Modern problems of science and education. Inversion as a stylistic device Reverse word order or “inversion” in the interpretations of foreign and domestic linguists

Hello, dear readers of the blog site. It’s not for nothing that the Russian language is called “great and powerful”.

For example, in French or English, sentences are constructed only according to a certain form - first comes the subject, then the predicate, and after them everything else. And under no circumstances should you change the order of words, this will be considered an error.

But the Russian language gives more freedom. The sentence can be constructed in almost any way. And by rearranging words, the general message of the phrase and its intonation emphasis can change. And this technique is called inversion.

Inversion is a change in the usual word order

Inversion is one of the means of expressive speech, which consists in the arrangement of words that violate the usual order. The term itself comes from the Latin word “inversio”, which means “turning over, rearranging”.

First, let's immediately define what the usual word order is. As we have already said, there are no strict rules when constructing sentences in Russian. But at the same time in colloquial speech we We widely use the following structures:

1. The subject is followed by the predicate. DADDY BOUGHT a new jacket.
2. The attribute is placed before the noun. Dad looked very handsome in his NEW JACKET.
3. An inconsistent modifier comes after a noun. Dad bought a STRIPED JACKET.
4. The complement is placed after the word on which it depends. Dad HANGS his jacket in the closet.

This is how we almost always arrange words in colloquial speech.

Unless Master Yoda in the legendary “Star Wars” spoke differently. He just constantly distorted sentences, and the audience thought it was funny.

But in fact, he consciously used inversion, emphasizing on those words that need to be highlighted at one time or another. Writers and poets use exactly the same technique in their works.

Changing meaning using inversion

To better understand how inversion affects emotional content, let’s take as an example a famous line from a poem by Agnia Barto.

“Our Tanya is CRYING loudly.”

Here the words are arranged in the usual order. And the semantic emphasis is on the fact that the girl is crying. But what happens if the words are swapped:

1. “Our Tanya is crying LOUDLY” - the emphasis is precisely on the fact that Tanya is very upset.
2. “Our TANYA is crying loudly” - a statement that when Tanya cries, she does it very loudly.
3. “Our Tanya is crying loudly” - an indication that it is this particular Tanya who cries louder than everyone else.

Thus, inversion is needed so that the author’s main idea better reaches the reader.

Examples of using inversion in poetry

It is in poems that one can most often find examples of inversions. In them, with the help of this technique, any author pursues two goals at once. The first is the artistic expressiveness of the text. And the second is the selection of rhyme.

Let's take for example the most famous poem by Mikhail Lermontov"Sail".

In the blue sea fog.
What is he looking for in a distant land?
What did he throw in his native land?

Here Lermontov consciously uses inversion, putting verbs in the first place, and the emotional emphasis goes to the definitions - “LONING SAIL”, “BLUE SEA”, “DISTANT COUNTRY”, “NATIVE LAND”. Thanks to this, the reader more clearly imagines the picture of hopelessness in which the man on the boat found himself.

But Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin in “Eugene Onegin” there are the following lines:

In a clean field,
The moon in the silver light,
Immersed in my dreams,
Tatyana walked alone for a long time.

Here the poet used several inversions at once to enhance the emotional background of the situation. Firstly, the scene of action is described more colorfully - “the field is CLEAR”, “the light is SILVER”. And secondly, Tatyana’s state is clearly shown - “Immersed in dreams.”

And finally, Anna's Akhmatova there are wonderful lines about what it’s like to be a poet:

If only you knew what kind of rubbish
Poems grow without shame,
Like a yellow dandelion by the fence,
Like burdocks and quinoa.

Akhmatova deliberately placed the main word “POEMS” not at the very beginning. And before that, I focused on the fact that real poets do not need to make special efforts to write something. For true talents, poems are born by themselves.

Inversion in prose literature

Many writers use this technique. Using inversion, they show their authorship attitude to a character or situation, and in parallel concentrate readers' attention is on it.

