WORD FORM "PRAVDA" IN PERIPHERY OF NOUNS: INDEXING OF FIRST

MODALATION STAGE

FORMA DA PALAVRA "PRAVDA" NA PERIFERIA DOS SUBSTANTIVOS:

INDEXAÇÃO DA PRIMEIRA FASE MODAL

FORMA DE PALABRA "PRAVDA" EN PERIFERIA DE SUSTANTIVOS:

INDEXACIÓN DE LA PRIMERA ETAPA DE MODALACIÓN

Victor Vasilievich SHIGUROV

ABSTRACT: The purpose of this article is to study the degree to which differential features of

substantive word forms such as "pravda", "fakt", "chush'", "nonsens" that represent the

periphery noun zone on the modal scale in the typical contexts match, on the one hand,

differential features of prototypical representatives of the initial point of transposition, i.e., the

nuclear noun, and on the other hand, the prototypical representatives of the endpoint of

transposition, i.e., the nuclear denominative modal words. Through the methods of oppositional

analysis, indexing, linguistic experiment, distributive and transformational analysis, the author

has established and characterized the transposition stages of nouns of the "pravda" type into the

category of parenthetic-modal components of the utterance, which explicate the modus subject's

assessment of the communicated information in the aspect of persuasiveness. Using the

example of the peripheral noun "pravda", the procedure of calculating the degrees of its

modalation is shown. Combinatorics and the proportion of features of interacting nouns and

parenthetic-modal units are discovered in the structure of the studied word form. Observations

and conclusions can be used for a comprehensive description of the mechanism of modalation

of words and word forms from different parts of speech.

KEYWORDS: Russian language. Grammar. Parenthetic-modal unit. Transitivity scale. Index.

RESUMO: O objetivo deste artigo é estudar o grau em que características diferenciais de

formas substantivas de palavras, como "pravda", "fakt", "chush '", "nonsens", que representam

a zona de substantivo periférico na escala modal em contextos típicos correspondem, por um

lado, às características diferenciais dos representantes prototípicos do ponto inicial de

transposição, ou seja, o substantivo nuclear, e, por outro lado, aos representantes prototípicos

do ponto final de transposição, ou seja, as palavras modais denominativas nucleares. Por meio

dos métodos de análise de oposição, indexação, experimento linguístico, análise distributiva e

transformacional, o autor estabeleceu e caracterizou os estágios de transposição de

substantivos do tipo "pravda" para a categoria de componentes parênteses-modais do

enunciado, que explicam o modo avaliação do sujeito da informação comunicada no aspecto

da persuasão. Usando o exemplo do substantivo periférico "pravda", é mostrado o

procedimento de cálculo dos graus modais. A combinação e a proporção de características de

substantivos interagentes e unidades parênteses-modais são descobertas na estrutura da forma

de palavra estudada. As observações e conclusões podem ser usadas para uma descrição

National Research Ogarev Mordovia State University, Saransk - Russia. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-

4898-6484. E-mail: dep-general@adm.mrsu.ru

abrangente do mecanismo de modalidade de palavras e formas de palavras de diferentes

classes gramaticais

PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Língua russa. Gramática. Unidade modal-parentética. Escala de

transitividade. Índice.

RESUMEN: El propósito del estudio es estudiar el grado en que las características

diferenciales de formas sustantivas de palabras como "pravda", "fakt", "chush '", "nonsens"

que representan la zona de sustantivos de la periferia en la escala de modalación en los

contextos típicos coincidir, por un lado, con las características diferenciales de los

representantes prototípicos del punto inicial de transposición, es decir, el sustantivo nuclear,

y por otro lado, los representantes prototípicos del punto final de la transposición, es decir, las

palabras modales denominacionales nucleares. A través de los métodos de análisis

oposicional, indexación, experimento lingüístico, análisis distributivo y transformacional, el

autor ha establecido y caracterizado las etapas de transposición de sustantivos del tipo

"pravda" en la categoría de componentes paréntesis-modales del enunciado, que explican el

modus evaluación del sujeto de la información comunicada en el aspecto de la persuasión.

