Information on the thesis

Thesis  for  a  Candidate  Degree  in  Philology,  speciality  10.02.04  –
Germanic Languages. – Ivan Franko National University of Lviv. Ministry of Education
and Science of Ukraine, Lviv, 2016.
The thesis is based on the modern anthropocentric paradigm of linguistic research and
provides a comprehensive analysis of the complex sentence with the elucidative subordinate
clause at the lexical-and-grammatical, semantic and communicative-and-pragmatic levels of
its  expression.  It  justifies  the  systemic  relations  of  the  structural-and-semantic  and
communicative-and-pragmatic  parameters  of  this  sentence  and  reflects  its  functional
manifestations in speech acts.
The  research  is  focused  on  the  study  of  the  English  complex  sentence  with  the
elucidative subordinate clause with the key predicate of mental activity. The latter has been
defined  at  the  lexical-and-grammatical  level  of  analysis  as  a  kind  of  complex  sentences
formed of two or more structures of predication that are syntactically unequal and are linked
by elucidative subordinating conjunctions or conjunctive words. The analysis of this type of
sentences at the semantic level is based on its definition as a speech unit, which combines the
lexical load of the elucidative key predicate of the principal clause and the subordinate clause.
It is claimed that at the communicative-and-pragmatic level the complex sentence with the
elucidative  subordinate  clause  is  embodied  in  the  speech  act,  which  is  viewed  as  a
communicative-and-pragmatic  unit  of  speech  activity  aimed  at  the  realization  of  the
speaker’s intention.
The  analysis  of  complex  sentences  with  elucidative  subordinate  clauses  in  English
at the  lexical-and-grammatical  level  testifies  to  the  fact  that  the  structural  scheme
(PU₁↔ SCT  →  PU ₂ )  is  most  productive  for  the  analyzed  sentences.  The  specific  features  of
subordination  of  the  principal  clause  with  elucidative  subordinate  clause  are  outlined  by
subordinating conjunctions and conjunctive words. The analysis of the syntactic structure of
the sentences under study confirms that the key predicate with right-sided valency is a key
element  of  their  construction  and  is  the  basic  starting  point  for  the  analysis  at  the
semantic level.
A  new  approach  to  the  analysis  of  the  semantic  organization  of  complex  sentences
with elucidative  subordinate  clauses  in  English  has  been  suggested.  The  analysis  of  seme
structure of elucidative key predicates of the principal part of this type of sentences has been
conducted.  The  role  of  subordinating  conjunctive  tool  as  a  link  of  semantic-and-syntactic
subordination relations of the significata of the key predicates and the signifying frame of the
complex sentences with elucidative subordinate clauses has been specified. A key component
in  the  semantic  structure  of  the  latter  has  been  indicated  –  key  predicate  of  the  sentence.
The impact of the significata of the key predicates on the semantics of the whole elucidative
complex sentence has been traced and their semantic types have been singled out.
The research results allowed to conclude that the most productive among the semantic
types  of  complex  sentences  with  elucidative  subordinate  clauses  are  sentences  with  key
predicates say (36.45 %), think (32.19 %), and believe (31.36 %).
It is claimed that illocutionary key predicates of the sentences under study predetermine
a  particular  type  of  speech  act.  The  analysis  of  complex  sentences  with  elucidative
subordinate clauses has been conducted with the account of communicative-and-pragmatic
structure of elucidative illocutionary key predicate of the principal part of elucidative complex
sentence. The relationship of key and peripheral semes of the key illocutionary predicate with
the microsenses in its composition has been clearly traced. The communicative-and-pragmatic
unity  of  the  components  of  complex  sentences  with  elucidative  subordinate  clauses  has
been shown. The organization of communicative-and-intentional sense of analysed sentences
has been found out and the significance of complementation of microsenses of illocutionary
key  predicates  to  reflect  the  subjective  factor  in  the  speech  act  has  been  proved.
The communicative-and-pragmatic orientation of the researched type of sentences has been
considered and the set of microsenses of the elucidative illocutionary key predicate has been
described. For this purpose the type of the speaker’s intention has been singled out for this
purpose in the structure of a particular communicative-and-intentional sense of the analyzed
key  predicate:  informative,  emotive-and-evaluative,  compelling,  declaratory,  obligative.
Predicates are verbalized in particular speech acts. The complex sentence with the elucidative
subordinate clause with communicative-and-intentional sense in the English language refers
to  a  particular  communicative-and-pragmatic  type  of  speech  acts:  assertive  (41.59 %),
expressive (32.48 %), directive (21.52 %), declarative (4.06 %) or commissive (0.35 %).
Key words: complex sentence with elucidative subordinate clause, illocutionary key
predicate, seme, intention, communicative-and-intentional sense, microsense, speech act.