominative part of speech, effecting nomination of the fullest value within the framework of the notional division of the lexicon. [1;24]

Notional words, first of all verbs and nouns, possess some morphemic features expressing grammatical (morphological) meanings. These features determine the grammatical form of the word. [1; 14].

Noun possesses implicit and explicit lexico-grammatical categories. It denotes thing, abstract notion, material or person. It can be countable and uncountable; common or proper.

Among explicit grammatical categories generally acceptable are categories of case, based on relation of nouns to another words. It has its marker- ‘s, which shows the possessive case; and category of number, based on opposition of the singular and the plural. The plural form has its marker-s.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

II. REALIZATION OF NOUNAL GRAMMATICAL CATEGORIES IN THE SONGS OF ENGLISH SPEAKING GROUP “EVANESCENCE”

 

II.1. Realization of implicit lexical-grammatical categories of noun in the songs of English speaking group “Evanescence”

 

The song “Going Under” (see app.1)

In the song “Going under” the author used only seven nouns. They are: tears, hand, bottom, truth, lies, thoughts and head. All of them are common nouns. It means that they are not unique, and they can be subdivided into countable and uncountable.

Five of them are countable: tears, hand, lies, thoughts and head; and two of them are uncountable: bottom, truth, thoughts. Because these things can be counted; and can be used in the plural and in the singular.

Four of them denote some things: tears, hand, bottom and head. Three of them denote abstract notions: truth, lies, thoughts.

 

In the song “My Immortal” (see app.2)

In the song “My Immortal” the author used fifteen nouns. They are: immortal, fears, presence, wounds, pain, time, tears, hand, years, light, life, face, dreams, voice and sanity. All of them are common nouns. It means that they are not unique, and they can be subdivided into countable and uncountable.

Ten of them are countable: immortal, fears, wounds, tears, hand, years, life, face, dreams, voice; and five of them are uncountable: presence, pain, time, light  and sanity. Because these things can be counted; and can be used in the plural and in the singular.

Five of them denote some things: wounds, pain, time, tears, hand, light, face. Ten of them denote abstract notions: immortal, fears, presence, wounds, years, life, dreams, voice and sanity

 

 

In the song “Whisper” (see app.3)

In the song “Whisper” the author used sixteen nouns. They are: whisper, atmosphere, truth, pain, name, eyes, God, lies, light, fear, tears, angels, feet, voices, ear, and end. Fourteen of them are common nouns: whisper, atmosphere, truth, pain, name, eyes, god, lies, light, fear, tears, angels, feet, voices, ear, and end. It means that they are not unique, and they can be subdivided into countable and uncountable. And one of them – God is a proper noun.

Thirteen of them are countable: whisper, pain, name, eyes, god, lies, light, fear, tears, angels, feet, voices, ear, and end; and five of them are uncountable: atmosphere, truth and light. Because these things can be counted; and can be used in the plural and in the singular.

Six of them denote some things: atmosphere, eyes, light, tears, feet, and ear. Eight of them denote abstract notions: whisper, truth, pain, name, lies, fear, voices and end. And two of them denote person: God and angels. It means that these nouns denote alive objects.

 

 

II.2. Realization of explicit lexical-grammatical categories of noun in the songs of English speaking group “Evanescence”

 

II.2.1.Realization of category of case

In the song “Bring Me to Life” (see app.4)

In the song “Bring Me to Life” the author used nineteen nouns: life, eyes , doors , core, soul, spirit, home, name, dark, blood, touch, love, dead, time, years, eyes, thought, voice, soul. Investigating these words according to realization of category of case we should first look for the markers of possessive case. There are no markers of possessive case. It means that all of them are nouns of common case.

 

In the song “Lithium” (see app.5)

In the song “Lithium” the author used thirteen nouns: lithium, love, sorrow, god, bed, emptiness, time, will, darkness, darling, end, place, ashes. Investigating these words according to realization of category of case we should first look for the markers of possessive case. There are no markers of possessive case. It means that all of them are nouns of common case.

 

 

In the song “Call Me when you’re Sober” (see app.6)

In the song “Lithium” the author used eight nouns: Mind, Lie, Blame, Shame, Game, Victim, Time, Paradise. Investigating these words according to realization of category of case we should first look for the markers of possessive case. There are no markers of possessive case. It means that all of them are nouns of common case.

