Effectiveness intensified

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Effectiveness intensified

• A process of conventionalisation?

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From new to norm

• Patrick Hanks talks about exploitation devices
  metaphor, ellipsis, ways in which the normal
  can become exploited for new concepts, he says
  todays exploitations are tomorrows norms
• I will be looking at some examples of this
  gradual normalisation of some intensifiers

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How coinage is normalised

• Partington (Irony conventionalised) hypothesises
  how
• i) someone coins a phrase whose effect relies on
  a clash in evaluative prosody
• ii) other people like it so much it gets repeated
• iii) the clash eventually becomes one normal
  usage of the phrase
• Examples with an outbreak of with positive
  collocates rather than negative

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So some intensifiers with similar properties

• They involve evaluation
• They might involve more than one point of view
  and thus involve an evaluative shift
• They belong to the genres which imitate spoken
  informal language for particular purposes
• They are new enough for us to be able to observe
  the gradual growth and to be aware of our
  primings independently of the OED and raise
  interesting issues about dictionary entries.

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Something rotten

• In the dictionary we find
• Rotten (adj. which MEDAL tells us is often used
  to talk about someone who has behaved in an
  unpleasant way and is used humorously as in you
  rotten sod)
• so we are already into metaphorical exploitation,
  its not about decay.
• On inquiry of both Sibols a couple of patterns
  emerge for the unit something rotten

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The almost literal

• There are no examples which are clearly literal
  in the Sibols, a couple which are borderline
  metaphorical
• renowned for never putting a foot wrong, Owen may
  be about to step into something rotten. But
• Inside, the Fenice cannot quite mask the
  lingering whiff of corruption, doubt and
  something rotten

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The metaphorical quotation

• A large number of the occurrences are,
  unsurprisingly, forms of the Shakespearian
  quotation
• The original has been taken and shaken in the
  usual way, as Partington and Morley have taught
  us
• in headlines with puns and via a number of
  variations on the theme.

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Journos love quotations

• Two articles about the same story, both chose the
  same quotation
• Something rotten in the state of dentistry
  Home News Hoggart,
• Something rotten in Valerie's teeth wars
  Liddle, Rod
• And
• Something rotten in the estate of Denmark Hill?
  Car smells tend to linger
• Adams declares that there is "something rotten in
  the state of local government", but fails to
  offer
• that the young prince turns bling. He wears
  something rotten from the place of Primark
• ambitious trilogy which surveys the state of
  Denmark's class system, and finds something
  rotten in

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But also

• another pattern, creeping up in frequency, and
  another of the SiBol evaluative hype items
• 27 examples in Old Sybil and 40 in Young
• an intensifier with shifting evaluation, on the
  rise.

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• From Old Sibol
• The young ladies fancied Mr Bingley something
  rotten. He, in his turn,
• And it shows up dandruff something rotten. I have
  no idea whether Cash
• "Daryl Hannah? She's lovely. I fancy her
  something rotten... she's meant
• Elms has always fancied himself something rotten.
  
• I had lunch with Vanessa last week. She fancies
  me something rotten.
• to go home and, anyway, those glass slippers
  pinch something rotten by,
• diary seem dowdy, they show up my slouchiness
  something rotten. We've
• opt for Lady or Baroness. It will screw up the
  statistics something rotten.
• nubile girls. Any man who watched it would be
  teased something rotten,
• Lindsay Crouse plays the psychiatrist stitched up
  something rotten by Joe Mantegna and his cynically

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From Young SibolBut then JB went and upset his
fans something rotten by announcing that the Gulf
She has, in short, queered the pitch something
rotten. Yesterday, Mr John Patten, The British
contingent, meanwhile, is hamming it up something
rotten. 'Vince In the flesh Bartoli works her
audience something rotten with a touch of lazy,
self-indulgent showing off - all the letters
are written by computer and that they're ripping
off customers something rotten.handed a note.
''I was on the jury,'' it said (more or less)
''and I fancy you something rotten. Let's meet
for a drink.'She doesn't have a go at me, but
I have a go at myself. I make fun of her
something rotten, far too frequently. I half know
I'm doing it and I half don't
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• Verb (patient?) something rotten.
• Post-modification of the verb adding force to the
  action
• a less clear prosody, connected with point of
  view, pleasurably painful?
• Notice the extension of contexts beyond spoiling
  and fancying

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POVs and voyeurs

• so point of view is a key element.
• Also the feeling that there is an observer role,
  much of the data comes from film theatre or TV
  reviews, or there is some narrative element where
  an account is being provided.

