Functional-Semantic Natute of Causative Structure

Abstract

Analytic causative constructions are said to function like extension for simple speech utterances rather than contractions of more complex basic structures. The most beneficial advantage of such approach is that it allows focusing on semantics of causative structures concerning the appropriate context. The article outlines certain theoretical principles that clearly explain the use of causative structures in the English language. Different types of carrying various lexical and grammatical meanings are brought to attention, namely word-forming, lexical and contextual ones. Examples are given in the original language and an adequate translation into Ukrainian is made for a better understanding of the causative structures functioning in speech. It was verified that causative constructions with linking verbs can fall in certain types. The results of a comparative analysis of causative constructions with linking verbs in English and Ukrainian indicate the absence of an unambiguous interpretation of the causative situation itself, since its interpretation is influenced by various internal factors. After analyzing the specificity of structures with causative meaning of English and Ukrainian texts, it was found out that among the linguistic mechanisms ensuring the process of structuring cause-and-effect relationships in them, an important role belongs to causative constructions, which represent the relevant cognitive representations of the one who perceives them.