 

II.2.2. Realization of category of number

 

In the song “Everybody's Fool” (see app.7)

In the song “Everybody's Fool” the author used eleven nouns: fool, nature, icons, self-indulgence, lies, world, shame, wonder, flaws, mask and truth. Investigating these words according to realization of category of number we should first separate them into countable and uncountable. Five of them are uncountable: nature, self-indulgence, shame, wonder, and truth. It means that they cannot be subdivided into the plural and the singular, because they cannot be counted. Six of them are countable: fool, icons, lies, world, flaws and mask. Because they can be counted; and can have the plural and the singular. Three of them are used in the singular: fool, world and mask. Because they don’t have markers of the plural form (inflection -s). And three of them are used in the plural: icons, lies, flaws. Because they have markers of the plural form and mean several objects.

 

 

In the song “Haunted” (see app.8)

In the song “Haunted” the author used three nouns: time, heart and head. Investigating these words according to realization of category of number we should first separate them into countable and uncountable. One of them is uncountable: time. It means that it cannot be subdivided into the plural and the singular, because it cannot be counted. Two of them are countable: heart and head. Because they can be counted; and can have the plural and the singular. Both of them are used in the singular: heart and head. Because they don’t have markers of the plural form (inflection -s).

 

 

In the song “All That I'm Living For” (see app.9)

In the song “All That I'm Living For” the author used fifteen nouns: night, living, understanding, thought, words, door, ghosts, dreams, fears, lullaby, reason, play, obsessions, lesson and world. Investigating these words according to realization of category of number we should first separate them into countable and uncountable. All of them are countable: night, living, understanding, thought, words, door, ghosts, dreams, fears, lullaby, reason, play, obsessions, lesson and world. Because they can be counted; and can have the plural and the singular. Ten of them are used in the singular: night, living, understanding, thought, door, lullaby, reason, play, lesson and world. Because they don’t have markers of the plural form (inflection -s). And five of them are used in the plural: words, ghosts, dreams, fears, obsessions. Because they have markers of the plural form and mean several objects.

 

In the song “Anything for You” (see app.10)

In the song “Anything for You” the author used five nouns: world, lies, believe, eyes and day. Investigating these words according to realization of category of number we should first separate them into countable and uncountable. All of them are countable: world, lies, believe, eyes and day. Because they can be counted; and can have the plural and the singular. Three of them are used in the singular: world, believe and day. Because they don’t have markers of the plural form (inflection -s). And two of them are used in the plural: lies, eyes. Because they have markers of the plural form and mean several objects.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Conclusion

Noun is considered to be the separate part of the speech because of special features it possesses. It has some definite implicit and explicit lexical-grammatical categories, the usage of which in the songs of modern English-speaking group was researched in this work.

The realization of different grammatical categories of noun has some peculiarities.

If we speak about implicit lexical-grammatical categories than we can say that the usage of common nouns prevails, moreover authors are likely to use nous that mean some abstract notions. Nous denoting person are rarely used and nouns denoting material are almost unused. Almost all nouns used in the songs are countable.

Concerning implicit lexical-grammatical categories of noun it should be mentioned that the majority of nouns are used in the singular and authors of the songs avoid using nouns in possessive case.

I’ve noticed one peculiarity: if the headline of the song contains noun then nouns will be frequently used in the text of this song.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Резюме

Тема даної роботи: «Реалізація граматичних категорій іменників у текстах пісень сучасного англомовного гурта “Evanescence”».

Головною метою було дослідити  реалізацію граматичних категорій  іменника в піснях.

Об’єктом роботи були граматичні категорії. Тексти пісень слугували  матеріалом, предметом були граматичні категорії іменників.

В ході даної роботи досліджувалося використання імплісивних та експлісивних граматичних категорій іменників у піснях сучасних англомовних виконавців.

Дана робота складається теоретичної та практичної частин. В теоретичній частині висвітлені основні теоретичні аспекти необхідні при виконанні даної роботи, такі як : основні положення про граматичні категорії слів, зокрема іменника та його імплісивні та експлісивні граматичні категорії. В практичній частині на основі текстового матеріалу пісень досліджується об’єкт та предмет даної роботи.

В результаті дослідження було з’ясовано, що найбільш часто використовуються іменники, які позначають абстрактні поняття та речі, найменш вживаними є іменники, що позначають особу.