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Found with fancy

• In MEDAL you find it as an idiomatic unit with
  fancy and spoil
• Rotten2
• fancy someone rotten (British informal to be
  sexually attracted to someone very strongly)
  which suggests
• it is salient enough as a unit of meaning in the
  corpus to be mentioned
• It is found in the Macmillan corpus restricted to
  this collocation

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In Sibol

• One can find
• Make fun of, fancy, queered the pitch, hamming it
  up, works her audience, ripping off customers,
  conning his audience, shows up, fancied himself,
  pinch, stitched up (audience) teased, screw up
  the statistics
• They are rigorously informal idiomatic units
• These have pragmatic meanings, there is an
  observer stance in all of them
• There is a slight increase in intensifying use
  from old to young Sibol.
• It has a textual preference for end of sentence
  position or end of clause position.

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Observing and narrating

• the quotation derivatives and the borderline
  literal items suggest a negative prosody but
  something rotten at sentence end as a verb
  modifier is not totally negative
• ASP has already pointed out the shift between
  protagonist and observer (writer or speaker) in
  shifting SP and the examples here all have some
  possible shift between the two.
• All seem to mean a lot, intensely, and perhaps
  also very effectively,

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decentering

• Is it schadenfreude or ruefulness?
• can we just classify it as an intensifier with
  as yet limited exploitation?
• It is concerned with the effect on others,
  sometimes negative effects but is not a wholly
  negative prosody.
• It is definitely concerned with interaction
  between a number of participants with (perhaps)
  conflicting aims.
• there is a decentred, relativist observer role,
  or there is some narrative element where an
  account is being provided

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Semingly?

• A seme?
• in this case I would suggest it contains an idea
  of effectiveness or effect.
• (good or bad effective)
• in this case does the effectiveness aspect starts
  to contribute (in delexicalised form) as an
  intensifier?

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Another example drop dead

• In Old Sibol many of the examples are about
  literally dropping dead. (from heart attacks
  etc.)
• 40 out of 105 occurrences have nothing to do with
  literal death but rather with the exaggerated
  effectiveness of someones appearance.
• Could we call this a prosodic clash? (she is so
  beautiful people drop dead a the sight of her).
  The most prolific exploitation is that of drop
  dead gorgeous but we also find cool, chic,
  glamour, beauty, insolence, swoon material

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A unit of meaning

• In MEDAL it is to be found under the phrases with
  drop (13 meanings given plus phrases, along
  with drop-down menu and drop-kick) as
• drop-dead gorgeous adj. informal extremely
  attractive.
• Which suggests that in the Macmillan corpus it is
  restricted to that collocation, that it is a
  multi-word unit

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Further exploitation

• In papers 2005 we find exploitation of the unit
  has been extended to contexts other than sheer
  physical human beauty
• it occurs with stunning, catchy, chic,
  classic, cool, dreamy, elegant, expensive,
  fabulous, funny glitz, gorgeous (35), prices,
  sexy
• with beauty, elegance, glamour (both Hollywood
  and Euro-Trash) looks, couture, sexiness,
  sophistication,
• But also with stateroom, humour, wisecracks,
  one-liners.
• And with pissed, plain, rich, simple

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intensifying

• It has been extended from fashion and physical
  appearance to cars, food, restaurants and the
  theatre and cinema. Its ever-so Young-Sibol and
  a teensy bit New Irony. And very promotional.
• it is used to modify nouns and adjectives and as
  an adjective in its own right. A useful all
  purpose intensifier?
• The evaluation seems to waver but appears to
  involve some kind of observer admiration of
  thoroughness or effectiveness

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Double prosody?

