STYLISTICS
SEMINAR 1
Basic Notions of Stylistics.
Phonostylistics. Graphical Stylistic Devices.
A. 1. Subject of stylistics. The aim and tasks of stylistics. Stylistics and its correlation with other
sciences. Scientific basis of Stylistics. The general approach in Stylistics. Different branches of
Stylistics. The notion of style. Individual style. Style as choice. Style as deviation.
B. 2. The problem of sound-meaning relationship. Sound instrumenting. Alliteration. Assonance.
Onomatopoeia. Sound contrast. Rhythm in poetry and in prose. Graphical stylistic devices.
Definition:
Stylistics is a branch of linguistics which studies the system of styles of a language, describes
norms and ways of using literary language in different situations of communication, in various
types and genres of written speech, in different spheres of life.
Subject and object:
The subject of stylistics is a language (as the wide notion) which includes both written and oral
variations. The object of stylistics is the information which is often vague (unclear) for an
ordinary reader, so called between-lines information. That is why stylistics is a science which
studies connotations.
The aim and tasks:
The aim of stylistics is to help the reader to get more information from the language means used
in speech, to receive aesthetic pleasure while reading. Another aim of this science is to describe
certain areas of sub-languages (phonemic, morphological, etc.). Stylistics describes unusual
usage of the language elements, specific features which distinguish this sub-language from the
others.
Stylistics and other sciences:
Stylistics does not describe a definite level of a language. It penetrates into all levels. Thus,
stylistics is divided into:
•
stylistic phonology,
•
stylistic morphology,
•
stylistic lexicology,
•
stylistic phraseology,
•
stylistic syntax.
1)General phonetics studies the whole pronunciation system of a language. Stylistic phonetics
studies only phonetic features of sub-language, which form the style, for example, variations of
pronunciation in different types of speech.
2)General morphology studies morphemes and grammatical meanings, which are expressed in a
language in general without taking into consideration their stylistic value. Stylistic morphology
studies grammatical forms and grammatical meanings which characterize definite sub-languages.
3)General lexicology is closely connected with stylistic lexicology. General lexicology often
gives stylistic classification of vocabulary and this is a field of stylistic lexicology.
4)Etymological analysis (especially the problem of borrowings) is stylistically important if the
borrowed words are stylistically loaded.
5)General syntax studies a sentence from the point of view of its structure and building of
correct utterances in this particular language. Stylistic syntax studies specific constructions
which characterize different types of speech.
The general approach in stylistic.
A Stylistics approach teaches students how to look for and interpret stylistic dimensions of a
text. Students are made to learn how, what, is said and how meanings are made.
From the multitude of linguistic approaches to style, two linguistic schools of the twentieth
century have exerted the most decisive influence on the development, terminology, and the state
of the art of stylistics: the Prague School and British Contextualism.
Different branches of stylistics:
Literary and linguistic stylistics, comparative stylistics, decoding stylistics and functional
stylistics.
Literary and linguistic stylistics. According to the type of stylistic research we can distinguish
literary stylistics and lingua-stylistics. They have some meeting points or links in that they have
common objects of research.
Consequently they have certain areas of cross-reference. Both study the common ground of:
1. the literary language from the point of view of its variability;
2. the idiolect (individual speech) of a writer;
3. poetic speech that has its own specific laws.
The points of difference proceed from the different points of analysis. While lingua-stylistics
studies:
- Functional styles (in their development and current state).
- The linguistic nature of the expressive means of the language, their systematic character and
their functions. Literary stylistics is focused on
1 The composition of a work of art.
2 Various literary genres.
3 The writer’s outlook.
Comparative stylistics deals with the contrastive study of more than one language. It analyses the
stylistic resources not inherent in a separate language but at the crossroads of two languages, or
two literatures and is linked to the theory of translation.
Decoding stylistics. A comparatively new branch of stylistics is the decoding stylistics, which
can be traced back to the works of L.V. Shcherba, B.A. Larin, M. Riffaterre, R. Jackobson and
other scholars of the Prague linguistic circle. A serious contribution into this branch of stylistic
study was also made by Prof. I.V.Arnold.
Each act of speech has the performer, or sender of speech and the recipient. The former does the
act of encoding and the latter the act of decoding the information.
If we analyze the text from the author’s (encoding) point of view we should consider the epoch,
the historical situation, and personal, political, social and aesthetic views of the author.
But if we try to treat the same text from the reader’s angle of view, we shall have to disregard this
background knowledge and get the maximum information from the text itself (its vocabulary,
composition, sentence arrangement, etc.). The first approach manifests the prevalence of the
literary analysis. The second is based almost exclusively on the linguistic analysis. Decoding
stylistics is an attempt to harmoniously combine the two methods of stylistic research and enable
the scholar to interpret a work of art with a minimum loss of its purport and message.
Functional stylistics. Functional stylistics is a branch of lingua–stylistics that investigates
functional styles, that is special sublanguages or varieties of the national language such as
scientific, colloquial, business, publicist and so on.
The notion of style
Stylistics deals with styles. Different scholars have defined style differently at different times.
Out of this variety we shall quote the most representative ones that scan the period from the 50es to the 90-es of the 20th century. In 1955 the Academician V. V. Vinogradov defined style as
«socially recognized and functionally conditioned internally united totality of the ways of using,
selecting and combining the means of lingual intercourse in the sphere of one national language
or another...» (2, p. 7). In 1971 Prof. I. R. Galperin offered his definition of style «as a system of
interrelated language means which serves a definite aim in communication» (2, p. 7). According
to Prof. Y. M. Skrebnev «style is what differentiates a group of homogeneous texts (an
individual text) from all other groups (other texts)... Style can be roughly defined as the
peculiarity, the set of specific features of a text type or of a specific text» (2, p.7).
Individual style
1) a unique combination of language units, <expressive means> and <stylistic device>s peculiar
to a given writer, which makes that writer’s works or even utterances easily recognisable
(I.R.G.:17);
2) deals with problems, concerning the choice of the most appropriate language means and their
organisation into a message, from the viewpoint of the addresser (V.A.K.:10);
Style as choice
While examining the concept stylistics, it is equally essential to give attention to the notion of
choice. Choice is a very vital instrument of stylistics since it deals with the variations and the
options that are available to an author. Since language provides its users with more than one
choice in a given situation, there are different choices available to the writer in a given text. This
then depends on the situation and genre the writer chooses in expressing thoughts and opinions.
Traugott and Pratt (1980: 29 – 30) clarify the connection between language and choice as the
characteristic choices exhibited in a text.
With the writer’s choice, there is a reflection of his ego and the social condition of his
environment. In determining the appropriate choice of linguistic elements, two important choice
planes are open to the writer: the paradigmatic and the syntagmatic. The paradigmatic axis is
also referred to as the vertical or choice axis while the syntagmatic is the horizontal axis. The
vertical axis gives a variety of choices between one item and other items; the writer then chooses
the most appropriate word. Thus, the paradigmatic axis is able to account for the given fillers
that occupy a particular slot while still maintaining the structure of the sentence. At the
paradigmatic level, for example, a writer or speaker can choose between “start” and
“commence”, “go” and “proceed.”
Style as deviation
When an idea is presented in a way that is different from the expected way, then we say such a
manner of carrying it out has deviated from the norm. The concept of style as deviation is based
on the notion that there are rules, conventions and regulations that guide the different activities
that must be executed. Thus, when these conventions are not complied with, there is deviation.
Deviation in stylistics is concerned with the use of different styles from the expected norm of
language use in a given genre of writing. It is a departure from what is taken as the common
practice. Language deviation refers to an intentional selection or choice of language use outside
of the range of normal language. Language is a system organized in an organic structure by rules
and it provides all the rules for its use such as phonetic, grammatical, lexical, etc. Thus, any
piece of writing or material that has intentionally jettisoned the rules of language in some way is
said to have deviated. Stylistics helps to identify how and why a text has deviated.
Deviation may occur at any level of language description e.g. phonological, graphological,
syntactic, lexico-semantic, etc. At the graphological level, for example, we may see capital
letters where they are not supposed to be. At the syntactic level, subject and verb may not agree
in number. Or the normal order of the clause elements may not be observed e.g. Adjunct may
come before the subject. At the lexico-semantic level, words that should not go together may be
deliberately brought together. e.g. “dangerous safety,” “open secret.”
The problem os sound meaning relationship and sound instrumenting
Dealing with various cases of phonemic and graphemic foregrounding we should not forget the
unilateral nature of a phoneme: this language unit helps to differentiate meaningful lexemes but
has no meaning of its own. Still, devoid of denotational or connotational meaning, a phoneme,
according to recent studies, has a strong associative and sound-instrumenting power.
Alliteration
Alliteration is repetition of consonants in several neighbour words (usually, at the beginning).
Ex.: (last but not least; now or never; forgive and forget)
Assonance
Assonance is repetition of vowels in stressed syllables in several neighbour words.
