Anacoluthon

Anacoluthon

An anacoluthon is a rhetorical device that can be loosely defined as a change of syntax within a sentence. More specifically, anacoluthons (or "anacolutha") are created when a sentence abruptly changes from one structure to another. Grammatically, anacoluthon is an error; however, in rhetoric it is a figure that shows excitement, confusion, or laziness. In poetics it is sometimes used in dramatic monologues and in verse drama. In prose, anacoluthon is often used in stream of consciousness writing, such as that of James Joyce, because it is characteristic of informal human thought.

In its most restrictive meaning, anacoluthon requires that the introductory elements of a sentence lack a proper object or complement. For example, if the beginning of a sentence sets up a subject and verb, but then the sentence changes its structure so that no direct object is given, the result is anacoluthon. Essentially, it requires a change of subject or verb from the stated to an implied term. The sentence must be "without completion" (literally what "anacoluthon" means). A sentence that lacks a head, that supplies instead the complement or object without subject, is "anapodoton."

As a figure, anacoluthon directs a reader's attention, especially in poetry, to the syntax itself and highlights the mechanics of the meaning rather than the object of the meaning. It can, therefore, be a distancing technique in some poetry.

Examples

*Agreements entered into when three states of facts exists — are they to be maintained regardless of changing conditions? (John George Diefenbaker)
*Had ye been there — for what could that have done? (John Milton in "Lycidas")

William Shakespeare uses anacoluthon in his history plays such as in this ("Henry V" IV iii 346-6):
*"Rather proclaim it, Westmoreland, through my host,
*:That he which hath no stomach to this fight,
*:Let him depart."

Additionally, Conrad Aiken's "Rimbaud and Verlaine" has an extended anacoluthon as it discusses anacoluthon:
*"Discussing, between moves, iamb and spondee
*:Anacoluthon and the open vowel
*:God the great peacock with his angel peacocks
*:And his dependent peacocks the bright stars..."

Etymology

The word 'anacoluthon' comes from the Greek 'anakolouthon' which derives from the prefix "an" (not) combined with the root "akolouthos" (following), which, incidentally, is precisely the meaning of the Latin phrase "non sequitur" in logic. However, in Classical rhetoric anacoluthon was used "both" for the logical error of non sequitur and for the syntactic effect or error of changing an expected following or completion to a new or improper one.

Use of the term

The term "anacoluthon" is used primarily within an academic context. It is most likely to appear in a study of rhetoric or poetry. For example "The King's English", an English style guide written by H.W. Fowler and F.G. Fowler mentions it as a major grammatical mistake.

"We can hardly conclude even so desultory a survey of grammatical misdemeanours as this has been without mentioning the most notorious of all. The anacoluthon is a failure to follow on, an unconscious departure from the grammatical scheme with which a sentence was started, the getting switched off, imperceptibly to the writer, very noticeably to his readers, from one syntax track to another."

The term does occasionally appear in popular media as well. The word, though not the underlying meaning, has been popularized, due to its use as an by Captain Haddock in the English translations of "The Adventures of Tintin" series of books.

ee also

*Figure of speech
*Rhetoric

Anacoluthon is sometimes (wrongly) confused with anacoloutha, a term that denotes metaphorical substitutions.

References

*Aiken, Conrad. "Selected Poems." London: OUP, 2003. 141.
*Brown, Huntington and Albert W. Halsall. "Anacoluthon" in Alex Preminger and T.V.F. Brogan, eds., "The New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics." Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1993. 67-8.
*

External links

* [http://rhetoric.byu.edu/Figures/A/~anacoluthon.htm Silva Rhetoricae reference]


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Anacoluthon — An a*co*lu thon, n. [Gr. ?, ?, not following, wanting sequence; an priv. + ? following.] (Gram.) A lack of grammatical sequence or coherence in a sentence; an instance of a change of construction in a sentence so that the latter part does not… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • anacoluthon — I noun broken thread, disconnectedness, discontinuity, lost connection, non sequitur, unwarranted conclusion II index non sequitur Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • anacoluthon — (n.) want of grammatical sequence; changing constructions in mid clause, 1706, from Latinized form of Gk. anakoluthon, neuter of anakolouthos inconsequent, from an not (see AN (Cf. an ) (1)) + akolouthos following, from copulative prefix a +… …   Etymology dictionary

  • anacoluthon — [an΄ə kə lo͞o′thän΄] n. pl. anacolutha [an΄ə kə lo͞o′thə] or anacoluthons [LGr anakolouthon < Gr, neut. of anakolouthos, inconsequent < an , not + akolouthos, following: see ACOLYTE] 1. a change from one grammatical construction to another… …   English World dictionary

  • anacoluthon — noun (plural anacolutha; also thons) Etymology: Late Latin, from Late Greek anakolouthon inconsistency in logic, from Greek, neuter of anakolouthos inconsistent, from an + akolouthos following, from ha , a together + keleuthos path …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • anacoluthon — См. anacoluto …   Пятиязычный словарь лингвистических терминов

  • anacoluthon — /an euh keuh looh thon/, n., pl. anacolutha / theuh/. Rhet. 1. a construction involving a break in grammatical sequence, as It makes me so I just get angry. 2. an instance of anacoluthia. [1700 10; < Gk anakólouthon, neut. of anakólouthos not… …   Universalium

  • anacoluthon — noun /ænəkəˈluːθɒn/ a) A sentence or other structure with no grammatical sequence; especially when deliberate, as a rhetorical device. b) A sentence or clause that is grammatically inconsistent, especially with respect to the type of clausal or… …   Wiktionary

  • anacoluthon — A Greek term for a sentence which is grammatically unfinished. It is possible that instances in Paul s letters are due to interruptions when he was dictating (e.g. Gal. 2:4) …   Dictionary of the Bible

  • anacoluthon — n. construction that involves a break in grammatical sequence …   English contemporary dictionary

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