Категорія суперлативності англійського прикметника: функціональний та дискурсивний аспекти

Диссертация на соискание ученой степени кандидата филологических наук по специальности 10.02.04 - германские языки. - Киевский национальный университет имени Тараса Шевченко. - Киев, 2011.

В диссертационной работе осуществлен системный анализ категории суперлативности как формы проявления лингвистической категории интенсивности. Использование функционального подхода позволило представить категорию суперлативности как целостную систему (функционально-семантическое поле) в единстве ее элементов, связанных общим семантическим содержанием и функцией, выявило закономерности взаимодействия грамматики и лексики. В центре поля суперлативности - превосходная степень сравнения прилагательных (относительный суперлатив и его разновидности: собственно-суперлативное, включительно-суперлативное и ограничительно-суперлативное значения), передающая наивысшую степень выражения признака, а на периферии - абсолютный суперлатив (элатив), обозначающий существенное превышение или недостижение “нормы”. Дискурсивное исследование категории суперлативности позволило обнаружить ее тесную связь с другими семантическими категориями - объективными категориями качества, количества, меры признака и градуальности и субъективно-прагматическими категориями экспрессивности, эмотивности, образности и оценки.

Ключевые слова: категория интенсивности, категория суперлативности, относительный суперлатив, абсолютный суперлатив (элатив).

Kravtsova O.A. The category of superlativity of English adjective: functional and discursive aspects. - Manuscript.

A thesis for a Candidate Degree in Philology, speciality 10.02.04 - Germanic Languages. - Kyiv Taras Shevchenko National University. - Kyiv, 2011.

The dissertation presents an all-encompassing analysis of the category of superlativity as a manifestation of the linguistic category of intensity. Comprehensive study of the category of superlativity and its specificity has enabled a systemic description of its linguistic message and formal aspects, as well as the analysis of the system of superlativity devices in modern English adjectives and related devices.

In Chapter One, “The Category of Intensity and the Category of Superlativity as a manifestation of the linguistic Category of Intensity in Modern English”, we define specific pragmatic and semantic features of these categories. Intensity is viewed a quantitative measure of evaluation of quality. The corpus of various linguistic devices of intensity includes intensifying adjectives, intensifying adverbs, gradable adjectives, intensifiers, which go with certain gradable words, phraseological intensifiers, exclamations etc. By employing a functional semantic approach, we have determined the structure of the functional-semantic field of superlativity in modern English and described its core and periphery components. The system of linguistic devices of the category of superlativity as a specific manifestation of the category of intensity have been analyzed in detail within grammatical, world-building, lexical, and phraseological dimensions. Two types of superlatives - “relative” and “absolute' - have been singled out.

Chapter Two, “The Core of the Superlativity Field of English Adjective”, deals with the third degree of adjectives which functions attributively as pre-modifiers and predicatively as complements to the object. The chapter also deals with the comparative degree issues (comparative degree with negation) and semantic specificity of the components of comparison. The core of the field in question is made up predominantly of “relative” superlatives of adjectives (and its varieties “proper superlatives”, “inclusive superlatives”, and “restrictive-superlatives”) conveying the highest degree of quality.

In Chapter Three, “The Periphery of the Superlativity Field of English Adjective”, the system of “absolute” (elative) superlativity devices has been analyzed. The periphery of the field in question is made up of elative devices that convey exceeding or failing to reach the “norm”. Here belong numerous adjectives-intensifiers (very and its synonyms), semi-comparative intensifying phraseological units, world-building devices (prefixes like over-, hyper-, super-, ultra- and compounding), pertinent implicit nominations etc.

In Chapter Four, “The Category of Superlativity among Other Semantic Categories and its Discursive Description”, the discourse features of superlativity in publicistic texts and belles-lettres have been elucidated. A wide range of intensifiers, adverbials, adjective superlatives, as well as word-building and syntactic devices were found to play an important discursive role. The interplay of category of superlativity with several other relevant semantic categories, namely, the categories of quality, quantity, measure, expressivity, emotivity, evaluation etc. has been revealed.

The category of superlativity as a manifestation of linguistic category of intensity holds one of the dominant positions within a socio-axiological framework of the text and has a lot to do with its communicative and pragmatic features. It could be viewed as an integral system (functional-semantic field) that houses a lot of integral elements linked by a joint semantic content and function. The paper provides a key to determining regular patterns of grammar-vocabulary interaction, and outlines further studies within this line of research.

Key words: the category of intensity, the category of superlativity, relative superlative, absolute superlative (elative).

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