Syntactic means of colloquial stylization in the works of Mykhailo Stelmakh

Abstract

In the modern Ukrainian language the transition of relative adjectives to qualitative ones is one of productive ways of semantic enrichment and expansion of adjective’s functional capabilities. In a fiction text relatively qualitative adjectives are used as metaphorical epithets. So the aim of the research is to review how relatively qualitative adjectives participate in creating epithets in the Ukrainian classical literature, find out the peculiarities of their functioning in Mykhailo Stelmakh’s prose texts.
The source base of the research is formed with 5 Mykhailo Stelmakh’s prose texts: "Four Ways", "Thought of You", "Blood is Thicker than Water," "Geese-Swans Flying ...", "Christmas Eve" from which 217 syntactic constructions with relatively qualitative adjectives have been chosen by sampling method. The transition of relative adjectives in the category of qualitative takes place on the grounds of their figurative use, the relative adjective metaphor, which has the potential expression of some assessment in developing quality value when combined with another noun lexical series. A relative adjective has the ability to enter into new lexical relations, but transformation of relative adjectives into qualitative ones also depends on the capacity of a word-building noun. The more qualitative semems form lexical meaning of a word-building noun, the more qualitative lexical meanings can be developed by derivative relative adjective. 8 models creation of relatively-qualitative adjectives according to their acquired
metaphorical lexical meanings have been defined: relatively qualitative adjectives with the meaning of color, brightness, sound, smell, soft, static, weight and evaluative characteristic. The most frequent lexical model from this range is the color characteristic. This qualitative features is observed in relative adjectives, derived from names of metals, stones, plants, substances, materials
and physical phenomena. According to the degree of transition in the system of semantic adjectives groups, all
relatively qualitative adjectives have been classified into 2 categories: self relatively qualitative adjectives and contextual relatively qualitative adjectives, which differ in semantic and grammatical features. A peculiar way of expressing M. Stelmakh’s individual style is using relatively qualitative adjectives with occasional connotative lexical meaning such as metaphorical epithet.