☰ Contents · Uzbek language

Stylistics of introductory units

Lessons 23 · 1 lessons · N.M. Mahmudov, A.Sh. Sobirov, Y.R. Odilov, G.Sh. Ziyodullayeva. Ona tili (Uzbek language), Grade 10, 1st edition. “O‘zbekiston milliy ensiklopediyasi” State Scientific Publishing House, Tashkent, 2017
23

Stylistics of introductory units in the sentence

Textbook: pp. 79–82
GoalDistinguish introductory words, phrases and clauses; know their stylistic meanings and punctuation.
New words
introductory word · kirish so‘zintroductory phrase · kirish birikmaintroductory sentence (clause) · kirish gapsubjective evaluation · subyektiv baho
Explanation

Introductory units express the speaker’s attitude to the content being stated and are not parts of the sentence. They give meanings such as confidence (albatta “of course”, shubhasiz “undoubtedly”), doubt-supposition (ehtimol “probably”, balki “perhaps”, shekilli “it seems”), feeling (afsuski “unfortunately”, xayriyat “fortunately”), whose opinion it is (menimcha “in my opinion”, aytishlaricha “according to what is said”), order and conclusion (birinchidan “firstly”, xullas “in short”). By form they can be an introductory word (shekilli “it seems”), an introductory phrase (to‘g‘risini aytganda “to tell the truth”, bir so‘z bilan aytganda “in a word”) or an introductory sentence (Esimda bo‘lsa “If I remember rightly”, Sizga aytsam “Let me tell you”). Introductory units are separated from the main sentence by commas; an introductory sentence is sometimes separated by brackets or a dash. They increase the expressiveness and effect of speech and are frequent in the colloquial, artistic and publicistic styles, while in the scientific and official styles mainly units of order and conclusion are used.

Worked examples
Doubt and feeling: «Balki, ertaga yomg‘ir yog‘ar.» (“Perhaps it will rain tomorrow.”) – «Afsuski, kutubxona bugun yopiq.» (“Unfortunately the library is closed today.”)
Introductory phrase and sentence: «To‘g‘risini aytganda, bu rejaga ishonmayman.» (“To tell the truth, I don’t believe this plan.”) – «Esimda bo‘lsa, kutubxona soat to‘qqizda ochiladi.» (“If I remember rightly, the library opens at nine.”)
Class activity

“Add an introductory unit”: groups add different introductory units (albatta, balki, afsuski) to one declarative sentence and explain the change in meaning.

Practice
1
What function do introductory units perform in a sentence?
2
Find the introductory unit in «Menimcha, bu to‘g‘ri yo‘l.» and its meaning.
3
How do the introductory words «albatta» and «balki» differ in meaning?
4
Why is the main content of the sentence preserved when we remove an introductory unit?