LORETA VAIČIULYTĖ-SEMĖNIENĖ

Lietuvių kalbos institutas

Research areas: morphosyntax, typology, valency, semantics.

THANKS TO IN CONTEMPORARY LITHUANIAN

Thanks to in Contemporary Lithuanian Language

ABSTRACT

The subject of this article is dėka used as a noun and a preposition. Drawing on material from the Corpus of the Contemporary Lithuanian Language (DLKT), the article discusses the lexical composition and semantics of dėka and its constructions with the genitive. Concrete and abstract nouns, or pronouns that stand for them, occur as complements of dėka. In addition to causal meaning, constructions with the preposition dėka also express other pure or syncretic circumstantial or object meanings. In view of usage tendencies, there is reason to reassess constructions with dėka and to broaden and refine the language norm.

Keywords: the noun dėka, the preposition dėka, meanings of constructions with dėka, language-norm aspect.

ANNOTATION

The object of the article is the use of dėka as a noun or a preposition. With reference to the material from The Corpus of Contemporary Lithuanian language (CCLL), the article addresses dėka and the lexical composition and semantics of its constructions with the genitive case. Concrete and abstract nouns or pronouns substituting for them are used as the complement of dėka. In addition to the causal meaning, the constructions with the preposition dėka also express other pure or syncretic meanings of adverbial modifiers or object. Taking into account the usage tendencies, there are grounds to re-evaluate dėka constructions in a new light; to expand and revise the linguistic norm.

KEYWORDS: noun dėka, preposition dėka, meanings of dėka constructions, linguistic norm aspect.

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1. DĖKA IN DICTIONARY DEFINITIONS

In the Great Dictionary of the Lithuanian Language (LKŽe)¹, dėka is listed as a feminine noun used in two meanings: (1) ‘thanks², thanking’ (see sentence 1) and (2) ‘grace’³ (usually used as a postposition to indicate cause) (see sentences 2–3). dėka is described similarly in the Dictionary of Contemporary Lithuanian (DLKŽe). Here, meaning (1) of the noun dėka is associated with padėka, ‘expression of gratitude, thanking’. There is no noun dėka in the Dictionary of Standard Lithuanian (BŽe). Instead, a definition is given for dėka as a postposition⁴, which “is used to express the cause of a favorable action or favorable state.”⁵ On the basis of BŽe, we might conclude that in contemporary language dėka is used only as a monosemous postposition. Is that really so? To answer this and other questions, the article draws on material from the Corpus of Contemporary Lithuanian (hereafter DLKT), compiled at the Centre of Computational Linguistics of Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas (for more, see section 4).

(1) Palikčiau nors dėkos žodžius P.Vaič.

(2) Ne tavo dėka taip atsitiko Š.

(3) Turiu, bet ne iš tavo dėkos Gs.

Thanks is an abstract noun derived from the verb (to-thank) ‘(to) express gratitude, say thank you’, formed with the ending –a (e.g.: I thank you for the letter / for the help / for helping; cf.: My heartfelt thanks to you for the letter and the help). The verb to thank “denotes a relationship between the subject and the addressee, expressed in the dative. The prepositional construction denotes the basis of this relationship” (Ambrazas, ed., 2006:

¹ The second edition of volume 2 (C–F) of the Dictionary of the Lithuanian Language was published in Vilnius in 1969. Its editor-in-chief was Jonas Kruopas.

² According to LKŽe, gratitude is ‘an expression of a feeling of gratitude for a good deed good (emphasis mine. – L. V.-S.), an act of thanking’, e.g.: He does not respond to the lady’s thanks I.Simon.

³ Cf. the sense of malonė given in LKŽe, ‘kindness, benevolence; favor shown’ (e.g.: Then [exhausted], we let go of the oars and gave ourselves up to the mercy of the waves (we did not resist them) J.Balč.; You’re travelling very merrily, but you don’t know how kindly they’ll receive you (whether they’ll welcome and treat you well or poorly) Ukm.) the nuance ‘a favorable circumstance, good fortune, good’, e.g.: It’s a blessing that she (the cow) doesn’t kick Dov.; It’s a blessing that I built that shed Skr.” According to DLKŽe, the noun malonė is used with the meanings: (1) ‘benevolence, merciful conduct; favor shown’ and (2) ‘a gift or benefaction granted as a favor’.

⁴ Cf. the German preposition dank, used with the genitive and dative, meaning ‘on account of, as a result of, by’, e.g.: “thanks to a coincidence / a coincidence, the deed was discovered; he won the race thanks to his extensive experience; (ironically) thanks to his unpunctuality, we missed the train. In the 19th century, it arose from the phrase ‘Thanks be [...]’” (quoted from http://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung-/dank).

⁵ Dėka is also defined by Elena Valiulytė in the Grammar of the Lithuanian Language (Ulvydas, ed., 1971: 590).

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598) – a motive⁶, which, as Elena Valiulytė notes (Ul vydas, ed., 1971: 646–647), is “closely intertwined with the cause”⁷.

2. THE PREPOSITION⁸DĖKA

IN GRAMMAR WORKS

E. Valiulytė, Dabartinės lietuvių kalbos gramatikoje (Ambrazas, red., 2006: 441) aptardama prielinksnius, teigia, kad antriniu prielinksniu⁹ dėka reiškia-mas „teigiamo veiksmo, būsenos ar minties pagrindas, priežastis“ (išskirta ma-no. – L. V.-S.). Kiek toliau, nagrinėdama priežasties reikšmės veiksmažodinius junginius, ji rašo, kad „daiktavardžio kilmininkas joje [konstrukcijoje su dėka] reiškia asmenį ar jo teigiamą požymį (išskirta mano. – L. V.-S.)“ (Ambrazas, red., 2006: 546; panašią nuomonę dar žr. Valiulytė 1986: 140; 1998: 396), pvz.:

(4) The patient recovered thanks to the doctors. (quoted from Ambrazas, ed., 2006: 546)

(5) Through determination evil is overcome. (quoted from Ambrazas, ed., 2006: 546)

(6) He achieved so much thanks to his abilities. (quoted from Ambrazas, ed., 2006: 441)

⁶ From the perspective of valency theory, already with the accusative corresponds to the function of motivation—the motive [M], which is characteristic of objects and phenomena perceived as the basis of an action or state (Slīžienė 1994: 22).

⁷ E. Valiulytė writes: “the preposition už with the accusative is used [...] to denote recompense, with which the cause is often closely intertwined [...], e.g.: And for him, for a drop of dew, I thank the unknown soldier, for the silence of summer nights, the thirst for good deeds. [...] The preposition už draws semantically closer to the preposition dėl when they are used to express causal relations” (Ul vydas, ed., 1971: 646–647).

⁸ In this article, the term preposition is used in a broad sense. It is also taken into account that the genitive form dėka is used both as a preposition and as a postposition. From the perspective of language culture, the use of dėka as a preposition is regarded as a secondary (partial) variant of the norm (Šukys in Miliūnaitė, ed., 2003: 34).

“Prepositions do not have an independent lexical meaning. Their meaning becomes apparent only in the phrases in which they are used. The same preposition may be used to express different relations in different lexical-syntactic contexts; cf. the phrases: run out of the forest (spatial relation), run out in the morning (temporal relation), run out of fear (causal relation)” (Valiulytė in Ul vydas, ed., 1971: 577). Cf.: “A preposition is a function word whose constituent words, in combination with a noun or the oblique cases of words serving the functions of nouns, express various syntactic relations with other independent words in a phrase or sentence. It does not perform an independent syntactic function and is invariable” (Gaivenis, Keinys 1990: 158–159).

⁹ “Secondary (derived) prepositions are those that can be associated with words belonging to other parts of speech, mostly adverbs” (Valiulytė in Ambrazas, ed., 2006: 438). Cf.: “Derived prepositions are those that have retained clear etymological links with the independent words from which they originated” (Valiulytė in Ul vydas, ed., 1971: 580).