Що стосується експлісивних граматичних  категорій, то іменники зазвичай використовуються у називному відмінку однини.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The list of literature:

1. M.Y.Blokh. A course in Theoretical English Grammar. M.,2000;
2. E.J.Morokhovskaya. Fundamentals of Theoretical English Grammar. K.,1984;
3. И.П.Иванова, В.В.Бурлакова, Г.Г.Почепцов. Теоретическая грамматика современного английского языка. М.,1981;
4. M.Ganshina and N. Vasilevskaya. English Grammar. M., 1953;
5. B.S. Khaimovich, B.I. Rogovskaya. A Course in English Grammar. 1966;
6. Г. Н. Воронцова. Очерки по грамматике английского языка. М., 1960;
7. L.M.Volkova. Lectures in Theoretical Grammar;
8. Б.А.Ильиш. Строй современного английского языка. Издательство первое. Ленинград., 1971;
9. Г. Н. Воронцова. Об именном форманте -'s в современном английском языке. «Иностранные языки в школе», 1948;
10. Ю.А.Левицкий. Теоретическая грамматика современного английского языка. Пермь., 2004;
11. Л.С. Бархударов, Д.А. Штелинг. Грамматика английского языка. М., 1960;
12. A.T.Iriskylov. Theoretical Grammar of English. Tashkent., 2006;
13. N.M.Raevskaya. Modern English Grammar. K., 1976.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Appendixes

Appendix 1

“Going Under”

Now I will tell you what I've done for you

50,000 tears I've cried

Screaming, deceiving, and bleeding for you

And you still won't hear me

Going Under

 

Don't want your hand this time, I'll save myself

Maybe I'll wake up for once, wake up for once

Not tormented daily, defeated by you

Just when I thought I'd reach the bottom

 

I'm dying again

I'm going under

Drowning in you

I'm falling forever

I've got to break through, I'm

Going under

 

Blurring and stirring the truth and the lies

So I don't know what's real and what's not

Always confusing the thoughts in my head

So I can't trust myself anymore

 

I'm dying again

I'm going under

Drowning in you

I'm falling forever

I've got to break through, I'm

 

So go on and scream

Scream at me, I'm so far away

I won't be broken again

I've got to breathe

I can't keep going under

 

I'm dying again

I'm going under

Drowning in you

I'm falling forever

I've got to break through, I'm

Going under

Going under

I'm going under

 

Appendix 2

“My Immortal”

I'm so tired of being here

Suppressed by all my childish fears

And if you have to leave

I wish that you would just leave

Cause your presence still lingers here

And it won't leave me alone

 

These wounds won't seem to heal

This pain is just too real

There's just too much that time cannot erase

 

When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears

When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears

And I held your hand through all of these years

But you still have all of me

 

You used to captivate me by your resonating light

Now I'm bound by the life you left behind

Your face it haunts my once pleasant dreams

Your voice it chased away all the sanity in me

 

These wounds won't seem to heal

This pain is just too real

There's just too much that time cannot erase

 

When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears

When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears

And I held your hand through all of these years

But you still have all of me

 

I've tried so hard to tell myself that you're gone

But though you're still with me

I've been alone all along

 

When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears

When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears

I held your hand through all of these years

But you still have all of me

 

 

 

Appendix 3

“Whisper”

Catch me as I fall

Say you're here and it's all over now

Speaking to the atmosphere

No one's here and I fall into myself

This truth drives me into madness

I know I can stop the pain if I will it all away

If I will it all away

 

Don't turn away

(Don't give in to the pain)

Don't try to hide

(Though they're screaming your name)

Don't close your eyes

(God knows what lies behind them)

Don't turn out the light

(Never sleep, never die)

 

I'm frightened by what I see

But somehow I know that there's much more to come

Immobilized by my fear

And soon to be blinded by tears

I can stop the pain if I will it all away

If I will it all away

 

Don't turn away

(Don't give in to the pain)

Don't try to hide

(Though they're screaming your name)

Don't close your eyes

(God knows what lies behind them)

Don't turn out the light

(Never sleep, never die)

 

Fallen angels at my feet

Whispered voices at my ear

Death before my eyes

Lying next to me I fear

She beckons me, shall I give in

Upon my end shall I begin

Forsaking all I've fallen for

I rise to meet the end

 

Don't turn away

(Don't give in to the pain)

Don't try to hide

(Though they're screaming your name)

Don't close your eyes

(God knows what lies behind them)

Don't turn out the light

(Never sleep, never die)