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"Sentence pattern" in Prague functionalism

Petar Vuković orcid.org/0000-0001-5762-3354

Sažetak

In Prague functionalism the concept of ’sentence pattern’ refers to abstract syntactic models
according to which actual sentences in a language are constructed. After it had been first used by
Vilém Mathesius, the concept gained central importance in the sentence pattern syntax model (or
two–level valency syntax), the syntactic theory and the methodology of syntactic description developed
in the second half of the 20th century by a group of linguists around Franti{ek Dane{. In
their work it underwent further elaboration and was finally defined as a specific complex of formal
and semantic distinctive features. In this paper the application of the said concept in the syntactic
descriptions of the Czech language is related to the Mathesius’ principle ’from function to form’, i.
e. his conviction that communicative functions should be the starting point of linguistic description
and that formal means by which these functions are performed should be its aim. This principle
profoundly marked Prague functionalism and new syntactic descriptions of the Czech language are
now approaching its realization. The paper is concluded by emphasising the advantages of the syntactic
model developed on these foundations, especially in the field of contrastive syntax and stylistics,
but some possible weaknesses resulting from the theory being based on semantic categories
are also pointed at.

Ključne riječi

functionalism; syntactic models; function; the Prague school; sentence pattern

Hrčak ID:

19488

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/19488

Datum izdavanja:

14.12.2007.

Podaci na drugim jezicima: hrvatski

Posjeta: 1.742 *