СНК Смирнова 2026

1. Секция «Коммуникативно-прагматические аспекты функционирования языковых явлений» на Всероссийской студенческой научной

Structure of adjectives and adverbs in
the speech of main characters in the
series "Chilling adventures of Sabrina":
gender aspect.
Студент:
Смирнова Дарья Константиновна, 2Лб-01-1оп-22
Научный руководитель:
Чиршева Галина Николаевна,
д. ф. н., профессор
Секция «Коммуникативно-прагматические аспекты функционирования языковых
явлений»
на Всероссийской студенческой научной конференции «Региональная наука:
тенденция развития глазами молодежи», 16 апреля 2026 г.,
кафедра германской филологии и межкультурной коммуникации,
Череповецкий государственный университет, Череповец

2. Layout

1) Relevance
2) Research problem
3) Research question
4) Hypothesis
5) Aims
6) Data
7) Theoretical framework
8) Research results
9) Conclusion
10) References

3. Relevance

Adverbs make speech expressive, informative, and emotional. They are
an integral part of any language and are used in any style, in any sphere
of activity, in the speech of any person. They are words of open parts of
speech, which are constantly replenished with new units and have
different structural features, which requires further research on the
material of different languages.

4. Research problem

Structure of adjectives and adverbs is studied in female and male
speech from several perspectives: in terms of their morphological
structure, degrees of comparison and syntactic position.
Different
approaches
psycholinguistics,
(within
lexicology,
stylistics,
rhetoric,
communicative
linguistics,
gender
linguistics,
pragmalinguistics, among others) as well as various research frames
that are applied to adverbs in human communication lead to variable
and sometimes disputable results.

5. Research question

What
structure
characterizes
adjectives and adverbs from the
speech of female and male heroes
in the series "Chilling adventures of
Sabrina“?

6. Hypothesis

Women
tend
to
use
more
complex forms of adjectives and
adverbs. Moreover, there is a
greater variety of word-building
patterns in their speech than in
men's speech.

7. Aims

The research explores structure of adjectives and adverbs used by the
main female and male characters of the series “Chilling adventures of
Sabrina”.

8. Data

The data are 225 statements that include adverbs. They are extracted
from the speech of 2 main characters (female and male) in episode 1-3
of season 1 of the TV series "Chilling adventures of Sabrina" (October
26, 2018 USA).
The total duration is 2 h 54 m 53 sec.

9. Theoretical frame

Adjective – expresses the categorical semantics of property of a substance [Blokh
1983: 203]
Adverb – usually defined as a word expressing either property of an action, or
property of another property, or circumstances in which the an action occurs
[Blokh 1983: 220]
Word building — formation of words called derivatives and compounds, usually on
the basis of monosyllabic words, according to the patterns and models existing in
the language, using affixation, word composition, conversion, and other formal
means [Лингвистический энциклопедический словарь: словообразование]
Word-building method – one of the central concepts of word-building. In terms of
diachrony, it is a specific method of creating a derived word, its birth in a
particular period of language development [Жеребило 2010: 361]

10.

Word-building pattern – scheme for constructing derivative words
belonging to the same word-building type [Жеребило 2010: 337]
Syntactic function – the relation of this unit to the whole in which it is
included, its syntactic role in a sentence or in a variable phrase. This
refers to the functions of sentence parts, as well as inserted elements of
speech (introductory words, addresses), etc. [Маслов 1987: 171]
Film discourse is a coherent text, that is the verbal component of a film,
in conjunction with non-verbal components - the audiovisual series of the
film and other extralinguistic factors significant for the meaningful
completion of the film [Нелюбина 2013: 72].
Gender is the activity of managing situated conduct in light of normative
conceptions of attitudes and activities appropriate for one's sex category
[Taha 2022: 74].

11. Adjectives

Sabrina, female
Harvey, male
Example
On my 16th birthday, at the stroke
of midnight, under an eclipsing
blood moon.
Did we just watch different movies?
Degree of
comparison
-
-
Derivative/nonderivative
Derivative
Derivative
Word-building
method
Conversion
Suffixation
Word-building
pattern
N -> Adj
V + -ent
Syntactic
function
Attribute
Attribute

12. Adverbs

Sabrina, female
Harvey, male
Example
But one thing you can do is help
me with a spell later.
It could just be the two of us
watching the eclipse together, waiting
for it to get dark.
Degree of
comparison
Comparative
Positive
Derivative/nonderivative
Derivative
Non-derivative
Word-building
method
Suffixation
-
Word-building
pattern
Adj + -ly
-
Syntactic function
Adverbial modifier of time
Adverbial modifier of manner as part
of a compound nominal predicate

13. Research results

Degrees of comparison: adjectives
43,90%
Positive degree
55,60%
47,20%
Lack of degree of comparison
Comparative degree
Superlative degree
36,10%
5,70%
8,30%
3,30%
0,00%
Sabrina, female
Harvey, male

14.

Degrees of comparison: adverbs
75,40%
69,80%
Lack of degree of comparison
23,00%
28,30%
Positive degree
Comparative degree
1,60%
1,90%
Sabrina, female
Harvey, male

15.

