The principle notions of stylistics. Functional styles.

Stylistics is a branch of linguistics which deals with expressive resources and functional styles of the language.

Stylistics is connected with other branches of linguistics: phonetics, lexicology and syntax. In connection with phonetics stylistics studies expressive sound combinations, rhythmics and international patterns. In connection with lexicology stylistics studies connotatively marked and expressive words and layers of the voc. In connection with syntax stylistics concentrates on particular structural units which makes speech expressive and colourful. Stylistic semasiology studies stylistic devices, or tropes (alsofigures of speech).

Stylistics is subdivided into literary stylistics and linguo- stylistics. Literary stylistics studies a combination of expressive means typical for a piece of prose or poetry, or the whole literary epoch.

Linguo-stylistics compares the national norm & language system with particular subsystem of language typical for different spheres of communication which are called functional styles.

Under the norm we mean a set of language rules which are considered the most correct in certain epoch in the society, so-called neutral literary standard.

Correlation analysis: selection of fragments of 100 words / word combinations by method of random numbers (випадкових чисел), then it is calculated the representation in them particular characteristics, e.g., clases of words. The calculation is made on the basis of qualitative-quantitative characteistic of lexis.

Functional Styles

Functional styles are classified into two general groups: bookish and colloquial. The group of bookish styles embraces academic / scientific, official / business, mass media and literary. The colloquial style is subdivided into literary, informal and substandard colloquial styles. Both bookish and colloquial styles exist in written and oral forms. The only known written form of the colloquial style is personal letters.

The academic style, or the style of the scientic prose, serves as an instrument for promoting scientific ideas and exchanging scientific info among people. Its main function is to transmit the intellectual knowledge and to inform about results of research and their explanation. The stylistic factors is the necessity in clarity and logical consequence of presentation of the complex material and traditional norms. To academic genres belong: papers, monographs, theses, conference abstracts, scientific reviews, scientific reports (wr.); lectures, disputes, scientific conferencies, ritualized procedures like defending a thesis (or.).

The graphical peculiarities of this style is number- or letter- indexed paragraphs, a developed system of headlines, titles and subtitles, footnotes, tables, schemes and formulae.

A great part of the vocabulary is constituted by special terms of international origin. Most of such words are borrowed from Greek & Latin and are not translated into English, e.g.: a priori, a posteriori, ab ovo, erratum, per capita, per diem, pe se, post factum, sic. Here belong Latin abbreviations widely used in academic writing: cf, e.g., et al.,etc„ ib., i.e., loc. cit., N.B., P.S., viz., v.v. So-called scientific words (загалънонаукова лексика) is of French & Latin origin is also used in scientific writing in all branches of science: to account for, to assume, to deduce, to estimate, to focus on, to identify, to infer, to investigate, to occur, to refer to, etc. Words are used in their direct or terminological meanings. Many bookish words are used: susceptible, approximate, heterogeneous, phenomenon, simultaneously, the former, the latter. Set- phrases and cliches are widely used: to sum up, as we have seen, so far we have considering, note that, another poit of consideration is, it is worth emphasize that etc. Metaphoric terms in English are also observed. They can be represented by a metaphoric word in language metaphors: coal basin (вугільний басейн), captan's bridge; or in speech metaphors: alligator skin (дефект поверхні), snow (TV) - сніг (на екрані).

Morphological feature of this style is the use of the personal pronoun we in the meaning of I. It is explained by two reasons: 1 * - that the science is created by a community of scientists, the 2^nd - we is used to invite the reader to the process of reasoning and argumentation.

Syntax: Composite sentences, especially complex preveil. They are used to represent logical relations between objects, actions, events and facts which is trypical for scientific reasoning. Simple sentences are developed by means of homogeneous sentence members. Short simple sentences are used sporadically to intensify the importance of the thought: This is the analogue of memory (N.Winer). The preference belongs to passive constnictions which neglect the agent of the action: The notation is the same as previously used arid impersonal forms: It should be born in mind; One may assume. Rather frequent is observed the use of the Present Continuous and Future Simple instead of the Present Simple tense: The obtained data will vety well prove thai. Nominative sentence members have several pre- or post attributes: anti- craft fire control system to define the notions precisely & in full. Many words are explained by Participle, Gerund or Infinitive constructions. Links between parts of sentences as well as between sentences and paragraphs are expressed in explicit way by means of simple and double conjunctions: that. or. if ач; not merely... but also. both... and, as... as. The double conj. like thereby, therewith, hereby used in academic writing are considered archaic in other styles.

