John Benjamins Publishing Company
“You’re absolutely right!!”
Abstract
The English degree adverb absolutely and its Spanish equivalent absolutamente may function as modifiers of words of different kinds, as Adjuncts and as (parts of) minor clauses. This article sets forth a quantitative analysis, based on naturally-occurring linguistic data, of the distribution of these functions for both adverbs. Apart from distributional differences between the two adverbs and between their occurrences in spoken and written language, the results show that when they are modifiers of words or Verbal Group-oriented Adjuncts, their main function is to qualify (part of) the propositional content of the utterance; however, when they are clausal Adjuncts or (parts of) minor clauses, they are often geared to the performance of discourse functions such as contrast, concession or agreement. These functions are shared with some adverbs of certainty such as ‘certainly’ or ‘definitely’, which suggests that the semantic difference between degree and certainty tends to be blurred when adverbs of maximal strength of both types are used for performing discourse functions that enhance assertiveness.
Abstract
The English degree adverb absolutely and its Spanish equivalent absolutamente may function as modifiers of words of different kinds, as Adjuncts and as (parts of) minor clauses. This article sets forth a quantitative analysis, based on naturally-occurring linguistic data, of the distribution of these functions for both adverbs. Apart from distributional differences between the two adverbs and between their occurrences in spoken and written language, the results show that when they are modifiers of words or Verbal Group-oriented Adjuncts, their main function is to qualify (part of) the propositional content of the utterance; however, when they are clausal Adjuncts or (parts of) minor clauses, they are often geared to the performance of discourse functions such as contrast, concession or agreement. These functions are shared with some adverbs of certainty such as ‘certainly’ or ‘definitely’, which suggests that the semantic difference between degree and certainty tends to be blurred when adverbs of maximal strength of both types are used for performing discourse functions that enhance assertiveness.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction: How false friends give true hints about pragmatic markers 1
- Semantic change 11
- Degrees of pragmaticalization 37
- “You’re absolutely right!!” 65
- The imperative of intentional visual perception as a pragmatic marker 95
- É vida, olha… : Imperatives as discourse markers and grammaticalization paths in Romance 117
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Reviews
- Gaétane Dostie, Pragmaticalisation et marqueurs discursifs: analyse sémantique et traitement lexicographique 141
- Karin Aijmer and Anne-Marie Simon-Vandenbergen (eds), Pragmatic Markers in Contrast 148
- Richard Waltereit, Abtönung. Zur Pragmatik und historischen Semantik von Modalpartikeln und ihren funktionalen Äquivalenten in romanischen Sprachen 153
- Index 159
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction: How false friends give true hints about pragmatic markers 1
- Semantic change 11
- Degrees of pragmaticalization 37
- “You’re absolutely right!!” 65
- The imperative of intentional visual perception as a pragmatic marker 95
- É vida, olha… : Imperatives as discourse markers and grammaticalization paths in Romance 117
-
Reviews
- Gaétane Dostie, Pragmaticalisation et marqueurs discursifs: analyse sémantique et traitement lexicographique 141
- Karin Aijmer and Anne-Marie Simon-Vandenbergen (eds), Pragmatic Markers in Contrast 148
- Richard Waltereit, Abtönung. Zur Pragmatik und historischen Semantik von Modalpartikeln und ihren funktionalen Äquivalenten in romanischen Sprachen 153
- Index 159
