NEGATION: VARIANTS OF FORMS AND VARIATIONS OF MEANINGS

Abstract

In the article, the category of negation is considered as a multilevel one, and represented by neutral (logical-semantic) and rhetorical (situational) forms. The paradigm of constructions with a negative meaning includes rhetorical forms of negation, which represent various modifications of neutral negation. The attention is drawn to the specifics of the formal and semantic organization of certain rhetorical forms of negation: conditional interrogation; rhetorical formants (pronominal and particular components), which are the signs of both pseudo-interrogation and meaning. The article notes the frequency of use of these rhetorical formants as independent units, that express not only the negative but also the modal-evaluative meaning. Their regular use leads to the phraseologization of the rhetorical forms of negation. The article emphasizes the role of intonational parameters in the identification of subjective connotations of the rhetorical forms of negation.