In the previous section, describing TREs point out the truth-value of an entity, an event, or a proposition. The main functions of describing TRE are describing the actuality of the predicate and indicating the actuality of the truth. From the context, we also know that sometimes describing TREs create an emphasizing and contrastive effect. Similarly, expressive TREs can also be used to convey the speaker’s emphasis toward some event. However, they are not used as an indicator of truth-value as describing TREs do. Instead, expressive TREs are employed to express speakers’
attitude or evaluation toward a person or an event. So, expressive TREs are not descriptive or referential in the sense. Propositions that are modified by expressive TREs cannot be referred to situations in the extralingual world. That is, the truth value of the propositions cannot be verified. Under this premise, expressive TREs are discussed according to the collocation and situational context. We’ll then discuss expressive TREs from four main functions: emphasizer10, upgrading, exasperation and concessive. There are some expressive TREs serving more than one function. For example, they are used as an emphasizer and to express one’s exasperation at the same time.
TREs as both emphasizers and upgraders are used to subjectively strengthen or amplify the force of the predicate, without having the truth-value of the proposition ratified. The difference of the two lies in whether the predicate they modify is gradable or not. The predicates of emphasizers are not gradable, while those of intensifiers are. In addition to boosting the force of the predicate, expressive TREs may also be used when speaker wants to express their exasperation. Exasperation is a strong evaluation with emotion. We can claim that the exasperation function comes
10 The term emphasizer we use here follows the definition of Quirk et al. (1999). It should not be confused with the emphasizing function or effect.
from the intensifying feature of TRE when intensifying goes to a negative extreme.
Lastly, expressive TREs do not always emphasize or upgrade the proposition. They sometimes are employed to show concession, attenuating the emphasizing meaning. A total of 116 TREs in the database are found to serve expressive functions. Their functions are discussed in detail in the following.
According to Quirk et al. (1985), emphasizer is a term for the subcategory of
‘intensifier.’ It is used to strengthen the force of the predicate. In our database, we have observed that the emphasized descriptions involve subjectivity and evaluations.
Therefore, their truth-values can hardly be verified based on facts. In fact, truth-related emphasizers are not mainly employed to point out or assert the truth-value of a proposition. The meaning of reality is “backgrounded and bleached (Paradis and Bergmark 2003:81).”
The proposition that the emphasizer modify reveal speakers’ attitude toward the proposition and show their stance. For those propositions which are positive, truth-related emphasizers are employed to boost the force of positivity; whereas, for negative propositions, truth-emphasizers help strengthen the force of negative evaluation. Tsin-tsiann and sit-tsai respectively account for more half and one-third tokens of truth-related emphasizers. Therefore, we put our emphasis on these two TREs.
Tsin-tsiann and sit-tsai usually modify the description in the form of an emphasis marker si plus evaluation. They are employed to put subjective emphasis on the evaluation. Seven of fifteen positive evaluations are of this use. Example (24) illustrates this use. A host A and an interviewee B in a talk show on TV are discussing a political figure Shi Ming-de and a prestigious pastor Kao. The host made a statement that all the religious groups do something for a nobody, which is indeed respectful.
(24) (This is a face-to-face talk on TV. A male host is interviewing a prestigious pastor Kao. Pastor Kao had helped a politician Shi Ming-tek escape when he was under political persecution. The authorities tried to capture Mr. Shi by any means.)
292 A: 啊 彼陣 嘛 感覺 講 原來 這个 這个
e lan tso tsit-khuan e tai-tsi ASSC people do this-kind ASSC thing
→ 301 實在實在實在實在 是是是是 令 人 尊敬.\
sit-tsai si ling lang tsun-king really COP make people respect 302 B: @@@@.
303 A: 咱 歇睏 一 le honnh.\
lan hioh-khun tsit-le honnh.
we take-break one-CLF UFP 304 B: 是.\
si OK
‘A: at that time..feel like..hiding an important criminal Shi Ming-Tek...the chief instigator behind is Pastor Kao Chun-Ming..
B: right..right..right..
A: But at that time..I saw the news...I really feel respectful for (him) from the bottom of my heart.
B: Thanks.
A: feel like...no relationship...no relationship with Mr. Shi Ming-tek.. ‘ B: Yeah.
A: All the religious groups are willing to do such thing to an unrelated person..really respectful.
B: @@@@
A: Let’s take a break.
B: OK.’
After they talk about the whole incident, which was schemed by Pastor Kao, the host replied 我 <L2 打 從 L2> 內 心 真 正真 正真 正真 正 是 尊 敬 gua <L2 da congL2>lue-sim tsin-tsiann si tsun-king “I really feel respectful for (him) from the bottom of my heart.” Tsin-tsiann is employed to show emphasis on his evaluation toward Kao’s act.
