Authors’ names:
- Irina V. Savina, Irina B. Krivchenko – Samara National Research University, Samara, Russia
Abstract:
Modern English speech is characterized by a high rate of tempo, which presupposes the necessity to establish a quick and definite contact between the interlocutors and clarify each other’s status. In this regard, speakers make good use of the potential provided by various forms of address. Linguistic research has traditionally focused on defining the status of direct address within the sentence, and many contemporary studies deal with its functions and cultural aspects. The present study paper seeks to analyze emotive and evaluative features of lexical units used as direct address in modern English speech. The material used for research consists of dialogues from plays written in the 21st century by modern English-speaking authors. Due to the emergence of new genre forms and the modern focus on everyday problems, plays of this period contain stylized speech which bears great resemblance to authentic speech of native speakers of English. The material was analyzed using the method of functional and semantic approach, the method of linguistic interpretation, and the method of quantitative calculations, utilized to identify the most frequent lexical units used as direct address. The research proves that direct address in modern English speech is rarely neutral, and its emotive and evaluative potential is often realized through a limited number of lexical units containing either a positive or negative coloring. The choice of specific words for direct address depends not only on the communicative situation, the status of the speaker and their interlocutor, but also on the emotional state of the communicator and native speakers’ constant urge to seek new creative possibilities and use new ways of addressing one and the same person.
| Section | LANGUAGE AND CULTURE |
| DOI: | 10.47388/2072-3490/lunn2023-64-4-146-161 |
| Downloads | 52 |
| Key words | address; speech; stylized speech; emotiveness; evaluation; discourse of drama |