Startseite Chapter 18. Intensification in dialogue vs. narrative in a corpus of present-day English fiction
Kapitel
Lizenziert
Nicht lizenziert Erfordert eine Authentifizierung

Chapter 18. Intensification in dialogue vs. narrative in a corpus of present-day English fiction

  • Signe Oksefjell Ebeling und Hilde Hasselgård
Weitere Titel anzeigen von John Benjamins Publishing Company

Abstract

This chapter examines adverbial intensification of adjectives in present-day English fiction, with the aim of establishing whether dialogic and narrative passages differ in this regard. Although the corpus is relatively small, the study indicates that the frequency of intensification differs across these two subregisters of fiction. Findings of a more qualitative nature include slight differences in preferred choice of intensifiers in dialogue (very > so > too) vs. narrative (so > too > very). Moreover, dialogue has a preference for evaluative adjectives, while narrative shows more variation. A comparison with authentic speech uncovered few clear patterns except the predominance of some high-frequency adverb-adjective combinations. Nevertheless, the differences between fictional dialogue and narrative demonstrate that linguistic phenomena may vary both within and across registers.

Abstract

This chapter examines adverbial intensification of adjectives in present-day English fiction, with the aim of establishing whether dialogic and narrative passages differ in this regard. Although the corpus is relatively small, the study indicates that the frequency of intensification differs across these two subregisters of fiction. Findings of a more qualitative nature include slight differences in preferred choice of intensifiers in dialogue (very > so > too) vs. narrative (so > too > very). Moreover, dialogue has a preference for evaluative adjectives, while narrative shows more variation. A comparison with authentic speech uncovered few clear patterns except the predominance of some high-frequency adverb-adjective combinations. Nevertheless, the differences between fictional dialogue and narrative demonstrate that linguistic phenomena may vary both within and across registers.

Heruntergeladen am 17.9.2025 von https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1075/scl.97.18ebe/html
Button zum nach oben scrollen