Logical connectors which establish logical relationship between ideas within a sentence of b/w them. They improve the flow of writing and help the reader to bettre follow the text. They are grouped acc. to their functions:

- addition: furthermore, moreover

- cause & effect: became of, due to,

- comparison: likewise, similarly, accordingly

- concession: nevertheles. even though, in spite of, despite of

- conclusion: therefore, thus,

- contrust: on the other hand, otherwise, conversely

- enumeration: firstly, secondly, lastly

- illustration: for example, for instance

- intensification: as a matter of fact, in fact

- reformulation: in other words,

- relation: regarding, concerning, as to

- summation: overall, finally, hence, in brief, on the whole

- time: meanwhile, at the same time, while

Official (also business) style (from Lat. officiwn - "service") is aimed at establishing, developing and maintaining relations between the government and society, between governments of different states and international organizations (like EU, UN, UNESCO, Europarliament, NA TO), between organizations and people. It embraces such spheres of social activity as administration, diplomacy, legal relations, business, military service.

The most peculiar features of this style are: preciseness, clearness / unambiguity, logical correctness, accurateness, argumentation, laconism, unemotiveness. Genres: decrees, laws, government acts, edicts, bills, enactments, international treaties, notes (dipl.), memoranda (dipl.), statutes, regulations, minutes, official letters (wr.); public speeches, negotiations, meetings, presentations (or.).

The general tone of official and business documents is neutral, the layout is tactful and polite. The documents are standardized, having headings and clear composition (date, addressee's name, introduction, the body / main part closing, parting, signature, seal).

Vocabulary: exclusively standard words, neutral and bookish, used in direct meaning, professional lexis and terminology: absolutism, adjournment, summit, balance of power, summit, nuclear nonproliferation treaty. Bill of Rights, immovable property, designated depository; foreign borrowings, primarily of Latin origin: status quo. nudum pactum, persona grata, ad hoc, pro quo, jus soli, casus belli, de bene esse, bona fide; set-phrases: on behalf of, by their very nature, the bottom line is; cliches: at you convinience; 1 beg to inform me, thanking you in anticipation; I am looking forward to hearing from you soon; The High Contracting parties hereby agree as follows; well-known abbreviations and acronyms of the names of international organizations and official titles: EEC - European Economic Community, WTO - Worl Trade Organization, IMF — International Monetary Fund, ACP countries - countries of Africa, Carribean and Pacific basins; M.P. - Member of Parliament, Ltd., Inc., S, VAT, VIP; official or honorary- forms of address: ladies and gentlemen, honorable guests, Dear Sir or Madam.

Grammar

The morphological level:

- usage of composite conjunctions and prepositions: on the ground that, for the reason that, notwithstanding that, in spite of the fact that;

• impersonal and indefinite pronouns,

- adverbial nouns,

- non-finite forms of the verb.

- nominative constructions, infinitive,

- participle and gerundial complexes,

- obsolescent mood forms (Subjunctive I & Suppositional).

The syntactic level:

- direct word order;

- passive voice;

- long and super-long composite polypredicative sentences of all structural types, always two-member, complicated by secondary predication and parenthetic insertions. Sometimes an official document includes only one very long composite sentence with subordination, co­ordination, and detachments.

Public speeches abound in stylistic devices of repetition (direct, anaphoric, cataphoric, epiphoric, framing, linking), polysyndeton and parallelism which are aimed at making the speech pursuasive.

Mass media style (also newspaper, publicist, oratory). The function is to inform the public about events and occurences that may be of interest, to persuade and to influence the people's consciousness. Genres: news reviews, information and feature articles, editorials, essays, news, ads (wr.); news, interviews, debates, press conferences, open studios, radio- TV commentaries, talk shows (or.).

