Functional profile of the lexeme ot in contemporary Polish: A cross-linguistic examination

Abstract

The Polish lexeme ot, which has no direct English translation, is an expression used mainly in fictional writing. Over the past several hundred years, ot has changed its function and use. Most of the Polish language dictionaries consulted for this paper define the lexeme as a tool for indicating the speaker’s opinion that the subject matter at hand is trivial or insignificant. In one dictionary, ot is also defined as a deictic word. These definitions present only a general picture of the use of ot in modern-day Polish and do not fully account for the lexeme’s functions in individual contexts. This study seeks to create a detailed functional profile for ot by examining its English equivalents. Acting as convenient labels for or paraphrases of the lexeme’s functions, the equivalents are believed to be particularly helpful in identifying these functions. This study provides evidence that in contemporary Polish, ot is used as both a discourse marker (DM) and a deictic expression, yet there is a considerable imbalance between these two broad roles, with the former being the role that notably prevails. As a DM, the lexeme serves several specific functions, such as signalling insignificance, exemplification or explanation. In a wider context, this paper shows how a translation-based study may inform research on the functional potential of semantically elusive items.