Usando el ejemplo del sustantivo periférico "pravda", se muestra el procedimiento de cálculo

de los grados de su modalación. La combinatoria y la proporción de características de los

sustantivos que interactúan y las unidades entre paréntesis-modales se descubren en la

estructura de la forma de la palabra estudiada. Las observaciones y conclusiones se pueden

utilizar para una descripción completa del mecanismo de modalación de palabras y formas de

palabras de diferentes partes del habla.

PALABRAS CLAVE: Idioma ruso. Gramática. Unidad paréntesis-modal. Escala de

transitividad. Índice.

Introduction

One of the pressing tasks of modern linguistics is the study of transition zones in the

grammatical structure of the language associated with transpositional transitions of linguistic

units (see in different terminological systems: BABAITSEVA, 2000; BALLY, 1955;

KURILOVICH, 1962; MELCHUK, 1995; TESNIÈRE, 1988; URYSON, 1996; SHIGUROV,

2009; MARCHAND, 1967; ELSEN, 2011; EIHINGER, 1982; STEKAUER, 1996).

Identification of the set of causes of the extralinguistic and proper linguistic order, prerequisites,

conditions, stages and limits of substantivization, adjectivization, adverbialization, predication,

modalation, pronominalization, particulation, prepositionalization, conjunctionalization,

copulation, etc. allows one to deeper understand the nature and regularities of the mechanism

of linguistic unit transposition which produces a lot of transitional (peripheral and hybrid),

syncretic structures in speech (SHIGUROV; SHIGUROVA, 2016).

As it is known, syncretic formations are common in different languages: such

formations synthesize in a certain ration the categorical features of different word classes,

providing a person with the chance to briefly, but succinctly, comprehensively express their

thoughts and feelings. Given this, one can hardly disagree with Yu.L. Vorotnikov (2003) who

notes that "the combination of several meanings in one linguistic unit makes it possible to

convey more information in a more compact form" (p. 82). Studying the instances of transitivity

in German, H. Paul (1955) noted the fluidity of boundaries between grammatical units, the

existence of different levels, degrees of substantiation of verbal infinitives due to their syntactic

use with a preposition or an article (p. 135). According to V.M. Pavlov (2013), some verbal

characteristics are preserved in the structure of substantivized infinitives in the German

language (p. 35-36). According to the scholar, transitional, intermediate phenomena are

characterized by internal contradiction; there is a "gradation of the approach of certain

formations to opposite reference "patterns" (PAVLOV, 2013, p. 37). I.R. Vikhovanets

distinguishes the stages of departure of linguistic units from point A and approach to point B

during their transposition. The researcher believes that it is necessary to distinguish between

the syntactic, morphological and semantic stages of transposition (adverbialization,

substantivization, etc.) of linguistic units in the Ukrainian language (VIKHOVANETS;

GORODENSKA, 2004, p. 26-28, 302, 323-325, etc.). Different transposition levels of words

and word forms in the field of parts of speech in the Russian language are distinguished in the

studies by A.M. Peshkovskii (1938), V.V. Vinogradov (1986), V.V. Babaitseva (2000), and

A.Ya. Bauder (1982).

To objectify the results of research into the identification of the ratio and combinatorics

of different-structured categorical features in the structure of linguistic units, representing in

typical contexts different stages of transposition from one class to another, one uses the methods

of oppositional analysis (with a transitivity scale) and indexing (SHIGUROV, 2020a; 2020b).

A.E. Kibrik emphasizes the need for "a decisive breakthrough in terms of mathematizing

linguistics," which is not yet fully understood by modern researchers. "Changes in linguistic

thinking itself," writes A.E. Kibrik (1995), "are just beginning and will affect […]

fundamentally the linguistics of the 21st century" (p. 95).

The relevance of the study is determined by the increased attention to the subjective-

modal factor in the language and the need for a comprehensive analysis of the modalation of

linguistic units that generate a wide range of modal words in speech, i.e., words and word forms

of different parts of speech that have departed, to a degree, from the original parts of speech

and approached the nuclear parenthetic-modal units to explicate the modus subject's point of

view who evaluates the content and/or form of the communicated information (dictum)

(SHIGUROV; SHIGUROVA, 2015; 2017; 2019; 2020). According to numerous studies of

discourse markers, this layer of vocabulary is actively replenished in modern speech because

of the transpositional process of modalation of verbs, adjectives, nouns, adverbs as well as

combinations of words and sentences (KISELEVA; PAILLARD, 1998; 2003; PAVLOV, 2013;

BARANOV; PLUNGYAN; RAKHILINA, 1993). The usage of words and expressions in the

parenthetic-modal function were studied in the works by V.V. Vinogradov, M.V. Lyapon, G.A.