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Jonas Šukys (1998: 545) mano, kad vienareikšmis – savotišką priežastį reiškiantis¹⁰ – dėka „su kilmininku rodo geros veiksmo baigties ar veikėjui palankios būsenos priežastį, tiksliau – asmenį, kurio pastangomis, rūpinimusi, nuopelnu palanki veiksmo baigtis ar būsena atsiranda (išskirta mano. – L. V.-S.), pvz.: Draugo dėka išsigelbėjau¹¹. Jis teigia, kad „palankios būsenos sukėlėjas, priežastis yra asmuo“, ir siūlo (t. p.: 546; plg. Šukys in Miliūnaitė, sud., 2003: 35) saikingiau vartoti tokius sakinius, „kur dėka konstrukcijoje būsenos sukėlėjas yra koks reiškinys ar daiktas“: tokių „dėka konstrukcijų geriau nevartoti, [...] nes dėkojama paprastai tik asmeniui¹² (išskirta mano. – L. V.-S.)¹³“ (plg. toliau). Atsižvelgdamas į tai, kad dėka konstrukcijos, kai veiksmą ar būseną sukelia ne asmuo, o koks daiktas ir reiškinys, kalboje „palyginti dažnos“, J. Šukys (t. p.: 547) mano, kad griežtai taisyti jas netikslinga, pvz.: Gal dar kokio stebuklo dėka išplauks ir mūsų Julius; Tik gramatikos dėka galime kalba reikšti mintis. Tai, kad prielinksnio „dėka vartojimo sfera vis labiau plečiama“ ir jis sakomas „ir su kitokiais, paprastai abstrakčiais daiktavardžiais“, anksčiau savo darbuose pastebėjusi yra ir E. Valiulytė (1986: 141; 1998: 397), pvz.: Rankraštis laimingo atsitiktinumo dėka nepražuvo; Tritomės gramatikos išlyginimai, patikslinimai daromi kaip tik tų monografijų dėka. Ji (Valiulytė 1986: 141) sako: „nors šie pasakymai yra gerokai nutolę nuo atraminių minimo konstrukcijos vartojimo atvejų [t. y. tu, kai konstrukcijos sudaromos su daiktavardžiais, žyminčiais asmenis], tačiau bendra tai, kad ir jie padeda išreikšti pozityvios, teigiamos informacijos pagrindą, ir todėl gali būti pateisinami“.

J. Šukys (1998: 547) nuogąstaudamas, „kad tokios dėka konstrukcijos neišstumtų gyvesnių ir savųjų raiškos būdų“, sako, kad „dažniau pirmenybę reikėtų teikti priemonės įnagininkui (čia verta net taisyti) [panašią jo nuomonę žr. Miliūnaitė, sud., 2003: 35] [žr. 7–8 sakinius], būdo įnagininkui [žr. 9–10

¹⁰ Panašią nuomonę dar žr. Girdenienė (2005: 96).

¹¹ Cf. Šukys’s view in his 1978 book Use of Prepositions (1978: 129): “Only the postposition dėka denotes a cause. It indicates the cause of a favorable outcome of an action or of a state beneficial to the agent. For example: Thanks to heroic [...] labor, the first five-year plan was completed ahead of schedule.”

¹² Plg. Vito Labučio (1998: 294) nuomonę: „Polinksniu dėka pasakoma tokia priežastis, kuri susijusi su dėkojimu – taigi ji tinka tuomet, kai asmuo ką nors daro tariniu pasakytojo požymio naudai“.

¹³ Kalbos normos požiūriu J. Šukys (Miliūnaitė, sud., 2003: 35) ko dėka, kai priežastį sukelia koks reiškinys arba daiktas, o ne asmuo, vertina kaip vengtiną (vngt.). Tai „rodo, kad vertinamasis reiškinys nėra įteisintas kaip bendrinės kalbos norma: jis tinka kaip nenorminis ir neturintis perspektyvos arba dar nenorminis, nepakankamai ištirtas ir pan.“ (Miliūnaitė, sud., 2003: 9). Plg. Kniūkšta, par., 2000: 75: „dėka – nevartoti veiksmo priežasčiai ir būdui nusakyti: Didelių pastangų dėka (Didelėmis pastangomis; Labai stengdamiesi) darbą baigėme laiku“.

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sakinius] [skirtingą jo nuomonę žr. Miliūnaitė, sud., 2003: 35¹⁴], priežasties įnagininkui [žr. 11–12 sakinius], priežastį nusakančiai prielinksnio dėl konstrukcijai [žr. 13–14 sakinius], būdo prieveiksmiui ar priežastį nusakančiai prielinksnio per konstrukcijai [žr. 15–16 sakinius], neasmenuojamosioms veiksmažodžio formoms [...] [žr. 17–18 sakinius], o kai nė vieno šių raiškos būdų parinkti negalima, kartais tikslinga pertvarkyti sakinį [žr. 19–21 sakinius]“.

(7) A person used to do all the work thanks to their muscles (– by using their muscles). (quoted in Šukys 1998: 547)

(8) Is it possible to influence behavior thanks to drugs and hormones (– by means of drugs and hormones)? (quoted in Šukys 1998: 547)

(9) Gražios išvaizdos ir liekno stoto dėka (plg. Gražia išvaizda ir lieknu stotu) jis sužavėjo visus. (cituojama pagal Šukys 1998: 547)

(10) Thanks to independent work (cf. Through independent work, by working independently), even weaker students can rise to the top of the class. (quoted in Šukys 1998: 547)

(11) The buildings were saved only thanks to great efforts (cf. with great effort, through great efforts). (quoted in Šukys 1998: 547)

(12) A school was established thanks to his care (– through his care / caring). (quoted in Šukys 1998: 547)

(13) Thanks to its long neck and legs (Because of its long neck and legs; Having a long neck and legs), the giraffe is the tallest mammal. (quoted in Šukys 1998: 547)

(14) Thanks to these measures (cf. Because of these measures; After taking / when these measures were taken), the number of accidents decreased. (quoted in Šukys 1998: 547)

(15) By chance (cf. Accidentally, by coincidence), I escaped unharmed. (quoted in Šukys 1998: 547)

(16) Thanks to his connections (cf. Through his connections), he landed a cushy job. (quoted in Šukys 1998: 547)

(17) Thanks to innovations (cf. By adopting innovations), we have already made a profit. (quoted in Šukys 1998: 547)

(18) Thanks to cooperation (cf. By cooperating), we overcame many difficulties. (quoted in Šukys 1998: 547)

(19) The snow remained thanks to the cold (cf. The cold kept the snow (in place)). (quoted in Šukys 1998: 547)

(20) The world was illuminated by your beauty (cf. by your beauty; Your beauty illuminated the world). (quoted in Šukys 1998: 547)

(21) He recovered thanks to good treatment (cf. Good treatment helped him recover). (quoted in Šukys 1998: 547)

¹⁴ From the perspective of the norm, J. Šukys (Miliūnaitė, ed., 2003; 35) considers the construction thanks to for expressing manner (similarly to means) unacceptable (nonstandard). This “shows that the expression being evaluated is a language error and is not acceptable (not to be used) in the standard language” (Miliūnaitė, ed., 2003: 9).

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From what has been said briefly, it is clear that the preposition dėka with the genitive expresses the cause of a positively evaluated action or a favorable state; the dependent constituent of dėka usually denotes a person. There is doubt as to whether dėka is suitable for use with words denoting inanimate (concrete and abstract) things. From the proposed corrections, we may infer that the preposition dėka “competes” with the instrumental expressing means, manner, or cause, or with other constructions expressing cause.

3. GENERALIZED (ABSTRACT) CAUSE: POSITIVE vs. NEGATIVE (DĖKA vs. PER)

From a semantic point of view, the preposition thanks to is opposed by the preposition of cause because of, which “is used to express the cause of an undesirable, negative, or impossible action¹⁵” (Valiulytė in Ulvydas, ed., 1971: 631; Valiulytė in Ambrazas, ed., 2006: 451; Valiulytė 1998: 397). The causal preposition because of with the accusative “can in all cases be replaced by because of¹⁶+genitive¹⁷” (Valiulytė in Ambrazas, ed., 2006: 545). With the preposition because of, “the accusative case is used with abstract nouns with negative meanings (he lost it through carelessness, haste, a mistake), and more rarely with concrete nouns with neutral meanings (emphasis mine. – L. V.-S.) (suffered because of friends)” (Valiulytė in Ambrazas, ed., 2006: 546; see also Valiulytė 1986: 138ff.; 1998: 399; cf. Šukys 1998: 457). For example:

(22) Šitaip atsitiko per nesusipratimą. (cituojama pagal Šukys 1998: 457)

(23) Because of the landlord’s sweet talk she forgot that she had promised never to set foot there for as long as she lived. (quoted from Šukys 1998: 457)

(24) Because of the flies you won’t get to sleep here. (quoted from Šukys 1998: 457)

(25) Didn’t the fire go out because of that miserable dew from the beasts? (quoted from Šukys 1998: 457)

(26) Because of her there’s no life left for me. (quoted from Šukys 1998: 457)

¹⁵ Cf. the dialectal use of už with the genitive, “expressing an obstructing cause, an impediment” (Valiulytė in Ulvydas, ed., 1971: 646).

¹⁶ “The prepositions dėl, dėlei are used to express the cause of an action (as well as of a state or an action-related property)” (Valiulytė in Ulvydas, ed., 1971: 590), purpose, concession, the object of thought or speech, or to intensify the meaning of another word, e.g.: Because of his goodness he is good (he is good because of his goodness) (Valiulytė in Ambrazas, ed., 2006: 441).

¹⁷ Cf.: “The preposition per expressing cause can often be replaced by the preposition dėl. [...] But the preposition per emphasizes the negative evaluation more strongly” (Šukys 1998: 457).

