Roaming South America

Syntactic Pleonasm

August 26, 2024

The title of today's blog introduces the term "syntactic pleonasm." But what exactly does that mean? Have you encountered thisconcept before? The word pleonasm comes from the Greek word pleon meaning "more" or "too much." Pleonasms have been used since ancienttimes.

A few years ago, during one of my English classes, a student asked me about the word "that" in an example sentence from atextbook. He was curious why it was included. I explained that the use of "that" in that particular context was a syntactic pleonasm-a word or phrasethat adds no essential meaning to the sentence. It was just extra verbiage with no grammatical necessity whatsoever. (Note: "whatsoever" here is alsoa syntactic pleonasm, as it adds emphasis but nothing to the meaning of the sentence.) If you remove the word "whatsoever" you still have the samemeaning.

Consider the sentence:

The word "that" in this sentence is a syntactic pleonasm. If you remove it, the sentence still makes perfect sense: "I thought you had called lastnight." The meaning remains unchanged, showing that "that" is simply unnecessary here. Similarly, in the earlier example, I ended a sentence with"whatsoever," which, again, serves no real purpose and could be omitted without losing any meaning.

Another form of syntactic pleonasm occurs when synonyms are used redundantly in the same sentence. For example, in the phrase"useless and pointless," (both are synonyms) both words convey the same meaning, making one of them redundant. In this context, their coexistence isa syntactic pleonasm.

Pleonasm doesn't just occur syntactically; there's also semantic pleonasm, where redundant words or phrases appear in terms thatinherently convey the same idea. Some common examples include:

Each of these expressions includes an element that is unnecessary because its meaning is already implied.

However, it's important to note that pleonasms aren't always bad. Sometimes, they serve a purpose, such as emphasizing a point,clarifying a concept, or ensuring a specific meaning is conveyed in your writing. For example:

Here, "that one" and "the other one" might seem redundant, but they clarify the speaker's intent. Similarly:

The redundancy can help reinforce the speaker's apology.

Here are some examples of idiomatic, or commonly accepted, pleonasms:

• safe and sound
• each and every
• safe haven
• tuna fish
• terms and conditions
• each and all

Pleonasms are often found in poetry, where repetition and redundancy can enhance rhythm, emphasis, or aesthetic effect. They alsoappear in everyday language, sometimes due to habit, and other times because the speaker or writer simply prefers a more elaborate expression.

In summary, while pleonasms can often be removed without altering the meaning of a sentence, they do have their place in language,whether for emphasis, clarity, or stylistic choice. The key is to recognize when they add value and when they can be omitted for more concisecommunication.

If you are a writer pleonasms are one more thing you should be on the watch for - too many of them can make your writing comeacross as wordy or cluttered, or can muddy the meaning of the sentence. Yes, a few are fine, particularly when writing dialogue so it sounds morenatural. Shakespeare used many pleonasms in his writings. In Othello, Act 5, Shakespeare wrote, "I saw it with my own eyes." He certainly didn't seeit with someone else's eyes. He uses the pleonastic phrase for emphasis. Ernest Hemingway wrote in "A Farewell to Arms" - "I myself am sure that weshall see no more." Including the word "myself" should be an obvious pleonasm by now. The word "myself" in that sentence is pleonastic, but in thissentence it is not: "I taught myself how to play the piano." Not all reflexive pronouns are pleonastic, as in, "I did it myself." Technically, yes,it is a pleonasm, but in speech, in dialogue, it is used for emphasis, and is a common expression, so it is aceptable.

Determining what is or isn't a pleonasm can sometimes be tricky. For example, in a situation where someone is clarifying orcorrecting a misunderstanding, such as:

the emphasis on "I" justifies the use of "myself." And in this example:

Here "myself" clearly indicates that the action was performed solo, making the phrase meaningful and non-redundant. Whether "myself" is pleonasticdepends on whether it adds necessary emphasis or merely repeats what is already understood from the sentence.