Emotional Content of Non-Formal Interview Text in the Aspect of Respondent’s Reactive Utterances

Abstract

In the article according to the material of the informal interview texts, the respondents’ reacting utterances are analyzed, which are formulated in such a way that the final lexical segments differ significantly from the rest of the utterance content in terms of stylistic coloring and the emotionality of communication. In this case there is a so-called code-switching: for reproducing the humorous effect the reacting subject uses various versions of the language, in particular shifts the focus of the interviewer’s attention from the standard (literary) English to a particular regional or social dialect. Code-switching consists of the use of a specific lexical unit or expression that is markedly different from the rest of the lexical units (expressions) in the same utterance. The choice to use the mechanism of code-switching is determined in an informal interview by such pragmatic factors as the context and the topic of discussion, the interlocutors’ attempt to create a positive emotional mood of communication. Code-switching generates a humorous effect in the informal interview text, which subsequently determines the coverage of additional information interesting for the readership, the reimplementation of the code-switching mechanism, which creates a positive emotional atmosphere of the relaxed communication. The activation of this mechanism is based on the use of tokens with pronounced negative connotations in a strong position of the respondent’s reacting utterances.

Keywords

• non-formal interview text
• respondent
• emotions
• codeswitching
• humorous effect
• double addressee