6.2.1. Interjections and Exclamatory Words
Interjections (3) are words we use when we express our feelings strongly and which may be said to exist in language as conventional symbols of human emotions. +
The interjection is regarded as a part of speech. But there is another view which regards the interjection not as a part of speech but as a sentence. A closer investigation into the nature and functions of the interjection proves that the interjection is not a sentence; it is a word with strong emotive meaning. The pauses that frame interjections can be accounted for by the sudden transfer from the emotional to the logical or vice versa. The definite intonation with which interjections are pronounced depends on the sense of the preceding or following sentence. Interjections have no sentence meaning if taken independently.
Oh, where are you going to, all you Big Steamers? (Kipling)
The interjection oh by itself may express various feelings, such as regret, despair, disappo intment, sorrow, woe, surprise, astonishment, lamentation, entreaty and many others. It precedes a definite sentence and must be regarded as a part of it. The Oh here may be regarded as a signal indicating emotional tension.
The same may be observed in the use of the interjection oh in the following sentence from "A Christmas Carol" by Dickens:
"Oh, but he was a tight-fisted hand at the grind-stone, Scrooge."
The Oh here is a signal indicating the strength of the emotions of the author. The emotion to be understood is one of disgust or scorn. So interjections radiate the emotional element over the whole of the utterance, provided that they precede it.
Interjections can be divided into primary and derivative. Primary interjections are generally devoid of any logical meaning. Derivative interjections may retain a modicum of logical meaning, though this is suppressed by the volume of emotive meaning. Oh\ Ah\ Bah\ Pooh\ Gash\ Hushl Alas', are primary interjections, though some of them once had logical meaning. 'Heavens!', 'good gracious, 'dear me!', 'God!', 'Come on!', 'Look here!', 'dear!', 'by the Lordl', 'God knows!', 'Bless me!', 'Humbug!' These are exclamatory words and word-combinations generally used as interjections, their function is that of the interjection.
Some adjectives, nouns and adverbs can also take on the function of interjections- for example, such words as terrible, awful, great, wonderful, splendid, find, man, boy! With proper intonation and with an adequate pause these words may acquire a strong emotional colouring and arc equal in force to interjections. Some adjectives and adverbs have acquired an additional grammatical meaning, that of the interjection. An interjection may be considered as bookish by one scholar and as neutral by another, or colloquial by one and neutral by another. The difference between colloquial and bookish will always be clear enough. In evaluating the attitude of a writer to the things, ideas, events and phenomena he is dealing with, the ability of the reader to pin-point the emotional element becomes of importance. It is hidden under seemingly impartial description or narrative, and only an insignificant lexical unit, or the syntactical design of an utterance, will reveal the author's mood. But interjections are direct signals that the utterance is emotionally charged, and insufficient attention on the part of the literary critic to the use of interjections will deprive him of a truer understanding of the writer's aims.