Parenthetical Words As a Mirror of the 'New Politeness' in Contemporary Russian (na minutoku and stesnjajus' sprosit')

摘要

This article deals with two parenthetical word combinations. Reflections on the place parenthetical constructions occupy in modern Russian may be found in direct statements of people writing on the Internet. Recently, both in colloquial Russian and in the language of Internet forums we have seen substantial changes in the expressions chosen for parenthetical constructions and in the functions of these constructions as a whole. For example, constructions such as na minutoku and stesnjajus' sprosit' are now used as parentheticals. The paper analyses meanings and usages of these two particular phrases. In some cases they point to the speaker's intention of being over-obliging and considerate of the interlocutor, while in other cases they reveal the author's ironical stance. Most interesting, however, are the cases where these constructions form part of a rhetorical technique aimed at suppressing the interlocutor by means of demonstrating one's own superiority. Parenthetical words in this context function as the most efficient ways of manipulating the partner's position. The paper also discusses the results of a survey reflecting the attitude of native speakers to both traditional and new parenthetical words and constructions.