Derivation: adjectives
74,00%
Non-derivative
77,80%
24,40%
Derivative
Compound derivative
22,20%
1,60%
0,00%
Sabrina, female
Harvey, male

16.

Derivation: adverbs
84,40%
Non-derivative
83,00%
Derivative
15,60%
17,00%
Sabrina, female
Harvey, male

17.

Word-building method: adjectives
74,00%
77,80%
Lack of word-building method
17,90%
19,40%
Suffixation
Compounding
0,00%
2,80%
Prefixation
4,90%
0,00%
Conversion
1,60%
0,00%
Compounding + suffixation
1,60%
0,00%
Sabrina, female
Harvey, male

18.

Word-building method: adverbs
84,40%
Lack of word-building method
83,00%
14,80%
Suffixation
Conversion
17,00%
0,80%
0,00%
Sabrina, female
Harvey, male

19. Word-building patterns: adjectives

Sabrina, female
Harvey, male
Lack of word-building
pattern
74,00%
77,80%
adj + er
n + ous
2,40%
0,00%
5,60%
5,60%
v + ing
1,60%
2,80%
n + ful
v + ent
n+n
2,40%
1,60%
0,00%
2,80%
2,80%
2,80%
num + n + ed
0,80%
0,00%
+ adj
Word-building patterns: pro
n + ical
super + n
adjectives
0,80%
0,80%
0,00%
0,00%
0,80%
0,00%
n + ite
n -> adj
im + adj
n + ible
n+y
0,80%
1,60%
1,60%
2,40%
0,80%
0,00%
0,00%
0,00%
0,00%
0,00%
n + al
4,10%
0,00%
v + able
0,80%
0,00%
super + adj
0,80%
0,00%
prep + prep + n
0,80%
0,00%
non + adj
0,80%
0,00%

20. Word-building patterns: adverbs

Sabrina, female
Harvey, male
Lack of word-building
pattern
84,40%
83,00%
adj + ly
13,10%
13,20%
adj + er
0,80%
1,90%
n +ly
0,00%
1,90%
adv + er
0,80%
0,00%
adj -> adv
0,80%
0,00%
Word-building patterns:
adverbs

21.

Syntactic functions: adjectives
54,50%
55,60%
Attribute
Adjective as part of a compound nominal
predicate
39,80%
33,30%
Adjective as part of an adverbial phrase
1,60%
5,60%
Object
1,60%
5,60%
Adverbial modifier of measure and degree
Sabrina, female
2,40%
0,00%
Harvey, male

22. Syntactic functions: adverbs

Adverbial modifier of manner
Adverbial modifier of time
Sabrina, female Harvey, male
41,00%
45,30%
18,00%
13,20%
Adverbial modifier of manner as part of a compound
nominal predicate
6,60%
13,20%
Adverbial modifier of measure and degree
Adverbial modifier of place
Adverbial modifier of manner as part of an adjective
phrase
Adverbial modifier of time as part of an adverbial
phrase
Adverbial modifier of manner as part of an adverbial
phrase
Adverbial modifier of time as part of a compound
nominal predicate
Adverbial modifier of place as part of an adverbial
phrase
12,30%
9,40%
4,10%
7,50%
2,50%
5,70%
4,90%
1,90%
9,00%
1,90%
0,00%
1,90%
0,80%
0,00%
Adverbial modifier of measure and degree as part of
an adverbial phrase
0,80%
0,00%

23. Conclusion

1. In female speech, the positive and superlative degrees of comparison
of adjectives are used more frequently than in male speech.
2.For adjectives, 19 word-formation patterns have been recorded in
female speech, as opposed to 6 in male speech.
3.The word-formation models in female and male speech among
adverbs are predominantly of the same type; however, unique patterns
(f.e. adv+er, adj→adv) are observed in female speech.
4.Female speech exhibits a tendency toward more complex syntactic
constructions involving adverbs.

24. References

1)Блох М. Я. Теоретическая грамматика английского языка. – Москва: Высшая
школа, 1983. – 383 с.
2)Жеребило Т. В. Словарь лингвистических терминов. — Изд. 5-е, испр. и доп. —
Назрань: Пилигрим, 2010. — 488 с. – ISBN 978-5-98993-133-0.
3)Маслов Ю. С. Введение в языкознание: учебник для вузов. — 2-е изд. —
Москва: Высшая школа, 1987. — 272 с. — ISBN: 978-5-9989-5058-2.
4)Нелюбина Ю. А. Кинодискурс как объект лингвистического изучения //
Челябинский гуманитарий. − 2013. − № 3 (24). – С. 71–73.
5)Taha M. A Gender-based Stylistic Analysis of Selected English Love Poems // AlAdab Journal. – 2022. – V. 2, № 141. − P. 73–82. – DOI: 10.31973/aj.v2i141.3713.
6)Лингвистический
энциклопедический
словарь:
словообразование
[электронный ресурс]. URL: https://tapemark.narod.ru/les/467b.html (Дата
обращения: 11. 05. 2026)
7)Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Season 1 2018 HD online [Электронный ресурс].
URL: https://moviesjoy.to/watch-tv/chilling-adventures-of-sabrina-39322.4902556
(Дата обращения: 11.03.2023).