Zolotova, N.K. Onipenko, A.I. Anikina, I. V. Vysotskaya, M.A. Sorokina and others.

Researchers pay attention to the processes of grammaticalization and desemantization of

linguistic units in the function of discourse markers as a result of which there is a weakening

and loss of lexical meaning, morphological and syntactic characteristics of the original word

classes and convergence with the structural elements of the language (A. Meillet, J. Andersen,

U. Lutzky, D. Schiffrin, I.I. Pribytok, E. Traugott, L. Brinton, E.V. Viktorova and others).

We understand modalation as a special type of transposition of words or word forms

that belong to different parts of speech, combinations of words and sentences into a semantic-

syntactic subclass of parenthetic-modal units, expressing the assessment of the communicated

information. According to V.V. Vinogradov (1986), modal words are a special structural-

semantic type of words that is not included in the system of parts of speech but formed by words

of different parts of speech – adverbs, adjectives, nouns, verbs, etc., as well as whole

combinations of words and even sentences (p. 595).

The object of this research is the process and result of modalation of nouns, the subject

is the degree to which the differential features of modal words match the features of nuclear

phenomena, which represent the initial and endpoints of intercategorical transposition.

The goal of the study is to reveal, using the example of the word form "truth", the degree

to which evaluative nouns such as "fakt" [fact], "chush" [bosh], "erunda" [malarkey], "nonsens"

[nonsense], explicating the peripheral zone of a given part of speech, match the nuclear

representatives of nouns and parenthetic-modal words.

Methods

The methodological framework of the study consists of the works by Russian and

foreign scholars on the theory of parts of speech, transposition and syncretism (see, for example:

BABAITSEVA, 2000; BALLY, 1955; BAUDER, 1982; KIM, 1978; LUKIN, 1973; MIGIRIN,

1971; OREKHOVA, 2011; TESNIÈRE, 1988). To objectify the data obtained through the

analysis of the gradual nature of modalation of nouns, combinatorics and the proportion of

features in the structure of substantive modal words, we used the method of oppositional

analysis and indexing which allows one to mostly avoid the element of subjectivity when

calculating the indices of correspondence of substantive word forms to nuclear nouns and

parenthetic-modal words.

The new approach to the analysis of the transition zone in the grammatical structure of

the language presented in the study is largely based on the principles and methods of

oppositional analysis and indexing. The principles are described in studies by V.V. Shigurov,

including monographic ones and are a series of works on the theory of transpositional grammar

of the Russian language. The works contain detailed descriptions of the types of

multidirectional gradual transposition of attributive verb forms with the negation of action –

adverbialization, adjectivation, substantiation, conjunctionalization of adverbial participles and

participles) (SHIGUROV, 1993); stages of transposition of words and word forms that belong

to different parts of speech into pronouns (SHIGUROV, 2015); stages and indices of

interjectivization of words and word forms, considering syncretic contexts where this type of

categorical transformation of units is associated with the processes of verbalization,

particularization and others) (SHIGUROV, 2009); the stages and indices of the transposition of

linguistic units into predicatives with the semantics of state and/or assessment, as well as in the

conditions of combining this process with adverbialization, modalation and others

(SHIGUROV, 2016); stages and indices of parenthetic-modal transposition of verbs in finite,

infinitive and participial forms, including with parallel "involvement" in related processes –

predication, particulation, conjunctionalization, prepositionalization, interjectivation

(SHIGUROV, 2020a;2020b; SHIGUROV; SHIGUROVA, 2019; 2020). Considering the

program of complex analysis of the transposition mechanism, lexical and grammatical

homonyms as well as peripheral and hybrid formations, combining the features of interacting

parts of speech and the classes between parts of speech, are studied (SHIGUROV;

SHIGUROVA, 2016).

