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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D;mso-fareast-language:EN-US">Hi,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D;mso-fareast-language:EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D;mso-fareast-language:EN-US">Yael Ziv, here cc'ed, wrote about Hebrew
<i>pashut</i> 'simple/ly'. The paper is in Hebrew, but I'm sure you can ask her about it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D;mso-fareast-language:EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D;mso-fareast-language:EN-US">I here attach a paper of mine (with Ruti Bardenstein), in press with
<i>Studies in language</i>,<i> </i>about the evolution of intensifiers from truth markers, but we mention particularizers, which
<i>simply</i> might be similar to. We talk about the "missing link" between truth and intensification, and you may well find that there's a missing link between 'simple/ly' and 'very'. For truth markers we argued that they originally serve to mark something
as "a real category member of Y", and later on they more generally block a loosening (weakening) of the modified concept (Y). Only then do they evolve into intensifiers. I suspect the beginning of 'simply' > 'very' is some metalinguistic use of 'simply'. Maybe
<i>simply</i> in <i>simply Y</i> first aims to preempt a potential reservation that 'Y' is too strong? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D;mso-fareast-language:EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D;mso-fareast-language:EN-US">Best,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D;mso-fareast-language:EN-US">Mira<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D;mso-fareast-language:EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a name="_MailEndCompose"><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D;mso-fareast-language:EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">From:</span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"> Lingtyp [mailto:lingtyp-bounces@listserv.linguistlist.org]
<b>On Behalf Of </b>tangzhengda<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Friday, June 4, 2021 5:08 PM<br>
<b>To:</b> lingtyp <lingtyp@listserv.linguistlist.org><br>
<b>Subject:</b> [Lingtyp] Is the connection between simplicity and intensity universal<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black">Dear all,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black">Words with the lexical meaning of 'with simplicity' are likely to grammaticalize into intensives, or 'intensifiers', e.g. English 'simply', Chinese
<i>jianzhi </i>(</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black">¼òÖ±£¬</span><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black">lit simple and straight), and may be Roman languages also. It is thus interesting to have the
potential to express '</span><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black">In a plain, homely, or frugal manner</span><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black">', 'inadequately' and 'absolutely, extraordinarily' by the same word.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black">I wonder if the connection, both synchronical and diachronical</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black">£¬</span><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black">
between 'being simple' and 'being intense' somewhat universal</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black">£¿</span><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black">Are there more languages that coincidentally have
such intensifier-used lexicons indicating 'simplicity'?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black">Thanks a lot<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black">With best wishes<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p style="margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black">Jeremy<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black">Institute of Linguistics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black">No.5 Jianguomennei Dajie, Beijing, China; 100732<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p> <o:p></o:p></p>
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