ACTUALIZATION OF CATEGORY “UNCERTAINTY” (BASED ON THE NOVEL “THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN” BY PAULA HAWKINS)

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of speech means of expressing the category “uncertainty” based on the psychological thriller “The girl on the train” (2015) by the British writer Paula Hawkins. According to the definition of the category, it should make the reader feel unconfident/uncertain of what happens. The plot of the novel tells us the story of three different women and focuses on the problems of their relationships in general, and the alcohol addiction of the main character due to the inability to have a child and a consequent divorce. It is known that the issue of describing the means of expressing categories of «certainty» and «uncertainty» in the English language remains unresolved today. Therefore, this topic is relevant for modern linguistic science and requires thorough consideration and further development. It was found that the researched category in the English language is a field in the centre of which there are definite and indefinite articles, that carry the maximum functional load and are the most specialized means of expressing the certainty/ uncertainty of constant use. All other means belong to the periphery of this field. In the paper, the researched categories are considered in two aspects: formal – some peripheral means of implementing uncertainty markers are described; and communicative-pragmatic – an overview of the functional and communicative potential of these units is presented. The obtained results indicate that «uncertainty» is an inherent feature of language; the category of moderators includes lexical and syntactic units that give the subjective component of the statement the communicative intention of uncertainty in various pragmatic options, and act as a kind of defence mechanism, marking vagueness, ambiguity and doubt. The use of these units can also be caused by ignorance of the nuances of the question, default, ambivalence, lack of interest in the subject of conversation or a person, limited lexical resources of the language or ignorance of it, etc.