Chapter 5 - Maximizers

Summary

This chapter provides an inventory of maximizer types and tokens attested in the data. Altogether 23 maximizers, covering both full and zero forms, were included in the study, totalling 9,488 relevant tokens; the four top-frequency items comprise perfectly, too, most and entirely. The diachronic distribution of the top seven maximizers across the period studied is discussed, with comparisons made between usage in the Late Modern English and the modern BNC trials data. The maximizers prove to be the only category of intensifiers increasing across the period studied; boosters and downtoners show declining rates of use. The semantic input domains of the maximizers are discussed, and the targets of intensification and the collocational features in usage patterns presented. Maximizers mainly modify adjectives and less so adverbs and verbs. Within the category of maximized adjectives, the category of Human Propensity dominates; within the maximized category of verbs, the material process types cover most of the uses. Finally, the collocates and semantic prosodies of the top seven maximizers are described, with attention paid to the situation-specific and relatively fixed uses.