Results and discussion

The application of the methods of oppositional analysis and indexing made it possible

to calculate the degrees of the "pure" type of transposition of substantive word forms in

parenthetic-modal words and expressions and the type combined with the processes of

adverbialization, conjunctionalization, particulation and interjectivation. It has been established

that nouns can be gradually transposed into the category of parenthetic-modal units both when

used individually (pravda, fakt, chasom, sluchaem, etc.), and in combination with other words

(k schastyu, na gore, v printsipe, etc.). Different stages of their modalation can be

conventionally represented in the form of steps of the transitivity scale. Let us show them by

the example of the word form pravda [truth]:

The stage of the noun nucleus as the initial point of modalation [N(oun)]:

(1) Pravda glaza kolet [The truth is hard to swallow].

The peripheral stage of nouns used in an incomplete main predicative part of complex

structure with a complement clause [N(oun) m(od)]:

(2) Pravda, chto on ne vinovat [It is true that he is not to blame].

The stage of hybrid, substantive-modal structures in asyndetic complex structures with

a complement relationship between the predicative parts of which [n(oun) m(od)]:

(3) Pravda: on ne vinovat [True: he is not to blame].

The periphery stage of parenthetic-modal words, represented by functional homonyms

of nouns [n(oun) M(od)]:

(4) On ne vinovat, pravda [He is not to blame, really].

The stage of nuclear parenthetic-modal conjunctions in contexts of combined

modalation and conjunctionalization [M(od)]:

(5) On lyubit pravdu, pravda ne vsegda [He loves the truth, in truth, not always] (≈

'khotya' [although]).

Further, we will focus exclusively on the peripheral zone of the nouns, where word

forms like pravda, fakt begin to move towards parenthetic-modal words and expressions.

The zone of peripheral nouns [N(oun) m(od)] on the transitivity scale (modalation), in

turn, can be divided into several sub-stages, each of which explicates a degree of advancement

of evaluative substantive word forms in predicative use towards parenthetic-modal units. This

includes:

The contexts that implement the N(oun) m(od) 1 substage with peripheral nouns in non-

fixed forms of case and number:

(6) Rasskazannaya istoriya – pravda (chush, erunda i t.p.) / okazalas pravdoi (chush'yu,

erundoi i t.p.) [The story is the truth (bosh, malarkey, etc.)]; Nikuda ne deneshsya: eto fakt /

fakty; Fakt ostaetsya faktom [There is no way around it: this is a fact/these are facts; The fact

remains].

The contexts that explicate the substage N(oun) m(od) 2 with fixed nominative and

singular peripheral nouns:

(7) Ya slyshal ob etom intsidente. Eto pravda [I have heard about the incident. It is

true]; Naidennyi dokument – eto fakt [The discovered document is a fact].

Contexts that represent peripheral nouns in the fixed nominative singular forms on

N(oun) m(od) 3 substage; the situation (proposition) evaluated by these nouns is expressed

twice – in the formal subject in the form of a substantivized demonstrative pronoun (this) and

in the subordinate explanatory part of a complex sentence (what he said):

(8) Eto pravda, chto on rasskazal [This is the truth, what he said].

Contexts explicating single evaluative peripheral nouns in fixed forms of the nominative

singular of an incomplete main clause of a complex sentence with a complement subordinate

on the N(oun) m(od) 4 substage:

(9) Pravda, chto on rasskazal [It is true, what he said].

The comparison of the above contexts that explicate four substages in the periphery of

the noun pravda, shows that the word form pravda is used in the contexts in the function of a

predicate, expressing an assessment of the reliability of that information (proposition), which

is represented by different means – the story (a phrase in the position of the subject) [substage

N(oun) m(od) 1]; this (substantiated demonstrative pronoun functioning as anaphora,

containing in the position of the subject a reference the pretext with the dictum evaluated by

the modus subject 'incident heard by the author of the speech') [substage N(oun) m(od) 2];

This… what he said (the subject of the incomplete main clause of the complex sentence this

which is represented by a substantivized demonstrative pronoun functioning as a cataphora,

containing a reference to the post-text in the form of a complement clause with the dictum what

he said evaluated by the modus subject) [substage N(oun) m(od) 3]; what he said (subordinate

explanatory part of a complex sentence, expressing the state of affairs assessed by the modus

subject) [substage N(oun) m(od) 4]. The place and method of explication of dictum information

in utterances correlating with the indicated modalation substages, relatively speaking, move

from the position of the subject (story) through a double way of expression with the

participation of the anaphoric element this functioning as anaphora or cataphora to one way of

presentation – in the form of an explanatory subordinate clause in a complex sentence. The

modus semantics of evaluating what is communicated in all these cases is represented by the

noun pravda used predicatively.