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J. Šukys (1998: 457) taip pat pastebi, kad „tik labai retai per konstrukcija reiškia neutraliai ar net teigiamai vertinamo veiksmo priežastį, bet čia dažniausiai yra ir būdo reikšmės atspalvis“ (plg., pavyzdžiui, 15–16 sakinius ir siūlomus jų taisymus, kur dėka konstrukcija taip pat turi būdo atspalvį), plg.:

(27) One of the stormiest oceans by chance received the name Pacific Ocean. (quoted from Šukys 1998: 457)

(28) By a miracle I survived. (quoted from Šukys 1998: 457)

(29) Because of you the whole old house comes alive. (quoted from Šukys 1998: 457)

Unlike in sentences 27–29 with per, the causal dėka is not to be used—that is, it is judged to be an error of language—when referring to a bad outcome or an unfavorable state, when the basis (cause) of negative information is stated (Šukys in Miliūnaitė, ed., 2003: 34; see also Valiulytė 1998: 397). This, as E. Valiulytė (1986: 141) says, “is incompatible with the meaning of the word dėka itself.” But if dėka, according to BŽe, is used as a postposition (that is, has become desemanticized), must it necessarily be compatible (see below)? Let us compare:

(30) Thanks to you (= Because of you) I am unhappy. (quoted from Miliūnaitė, ed., 2003: 35)

(31) Thanks to smoking (= By smoking) young people damage their health. (quoted from Miliūnaitė, ed., 2003: 35)

Causal constructions with the prepositions per, dėka may be synonymous with constructions using dėl, which express a generalized cause, that is, the logical basis for thoughts and conclusions (Valiulytė 1986: 139; 1998: 399). The use of causal dėl in relation to its dependent noun is (almost) unrestricted: it forms constructions with abstract and concrete nouns, denoting persons or things (Valiulytė 1998: 386; cf. 1986: 136). Semantically, constructions with dėl encompass (wholly or partly) constructions with dėka and per, which have narrower, specialized meanings—that is, those expressing the cause of a positive or negative consequence (Valiulytė 1998: 376) (cf. sentences 32–35). As Valiulytė (1998: 403–404; cf. Valiulytė 1986: 150–151) says, constructions with dėl have a generalized causal meaning; “semantically, [they] relate to constructions with all other causal prepositions, but to varying degrees. [...] The semantic ranges of constructions perGal and Kilmdėka are almost entirely included in the semantic field of constructions with dėl, whereas those of other constructions are included only partly. In other words, constructions with dėlKilm are synonymous with constructions perGal, Kilmdėka.”

(32) Anė had to go out among people, and that was only because of her sister-in-law (/through her sister-in-law). (quoted from Valiulytė 1998: 400)

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(33) So it’s you, Alg, after all, because of you, the hay (/via the hay) did you arrive late for school? (quoted after Valiulytė 1998: 400)

(34) And now because of your stinginess (/due to your stinginess) I have no bite to eat. (quoted after Valiulytė 1998: 400)

(35) Thanks to this determination (cf. because of the determination), evil is vanquished, and goodness and truth prevail. (quoted after Valiulytė 1998: 396)

E. Valiulytė (1998: 338; plg. 1986: 150–151) skiria apibendrintos priežasties raiškos formų semantinę (hierarchiškai organizuotą opozicijų) sistemą, kur žemesnės pakopos opozicijos įeina į aukštesnės pakopos opozicijas; ji matyti 1 schemoje.

SCHEME 1. System of generalized cause

Each semantic group of generalized cause has its own typical expression. The examples showed that the same meaning can sometimes be expressed synonymously, that is, the boundaries between the means of expression of individual semantic groups of generalized cause may overlap. In such cases, several morphosyntactic expressions may be used interchangeably to convey the same meaning: Instr / thanks to (cf. sentences 11–12); because of / thanks to (cf. sentences 13–14, 35); via / thanks to (see sentences 15–16, 27–29), via / because of (cf. sentences 32–34).

With respect to animacy, the dependent constituent of the aforementioned causal prepositions, marked by the genitive or accusative case, is expressed as follows:

because ofGen: animate (person / animal) > inanimate (concrete / abstract) thing;

viaAcc: animate (person / animal) > inanimate (concrete / abstract) thing;

With dėka: animate (person / animal) >?inanimate (concrete / abstract) thing.

Given that in BŽe dėka is defined as a postposition (a preposition in the broad sense¹⁸), and considering sentences 36–39, where we thank and are grateful to both

¹⁸ See footnote 8.

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there is reason to extend the permissible use of a dependent clause expressing cause with thanks to to inanimate (concrete and abstract) things as well—to avoid restricting it on the basis of “thanking a person”¹⁹.

(36) I have been waiting for an opportunity to meet you throughout my entire conscious life so far, and at last fortune is smiling on me. For that, I thank chance, through which, as you know from the lectures of the Marxist Kazlėkas, necessity, or fate, manifests itself. DLKT

(37) Thus boredom becomes the engine of my creativity. It is precisely for this that I am grateful to my boredom. DLKT

(38) As she returns to the sauna, Saliomija each time audibly thanks the birds of the forest, the trees, and the spirit of the forest. On Christmas Eve, December 22, Saliomija sticks the base of a small fir tree into a pot of soil and attaches a few candles to its branches. DLKT

(39) It is claimed that “Peru” derives from the word “Pirua.” In Quechua, this means “a large ear of corn.” Others think that Peru should be grateful to a small stream, the Viru, in the north of the country. In their own way, both sides are right. Peru considers itself the homeland of corn, since corn was brought from here. DLKT

In addition to those already mentioned, this article also seeks answers to other questions. For example, given that because of constructions, besides their typical meaning of negative cause, can also be used to express the cause of a positive or neutral consequence, why are constructions with thanks to corrected when they express the cause of an action evaluated negatively or neutrally, or of an unfavorable state? Apparently, this is based on the same lexical-semantic grounds as thanks to: usually, we give thanks only for something good (see footnote 1). From the example: I went there, and the officer, on hearing what I wanted, was very surprised and told me about the situation that has been going on in Lithuania for many years, and advised me to go to the bank as soon as possible. It turned out that the account had been emptied. This is a great life lesson, for which I am very grateful to these gentlemen²⁰, it can be seen that we have grounds to give thanks, and are grateful (or can be grateful), for the consequences of a negative action or an unfavorable state as well. Looking at the proposed corrections to sentences 7–15, it also becomes clear that in usage thanks to is not monosemantic. Are / which other meanings of constructions with thanks to may be justified? For example, having examined contemporary usage of thanks to, Vidas Valskys (2013: 175) argues that “the meanings of manner (and, at the same time, means) and cause are often intertwined, e.g.: J. Loew’s joke thanks to (how? why?) the boy who became famous turned into an internet sensation; [...] Thanks to this membrane thanks to the cream does not come into direct contact with the external environment (various microorganisms do not get in through handling)», and from the point of view of the norm, proposes avoiding (but not considering nonstandard) the use of thanks to to express a cause brought about by an inanimate (concrete, abstract)

¹⁹ Also cf. footnote 7.

²⁰ Source: http://www.delfi.lt/news/daily/lithuania/m-a-pavilioniene-prabilo-kaip-ja-apgavo-sukciai-dekoju-siems-dzentelmenams.d?id=70512580.

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an object, and manner (means). Thus, V. Valskys discusses the polyfunctionality of the preposition dėka and the possible syncretism of its meanings, and considers it appropriate to standardize its normative evaluation: constructions with dėka used to mean “manner, and also means, that causes something” should not be considered a major violation and strictly corrected. From what has been said so far, it is clear that, when discussing the use of constructions with the preposition dėka in contemporary Lithuanian, their causal meaning should be taken as the point of departure; this meaning may also be intertwined with other object or circumstantial meanings. Let us next examine the DLKT material and see what the lexical composition of dėka constructions is (see Section 4), what meanings are characteristic of them and how these are expressed (see Section 6). And let us summarize all this (see Section 6).

4. RESEARCH MATERIAL AND ITS CLASSIFICATION CRITERIA

Most of the DLKT consists of written texts, often edited, from various genres (journalistic, fiction, nonfiction, or administrative literature). Some of the texts are translations. Spoken-language examples make up the smallest proportion. The article draws on 2,178 examples from different genres in which dėka is used. These sentences were selected in order by entering the word dėka in the DLKT search field. The material is distributed by genre as shown in Table 2.

TABLE 2. Use of Dėka by genre

Genre | Number of sentences with dėka | Spoken language | 8 (0.4%) | Fiction | 552 (25.3%) | Nonfiction | 669 (30.7%) | Journalism | 620 (28.5%) | Administrative literature | 329 (15.1%) | TOTAL: | 2,178 (100%)

Given that, from the perspective of language norms, the use of dėka is based on the animacy of the dependent constituent, the 2,178 sentences were classified according to the animacy criterion in Table 3. Table 3 shows that the largest share—62.7 percent of all examples—consists of dėka constructions with a dependent constituent denoting an abstract entity; they occur with concrete nouns denoting persons or things in 37.3 percent of the available examples (perhaps similarly to the use discussed in Section 3 (p. 4)

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mentioned per). A comparison by genre also shows that dėka tends to be used more often with abstract nouns or pronouns that replace them.