Graphical perculiarities: different fonts, italics, bald-types; particular layout of the page; distribution of one and the same article on differents pages; a system of headlines. For headlines is typical: omittance of predicates, prepositions and articles: Italy's radio. TV workers on strike-, rhymed and rhythmic lines: Back to work - to kill the bill, pun (play on words): Ugly noises from Los Angeles mayor's nest (instead of mare's nest - нісенітниця); citation frequently without inverted commas.

The structure of the article: the title, subtitles; the 1" paragraph gives the gist of the article; the rest of the text reveals the details.

Vocabulary: neutral common literary words; political, social and economic terms: apartheid, summit, tactical nuclear missile, European currencey; great pecentage of proper names: antroponyms, toponyms, names of institutions and organizations; a lot of numerals - dates, words belonging to lexical grammatical field of plurality; abandance of words-internationalisms and neologisms which quickly turn into cliches: vital issue, free world, pillar society, bulwark of

liberty, escalation of war; abstract nouns: democracy, freedom, peace, independence; words with evaluative and expressive meaning: O.K., key (essential), ordeal, to ax (to cut), boost; pretentious lexis: epoch-making, triumphant, unforgattable; archaic military words: banner, champion, clarion, shield; abbreviations and shortenings: EN, WTO, UN, NATO; set-phrases instead of simple verbs: to haw an effect, to play a leading role, to exercise influence; cliches: the Trojan horse, to do the trick, just what the doctor ordered, to run along smoothly; political metaphors: backbencher - "government M.P. who are not members of the cabinet", bagman - "fund-raiser for political party", ban-wagon effect - "desire to be with the winner of elections".

Syntax: diversity of all structural types of sentences; passive forms: greatly to be desired; attributive noun groups: War Minister, oil men's strike; participle, infinitive and gerund constructions.

Oral form: syntactic stylistic devices - repetitions (direct, synonymic, anaphoric, epiphoric, framing, linking); poiysyndetic constructions (both... arid, either... or); parallelism.

Colloquial style: literary, informal, substandard.

Literary colloquial: neutral, bookish, and literary words; reduction of grammatical forms; sentences are short and elliptical; asyndetic composite sentences.

Informal colloquial: words with connatative meanings: jolly, rotten, foul, swell, smash; words with wide meaning: thing, business, stuff, get, fix (Am.), nice; phrasal verbs: to give up, to take out, to put down; dialectal words: ghost, E - bogle, Scot.; regional varieties of specch: subway, Am. - tube, Br.; pleonastic expressions: dead & gone, good & well, lord & master, far & away; time fillers / parasitic words: well, I mean, you see, you know; interjections: wow\ dear me\ oh my\; contractions: don't, can't, I've got; abbreviations: doc, vegs, frige; ellipsis: Morning! Evening!; disjunctive questions: Nice weather, isn't it?; baby-talk, diminutive suffixes: mummy, daddy, dearie, lovey.

Substandard (special coll.): vulgarisms: hell, damn, lousy, shit; slangy words: cabbage (money), frog-eater (a French man); contaminated speech patterns: more better; pleonastic forms: Let's us have us a drink; reduced forms: feller (fellow), dunno (don't know); constructions with how, what, why + ever: What ever are you doing?; simplified substitute ain 7 for am! is I are not, was / were not, have / has / had not, will not.

Lexico-stylistic devices are subdivided into figures of quality and figures of relations.

Figures of quality are: metaphoric group, metonymic group, and mixed group, or figures of combination.

Metaphoric group are tropes based on similarity (уподібнення). They are: simile, metaphor, epithet, personification.

