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ISSN 1392-1517. KALBOTYRA. 1998. 47(3)
SUBSTITUTION AS A MEANS OF COHESION
IN THE TEXTS OF ZOOLOGY
Daiva Verikaite
Introductory Substitution is a type of cohesive relations. It is very closely connected with .the other two types of cohesive relations - reference and ellipsis. Some linguists define substitu- tion as zero anaphora (Hockett, 1958, 259), though this type of anaphora is different from the anaphora of reference. The anaphoric pronouns that are defined as referring ele- ments are often treated as substitutes; how- ever, Hasan (1968, 82-145) makes an explicit distinction between substitution and refer- ence. A borderline between reference and substitution is also drawn by Halliday and Hasan (1976), who say that substitution is a relation between linguistic items, such as words or phrases, whereas reference is a re- lation between meanings. When a reference items is used anaphorically, it sets up a se- mantic relationship with something in the pre- ceding text which enables the reference item to be interpreted as either identical or con- trasting with it in some way. A substitute signals a tie between two lin- guistic items; and although it contributes to the semantic structure of the text, the rela- tionship that is set up by substitution is not semantic but lexico - grammatical. Hence,
substitution is a relation between two linguis- tic items on a lexico - grammatical level, whereas reference is a relation between two linguistic items on a semantic level. A reference item can be used anaphorical- Iy, cataphorically, and exophoricaIly, i. e. it may point in any direction. A substitution item, therefore, is an anaphoric item which constitutes a link with the presupposed item identified in the preceding text. Hence, ref- erence can involve two environments - lin- guistic and extralinguistic, whereas substitu- tion is a verbal relation in the linguistic en- vironment. From what has been said it can be inferred that reference and substitution are two dis- tinct types of cohesive relations. The relation of substitution is created be- tween a substitute and a presupposed item, the place of which is taken by a substitute. A substitute in the text is used as an explicit indicator that something is omitted. To quote Halliday (1985, 297), "the substitute serves as a place holding device, showing where something has been omitted and what its grammatical function would be". As a rule, the structural function of a substitute is the same as that of a presupposed item.
According to the type of structural units, three types of substitution can be distin- guished:
- Nominal.
- Verbal.
- Clausal. This division was introduced by Halliday and Hasan (1976), and followed by McCartby (1991), Hoey (1991), Salkie (1995) and oth- ers. In this work we have adopted the divi- sion and given separate analysis to each type of substitution.
Nominal Substitution
There are two lexical items that are used as nominal substitutes in the English lan- guage. They are: one! ones and the same. The nominal substitute ~ and its plural form QMS. function as head of a nominal group and can substitute for any countable noun. The substitute one! ones presupposes a noun in the preceding predication: the noun it substitutes for is head of the nominal group (Valeika, 1985, 94). As already known, the lexical item Ql!!l. is polyfunctional in English: it can be used as a substitute, as a personal pronoun, a cardinal numeral, an indefinite determiner and a generalised noun.
An indefinite determiner QlK, like other determiners, can occur elliptically and func- tion cohesively, but its analysis is beyond the scope of the present study. The use of the generalised noun Ql!Lis usually restricted to human referents mean- ing 'people', but it is not anaphoric and has no cohesive force. The comparative analysis of the three types of substitution shows that nominal substitu- tion is the most common type of substitution used in the analysed texts. 54 per cent of all cases of substitution can be accounted for by nominal substitution. 80 per cent of the cases of nominal substitution are expressed by the substitute..Qmt and its plural form ones: about 20 per cent are expressed by the substitute the same. As already pointed out, the nominal sub- stitute one functions as head of the nominal group and it is always modified. The modify- ing element of the presupposed item is si- lenced, only the nominal part is carried over. 1.1. The role of hormones in the process of moulting is even less clear, but since the old feathers are expelled by newly formed Q!1§, hormonal activity is most likely associated with the moulting process by acting directly or indi- rectly on the feather papillae. The nominal part of a noun phrase the old The personal pronoun one is a personal feathers is carried over by the substitute ones. form with the generalised reference; it is not however, the modifying element old is repu- used anaphorically; hence, it has no cohesive power. The cardinal numeral Ql!!l. occurs in the analysed texts quite frequently; sometimes it has anaphoric nature but only when it is used in elliptical structures.
diated by a new modifier, newly formed. This does not necessarily mean that modi- fying elements of the presupposed item could not be carried over. It just demonstrates that there is a contrast between the meaning of the modifier of the substitute and the modi-
sition. In such cases the function of ~ is very similar to that of the demonstrative
pronoun tbiJ..
1.5. Wilson et aL (1975) indicated that se- lection for higher ~en consumption and high heat tolerance resulted in birds with similar
characteristics. Ihi!.was also evidenced by Kilfri
and Cherry (1984).
