Anacoluthon as a Figure of Speech

Anacoluthon (from Ancient Greek ἀνακόλουθον, lit. "inconsistency") — a rhetorical figure consisting in the incorrect grammatical agreement of words in a sentence, made either through oversight or as a stylistic device (a stylistic error) to lend a distinctive character to a character's speech. By its nature, anacoluthon stands out against a background of grammatically correct speech. Related to anacoluthon are syntactic zaum (text built on the systematic violation of syntactic rules) and errative (text built on the violation of spelling rules).

Literary examples

Anacoluthon is used, in particular, to give speech characteristics to a character who does not have full command of the language (a foreigner, a child, or simply an uncultured person). Colonel Skalozub, in Griboyedov's comedy "Woe from Wit," says «Мне совестно, как честный офицер» (lit. "I am ashamed, as an honest officer" — the nominative case used instead of the grammatically required dative of the correct «Мне совестно, как честному офицеру», "I am ashamed, as [befits] an honest officer"). In Tolstoy, the presiding judge of the court, a man evidently brought up speaking French, says «Вы желаете сделать вопрос?» (lit. "Do you wish to make a question?" — a French-style calque, instead of the idiomatic «задать вопрос», "to ask a question") ("Resurrection." Part One, Chapter XI).

In Bulgakov, Professor Preobrazhensky points out an error in the speech of the proletarian Shvonder:

«— Мы, управление дома, — с ненавистью заговорил Швондер, — пришли к вам после общего собрания жильцов нашего дома, на котором стоял вопрос об уплотнении квартир дома…» (lit. "We, the house management," Shvonder began with hatred, "have come to you following a general meeting of the tenants of our building, at which the question of compacting the building's apartments stood…" — the verb "stood," left dangling, is what draws Preobrazhensky's objection below.)

«— Кто на ком стоял? — крикнул Филипп Филиппович, — потрудитесь излагать ваши мысли яснее.» (lit. "Who stood on whom?" Philip Philippovich shouted. "Kindly express your thoughts more clearly.")

— "Heart of a Dog"

Anacoluthon is also widely used as a means of humorous, satirical depiction:

Approaching this station and looking at nature through the window, my hat flew off.

— Chekhov A. P. "The Complaints Book"

«Я недавно читал у одного Французского ученого, что львиная морда совсем не похожа на человеческий лик, как думают ученыи. И насщот этого мы поговорим. Приежжайте, сделайте милость. Приежжайте хоть завтра например.» (lit., misspellings of the original preserved: "I recently read in [the work of] a certain French scholar that a lion's muzzle is not at all like a human face, as scholars ['ученыи', misspelled] think. And we will talk about this ['насщот', misspelled for 'насчёт']. Please come, do me the kindness. Come even tomorrow, for example ['Приежжайте', misspelled for 'Приезжайте'].")

— Chekhov A. P. "Letter to a Learned Neighbor"

However, grammatical irregularity, by drawing attention to itself, can lend speech a more expressive character, and for this reason writers of various eras and movements have also resorted to anacoluthon in authorial narration in order to create emotional emphasis:

«Чувствуемый оттуда запах махорки и какими-то прокислыми щами делал почти невыносимым жизнь в этом месте» (lit. "The smell of makhorka tobacco and some kind of sour cabbage soup, felt from there, made life in this place almost unbearable" — the participle "felt" fails to agree grammatically with what follows, an authorial anacoluthon.)

— Pisemsky A. F. "An Old Man's Sin"

«То, которое бык на Лесбосе вдруг увидев, взревел и, клубясь к ней с холма, ткнулся рогом, войдя ей под мышку» (lit., preserving the broken syntax of the original: "That, which a bull on Lesbos having suddenly seen, bellowed, and, billowing toward her from the hill, poked with its horn, having entered under her arm" — the sentence's case and participial agreement deliberately collapse.)

— Solovyov S. V. "Amort"

See also

• Amphiboly
• Errative