Бог весть, что черт знает: о развитии конструкций вида X знает в диахронической перспективе

Русский язык в научном освещении. 2024. № 2(48). С. 31–69.

Budennaya E., Litvintseva K., Yakovleva A.

This paper presents a diachronic corpus study of constructions of the X znaet ‘X knows’ type. Such constructions have a long-written history, so revealing the peculiarities of their constructionalization process is of great importance also for the theory of idiomatization. First, we focus on the semantics and compatibility of the construction with the anchor Bog ‘God’, second, we discusse the variant with the anchor chert ‘devil’, and, finally, we compare the results with the obscene types of the construction. It has been shown that the diachronic development of Bog- and chert- types differs only slightly, while obscene anchors demonstrate greater diversity in terms of syntax and compatibility. The paper describes the semantics of such constructions (uncertainty, positive and negative assessment, intensification), as well as the time they were attested in written sources. Semantic transitions have been analyzed within the framework of the theory of implicatures.

Keywords: русский язык, implicature, idioms, Russian language, диахрония, diachrony, лингвистическая неопределенность, идиома, импликатура, Idiomatization, indefiniteness