Sit-tsai in line 301 also has similar function as tsin-tsiann in line 295. After the host made a conclusion of Pastor Kao’s deed, his evaluation is again strengthened by the use of sit-tsai-si su lang tsing-king “that’s indeed respectable.”
The difference between tsin-tsiann and sit-tsai of this construction is that the
sit-tsai si evaluation construction almost always appears at the end of a topic in order to make a conclusion of previous utterances. They can be used to conclude both the speaker’s description of the interlocutor or a non-present speaker and the interlocutor’s assessment. The evidence is that there is a clear ending made by the host in line 303, lan hioh-khun sit-le “let’s take a break.” Sit-tsai originally means
“full of content;” therefore, the sit-tsai modified description, respectful in the example, can apply to every description of the incident. By comparison, tsin-tsiann seems dispreferred to be put at the end of a topic in particular.
Another example of sit-tsai plus the following evaluation mark the end of a stretch of talk. The speaker A claims that Mr. Chou tells many people’s fortune at her restaurant and people will keep coming to visit him, adding that sit-tsai chiaN-kau sen
‘really good at fortune-telling.’ Sit-tsai emphasized evaluation appears at the end of one’s utterance.
(25) (A is a restaurant owner and B is a teahouse owner. They are talking about a common friend, visiting A. Mr. Chou is a fortune teller.)
1077 B: 啊 昨 彼个<L2 吳進利 L2> 因 嘛 攏 到 a tsa hit-le wu jin-li ing ma long kiau DM yesterday that-CLF PN they also all go 你 彼 過去 hio?\
li hia kue-khi hio?
your there go UFP 1078 A: henn.\
henn yes
1079 阮 彼.\
guan hia we there
1080 啊= phang 甲 欲 甲 六點 才 走.\
a phang kah beh kah lak tiam tsiah tsau
DM possible to almost to six-o’clock only go
‘B: Last night..that Wu Jin-Li all go to your place?
A: Yes, come to my place. They stay til about six. I told him I will cook for him. He said no.
B: Mr. Chou?
A: Yes, with Mr. Chou. Mr. Chou can’t stop telling people’s fortune. [Really] good at fortune-telling.
B: [ho]
A: Also with Mr. Tian’s wife.
B: Oh oh..Prof. Tian’s wife?
A: Prof. Tian’s wife has her fortune told right here.’
Besides bringing reinforcement to the positive predicate, emphasizer TREs tend to co-occur with negative comments and propositions. Negative comments are even more subjective and emotive than neutral ones; thus, TREs in those examples are very expressive in that the speaker puts subjective emphasis toward the negative proposition. Examples (26-28) illustrate this use:
(26) (Four people are discussing the anarchy in Taiwan. One of the cases is about a kidnapping celebrity Bai Bing-bing’s daughter.)
758B: 啊 閣 按呢 ne.\
ah koh an-ne ne DM again like-this UFP
759 [伊 已經 互] 人 搶 一擺 a lio.\
i i-king ho lang tshiunn tsit-kai a lio she already give people rob once ASP UFP 760D: [在 講 X]--
teh kong ASP say 761 著 啊.\
tioh a right UFP
762 彼 嘛 傷 憨^生.\
he ma siong gong-sing that also too stupid
763B: (Hx)<P 宛 有影 P>.\ action to do some prevention. Speaker D commented that what Ms. Bai did was not thoughtful at all because ordinary people will make their windows with iron grating.
Speaker B pointed out that after Bai’s daughter was kidnapped, the mother felt really, really regretful. Tsin-tsiann was used to emphasize the force of Ms. Bai’s negative feelings—regrets.
(27) (The following conversation occurs among family members. C is a college male student. A and B are his relatives. They are talking about good old days. They are talking their grandfather, who has a brain like a computer and is good at math.)
118. A: [阿公 1],_
a-kong grandpa
119. 頭殼 敢若<L2 電腦 L2> le.\
thau-khak kan-na dian-nao le brain seem computer UFP 120. 彼 若 高雄 看 腳=,_
he na ko-hiong khuann kha that if Kaohsiung see foot 121. C: <L2 電子 [計算機]L2>.\
dianzi jisuanji electronic caculator
122. A: [坐 彼 lo=] 坐. e= 看 一 擺 偌 濟,_
tse hit-lo tse. e khuann tsit pai gua tse sit that sit DM see one time how much 123. 啊 坐車 來,_
a tse-tshia lai DM sit-car come
124. 啊 攏總 加加 le 偌 濟 伊 來 幾 逝,_
a long-tsong kah-kah le gua tse i lai kui tsua DM all add-add ASP how much he come how-many trip 125. ho=!
