Nominal Relative "PO OBRAZTSU": Syntax and Semantics

The aim of the article is to determine the degree of the grammaticality of the unit "PO OBRAZTSU" [as per sample]. The research is done on the basis of the Russian National Corpus and the data of the Internet. The specific syntactic and semantic properties of the unit are considered by the method of structural and syntagmatic analysis. The research starts from the lexicographical analysis of the unit, which helps to define the meaning of the basic word and to note its indefinite categorial status. Further, the problem of functional homonymy of parts of speech is determined-the usage of the unit "PO OBRAZTSU" differs: (1) as a prepositional nominal phrase; (2) as a nominal relative. Further, the semantic role of the unit is identified taking into account its lexical valence. Finally, different criteria of grammaticalization (lexical, morphological, and syntactic) are used to verify this unit. Lexical and syntactic criteria are most significant. A bright manifestation of the lexical factor is the tendency to phraseologize, that is, to use this unit as part of a stable combination: PO OBRAZTSU I PODOBIYU [as per sample and similarity]. The syntactic factor is the structural properties of the unit, namely, a number of structural features of contextual uses with this unit ("structural shifts"), which bring it very close to the prepositional one. The morphological factor is the compatibility of the unit with animated nouns, but such uses are quite infrequent. The conclusion is that, at this level of language development, the unit "PO OBRAZTSU", on the one hand, maintains close ties with the basic word, the noun "OBRAZETS", in the role of a prepositional nominal phrase and, on the other, an an independent connector, that is, a relative. The analysis of syntagmatic and constructive properties of the relative "PO OBRAZTSU" allows revealing its similarity to other units of the studied group, namely with the unit "PO TIPU" [by type]. In a broad sense, the relations established by the new prepositional unit "PO OBRAZTSU" can be formulated as determinative with the meaning of assimilation, correspondence. An important semantic component of verbs that combine with the unit "PO OBRAZTSU" is the meaning of causation. In cases when a causer is present, the unit does not lose its object meaning; in cases when a causer is absent, it gets a certain degree of grammaticality, which means that it is on the way of becoming a functional part of speech.

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