• that shopping institution famed for drop-dead
  gorgeous couture, some at drop-dead prices, is
• say, Mahler. You go there to get drop-dead pissed
  and have sex with as many people as possible
• there's nowhere for shoddy workmanship to hide
  in a drop-dead, plain black dress, so the cut and
• LuPone has the right raddled glamour and
  drop-dead insolence as she delivers such immortal
  lines

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From Young sibol

• innovative use of first-person game play, and its
  drop-dead gorgeous 3-D graphics. who is 75,
  recalls the final age of drop dead Hollywood
  glamour to be happening, and the staging too
  often fails to capture the drop-dead humour,
  charged energy This is the David Beckham of
  footie franchises drop-dead looks, chock-full of
  premium branding, Spider fooled into sex by
  drop-dead male Highfield, Roger A. You go there
  to get drop-dead pissed and have sex with as many
  people as possible there's nowhere for shoddy
  workmanship to hide in a drop-dead, plain black
  dress,
• I am tempted to confess I use four creams and am
  drop-dead rich, but decide she - have little in
  common beyond their drop-dead sexiness. Still,
  there are are the most powerful people around. So
  the women had to be drop-dead sexy as well as a
  to ruched silk. As well as a finale of drop-dead,
  silk satin goddess gowns, there were The best
  dishes are drop-dead simple fried potatoes
  topped with chilli sauce,
• For drop-dead sophistication, head to Roland
  Mouret (020 7376 common request is for about 20
  seats, an office area, kitchens and a drop-dead
  stateroom. The idea a blind date with a woman who
  was drop-dead stunning. She was only a year older
  than him, but and the dialogue brims with the
  sharp, drop-dead wisecracks that have

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And another one.big time

• Most occurrences in SiBol involve the unit the
  big time, many also involve an adjectival unit
  big time politics, big time snooker etc
• But there is a growing use of an adverbial
  adjunct with intensifying meaning
• Sometimes positive sometimes negative

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In MEDAL and SiBoL

• MEDAL
• Big time (adv) spoken, used for emphasizing how
  extreme or severe something is
• Do you have problems with it? Yeah big time.
• Old Sibol 332 in all 18 adverbial use
• Young Sibol 588 in all 143 adverbial use

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Big time

• I'm frequently told that natural birth can suck,
  big-time, but for a weed like
• vote on the European constitution, he says "I'm
  going to say 'no' big time.
• in me and I've repaid him by scoring. I respect
  him a lot now. Big time." 1
• Millwall manager Colin Lee said he was "cheesed
  off big time'' after Ben
• always thought Guevara and Keane would have hit
  it off big time. They've e
• Alan Smith. "F Fergie is a shouse. He's
  pd me off big time. U
• of time, passion and financial risk is likely to
  pay off big time. For more
• The slight amount of fiddling around in the
  method pays off big time in
• the robbery is laughably botched, and the cookie
  store takes off big-time,
• Yes, yoga for young children is taking off big
  time. In the past six months,
• to come. Despite its proud slogan, "We're ripping
  you off big time", many o.
• And the trend is catching on big time among the
  young and the high life at
• gle. If we don't manage to lift our game then
  we'll get caught out big time. It
• never held a job for more than a week, invariably
  falling out big time with
• people, and those behind them, need to be caught
  and punished big time

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Intensifying adjuncts of manner

• They provide evaluation and intensification
• They might be said to prime us with a particular
  semantic prosody good/bad effective
• They are new enough for us to be able to observe
  the gradual growth and to be aware of our
  primings
• They are still register specific co-ocurring with
  other rigorously informal lexical items
• They might even be a sign of an increasing
  insolating tendancy of English

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Hype

• They belong to the genres which imitate spoken
  informal language for particular purposes
• their increase in Sibol is a function of the
  increased space in promotional/review material
  which, like advertising, imitates the spoken
  language
• a sign that such an increase in promotional
  material (cf the Cardiff report and Flat Earth
  News) creates a need for new intensifiers to
  provide the necessary hype(erbole)

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• The end (big time)

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