"...Tell this soul, with sorrow laden, if within the distant Aiden, I shall clasp a sainted maiden,
whom the angels name Lenore — Clasp a rare and radiant maiden, whom the angels name
Lenore?" (E. Poe)
Onomatopoeia
Onomatopoeia is a combination of speech sounds which aims at imitating sounds produced in
nature(wind, sea, thunder, etc.), by people (sighing, laughter, etc.) and by animals. Combinations
of speechsounds of this type will inevitably be associated with whatever produces the natural
sound. There are two varieties of onomatopoeia: direct and indirect. Direct onomatopoeia is
limited to a word that imitates the sounds produced naturally:
Mr. Beasley, while shaving on the day after his fiftieth birthday, eyed his reflection, and admitted
his remarkable resemblance to a mouse. “Cheep, cheep!” he said to himself with a shrug. (J.
Collier).
Indirect onomatopoeia aims at producing the general effect of imitation by carefully choosing the
words to create that impression:
And the silken, sad, uncertain rustling of each purple curtain…
The repetition of the sound [s] actually produces the sound of the rustling of the curtain.
Sound contrast
Two or more sounds in a language contrast if they appear in the same position, in the same
frame. These sounds are said to be in contrasted distribution. Phonemic contrast refers to a
minimal phonetic difference, that is, small differences in speech sounds, that makes a
difference in how the sound is perceived by listeners, and can therefore lead to different
mental lexical entries for words. Pit-pot
Rhythm
Rhythm is a natural quality of human life, and that, perhaps, explains the craving to make our
speech rhythmic too. Rhythm is a constant feature of poetry based on regular recurrence of stressed
and unstressed syllables. In prose rhythm is easily discernible too but it is based on the structural
arrangement of sentences.
The choice of words similar in their structure if not in meaning:
There was nothing remarkable about him, except what happened to him, which was certainly
remarkable, not to say regrettable. (Chesterton)
Repetition, parallelism, gradation, all these and other syntactical patterns contribute to making the
text rhythmic:
His life was in her hands. She could save him, she alone could save him, but the enemy was
cunning, and she must be cunning too.
(Rhythm, by any definition, is essential to poetry; prose may be said to exhibit rhythm but in
a much less highly organized sense. The presence of rhythmic patterns heightens emotional
response and often affords the reader a sense of balance.)
Graphical stylistic devices
Graphical stylistic devices include the use of punctuation, graphical arrangement of phrases,
violation of type and spelling. Marks of punctuation: hyphen (дефис), dash (тире), comma
(зпятая), full-stop, colon (двоеточие), semicolon (точка с запятой), exclamation
(восклицание), interrogation (вопрос), series of dots. They are used not only for the division of
speech into its logical parts, but also for emphatic purposes which suggest a definite semantic
interpretation of the utterance.
Another group of graphical means is based on the violation (нарушение) of type: italics
(курсив), bold type (жирный шрифт), and capitalization (большие буквы). Not only words but
separate syllables, morphemes may be emphasized by italics.
Graphical expressive means include the use of punctuation, graphical arrangement of phrases,
violation of type and spelling.
Graphon: the intentional violation of the generally accepted spelling used to reflect peculiarities
of pronunciation or emotional state of the speaker. Types of graphon: multiplication (умножение),
hyphenation (перенос слов), capitalization (прописные буквы), apostrophe. Functions: to give
the reader an idea about smth, to attract attention, to make smb memorize it, to show smth, explain.
C. . 1. Indicate phonetic SDs, speak on the effects produced by them:
(a) “Oh my children, me poor children!
Listen to the words of wisdom,
Listen to the words of warning,
From the lips of the Great Spirit,
From the Master of Life, who made you!
“I have given you lands to hunt in,
I have given you streams to fish in,
I have given you bear and bison,
I have given you roe and reindeer,
I have given you brant and beaver
Filled the marshes full of wild-fowl,
Filled the rivers full of fishes;
Why then are you not contented?
Why then will you hunt each other?
Henry W. Longfellow.
Repetition: help to emphasize a point and make a speech easier to follow; to create a
strong emotional feeling. Alliteration: to express a definite feeling, to contribute smth to the
general effect of the message.
(b) The German machine-guns were tat-tattatting at them.
“Zwiing, crash, claang!” – four heavy shells screamed towards them and denotated with awful
force within a hundred yards.”
Over came another little bunch of whizz – bangs, in corroboration – crash, crash, crash,
crash.
“Ping!” went a sniper’s rifle.
“Zwiing, crash!” to the right; “Zwiing, crash!” to the left; Zwiing, crash!” to the right; “Zwiing,
crash!” to the left. He sat there alone for thirty-five minutes – thirty-five Zwiing, crash.
(Aldington)
Direct onomatopoeia to bring the action in mind, to imagine the action, situation properly
(c) Then, with one final, furious burst of speed, they would triumphantly reach the top, where
they would stand up straight, flap their flippers in delight, and flop down on to their tummies for
a ten-minute rest.
(G. Durrell)
Alliteration: creates musical effect, mood and notion; help to imagine the ball, indirect
onomatopoeia also helps in it.
(d) Мазурка раздалась. Бывало,
Когда гремел мазурки гром,
В огромном зале все дрожало,
Паркет трещал под каблуком,
Тряслися, дребезжали рамы;
Теперь нетто, и мы, как дамы,
Скользим по лаковым доскам.
(А.С. Пушкин)
Indirect onomatopoeia helps to imagine the ball, the action, dancing: it makes the reader to feel
the atmosphere
(e)
Eulalie.
I dwelt alone
In a world of moan,
And my soul was a stagnant tide,
Till the fair and gentle Eulalie became my blushing bride –
Till the yellow-haired young Eulalie became my smiling bride.
Ah, less – less bright
The stars of night
Than the eyes of the radiant girl!
And never a flake
That the vapor can make
With the moon-tints of purple and pearl
Can vie with the modest Eulalie’s most unregarded curl,
Can compare with the bright-eyed Eulalie’s most humble and careless curl.
(E.A. Poe)
Repetition: to emphasize a point; Assonance: to enhance the imagery, to create a vivid
impression of a poetic picture.
(f) Twinkle, twinkle, little star, How I wonder what you are. Up above the world so high, Like a
diamond in the sky.
Rhyme: pleasant to read and hear, helps to memorize better; indirect onomatopoeia: helps the
reader to imagine the sparkle of the star.
(g) Here the rain did not fall. It was stopped high above by that roof of green shingles. From there
it dripped down slowly, leaf to leaf, or ran down the stems and branches. Despite the heaviness
of the downpour which now purred loudly in their ears from just outside, here there was only a
low rustle of slow occasional dripping.
Onomatopoeia: for a better imagination; Assonance: to enhance the imagery, to create a vivid
impression of a poetic picture.
(h) "Luscious, languid and lustful, isn't she?" "Those are not the correct epithets. She is - or rather
was - surly, lustrous and sadistic."
Alliteration: to emphasize a negative mood and attitude.
2. State the type and functions of graphical SDs:
1. “The Count”, explained the German officer, “expegs you chentlemen at eight-dirty.”
2. We’ll teach the children to look at things. Don’t let the world pass you by, I shall tell them.
For the sun, I shall say, open your eyes for the laaaaarge sun.
3. “ALL your troubles are over, old girl”, he said. “We can put a bit of now for a rainy day.
4. Said Kipps one day, "As'e - I should say, ah, has'e... Ye know, I got a lot of difficulty with
them two words, which is which." "Well, "as" is a conjunction, and "has" is a verb." "I know,"
said Kipps, "but when is "has" a conjunction, and when is "as" a verb?"
5. Wilson was a little hurt. "Listen, boy," he told him. "Ah may not be able to read eve'thin' so
good, but they ain't a thing Ah can't do if Ah set mah mind to it."
6. "I allus remember me man sayin' to me when I passed me scholarship - "You break one o'my
winders an' I'll skin ye alive."
7. He spoke with the flat ugly "a" and withered "r" of Boston Irish, and Levi looked up at him
and mimicked "All right, I'll give the caaads a break and staaat playing."
8. "Whereja get all these pictures?" he said. "Meetcha at the corner. Wuddaya think she's doing
out there?"
9. "Look at him go. D'javer see him walk home from school? You're French Canadian, aintcha?"
10. Usually she was implacable in defence of her beloved fragment of the coast and if the summer
weekenders grew brazen, -getoutofitsillyoldmoo, itsthesoddingbeach, - she would turn the
garden hose remorselessly upon them.
3. State the function of graphon in captions, posters, advertisements, etc. repeatedly used in
press, TV, roadside advertising
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The special features: bold, capitalization, shaped (visual) text, italics, increasingdecreasing. All these graphons serve to pay people’s attention.
STYLISTICS
SEMINAR 2
1. Stylistic function, its main properties.
2. Stylistic context. Difference between lexical and grammatical context, on the one hand, and
stylistic context, on the other hand. M. Riffaterre’s interpretation of context. Micro- and macrocontext.
3. Foregrounding: definition, functions, means. Convergence of SDs. Defeated expectancy.
Coupling. Strong positions of the text.
1) Like other linguistic disciplines stylistics deals with the lexical, grammatical, phonetic
and phraseological data of the language. However, there is a distinctive difference
between stylistics and the
other linguistic subjects. Stylistics does not study or describe separate linguistic units like
phonemes or words or clauses as such. It studies their stylistic function. Stylistics is
interested in the expressive potential of these units and their interaction in a text.
