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19NON PASSIVE FORMS SEMANTICALLY RELATED TO THE PASSIVE IN THE NOVEL "THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY"
BY DOUGLAS ADAMS Isaeva V.G.
Isaeva Valeria Gennadievna — Student,
DEPARTMENT OF ROMANO-GERMANIC PHILOLOGY AND INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION, INSTITUTE OF INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS BELGOROD STATE NATIONAL RESEARCH UNIVERSITY, BELGOROD
Abstract: the chosen topic is an important research of the passive voice based on examples of
constructions with atypical for the passive voice structures.
Keywords: passive voice, adjectives ending in -able, reflexive structures.
One normally imagines the passive voice as a structure with a subject that is semantically the patient of the verb, an auxiliary be or get, the past participle form and an optional by-phrase. However, apart from usual passive constructions there are ways to form sentences that have passive meaning even though they are not in the passive form. For instance, examples 79 and 80 have also a passive interpretation.
Adjectives Ending in -able
These are non-typical marginal passive constructions. They are usually called V-able passives. The adjectives remarkable and unidentifiable semantically can be glossed as passives. First of all they are derived from the transitive verbs remark and identify, and the suffix -able expresses an action referred to an NP (can be remarked; cannot be identified). They illustrate passive implement and may be followed by a complement, as in 2'.
1. Ford Prefect was a roving researcher for that wholly remarkable book, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (page 12, ll. 14-16).
2 His fair tousled hair stuck out in random directions, his blue eyes glinted with something completely unidentifiable, and his chins were almost always unshaven (page 41, ll. 6-9).
2. [...] his blue eyes glinted with something completely unidentifiable by humans.
"The past participle form of the verb is almost, but not quite, an invariant feature of the passive" [5, 1429].
Examples 3 and 4 again easily prove the statement above. Passive voice is clearly seen when an agent occurs in a sentence. Besides that by no means the constructions in these examples do not resemble the basic passive structure, there are no agents presented that could emphasize an action referred to the subjects. However, examining the context we can notice a latent agentivity. The actions described in the examples are meant to be performed by somebody. For example, strangers cannot be deciphered by somebody or humiliation cannot be explained by somebody. The same is applied to incomprehensible in 4. Only a performer is able to comprehend or not the sense.
3. Bureaucratic cock-ups, angry men lying in mud, indecipherable strangers handing out inexplicable humiliation and an unidentified army of horsemen laughing at him in his head - what a day (page 18, ll.32, page 19, ll. 1).
4. The barman reeled for a moment, hit a shocking incomprehensible sense of distance (page 30, ll. 3-4).
There are several variants of the ABLE-morpheme. The first one is normally considered to be "a derivational suffix which attaches to transitive verb stems to yield adjectival forms" [6, 230]. This type of the V-able passive has an orientation that may be called passive potential orientation. It may denote a capability/incapability of doing or being something, unidentifiable (which cannot be identified) in 5, a notion of possibility, as governable (which can be governed) in 6, or a concept of worthiness or merit, remarkable (which can be remarked) in the sentence 7. "These secondary values may be regarded as extensions from the primary meaning of passive potentiality" [6, 230].
5. Ford frowned at the grubby mattresses, unwashed cups and unidentifiable bits of smelly alien underwear that lay around the cramped cabin (page 51, ll. 16-18).
6. It was discovered by a lucky chance, and then developed into a governable form of propulsion by the Galactic Government's research team of Damogran (page 86, ll. 5-7).
7. [.] this device was in fact the most remarkable of all books ever [.] (page 26, ll. 15-16).
V-able passive constructions obtain a passive interpretation in the English language only if
adjectives, participating in formation of these structures, are derived from verbs. The passive voice is habitually discussed in the context of a verb and verbal forms and characteristics. The words with -ABLE suffix are mostly analysed in close connection to the words formation, which is performed by
means of an adjective-constructing suffix, and regarded as derivational ones. The adjective pronounceable from example 8 is derived from the verb pronounce by means of the suffix -able. To pronounce means to articulate, to vocalize something. The verb is dynamic, as somebody articulates, literally, moves their lips to produce a sound or a name, as we have in 8. Which means that the subject Ford Perfect's original name is subjected to the action: it is pronounced. Hence, pronounceable expresses the ability of the subject to experience this action.
8. Ford Prefect's original name is only pronounceable in an obscure Betelgeusian dialect [...] (page 47, ll. 21-22).
As far as we can see, there is nothing in common between V-able structure and past participles except the gloss. However, V-able is very similar to past participial adjectives that leads to the adjectival passives, as in example 9.