For example:

1. Today a ship hitherto unknown to us dropped anchor off our coast. (Gumilev)
2. She had a strong influence on him. (Turgenev)
3. Unfeigned love and participation were reflected on Anna’s face. (Tolstoy)
4. I want to explore the secrets of life, wise and simple. (Brodsky)
5. How unfortunate it is for me to disturb your peaceful peace. (Bagritsky)

Another striking example can be found in Dostoevsky. In the novel " Crime and Punishment"The titular adviser Marmeladov communicates with Raskolnikov like this:

“Do I dare, my dear sir, to address you with a decent conversation? For, although you are not in a significant form, my experience distinguishes you as an educated person and unaccustomed to drink.”

In this passage, Dostoevsky wanted to especially emphasize the ornateness of Marmeladov’s speech. With the help of inversions “the conversation is DECENT”, “MY experience”, “an EDUCATED person” and “UNUSUAL to a drink”, the author shows that the adviser specially curries favor with Raskolnikov, telling him compliments and highlighting his own merits, in order to ultimately win over his interlocutor.

And sometimes entire works are built on inversion. That is, they start from the end and move to the beginning so that the reader knows how events unfolded before.

Examples of such works are “The Death of Ivan Ilyich” by Leo Tolstoy, “In Search of Lost Time” by Marcel Proust or “Stormy Stop” by Chingiz Aitmatov. This is called " plot inversion».

And there is also “ time inversion”, when events from different eras are intertwined in one work. An example here is Mikhail Bulgakov’s novel “The Master and Margarita”.

Not only in literature

It is necessary to mention that the term “inversion” is used not only in the literature.

1. For example, in geometry is a transformation of the Euclidean plane.
2. IN computer science– an operation that turns 0 into 1 and vice versa.
3. IN physics– transformation of space in quantum mechanics.
4. IN chemistry- This is the process of breaking down matter.
5. IN biology– change in chromosome structure.
6. IN geology is a change in the direction of the Earth's magnetic field.
7. And finally, in meteorology is an abnormal change in temperature depending on altitude.

Good luck to you! See you soon on the pages of the blog site

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"Inversio" in Latin means " turning over". In its linguistic meaning, the term inversion is a change in the order of words in a phrase, phrase or sentence.

- Helped them banal happening(subject inverted).

I don’t consider him a reliable partner (inverted predicate).

It was received with surprise (the circumstance was inverted).

Finally, this light drizzle has stopped (subject inverted).

It was a nice day! (definition inverted).

With caution, he opened the door and looked inside (the circumstance was inverted).

Examples of inversion from fiction:

I wanted to be captured again(D. Byron). Suddenly he saw a large forge in the forest(Ludwig Tieck). This almost always occurs in a hyper-urban setting. fantastic city...(A. Tolstoy).

Inversion, examples of its functioning and typology are determined by linguistic classification. This, of course, is not always simple. Inversion in English is largely determined by its belonging to the analytical class. Unlike the Russian language, the inversion of an English sentence is more fixed.

Let's make some interrogative sentences.

Inversion. Examples in Russian:

Does he live in Samara?/Does he live in Samara?/Does he live in Samara?

Does Laura work for New Airlines?/Does Laura work for New Airlines?

Are you going to your club tonight?/Are you going to your club tonight?/Are you going to your club tonight?

The free order of words in a sentence is largely determined by the Russian language being a synthetic language.

The picture is different in an English sentence where grammatical inversion with a fixed word order is used. An interrogative construction begins with then a typical scheme follows: subject-predicate-object (adverbial)

Inversion. Examples in English:

Does he live in Samara?

Does Lora work for New Airlines Company?

Are you going to your club tonight?

As for here, you can see a similar arrangement of accent words in English and Russian sentences.

Rarely have I seen such magnificent architecture! - Seldom have I seen such a splendid architecture!

In Russian and English versions the word rarely(in sentence - circumstance) is an inversion. It gives an emotional coloring to the statement, focusing on the rarity of the phenomenon (in order to enhance the effect of perception, the word is placed at the beginning of the sentence).

The word "inversion" comes from the Latin "inversio", which means "turning over", "rearrangement". This term is used in almost all major sciences: logic, mathematics, literature, geometry, drama, biology, physics and chemistry, rhetoric and psychology. It is better to look for an exact answer to the question of what inversion is in the context of a certain science. And the general meaning of this concept is the same everywhere: “another order”, “on the contrary”, “rearrangement”, “another version”, “change in the usual order, state, structure”.

