Indexation of the degrees of functional modalation and interjectivation of word forms such as “horror”/ “nightmare”

Abstract

This article examines the result of functional transposition of language units from nouns into introductory-modal words with the meaning of affective evaluation of the conveyed and emotive interjections. The object of this analysis is the substantive word forms such as “horror” / “nightmare”, which functionin in the syncretic context of modalation and interjectivation. The subject of this analysis is the combinatorics and proportion of differential features of nouns, introductory-modal words and interjections within the structure of syncretic formations. The relevance of this work is substantiated by the need for studying syncretic zones in the grammatical structure of language; determination of the peculiarities of interaction between the grammatical and the lexical within the semantic-grammatical structure of formations place at the intersection of several transpositional processes in the sphere of the parts of speech and inter-part-of-speech categories of predicatives and introductory-modal units. The novelty of this research consists in the use of quantitative characteristics in assessing the degrees of functional modalation and interjectivation of desubstantive word forms such as “horror”/ "nightmare". The article describes the experience of calculating the indexes of their transposition into position of isolated introductory-modal components of expression with the meaning of effective evaluation of situation. It is determined that syncretic formations “horror” / “nightmare” detect in syncretic contexts of modalation and interjectivation 5% correspondence of their differential features to the features of reference nouns, 64% correspondence to the features of nuclear introductory-modal words such as “of course”, and 56% correspondence to the features of nuclear emotive interjections such as “all is ruined!”.