The Sentence
Parataxis
Examine this sentence:
We are here 6,000 feet above the sea, || and
the equatorial sunshine is immensely hot and bright. |||
The words that join the clauses (and, but, or,
so) are called linking conjunctions. (In traditional grammar, they
are known as co-ordinating conjunctions.) Sometimes, there is only some
form of punctuation (like a comma, or sometimes a semicolon or a colon). What
has happened is that two clauses have been put, rather loosely, side by side
and the relationship between the two clauses have not
been made very explicit.
We will call this way of joining clauses parataxis; clauses
linked in this way are said to have a paratactic relation to each other.
The term parataxis comes from two Greek words – para means ‘by
the side of’, and taxis means ‘arrangement’. Think of terms
like paramedic (someone who works alongside a doctor); syntax
(meaning literally ‘arrangement with’).
Hypotaxis
Now consider this version of the sentence:
Although we are here 6,000 feet above the sea,
the equatorial sunshine is immensely hot and bright.
This is more explicit (clearer, more precise) because the relationship
between the two clauses is spelt out. The initial although
signals that there is something that is unexpected. Of the two clauses,
only the second one can stand alone grammatically. We say that the first clause
depends on the second clause. The first clause is the dependent
clause, and the second one is the dominant clause.
The term used to describe this way of joining clauses is hypotaxis.
The term comes from two Greek words – hypo means ‘below’, and taxis means ‘arrangement’. (Think of terms like hypodermic
which means below (hypo) the skin (derma). )
The conjunctions used in hypotaxis are known as binding conjunctions.
(In traditional grammar, they are known as subordinating conjunctions.)
These include items like when, while, until, before, after, if, unless,
since, because, where, whereas, so that. These spell out the relationship
between the clauses in more explicit terms, and this relationship can be
logical (because), conditional (unless), temporal (while),
and so on.
One interesting feature of hypotaxis is that the re-ordering of the
clauses does not change the core meaning of the sentence. Compare the
following.
(a) I was exhausted
and I left the office early.
(a´) I left the office
early and I was exhausted.
(b) Because I was
exhausted, I left the office early.
(b´) I left the office
early because I was exhausted.
(a) and (a´) are joined
paratactically, and the difference between the sentences is to do with the
re-ordering of the clauses. Because the relationship between the clauses ‘I was
exhausted’ and ‘I left the office early’ is not made explicit, re-ordering
results our interpreting the relationship between the two differently. For
example, I would understand (a) to mean that the speaker left the office
because he or she was exhausted; whereas (a´) would mean, perhaps, that
the speaker left the office and became involved in household chores that left
him or her exhausted.
(b) and (b´) are joined
hypotactically; the binding conjunction because makes it explicit that
one clause (the one immediately after the conjunction) represents CAUSE and the other represents RESULT. Re-ordering
the clauses does not result in any major difference in meaning or
interpretation.
Today, we have available both resources for joining clauses: parataxis
and hypotaxis. The choice of which predominates might depend on the text type
that we examine. Have a look at these examples.
Sentence structure:
conversation
C: now I only did it I’ve been putting it off
for years the other day Dave put erm he must have been going to wash up or
something and he put down - a wet frying pan and it absolutely gouged that
thick - and totally round a huge and I said that’s it -- and I just scraped it
down with bleach and I didn’t use paint stripper or anything I put two coats of
varnish - and it’s quite pretty isn’t it
D: yes
C: nice colour now
D: yes it’s sort of *blonded it up*
C: *goldy colour*
D: yes it’s nice
Informal conversation is typically full of clauses joined loosely.
·
now
I only did it
·
I’ve
been putting it off for years
·
the
other day Dave must have been going to wash up or something
·
and
he put down a wet frying pan
·
and it absolutely gouged out a huge [circle of
paint?]
·
and
I said that’s it
·
and
I just scraped it down with bleach
·
and
I didn’t use paint stripper or anything
·
I
put two coats of varnish
·
and it’s quite pretty, isn’t it?
Sentence structure:
children’s story
The neighbours were all very respectful to
Father Bear and people raised their hats when he went by. Father Bear liked
that and he always politely replied to their greetings. Mother Bear had lots of
friends. She visited them in the afternoons to exchange good advice and recipes
for jam and bottled fruit. Baby Bear, however, had hardly any friends. This was
partly because he was rather a bully and liked to win games and arguments. He
was a pest too and always getting into mischief. Not far away, lived a
fair-haired little girl who had a similar nature to Baby Bear, only she was
haughty and stuck-up as well, and though Baby Bear often asked her to come and play
at his house, she always said no.
This version of the story seems to have a combination of ways of joining
(or not joining!) clauses.
- simple unconnected clauses (eg ‘Mother Bear had lots of friends’),
- paratactic sentences (eg ‘The neighbours were all very respectful … and people raised their hats’), and
- hypotactic sentences (eg ‘people raised their hats when he went by’)
Sentence structure:
legal document
IF UPON THE DEATH OF THE LIFE INSURED there shall
be no duly constituted personal representative or nominee or assignee of the
Life Insured able and willing to give a valid receipt for the sum payable such
sum may in the discretion of the Committee of Management be paid to one or more
of the next-of-kin of the Life Insured whose receipt shall effectually
discharge the Society from all liability under this policy.
This might look very formidable, but can be reduced to the bare skeleton
of: ‘If … there shall be no … representative, such sum may … be paid to… the
next-of-kin’.
We now have the main structure as CONDITION followed by CONSEQUENT
ACTION. Legal documents are meant to be watertight, so the use of the explicit
way of joining clauses is not surprising.
Sentence structure:
Old English
The passage is highly paractactic. Not many people in the Old English
period (450–1100) could read, and English was largely an oral medium. Written
English at that time therefore had a structure that was similar to that in
spoken English.
We could therefore say that the hypotactic way of joining clauses was
something that developed later which became important in academic writing. This
text type developed later, and was partly influenced by Latin, which was the
language used for academic writing up until nearly the 18th century.
If you’re ready to take the quiz based on this topic, go to the IVLE page and click on ‘Assessment’ on the left, and then on ‘Grammar’.