Prototypical characterization statements and their expressive synonyms

The proposition of qualitative characterization is prototypically expressed by statements like “kto / chto (est’) kakov” (somebody / something is of some kind). Expressive synonyms of such sentences are non-prototypical statements based on existential structures of the type “v kom / chem (est’) chto-to kakoe” (there is something of some kind in somebody / something). They are a means of expressing the intensity of the manifestation of the trait, persuasiveness (the author’s uncertainty that he has made an objective idea of the properties and qualities of the described object), comparison, and the actualization of the trait. The transformation method was used to clarify the differences in the semantics of prototypical and non-prototypical sentences of characterization. The impossibility of direct transformation is revealed when the predicate is expressed by an adjective, the semantics of which does not allow the combination with components denoting a weakened or, conversely, high manifestation of the trait. In the construction “v kom / chem (est’) chto-to kakoe,” any variation of the semantics of the circumstance by the category of intensity is possible. The existential structure becomes an expressive means of characterization. At the same time, the narrator is not sure about the nature and causes of the intensity of the manifestation of the trait and does not give a categorical assessment to the subject. A high degree of manifestation of the trait, represented in the statements like “kto / chto (est’) kakov,” is much more frequent. When the adjectival position is filled with a relative or possessive adjective, a non-categorical comparison is expressed.

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