THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE CATEGORIES OF INTENSITY AND GRADATION: A SEMANTIC, COGNITIVE, AND FUNCTIONAL-PRAGMATIC ANALYSIS

This article analyzes the linguistic nature, semantic essence, and interrelationship of the categories of intensity and gradation. It provides a scientific justification for the role of gradation as a general category expressing the semantics of degree and for intensity as a semantic-pragmatic phenomenon reflecting the higher segments of this system. Drawing on the theoretical perspectives of J. Lyons, D. Bolinger, C. Kennedy, G. Lakoff, R. Langacker, A. V. Bondarko, and other scholars, the study examines the cognitive, functional-semantic, and pragmatic characteristics of intensity and gradation. Furthermore, the article explores the connection of these categories with evaluation, expressiveness, and emotionality. A comparative analysis based on English and Uzbek linguistic data reveals both the universal and national-cultural aspects of intensity and gradation. The findings demonstrate that intensity is a category grounded in gradation, yet semantically and pragmatically more complex.

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