UFP 126. E: @@@
@@@
127. C:[@@@1]
@@@
128. B: [攏 嘛 算 甲 li1][ 偌 2]--
long ma sng kah li gua
‘A: Grandpa’s brain like a [computer]. If he comes to Kaohsiung to examine his feet, C: [Electronic calculator]
Example (27) illustrates the expressive use of tsin-tsiann with a negative evaluation.
Speakers talk about how smart their grandfather was. He could count by heart and had a good memory. Speaker A made a comment that the grandfather did not have good education; otherwise he would be an outstanding person. Speaker A uses tsin-tsiann to strengthen the force of the lack of proper cultivation, creating a sense of a pity. Lack and pity both are negative in semantics. Therefore, tsin-tsiann is used to emphasize the negativity of the predicate.
Also, u-iann is used to emphasize the negative force of a statement. In example (28), two people are discussing the anarchy of government and corruption of the political person. D gives an example from Korea. A Korean architect cannot tolerate the corruption of the politicians; therefore, he cast the two months of his salary from a tall building to show his discontent with the government. By using u-iann in line 845, the speaker emphasizes the force of the negative statement containing 袂 bue ‘not.’
(28)
842 D: 我 就 講過 彼 韓國 彼 le,_
gua to kong-kue he han-kok hit le I just say-ASP that Korea that one 843 一个,_
tsit e one-CLF
844 一个 <L2 建築 工人 L2> la.\
tsit-e jianzhu gongren la one-CLF architecture worker UFP
→845 有影有影有影有影 袂袂袂袂堪得 氣 彼 政 <L2 政客 L2>傷 ਗ਼<L2 貪污 L2>,_
u-iann bue-kham-tit khi he tsing tsing-khe siunn gau tanwu really NEG tolerate angry that politics politician too good corruption 846 將 伊的 薪水 honnh,_
tsiong i-e sin-sui honnh,_
take his salary UFP
847 兩個 月 四千塊 的 美金,_
nng-ko gueh si-tshing-kho e bi-kim two-CLF month four-thousand-dollar ASSC USD
848 提去 大樓,_
the-khi tua-lau take-to big-building
849 像 彼<L2 新光三越 L2> 給 掖,_
tshiunn he xinguangsanyue kah ia like that PN DISP spread 850 <Q 恁遮<L2 政客 L2> 愛 貪,_
lin-tsiah zhengke ai tham you-this politician love greed 851 遮 薪水 攏 互 你 la,_
tsiah sin-sui long ho li la here salary all give you UFP
852 兩個月 的 薪水 攏 互 恁,_
nng-ko-gueh e sin-sui long ho lin two-CLF-month ASSC salary all give you 853 若 愛 貪 閣 去 搶 a Q>.\
na ai tham koh khi tshiunn a if love greed again go rob UFP 854 C: @
@
‘D: I have talked about it. One Korean architect, who really cannot tolerate the corruption of the politicians, took the two months of his salary, four thousand dollars, to the place like Shin Kong Mitsukoshi to cast and say “You politicians are greedy. I give you my salary. Two months of salary. If you are greedy, go get it!” C:@’
Expressive TREs are also used to intensify the degree of gradable predicates, serving like a real intensifier. One TRE tsin in TSM acts as an intensifier, intensifying the degree of adjectives such as 真 ਗ਼ tsin-gau ‘really powerful,’ and 真 憨 慢 tsin-ham-mann’really stupid.’ The case of tsin is similar to that of really in English as proposed by Lorenz (2002), who claims that really becomes a fully grammaticalized adjective intensifier from the MODAL resource to the SCALAR set. Tsin acting as an intensifier can be interchangeable with a typical intensifier 足 tsiok ‘very.’
More evidence on this transformation can be best manifested in I-lan accent of TSM. When tsin is used to intensify degree, it changes into a different tone 盡 tsin51
(Li 2008, 2004) from the citation tone 真 tsin44, which provides a solid proof that tsin has become an intensifier. Li (2008) called it a degree adverb. The adjectives that tsin qualifies can be either positive or negative. It can also be used to modify verbs implying degree, such as 感謝 kam-siah ‘appreciate,’ 愛 ai ‘love,’ 感動 kan-tong
‘moved, touched,’ 無閒 mo-inn ‘not free, busy,’ and 有意義 u-i-I ‘meaningful.’ Tsin as an intensifier conveys the subjectivity in that the degree adjectives and evaluative predicates are themselves involved with subjective meanings and when they co-occur with intensifiers, the subjective meaning is even stronger.
