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Chapter 5 - Maximizers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 March 2024

Claudia Claridge
Affiliation:
University of Augsburg
Ewa Jonsson
Affiliation:
Mid Sweden University
Merja Kytö
Affiliation:
Uppsala University
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Summary

This chapter provides an inventory of maximizer types and tokens attested in the data. Altogether 23 maximizers, covering both full and zero forms, were included in the study, totalling 9,488 relevant tokens; the four top-frequency items comprise perfectly, too, most and entirely. The diachronic distribution of the top seven maximizers across the period studied is discussed, with comparisons made between usage in the Late Modern English and the modern BNC trials data. The maximizers prove to be the only category of intensifiers increasing across the period studied; boosters and downtoners show declining rates of use. The semantic input domains of the maximizers are discussed, and the targets of intensification and the collocational features in usage patterns presented. Maximizers mainly modify adjectives and less so adverbs and verbs. Within the category of maximized adjectives, the category of Human Propensity dominates; within the maximized category of verbs, the material process types cover most of the uses. Finally, the collocates and semantic prosodies of the top seven maximizers are described, with attention paid to the situation-specific and relatively fixed uses.

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Chapter
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Intensifiers in Late Modern English
A Sociopragmatic Approach to Courtroom Discourse
, pp. 90 - 119
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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  • Maximizers
  • Claudia Claridge, University of Augsburg, Ewa Jonsson, Mid Sweden University, Merja Kytö, Uppsala University
  • Book: Intensifiers in Late Modern English
  • Online publication: 15 March 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108560627.005
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  • Maximizers
  • Claudia Claridge, University of Augsburg, Ewa Jonsson, Mid Sweden University, Merja Kytö, Uppsala University
  • Book: Intensifiers in Late Modern English
  • Online publication: 15 March 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108560627.005
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Maximizers
  • Claudia Claridge, University of Augsburg, Ewa Jonsson, Mid Sweden University, Merja Kytö, Uppsala University
  • Book: Intensifiers in Late Modern English
  • Online publication: 15 March 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108560627.005
Available formats
×