TABLE 3. Use of Dėka by animacy of the dependent constituent

Genre

DĖKA + HUM

DĖKA + –ANIM

DĖKA + ABSTR

Number of sentences

Spoken language

2 (25%)

–

6 (75%)

8 (100%)

Fiction

244 (44,2%)

51 (9,2%)

257 (46,6%)

552 (100%)

Nonfiction

127 (19%)

63 (9,4%)

479 (71,6%)

669 (100%)

Publicistic writing

225 (36,3%)

46 (7,4%)

349 (56,3%)

620 (100%)

Administrative

50 (15,2%)

4 (1,2%)

275 (83,6%)

329 (100%)

TOTAL

648 (29.8%)

164 (7.5%)

1366 (62.7%)

2178 (100%)

5. MEANINGS OF DĖKA CONSTRUCTIONS

Thanks to constructions, let us begin our discussion with the meaning typical of it—that of a positive cause. A cause is a relation between two elements: the causal basis (or background) and the causal result (or figure), expressed by various linguistic means. In a complex causal sentence, the background is formed by the proposition of the subordinate clause; that is, the proposition expressed by the subordinate clause provides the background for what is said in the main clause, e.g.: Because the weather was bad, we decided to stay at home; We stayed at home (because) the weather was bad (for more on this, see Holvoet 2003: 104–112). In a simple sentence, as the examples showed, the background, as the antecedent of the figure, is expressed by a case form (the instrumental) or/and by prepositional constructions; cf.: Through my mother’s efforts, I began reading early; Because of the bad weather, we decided to stay at home.

In DLKT, the causal thanks to is used with nouns denoting living entities (a person or other living being) or their positive attributes, or with pronouns referring to (replacing) them (see sentences 40–46). Other nouns denoting abstract entities also occur with the causal thanks to (cf. sentences 47–48). Here, the background is apparent from the prepositional construction itself or from the broader context.

(40) Eventually he admits that he is an egotist and a monster who tortured his wife with his indifference. He says he achieved fame only thanks to his wife: “I took everything for granted, as if it all belonged to me, without even thinking about gratitude.” DLKT

(40a) He says he achieved fame only because he took everything from his wife for granted…

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(41) She saw him enter the house. Rana nodded. Shiva! She had worked so long and hard—and now perhaps she would solve the case thanks to an accidental witness. “That’s very important, Vandita. Can you tell me the boy’s name? I swear he won’t find out that you told me! You have nothing to fear.” DLKT

(41a) She had worked so long and hard—and now perhaps she would solve the case because an accidental witness had appeared (was present).

(42) Sąjūdžio būstinėje daug asmenų dėjo visas pastangas, kad šitą piketą sužlugdytų. Ir tik Vilniaus tremtinių sąjungos pirmininko Sauliaus Žukausko dėka (jis daugiau galėtų apie tą istoriją papasakoti) šitas piketas buvo suorganizuotas. DLKT

(43) He listened intently to the words of the brave milkmaid, not knowing what to think of her. After all, she was a heroine, yet she talked about hidden cows, which [hidden cows] thanks toher produced the most milk in the republic; she also spoke of such an unusual case of a collective farm being established, where the initiative was taken not by a poor man but by prosperous farmers.

(44) Thanks to Georgijus Šengelaja’s temperament and efforts (cf. because of Georgijus’s temperament and efforts; because of Georgijus’s temperament and through his efforts), we managed to see—or, more precisely, to hear and see—the supermodern musical Jesus Christ Superstar. DLKT

(45) Pats koordinatorius, jo teigimu, jokio normalaus darbo dirbti negali. Jis – II grupės invalidas. Šeima laikosi žmonos Danutės triūso dėka (plg. dėl žmonos Danutės triūso; kadangi žmona Danutė triūsia). Ji dailininkė-tekstilinininkė, kurios gobelenus mielai perka įstaigos ir asmenys. DLKT

(46) Lasavickas was one of the first to recognize that a former city had once stood here. Sigitas often, thanks to his deep intuition (cf. because of his deep intuition; using his deep intuition; since he has deep intuition, Sigitas often directs...) directs archaeologists precisely to the places where historical treasures lie. People rejoice over the finds, while their discoverer, Lasavickas, is forgotten... DLKT

(47) Tai – nuostabu. Tokie puikūs rezultatai pasiekti efektyvaus gydymo ir puikios slaugos, nuošird aus namiškių ir apylinkės gydytojos rūpesčio ligoniu dėka (plg. dėl efektyvaus gydymo ir puikios slaugos, nuoširdaus namiškių ir apylinkės gydytojos rūpesčio). Dabar jo sveikatos būklę seka hematologai, nes liga – lėtinė, reikalaujanti nuolatinės priežiūros. DLKT

(48) “It was right here that their palace stood,” came a hoarse voice, and Šaraks, approaching the chimera, stood beside it. Thanks to some miracle (cf. because of some miracle; since some miracle had happened), the old man had survived the nightmare of a night. “Have you seen Jasbeta?” The astrologer shook his head. “I’ve seen quite a few people, mostly those shaven-headed ones.” DLKT

If thanks to is suitable for expressing a cause in sentences 44–48, then it is also suitable in sentences 49–50, where a metonymic shift of meaning occurs, that is, when a concrete noun is used instead of an abstract one.

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(49) — Well, the son didn’t take after his mother. About a year ago he had exactly the same kind of adventure, but thanks to his cool blood (cf. thanks to his cool-headedness; because of his cool-headedness) he escaped with his skin intact. — From the bear’s claws? — From the she-bear’s claws, and one so big that no one had seen its like in a long time. The count charged at her with a spear in his hand. DLKT

(50) This is not defeat but disgrace, yet even Joinville did not ask him for it that way: anything can happen; that is war. Thanks to Monsieur de Joinville’s pen (cf. thanks to Monsieur de Joinville’s ability to write), many of those battles or skirmishes resemble a gentle ballet, with an occasional head rolling and many prayers to the good Lord. DLKT

The cause is also stated in cases where the genitive of the demonstrative pronoun that, used anaphorically or cataphorically, serves as the dependent constituent of dėka. The pronoun, which expresses a generalized reference, stands in for a wider context, e.g.:

(51) “With the Lord’s help I have gotten a boy” (Gen 4:1). Thus, through childbirth, the transmission of life from parents to children, God’s own image and likeness are conveyed thanks to that (cf. thanks to the immortal soul that was created; because of that / because...), because an immortal soul was created. DLKT

(52) He would remove such people from the party by even the most villainous means. His whole life passed amid factional struggles and splits within the party. Thanks to that (cf. because of that; therefore), he acquired the qualities of a professional fighter, an incomparable gladiator. DLKT

(53) In those days many students were especially fond of friends who were born on February 16. A birthday provided an opportunity for a legally permissible celebration, and thanks to that (cf. and / and because of that; therefore), our celebration often escaped the constant funereal mood. On the other hand, let us admit that those were hard working days and sleepless nights for the KGB men. DLKT

(54) Design students at the Vilnius Academy of Arts used an eclectic combination, distinctive artistic forms, and wholly unconventional means in their collections. Thanks to that (cf. because of that; therefore), the designers managed to blunt the “wild” fashions for the audience, leaving the fashion trophies on the catwalk. DLKT

If we agree that the expression of a generalized cause in sentences 40–54 depends less on the lexical meaning of the dependent constituent of dėka than on the proposition expressed by this construction, we can also consider dėka with nouns denoting specific inanimate objects or with pronouns replacing them. As examples 55–57 show, this causal dėka cannot be replaced, for instance, by an instrumental of means. Elsewhere, dėka with nouns denoting concrete objects can be replaced by the instrumental, but the meaning also changes: in sentence 58 the causal dėka construction is replaced by the instrumental of means (similarly, cf. sentence 7); in sentence 59, by the instrumental of means or manner (similarly, cf. sentence 9). Analogous differences in meaning—cause (dėka) versus manner / means (Instr)—are also seen in sentence 60, where dėka is used with nouns denoting abstract and concrete objects. The fact that dėka with nouns denoting concrete objects

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that express nouns is chosen specifically to state a generalized cause, as is also evident from sentences 61–64. As E. Valiulytė (1998: 369) says, here “we have syntactic condensation.” In other words, the full structure of structurally incomplete, elliptical constructions expressing a generalized cause and containing concrete nouns can be reconstructed from the context.

