A corpus-based study of Amplifiers in American English A study of the differences between amplifiers most frequently used in the different registers in the Corpus of Contemporary American English

Abstract

Abstract: This study aims at exploring the most frequently used amplifiers in American English by using the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA). The focus is to investigate amplifiers with regard to two contextual factors known to affect the use of amplifiers: amplifier type (both maximizers and boosters) and amplifiers used to intensify adjectives as it has been shown by several studies that most amplifiers are used with adjectival heads. The sociolinguistic variable tested in this study is the difference between registers in amplifier use. To answer the present study's questions, several steps were followed. First, a pilot study was run for the whole corpus and for each register to search for the most frequently used amplifiers. Second, a list of the frequencies of the ten most frequently used amplifiers in each register was created for comparison. Third, a final list of the most frequently used amplifiers in all registers in COCA was set for further analysis. The results gained from the present study suggest that the more formality of the register increases, less intensification is used. It is also found that the more frequency increases in a register, less versatility in the use of different amplifiers is found. Furthermore, this study shows that there is a fixed pattern of boosters being most frequently used in all registers in COCA, and that very so and really are still the most prevailing boosters in American English. Finally, the genre and style of each register affect the amplifiers used, the adjectives collocating with the amplifier and the frequency of intensity and vice versa; certain amplifiers are found to be used more frequently and thus 'preferred' in certain registers and contexts over other amplifiers.