So different and pretty cool! Recycling intensifiers in Toronto, Canada

Abstract

This article presents a synchronic quantitative study of the intensifier system in Toronto, the largest urban centre in Canada. The data comprise nearly 10,000 adjectival heads, as inI wassohungry and I was gettingreallynauseous(TOR/2m). The distribution of intensifiers in apparent time provides startling evidence of change.Veryis quickly moving out of favour andreallyhas expanded dramatically. Moreover, there is evidence to suggest that other intensifiers are on the rise –soandpretty. Testing a series of contextual factors known to operate in the development of intensifiers (e.g. adjective function and type) as well as their intersection with social factors (e.g. age and sex) reveals evidence of ongoing delexicalization, but not as part of a continual longitudinal process. Instead, the profile of change reveals recycling, suggesting that the mechanisms of intensifier renewal may be more complex than previously thought.