Usage of なんて and なんか as emphasis


When are なんて and なんか used as emphasis in casual speech? Are they used when
you're surprised, angry or can it be both? What sort of feeling does it convey
to the listener compared to a normal sentence without it.

For example, in the following 3 sentences I'm not entirely sure what the "なんて”
and ”なんか” are expressing.

> こんな[所]{ところ}におばけなんていねーよ。 There are no ghosts in a place like this.
>
> [彼女]{かのじょ}が[結婚]{けっこん}したなんてちっとも[知]{し}らなかった。 I had no idea she got married.
>
> [私]{わたし}なんか3[枚]{まい}のレポートも[書]{か}けない。 I cannot even write a 3 page report.




They are basically "weak" form of は in this context. My grammar book says
「〜を大切ではないと考えている（軽視する）時の言葉」. Basically when you're kind of ignoring the
importance of, or even slightly putting down, the topic of the sentence.
愛なんか要らない。(I don't need love!)

So like for your first example to me sounds like, "There's no stupid ghosts
around here" (like almost taunting any that might be there). Or the second one
has the tone of "Well, I had no idea she got married, but whatever."

The usage is [微妙]{び・みょう}. Don't overuse it, or you'll sound like you're better
than everyone/everything. Especially don't use it if something **needs** to
have importance placed on it.




@istrasci's answer is well-formed from the grammar perspective, but a little
history of the words themselves:

なんて is actually a contracted form of 等（など）という.

So in your example:

> こんな所におばけなんていねーよ

There are no ghosts (or anything similar to ghosts).

I can see how that's a "strengthener" because you're not only talking about
おばけ specifically, but any sort of おばけ-like things :).

なんか, on the other hand, is a contracted form of 何か, meaning "something". I see
なんか as more of a filler than なんて, but I do agree that they're often used
interchangeably, despite being different words.

