On the stylistic, ideological and utilitarian aspects of nominalization in Serbian

• Main Author: Klikovac Duška
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Institute for the Serbian Language, Belgrade 2008-01-01
• Series: Južnoslovenski Filolog
• Online Access: http://www.doiserbia.nb.rs/img/doi/0350-185X/2008/0350-185X0864177K.pdf

The author deals with certain aspects of nominalization (the use of verbal or adjectival nouns instead of verbs) that have not received much attention in Serbian scientific literature. Two of them are stylistic: the first stems from the very nature of verbal and adjectival nouns - they do not evoke mental images as verbs do. The other is that nominalization has become a feature of formal language; that aspect is not inherent in the very process of nominalization. Then comes the ideological aspect of nominalization: it can be a means of declaring one's power. Finally, there is a utilitarian aspect of nominalization: it can be used to keep some components of the situation secret or to present the situation less sharply. Those aspects of nominalization are not unique to Serbian but are universal, given the fact that in modern societies institutions are very powerful, that the image of a person in the eyes of others is often more important than the true value of the person, and that masses are manipulated on a large scale.