Stylistics focuses on the expressive properties of linguistic units, their functioning
and interaction in conveying ideas and emotions in a certain text or communicative
context.
Stylistics interprets the opposition or clash between the contextual meaning of a
word and its denotative meaning.
Accordingly, stylistics is first and foremost engaged in the study of connotative
meanings. In brief the semantic structure (or the meaning) of a word roughly consists of
its grammatical meaning (noun, verb, adjective) and its lexical meaning. Lexical meaning
can further on be subdivided into denotative (linked to the logical or nominative
meaning) and connotative meanings. Connotative meaning is only connected with extralinguistic circumstances such as the situation of communication and the participants of
communication. Connotative meaning consists of four components:
1) emotive;
2) evaluative;
3) expressive;
4) stylistic.
A word is always characterised by its denotative meaning but not necessarily by
connotation. The four components may be all presentat once, or in different combinations
or they may not be found in the word at all.
1. Emotive connotations express various feelings or emotions. Emotions differ from
feelings. Emotions like joy, disappointment, pleasure, anger, worry, surprise are more
short-lived. Feelings imply a more stable state, or attitude, such as love, hatred, respect,
pride, dignity, etc. The emotive component of meaning may be occasional or usual (i.e.
inherent and adherent).
It is important to distinguish words with emotive connotations from words, describing or
naming emotions and feelings like anger or fear, because the latter are a special
vocabulary subgroup whose denotative meanings are emotions. They do not connote the
speaker's state of mind or his emotional attitude to the subject of speech.
Thus if a psychiatrist were to say You should be able to control feelings of anger,
impatience and disappointment dealing with a child as a piece of advice to young parents
the sentence would have no emotive power. It may be considered stylistically neutral.
On the other hand an apparently neutral word like big will become charged with emotive
connotation in a mother's proud description of her baby: He is a BIG boy already!
2. The evaluative component charges the word with negative, positive, ironic or other
types of connotation conveying the speaker's attitude in relation to the object of speech.
Very often this component is a part of the denotative meaning, which comes to the fore in
a specific context.
The verb to sneak means "to move silently and secretly, usu. for a bad purpose" (8). This
dictionary definition makes the evaluative component bad quite explicit. Two derivatives
a sneak and sneaky have both preserved a derogatory evaluative connotation. But the
negative component disappears though in still another derivative sneakers (shoes with a
soft sole). It shows that even words of the same root may either have or lack an
evaluative component in their inner form.
3. Expressive connotation either increases or decreases the expressiveness of the
message. Many scholars hold that emotive and expressive components cannot be
distinguished but Prof. I. A. Arnold maintains that emotive connotation always entails
expressiveness but not vice versa. To prove her point she comments on the example by
A. Hornby and R. Fowler with the word "thing" applied to a girl (4, p. 113).
When the word is used with an emotive adjective like "sweet" it becomes emotive itself:
"She was a sweet little thing". But in other sentences like "She was a small thin delicate
thing with spectacles", she argues, this is not true and the word "thing" is definitely
expressive but not emotive.
Another group of words that help create this expressive effect are the so-called
"intensifiers", words like "absolutely, frightfully, really, quite", etc.
4. Finally there is stylistic connotation. A word possesses stylistic connotation if it
belongs to a certain functional style or a specific layer of vocabulary (such as archaisms,
barbarisms, slang, jargon, etc). stylistic connotation is usually immediately recognizable.
Yonder, slumber, thence immediately connote poetic or elevated writing.
Words like price index or negotiate assets are indicative of business language.
This detailed and systematic description of the connotative meaning of a word is
suggested by the Leningrad school in the works of Prof. I. V. Arnold, Z. Y. Turayeva,
and others.
Gaiperin operates three types of lexical meaning that are stylistically relevant - logical,
emotive and nominal. He describes the stylistic colouring of words in terms of the
interaction of these types of lexical meaning. Skrebnev maintains that connotations only
show to what part of the national language a word belongs - one of the sub-languages
(functional styles) or the neutral bulk. He only speaks about the stylistic component of
the connotative meaning.
2) In the most general sense the word “context” means а set of circumstances that
surround a particular event or situation. There are 2 scientific concepts of a context.
Gr.Kolshansky claims that we must distinguish between an introlinguistic context. In
Kolshansky's view an introlinguistic context is a purely linguistic embodiment of the
contexts of communication phonetically, lexically and grammatically. The extra linguistic
context is a broader concept, which includes factors accompanying verbal
communication such as the situation of discourse, the relative position of communicators;
all these factors may be important for stylistic choice. Actually or traditionally we should
define linguistic context as a combination of an element with its indicator that is
syntactically connected with it. (Amosova) Don't trouble trouble until trouble troubles
you.
If a linguistic context indicates only one meaning of polysemantic word, a
stylistic context aims at manifestation of as many meanings and connotations as the
word can possibly achieve in this communication act.
Stylistic or poetic context usually reveals the maximum contextual links between
the words. M/ Raffaterre defines stylistic context as a pattern broken by an unpredictable
element. He thinks that contrast is a basic feature of stylistic context. I.V. Arnold looks
upon stylistic context as a unity of stylistic element and its surroundings, a systematic
structure of interrelated elements.Every stylistically relevant element is not isolated but is
coordinated with the other elements of the context.
Lexical context determines lexically bound meaning; collocations with the
polysemantic words are of primary importance, e.g. a dramatic change / increase / fall /
improvement; dramatic events / scenery; dramatic society; a dramatic gesture.In lexical
contexts of primary importance are the groups of lexical items combined with the
polysemantic word under consideration. This can be illustrated by analysing different
lexical contexts in which polysemantic words are used. The adjective heavy, e.g., in
isolation is understood as meaning ‘of great weight, weighty’ (heavy load, heavy table,
etc.). When combined with the lexical group of words denoting natural phenomena such
as wind, storm, snow, etc., it means ’striking, falling with force, abundant’ as can be
seen from the contexts, e.g. heavy rain, wind, snow, storm, etc. In combination with the
words industry, arms, artillery and the like, heavy has the meaning ‘the larger kind of
something’ as in heavy industry, heavy artillery, etc.
In grammatical context the grammatical (syntactic) structure of the context
serves to determine the meanings of a polysemantic word, e.g. 1) She will make a good
teacher. 2) She will make some tea. 3) She will make him obey.In grammatical contexts it
is the grammatical (mainly the syntactic) structure of the context that serves to determine
various individual meanings of a polysemantic word. One of the meanings of the verb
make, e.g. ‘to force, to enduce’, is found only in the grammatical context possessing the
structure to make somebody do something or in other terms this particular meaning
occurs only if the verb make is followed by a noun and the infinitive of some other verb
(to make smb. laugh, go, work, etc.). Another meaning of this verb ‘to become’, ‘to turn
out to be’ is observed in the contexts of a different structure, i.e. make followed by an
adjective and a noun (to make a good wife, a good teacher, etc.).
Such meanings are sometimes described as grammatically (or structurally) bound
meanings. Cases of the type she will make a good teacher may be referred to as
syntactically bound meanings, because the syntactic function of the verb make in this
particular context (a link verb, part of the predicate) is indicative of its meaning ‘to become,
to turn out to be’. A different syntactic function of the verb, e.g. that of the predicate (to
make machines, tables, etc.) excludes the possibility of the meaning ‘to become, turn out
to be’.
The context, by definition inseparable from the SD, (I) is automatically relevant
(which is not necessarily true of the norm); (2) is immediately accessible because it is
encoded, so that we need not rely on an elusive and subjective Sprachgefuhl; (3) is
variable and constitutes a series of contrasts to the successive SDs. Only this variability
can explain why a linguistic unit acquires, changes, or loses it stylistic effect according to
position, why every departure from the norm is not necessarily a fact of style, and why
style effects occur without abnormality
Microcontext is the context of a single utterance (sentence). Macrocontext is the
context of a paragraph in a text.
The microcontext consists of the other constituents which remain unmarked;
contrast is created in opposition to these constituents (the reader perceives the degree of
unpredictability in relation to them).B The group as a whole (context+contrast) forms the
SO. The essential characteristics of the microcontext are: (l) it has a structural function as
a pole of a binary opposition, and conse- quently: (2) it has no effect without the other
pole; (3) it is spatially limited by its relationship to that pole (in other words, it does not
encompass elements irrelevant to the opposition and may be limited to one linguistic
unit). Its constituents can be multiple, discontinuous (e.g., the disjunct group in a
disjunction), or simultaneous (e.g., the unchanged part of a renewed cliche, the blended
words in a pQrtmanteau word).
The macrocontext is that part of the literary message which precedes the SO and
which is exterior to it. (It is this type of context which is closest to context in its everyday
meaning.) Since its decoding supposes a spatial orientation, we see that the phrase
oriented linear segment in our preliminary definition applies to this context: it could not
have applied to the microcontext. This characteristic permits the storing up of
information which will ultimately modify the effect of the compound
(microcontextfcontrast) SO.
