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INTENSIFICATION IN LANGUAGE AND SPEECH
Abdullaeva S.M.
Teacher of Uzbek State World Languages university
Tashkent, Uzbekistan
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14055105
Following P.A. Lekant, intensification in language and speech can be
understood as a number of functional-semantic operations, including emphasis
(accentuation), strengthening, completeness, gradation (usually its high degree),
generalization and evaluation [Lekant 2011: 58]. Intensification is associated
with the expression of emotions of a native speaker, for whom it is important to
strengthen the semantics of his words in a given situation. This is why U. Labov
believes that the means of linguistic intensification underlie social and
emotional expression in the speaker's speech [Labov 1984: 43].
A. Vezhbitskaya points out that hyperbolization, as a means of "expressing
any assessments - both positive and negative, is a striking feature of modern
language that uses intensifying means [Vezhbitskaya 1996: 84]. Indeed, in the
colloquial speech of native speakers, in advertising, on the Internet and other
sources one can often hear/see such phrases as supernutritious bar, grandiose
scandal, etc.
It is worth noting that the functional-semantic category of intensity has the
property of universality: the means of its expression cover linguistic units of
different levels - verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, nouns, phraseological
units, complete texts, etc. [Bezrukova 2004]. The intensifier quite as a source of
new units
This paper analyzes the adverb quite in its various implementations in
speech (in particular, as part of a construction and a hashtag). This word is a
source of expression in the intensifiers under consideration.
The analyzed adverb quite is an adverb of measure and degree, indicating a
different degree of manifestation of some feature. Adverbs of measure and
degree are defined as lexical and phraseological units that perform the “function
of indicating the degree of magnitude or the evaluation of the feature of the
subject of speech” [Khovalkina 1996: 80]. This group of adverbs was noted in
the works of V.V. Vinogradov, N.N. Prokopovich, I.P. Slesareva, A.N. Baranov, V.A.
Plungyan, E.V. Rakhilina, E. Krzhizhkova, A.A. Khovalkina, and others.
S.A. Grigorieva in the “New Explanatory Dictionary of Synonyms of the
Russian Language” defines it as an adverb indicating “higher intensity of the
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final state” [Grigoryeva 2003: 1082]. The definition of the adverb 'completely' is
also given in the 'Guide to Discourse Words of the Russian Language', where its
meaning of 'completion/culmination of the process', named by the word
interacting with the given adverb, is noted [Baranov, Plungyan, Rakhilina 1993:
148]. And finally, the academic dictionary gives the following definition:
'completely, completely' [MAS 1988: 177].
From these definitions, we can conclude that the adverb sovye reflects
gradation, i.e. indicates a high degree of the value of a feature. This, as one might
assume, was the reason for the formation of the construction from the word
sovye, to which the adverb “gave” the same semantics.
Researchers analyzing the construction from the word sovye, note that “the
phraseological expression in question” came from a “free combination from the
word”, which is usually used as a reference to the etymology of the word.
However, in the new meaning, “from the word sovye refers to the axis of
syntagmatics, that is, sovye <...> is syntagmatically connected with the words of
this or the previous sentence” [Voznesenskaya, Severskaya 2019: 477].
S.S. Belousov in his 2016 work “From the word sovye as a grammatical
construction” [Belousov 2016] presented the first case of using this
construction. He managed to find an example of the use of the construction on
one of the forums, where a man from the city of Volgodonsk wrote the following
in 2005: The only major drawback is that it is not waterproof, not at all
[CONFERENCE on AIRSOFTGUN.RU: elec. rksurs].
Since 2005, the construction has been developing and functioning in the
texts of blogs in various social networks. It is important to note that there is no
single type of this construction. The following spelling options were identified
during the study:
1) using a comma separating the construction or hashtag from the main
sentence
And I don’t know it at all, not at all;
Perhaps #detective, #fantasy, drama or a whirlwind romance are not
interesting, #fromwordsatall;
2) using a period, resulting in a parceled construction
Now all targeted/contextual advertising on the network will have to be
marked. From the word absolutely;
Everything works differently.
3) using ellipsis, intonationally highlighting the construction or hashtag:
And household chores NEVER end ... from the word absolutely
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With you by my side it's not scary at all...
As further evidence of the thesis about the many spelling options for the
construction in question, let's turn to sentences written in 2013, 2017 and 2019,
respectively:
The Logitech Kinetik Backpack hard laptop backpack has disappeared from
sale, from the word absolutely;
We decided to look at luxury real estate for the sake of contrast and
beautiful shots and suddenly learned from a local expert that it does not exist -
from the word "absolutely";
I'll leave this life - no one will need it from the word “abso-lute”.
Thus, the semantics of the original adverb quite "subordinates" both the
construction created on its basis and the hashtag. The proposed "intensification
scale": quite - from the word “quite” - demonstrates graphic and related
semantic changes that contribute to the strengthening of the intensification of a
particular linguistic expression.
It is especially important to note that a feature of modern Russian speech is
the use of intensifying means. Due to this, the construction from the word quite
gained popularity, and subsequently the hashtag.
References:
1.
Baranov A.N., Plungyan V.A., Rakhilina E.V. Guide to discursive words of the
Russian language. Moscow: Pomovsky and partners, 1993. 207 p.
2.
Bezrukova V.V. Intensification and intensifiers in language and speech
(based on the English language): diss. ... Cand. Philological sciences. Voronezh,
2004. 222 p. (typewritten).
3.
Belousov S.S. From the word quite like a grammatical construction //
Scientific notes of Petrozavodsk state university. 2016. No. 7-1 (160). P. 72-77.
4.
Vezhbitskaya A. Language. Culture. Cognition / ed. M.A. Krongauz. Moscow:
Russian dictionaries, 1996. 416 p.
5.
Voznesenskaya M.M., Severskaya O.I. "Never from the word quite":
intensifying semantics of slang agrammatisms // Russian grammar: active
processes in language and speech: collection of scientific works. Int. scientific
symp. / scientific ed. V.N. Stepanov. Yaroslavl, 2019. Pp. 470-480.
6.
Grigorieva S.A. COMPLETELY 1, FINALLY, (emotional-intensifying) END //
New explanatory dictionary of synonyms of the Russian language / edited by
Yu.D. Apresyan. Moscow: Languages of Slavic Culture, 2003. P. 1082.
7.
Lekant P.A. Subjective analytical category of intensive in Russian //
Analytical in the lexical and grammatical system of the Russian language. /
edited by P.A. Lekant; Moscow State University. M., 2011. Pp. 130-136