Simile (from Lat. similis - "similar") is a comparison of two objects according to their common feature to make one of them more picturesque. The words are connected by conj. as and like: as pure as snow, a raindrop like a crystal, fear like an abyss, it leaps like living flame. Logical comparison does not become a simile, e.g.: She hated it as I did. Many similes became cliches: as fresh as a rose, as fat as a pig, as proud as a peacock, to drink like a fish, to blush like a peony. Traditional character of many clicftes transforms them into phraseological units whose motivation is not clear: as dead as a door­nail, as thick as thieves. There are other structures of similes: art not so unkind as man's ingratitude (in negative fonn); redder than a red rose (by comparative degree of an Adj.); With the quickness o f a long cat, she climbed up into the nest. (attributive construction);

Metaphor (from Gr. "transference") is a transference of the name of one object to another: the machine sitting at a desk (about a man). Metaphor is a substitution of the direct name of the objects by the word in figurative meaning, it is a kind of identification (ототожнення): He is a mule. M. is more expressive & emotional than a simile. Many M became cliches: seeds of evil, a flight of imagination, to bum with desire', some of them enriched the vocabulary and phraseology of the English language: the apple of one's eye, the arm of the chair, the leg of the table, so transforming them into denotative devices.

Classification of metaphors

According to the pragmatic effect:

a) trite, or dead, metaphors are fixed in dictionaries and sound hackneyed: to prick up one's ears, flood of tears;

b) genuine, or original, metaphors are created in speech as a result of imagination. They sound fresh and unexpected, e.g.: Some books are to be tasted, others swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested.

According to the degree of stylistic potential:

a) nominative metaphors do not render any stylistic information. They name new objects or phenomena of the reality. They are technical devices of nomination, when a new object is denoted by means of already existing words, e.g.: an arm of the chair, a leg of the table, a foot of the hill, a nose of the teapot;

b) cognitive metaphor is formed when an object obtains a quality typical to another object, e.g.: the day died; the idea came; the road leads; the sun rises /sets down; time flies',

c) imaginitive metaphor is occasional and individual. It is bright, picturesque, image-bearing, and poetic, e.g.: her eyes were deep pools of water, time was bleeding away;

According to the structure (complexity of image creating):

a) simple / elementary metaphor consists of a single word / word- combination expressing indiscrete notion, e.g.: The leaves were falling sorrowfully,

b) sustained metaphor appears in the case when a metaphoric word stimulates metaphoric potential of other words in a sentence or paragraph, e.g.: The average New Yorker is caught in a Machine. He whirls along, he is dizzy, he is helpless.

Epithet (from Gr. "appendix") is a word or word-combination having expressive characteristics of an object It is usually a dependant part of an attributive or adverbial word-combination: a silvery laugh.

Cf.'.an iron table :: an iron will [logical attribute] [epithet] Syntactic epithet may be:

- metaphoric (N + N+of): the ghost ofa smile', a doll of a baby,

- phrasal prepositional (by prep, attribute / sentence): wind-in-the- orchard style.

Personoftcation is imparting characteristics, thoughts and actions of a human being to inanimate objects or animals: Lie is a strange creature. English has no gender, so personification can be expressed by personal pronouns and capital letters, e.g.: The Night, like loving mother, lays her hand on my fevered head.

Metonymic group are tropes based on the principle of contiguity (суміжність) of two objects. Such transference of the name is observed in many cases, e.g., china - "фарфор" < China ("Китай"); iron - "праска" < iron ("залізо"). Here belong metonymy and synechdoche.

Metonymy (from Gr. metonymia - "re-naming") is a transference of the name of one object to another object. The relations between the objects may be quite different. The most typical are:

a) the name of symbol instead of a notion, e.g.: crown, throne instead of king's power,

b) the name of instrument instead of an action, e.g.: ear instead of to hear; voice instead of to speak; heart instead of to love;

c) conscequence instead of the cause, e.g.: to take the death instead of "to take the hook";

d) the name of a characteristic feature instead of its bearer, e.g.: a hand instead of a worker, the press instead of journalists, a pair of boots instead of a soldier;

e) abstract nouns denoting emotions instead of a subject, e.g.: my love instead of the beloved person.

Synecdoche (from Gr. "taken in a bundle") is a transference of the name of a part to the whole and vice versa.

a) part instead of the whole: under the same roof (house);

b) the whole instead of its constituent: The hall applauded, (the

people);

c) sg. instead of pi-

Mixed group are tropes based both on metonymic and metaphoric transference. Here belong allegory and antonomasia.

