Er vitterligt det nye literally?
En undersøgelse af vitterligts udvikling til forstærker blandt unge københavnere
Keywords:
vitterligt, language development, language contact, epistemic adverb, intensifier, scope increase, online language, Contact-Induced GrammaticalizationAbstract
In this article, I investigate developments in the use of the Danish adverb vitterligt, asking the question: Can vitterligt function as an illocutionary intensifier in modern Danish? Comparing data from young and old speakers from Zealand, I argue that vitterligt functions as an intensifier and takes an illocutionary scope only in the young group. Looking at translations of the adverb, I propose this development might be affected by similar developments of literally in English. Two hypotheses are tested: (1) Young speakers more often use vitterligt with an illocutionary scope than old speakers. (2) a. Young speakers have more contact with English language than old speakers. b. Speakers with high levels of contact more often translate vitterligt with literally. Data comes from an online survey, in which participants from two age groups are compared when solving an adverbial gap-filling test, translating vitterligt into English and self-reporting their language contact. The results are as follows: (1) Young speakers use intensifying vitterligt significantly more than older speakers, and tending to front it. (2) a. No significant difference was found between the groups in the amount of contact. b. Only young speakers consistently translate vitterligt as literally.
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