汉语新兴语用标记语“什么鬼”

Abstract

This article defines “Shenmegui” commonly seen in spoken and online language in recent years as a pragmatic marker, and examines its syntactic expression, discourse function, and pragmatic characteristics. “Shenmegui” can be divided into two categories based on its part of speech: “Shenmegui” and “ShenmeguiX”. When “Shenmegui” serves as the object, it can indicate the speaker's inquiry about the nature of the unfamiliar thing and the cause of the unexpected event. As its syntactic status weakens, “Shenmegui” gradually develops into an independent pragmatic marker that expresses the speaker's subjective negative attitude towards a certain thing or event. “ShenmeguiX” can be seen as a construction used to negate “X” at the pragmatic level. The article analyzes the conceptual function, discourse function, and interpersonal function of “Shenmegui” in discourse, and explores the formation motivations of “Shenmegui” from two aspects: subjectification and interrogative pronoun interjections. “Shenmegui” is a pragmatic marker with rich functions and diverse applicable contexts, with distinct stylistic features, significant immediacy, flexibility, and entertainment. Its popularity is a product of online media users freely expressing personal emotions and being innovative.