SEMANTICS AND BOUNDARIES OF IMPERSONALITY CATEGORIAL DOMAIN IN MODERN ENGLISH

Abstract

The properties of the “impersonality” category, especially the ones that embrace various syntactic structures into a homogeneous domain, do not appear to have been thoroughly researched into in semantic studies. Therefore, there is no definite criterion of an “impersonal” structure, which inhibits stating the status of syntactical structures within or beyond the domain under study. Purpose. The purpose of the article is to define the invariant semantics of the “impersonality” category, which suggests a different approach to the basic general semantics of this domain, research into differentiation of this fundamental property in various aspects within a highly diverse type of sentence structures, as well as state the boundaries of the “impersonality” category in English. Methodology of the present study is based upon the concepts of biology of cognition developed within the field of linguistic research, the theory of “organism-environment” system that has emerged within psychology of perception, as well as cognitive theories in linguistic studies. Results. As a result, the semantic invariant of the “impersonality” category is explicated and stated as CO-EXISTENCE that is projected in a range of sentence structures. This property is defined as basic or fundamental, which leads the speaker to construct the sentence structure according to a certain configuration. Thus in the study present it is suggested that the traditional term “impersonality” describing the type of a syntactic structure should be replaced by a more accurate term “co-existence”. Practical implications evolve out of the general paradigm of the research that has been conducted within the fields of cognitive linguistics, biocognitive linguistics and general theory of grammar.

Keywords

• безличность
• семантический инвариант
• система «организм-среда»
• наблюдатель
• категория
• событийность
• модель структуры предложения