II sd Based on Usage of Adjectives.

1.Sd Based on Usage of the Invariant Lexico-grammatical Meaning of Qualitativeness.

General (or invariant) lexico-grammatical meaning of adjectives is that of qualitativeness. The meaning of qualitativeness is closely connected with estimation. That is why the stylistic value of adjectives is rather great. The only grammatical category of adjectives is – the category of comparison. It determines the fact that adjectives have wide synonymic field not only within adjectives themselves but also within word-combinations which are language units of a higher level. Semantic and stylistic difference between adjectives and their synonymic equivalents (in the form of word-combinations) is rather significant. According to N. N. Rayevskaya general lexico-grammatical meaning of qualitativeness is enriched by secondary differential characteristics of word-combinations which have qualitatively-estimative shades of meaning and meaning of subjective estimation as well. These equivalents are able to convey more expressive and more characteristic features than even adjectives. [p. 44].

Adjectives and their equivalents are widely used in fiction in different types of narration or in exposition. Let’s compare the beginning of 2 stories:

e.g. a) “On December evening just three weeks before Christmas, after an uneasily mild

day that had died in a darkening flush of violet twilight, Christie Wilcox came

down Gressley to look for his long-lost pal, Tommy Flynn”

(S. Barstow. The Search for Tommy Flynn);

b) “The sand of the seaward side of the dunes glittered like fine white sugar in the

sun. A plastic ball, in white and yellow stripes, rolled softly and with deceptive

slowness from one dry turf of dune-grass to another, not at all unlike a big bored

snail, until suddenly a sharper gust of breeze caught it and tossed it bouncing high

across the shore.” (H. Bates. How Vainly Men Themselves Amaze.).

The authors use adjectives and their equivalents not only for detailed description but also for creation of emotional atmosphere of anxiety and uneasiness in the first story and emotional atmosphere of calmness and serenity in the second story.

2. Sd Based on Usage of Degrees of Comparison.

The nucleus of the functional-semantic field of comparison is synthetical, analytical and suppletive forms of degrees of comparison. They can express practically any degree of quality of positive or negative estimation:

bad – worse – the worst; good – better – the best.

Qualitative adjectives are always estimative, that’s why they are used as epithets (picturesque view, tremendous achievements) and they can form degrees of comparison. Relative adjectives normally do not form degrees of comparison and serve as logical (non-stylistic) attributes (red colour, Italian car, dead man). However, they may be occasionally transposed into qualitative. Such transposition imports originality and freshness in speech:

e. g. “Ferrari” is the most Italian car which you can meet in this remote

corner of the world.

This is the reddest colour I’ve ever seen in my life.

You cannot be deader than the dead.

Garry was the deadest man ever present in that ambitious society.

(E. Hemingway.)

Expressiveness of adjectives may be enriched by non-grammatical transpositions in the formation of the degrees of comparison, when well-known rules of their formation are intentionally violated:

e. g. My bride was becoming beauifuller and beauifuller.

You are the bestest friend I’ve ever met.

“Curiouser and curiouser!” cried Alice (she was so much surprised that for

the moment she quite forgot how to speak English). (L. Carroll)