(55) – Ir ką? – pasidomėjo dėdė, nė nenujausdamas sūnėną apėmusio išgąsčio. – Tėvas Leirė jūsų duoto rakto dėka (plg. *jūsų duotu raktu; todėl, kad davėte jam raktą) praleisdavo čia valandų valandas. Tai normalu. – O brolis Aleksandras? – Tai ir yra keisčiausia, priore Bandelai. DLKT

(56) Gal dėl šito jausmų peršukumo mėgo labai sūriai valgyti. Galą gausi nuo tos druskos! – sakydavo motina. Ji klydo. Druska jį ir tel aikė. Galbūt tik jos [druskos] dėka (plg. *druska; todėl, kad valgė daug druskos / sūriai) motiną pragyveno aštuonerius metus. DLKT

(57) Riešutai yra tiesiog neatskiriama šios žavingos moters dalis ir ji tikina vien jų [riešutų] dėka (plg. *riešutais; todėl, kad valgė riešutų) apkeliavusi visus Himalajus: Tibetą, Mustangą, Zanskarą, Ladaką... Mes lipam ant stogo, sėdam po paskubomis ištemptu tentu, kur senas Tėjos vienuolis. DLKT

(58) Net 56 iš 64 teigiamų testų tarp sunkumų kilnot ojų buvo aptikta pernai šios mašinos dėka (plg. šia mašina vs. todėl, kad buvo naudojama ši mašina). 1994 metais, atlikus dvigubai daugiau testų įprasta įranga, pavyko pačiup ti tik 17 sunkumų kilnot ojų, naudojusių dopingą. DLKT

(59) Kažkas yra. Sužinojome, kad keleivis vardu Pieras Kino. Kelionėje per hipererdvę raketa gerokai nukentėjo ir į įprastą erdvę sugrįžo tik autopiloto dėka (plg. tik autopilotu vs. tik todėl, kad veikė autopilotas). Kino išgulėjo kameroje ilgiau nei metus – tiek laiko laivelis dreifavo kosmose. Kai mano žmonės surado keliautoją ir pažadino iš anabiozės, vargšelis... DLKT

(60) Estetikos galimybės, kantilenos iškalbus savitumas ir raiška, išieškoti dinaminiai niuansai, išgaunami ne tik meistrystės, bet ir puikaus instrumento dėka (plg. meistryste ir puikiu instrumentu). P. Bermanas, interpretuodamas P.Čaikovskio Koncertą, darsyk įrodė, jog grojimo kokybę, atlikėjo brandą paliudija ne vienkartinio atlikimo faktas. DLKT

(61) O aš neužmiegu. Visą dieną galvojau apie rytdienos pokalbį dėl darbo. Taip sussesavau, kad net pakeičiau apmąstymų objektą (mažos pramolano dozės dėka) (plg. pramolano dėka; nes išgėriau pramolano / mažą pramolano dozę). Dabar galvoju apie Lešeką ir jo puselę. Kokia ji, o tiksliau – koks jis. Turbūt jam nieko nereikia savyje keisti. Ir viskas jame dera. DLKT

(62) [...] Vėliau, tik jo atvaizdą ant šarvojimo drobulės, į kurią jį suvynios prieš laidotuves, įtrynę kūną aliejais ir kitais stebuklingais tepalais, kurių [aliejų ir kitų stebuklingų tepalų] dėka (plg. todėl, kad kūnas įtrintas aliejais ir kitais stebuklingais tepalais; vs.

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from which its image will be printed on linen,” he said. Then he added, “You’ll be staying here for a long time, so please visit me at least now and then.” DLKT

(63) Earning great respect and gratitude. And there are very many grateful people. I know an artist whom she saved from blindness; my own mother, thanks to her herbs (cf. because she used her herbs; helped by her herbs; vs. from her herbs), began to bend her painful, ossifying fingers, and I myself, the author of these lines, have more than once treated myself with herbal teas she recommended. DLKT

(64) There are remarkable personalities in sport who win “gold” in almost every competition. We achieve victories not through doping, but thanks to our talent and our coaches’ excellent work (cf. not because we use doping, but because we are talented and the coaches do an excellent job). And the doping authorities’ preconceived bias is also a kind of pressure, a psychological attack on our athletes. DLKT

(65) The window construction is stronger and more airtight than the standard one, so it allows the use of various imported fittings. Thanks to the innovative design (cf. because of the innovative design;?because of the design), the windows have much better properties than conventional ones. Using these windows reduces heat loss by 34% compared with conventional ones. DLKT

There are cases when the prepositional construction dėka does not have a purely causal meaning: the cause it expresses is interwoven with the meanings of object—source (see sentences 66–67), means (see sentences 68–69), or other circumstances—manner (see sentences 70–74), condition (see sentences 75–77), time (see sentence 78 and the corrections to sentences 14 and 17). It is possible that in a broader context the syncretic meaning of these dėka constructions might “crystallize,” that is, one meaning—the purely causal one—might become clearer. Be that as it may, sentences 79–86 make it clear that dėka constructions also express other pure circumstances (manner, condition, concession), as well as an object (for example, a means).

(66) It is worth pausing briefly over the Paston letters written in the 15th century. Let us take a brief look at the details of their biography, which, incidentally, is known mostly thanks to the letters (why? from what? cf. from the letters). The Pastons were a prominent, though non-aristocratic, 15th-century family from Norfolk, England, who seem to have devoted considerable effort to defending their rights against aristocratic intrigues. DLKT

(67) Cretan culture is known thanks to the research work and careful description of the English archaeologist A. Euans (1851–1941) (why? from what? cf. from the work and its description). Many of A. Euans’s discoveries are being reinterpreted, and some of his actions (e.g., the restoration and reconstruction of the palace) are criticized. DLKT

(68) This was influenced by the despair that had engulfed the whole region, as well as the need to “treat” government officials visiting the villages. Many a villager could only thanks to homemade liquor (why? with what? cf. homemade liquor) defend himself from the partisans and tax collectors. DLKT

(69) The old wizard glanced at the badge. “Yes, this is definitely a sign indicating addiction. But not only that. Thanks to these badges (why? by what means? cf. with these badges)

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An exile can keep track of where his people are. We need to get rid of them somehow. Could that crazy buzzard fly them off somewhere deep in the countryside? DLKT

(70) At the table, feeling the oak-aged drink pleasantly warming his heart along with the honorarium, and the light red wine—rediscovered in this world—his palate. Probably thanks to that wine (why? how?) he suddenly realized that the Lithuanian writer had, essentially, always been a little dog eager to serve. DLKT

(71) “Despite that, he is ready to grant you a substantial loan immediately,” Hela watched his reaction. “That means that, thanks to Marga’s will (why? how? cf. on the basis of the will) you’ll get the land back and will also be able to invest more. If you wish, you’ll be able to make a decent living. Kurt looked thoughtful. “He needs money.” DLKT

(72) For example, the branches of a deer’s antlers reveal the animal’s age, while the shape and color of leaves can indicate their toxic and medicinal properties. Thanks to such signs (why? how?) nature is easier to know. There is no mountain, star, or creature that can hide from humans the signs that reveal its “secret essence.” DLKT

(73) Tai – nuostabu. Tokie puikūs rezultatai pasiekti efektyvaus gydymo ir puikios slaugos, nuoširdaus namiškių ir apylinkės gydytojos rūpesčio ligoniu dėka (kodėl? kaip?). Dabar jo sveikatos būklę seka hematologai, nes liga – lėtinė, reikalaujanti nuolatinės priežiūros. Svarbiausia, kad žmogus jaučiasi gerai. DLKT

(74) The “Vandenis,” owned by the company Grožis UAB, sank near Cape Ventė while carrying passengers without authorization and violating navigation rules. Only by chance (why? how? cf. by chance; through chance; because of chance) were there no human casualties. DLKT

(75) Because the nation does not play sports or value physical education, only minor stars rise to prominence. Individuals advance only thanks to great desire and talent (why? under what conditions?)... And the lack of ethics among athletes is painful. I’m referring both to their clothing and their conduct while the national anthem is played and opponents are honored. DLKT

(76) We should thank the people who worked on such a law. Because in medicine, it happens that, thanks to the great efforts, say, of surgeons or midwives (why? how? under what conditions?) a life can be saved. Sometimes that life continues for a long time as a life, as an existence; sometimes it is lived without legs, in which case the person is disabled. DLKT

(77) But now she walks around in especially short skirts and five-inch-high shoes. 5th place (120 cm). These days, thanks to long legs (why? how? under what conditions?) one can achieve not only a brilliant career but also win a prince’s heart. This was achieved by the little-known Norwegian model Eva SASUM. DLKT

(78) Experience in managing large teams or conducting research. Special abilities acquired through long-term professional activity (why? when? cf. during long-term professional activity) for carrying out unique tasks. DLKT

(79) That is, toys can become symbols of those objects. What matters here is not the toy’s resemblance to the object it represents, but its function, the possibility of it [the toy] through its function (by what?; cf.

