Linguistic stylistics is a newly developing branch of linguistic science which is thought to go back to ancient rhetoric and poetics. Much has been contributed to it by Russian, Soviet and foreign scholars (ôèëîëîãè). Among them Ëîìîíîñîâ, Âèíîãðàäîâ, Ïåøêîâñêèé, Àõìàíîâà, È.Ð. Ãàëüïåðèí, È.Â. Àðíîëüä, Charles Bally, Middleton Murry, Ullmann, and others…
‘Style’ in a broad sense of the word concerns many spheres of our life. The term ’Style’ applied in linguistics has several meanings. Here are some of them:
A) literary genre (for example, style of romanticism)
B) author's individual style, manner of writing (Hemingway's style)
C) technique of expression (he writes in a clear style)
Before we decide what problems Stylistics deals with let us analyze some other widely known definitions of STYLE:
‘Style is a quality of language which communicates precisely emotions and thoughts or a system of emotions and thoughts peculiar to the author’ (Murry).
‘Style is a contextually restricted linguistic variation (Nils Eric Enkvist);’;
‘Style is a product of individual choices and patterns of choices among linguistic possibilities’ (Seymour Chatman).
The functioning of language in different spheres of human activity with different communicative tasks, in various communicative situations causes linguistic variation -âàðèàòèâíîñòü.
The fact is that any idea can be expressed in many different ways..
Buy – purchase – get
Ïîêóïàòü – buy – neutral; purchase – bookish, literary mostly used in business; Foreign investers are not permitted to purchase land. get – colloquial: Our car is on its last legs. – it’s time we got a new one. As for the word buy, though it is neutral it is not to be used in advertising and is replaced by words and expressions that denote possession: have, if it’s yours, you deserve it, it’ll be your best, etc). Therefore, in a particular situation of communication, the speaker or writer will have to make a choice.
The properties of style mentioned in the definitions were summed up by the famous French scholar Charles Bally who claims that stylistics studies synonymous language resources and their adequate functioning.
We are motivated by some particular principles in choosing a particular word, phrase, grammar forms or phonetic pattern from among other synonymous possibilities
The verb to die – äîìèíàíòà – neutral: its synonyms are: expire – bookish, literary, used in formal communication; pass away – euphemism, polite; to go euphemism; to go to one's last home - a phraseological euphemism; meet one's Maker – in religious discourse it sounds elevated, in other cases it may sound humorous, jocular; to kick the bucket – informal, humorous, to snuff It – informal, humorous,or to peg out - informal British, etc.
Your Excellency – used to address an ambassador. Your Majesty – to address a monarch, Your Royal Highness – to address a prince or princess.
(Episode in Spasa House, residence of the US Ambassador in Russia, told by Tomakhin. ‘It’s my wife who is excellent here’ these were the jocular words of the official who was left by the ambassador in charge of the party, said with a smile in answer to the formal greeting of professor Tomakhin: Good afternoon, your Excellency!)
If we offer someone to sit down we can say: Take a seat – mostly in a theatre; or May I offer you a chair? - very polite and formal. Please, be seated – to a large audience on a formal occasion. Sit! – to a dog if you want it to sit down. Have a seat – to someone who has to wait for a few minutes. A set phrase Take the weight off you feet means sit down and rest. For example: Take the weight off you feet and have a coffee. (Can you imagine confusing all those and saying ‘ Take the weight off your feet to a large audience’ on a formal occasion?)
The choice in this case depends on the situational conditions of the communication act.
Let us compare two other utterances:
He made his mother very unhappy – He broke his mother’s heart. The two utterances have the same denotative meaning, but different stylistic values. The first one presents the fact objectively while the second one with its metaphorical, figurative expression Broke his mother’s heart is emotionally loaded and expressive.