However, ~ in 1.4 and tbiJ. in 1.
function as reference items rather than sub- stitutes. The analysis of the data shows that the
nominal substitute tbuJlm& is often combined
with the verb dQ. 1.6. Heat pasteurization revolutionised the bacteriological safety of milk. RilI1kltion pas- teurization could dQ the same for other prod-
ucts.
In the text above the verbal element of the immediately preceding sentence is sub-
stituted for by the phrase could dQ the same.
The verb dQ functions as a general verb. Ti:J&.
same substitutes for a verbal group although
it is of nominal origin. The pattern dJ2...JM
mlruLcovers 2S per cent of all the occurrences of the nominal substitute ~. On the basis of the collected evidence we can point out two main patterns in which the substitute ~ is used:
- The same that substitutes for an entire nominal group. 2. Do the same that substitutes for a verbal group.
The distance between the substitute th£.
same and the presupposed item is very short,
very often it does not exceed one sentence boundaries. In some cases, like in 1.3 and 1.6, the presupposed item is identified in the immediately preceding sentence.
The major differences between the nomi-
nal substitute ~ and tbt....smJ&. are:
1. Qz& is a grammatical item which con-
tains no lexical content of its own; whereas ~ functions as a lexical item: it can carry information.
2. 0lK. can only substitute for a head noun,
whereas ~ can substitute for an entire nominal group with a modifying element; in combination with the verb dQ it can substi- tute for a verbal group.
3. Qz& is always modified, whereas tM.
same is not.
4. 0lK. occurs far more frequently than tb&
lJllM.. In conclusion we can say that nominal substitution serves as an important means of cohesion creating an anaphoric link between the substitute and the presupposed item. It also serves as a means of language economy since it enables the author to convey the same ideas in a more compact, condensed way. Nominal substitution makes it possible to convey the meaning and function of the nomi- nal group without repeating the same lexical item twice and thus avoid redundancy.
Verbal Substitution
Substitution in the verbal group is. ex- pressed by means of the verb {/Q. It functions as head of the verbal group and takes the place of the lexical verb. The substitute do appears in the appropriate finite or non -
finite forms (dQ does. did. doing. done). It
can substitute either for a verb or for a verb with some other elements in the clause. 2.1. Fortunately such circumstances .seldom
arise but when they Il!J. the losses can be vel)' high.
2.2. The two vaccines differ in that the CV
- 988 strain spreads readily from chicken to chicken, while attenuated HPRS -16 and other
attenuated sero - type 1 vaccines d!J....!JJd..
In 2.1 the verb dQ...substitutes for the lexi-
cal verb ~ whereas in 2.2 the verb !kuJ!J!.
substitutes for a whole verbal group. In both cases the substitute do points back to the presupposed item by way of anaphora. The vast majority of cases exhibit a link within the limits of the same complex sentence; however, a presupposed item is usually iden- tified in the preceding clause of the same sentence. Generally, verbal substitution accounts for 34 per cent of all the cases of substitution. Texts 2.1. and 2.2 exemplify the most typical uses of the substitute do. However, in some cases do is combined with so. 2.3. The authors invited to contribute were aY carefully chosen from the world community of scientists and scholars to ensure that spe- cialized topics were reviewed by those well - qualified to do so. The expression do so is very similar in meaning to the substitute do used singly. The difference is that the form with so combines anaphora with prominence (Halliday and Hasan, 1976, 116). Prominence as the main reason for the use of SQ is also pointed out by McCarthy (1991, 45). Explicitness is one of the main characteristics of a science text; therefore, the frequent occurrence of the pattern do so is predetermined. For this rea- son, the pattern r;kuQ accounts almost for 35 per cent of all occurrences of the verbal sub- stitute.
/lQ.Jhis. is another pattern usually observed
in the analysed texts.
2.4. By allawing a dedicated processor to control the feeder it is possible to incorporate devices for sensing that the chain is working, also to over - ride the clock and to switch the feeder off as soon as the chain is returning fulL /l)' doine this, better management of the feed- ing system results together with potentially bet- ter feed utilisation. In the text above the verb dQ...functions as a pro - verb but not as a substitute. The verbal group by doine this refers back to the preced- ing sentence; so that 4Jl..JhiLcan be regarded as a compound reference verb. Therefore, dQ t.l!i,t.constitute a cohesive tie with the preced- ing sentence by anaphoric reference, but not by substitution. Although the origin of cohe- sion of the patterns do so do this and ~ M!J!1!t. is different, all of them contribute to the integrity of the text creating an anaphoric link with the presupposed item. To quote Hoey (1991, 73), "constructions of do so {the same { this { likewise serve the same function of allowing the speaker or writer to repeat
something already said < ... >".