What is inversion in literature

In literature, inversion is a stylistic device in which a non-standard word order is used, giving the sentence a beautiful sound and special meaning. With its help, the writer can emphasize any action or word. In English, where the order of words in a sentence is quite strict, inversion is rarely used, but in Russian it is very common.

If you skillfully rearrange the order of words in a sentence, you can give it the greatest expressiveness. A traditional sentence has the following structure: subject, predicate, modifier, object, circumstance. Inversion allows you to break this order, highlighting the most important element of the sentence.

Inversion is often used in poetry for the euphony of lines and successful rhyme. It can also be found in Russian translations of English poems. The main function of inversion in poetry: maintaining the overall rhythm, smooth connection between lines and paragraphs.

In Lermontov's works one can find classic examples of inversion, especially in the works "Mtsyri" and "Borodino", and the great Pushkin generally considered inversion one of the most necessary stylistic devices. And in the poems of Tsvetaeva, Mayakovsky and Brodsky, the inversion can easily be found.

Examples will help you understand what inversion is best.

Inversion examples

• “Everyone was ready to start a new battle tomorrow” (M. Lermontov)
• “I am restoring Russia from dampness and sleepers” (M. Tsvetaeva)
• “In the two years we have lived here, yesterday has turned into tomorrow” (I. Brodsky)
• “At first I was very upset” (A. Pushkin)
• “He passes the doorman like an arrow” (A. Pushkin)
• “An old man obedient to Perun alone” (A. Pushkin)
• “And Oleg drove up to the wise old man” (A. Pushkin)
• “You are rich in countless treasures” (Goethe, translation by N. Kholodkovsky)

Why is inversion needed?

Let's summarize by listing the advantages of inversion:

• inversion allows you to focus on a specific word or phrase;
• arranges semantic loads in the sentence;
• in a poetic text, inversion sets the rhythm;
• in prose, using inversion, you can place logical stresses;
• inversion conveys the author’s attitude towards the characters and the author’s emotional state;
• inversion enlivens the text and makes it more readable and interesting.

To fully understand what inversion is, you need to read more classical literature. In addition to inversion, in the texts of great writers you can find many other interesting stylistic devices that make speech brighter and which our Russian language is so rich in.

In the literature, inversion is usually called a violation of the usual word order. Inversion is not common to all languages. For example, in the English language there is a strictly fixed word order, and there inversion can only be found in the rarest poetry created a couple of centuries ago. In the Russian language, inversion is all over the place. An example of inversion in Russian: it is unfortunate for me to disturb your peaceful peace. It would be more correct to say this: disturb your peaceful rest.

In literature, inversion is the construction of words in a sentence with the reverse order. Examples from the classics: A lonely sail is white in the fog of the blue sea, What was this warm, this sleeping night waiting for? She (Turgenev) was waiting for the sound.

In fiction, writers often resort to the use of tropes and stylistic figures that enhance the imagery of speech and its impact on the reader or listener. One of these stylistic figures is inversion, which literally means turning over in Latin. This stylistic device consists of violating the direct order of words in a sentence:

definition - subject - predicate - adverbial or complement.

The technique of rearranging the members of a sentence focuses attention on a certain word, distinguishes it from others and creates exactly the impact that the writer seeks.

One of the most common types of inversion is when the definition is placed after the word being defined, for example:

Inversion between subject and predicate is often used, for example we read in S.:

The object, especially the direct one in the accusative case, usually comes after the predicate. The rearrangement creates an inversion in the poems of M. Lermontov:

This is how the poet put it, bringing the main word forward instead of waiting for the battle.

Inversion in literature is a violation of the usual word order in a sentence. From the Latin inversio - rearrangement, turning over. Inversion can highlight one or more words emphatically:

Can anything compare in my poems?

With the most tender tears of a mother

(V.A. Zhukovsky)

Also, inversion can be broken up by inserted words and phrases...

Inversion examples:

Exhausted by the labors of the night

I lie in the shadows (M.Yu. Lermontov Mtsyri);

His sharpness and subtlety of instinct amazed me (A.S. Pushkin) - I was struck by his sharpness and subtlety of instinct;

From the grave then the emperor,

Waking up suddenly appears (M.Yu. Lermontov Airship);

How I love her in the first days,

When there is only talk about lka (B. Pasternak);

Why does the old man seem to me?