If we assume that style is the result of a motivated choice, it follows that we must decide what linguistic and extralinguistic factors predetermine the choice and arrangement of language means when we speak or write. Here are the main factors:
1. the aim of communication (to inform, entertain, influence, etc)
2. the form of communication (written/spoken)
3. the situational conditions of communication (thestatus of theaddresser and theaddressee, their relationship and other elements of the situation)
4. the scale/degree of formality of communication (formal/informal)
5. the degree of expressiveness, emotional impact of the utterance (âûñêàçûâàíèå) on the listener/reader
Let us go back to the first factor –
1. the aim of communication. There is always some aim when we speak or write. According to the aim of communication and the function of language means (ÿçûêîâûå ñðåäñòâà) professor Ãàëüïåðèí divides the language into a system of sublanguages/sub-styles:
1) the belles-lettres style. Its general aim is aesthetico-cognitive (ýñòåòèêî-ïîçíàâàòåëüíàÿ). It comprises three substyles:
a) emotive prose or fiction (it comprises a number of genres historical, detective, and others, also novels and short stories) their functions may vary)
b) poetry – aesthetic function prevails and it calls for an abundance of expressive means and stylistic devices
c) drama – traditionally the speech of personages in plays is stylized to embellish the language
The belles-lettres style due to its functions is characterized by a certain system of language means which conform to the aim and norms of this style.
2) newspaper style The general aim of communication is to inform the readers, to influence the readers' minds, to entertain. It can be divided into sub-styles:
a) a brief newspaper item – to inform; it's short; the language is rather matter-of-fact
b) headlines of articles – to inform; attract attention; sometimes entertaining
c) the editorial (ðåäàêöèîííàÿ êîëîíêà) – to inform the readers and influence public opinion
d) newspaper articles (analytical articles, feature articles òåìàòè÷åñêèå ãàçåòíûå ñòàòüè)
e) reviews (ðåöåíçèè)
f) advertisements and announcements; crosswords, other word-games, cartoons
3) scientific style. Its general aim is to inform specialists in a particular field about the latest developments. It can be written or spoken. The language is matter of fact and contains a lot of terms, passive constructions are often used + participles, gerunds and infinitives + complexes with them. Impersonal sentences and literary vocabulary, long sentences, Generally, there are no expressive means of language except for similes and metaphors in oral presentations of scientific content. Sometimes they contain jokes– just to enliven the audience.
4) publicist style. Its general aim is to inform the readers and influence their opinions. Some of them serve to entertain the readers. Some linguists do not differentiate between newspaper and publicist style. Nevertheless, they are different. The distinctive feature of newspaper is its up-to-datedness. Publicist functional style can be used to deal with things and events that happened long ago. The main sublstyles are:
a) essays – problems: crime, education, moral values
b) magazine articles. Essays and articles aim to exert a lingering effect on
the readers
c) advertisements and announcements
d) public speeches – ïóáëè÷íûå âûñòóïëåíèÿ
e) TV/radio interviews and presentations, there are new sublanguages
added to the ones mentioned above.
5) style of official documents. Its general aim is to reach agreement between 2 or more contracting parties (businessmen; buyer-seller; government-people). The text must conform to the norm. The basic features: exactness, brevity (êðàòêîñòü) of expression, stereotyped character.
A) on the lexical level: terms, other groups of literary words, sometimes archaic words especially adverbs and conjunctions (therein – in a particular place, thereupon – immediately after smth else happens; instead of spoken ‘ a bit the literary to some extent and not its colloquial synonym “a bit” (Russian– â íåêîòîðîé ñòåïåíè| ÷óòü-÷óòü)
B) in grammar: impersonal sentences and passive constructions.
There are several substyles of the style of official documents. They are:
a) business documents and correspondence
b) military documents
c) diplomatic documents
d) contracts
e) constitutions
f) instructions, etc.
Other linguists have other classifications. Thus, I.V. Arnold singles out four styles:
Poetic style
Scientific style
Newspaper style
Colloquial style. But she overlooks the style of official intercourse.
Galperin I.R. does not include into the system colloquial style because his definition of functional style excludes colloquial language. According to Galperin I.R., the functional style is a system of interrelated language means within the English literary language which serve a definite aim of communication.
As professor Skrebnev writes “The mastery of sublanguages is akin to speaking several languages”.
2. the form of communication. There is a tendency to regard the Spoken variety of language as less polished than written language and somehow less fully structured. Spoken language tends to be more informal. The problem of varieties of language (spoken/written) and their peculiarities is studied in this course of Stylistics.
The situational conditions of the communicative act have very much to do with the choice and arrangement of language means in the corresponding utterance. The different relationships that exist between us and our audience in different situations will lead us to modify our language. Our language must fit in with circumstances.