The verb do has other functions, it can occur both as a notional, general verb and as a verbal operator. A detailed analysis of these functions is not the purpose of the present study; however, some observations would help to ~ave a full picture of the polyfunctional use of the verb d!J,. Notional do has retained its lexical mean- ing and like other verbs can be substituted for by the verbal substitude do. The notional do cannot function cohesively and does not contribute to the cohesion of the text. The general verb dQ is a lexical item with a generalised meaning used in expressions such as 'to do a donee'. Cases of the generalised
substitution of reported clauses practically is not found. The number of cases of the modalised clause substitution is inconspicu- ous. Conditional structure, therefore, is a typical environment for clausal substitution to occur. 3.1. People prefer income, which is less risky to the same income which is more variable. It .m. one would expect the quality which would be supplied at any given price to be greater with stable prices. Here om substitutes for the whole preced- ing sentence. The positive form om in the conditional clause substitution accounts for almost 90 per cent of all cases of clausal substitution. Oausal substitution occurs in a contras- tive context. The information the clausal sub- stitution conveys is recoverable from the pre- vious text, but it is placed in a new contrast- ing context; this contrast does not result in the negation of the previous information, the information is presented in a new light. To quote Halliday and Hasan (1976, 136) "con- trast is not necessarily a negation of the con- text that was there before; there may have been no such context, and even if there was, the presupposing context may be simply a reaffirmation of it. But there is always some redefinition of the environment of the pre- supposed clause; the speaker or writer is encoding the clause as itself recoverable but in a context which is non-recoverable".
As already mentioned, the substitute m
stands for a positive idea, whereas not stands for a negative.
3.2. Such a question is whether to substitute part of the fine granular limestone (calcium) in the diet with larger particles of calcium car- bonate (Ca C03) or rlQLand it.M1. whether to use limestone or oystershell. The text above contains two clausal sub- stitutes. The substitute llQl takes the place of the whole preceding clause and adds a nega- tive meaning to the statement; the substitute m, therefore, stands for the same clause and expresses a positive idea in the conditional environment. This instance of clausal substi- tution serves both as a means of cohesion and an effective means of language economy. However, as already pointed out, such in-' stances of clausal substitution are not nu- merous.
Conclusion Substitution is a type of cohesive relations contributing to the cohesion and integrity of the text as well as to language economy. In comparison with other types of cohesive re- lations - reference and ellipsis, substitution is not very common in the analysed texts of science zoology. It accounts for 5 per cent of the cohesive relations. It does not extend over a long passage of the text: the substituted and the presupposed item are identified within the limits of the same sentence. Con- sequently, such instances are not by them- selves cohesive, except for the cases of clausal substitution and a few cases of nominal sub- stitution that cross over the sentence bound- aries.
The Samples for Analysis and the
Method of Data Analysis
The scientific texts analysed were drawn from the journal "World's Poultry Science Journal". 2000 pages of the texts were analysed. The texts were selected quite at random but from the point of view of stylistic
RefereDce.
Halliday, M. A K. An lntroduclion 10 Funclionol Gramnuu. London: Edward ArnoId, 1985. HaUiday, M. A K., Hasan, R. Cohuion in English. London: Longman, 1976. Hasan, R. Grammatical Cohesion in Spoken and U+itten English. London: Longman, 1968.
Hockett, e.A Coune in General Linguistks. New
York, 1958. Hoey, M. FrJlIems of Lem in Thrt. Oxford: Oxford
characteristics they were typical pieces of scientific texts on zoology.
The mean - data analysis method was used.
The results of relative frequency of the sub- stitution items were received.
Univenity Press, 1991. McCarthy, M. Discoune Analysis for Language 7ėachen. Cambridge: Cambridge Univenity Press,
Salkie, R. Thrt and Discoune Analysis. London & New York: Routledge, 1991 ValeiIca, LAn lnlroduclion 10 the Linguislic Analy- sis and Synthesis of the Thrt. Vilnius, 1985.
SUBSTITUCUA KAIP RlaLUMO PRlEMONt ZOOLOGINIUOSE TEKSTUOSE
DaIva Verlkalt Reziumė
Substitucija - viena iš svarbiausių teksto mlumo ir kalbos ekonomijos priemonių. Šiame straipsnyje analizuojamas trijų pagrindinių - daiktavardinės
Vilniaus pedagoginio universiteto Anglų kalbos katedra
frazės, veiksmažodinės frazės ir sakinio - substitucijų vaidmuo formuojant mIų zoologinj tekstą.
Įteikta 1998 m. birželio mėn.