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(toys) perform a representational gesture. Only in this way, in Vygotsky’s view, can children’s symbolic play be explained. A bundle of rags or a wooden stick. DLKT

(80) * Theories that could explain the research data are drawn on; * presentation and analysis of the research data; * the results and a theory formulated thanks to them (how? cf. on their basis; according to them; based on them); * evaluation and discussion of the results; * conclusions arising from the research problem. DLKT

(81) The agreements reached thanks to the procedure specified in point 1 (how? cf. on the basis of the specified procedure; according to the specified procedure) must be ratified or approved in accordance with the procedures in force in the States Parties to this Treaty. DLKT

(82) Metodologija, susijusi su tyrimo metodais ir technika. Šiame darbe edukologinių tyrimų metodologiją aiškiname kaip tam tikrą pažinimo teoriją, kurios [tam tikros pažinimo teorijos] dėka (kaip? plg. kurios pagrindu) atskleidžiame mokslinio mąstymo būdą ir principus. Kitaip sakant – tai būdų ir taisyklių visuma, padedanti gerai atlikti tam tikrą darbą. DLKT

(83) Faith is personal knowledge of God, which is possible in no other way than through experience (how? cf. through experience). DLKT

(84) While gathering evidence, he encounters many innocent suspects and checks various theories until, finally, thanks to logical conclusions or intuition (how?) he uncovers the real criminal. As in “great literature,” the detective novel explores the subtext of events. DLKT

(85) 1905 m. revoliucijos metu vėl, kaip ir XIX a. pabaigoje – XX a. pradžioje, tvirtinama, kad aukštosios mokyklos įsteigimo Vilniuje dėka (kok­iomis sąlygomis?) čia susitelktų nemažos lietuviško jaunimo pajėgos, ir tai pagausintų lietuviškos inteligentijos gretas, nes tie, kurie mokslus išeina svetur, dažnai... DLKT

(86) Thus, he did not stop the raging torrent of filth and vileness, but he did everything he could. Thanks to his efforts (cf. although he tried / did everything he could) Earth did not become a little better, and now it is time to serve the interests of his native Promised Planet. Klienas listened attentively to the pilot and Makendrik’s conversation (cf. also, for example, sentence (45))²¹.

In sentence 86, the concessive construction thanks to, used when referring to an unfavorable state (did not become a little better), contrasts with the causal because of (or due to) construction with the accusative that could be used in sentence 87. In sentence 88, the synonymous because of and thanks to express the cause of an action evaluated positively (cf. sentences 27–29 as well). By analogy with this use of because of, the speaker apparently chooses thanks to to mark the cause in sentences 89–94, where the action or state expressed by the predicate is evaluated neutrally or negatively.

²¹ This sentence with a positive predicate is from DLKT: Thus, he did not stop the raging torrent of filth and vileness, but he did everything he could. Thanks to his efforts (why?) Earth became a little better, and now it is time to serve the interests of his native Promised Planet. Klienas listened attentively to the pilot and Makendrik’s conversation.

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For example, sentence 93 uses the thanks to him [Hunt] construction to state the cause of an outcome of a negatively evaluated action, (several moss species disappeared); here, according to the norm, the causal thanks to should be replaced by because of followed by the accusative. However, the available context allows this thanks to construction to be interpreted as the cause of an outcome that is positive, or at least neutral (cf. although several moss species disappeared thanks to Hunt, the Leno Ellis collection is now one of the largest in the world). A neutrally evaluated causal consequence may likewise underpin the use of thanks to in sentence 94. In other words, just as because of followed by the accusative sometimes expresses the cause of a neutrally or positively evaluated action or a favorable state, so the thanks to construction expresses the cause of an action evaluated neutrally or negatively. The thanks to constructions in sentences 95–96 can be understood in two ways: whether thanks to followed by the genitive expresses the cause of an action evaluated positively or negatively, or of a (un)favorable state, depends on whose perspective is being taken. It may be supposed that in those rare cases when an action or state can be evaluated neutrally, the expression of a general cause overlaps, i.e. the constructions with the prepositions thanks to and because of are used.

(87) Because of his efforts (cf. thanks to his efforts; through his efforts; through him) the Earth did not become a little better.

(88) That is why I became a castle-in-the-air builder! – You demand that I wake up, yet in reality you are the one sleeping with your eyes open and by a miracle, that is, thanks to me you avoid all the traps and pits, – the Magician said with a sly grin. – Remember, happiness does not last forever; in a second, a skyscraper can topple. DLKT

(89) In other words, it is perfectly clear that only thanks to the two “boys,” if one may call them that – Mr. G. Vagnorius and Mr. R. Survilas (cf. through Mr. G. Vagnorius and Mr. R. Survila), the entire system in the countryside was set on a course of destruction without anything being put in its place. DLKT

(90) You don't need to know. Not at this stage. – I see. – Alex set down his knife and fork. In fact, he had not eaten anything. – My uncle was a spy. Thanks to you (cf. because of you), he's dead now. I found out too much, so you put me to sleep and brought me here. By the way, where am I? – This is one of our training centers, he explained. DLKT

(91) Mr. Ž. Juršėnas and the entire LDDP got scared, because they want to stay at the “trough” of power as long as possible, and do not breathe a word about the fact that thanks to them (cf. because of them), Lithuania is being brought to ruin. Kazimieras Uoka stresses that all honest Lithuanians must demand early Seimas elections. DLKT

(92) Is it his turn to solve this charade for me? Then we'll see whether I was right to smash the whistle. Why did I run out? – I'm thinking, Valentine... I'm thinking about how thanks to you I might have made a fool of myself that time in front of that distinguished company. Thank goodness for Mother. She saved the prestige of a tragic actress... DLKT

(93) Aptly named George Hunt hunted moss so assiduously in Britain that thanks to him (cf. because of him), several species of moss probably disappeared. But it was precisely thanks to efforts of this kindthanks to efforts

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At present, Leno Elliso collection is one of the largest in the world. All 780,000 of its examples have been pressed onto large sheets of thick paper. DLKT

(94) And what can one say about folk songs! The signs of Simaniškiai village. My father, Jonas Černa (incidentally, I became Čarna thanks to the parish priest of Rozalimas thanks to (cf. through the parish priest of Rozalimas), who entered my slightly altered surname in the baptismal register) was a singer famous not only throughout the village, but much farther afield. Song accompanied me. DLKT

(95) It was always difficult to find irrefutable evidence of crimes punishable by death, and thanks to dishonest lawyers (cf. through dishonest lawyers) the guilty often went unpunished—the first thing that came to Einsli’s mind when he thought about this was the O. J. Simpson case. DLKT

(96) He listened attentively to the controller, so he probably understood that these problems had been raised a long time ago and that, thanks to certain respected gentlemen of our faction gentlemen (cf. through certain respected gentlemen of our faction) this matter had not been resolved. Our committee had earlier proposed removing the former urban planning… official from office for these crimes—I am not afraid to use that word. DLKT

From what has been said so far, it is clear that, with respect to the dependent constituent, the use of the causal thanks to is not lexically restricted: constructions with this preposition are used both with nouns denoting animate entities (people, animals) and with nouns denoting inanimate entities (concrete, abstract things), or with pronouns referring to them (as is also the case with the causal through or because of). In cases where a single concrete noun serves as the genitive complement of thanks to (thanks to mother; thanks to the autopilot), the causal prepositional construction cannot always be replaced by a causal construction with because of; the latter may imply purpose. The causal meaning of a thanks to construction with this lexical composition is itself inferred indirectly from the wider context or emerges in a word combination (cf., for example, sentences 56–57 and 63). The causal meaning becomes directly apparent from the thanks to construction itself when thanks to is followed by abstract nouns (thanks to mother’s hard work; thanks to chance; cf. because of mother’s hard work; because of chance), or when nouns denoting concrete entities (animate or inanimate) have their own dependent words (thanks to a good neighbor; thanks to the key you gave; thanks to the resourceful Hrasa; cf. thanks to the neighbor’s kindness; thanks to Hrasa’s resourcefulness). These latter thanks to constructions are often synonymous with generalized causal constructions using because of. In other words, drawing on E. Valiulytė’s (1998: 362–371) distinction between direct and indirect causes in constructions with the preposition from, we can speak of the same distinction in the case of generalized-cause constructions with thanks to.

Besides its typical—causal—meaning, the thanks to construction also has other, non-causal meanings. Some are syncretic, others pure.

Next, we can discuss the modifiers expressed by constructions with the preposition thanks to. In Simon Dik’s Functional Grammar (1989; 1997), four predicate-related modifiers (or, in S. Dik’s terms, satellites) are distinguished (see

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satellites)) levels. Modifiers that do not form part of the nuclear (Eng. nuclear) sentence predication constitute a core (Eng. core) or extended (Eng. extended) predication (i.e., they do not belong to the predicate and its arguments). First-level modifiers are prototypical modifiers (of manner, means, quality, etc.) associated with the predicate itself (Ger. VP-interne Adjunkte), which modify or specify the event expressed by the main predicate, or, in S. Dik’s terms (1989: 192–193; 1997: 225–226), the state of affairs (Eng. states of affairs (SoA)) of the nuclear predication (Eng. nuclear predication), e.g.: Onutė draws beautifully. These modifiers fall within the scope of predicate negation. For example, if we replace the affirmative predicate in sentence 82 with a negative one, we will see that both the predicate (reveal) and the manner modifier thanks to are negated (cf. Thanks to the theory of cognition (how?) we do not reveal the methods and principles of scientific thinking, i.e. we reveal them in a different way; similarly to Onutė does not draw beautifully, i.e. Onutė draws as best she can).