The roofs of the huts are piled in a tar sleep.

And the glow smokes, and the mothers shout:

The blood of the children covered the tablecloths in the chambers,

And the warriors lie, and on them there are crows,

Their pupils are glazed through the bloody coat (S. Kirsanov Two dreams);

It was getting late. Trembling in the horses

The cold is worse at night;

Tossed and turned in the sleigh

Mikhailo Ivanovich.

... They came running that time

Coachman and counselor (N. Nekrasov);

I, Mother of God, now with prayer

Before your image, bright radiance... (M.Yu. Lermontov).

In the Russian literary language (and in Russian literature in particular) we see texts consisting of sentences.

In these sentences (and now we will first of all talk about narrative sentences), experts distinguish two types of word arrangement. Two orders:

1 .Direct (or neutral).

For example, from Dead Souls:

2 .Reverse (inverse).

For example, from the Fountain of the Bakhchisarai Palace:

Instead of a neutral order: Pale luminary of the harem, are you really forgotten here too?

The second example is a mild syntactic inversion, which occurs very often.

Inversion is primarily used to add high style and emphasize individual words; or technically: to maintain the rhythm of lines in poetry.

Inversion is nothing more than the replacement of words with each other that had meaning, but have become clumsy. I really like Vasily Zhukovsky’s inversion, probably one of the best that you can’t do for the sake of rhyme:

Inversion is a figure of speech, which is characterized by the rearrangement of sentence members (subject and predicate most often) to uncharacteristic places in order to give the sentence as a whole a greater emotional coloring.

Inversion is (lat. inversio rearrangement, turning over) the arrangement of the members of a sentence in a special order, violating the usual (direct) order, in order to enhance the expressiveness of speech. Inversion is one of the stylistic figures. Bear hunting is dangerous, a wounded animal is terrible, and the soul of a hunter, accustomed to dangers since childhood, is brave. The moon came out on a dark night, looking lonely from a black cloud at the deserted fields, at distant villages, at nearby villages.

The term inversion comes from inversio, meaning rearrangement. Inversion is a stylistic figure when words or entire parts of phrases are not placed in the generally customary and accepted position, but are placed in the reverse order. This gives the text special expressiveness.

Inversion example

He ascended higher with his rebellious head

Pillar of Alexandria... or

It is not the place to compete with stupidity.

And on the sign is another example of inversion.

• Inversion

  There is a direct word order, and there is a reverse word order, and so inversion is the reverse word order.

  Let me explain. In a sentence, the adjective must come first, and then the noun it defines. This will be direct word order. But when a noun is put in first place, then this is inversion.

  For example. Autumn is golden came to visit us. Compare: golden autumn.

  Here is an example from a poem by K. Chukovsky.

  Also, in a sentence, the subject usually comes first, and then the predicate comes (direct word order). But if the predicate comes first, and then the subject, then there is an inversion in the sentence.

  Here is an example from a poem by A.S. Pushkin

  In this example, we see that the predicate comes first, and then the subject comes (the voice sounded, the features were dreamed). We also see an inversion - this is hopeless sadness, a gentle voice.

An inversion is a prim in poetry or narrative - a rearrangement or narration. With inversion, the usual word order in the construction of a sentence changes.

In poems, for example, he happily reached the green shores of the bright Aragva (Lermontov). Here the subject and predicate are rearranged, the words in the verse are arranged rhythmically in such a way that the rhythm of the verse is not affected. A striking example of recent inversion is present in the texts of the Star Wars character - Master Yoda))) Just take his sentence in the first part (or second - I don’t remember exactly) - When you are 900 years old, you won’t look so good)))

In general, in English, such a rearrangement transforms a sentence from a declarative into an interrogative.

Inversion in literature is a violation of the usual word order. Derived from the Latin inversio, which translates as turning over, rearranging. In Russian, this is a fairly common phenomenon, since our grammar does not have a strict word order.

As an example of inversion:

Can anything compare in my poems?

With the most tender tears of a mother?