The calculation of the modalation indices of a peripheral noun pravda will be made

considering typical contexts that explicate the N(oun) m(od) 4 substage on the transitivity

scale: it is here that the word form pravda is closest to the next stage of modalation, which is

represented by hybrid, substantive-modal structures in sentences like (5):

(10) Pravda: oni ni v chem ne vinovaty [True: they are not to blame].

The indexing technique allows one to identify the degree of departure of peripheral

nouns like pravda (9) from nuclear nouns (pravda) (11) and approaching nuclear parenthetic-

modal words that combine the function of parenthetic-modal words with the function of

conjunctions (pravda) (12) or emotive interjections (privet) [hi] (13); cf.:

(11) Pravda glaza kolet [The truth is hard to swallow];

(12) On lyubit pravdu, pravda ne vsegda [He loves the truth, in truth, not always] (≈

'khotya' [although]);

(13) Nu vot, privet, tebya tolko zdes ne khvatalo! [Well, hi, could have done without

you!]

As mentioned above, the N(oun) m(od) 4 stage in the peripheral zone of nouns is

explicated through such contexts of the use of substantive word forms such as pravda, fakt,

chush, erunda, nonsens, in which the nouns make, relatively speaking, the first step on the scale

of transition to parenthetic-modal to the components of the statement. All of the nouns are

characterized by the syntactic function of the predicate of an incomplete main clause of a

complex sentence with an explanatory clause. Considering that each linguistic unit involved in

the modalation process is unique in its own way and has its own, special way in parenthetic-

modal words and expressions, we consider it expedient to index not whole groups of words but

some separate word (word form), in particular, pravda, with an individual set of semantic and

grammatical characteristics that change at various stages of modalation.

We proceed from the fact that the modalation indices of peripheral nouns of the pravda

type (9) reflect in their structure the proportion of features of nuclear nouns (pravda) (11) and

nuclear parenthetic-modal units (pravda), which arose because of functional-semantic

modalation and parallel conjunctionalization, that is, simultaneous rapprochement with

parenthetic-modal words and concessive-contrastive conjunctions like khotya [although] (12).

However, when studying the degrees to which the peripheral noun pravda matches the nuclear

denominative modal word-conjunction pravda, the features of conjunctions in the semantic

structure of the latter are not considered: the features are relevant when indexing the degrees of

the conjunctionalization; cf. above are the contexts of using compared objects (9, 11, 12).

As a result of the study, it has been established that the peripheral noun pravda is

brought closer to the original nuclear noun (pravda) by: 1) substantive lexical meaning; one

point; 2) the categorical meaning of the subject (objectness); the question to the part of speech:

"What?"; cf.: Pravda glaza kolet [The truth is hard to swallow] [N(oun)] and Pravda, chto on

ne vinovat [It is true that he is not to blame] (≈ 'Eto pravda, chto on ne vinovat' [It is the truth

that he is not to blame]) [N(oun) m(od) 4]; one point; 3) equivalence of lexical and grammatical

categories (common nouns, inanimate, abstract); three points; 4) the classification category of

gender explicated by the grammatical form of the feminine gender; one point; 5) the

grammatical category of number (with the singular form fixed in the nuclear and peripheral

nouns; see examples above); one point; 6) the grammatical category of case [with opposed in

the nuclear noun (pravda, pravde, pravdoi, etc.) the forms of the cases or the nominative form

fixed in the peripheral noun (pravda)]; one point; 7) a comprehensive paradigm, structured by

the categories of case and number (with semantic restrictions on the formation of plural forms);

one point; 8) inflectional morpheme -а, expressing the grammatical meanings of the feminine

gender, singular, nominative case and the part-of-speech meaning of the subject; one point; 9)

segmentation into morphs: prav-d-a; one point; 10) the usage of a nominal predicate with a

link-verb in the secondary syntactic function in cases like Rasskazannaya istoriya – pravda

[The story is the truth] and Pravda, chto on rasskazal [It is true, what he said]; one point; 11)

a subordinate connection with a subject – formally expressed or reduced with a peripheral noun-

predicate (with the completion of the position of the subject with a whole explanatory clause):

Pravda, chto on rasskazal [It is true, what he said] ≈ Eto pravda, chto on rasskazal [It is the

truth what he said]; (one point); 12) usage in a two-member sentence (one point).