Second-level modifiers are distinguished at the sentence level (Ger. VP-externe Adjunkte); they express a state of affairs in relation to place, time, result, purpose, cause, and so on (Dik 1989: 206–208; 1997: 243–244), e.g.: Jonas yesterday evening met Onutė in Cathedral Square. Such sentence-level adjuncts lie outside the scope of predicate negation. The causal thanks to constructions belong among second-level predicate modifiers—adjuncts. When affirmative sentences containing causal thanks to are paraphrased as negative, the predicate is negated, but not the thanks to construction. The causal thanks to retains its meaning (cf. the paraphrase of sentence 56: Perhaps it was only thanks to salt (i.e. through salt) that he did not outlive his mother by eight years), or, as already mentioned, it becomes concessive. The negation-scope test can also help in cases where the meaning of a construction with thanks to may be understood as syncretic. For example, if in sentence 75 we replace the affirmative predicate (succeeded) with a negative one (failed), we will see that the thanks to construction expresses concession, cf.: At any rate, it was precisely thanks to these arguments that I could not calm down. This would suggest that thanks to in affirmative sentence 75 has a more prominent causal than manner meaning (similarly in sentences 76–78). Or, for example, if in sentence 67 we replace the affirmative predicate (is familiar) with a negative one (is not familiar) and rephrase the sentence as: Cretan culture is not familiar thanks to the research and meticulous descriptions of the English archaeologist A. Evans (1851–1941), we will see that here the thanks to construction is also negated; thus thanks to expresses a source rather than a cause—a first-level modifier.²²

²² Third- and fourth-level modifiers are not discussed separately in the article. Briefly, third-level modifiers are propositional (according to Dik (1989: 252–253; 1997: 297–298), attitudinal satellites); they express the speaker’s evaluation of a state of affairs. In other words, these are modal sentence adjuncts, e.g.: Fortunately, I met you. Fourth-level modifiers are illocutionary (Eng. illocutionary satellites) (Dik 1989: 258ff.; 1997: 304ff.) or

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Thus, in Contemporary Lithuanian, constructions with the preposition dėka and the genitive express first- and second-level modifiers. The question remains whether dėka is used only as a preposition. In other words, whether dėka has lost its connection with the meanings of the noun dėka. A look at rare DLKT sentences such as 97–101 shows the use of dėka with the meanings ‘thanks, expression of gratitude’ and ‘favor’.

Dėka with the genitive may be connected with the semantics of the noun pagalba ‘help’. This is evident from the fact that it is presented as an equivalent normative variant in sentence 102 and in DLKT sentences 103–108 (cf. also sentence 63)²³. The synonymous relations between dėka and pagalba allow us to say that both dėka with the genitive and the noun pagalba with the instrumental express cause (cf. sentences 103–104), and that dėka constructions have a syncretic meaning (cause and manner) in sentences 105–108 (cf. Miliūnaitė, ed., 2003: 35). Sentences 109–111 show that the preposition dėka is also related to the preposition pagalba in its use to mark manner, cause, or, less typically, means (for more on this, see Vaičiulytė-Semenienė 2016).

(97) You named it well—a sacrifice. Perhaps we can agree to put it that way. Since you, Father, are earthly, I shall be the same. Even in childhood I used to hear my father say: one favor deserves another. Marcelinas Kalenda grew uneasy and reached out to touch Povilius on the shoulder, but drew his hand back. “How should I understand that, my friend?” DLKT

(98) It is homonymous with the singular instrumental form of the noun; cf. You won’t get it done with thanks (i.e., by expressing gratitude); you’ll have to pay. DLKT

(99) The fading creature needed less and less space, but he did not retreat from the gushing, bubbling, ripening earth; thanks to it, he had made everything his own. Truly, now he desired it more than ever, even if it were only a quiet corner of the garden. And so he fell asleep in that garden, his hands folded. DLKT

šnèkos akto (plg. Holvoet, Pajėdienė 2005: 95); jais modifikuojama ar specifikuojama šnekos akto ilokucinė vertė, t. y. reiškiamas kalbėtojo komentaras šnekos akto atžvilgiu, pvz.: Atvirai kalbant, jis yra nemandagus.

For the proposed classification of circumstantials (modifiers) in Lithuanian, cf. Holvoet, Pajėdienė (2005); see there also for an overview of the positions presented in other works on Lithuanian grammar.

²³ The mutual connection between dėka and pagalba is also the basis for other proposed corrections (e.g., I completed my studies thanks to good people (|| thanks to good people, with the help of good people (Šukys 1998: 546; Šukys in Miliūnaitė, ed., 2003: 34)), as well as examples from the electronic LKŽ card file, found in the Lithuanian Language Resources Information System (LKIIIS), e.g.:

Cf. the synonymous use in German of the prepositions dank and mithilfe with the genitive, e.g.: Mithilfe/Dank der Lesebrille Grandpa can finally read the newspaper again.

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(100) Taip žvelgdami, galime suprasti Sinodo Tėvų žodžius: Kiekvieno kunigo pašaukimas egzistuoja Bažnyčioje ir Bažnyčiai ir išsipildo jos dėka. Tai reiškia, kad kiekvienas kunigas gauna pašaukimą iš Viešpaties per Bažnyčią kaip malonės dovaną, kaip gratia gratis data (charisma). DLKT

(101) Ir smuklininkas Lafuašas šiaip taip vertėsi padedamas malūno darbininkų ir valstiečių, kurie vežė malti grūdus, dėka (plg. iš valstiečių, kurie vežė malti grūdus, malonės). Sekmadieniais pas jį užsukdavo ir kitų klientų – vienas kitas gyventojas iš gretimo Arto kaimelio. Tačiau jį ištiko nedalia. DLKT

(102) Thanks to my uncle (| With my uncle’s help (support, encouragement)), I went abroad to study. (quoted from Miliūnaitė, ed., 2003: 35)

(103) Dekša. – Visai nenoriu, turtas manęs niekuomet nedomino, nors gerai suprantu, kad be turto vargų galima ką nors pasiekti. Jūs man daug padedate, jūsų dėka (plg. su jūsų pagalba) aš studijuoju, esu sotus ir tinkamai apsirengęs. Suprantu, testamentas yra testamentas, tai lyg apsidraudimas nuo netikėtumų. DLKT

(104) [...] Arksis Mundi buvo pasaulio centras. Kai jį sugriovė, išnyko ir lilimų kultūra, nes jie nesugebėjo panaudoti šviesos galios. Šiandien, mūsų pagalbos dėka (plg. su mūsų pagalba; mūsų padedami, todėl, kad mes padedame), lilimai gyvena geriau. Akmens šviesos pavidalu aš daviau lilimams naują širdį, o dabar šios visuomenės organizmas auga ir klesti, tampa didesnis. DLKT

(105) Prieš poną Zatureckį viską suvertei ant manęs, o prieš mane – suvertei ant pono Zatureckio. Bet, žinok, aš vis tiek susirasiu tą darbą. – Kalouseko dėka? (plg. kaip?/kodėl? su Kalouseko pagalba) – pasistengiau būti kandus. – Tik ne tavo dėka! Tu visur taip praktiškai, kad nė pats nesuvoki. – O tu suvoki? – Suvokiu. Konkurso tu nelaimėsi. (plg. sakinį (2)) DLKT

(106) Bernelis, jodamas ant žirgo, jaučiasi saugus, jo dėka (plg. kaip?/kodėl? su jo pagalba) įveikia erdvės, skiriančias ribas ir kliūtis, be to, gana drąsiai įjoja į mergelės namams priklausančias erdves. DLKT

(107) [...] Jis negirdėtų, nes nėra fainiausias pasaulyje, – nusijuokė Monika. – Klausyk, žinau, kad jo nelabai virškini, bet jis man tiekia medžiagą ir tik jo dėka (plg. kaip?/kodėl? su jo pagalba, tik jo padedamas) galiu pakliūti į tam tikras vietas, kurių nebūčiau net žinojusi. – Bet ar tau jis patinka? – Na... Taip kaip ir kiti. Nežinau. DLKT

(108) O daugelis kartu su ja švenčia gimtadienius, vardadienius ar kitas itin reikšmingas šeimos šventes. Prieš šešiolika metų šešuro dėka (plg. kaip?/kodėl? su šešuro pagalba; per šešurą) atėjusi į televiziją ir profesionaliu darbu išsikovojusi stiprias pozicijas, šiandien bene geriausia BTV diktorė prisipažįsta negalinti be jos gyventi. DLKT

(109) Etologų nuomone, vaikai instinktyviai prisiriša prie savo tėvų ar kito tuo metu juos prižiūrinčio asmens (kaip?/kodėl?) imprintingo dėka (plg. imprintingu). Etologai skiria du socialinės raidos periodus: bendrojo imprintingo ir specifiškesnio imprintingo. DLKT

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(110) They prop up the largest piles of scrap metal with rusty pieces of iron, weld knobs onto indiscriminately chosen objects, repair Belarusian tractors and other implements, (with what?/how?) thanks to them (cf. with them) the plots are cultivated, even farmers’ and companies’ land. Not one has received the Order of Gediminas; what they received from their independent state—we shall leave unmentioned. DLKT

(111) The therapeutic effect was indeed quite good. A clairvoyant Georgian hairdresser (who conversed with the Lord himself) (how?/why?) thanks to water and our feeble government (cf. with water and with the help of our feeble government) provided herself and her children with apartments and Lithuanian citizenship. The woman treated leftists and rightists, presidents, with water and toilet paper. DLKT

6. CONCLUSION

In contemporary Lithuanian, dėka is usually used as a preposition and rarely as a noun.

