Semester of Graduation

Fall 2024

Degree

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

World Languages, Literatures & Cultures

Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

The present thesis explores the intensification strategies employed by bilingual Spanish-English speakers in Southern Arizona, focusing on six distinct devices: lexical, phrasal, repetition, reformulation, hyperbole, and code-switching. While previous research has largely centered on adverbial and lexical intensifiers in monolingual contexts, this study broadens the scope by examining how bilingual speakers leverage their unique linguistic repertoire to amplify their speech. Using a sociopragmatic framework, the analysis reveals a marked preference for lexical intensification, which accounts for more than half of the recorded instances, with phrasal intensification and repetition following closely. Despite its lower frequency, code-switching stands out as a particularly salient strategy, available only to bilinguals, and serves both as a rhetorical device and a means of asserting bilingual identity in interactions. The results of this study provide interesting insights, taking closer looks at language to identify how it is used to provide emphasis, attempt to persuade, assert insistence, and elevate the degree of a word or phrase.

This study also situates bilingual intensification within the broader sociocultural context, demonstrating that bilingual speakers use intensification not only to convey emphasis but also to express social identities and situate themselves in a cross-cultural status. The findings underscore the role of code-switching as more than a linguistic bridge between two languages, emphasizing its importance in signaling group membership and aligning with the cultural norms of their community as one in a long-standing language contact situation. The study contributes to the relatively underexplored field of bilingual sociopragmatics, offering new insights into the nuanced ways bilingual speakers utilize intensification to enhance their discourse.

Date

10-31-2024

Committee Chair

Jeremy King

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