In general, the nuclear noun pravda and the peripheral noun pravda have 14 properties

in common (14 points).

The features that distinguish the peripheral noun (pravda) from the original nuclear

noun (pravda) include the fixed form of the nominative case (five points). This determines the

smaller number of forms in the comprehensive paradigm of the peripheral noun (one point).

Another of its distinguishing features should be called the obligatory use of a complex structure,

which is grammatically (with the help of the subordinate conjunction chto [what]) associated

with the subsequent explanatory clause as a predicate of the main clause (one point). In general,

the noun (pravda) in the periphery of the original part of speech differs from the prototypical

noun (pravda) by seven features (points).

Therefore, the first stage of modalation of the peripheral noun pravda [substage N(oun)

m(od) 4] is characterized by the fact that it has a reduction in the general paradigm. The form

of the nominative case is characterized by a fixed type of usage in the syntactic position of the

nominative predicate of the incomplete main clause of a complex structure with a subordinate

explanatory clause. However, there is no desemantization of the nominative case. It is

characterized by a predicative-qualitative evaluative value. There are no changes in the lexical

and general grammatical semantics, as well as in the morphemic structure of the peripheral

noun.

Based on the above, we should determine the first modalation index of the peripheral

noun; the index characterizes the degree to which the noun matches the original nuclear noun

(pravda):

х1 [pravda, chto… N(oun) m(od) 4] = 14 / (14+7) = 14 / 21 ≈ 0,67 (67%)

To calculate the second modalation index of a peripheral noun pravda, it is necessary to

compare the noun with the nuclear parenthetic-modal unit pravda, which arose as a result of

modalation and parallel rapprochement with conjunctions within the conjunctionalization of

the original noun pravda: Eta pravda ochen mnogikh ogorchila [This truth has upset a lot of

people] --> On lyubil pravdu, pravda, ne vsegda [He loved the truth, in truth, not always]. It

is obvious that the nuclear word form combines the parenthetic-modal function with the

structural function of the concessive-contrastive conjunction; cf. example with khotya

concessive conjunction:

(14) On lyubil pravdu, khotya ne vsegda. [He loved the truth, although not always]

The peripheral noun truth [stage N(oun) m(od)] is brought together with the nuclear

parenthetic-modal word pravda [stage M(od)] by two common features. First, this is the usage

in such sentences where the dictum and modus parts are clearly syntactically divided. With the

help of a peripheral noun, the modus subject evaluates the communicated information in the

aspect of its correspondence to reality: pravda… – modus. The evaluated state of affairs is

expressed in an explanatory subordinate clause: ... chto on skazal – dictum). Something similar

takes place in structures with a nuclear non-substantive modal word; cf.: On lyubit pravdu [He

likes the truth] (dictum), pravda, ne vsegda [in truth, not always] (modus takes the form of a

logical assessment, i.e., explanation, note, clarifications) (one point).

Secondly, the common feature of the peripheral noun pravda and the nuclear

parenthetic-modal conjunction pravda is inflexibility. In the peripheral noun, it is due to the

fixed type of use of the singular and the nominative case and, accordingly, isolation from the

paradigms of grammatical categories, while in the nuclear substantive modal, however, the

inflexibility is caused by the loss of the categories of gender, number and case (one point).

