Training the Augmented Interpreter Today

Abstract

The paper addresses decoding and interpretation of evaluative senses of diminutive and augmentative designations of person. The empirical corpus is constituted by the lexical units selected from lexicographic sources according to a number of criteria, among which are the following: a marker of person in the lexicographic definition, a morphological or syntactic marker of diminutivity and augmentativity in the lexical unit structure, a quantitative and qualitative evaluation marker in the definition, a connotational label. The methods of componential, structural, and linguocultural analysis as well as a descriptive method have been applied to bring into the open evaluative semantics of diminutives and augmentatives. Diminutive and augmentative designations of person are axiologically complicated. Alongside the meaning of diminution and augmentation they express emotional, evaluative, expressive, and stylistic connotations. Axiological potential of the vocabulary layer in question is of great importance for decoding the English speaking community values’ worldview. All diminutives and augmentatives of the corpus are ascertained to have a particular evaluative meaning. Ethical, aesthetic and intellectual evaluations are the most frequent, with emotional, hedonic and normative evaluations being less frequent. Behaviour, appearance, and intelligence are the most important bases for evaluating a person in the English cultural community. Diminutive and augmentative designations of person with rational-emotional and emotional semantics prevail, while designations with rational evaluation are few in number. Evaluative asymmetry also manifests itself in prevalence of pejorative diminutive and augmentative designations. Quantitative evaluation of diminutives and augmentatives is motivated by semantics of the root morpheme, morphological or syntactic marker and depends on the context of use.