9. Mr Prosser's mouth opened and closed a couple of times while his mind was for a moment filled with inexplicable but terribly attractive visions [...] (page 9, ll. 20-23).
V-able forms are more adjectival than verbal. Generally the V-able structures correspond to basic adjectival features, which means that they can be used attributively and predicatively after such copular verbs as seem or look, as seemed unbelievable in example 10. Few of them can be accompanied by very or too. But be able to is equal to the verb can, which does not have any gradation and assessment apart from either it can be done or it cannot.
10. Their relative velocity seemed unbelievable, and Arthur had hardly time to draw breath before it was all over (page 158, ll. 21-23).
In examples 11 and 12 respectable and irritable represent the V-able constructions with a passive meaning. Semantically V-able structures have quite logical similarities with V-EN structures. As for example "only what is V-able can be V-EN" (Puckica, 2009: 232). So only what is respectable can be respected, and only what is irritable can be irritated.
11. Many respectable physicists said that they weren't going to stand for this, partly because it was a debasement of science, but mostly because they didn't get invited to those sorts of parties (page 86, ll. 19-22).
12. He always felt vaguely irritable after demolishing populated planets. (page 50, ll. 17-18)
Even if with V-able adjectives it happens less frequently, this form may also be followed by an
agent, a by-phrase complement, which is typical for the basic passive voice structure and considered to be one of the main passive characteristics. This fact is easily proved by modifying example 13. In 13' every creature in the world is the agent. So we may conclude that V-able passives can take such a complement, which allows to classify them as a non-typical passive construction.
13. It said: "The History of every major Galactic Civilization tends to pass through three distinct and recognizable phases, those of Survival, Inquiry and Sophistication [...] (page 215, ll. 13-16)
13. It said: "The History of every major Galactic Civilization tends to pass through three distinct and recognizable by every creature in the world phases, those of Survival, Inquiry and Sophistication [...]
Reflexive Structures
Voice, as a grammatical category, structures the subject - predicate interrelations. Sometimes voice, as illustrated in examples 14-16 is a separate category. Even if morphologically and syntactically they seem not to have any relation to passive voice, nevertheless they may obtain passive interpretation.
14. Arthur struggled to his feet and hugged himself apprehensively (page 49, ll. 22-23).
15. Arthur had jammed himself against the door to the cubicle, trying to hold it closed, but it was ill fitting (page 85, ll. 8-9).
16. These patterns quickly learned to copy themselves (this was part of what was so extraordinary about the patterns) and went on to cause massive trouble on every planet they drifted on to (page 80, ll. 4-8).
In examples 14 and 15 the subject Arthur and a reflexive pronoun himself are referentially interconnected, hence if the reflexive pronoun is affected and subjected to some action, semantically the subject-referent will also be involved. The subject appears to be both the performer of the action and the receiver of it. It is Arthur who is responsible for the action, however being a performer he is affected and takes the main role in the situation. Even if in 103 Arthur hugged himself, the interpretation is as if *Arthur has been hugged. The same principle is in 15 *Arthur has been jammed. The verbs hug and jam are dynamic.
Copy themselves in example 16 has also a latent passive meaning. The patterns copy themselves by means of self-reproduction. In other words the patterns are being copied by themselves.
V-able passives express the same passive orientation as V-EN forms and may also take a by-phrase complement, as an agent. Participles are not completely verbal forms, that is why V-able
86
structures do resemble passive participles, nevertheless they possess more adjectival features than
verbal. In reflexive structures a subject produces and experiences an action at same time, so it
functions simultaneously as a patient and an agent of a sentence.
To draw a conclusion we should notice that passive voice cannot be restricted to the basic forms.
Constructions with latent passiveness may also take place in passive voice studying.
References
1. Douglas Adams. Le Guide du voyageur galactique H2G2,I. Barcelona: composition Nord Compo, 2016 (translated from English by Jean Bonnefoy. Edited Denoël, 1982).
2. Artemis Alexiadou. "A note on non-canonical passives: the case of the get-passive". Berlin: Mouton de Gryuter, 2005. [Electronic source]. URL: http://ifla.unistuttgart.de/institut/mitarbeiter/artemis/noncanonical.pdf/ (date of access: 17.04.2017).
3. Biber D. et al. Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited, 1999.
4. Freidin Robert. "The Analysis of Passives." Language, Vol. 51-2. Jun., 1975.
5. Huddleston & Pullum. The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language. Cambridge University Press, 2002.
6. Puckica Jerôme. "Passive Constructions in Present-Day English". University Grenoble 3. France: LIDILEM (EA 609), 2009.
