Pragmatic Potential of Intensification in English Russian and Uzbek Fiction

Abstract

The article systematizes key approaches to the study of intensification as a functional semantic category and focuses on its pragmatic work in fiction. The review covers English, Russian and Uzbek linguistic traditions and shows that the same strengthening effect is interpreted differently depending on the research school. In English studies the emphasis usually falls on degree modifiers and combinability, in Russian works on the relation between intensity, expressiveness and stylistic force, and in Uzbek scholarship on darajalanish, graduonymy and expressive resources of literary speech. Short literary examples are used to demonstrate that intensification in prose does more than mark a high degree. It shapes evaluation, reveals a speaker’s inner state, sharpens imagery and guides the reader’s interpretation.