3) Foregrounding is a literary device that emphasizes ideas and symbols
through the use of attention-seeking linguistic techniques which either repeat content
or break established patterns.
•
It’s a very general principle of artistic communication that a work of art in some
way deviates from norms which we, as members of society, have learnt to expect in the
medium used and that anyone who wishes to investigate the significance and value of a
work of art must concentrate on the element of interest and surprise, rather than on the
automatic pattern. Such deviations from linguistic or other socially accepted norms
are labeled foregrounding, which invokes the analogy of a figure seen against a
background (Leech,1968: 57).
•
In stylistics, the notion of foregrounding, a term borrowed from the Prague
School of Linguistics, is used by Leech and Short (1981: 48) to refer to ‘artistically
motivated deviation’.
•
The term foregrounding has its origin with the Czech theorist Jan Mukarovský: it
is how Mukarovský's original term, aktualisace, was rendered in English by his first
translator (Mukarovský, 1932/1964). It refers to the range of stylistic effects that
occur in literature, whether at the phonetic level (e.g., alliteration, rhyme), the
grammatical level (e.g., inversion, ellipsis), or the semantic level (e.g., metaphor,
irony).
As Mukarovský pointed out, foregrounding may occur in normal, everyday language,
such as spoken discourse or journalistic prose, but it occurs at random with no systematic
design. In literary texts, on the other hand, foregrounding is structured: it tends to be
both systematic and hierarchical. That is, similar features may recur, such as a pattern of
assonance or a related group of metaphors, and one set of features will dominate the
others (Mukarovský, 1964, p. 20), a phenomenon that Jakobson termed "the dominant"
(1987, pp. 41-46)
•
The immediate effect of foregrounding is to make strange (ostranenie), to
achieve defamiliarization. Shklovsky saw defamiliarization as accompanied by feeling:
he noted, more precisely, that stylistic devices in literary texts "emphasize the emotional
effect of an expression" (Shklovsky, 1917/1965, p. 9). And, Mukarovský concurs, "When
used poetically, words and groups of words evoke a greater richness of images and
feelings than if they were to occur in a communicative utterance" (1977, p. 73).
Foregrounding means making an image, symbol, or language a prominent or
important feature. The device is used to estrange or defamiliarize the reader from
the text and the content. Such disruptions in form and language help you experience
fresh perspectives and responses to texts.
FUNCTIONS
The generalizing function of foregrounding consists in bringing to the foreground
the most important themes, images, ideas and attitudes, revealing the general atmosphere
and making the text into a coherent whole. Bringing forth something that must attract the
reader's special attention foregrounding is motivated by the importance of what is
emphasized, the emphasis in that case is stronger than that created by separate stylistic
devices.
1) Establishment of hierarchy of meanings and elements inside the text, that is
emphasizing or foregrounding of the most important parts of a
message.
2) Providing cohesion and integrity of the text and at the same time segmenting the text
for perception convenience: establishment of links between the parts of the text and its
separate constituents.
3) Putting in order the information due to which readers may decode unfamiliar elements
of the code.
Foregrounding forms aesthetical context and fulfills a number of semantic functions, with
expressiveness being one of them. Expressiveness is a property of the text or its part to
convey a meaning with enhanced intensity and results in emotional or logical
reinforcement, which can be either figurative or not.
Convergence as the term implies denotes a combination or accumulation of stylistic
devices promoting the same idea, emotion or motive. Stylistic function is not the property
and purpose of expressive means of the language as such. Any type of expressive means
will make sense stylistically when treated as a part of a bigger unit, the context, or the
whole text. It means that there is no immediate dependence between a certain stylistic
device and a definite stylistic function.
A stylistic device is not attached to this or that stylistic effect. Therefore a hyperbole,
for instance, may provide any number of effects: tragic, comical, pathetic or grotesque.
Inversion may give the narration a highly elevated tone or an ironic ring of parody.
This «chameleon» quality of a stylistic device enables the author to apply different devices
for the same purpose. The use of more than one type of expressive means in close
succession is a powerful technique to support the idea that carries paramount importance
in the author's view. Such redundancy ensures the delivery of the message to the reader.
Types of Foregrounding
1. Coupling
2. Convergence
3. Defeated Expectancy (Low Predictability)
4. Salient Feature (Strong Position)
Foregrounding comprises both the extra-regularities and extra-deviations. Coupling
belongs to the types based on extra-regularities. We have shown these extra-regularities on
the level of composition and imagery, we have it in the same extract in versification and
sound patterns. An easily recognized element of coupling here is the rhyme. The
equivalence of elements in rhyme concerns the phonemic make-up, and the equivalence of
position is determined by a systematic recurrence of similar sounds in similar positions
within a stanza or line.
The type of foregrounding called "convergence" that was introduced by M. Riffaterre, consists of an accumulation of several different stylistic devices serving one image
or performing one common stylistic function. Convergence often takes very little space,
although its irradiation may be very wide. Thus, the whole essence of the tragedy of
Macbeth and its main theme of the struggle between evil and good is compressed in his
first words: "So foul and fair a day I have not seen." The effect is based on inversion and
on a rich epithet containing alliteration, developing an oxymoron into a paronomasia
("foul and fair"); the negative construction and the word "so" enhance the expressiveness.
There is, moreover, an echoing effect because this phrase reiterates the spell of the three
witches in the previous scene: "Fair is foul and foul is fair / Hover through the fog and
filthy air." It is an accumulation of SDs promoting the same
idea, motive.
Defeated expectancy is a principle considered by some linguists (Ja-cobson,
Riffaterre) as the basic principle of a stylistic function. Its use is not limited to some definite
level or type of devices. The essence of the notion is connected with the process of
decoding by the reader of the literary text.
The linear organization of the text mentally prepares the reader for the consequential and
logical development of ideas and unfolding of the events. The normal arrangement of the
text both in form and content is based on its predictability which means that the appearance
of any element in the text is prepared by the preceding arrangement and choice of elements,
e. g. the subject of the sentence will normally be followed by the predicate, you can supply
parts of certain set phrases or collocation after you see the first element, etc.
Some element of the text receives prominence due to the interruption in the pattern
of predictability.
Coupling is another technique that helps in decoding the message implied in a
literary work. While convergence and defeated expectancy both focus the reader's attention
on the particularly significant parts of the text coupling deals with the arrangement of
textual elements (hat provide trie unity and cohesion of the whole structure. The notion of
coupling was introduced by S. Levin in his work «Linguistic Structures in Poetry» in 1962
(40).
Coupling is more than many other devices connected with the level of the text. This method
of text analysis helps us to decode ideas, their interaction, inner semantic and structural
links and ensures compositional integrity.
Coupling is based on the affinity of elements that occupy similar po­sitions throughout the
text. Coupling provides cohesion, consistency and unity of the text form and content.
Coupling is a deliberate repetition of similar elements in similar positions R. Jacobson:
parallel constructions. S. Levin: universal character of coupling.
Coupling on every level of language • phonetic – rhyme, alliteration, assonance •
lexical – synonyms, antonyms, derivatives, words belonging to one
semantic field • syntactical – anaphora, epiphora, polysyndeton.
There are two main means of foregrounding realization: strong positions of the text and
schemes of textual organization. Strong positions (headline
beginning of the text final episode) of the text are beginning (including title, epigraph,
prologue and first paragraph of the text) and ending of the text or a part of the text. As for
schemes of textual organization, Arnold concentrates on the convergence of stylistic
devices, key words repetition, defeated expectancy and coupling (term of S. Levin) or
parallelism (term of R. Jakobson) (Arnold 2016: 222). It is necessary to stress that key
textual meanings are usually foregrounded on different levels of the text and through a
combination of means of foregrounding. The application of the principles of
foregrounding to interpretation of the text instead of mere analysis of stylistic devices
leads to more justified conclusions as all the types of foregrounding cover either the
whole text or its considerable parts (ibid. 224). Arnold’s theory stands on the ground that
all elements of the text, even their order in the text, are intentional and can give a clue to
understanding of the author’s message.
Thus, convergence often occurs in what is called the "strong position". The term is
self-explanatory if we take into consideration that the position of an element in the text is
of importance in bringing the logic or the beauty of what is said to the reader's attention.
The elements may be made prominent by the fact that they stand out most effectively in
the title, in the first line, or in the closure of the text. The great informational value of these
parts is determined by psychological factors. It is quite natural, therefore, to find in these
points some key image reinforced by convergence. This does not mean, of course, that
there always is a convergence in these points.
The title plays an important part in providing a clue to the meaning of the whole, being
the starting point of a chain of expectations that tune the reader's mind to what he
perceives. The title may name the main characters, state their social roles, their
relationships, the scene and the time of the action. The subject and the main idea may
also be hinted at, either directly (The Man of Property) or by means of allusion (Of Mice
and Men). ёThe type of foregrounding called "convergence" that was introduced by M.
