linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...

, an intensifier (

abbreviated An abbreviation () is a shortened form of a word or phrase, by any method including shortening, contraction, initialism (which includes acronym), or crasis. An abbreviation may be a shortened form of a word, usually ended with a trailing per ...

) is a lexical category (but ''not'' a traditional

part of speech In grammar, a part of speech or part-of-speech ( abbreviated as POS or PoS, also known as word class or grammatical category) is a category of words (or, more generally, of lexical items) that have similar grammatical properties. Words that are ...

) for a modifier that makes no contribution to the

proposition A proposition is a statement that can be either true or false. It is a central concept in the philosophy of language, semantics, logic, and related fields. Propositions are the object s denoted by declarative sentences; for example, "The sky ...

al meaning of a

clause In language, a clause is a Constituent (linguistics), constituent or Phrase (grammar), phrase that comprises a semantic predicand (expressed or not) and a semantic Predicate (grammar), predicate. A typical clause consists of a subject (grammar), ...

but serves to enhance and give additional emotional context to the

lexical item In lexicography, a lexical item is a single word, a part of a word, or a chain of words (catena (linguistics), catena) that forms the basic elements of a language's lexicon (≈ vocabulary). Examples are ''cat'', ''traffic light'', ''take ca ...

it modifies. Intensifiers are grammatical expletives, specifically ''expletive attributives'' (or, equivalently, ''attributive expletives'' or ''attributive-only expletives''; they also qualify as ''expressive attributives''), because they function as semantically vacuous filler. Characteristically, English draws intensifiers from a class of words called ''degree modifiers'', words that quantify the idea they modify. More specifically, they derive from a group of words called ''adverbs of degree'', also known as ''degree adverbs''. When used grammatically as intensifiers, these words cease to be degree

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

s, because they no longer quantify the idea they modify; instead, they emphasize it emotionally. By contrast, the words '' moderately'', '' slightly'', and '' barely'' are degree adverbs, but ''not'' intensifiers. The other hallmark of prototypical intensifiers is that they are adverbs which lack the primary characteristic of adverbs: the ability to modify verbs. Intensifiers modify exclusively

adjective An adjective (abbreviations, abbreviated ) is a word that describes or defines a noun or noun phrase. Its semantic role is to change information given by the noun. Traditionally, adjectives are considered one of the main part of speech, parts of ...

s and adverbs, but this rule is insufficient to classify intensifiers, since there exist other words commonly classified as adverbs that never modify verbs but are not intensifiers, e.g. '' questionably''. For these reasons, Huddleston argues that intensifier not be recognized as a primary grammatical or lexical category. Intensifier is a category with grammatical properties, but insufficiently defined unless its functional significance is also described (what Huddleston calls a '' notional definition''). Technically, intensifiers roughly qualify a point on the affective semantic property, which is gradable. Syntactically, intensifiers pre-modify either adjectives or adverbs. Semantically, they increase the emotional content of an expression. The basic intensifier is ''very''. A versatile word, English permits ''very'' to modify adjectives and adverbs, but not verbs. Other intensifiers often express the same intention as ''very''.

Examples of English intensifiers

Syntax

Not all intensifiers are the same syntactically since they vary on whether they can be used attributively or predicatively. For example, ''really'' and ''super'' can be used in both ways:Tagliamonte, Sali A. (2012). ''Variationist Sociolinguistics.'' UK: Wiley-Blackwell. p.9 ::a. The car is ''really'' expensive. - Predicative intensifier ::b. the ''really'' expensive car - Attributive intensifier ::a. Today was ''super'' cold. - Predicative intensifier ::b. a ''super'' cold day - Attributive intensifier Words such as ''so'' can occur only as predicative intensifiers, and others, such as ''-ass'', typically are used only as attributive intensifiers: ::a. The car is ''so'' expensive. - Predicative intensifier ::b. *the ''so'' expensive carThis article uses

asterisks The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often vocalize it as ...

to indicate ungrammatical examples. - Attributive intensifier (not grammatically correct, not used) ::a. *Today was ''cold-ass''. - Predicative intensifier (not grammatically correct, not used)The exception is ''badass'', which appears to be the source of this intensifier, rather than an instance of it. ::b. a ''cold-ass'' day - Attributive intensifier There is dialectal variation in the "correctness" of certain forms.

Illocutionary force

An intensifier expressly provides an emotional characterization of a

for the benefit of a reader or listener. A speaker or writer's use of the characterization encourages a reader or listener to consider and begin to feel the underlying emotion.

Persuasiveness and credibility

Legal

In general, overuse of intensifiers negatively affects the persuasiveness or credibility of a legal argument. However, if a judge's authoritative written opinion uses a high rate of intensifiers, a lawyer's written appeal of that opinion that also uses a high rate of intensifiers is associated with an increase in favorable outcomes for such appeals. Also, when judges disagree with each other in writing, they tend to use more intensifiers.

Business

A 2010

Stanford Graduate School of Business The Stanford Graduate School of Business is the Postgraduate education, graduate business school of Stanford University, a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California. For several years it has been the most selective ...

study found that, in quarterly earnings conference calls, deceptive CEOs use a greater percent quantity of "extreme positive emotions words" than do CEOs telling the truth. That finding agrees with the presumption that CEOs attempting to hide poor performance exert themselves more forcefully to persuade their listeners. David F. Larcker and Zakolyukinaz give a list of 115 extreme positive emotions words, including intensifiers: awful, deucedly, emphatically, excellently, fabulously, fantastically, genuinely, gloriously, immensely, incredibly, insanely, keenly, madly, magnificently, marvelously, splendidly, supremely, terrifically, truly, unquestionably, wonderfully, very ood A 2013 Forbes Magazine article about counterproductive modes of expression in English specifically discouraged use of ''really'' and observed that it provokes doubt and degrades the speaker's credibility: "'Really' – Finder calls this a 'poor attempt to instill candor and truthfulness' that makes clients and coworkers question whether you're ''really'' telling the truth."

Quotes

Philosopher

Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher. He began his career as a classical philology, classical philologist, turning to philosophy early in his academic career. In 1869, aged 24, Nietzsche bec ...

, in '' Human, All Too Human'' (1878), wrote:

''The narrator''. It is easy to tell whether a narrator is narrating because the subject matter interests him or because he wants to evoke interest through his narrative. If the latter is the case, he will exaggerate, use superlatives, etc. Then he usually narrates the worse, because he is not thinking so much about the story as about himself.'' Human, All Too Human'', § 343

A quote often attributed to

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Fau ...

but probably by newspaper editor William Allen White is "Substitute 'damn' every time you're inclined to write 'very'; your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be."

Examples of English intensifiers

Syntax

Illocutionary force

Persuasiveness and credibility

Legal

Business

Quotes

See also

Notes

References

External links