While tsin is grammaticalized as an intensifier, the rest of the TREs in our database do not have the same functions because tsin-tsiann, u-iann, and sit-tsai don’t directly intensify the degree adjectives. Instead, they intensify a modified adjective by a genuine intensifier. They function like a sub-modifier, modifying another adverb (Sinclair 1990).
In example (29), A and B are discussing lottery in Taiwan. A is claiming that Taiwanese are really good at gambling. Tsin-tsiann is added to express subjective evaluation toward lottery in Taiwan. By using tsin-tsiann, the speaker A amplifies the force of the intensifying verb phrase 足厲害 tsiok li-hai ‘very good,’ which is already modified by a degree adverb tsiok ‘very.’
(29)
073 A: 較 會 揀 較 彼 lo,_
khah e king khah hit-lo more can choose more that 074 hunn=.\
hunn
075 B: 揀的 絕對 無 咧 揀 彼 le,_
king-e tsuat-tui bo leh king hit-le choose-NOM absolute NEG at choose that 076 揀 彼支 三十二 e.\
king hit-ki sann-tsap-li e
B: The number you choose cannot be 32. Let’s see the computer-choosing number.
-->A: Yeah. It is really very good for Taiwanese to buy lottery.
B: Right.
A: It’s strange that in America, nobody wins the lottery for more than ten draw times.’
U-iann is not only used to express the speaker’s attitude or stance toward the statement but also be used to intensify the adjacent predicate. The predicates collocating with the intensifying use of u-iann usually have scalar inference. In example (30), the predicate sui ‘beautiful’ is modified by 有夠 u-kau ‘very’ and u-iann ‘really’ to intensify the predicate. Here, u-iann can also be viewed as a submodifier since it modifies another adverb (Sinclair 1990:283). The layering of the intensifying adverbs creates the effect of reinforcing the degree of the predicate.
(30)
1934 伊 彼 伊 彼,_
i he i he he that he that 1935 若= 遐 e 人行道,_
na hia-e lin-hing-to if there pavement
→1936 有影有影有影有影 有夠 水._
u-iann u-kau sui really very beautiful
1937 咱 納 這 lo 三等 國民 的 稅金 honnh,_
lan lap tsit lo san-ting kok-bin e sue-kim honnh we pay this three-level citizen ASSC tax UFP 1938 就 來,_
to lai just come
1939 行... 來 享受 一等 國民./
kiann.... lai hiang-siu i-ting kok-bin go come enjoy first-level citizen
‘The pavement there is really very beautiful. We third-level citizens pay the tax and enjoy being the first-level citizen.’
When sit-tsai precedes a gradable adjective, it serves an intensifying function. It often co-occurs with other intensifying degree adverbs such as 足 tshiok ‘very’ in (31) and 有夠 u-kau ‘very’ in (32). Sit-tsai serves to intensify the speaker’s evaluation conveyed by the following adjectives.
(31) <L2 脊椎 L2>在 開刀 實在實在實在實在 足 危險 e.\
jichui the khui-to sit-tsai tsiok hui-hiam e spine at operate really very dangerous UFP ‘Operation on spine is truly very dangerous.’
(32) 你的 個性 實在實在實在實在 有夠 戇直.\
li-e ko-sing sit-tsai u-kau gong-tit your personality really very stupid-straight
‘Your personality is truly very honest and straightforward.’
Some Expressive TREs of emphasizing or intensifying function are frequently used to reprimand the addressee or a third non-present speaker. Their intensifying function helps strengthen the force of exasperation. Sit-tsai is used most frequently to show speakers’ exasperation. The manifestations of such TREs include TRE plus si, TRE plus UFP honnh, excessive construction plus TRE, and lone TRE.
As shown in the previous section, TRE emphasizer usually emphasizes the force of the predicate containing a focus marker si such as sit-tsai si tshun-king “(I) am really respectful (for someone).” However, when the modified proposition is negative and sometimes truncated, TRE plus si is left to convey one’s negative evaluation, thus to reprimand someone or something. What’s more, the focus marker si can be omitted;
therefore, a lone TRE can be used to reprimand someone or something. It may also be tagged by an utterance final particle as honnh to express one’s exasperation. In other cases, these TREs collocate with an excessive construction to strengthen the mood.
Detailed discussion is as follows.
The negative comment followed by the emphatic marker si can be omitted;
The negative comment followed by the emphatic marker si can be omitted;