Quasi-synonymy of Danish temporal conjunctions from the anthropocentric point of view

Abstract

The article explores formal variation of auxiliary words in the Danish language that are similar in their syntactic distribution but carry different functional and semantic information due to the speaker’s perspective. The focus is on the functioning of quasi-synonymous temporal Danish conjunctions that differ in terms of expression, but function in similar syntactic contexts. When translated into Russian, these conjunctions correspond to the same equivalent. By applying the concept of quasisynonymy it is possible to compare the temporal clauses, introduced in the Russian language by the conjunction when, with their Danish equivalents, namely, the clauses introduced by the conjunctions da, når and hvor, and to analyze the semantic differences between them. The hypothesis discussed in this article aims to prove that the asymmetry in the functioning of these conjunctions is related to the anthropocentric idea of the speaker’s epistemic responsibility for the objective/subjective/concrete/ generalized status of the information that he addresses to the recipient. A relevant semantic distinction in the system of Danish temporal conjunctions is the asymmetric juxtaposition of past events as objective landmarks in time (da) to various manifestations of subjectivity in temporal orientation (når). The latter, on the one hand, include the immediate perception expressed by the speaker, and, on the other hand, various types of mental constructions: assumption, desirability, irreality and generalization, including iteration as its primary manifestation. Subjectivity in temporal orientation also manifests itself in the temporal functioning of the conjunction hvor, that characterizes a moment in time as being perceptually or mentally close to the speaker.