Undifferentiated taxis in non-localized situations

Abstract

The categorial semantics of taxis embraces a wide range of meanings actualized in polypropositive constructions between several verbal predicates and viewed through the opposition of “simultaneity – time difference (precedence-sequence) of actions.” Essentially, being “dervatives” of grammatical categorial combinations the expressed taxis relations are always characterized as actual semantic elements of a particular utterance. Taxis semantic function is intentional by nature. This means that the information it conveys regarding temporal linking of actions is surely based on the reflection of the “state of affairs” in current reality, but at the same time it is practically always interpreted by the speaker. This is the reason why taxis differences are often neutralized in some utterances: temporal linking is presented in an undifferentiated manner, i.e. it is not characterized by temporal parameter. Such cases are in the focus of the author’s attention, and, interestingly, the emphasis is laid on the kind of taxis non-differentiation that is actualized in temporally non-localized situations. Complex syntactic units (compound, complex sentences and asyndetic sentences) constituting the sphere of independent taxis have been chosen as the object of research. The goal of the attempted analysis was to describe significative, conceptual and denotative levels of utterances, where the differences according to the criterion “simultaneity – temporal difference of the presented facts/actions” become irrelevant. The author believes that the denotative level plays the leading role in the actualization of the considered taxis meaning. The article focuses on utterances expressing “common truths,” philosophic reasoning, sententiae, paroemias, scientific evidence, characteristics. The author holds that in complex grammatical constructions representing such utterances, aspectual-temporal and personal meanings of the predicative basis components begin to interact in a peculiar way. The research into the interaction leads the author to conclude that in this case we are dealing with a special kind of taxis – logotaxis, and, correspondingly, not with spatial and temporal coordination of presented facts, but with their logical connection, which is to a great extent determined by the speaker’s speech tactic.

Keywords

• undifferentiated taxis
• semantics of taxis
• logotaxis
• grammatical intentionality