1) the absence of a homonymous lexical meaning functioning outside the semantic zone

of the original substantive lexeme [cf .: Pravda, chto u nego v to vremya byli drugie plany [It is

true that he had different plans at the time] (a peripheral noun that realizes the substantive

lexical meaning `corresponds to reality ') and Ptenets prygal po vetkam, pravda, poka ne vpolne

uverenno [The birdling was jumping on the branches, but in truth, not yet confidently]

(denominative nuclear modal - Conjunction in the sense of 'though', functioning outside the

semantic zone of the noun truth; cf. nuclear noun:

The delimitation of a peripheral noun (Pravda, chto on ne vinovat [It is true that he is

not to blame]) from the nuclear parenthetic-modal conjunction (On uzhe znal ob etom, pravda,

ne vse [He already knew about it, but in truth, not everything]) occurs through features such

as: 1) The absence of a homonymous lexical meaning functioning outside the semantic zone of

the original substantive lexeme [cf.: Pravda, chto u nego v to vremya byli drugie plany [It is

true that he had different plans at the time] (a peripheral noun that realizes the substantive

lexical meaning 'corresponds to reality') and Ptenets prygal po vetkam, pravda, poka ne vpolne

uverenno [The birdling was jumping on the branches, but in truth, not yet confidently]

(denominative nuclear modal word-conjunction in the sense of 'khotya', functioning outside the

semantic zone of the noun pravda; cf. nuclear noun: Pravda ne vsem nravitsya [The truth is not

universally liked])]; two points; 2) Lack of categorical meaning of parenthetic-modal words and

expressions; cf. the value of the logical assessment in the nuclear modal word-conjunction

pravda (≈ 'khotya'); one point [The meaning of "corresponding to reality" in a peripheral noun

is associated with the evaluation of the communicated information in the aspect of its reliability,

but is lexical, therefore it cannot be understood in the status of the categorical meaning of the

parenthetic-modal word]; 3) Lack of syntactic isolation; one point; 4) A subordinate connection

with a subordinate explanatory clause within a complex sentence (conjunction chto); one point;

5) The fixed order of the components: pre-positional use relative to the fragment with the

evaluated state of affairs [cf.: Pravda, chto izmeneniya kosnutsya ne vsekh strukturnykh

podrazdelenii (≈ 'Eto pravda, chto…') [It is true that the changes will affect all structural units]

and Pravda, legche ot etogo ne budet [In truth, that will not make it easier](≈ ʻkhotya, odnako’)

/ Legche, pravda, ot etogo ne budet / Legche ot etogo ne budet, pravda [That, in truth, will not

make it easier / That will not make it easier, truly]]; one point; 6) Clear morphemic structure

of the word; cf. incompletely simplified nuclear non-substantive modal word-conjunction

pravda; cf.: prav-d-a (chto…) [true (what…)] and (On lyubit pravdu) pravda (ne vsegda) [(He

likes the truth) in truth (not always)]; one point; 7) Preservation of the derivational potential of

the peripheral noun pravda, the presence of derivational connections with derivatives: pravda

– pravdist, pravdivyi, pravdolyub, sverkhpravda [truth – "pravdist", truthful, truth-seeker,

great truth] (criterion proposed by O.M. Kim (1978, p. 29); cf. the impossibility of forming

derivative words from the nuclear parenthetic-modal of the word-conjunction pravda in the

meaning of a logical assessment of something as some kind of clarification, a note with a

concessive-contrastive shade; one point; 8) The lack of the parenthetic function; one point; 9)

The absence of an introductory way of entering the structure of the utterance; one point. Total

– 10 points.

According to the correspondence formula, the degree of similarity and difference of

differential features in a peripheral noun (Pravda, chto on ne vinovat [It is true that he is not to

blame]) and the nuclear denominative parenthetic-modal conjunction pravda is:

х2 [pravda, chto…: N(oun) m(od)] = 2 / (2+10) = 2 / 12 ≈ 0,17 (17%)

