An expletive attributive is an

adjective In linguistics, an adjective ( abbreviated ) is a word that generally modifies a noun or noun phrase or describes its referent. Its semantic role is to change information given by the noun. Traditionally, adjectives were considered one of the ...

adverb An adverb is a word or an expression that generally modifies a verb, adjective, another adverb, determiner, clause, preposition, or sentence. Adverbs typically express manner, place, time, frequency, degree, level of certainty, etc., answering q ...

(or adjectival or adverbial phrase) that does not contribute to the

meaning Meaning most commonly refers to: * Meaning (linguistics), meaning which is communicated through the use of language * Meaning (philosophy), definition, elements, and types of meaning discussed in philosophy * Meaning (non-linguistic), a general te ...

of a sentence, but is used to

intensify ''Intensify'' is the second studio album by English electronic music duo Way Out West, released on 20 August 2001 by Distinct'ive Records. The album was marked by a move from the defunct Deconstruction Records label to Distinctive, and a change ...

its emotional force. Often such words or phrases are regarded as

profanity Profanity, also known as cursing, cussing, swearing, bad language, foul language, obscenities, expletives or vulgarism, is a socially offensive use of language. Accordingly, profanity is language use that is sometimes deemed impolite, ru ...

or "bad language", though there are also inoffensive expletive attributives. The word is derived from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...

verb A verb () is a word ( part of speech) that in syntax generally conveys an action (''bring'', ''read'', ''walk'', ''run'', ''learn''), an occurrence (''happen'', ''become''), or a state of being (''be'', ''exist'', ''stand''). In the usual descr ...

, meaning "to fill", and it was originally introduced into English in the 17th century for various kinds of

padding Padding is thin cushioned material sometimes added to clothes. Padding may also be referred to as batting when used as a layer in lining quilts or as a packaging or stuffing material. When padding is used in clothes, it is often done in an attempt ...

Etymology

''Expletive'' comes from the

verb , meaning "to fill", via , "filling out". It was introduced into English in the 17th century for various kinds of padding—the padding out of a book with peripheral material, the addition of syllables to a line of poetry for metrical purposes, and so forth. The use of ''expletive'' for such a meaning is now rare. Rather, ''expletive'' is a linguistics term for a meaningless word filling a syntactic vacancy. Outside linguistics, the word is commonly used to refer to "bad language" or

. Some linguists use it as shorthand for "expletive attributive".

Usage

There are many

attributive adjective In linguistics, an adjective ( abbreviated ) is a word that generally modifies a noun or noun phrase or describes its referent. Its semantic role is to change information given by the noun. Traditionally, adjectives were considered one of the ma ...

s and adverbs in English that function to indicate a speaker's anger, irritation or (in some cases) strong approval without otherwise modifying the meaning of the phrase in which they occur. An example is the word '' bloody'' as used in the following sentences: * "You'd better pray for a miracle if you want to avoid bankruptcy." * "That was a good meal." * "You'd better make it happen!" An expletive attributive is a type of

intensifier In linguistics, an intensifier ( abbreviated ) is a lexical category (but ''not'' a traditional part of speech) for a modifier that makes no contribution to the propositional meaning of a clause but serves to enhance and give additional emotional ...

. Unlike other adjective or adverb usage, '' bloody'' or ''bloody well'' in these sentences do not modify the meaning of ''miracle'', ''good meal'', or ''make it happen''. The expletive attributives here suggest that the speaker feels strongly about the proposition being expressed. Other vulgar words may also be used in this way: * "The policeman tailed me all the way home." * "I hope he chokes on his peanuts." Words that are never thought of as offensive can be used in similar ways. For example: * "I forgot to pay the phone bill twice running, so the line was cut off." The phone line discussed may have, before it was cut off, been just as good as any other, so would not have been '' wretched'' in the literal senses of "extremely shoddy", "devoid of hope" or similar. Rather, ''wretched'' serves here as a politer equivalent of expletive ''bloody'' and the like.

Infixation and interposition

Besides usual positioning for adverbs and attributive adjectives, expletive attributives can be found in unusual positions where others rarely are (including other intensifiers). Although considered colloquial at best, they are inserted:James B. McMillan,
Infixing & Interposing in English
" ''American Speech'' 55, 3 (Autumn 1980): 163–183 at 163–164, 168. * inside morphemes * between bases and affixes * inside compounds * inside letter and numeral words * inside names * between an adverb, negative or intensifier and an adjective * between an adjectival or determiner and a noun * between a preposition and a noun * between a verb and a particle or adverb * between an auxiliary and a verb * preceding the post-modifier ''else'' * inside idioms * between a ''wh-'' form and a predicate Depending on the precise definition (and the grammarian's general approach), these insertions may be classed as infixation, tmesis, diacope, interposition or unrecognized.

Notes and references

Notes

References