The lexical composition of constructions with the preposition dėka is not restricted: dėka takes as its genitive complement nouns denoting animate (persons, living beings) and inanimate (concrete, abstract) things, or pronouns that substitute for them. Most often, the complement of dėka is an abstract noun (62.7%), and less often a concrete noun (37.7%). In view of usage tendencies, it would probably be appropriate to broaden and refine the norm.

Typically, a construction consisting of the preposition dėka and a genitive expresses a general cause. It usually presents the background to an action evaluated positively or a favorable state, and rarely the background to one evaluated negatively or neutrally. In the latter case, dėka overlaps with the causal construction per.

Cause is expressed directly or indirectly by dėka constructions. Cause is expressed indirectly by the preposition dėka with the genitive of a single concrete noun, a pronoun substituting for it, or a generalizing pronoun, i.e. in cases of syntactic condensation (cf. thanks to mother; thanks to cows; thanks to herbs; thanks to that); directly, when its complement is an abstract noun or a concrete noun has its own modifier (cf. thanks to a miracle or chance; thanks to mother’s kindness / a kind mother; thanks to the favor of people and stars / favorable people and stars; thanks to the strength of Valdek’s hands / Valdek’s strong hands; thanks to the herbal mixture that was drunk; thanks to the other language that was learned; thanks to the key you gave).

Constructions with dėka and the genitive also have other meanings. Some are syncretic, while others are unambiguous. The preposition dėka with the genitive expresses (apparently less typically) the object of an instrument, and circumstantial meanings of manner, condition, and concession. The causal meaning of Dėka constructions may be intertwined with object meanings (source, instrument) or meanings of other circumstances (manner, condition, time, etc.). It is becoming appropriate to reconsider and reassess the polysemy of dėka.

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In contemporary Lithuanian, constructions with the preposition dėka express first- and second-level modifiers, the former of which are related to the predicate itself, and the latter to the sentence as a whole. The study shows that constructions with the secondary preposition dėka “encroach” from the second level of modifiers into the first level of modifiers, i.e., into the level of objects and adverbials related to the predicate itself.

ŠALTINIAI

DLKT – Dabartinės lietuvių kalbos tekstynas, sud. Kauno Vytauto Didžiojo universiteto Kompiuterinės lingvistikos centras (prieiga internete http://donelaitis.vdu.lt).

DLKŽe – Stasys Keinys, vyr. red., Dabartinės lietuvių kalbos žodynas: elektroninis variantas. Vilnius: Lietuvių kalbos institutas, 2011 (prieiga internete http://dz.lki.lt).

BŽe – Danutė Liutkevičienė, vyr. red., Bendrinės lietuvių kalbos žodynas: elektroninis variantas. Vilnius: Lietuvių kalbos institutas, 2015 (prieiga internete http://bkz.lki.lt).

LKIIS – Lietuvių kalbos išteklių informacinė sistema. Vilnius: Lietuvių kalbos institutas ir partneriai, 2015 (prieiga internete http://lkiis.lki.lt).

LKŽe – Gertrūda Naktinienė, red., Lietuvių kalbos žodynas, 1–20 (1941–2002): elektroninis variantas. Vilnius: Lietuvių kalbos institutas, 2005 (prieiga internete http://www.lkz.lt).

LITERATŪRA

Ambrazas Vytautas, red., 2006: Dabartinės lietuvių kalbos gramatika. Vilnius: Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidykla.

Dik Simon C. 1989: The Theory of Functional Grammar 1. Berlin etc.: Mounton de Gruyter.

Dik Simon C. 1997: The Theory of Functional Grammar 1. Berlin etc.: Mounton de Gruyter.

Gaivenis Kazimieras, Keinys Stasys 1990: Kalbotyros terminų žodynas. Kaunas: Šviesa.

Girdenienė Skaidra 2005: Strukturelle Besonderheiten der kausalen Präpositionen im Deutschen, Litauischen und Russischen. – Žmogus ir žodis 3, 93–100.

Holvoet Axel, Pajėdienė Jūratė 2005: Aplinkybes ir jų tipai. – Gramatinių funkcijų tyrimai, red. Axel Holvoet, Rolandas Mikulskas. Vilnius: LKI (= Lietuvių kalbos gramatikos darbai 3), 93–116.

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Holvoet Axel 2003: Sujungiamieji ir prijungiamieji sakiniai formos bei funkcijos požiūriu. – Sintaksinių ryšių tyrimai, red. Axel Holvoet, Artūras Judžentis. Vilnius: LKI (= Lietuvių kalbos gramatikos darbai 1), 99–114.

Kniūkšta Pranas, par., 2000: Kanceliarinės kalbos patarimai. Vilnius: Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidybos institutas.

Labutis Vitas 1998: Lietuvių kalbos sintaksė. Vilnius: Vilniaus universiteto leidykla.

Miliūnaitė Rita, sud., 2003: Kalbos patarimai, kn. 2: Sintaksė: prielinksnių ir polinksnių vartojimas (S2). Vilnius: Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidybos institutas.

Sližienė Nijolė 1994: Lietuvių kalbos veiksmažodžių junglumo žodynas 1. Vilnius: Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidykla.

Šukys Jonas 1978: Prielinksnių vartojimas. Kaunas: Šviesa.

Šukys Jonas 1998: Lietuvių kalbos linksniai ir prielinksniai: vartosena ir normos. Kaunas: Šviesa.

Ulvy das Kazys, red., 1971: Lietuvių kalbos gramatika 2. Morfologija. Vilnius: Mintis.

Vaičiulytė-Semėnienė Loreta 2016: Daiktavardžio pagalba įnagininko desemantizacija. – Acta Linguistica Lithuanica 74, 9–39.

Valiulytė Elena 1986: Priežasties prielinksnių sistema lietuvių kalboje. – Lietuvių kalbotyros klausimai 25, 97–156.

Valiulytė Elena 1998: Dabartinės lietuvių kalbos sintaksiniai sinonimai. Vilnius: mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidybos institutas.

Valskys Vidas 2013: Dėl kai kurių lietuvių kalbos linksnių ir prielinksnių vartosenos atvejų kodifikacijos. – Santalka: Filologija, Edukologija 21(2), 170–176.

Dėka in Contemporary Lithuanian Language

SUMMARY

Based on the material from The Corpus of Contemporary Lithuanian language (CCLL), the article analyses the use of dėka as a preposition or a noun. The aim is to discuss dėka and the lexical composition and semantics of its constructions with the genitive case.

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The study shows that in contemporary Lithuanian language dėka is usually used as a preposition; in rare cases it goes as a noun.

The lexical composition of the constructions with the preposition dėka is not limited: nouns denoting animate (people, living beings) and inanimate (concrete, abstract) things or the pronouns substituting for them go as the genitive complement of dėka. As a rule, the governed word of dėka is an abstract noun (62.7 per cent); less commonly, it is a concrete noun (37.7 per cent). Taking into account the tendencies of usage, the norm should probably be expanded and revised.

Typically, the construction with the preposition dėka with the genitive expresses a generalised cause. Usually, they specify the background of a positively evaluated action or a favourable state; in rare cases, they express the background of an action evaluated in a negative or neutral manner. In the latter case, dėka overlaps with the causal per construction.

Cause is expressed by dėka constructions either directly or indirectly. Cause is indirectly expressed by means of the preposition dėka in combination with the genitive of a concrete noun, the pronoun substituting for it or a pronoun of general reference, i.e. cases of syntactic condensation (cf. marnos dėka; karvių dėka; žolių dėka; to dėka); it is directly expressed when an abstract noun goes as its governed word or when a concrete noun has its modifier (cf. stebuklo ar atsitiktinumo dėka; mamos gerumo / geros mamos dėka; žmonių ir žvaigždžių palankumo / palankių žmonių ir žvaigždžių dėka; Valdeko rankų stiprumo / stiprių Valdeko rankų dėka; išgerto žolių mišinio dėka; išm estos kitos kalbos dėka; jūsų duoto rakto dėka).

Other meanings are also characteristic of dėka constructions with the genitive case. Some of them are syncretic, others are pure. The preposition dėka with the genitive expresses the object of (an apparently less typical) instrument as well as the adverbial modifiers of manner, condition, concession. The causal meaning expressed by dėka constructions can be intertwined with the meanings of object (source, instrument) or other adverbial modifiers (manner, condition, time, etc.). It therefore seems meaningful to re-consider and re-evaluate the polysemy pertaining to dėka.

In contemporary Lithuanian the constructions of the preposition dėka are used to express first- and second-level modifiers where the former are related to the predicate itself and the latter are linked with the whole sentence. From the second modifier level the constructions with the secondary preposition dėka penetrate to the first modifier level, i.e. the level of object and predicate related adverbial modifiers.

Įteikta 2016 m. rugsėjo 16 d.

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Lietuvių kalbos institutas

Petro Vile išio g. 5, Vilnius LT-10308, Lietuva

[email protected]

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