Conclusion

The calculations above within the framework of the indexing procedure indicate that the

degree of modalation of peripheral nouns of the pravda type is characterized by the proportion

in their structure of the differential features of the nuclear noun pravda and the nuclear

substantive parenthetic-modal conjunction pravda. It was found that in the peripheral zone of

nouns, the word form pravda (Pravda, chto ego tam ne bylo [It is true that he was not there])

reveals a 67 % match with the nuclear noun pravda (Pravda glaza kolet [The truth is hard to

swallow]) and a 17 % match with the nuclear denominative parenthetic-modal conjunction

pravda (On znaet o svoikh oshibkakh, pravda, ne khochet priznavatsya v nikh [He knows about

his mistakes, although, he does not want to admit them]). Given this, the word form pravda

cannot be understood unambiguously as a noun or parenthetic-modal word: ass a syncretic

structure, the word combines the properties of nouns and parenthetic-modal units interacting

during modalation. Some weakening of the part-of-speech features of the noun in the periphery

of this part of speech is associated with semantic and syntactic reasons, in particular, with the

reduction of its functional potential, the obligatory use in the pre-position regarding the

fragment which is dedicated to the state of affairs evaluated by the modus subject as well as

with the fixed use of categories case and number of a peripheral noun.

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How to reference this article

SHIGUROV, V. V. Word form "pravda" in periphery of nouns: indexing of first modalation

stage. Rev. EntreLínguas, Araraquara, v. 7, n. esp. 4, e021090, Nov. 2021. e-ISSN: 2447-

3529. DOI: https://doi.org/10.29051/el.v7iesp.4.15642

Submitted: 09/02/2021

Required revisions: 20/05/2021

Approved: 05/09/2021

Published: 10/11/2021

FORMA DA PALAVRA "PRAVDA" NA PERIFERIA DOS SUBSTANTIVOS:

INDEXAÇÃO DA PRIMEIRA FASE MODAL

WORD FORM "PRAVDA" IN PERIPHERY OF NOUNS: INDEXING OF FIRST

MODALATION STAGE

FORMA DE PALABRA "PRAVDA" EN PERIFERIA DE SUSTANTIVOS:

INDEXACIÓN DE LA PRIMERA ETAPA DE MODALACIÓN

Victor Vasilievich SHIGUROV

RESUMO: O objetivo deste artigo é estudar o grau em que características diferenciais de

formas substantivas de palavras, como "pravda", "fakt", "chush '", "nonsens", que representam

a zona de substantivo periférico na escala modal em contextos típicos correspondem, por um

lado, às características diferenciais dos representantes prototípicos do ponto inicial de

transposição, ou seja, o substantivo nuclear, e, por outro lado, aos representantes prototípicos

do ponto final de transposição, ou seja, as palavras modais denominativas nucleares. Por meio

dos métodos de análise de oposição, indexação, experimento linguístico, análise distributiva e

transformacional, o autor estabeleceu e caracterizou os estágios de transposição de substantivos

do tipo "pravda" para a categoria de componentes parentéticas-modais do enunciado, que

explicam o modo avaliação do sujeito da informação comunicada no aspecto da persuasão.

Usando o exemplo do substantivo periférico "pravda", é mostrado o procedimento de cálculo

dos graus modais. A combinação e a proporção de características de substantivos interagentes

e unidades parentéticas-modais são descobertas na estrutura da forma de palavra estudada. As

observações e conclusões podem ser usadas para uma descrição abrangente do mecanismo de

modalidade de palavras e formas de palavras de diferentes classes gramaticais

PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Língua russa. Gramática. Unidade modal-parentética. Escala de

transitividade. Índice.

ABSTRACT: The purpose of this article is to study the degree to which differential features of

substantive word forms such as "pravda", "fakt", "chush'", "nonsens" that represent the

periphery noun zone on the modal scale in the typical contexts match, on the one hand,

differential features of prototypical representatives of the initial point of transposition, i.e., the

nuclear noun, and on the other hand, the prototypical representatives of the endpoint of

transposition, i.e., the nuclear denominative modal words. Through the methods of oppositional

analysis, indexing, linguistic experiment, distributive and transformational analysis, the author

has established and characterized the transposition stages of nouns of the "pravda" type into

the category of parenthetic-modal components of the utterance, which explicate the modus

subject's assessment of the communicated information in the aspect of persuasiveness. Using

the example of the peripheral noun "pravda", the procedure of calculating the degrees of its

modalation is shown. Combinatorics and the proportion of features of interacting nouns and

parenthetic-modal units are discovered in the structure of the studied word form. Observations

Universidade de Pesquisa Nacional de Ogarev do Estado da Moldávia, Sarank - Rússia. ORCID:

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4898-6484. E-mail: dep-general@adm.mrsu.ru