Non-prototypical constructions verbalizing negative emotional-evaluative attitude and regret

¹ Mirny Polytechnic Institute (branch) of North-Eastern Federal University, English Philology Department, 677000, Mirny, Russia
² Irkutsk National Research Technical University, Department of Applied Linguistics, 664074, Irkutsk, Russia

^* Corresponding author: tanya.mironchuk@hotmail.com

Abstract

The article deals with analysis of structural and semantic peculiar features of non-prototypical constructions N_person hate ing-form and N_person hate Infinitive that categorize both the regret and emotional-evaluative attitude situations. The research is made from concept to form. Firstly, models of prototypical situations of the emotional-evaluative attitude and of regret are built. The prototypical situation model enables to distinguish language means and grammatical constructions expected in speaker's verbalization of the situations and to determine prototypical constructions, categorizing these prototypical situations in the best way. Non-prototypical construction-blends are analyzed within the theory of mental spaces and conceptual integration. The basic method of the theory makes it possible to divide a situation categorized by a speaker into mental spaces and single out even the most unusual cases of categorization. Construction-blends borrow lexical and grammatical means of prototypical constructions of the regret and emotional-evaluative attitude creating a unique structure that is inequivalent to the prototypical constructions either semantically or grammatically. Analysis within the theory enables observing sematic differences between non-prototypical constructions N_person hate ing-form and N_person hate Infinitive and proves that all sentence members equally contribute to a sentence meaning building. It enables speaking of the holistic approach to the sentence stud