Ex. George Bernard Shaw, the famous British playwright, in his lecture about the English language said that English was so different. If you are in the street without a watch and you want to know the time, you will stop a passer-by and politely enquire: Excuse me, could you tell me the time, please? But if you are at home and you want to know the time and you will say to your wife: Excuse, me, could you tell me the time, please? She will think I have gone mad, because it would have been common in those circumstances to say ‘What clock’s’t? – (What clock is it?).
The age and sex, the state of mind of the addresser as well as the addressee are also important factors of language variation.
4. the degree of formality. The more casual the situation is in which we find ourselves, the more likely we are to select a less formal type of language. The famous linguist Martin Joos in his book "The Five Clocks" presents the range of language variation depending on the scale of formality as 5 registers.
1) frozen – strict; not flexible, which is the most careful and elegant variety reserved for important and symbolic occasions. (ñòðîãî îôèöèàëüíûé)
2) formal – generally serious level of language use. The vocabulary and syntax are varied and complicated. It's used to show respect or put ourselves at the distance. (îôèöèàëüíûé)
3) consultative – is our plain everyday style, grammatically correct and polite. (äîâåðèòåëüíûé)
4) casual – íåïðèíóæäåííûé – our normal relaxed style, appropriate to conversations with friends of colleagues. It can suggest equality, a feeling of closeness, sometimes used for fun. (íåïðèíóæä¸ííûé)
5) intimate – î÷åíü áëèçêèé – the most grammatically and phonologically reduced style, used exclusively with our close friends and relatives. (äîâåðèòåëüíûé)
A more widespread classification comprises three registers: formal, neutral and informal.
Ex. 1
To be competent in the use of English includes a capacity to select the register that is appropriate for the situation in which we find ourselves.
5 The degree of expressiveness is another important factor. It is closely related to the writer’s intentions and feelings, which affect the stylistic quality of the text or utterance. This quality manifests itselfin emotionally coloured units, expressive means and stylistic devices. Thus, Stylistics studies expressive means and stylistic devices: phonetic, lexico-phraseological, syntactical and graphical.
They are employed in those spheres of speech that aim to impress – poetry, fiction, oratory, advertising, in some genres of mass media. Let us analyze the headline of a newspaper article:
a) ‘ A beautiful new swan spreads her wings’. From the context it is clear that it means ‘A new ballet dancer starts her career’. The metaphor SWAN and the phrase SPREADS HER WINGS suggest that the dancer was as beautiful and graceful as a swan, and also that she was prepared to start her career as a dancer. The headline aims to impress the reader, by arousing fresh association and appealing to the reader’s feelings.
One more example. It is from ‘Gone with the Wind’ by Margaret Mitchel. It is in the author’s description of Melanie.
b) ‘Melanie looked and was as good as bread, as simple as earth, as transparent as spring water.. The device of parallel constructions enriched by the device of very expressive simile in each component part, helps the author to appeal to the readers’ minds and feelings and convince them of Melanie’s kindness, purity and really good nature.
Thus, to sum up, Stylistics studies
1) varieties of language – spoken and written, and their peculiarities;
2) functional styles of the English language, their typical features
and interrelation of the styles;
3) stylistic differentiation of the English vocabulary;
4) expressive means and stylistic devices, their stylistic functions;
5) the problem of the English literary norm and deviations from the norm. (Example – the title of the musical “Me and My Girl” which was on at Adelphie Theatre in London. The perfectly correct wording would have been ‘My Girl and I’, another possibility which is more informal is ‘My Girl and Me’. The choice of the first one - a deviant grammar form - was motivated by the fact that the girl of the title is a Cockney.
(but the norms are getting more and more flexible. For example, emmachisit? = How much is it?)
Stylistics also studies the individual manner of an author in making use of language.
What should be taken into consideration in the study of Stylistics? They are the following aspects:
The main aims of a course in Stylistics are as follows:
firstly, Stylistic analysis broadens theoretical horizons of a language learner, teaches them the skill of competent reading, adequate translation and the rules of situational use of language;
Secondly, it develops the learner’s skill in shaping certain information into a message.
Among fundamental, basic concepts of linguistic stylistics are those that were mentioned in the previous lectures. They are registers of language, functional styles, expressive means, stylistic devices. Other basic concepts are:
1) stylistic neutrality and stylistic colouring, 2) the norm and deviations from the norm, 3) language- as -a system and language in action, 4) connotation, 5) foregrounding.
(to be discussed in the lecture to follow)
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