Rhâ, Mmnmpfff, Nnniirrffrl: on the functioning of the interjection in speech

Anna Bobińska

Uniwersytet Łódzki

Abstract

Despite its frequent appearance in natural expression (both spoken and written), the interjection remains, paradoxically, one of the most controversial phenomena in the whole language system and is therefore considered peripheral. The complexity of its nature, as well as its very ambiguous status, lead to blurry terminology, which, at this stage of research, does not allow to achieve a defining model that could be satisfactory for all elements of this grammatical class. The paper aims to explore the category of the interjection by relying on morphological, syntactic and semantic criteria. The objective of my work is to describe the functioning of the interjection in speech by evoking the role of situational context which determines the multifunctional character of this group of words. This approach will also allow me to analyze the expressive potential of the grammatical category in question and its communicative significance.

Keywords:

speech, polyfunctionality, situational context, expressivity