FUNCTIONING OF ADVERBS WITH SEMANTICS OF INSIGNIFICANT FEATURE AS THE EUPHEMISMS IN A LITERARY TEXT


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Abstract

The article studies and describes the use of adverbs with semantics of insignificant feature as euphemisms in a literary text. Their use is analyzed in five aspects: in aspect of their functioning in language and speech, semantic aspect, morphological aspect, syntactic aspect, and stylistic aspect. The author defines and differentiates the concepts of “euphemism” and “semantic operator”. Adverbs with semantics of insignificant feature in the aspect of a dichotomy "language – speech" as a part of combinations are capable to perform the function of both occasional and usual euphemisms. Not all the words and word collocations which "soften" a negative assessment are euphemisms. Euphemisms have accurate linguistic "borders". Everything that is outside their theme groups can soften the negative assessment of a statement, may have pragmatic value, but is not the euphemism. Adverbs like a little and a few as parts of combinations adjoin the language units as euphemisms possessing a certain morphemic structure: to full and short adjectives, to predicatives with a suffix of incompleteness of expression of a sign -ovat-/-evat-; to expressional ways of verbal action. The adverbs characterizing insignificant features are capable to perform the euphemism function as a part of combination. Adverbs with semantics of insignificant feature as euphemisms are capable to be used in combination with other tropes: meiosis, litotes, and irony.

About the authors

Natalya Anatolyevna Irismambetova

Samara Regional Institute of Teachers’ Professional Development and Retraining, Samara

Author for correspondence.
Email: nataly.davydkina@mail.ru

Candidate of Philological Sciences, Associate Professor, assistant professor of the department «Multicultural education»

Russian Federation

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