Riffa-terre, consists of an accumulation of several different stylistic devices serving one
image or performing one common stylistic function. Convergence often takes very little
space, although its irradiation may be very wide. Thus, the whole essence of the tragedy
of Macbeth and its main theme of the struggle between evil and good is compressed in
his first words: "So foul and fair a day I have not seen." The effect is based on inversion
and on a rich epithet containing alliteration, developing an oxymoron into a paronomasia
("foul and fair"); the negative construction and the word "so" enhance the expressiveness.
There is, moreover, an echoing effect because this phrase reiterates the spell of the three
witches in the previous scene: "Fair is foul and foul is fair / Hover through the fog and
filthy air." It is an accumulation of SDs promoting the same
idea, motive.
B. 1. Analyse the following texts and comment on the properties of stylistic function realized in
them:
(1)
Kenneth Rexroth
Lion
The lion is called the king
Of beasts. Nowadays there are
Almost as many lions
In cages as out of them.
If offered a crown, refuse.
Evaluative (irony)
(2)
N. West
Autumn comes
And trees are shedding their leaves,
And Mother Nature blushes
Before disrobing.
Emotive
(3)
Wee modest crimson tipped flow'r,
Thou's met me in an evil hour;
For I maun crash amang the stoure
Thy slender stem:
To spare thee now is past my pow'r
Thou bonnie gem.
Expressive
2. Give examples to illustrate different types of context:
1) The adjective heavy in isolation possesses the meaning "of great weight, weighty". When
combined with the lexical group of words denoting natural phenomena as wind, storm, etc. it
means "striking, following with force, abundant", e.g. heavy rain, wind, storm, etc. In combination
with the words industry, arms, artillery and the like, heavy has the meaning "the larger kind of
something as heavy industry, artillery".
He left his house at 6 in the morning to be on time for his flight (покинуть)
He missed his flight because he had accidentally left his passport in his bedroom (забыть)
The policemen dusted the crime scene for prints (посыпать или покрыть поверхность чем-то
пылеобразным)
My mother is a clean freak; she dusts our tables and shelves at least twice a day (смахнуть пыль)
I made Peter study (to force)
My friend made a good teacher (to turn out to be)
Или
2) ‘It’s very much to be wished that some mothers would leave their daughters alone
after marriage, and not be so violently affectionate.’(Ch. Dickens, “David
Copperfield”) c) I despise its very vastness and power. It has the poorest
millionaires, … the haughtiest beggars, … the lowest skyscrapers, the dolefulest
pleasures of any town I ever saw. (O’Henry, 100 Selected Stories)
3) Micro
Pope, Rape o f the Locli., II, 105-109: Whether the Nymph shall (...) stain her Honour, or he; new
Brocade, (...) Or lose her Heart, or Necklace, at a Ball. (syllepsis: 12 the metaphorical meaning of
the verb in the two contexts-stain her honour, lose her heart-makes the shift to its ordinary meaning
unpredictable; this and the resulting forced parallels honour/brocade, heart/necklace impose
maximal decoding).
Macro
My name is Harcourt Worters-not a well-known name if you go outside the City and my own
country, but a name which/, where it is known/, carries/, I flatter myself/, some weight. (The
disjunctions would not suffice to nullify the predictability of the word sequence, especially after
carries which introduces a stereotype. What brings out the speaker's pompous, self- righteous
vanity, what produces the contrast is the suspension of the
sentence after which.)
3. Analyse convergence in the following passages. Define the component parts of each
convergence, state its function.
(1) Sara was a menace and a tonic, my best enemy; Rozzie was a disease, my worst friend. (J.
Carry).
enemy – friend, worst – best, tonic – disease: best friend, worst enemy best enemy, worst friend.
(The use of antonyms) Antithesis
(2) The Montana sunset lay between two mountains like a gigantic bruise from which dark
arteries spread themselves over a poisoned sky. An immense distance under the sky crouched the
village of Fish, minute, dismal and forgotten. (F.S. Fitzgerald).
gigantic bruise, immense distance - Hyperbola, minute, dismal – Litotes (comparison)
(3) Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice,
From what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.
Some say, some say- Anaphora
(4) We plunged in and out of sun and shadow-pools, and joy, a glad-to-be-alive exhilaration,
jolted through me like a jigger of nitrogen.
Epithet – exhilaration, joy, glad to be alive
(5) The owner, now at the wheel, was the essence of decent self-satisfaction; a baldish, largish,
level-eyed man, rugged of neck but sleek and round of face - face like the back of a spoon bowl.
Comparison (irony)
(6) The fog comes on little cat feet.
It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.
The metaphor shows that fog can be compared to a cat in a multitude of ways including its
attitude, sound, motion, position, and intention. By comparing fog to a cat, the author is able to
show that fog acts aloof; it silently invades towns through a slinking motion; and that it ultimately
creates a sense of mystery. The power of this metaphor lies with its ability to communicate so
much information with such a simple comparison.
4. Analyse defeated expectancy in the following examples:
(1) Women have a wonderful instinct about things. They can discover everything except the
obvious. (O. Wilde).
Oscor Wilde uses irony; he says that women have great instinct about things and at the same time
explains that they do not even notice the obvious.
(2) There, as it should be, the druggest is a counselor, a confessor, an advisor, an able and willing
missionary and mentor whose learning is respected, whose occult wisdom is venerated and whose
medicine is often poured, untasted, into the gutter. (O. Henry).
The author tries to explain that the druggest is able to cure other people with words and not with
drugs.
(3). On the basis of the books you read (stories, novels, poems) speak of the role of strong
positions of the title, the beginning and the end of the text.
The author wants to say that stories are remembered (chosen) by the title, novels by the beginning
of the text, and poems by the end.
STYLISTICS
SEMINAR 3
A. 1. Norm and variation. The notion of norm. The hierarchy of norms. Variations of the norm.
Deviation from the norm.
2. Denotation and connotation as the basic opposition in linguostylistics. The structure of
connotative meaning. Types of connotations: systemic and contextual (inherent and adherent),
general and personal.
Norm and variation. The notion of norm.
Norm may be defined as a set of language rules which are considered to be most standard and
correct in a certain epoch and in a certain society. It is next to impossible to work out
universal language norms because each functional style has its own regularities.
Norm implies pre-established and conventionally excepted parameters of what is evaluated,
obligatory realization of some property. Norms may differ. Special kinds of norms exists:
stylistic norms: the norms of a spoken versus, written language etc.
The existence of norm is based on the possibility of choice of speech units from the variety of
elements. The principles of this choice are historically variable. The notion of norm can be
defined as a style having an obligatory character among other styles. The notion of norm is
applicable to language units of different degree of complexity. The broadest notion is the
notion of a literary (standard or received norm of a national language) which can be
defined as a totality of pre-established rules and habits of language usage in a given
society and at a given period of time)
The hierarchy of norms.
-widest
-narrow
-literary norm
-inner norm
Variations of the norms.
There are different norms – only special kinds of them are called stylistic norms, like oral and
written, norms of emotive prose and official language Even within one functional style
there exist different norms – those of poetry, prose and drama.
Deviation - на фото
Denotation and connotation
Word meaning - constant relations between the object (as a referent or an idea about a referent),
the notion named and the name itself: its sound form and contents, or the reflection of the object
or notion in our mind.
Denotation:
There are words which, while expressing concepts, indicate a particular object out of a class.
In other words these units of the language serve the purpose of singling out one definite and
singular object out of a whole class of similar objects. These words are classified in
grammars as prop­er nouns. The nature of these words can be understood if we have a clear
idea of the difference between the two main aspects of a word: "nomination" and
"signification". These aspects are also called "ref­erence" and "signification" or "denotation"
and «connotation».
Connotation:
Like other linguistic disciplines stylistics deals with the lexical, grammatical, phonetic and
phraseological data of the language. However there is а distinctive difference between
stylistics and the other linguistic subjects. Stylistics does not study or describe separate
linguistic units like phonemes or words or clauses as such. It studies their stylistic function.
Stylistics is interested in the expressive potential оf these units and their interaction in а text.
Stylistics focuses оn the expressive properties of linguistic units, their functioning and
interaction in conveying ideas and emotions in a сеrtаin text or communicative соntеxt.
Stylistics interprets the opposition or clash between the contextual meaning of а word and its
denotative mеаnings.
Accordingly stylistics is first and foremost engaged in the study of connotative meanings.
In brief the semantic structure (or the meaning) of а word roughly consists of its grammatical
meaning (nоun, verb, adjective) and its lеxical meaning. Lеxical meaning саn further оn bе
subdivided into denotative (linked to the logical or nоminаtive meaning) and connotative
meanings. Connotative meaning is only connected with extralinguistic circumstances such as
the situation of communication and the participants of communication.
Соnnоtаtive meaning consists of four components:
1.emotive; 2. evaluative; 3. expressive; 4. stylistic.
1)Emotive connotations express various feelings оr emotions. Еmо­tions differ from feelings.
Emotions like joy, disappointment, pleasure, anger, worry, surprise are mоrе short-lived.
Feelings imply а more stable state, or attitude, such as love, hatred, respect, pride, dignity,
etc. The emotive component of meaning mау bе occasional оr usual (i.е. inherent and
adherent).
