Prilog klasifikaciji intenzifikatora u engleskom i bosanskom jeziku
A Contribution to the Classification of Intensifiers in English and Bosnian

Summary/Abstract: This paper deals with the classification of intensifies in English and Bosnian. The main criteria for the classification of intensifiers adopted in this paper are gradabilty of the elements modified by intensifiers, and collocational restrictions. According to the first criterion, only those adverbs that modify gradable elements can be classified as intensifiers. In this way, we can differentiate between intensifiers and a similar class of adverbs, emphasizers, which only emphasize the meaning of the modified word. Collocational restrictions too have to be taken into consideration in the classification of intensifiers. Namely, there are certain intensifiers that can collocate only with certain elements, regardless of whether these element are gradable or not (e.g. the intensifier deeply cannot collocate with the verb like in English, although this intensifier freely collocates with other verbs expressing emotional states, for example miss, hale, love, etc.). Intensifiers can be further classified according to the place they occupy on the abstract scale of intensity. According to this semantic classification we have come up with six subgroups of intensifiers: maximizers, boosters, approximators, relative intensifiers, diminishers, and minimizers.

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