Syntagmatic Relations

(Part 2)
Abnormality
3 December 2020
Abnormality (revision of Part 1)

ABNORMALITY

 There are two types of abnormality in syntagmatic relations:

a) When meanings do not go together (xenonymy/semantic clash)
nicely destroyed
her left nose
he ate the ball
b) When one meaning adds nothing new to another one with which it is
combined (tautonymy/pleonasms)
he kicked the ball with his foot
 Relevance of our knowledge of the
world for our analysis of xenonymy
nicely destroyed
her left nose
he ate the ball
the cat barked
rain falls upwards
But:
destroyed a bit / partly destroyed
a tiny giant
Mary rushed slowly to the window

are anomalous for reasons of internal semantic structure (semantic features, or semes) of
the collocates
 Tautonymy (tautonyms)
=
Pleonastic relations (pleonasms)
 Words or phrases which contain redundant semantic features

(?) pre-prepare (prepare or produce in advance)

completely finished (bring to an end; complete)
a female aunt (a female relation, the sister of one’s father or mother or
the wife of one’s uncle)
a new innovation (a new method, idea, product, etc.)
John murmured softly in Bertha’s ear (say something in a low, soft voice)
Different Categories of Pleonasms

 Morpho-syntactic pleonasms

 Rhetoric pleonasms

 Redundant Acronym Syndrome (RAS Syndrome)

 Semantic pleonasms
Morpho-syntatic pleonasms

(1) the use of some adverbs with certain tenses

 
I have already seen that.
She is now talking to her neighbour.
 
(2) the use of the plural form with 1+ numbers
 
two houses
Morpho-syntatic pleonasms (cont.)

(3) the use of personal pronoun in phrase

 
a good friend of her sister’s

(4) the use of subject in languages where the verb indicates person
 
Ja mislim.
 
(5) unnecessary use of prefixes
 
overexaggerate
Rhetoric pleonasms

(1) to emphasize an element of meaning

 
repeat something again
 
(2) to make sure everyone understands the message
 
This is the last and fnal call for passengers...
 
(3) Legal English
 
null and void
Rhetoric pleonasms (cont.)

(4) pleonasms used for humorous effect

 
The deceased is a former resident of ...
 
(5) bound collocates labelled as pleonastic

stark naked
shrug one’s shoulders
blonde hair
RAS Syndrome

 RAS Syndrome
 ATM Machine
 VAT Tax

The reasons why these are/may be necessary

Semantic Pleonasms

 Also known as “true pleonasms“

where one word’s semantic component is subsumed by the other and where
it may not be justified by any of the reasons above

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How can pleonasms be ’repaired’?

Two strategies:

a) Specification
* He kicked the ball with his foot
kick = strike with the foot
He kicked the ball with his left foot.
b) Replacement of collocates
*male uncle
male relation (replace the head by its superordinate)
macho uncle (replace the dependant by its hyponym)
Repair the following using b) strategy

Repair the following:

a) newborn baby

b) brief summary

c) past precedent
 Pleonasms often the result of calque
(literal translation)
Examples:
necessary prerequisite
more perfect
100% perfection
successfully solved
69-year anniversary
actually mean
completely full
reverse back
month of January
still persist
 How a change in reality may justify
some pleonasms

* final results

N.B. preliminary results

interim results
Pleonasms for humorous effect (media)

We sell cold ice.

Frequent English pleonasms that have
not made their way into BCSM

mock simulation
total abstinence
academic university
hot steam
xerox copy
tuna fish
English pleonasms but no clash in BCSM

armed gunman napadač (+naoružani)

close scrutiny ispitivanje (+pomno, detaljno)
personal belongings stvari (+lične)

Hyperonyms are used in BCSM

Some pleonasms are used as a cliche

*Dark night

*Honest truth

*I personally believe
Strategy in Translation?

SL pleonasms ???
past precedent raniji presedan
former veteran nekadasnji veteran
personal opinion lično mišljenje
time period vremenski period
safe haven sigurno utočište
false myth lažan mit
scheduled appointment zakazani sastanak
mass exodus masovni egzodus
added bonus dodatni bonus
regular routine redovna rutina
alleged suspect navodni osumnjičeni
practical use praktična primjena
necessary prerequisite neophodan preduslov
joint cooperation zajednička saradnja
potential risk mogući rizik
brief summary kratki rezime