Inherent (присущий) - interjections (междометия, восклицания) (depend on the occasion)
Adherent - (сторонник) - He is a BIG boy already! (Metaphorical words)
The connotative component of meaning can be occasional or usual (inherent or adherent).
Connotation can be inherent to the semantic structure of the lexeme – the words on their own
imply positive or negative appreciation. Names like Napoleon, Bill Gates or Judas cannot be
uttered without invoking a world of associations. The words like drunk, murder, pervert call up
horrible images that their dictionary definitions may simply not suggest. The same is true about
associations which the words angel, faithful, beautiful, super can awoke.
An inherent connotation can change the basic meaning of words and that of the words it
touches. For example white can suggest purity, innocence (the white wedding dress), lion –
courage, Paris – love and romance, snake – deviousness, paparazzi – intrusion into one’s private
life).
Sometimes the words can have only adherent (occasional) connotation acquired in a certain
context. We know that words chance their meaning depending on where they are placed. The
word ‘great’ seems quite a clear word to understand, but its meaning, the images and ideas it
creates in the mind change drastically when you speak of a ‘great man’, great river’ or a ‘great
elephant’. When notional words are used metaphorically about something that is pleasant or
unpleasant for the speaker, we deal with adherent connotation. This metaphorical meaning is
lexicalized, it is a set phrase – bear (a big man who is rough and bad tempered), beast (someone
who is cruel or unpleasant or something that is difficult to deal with), vulture (someone who uses
other people’s troubles for their own advantage), scroodge (someone who hates spending money
- ), scarecrow (an object made to look like a person that a farmer puts in a field to frighten
birds).
2)The evaluative component charges the word with negative, positive, ironic or other types of
connotation conveying the speaker's attitude in relation to the object of speech. Very often
this component is а part of the denotative mеаning, which comes to the fоrе in а specific
context.
The verb to sneak means «to mоvе silently and secretly, usu. for a bad purpose». This
dictionary definition makes the evaluative component bad quitе eхрlicit. Two derivatives a
sneak and sneaky have both preserved а dеrоgаtory evaluаtivе connotation. But the negative
component disappears though in still another derivative sneakers (shoes with a soft sole). It
shows that еvеn words of the same root mау either have or lack аn еvаluative component in
their inner form
3)Expressive connotation either increases or decreases the expres­siveness of the message.
Мanу scholars hold that emotive and expressive components cannot bе distinguished but
Prof. I.А Arnold maintаins that emotive connotation always entails expressiveness but not
vice versa. То prove her point she comments оn the example bу А. Ноrnbу and R. Fowler
with the word «thing» applied to а girl. When the word is used with аn emotive adjective
like «sweet» it becomes еmоtive itself: «She was а sweet little thing». But in other sentences
like «She was а small thin delicate thing with spectacles», she argues, this is not true and the
word «thing» is definitely expressive but not emotive. Another group of words that help
create this expressive effect are the so-called «intensifiers», words like «absolutely,
frightfully, really, quite», etc.
4) Finally there is stylistic connotation. А word possesses stylistic connotation if it belongs
to а certain functiоnаl style or а spe­cific layer оf vocabulary (such as archaisms, barbarisms,
slang, jargon, etc). Stylistic connotation is usually immediately recognizаblе.
Galperin operates three types of lexical meaning that are stylistically relevant - logical,
emotive and nominal. Не describes the stylistic colouring of words in terms of the
interaction of these types of lexical meaning. Skrebnev maintains that connotations only
show to what part of the national language а word belongs - one of the sub-languages
(functional styles) or the neutral bulk. Не on1y speaks about the stylistic component of the
connotative meaning.
Personal and general
There are two types of connotation: personal and general. Personal connotations are the result
of the experience of the individual man or woman. The way we react to ideas and objects is
determined by the precise nature of our earlier experience. Taken altogether, the connotations
that surround most of the words in our vocabulary are a complex and intimate record of our life.
Our present reaction to a word may be the cumulative result of all our experiences with the word
and its referent. In the case of other words, our reaction may have been determined once and for
all by an early or a particularly memorable experience with them.
A moment’s thought will show the relationship between personal and general connotations. As
the mass mind is the sum of the individual minds that comprise it, general connotations result
when the reaction of the majority of people to a specific word is substantially the same.
((((The exact shade of meaning a word possesses in our language is often due to the use to which
it was put by a writer who had especially great influence over the language. But general
connotation is not always a matter of literary development. It can result also from the experience
of the people.
All general connotations have their origin in pri- vate connotations – in personal, individual, but
gen- erally share reactions to words and ideas for which they stand. But later when general
connotations have been established, the process works the other way: the individual who may
have had no personal experience with the idea represented by a given word, may ac- quire a
personal attitude towards it by observing how society in general reacts to the word. Every writer
is obliged to differentiate between general connotation and personal ones and to rely only upon
the former. He can transmit his full message to the reader only when the reader finds in his
words the same shade of meaning the author intended and that is possible only when the
commonly established distinctions among words are fully recognized))))
B. 1. Analyse the connotative aspect of word meaning in the following words:
cosmopolitan (neutral), polymath (эрудит, neutral), crony (закадычный друг, positive),
zealous (ревнивый, negative), cowkin (?) , wholesome (полезный, positive), despicable
(жалкий, negative), garish (colour) (яркий, кричащий: positive), gad (шляться, negative), to
renounce (отречься, negative), narrow-minded (узкомыслящий, negative), breathtaking
(захватывающий, positive), absorbing (tale) (захватывающая история, positive), top-notch
(первоклассный, positive), fuddy-duddy (ворчун, консерватор, negative), lickspittle
(подхалим, подлиза, negative), to assist (помогать, positive), foxie (хитрый, negative)
2. Each pair of words below has roughly the same denotative meaning. With the aid of a
dictionary, define the difference in their connotations:
1)Childish (ребяческий, несерьезный) commonly means silly or immature. This adjective
usually (but not always) points to unfavorable qualities. Childlike (искренний, наивный)
means trusting or innocent, and it generally refers to the more positive or favorable qualities of a
child.
2)As adjectives the difference between amorous (влюбчивый) and loving (любящий) is that
amorous is inclined or having a propensity to love, or to sexual enjoyment while loving is
expressing a large amount of love to other people; affectionate.
3)As adjectives the difference between modest (скромный) and prudish (чопорный) is that
modest is not bragging or boasting about oneself or one's achievements, unpretentious, humble
while prudish is of excessive propriety; easily offended or shocked, especially by sexual matters.
4)As adjectives the difference between agreeable (приятный, уютный) and pliant (уступчивый,
податливый) is that agreeable is pleasing, either to the mind or senses; pleasant; grateful while
pliant is capable of plying or bending; readily yielding to force or pressure without breaking;
flexible; pliable; lithe; limber; plastic; as, a pliant thread; pliant wax.
5)As nouns the difference between investigation (расследование, and inquisition
(расследование, дознание, докапывание) is that investigation is the act of investigating; the
process of inquiring into or following up; research; study; inquiry, especially patient or thorough
inquiry or examination; as, the investigations of the philosopher and the mathematician; the
investigations of the judge, the moralist while inquisition is an investigation or inquiry into the
truth of some matter.
6)As adjectives the difference between pious (благочестивый, набожный) and sanctimonious
(ханжеский, дицемерный) is that pious is of or pertaining to piety, exhibiting piety, devout,
godfearing while sanctimonious is making a show of being morally better than others, especially
hypocritically pious.
7)Error is a mistake, especially one that causes problems or affects the result of something.
Omission is the act of not including somebody/something or not doing something; the fact of not
being included or done
8)Blemish is to make something less beautiful or perfect. Mutilate is to damage somebody’s
body very severely, especially by cutting or tearing off part of it.
9)As nouns the difference between courage and nerve is that courage is the quality of a
confident character not to be afraid or intimidated easily but without being incautious or
inconsiderate while nerve is (zoology) a bundle of neurons with their connective tissue sheaths,
blood vessels and lymphatics.
10)As adjectives the difference between practical (практичный) and unimaginative (лишенный
воображения) is that practical is based on practice or action rather than theory or hypothesis
while unimaginative is not imaginative.
11)Do-gooder - a person who tries to help other people but who does it in a way that is annoying.
Philanthropist is a rich person who helps the poor and those in need, especially by giving money.
12)As adjectives the difference between feminine (женский, женственный) and effeminate
(изнеженный) is that feminine is of the female sex; biologically female, not male, womanly
while effeminate is (often|derogatory|of a man or boy) having behaviour or mannerisms
considered unmasculine or typical of a woman or girl.
13)As verbs the difference between plead (умолять, вымаливать, выпрашивать) and request
(просить) is that plead is to present an argument, especially in a legal case while request is to
express the need or desire for.
14)As adjectives the difference between generous (щедрый, выликодушный) and prodigal
(расточительный) is that generous is (obsolete) of noble birth while prodigal is wastefully
extravagant.
15)As verbs the difference between evaluate (оценивать) and criticize (критиковать) is that
evaluate is to draw conclusions from examining; to assess while criticize is to find fault (with
something).
