Використання інфінітивних маркерів у конструкції accusativus cum infinitivoв середньоанглійській мові

Abstract

(uk) У статті подано результати дослідження особливостей використання маркерів інфінітива в конструкції accusativus cum infinitivo на матеріалі середньоанглійських текстів. Дослідження включає кількісні показники вживання інфінітивних конструкцій із маркерами toі for toу випадку комплементації дієслів різних семантичних груп. Встановлено залежність між маркуванням інфінітивної конструкції та жанром тексту, періодом і регіоном написання пам’ятки, структурно-семантичними особливостями розглянутих речень.

(en) The paper investigates into the peculiarities of using infinitival markers in the Middle English accusative-with-the-infinitive construction. Frequently regarded as accusativus cum infinitivo, the accusative-with-the-infinitive construction is traditionally defined as a secondary predication structure and a reduced clause. The construction under analysis originated from Old English and resembled the pattern of a similar construction in Latin. The research is based on the analysis of 43 prose fiction and poetic texts representing all groups of Middle English dialects and written between the 13th and the 15th centuries. After the demise of the Old English case system and grammaticalization of prepositions to and for to, there appeared a need to reconsider the structure of infinitival constructions and reinforce the semantics of a non-finite verb. The paper argues that the accusative-with-the-infinitive construction was most frequently used after the verbs of seven semantic classes. A distinct Middle English trend was to use complementizers to and for to in the sentences with causative, instructive, emotive, and declarative verbs. On the contrary, accusativus cum infinitivo constructions after requestive, permissive, and perceptive verbs tended to be unmarked. The overall trend of the Middle English period was towards the more frequent use of infinitival marker to, while the share of unmarked constructions was progressively decreasing. The choice of the infinitival marker also depended on the dialect and year when the written monument appeared, structural patterns of sentences containing an infinitival construction, and the genre of the text. Prose texts proved to be more normative, whereas poetic texts diverted from the grammatical norm more vividly. The obtained results contribute to better understanding of the structure and functions of infinitival constructions in modern English.