Inversion is a change in the usual order of individual parts of the whole. The term itself comes from the Latin inversio, translated as “turning over”, “rearrangement”. It is widely used in various fields of knowledge.

The ambiguity of the term “inversion”

From the point of view of psychology, inversion is a violation of the normal, i.e. generally accepted, order of mental processes. It can affect the sphere of behavior, motives, reactions, etc. The term was introduced into scientific circulation at the end of the 19th century, a little later Z. Freud applied it to the field of sexology, calling non-traditional orientation inversion.

Mathematicians also put their own meaning into the concept of “inversion”. For them, this is a special kind of mapping space or a separate plane using inverse radii.

In biology, this term refers to mutations in which a section of a chromosome is separated from the chromosomal chain, turns 180 degrees and returns to its original place.

The list of meanings could go on and on. Sociologists, doctors, philosophers, physicists, and musicians put their own meaning into this term. But perhaps it is most popular among linguists and literary critics.

Inversion in philology

In linguistics, inversion is a conscious change in the order of words familiar to everyday speech. Russian belongs to a group of languages ​​in which word order is conditionally free. This means that the members of a sentence can stand in different positions, but the overall meaning of the statement or its emotional coloring depends on the place they occupy.

It has been observed that the reader's attention is concentrated mainly on the first and last words in a sentence. Poets and writers began to use this, seeking to increase the expressiveness and artistic imagery of their works by changing the order of words.



Types of inversions

Depending on which member of the sentence changes its place, there are different types of such a technique as inversion. Examples can be seen in the table:

Type of inversion	Example	Neutral, familiar word order
Subject inversion	I could help them now just luck.	Only luck could help them now.
Predicate inversion	I didn't expect she's more like her friend.	She no longer hoped for her friend.
Inversion of definition	He wrote poetry truly wonderful.	He wrote truly wonderful poetry.
Inversion of complement	For the Motherland Russian soldiers fought.	Russian soldiers fought for their Motherland.
Inversion of the circumstance of the course of action	With undisguised annoyance she looked at him.	She looked at him with undisguised annoyance.

Inversion functions

Let's try to figure out why inversion is needed. The first, most logical answer is to draw the reader’s attention to a word or group of words that is important from the author’s point of view. Thus, according to one researcher, the inversion in the first phrase of “The Queen of Spades” by A.S. Pushkin has a meaning-forming meaning; it immediately makes it clear what the work will be about. The phrase goes like this: “Once we were playing cards with the horse guard Narumov.” The rearrangement of the word “maps” into the center of the sentence gives it a touch of significance; at the same time, the name of the Horse Guardsman, in whose house the action begins, also attracts attention.



The second purpose of the inversion technique is to increase emotionality and expression of statements. Let us compare, for example, two sentences: “The weather was fine” and “The weather was fine.” The first statement has a calm narrative character, the second expresses the speaker’s excitement. This effect is achieved by inverting the definition.

There is another, more practical, “sounding” goal. Inversion in a poem can be used solely to maintain rhythm and rhyme. Recently, there have been many inversions of this kind in the works of amateur poets; among classics they often have a semantic meaning.

Inversion. Examples from Russian classics



Let's try to verify the above conclusions in practice. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the technique in question is used in literature all the time. There are indeed many inversions in the works of Russian poets. Let's look at some examples.

The inversion of the addition is contained in the verses of A.S. Pushkin: “Love, hope, quiet glory / Deception did not endure us for long.” The author deliberately pushes aside the subject “deception” (which has a negative connotation) and brings to the fore words that give rise to positive emotions (love, hope, glory). This makes the reader experience those feelings that disturb him - disappointment, unjustified expectations.

An excellent example of the inversion of a predicate is the lines of Sergei Yesenin: “The night is dreaming. People have fallen asleep, / Only I am tormented by melancholy.” Here, the phrase describing the state of the lyrical hero contains the usual word order, and in those that describe the outside world (night, other people), inversion is used. This technique emphasizes the hero’s alienation.

The inversion of the circumstance of the manner of action is present in the first line of the poem by M.Yu. Lermontov’s “Duma”: “I look sadly at our generation.” The word “sad”, brought to the fore, sets the tone of the work, to which the author remains faithful to the end.