16)As verbs the difference between satisfy (удовлетворить, утолить) and glut
(насытиться) is that satisfy is to do enough; to meet (needs); to fulfill (wishes, requirements)
while glut is to fill to capacity, to satisfy all requirement or demand, to sate.
17)Saliva is the liquid that is produced in your mouth that helps you to swallow food. Spit is the
liquid that is produced in your mouth.
18)observe (наблюдать) - to see or notice somebody/something. Ogle (глазеть) - to look hard
at somebody in an offensive way, usually showing sexual interest.
19) Misappropriate - to take somebody else’s money or property for yourself, especially when
they have trusted you to take care of it. Steal - to take something from a person, shop, etc.
without permission and without intending to return it or pay for it
20)Nightgown - a long loose piece of clothing like a thin dress, worn in bed. Negligee - a
woman’s dressing gown made of very thin cloth.
21)As adjectives the difference between hypocritical (двуличный) and diplomatic is that
hypocritical is characterized by hypocrisy or being a hypocrite (behaving in a way that does not
meet the moral standards or match the opinions that you claim to have) while diplomatic is
concerning the relationships between the governments of countries.
22) Scholarly - spending a lot of time studying and having a lot of knowledge about an academic
subject. Bookish - interested in reading and studying, rather than in more active or practical things.
3. Give your own definitions of the following words describing the personal connotations and
associations the words evoke in your mind. Compare your definitions with the ones in the
dictionaries:
childhood, student, career, money, enemy, lady, gentleman, morning, spring.
1)childhood - the period of somebody’s life when they are a child
For me - the happiest and the most carefree time.
2)student - a person who is studying at a university or college
For me - a person who entered the university to get the education and knowledge in order to
build a successful career in the future
3)career - the series of jobs that a person has in a particular area of work, usually involving more
responsibility as time passes
For me - this is a ladder on which a person goes further and further to become successful
4)money - what you earn by working or selling things, and use to buy things
For me - something with the help of which I can do and buy whatever I want
5)enemy - a person who hates somebody or who acts or speaks against somebody/something
For me - a person who did something bad to me or to my friends or relatives
6)lady - a word used to mean ‘woman’ that some people, especially older people, consider is
more polite
For me - a beautiful and well-mannered girl
7)gentleman - a man who is polite and well educated, who has excellent manners and always
behaves well
For me - the same
8)morning - the early part of the day from the time when people wake up until 12 o'clock in the
middle of the day or before lunch
For me - routine: breakfast, toothbrushing, homework
9)spring - the season between winter and summer when plants begin to grow
For me - a wonderful time when everything around you blooms and you bloom together with the
world

4. Analyse contextual connotations of words in the following passages. Speak about the
character of the change of connotation.
But every Englishman is born with a certain miraculous power that makes him master of the
world…
… As the great champion of freedom and national independence he conquers and annexes half
the world and calls it Colonization. (B. Shaw).
Here is described the image of a real Englishman in a very proud manner. They are described as
independent and free people.

Her husband in the waiting room. Very well dressed, with an expensive stomach on him, a red
purple nose. Drinking too much, the doctor thought to himself. If he doesn’t stop he’ll die soon
from the effects of a fatty heart. (W. Macken).

The description of the man shows that he has problems with alcohol. Only the professional could
identify it, which means that the hero of this story, this doctor, is a real professional.

Mrs. Milburn brought her over for tea and I give credit where credit is due. She did look
wonderful. She’s the unfreckled, blond type, with big blue eyes and she had on one of those
“simple” dresses that are just right – the kind I always intend to buy and then discover they cost
thirty-nine-fifty when I’ve got only nineteen dollars. Well, while Mrs. Milburn and my mother
were in the room, that girl was “lovely” – you know, positively poisonous. She said highminded things, designed to make her appear like the model of the younger generation. (L.
Baker).
The words here are in the quotation marks which show the irony: it is said about the dress which
is actually not simple and cheap, but luxurious, expensive and chick. And when the author uses
the adjective “lovely” he means that she is absolutely opposite: unpleasant and sycophantic.

The happy pair were seated, not opposite each other, but rectangularly, at the handsome
rosewood table, they dined without a cloth – a distinguishing elegance – and so far had not
spoken a word.
The pair which is described here is not happy. Vice versa, they are absolutely unhappy, although
they are in a pleasant atmosphere. Apparently, they don’t love each other, they even don’t talk.
STYLISTICS
SEMINAR 4
Stylistic differentiation of the vocabulary.
1. Stylistic differentiation of the vocabulary. Neutral words and their characteristics. Literary
words, their types. Functions of literary words. Colloquial words, their types and functions.
2. To provide answers to the above questions find words belonging to different stylistic groups
and subgroups: in the dictionary, specifying its stylistic mark ("label"); in your reading material,
specifying the type of discourse, where you found it -authorial speech (narration description,
philosophising) or dialogue.
1)According to Prof. I.R. Galperin the English vocabulary is divided into three main layers:
the literary layer, the neutral layer and the colloquial layer. The literary and the colloquial
layers contain a number of subgroups each of which has a property it shares with all the subgroups
within the layer. This common property, which unites the different groups of words within the
layer, may be called its aspect. The aspect of the literary layer is its markedly bookish character.
It is this that makes the layer more or less stable. The aspect of the colloquial layer of words is its
lively spoken character. It is this that makes it unstable, fleeting.
The aspect of the neutral layer is its universal character. That means It is unrestricted in its use.
It can be employed in all styles of language and in all spheres of human activity. It is this that
makes the layer the most stable of all.
The literary layer of words consists of groups accepted as legitimate members of the
English vocabulary. They have no local or dialectal character.
The colloquial layer of words as qualified in most English or American dictionaries is not
infrequently limited to a definite language community or confined to a special locality where it
circulates.
The literary vocabulary consists of the following groups of words: 1. common literary: 2.
terms and learned words; 3. poetic words; 4. archaic words; 5. barbarisms and foreign words; 6.
literary coinages including nonce-words.
The colloquial vocabulary falls into the following groups: 1. common colloquial words;
2. slang; 3. jargonisms; 4. professional words; 5. dialectal words; 6. vulgar words; 7. colloquial
coinages.
The common literary, neutral and common colloquial words are grouped under the term
standard English vocabulary. Other groups in the literary layer are regarded as special literary
vocabulary and those in the colloquial layer are regarded as special colloquial (non-literary)
vocabulary. The accompanying diagram on p. 71 illustrates this classification graphically.
N e u t r a l words, which form the bulk of the English vocabulary, are used in both literary
and colloquial language. Neutral words are the main source of synonymy and polysemy. It is the
neutral stock of words that is so prolific in the production of new meanings.
The wealth of the neutral stratum of words is often overlooked. This is due to their inconspicuous
character. But their faculty for assuming new meanings and generating new stylistic variants is
often quite amazing. This generative power of the neutral words in the English language is
multiplied by the very nature of the language itself. It has been estimated that most neutral English
words are of monosyllabic character, as, in the process of development from Old English to
Modern English, most of the parts of speech lost their distinguishing suffixes. This phenomenon
has led to the development of conversion as the most productive means of word-building. Word
compounding is not so productive as conversion or word derivation, where a new word is formed
because of a shift in the part of speech in the first case and by the addition of an affix in the second.
Unlike all other groups, the neutral group erf words cannot be considered as having a special
stylistic colouring, whereas both literary and colloquial words have a definite stylistic colouring.
Common literary words are chiefly used in writing and in polished speech. One can always
tell a literary word from a colloquial word. The reason for this lies in certain objective features of
the literary layer of words. What these objective features are, is difficult to say because as yet no
objective criteria have been worked out. But one of them undoubtedly is that literary units stand
in opposition to colloquial units. This is especially apparent when pairs of synonyms, literary and
colloquial, can be formed which stand in contrasting relation.
Special literary vocabulary. Terms. A term is generally very easily coined and easily
accepted; and new coinages as easily replace outdated ones.
This sensitivity to alteration is mainly due to the necessity of reflecting in language the
cognitive process maintained by scholars in analysing different concepts and phenomena. One of
the most characteristic features of a term is its direct relevance to the system or set of terms used
in a particular science, discipline or art, i. e. to its nomenclature.
When a term is used our mind immediately associates it with a certain nomenclature. A
term is directly connected with the concept it denotes. A term, unlike other words, directs the mind
to the essential quality of the thing, phenomenon or action as seen by the scientist in the light of
his own conceptualization. Terms are mostly and predominantly used'in special works dealing
with the notions of some branch of science. Therefore it may be said that they belong to the style
of language of science. But their use is not confined to this style. They may as well appear in other
styles—In newspaper style, in publicistic and practically in all other existing styles of language.
But their function in this case changes. They do not always fulfil their basic function, that of
bearing exact reference to a given concept. When used in the belles-lettres style, for instance, a
term may acquire a stylistic function and consequently become a (sporadical) SD. This happens
when a term is used in such a way that two meanings are materialized simultaneously.
The function of terms, if encountered in other styles, is either to indicate the technical
peculiarities of the subject dealt with, or to make some reference to the occupation of a character
whose language would naturally contain special words and expressions.
