Ellipse is what? Definition and types of ellipsis

The term "ellipsis", which is used both in literary criticism and music, comes from the Greek word ellipsis, which translates as "fallout" or "omission".

Definition of "ellipsis" in literary criticism

If there is a deliberate fallout of a member of the sentence (subject, predicate, etc.) in speech, then we are dealing with a so-called ellipse. Why is this done and does the whole proposal change because of the absence of one of its members? Ellipse is a stylistic device that occurs in both written and oral types of speech. This is done with the aim of giving this sentence expressiveness, expression, sometimes intrigue, etc.

Ellipse and impersonal sentences. What is the difference?

However, not always omitting one of the terms in the sentence is a syntactic figure (stylistic device). For example, incomplete sentences, typical of everyday oral speech, in which one of the main terms of the sentence is omitted, in most cases is not an ellipse. "When exactly?" - you ask. The thing is that in incomplete sentences, although there is a lack of one of its main members, however, this was done unintentionally. And when there is an ellipsis (stylistic figure) in the text, this omission follows a specific goal or serves to enhance the effect, but without distorting the general idea. By the way, unlike simple impersonal sentences, in the case of an ellipse, not only the main, but also the secondary members of the proposal are omitted.

Ellipse in the literature

This figure of speech in literary works, whether it is prose or poetry, is used by the authors to force readers to independently compile a deliberately missed phrase or a single word. This technique helps the reader, though after the fact, to get involved in the creative process of creating this work.

Examples of ellipsis

Let's give examples of this stylistic figure:

• " He tells her one thing, and to us - completely different . " This sentence omits the predicate (the main member of the sentence denoting the subject's action), but the meaning of what was said is completely clear to us.
• "... Big tousled bear, Tatyana ah! But he roars ... " In this case, Pushkin used the stylistic figure of speech ellipsis to enhance the effect. This in literature, especially in the poetic genre, is used quite often. Here, not only is the omission of one of the sentence members, but also its replacement by the interjection "ah", which is also an ellipse.
• "... Walk at the wedding, because - the last it! "In these lines, belonging to Tvardovsky, the word" what "is omitted.
• " Her life was longer than mine." And here we see the omission of the secondary member of the sentence, an additional one, which is expressed by a noun in the nominative case .

By the way, if an ellipse is in the Russian language the omission of one of the constituent sentence words, then in English and some other languages they are called the ellipsis.

Ellipticity

A concept that is directly related to this term is called "ellipticity." This is a very interesting stylistic device. It is based on an ellipse. This is a syntactic figure (about this already mentioned above), which is expressed in the omission of words and phrases in the sentence, and even sentences in the text. In colloquial speech, omissions are due to the fact that the interlocutors know the details of the topic around which the dialogue is being conducted, or they became known during the conversation, from previous replicas. Sometimes, along with missed words in speech, that is, "swallowing" words, the interlocutors in the conversation use gestures, meaningful looks, shrugs, etc. This technique is also used in the theater. Here whole phrases are intentionally hushed up, and the viewer needs to connect his wit to understand what is hidden behind the silence of the actors.

Types of ellipsis

Skipping words, or the so-called "default", can be of different types.

1. Indirect . This kind of ellipsis occurs in those works, when not calling this or that object, the conversation is being held around it, and everyone knows what is at issue. This technique is often used in dramatic works, for example, in plays, etc.
2. Situational . In this case, the ellipse is not just the loss of a word or phrase, but its compensation by non-verbal means of communication - gestures or interjections, exclamations: ay-ay, oh-oh, ah-ah,
3. Psychological . Here silence can be regarded as a hint or omission, a secret, etc. In the case when the interlocutors are not two, but several, some of them may assume that they are willing to hide something intentionally, and this can lead to Undesirable results. On the other hand, the psychological aspect of this figure of speech is that two or several people very close to each other can speak half-phrases, "swallow" sentences, while they will perfectly understand each other even without words. This is facilitated by their spiritual intimacy.

Other varieties of ellipsis

From the point of view of word formation, the ellipse is substantive, for example, a free kick or a free kick (the main word is left, the definition remains) and adjectival - the scarecrow garden → scarecrow (here, on the contrary, the definition is omitted).

Types of ellipsis

In linguistics, there are many types of ellipsis. At the same time, linguists consider this method to be an unproductive way of compressive word formation. The fact that there is an ellipse in this sentence can be learned from the context. Below is a list of types of ellipsis in sentences.

• Stripping.
• Gapping.
• Pseudo-packing.
• Selling.
• Ellipse of a nominal group.
• Ellipse of the verb group.
• Comparative ellipsis.
• Ellipse when answering a question.
• Zero anaphora additions, etc.

Ellipse in music

As already noted above, this term is used both in linguistics and in music. In both cases, the ellipse is roughly the same concept. And if in literary criticism it means the omission of a word, phrase or sentence in order to enhance the effect of what has been said, in music this term denotes the replacement of the expected chord by some other one, which is not a functional consequence of the first chord. In addition to this definition, we can give another. According to it, the elliptical turn, which happens in music either intragonal or modular, can also be described as skipping one of the links of harmony or the expected chord.

As already noted, ellipses in harmony are intragonal and modulating. What does this mean? Let's consider each separately.

1. Intra-Tonal ellipsis is formed from chords, which in their sequence contradict the logic of this kind of harmony.
2. The modulating ellipse is also called melodic-harmonic modulation. It occurs as a consequence of the collision of several unstable chords. Often they are discordant and are in different keys, but are connected smoothly by current voice, which, however, does not have obvious functional connections.

Conventionally, four types of collision of these dissonant chords (those who are familiar with the musical instrument, will understand what is at issue):

• SS (they are found in Ferenc Liszt, for example, in the work "Joy and sorrow").
• DD (this method enjoyed using the "great deaf" - L. V. Beethoven, for example, in his work "Sonata No. 2").
• SD.
• DS (E. Grieg - work "You are fresh as spring").

By the way, elliptical modulation, as a rule, happens to be sudden, since in it unrelated keys enter into interaction. In addition to the ecliptic, there are other kinds of modulation in music, and they are characteristic for developing parts of musical forms.