Allegory (from Gr. allegoria - "інакомовлення") is a kind of representation of abstract notion by means of a concrete image. The simplest examples are proverbs: All is not sold that glitters (metaphoric allegory, i.e. likening of abstract notions to concrete objects and phenomena).

After two centuries of crusades the Crescent [the Moslem religion] defeated the Cross [Christianity] (metonymic allegory - the name of the object that symbolizes the idea is used for its expression).

Antonomasia (Gr. "renaming") is the usage of a proper name as a common noun: He is the Napoleon of crime (metaphoric antonomasia; Napoleon in the meaning of a strategic genius).

He sold two Van Dykes (metonymic antonomasia - the name of the artist is used for his works).

Figures of relations comprise: identifying relations, contrast relations, and non-equal relations.

Identifying relations (відношення тотожності). Here belong euphemism and periphrasis.

Euphemism (Gr. "speaking politely") are "decent" synonymic substitutes of impolite words. Euphemisms may have different causes:

a) superstition: deuce - devil;

b) social and moral taboos: Lord- God, bear - 0;

c) reasons of politeness and decency: intoxicated - drunk, unwise - stupid.

^ Euphemism has its antipode called disphemism, i.e., rough, rude, impolite words and word-combinations: to die = to kick the bucket.

Periphrasis ("speak about") is a description of the subject of speech instead of its name (usually consists of a word-combination and has a poetic or humorous colouring).

a) logical: weapons = means of destruction-,

b) figurative: to marry = to tie the knot; money = the root of

evil.

Besides bearing the stylistic colouring, periphrasis performs a cognitive function, i.e., it deepens our knowledge about the reality.

Contrast relations (відношення протилежності). Here belong antithesis, oxymoron, zeugma, pun, and irony.

Antithesis (from Gr. "contrast") is a comparison of 2 different notions. There are two variants of antithesis:

- two different words with opposite meanings denoting one and the same object, e.g.: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times',

- two different words with opposite meanings denoting two different but logically connected objects: His fees were high; his lessons were light.

Oxymoron (from Gr. "witty-foolish") is used in the case when an object obtains characteristics contrary to its nature, e.g.: hot snow, pleasantly ugly, horrible beauty, Her beauty is horrible.

Zeugma consists of at least 3 constituents. The basic word stands in the same grammatical but different semantic relations to a couple of adjacent words, e.g.: He got out of bed and low spirits.

Thus, the basic word get forms with the 1^я adjacent word a free word-combination, with the 2^nd adjacent word - a phraseological unit.

Pun (play on words) does not need a basic component. It is formed on different understanding of the same word by two speakers, e.g.: - Is your mother engaged? - Engaged? She's married!

Irony (from Gr. "hidden mockery") originates when a word acquires the meaning opposite to its primary meaning. Ironical good means had, pleased - displeased. It is often accompanied by intonation, mimics, jestures in speech; inverted commas and cursive - in writing; also observed in ironic set phrases e.g.: head cook & bottle-washer.

Non-equal relations based on objective-speech inequality reflect the degree of intensity, quality or action that violates the real state of things.

Hyperbole (from Gr. "exaggeration") - a word or word- combination exaggerating the degree of quality or intensity. It can be expressed by all notional parts of speech, e.g.: a thousand pardons, scared to death, He knows everybody.

Meiosis opposite to hyperbole, a deliberate diminution of the degree of quality or intensity. It underlines insignificance of such qualities of the objects as their size, volume, shape, distance, time, e.g.: a drop of water, in a second.

Litotes (from Gr. "simplisity"), E. understatement - a kind of meiosis but with negative participle "not" and a word with negative prefix or meaning. It creates a positive effect, e.g.: not a bad, not unkind. It makes statements and judgements delicate and diplomatic.

Climax (from Gr. - "ladder"), E. gradation is an arrangement of an utterance so that each subsequent component increases significance or emotional tension of the narration, e.g.: I am sorry. I am so sorry. I am extremlv sorry.

Anticlimax (from Gr. "розрядка") is an arrangement of an utterance so that each subsequent component decreases significance or emotional tension of the narration, e.g.: Early to rise and early to bed makes a male healthy and welthy and dead (J. Thurber)

Date: 2015-04-20; view: 2822