Abstract

An analysis is provided of the construction važno podčerknut’, literally “it is important to emphasize”, in Russian academic discourse. It is argued that this construction, which can be seen as a performative, is a signal of the writer to the reader that a particular piece of information is important to take into account in order to correctly understand the standpoint of the writer or the information provided by the author. The expression važno podčerknut’ can serve as an argumentative-rhetorical device which can serve to sustain a standpoint or argument in contexts where the speaker anticipates an incorrect inference of the author’s argument or standpoint. In some cases, važno podčerknut’ introduces an argument itself, in which case the author expects the reader not to accept its content. It is argued that the construction has a clearer argumentative function than the semantically similar construction važno zametit’ “it’s important to notice”.