Degree forms of absolute qualitative adjectives in modern speech
The article focuses on the problem of absolute qualitative adjectives forming degrees of comparison, which is among the most active processes in Russian grammar. Absolute qualitative adjectives denote qualities which cannot be expressed in a greater or smaller degree. The work presents analysis of semantic and grammatical features of non-standard forms of absolute qualitative adjectives and explores possible reasons for such form spreading in modern speech. The source of the language material is the Russian National Corpus database and the so-called ‘spoken-written language’ of the Russian Internet space. The four types of non-standard forms of absolute qualitative adjectives are equally spread in modern speech. Their examples can be found in the informal language of forums, blogs, social networks, as well as in mass media texts and literary works. Among the reasons for the increasing popularity of non-standard degree forms the following deserve consideration: a speaker’s effort to express their individual creativity, especially an ability to create language play; a growing tendency to make speech more expressive and to hyperbolize the estimates as well as save speech efforts. The absolute qualitative adjective in any given degree of comparison can keep its direct meaning, the graduation of the feature being frequently accompanied by a semantic shift: the adjective loses the meaning of absolute quality in consequence of metaphorical and metonymical usage, or when used in its special (technical) meaning.