Poetic and Highly Literary Words. Poetic words form a rather insignificant layer of the
special literary vocabulary. They are mostly archaic or very rarely used highly literary words which
aim at producing an elevated effect. They have a marked tendency to detach themselves from the
common literary word-stock and gradually assume the quality of terms denoting certain definite
notions and calling forth poetic diction.
Poetic words and expressions are called upon to sustain the special elevated atmosphere of
poetry. This may be said to be the main function of poetic words.
V. V. Vinogradov gives the following properties of poetic words:
“...the cobweb of poetic words and images veils the reality, stylizing it according to the
established literary norms and canons. A word is torn away from its referent. Being drawn into the
system of literary styles, the words are selected and arranged in groups of definite images, in
phraseological series, which grow standardized and stale and are becoming conventional symbols
of definite phenomena or characters or of definite ideas or impressions."
The satirical function of poetic words and conventional poetic devices is well revealed in
this stanza. The ‘tired metaphor’ and the ‘often-used volcano’ are typical of Byron’s estimate of
the value of conventional metaphors and stereotyped poetical expressions.
Poetical words and set expressions make the utterance understandable only to a limited
number of readers. It is mainly due to poetieisms that poetical language is sometimes called
poetical jargon.
In modern English poetry there is a strong tendency to use words in strange combinations.
It manifests itself in the coinage of new words and, most of alt, in combining old and familiar
words in a way that hinders understanding and forces the reader to stop and try to decipher the
message so encoded.
The following may serve as examples;
‘The sound of shape’; ‘night-long eyes’; ‘to utter ponds of dream’; ‘wings of because’; ‘to
reap one’s same’; ‘goldenly whole, prodigiously keen star whom she—and he—, —like ifs of am
perceive...’ (E. E. Cummings).
Archaic, Obsolescent and Obsolete Words. The word-stock of a language is in an
increasing state of change. Words change their meaning and sometimes drop out of the language
altogether. New words spring up and replace the old ones. Some words stay in the language a very
long time and do not lose their faculty of gaining new meanings and becoming richer and richer
polysemantically. Other words live but a short time and are like bubbles on the surface of
water — they disappear leaving no trace of their existence.
In registering these processes the role of dictionaries can hardly be over-estimated.
Dictionaries serve to retain this or that word in a language either as a relic of ancient times, where
it lived and circulated, or as a still living unit of the system, though it may have lost some of its
meanings. They may also preserve certain nonce-creations which were never intended for general
use. In every period in the development of a literary language one can find words which will show
more or less apparent changes in their meaning or usage, from full vigour, through a moribund
state, to death, i. e. complete disappearance of the unit from the language. We shall distinguish
three stages in the aging process of words:
The beginning of the aging process when -the word becomes rarely used. Such words are
called obsolescent, i.e. they are in the stage of gradually passing out of general use. To this category
first of all belong morphological forms belonging to the earlier stages in the development of the
language. In the English language these are the pronouns thou and its forms thee, thy and thine;
the corresponding verbal ending -est and the verb-forms art, wilt (thou makest, thou wilt); the
ending -(e)th instead of -(e)s (he maketh) and the pronoun ye.
To the category of obsolescent words belong many French borrowings which have been
kept in the literary language as a means of pre­ serving the spirit of earlier periods, e. g. a pallet
(=a straw mattress): a palfrey ( —a small horse); garniture (=furniture); to emplume (= to adorn
with feathers or plumes).
The second group of archaic words are those that' have already gone completely out of use
but are still recognized by the English-speaking community: e. g. methlnks (=it seems to me); nay
(=nо). These words are called obsolete.
The third group, which may be called archaic proper, are words which are no longer
recognizable in modem English, words that were in use in Old English and which have either
dropped out of the language entirely or have changed in their appearance so much that they have
become unrecognizable, e. g. troth (—faith); a losel (==a worthless, lazy fellow).
Barbarisms and Foreignisms. In the vocabulary of the English language there is a
considerable layer of words called barbarisms. These are words of foreign origin which have not
entirely been assimilated into the English language. They bear the appearance of a borrowing and
are felt as some­ thing alien to the native tongue. The role foreign borrowings played in the
development of the English literary language is well known, and the great majority of these
borrowed words now form part of the rank and file of the English vocabulary. It is the science of
linguistics, in particular its branch etymology, that reveals the foreign nature of this or that word.
But most of what were formerly foreign borrowings are now, from a purely stylistic position, not
regarded as foreign. But still there are some words which retain their foreign appearance to a
greater or lesser degree. These words, which are called barbarisms, are, like archaisms, also
considered to be on the outskirts of the literary language.
Most of them have corresponding English synonyms; e. g. chic (^stylish); bon mot (= a
clever witty saying); en passant (= in passing); ad infinitum (= to infinity) and many other words
and phrases.
It is very important for purely stylistic purposes to distinguish between barbarisms and
foreign words proper. Barbarisms are words which have already become facts of the English
language. They are, as it were, part and parcel of the English word-stock, though they remain on
the outskirts of the literary vocabulary. Foreign words, though used for certain stylistic purposes,
do not belong to the English vocabulary. They are not registered by English dictionaries, except
in a kind of addenda which gives the meanings of the foreign words most frequently used in literary
English. Barbarisms are generally given in the body of the dictionary. In printed works foreign
words and phrases are generally italicized to indicate their alien nature or their stylistic value.
Barbarisms, on the contrary, are not made conspicuous in the text unless they bear a special load
of stylistic information. One of these functions is to supply local colour. In order to depict local
conditions of life, concrete facts and events, customs and habits, special care is taken to introduce
into the passage such language elements as will reflect the environment. The function of the
foreign words used in the context may be considered to provide local colour as a background to
the narrative. In passages of other kinds units of speech may be used which will arouse only a
vague conception in the mind of the reader. The significance of such units, however, is not
communicative — the author does not wish them to convey any clear-cut idea — but to serve in
making the main idea stand out more conspicuously. Barbarisms and foreign words are used in
various styles of language, but are most often to be found in the style of belles-lettres and the
publicistic style. In the belles-lettres style, however, foreignisms are sometinjes used not only as
separate units incorporated in the English narrative. The author makes his character actually speak
a foreign language, by putting a string of foreign words into his mouth, words which to many
readers may be quite unfamiliar. These, phrases or whole sentences are sometimes translated by
the writer in a foot-note or by explaining the foreign utterance in English in the text. But this is
seldom done. Here is an example of the use of French by John Galsworthy: “Revelation was
alighting like a bird in his heart, singing: uElle est ton rSvel EUe esi ion rSveV' (“In Chancery”)
No translation is given, no interpretation. But something else must be pointed out here. Foreign
words and phrases may sometimes be used to exalt the expression of the idea, to elevate the
language. Barbarisms have still another function when used in the belleslettres style. We may call
it an “exactifying” function. Words of foreign origin generally have a more or less monosemantic
value. In other words, they do not tend to develop new meanings.
Literary Coinages (Including Nonce-Words). There is a term in linguistics which by its
very nature is ambiguous and that is the term neologism. In dictionaries it is generally defined as
'a new word or a new meaning for an established word.’ Everything in this definition is vague.
How long should words or their meanings be regarded as new? Which words of those that appear
as new in the language, say during the life-time of one generation, can be regarded as established?
It is suggestive that the latest editions of certain dictionaries avoid the use of the stylistic notation
“neologism” apparently because of its ambiguous character. If a word is fixed in a dictionary and
provided that the dictionary is reliable, it ceases to be a neologism. If a new meaning is recognized
as an element in the semantic structure of a lexical unit, it ceases to be new. However, if we wish
to divide the word-stock of a language into chronological periods, we can conventionally mark off
a period which might be called new.
Common literary are easily recognized words and widely used by the majority of native
and non-native speakers, e.g. sophisticated, fabulous.
They contribute to the message the tone of solemnity, sophistication, seriousness, gravity,
learnedness, cf.:
He began to answer vs He commenced his rejoinder
Special literary words comprises:
• Terms
• Archaic words
• Poetic words
• Foreign words
• Barbarisms
• Neologisms
Terms – words denoting objects, processes, phenomena of science, humanities, technique.
They may be subdivided into:
Popular terms of some special spheres of human knowledge known to the public at large
(e.g. typhoid, pneumonia);
Terms used exclusively within a profession (e.g. morpheme).
Archaisms – words which are practically out of use in present-day language and are felt as
obsolete. They are subdivided into 2 groups:
Historical words, denoting historical phenomena which are no more in use (e.g. yeoman,
vassal, falconet).
appendix (med.) — a small, narrow tube attached to the large intestine.
Archaic words (archaic forms) proper – those which disappeared in the course of language
history and were substituted by newer synonymic words (e.g. thou wilt – you will; brethren –
brothers).
Poetic words are used exclusively in poetry and the like. Many of these words are archaic:
e.g. foe (enemy), realm (kingdom).
Others are morphological variants of neutral words: oft (often), list (listen), morn
(morning).
Fоrеign words (neglige, au revoir, Bundeswehr) are words and phrases loaned from other
languages. These words haven't undergone grammatical or phonetic assimilation.
Fr.: bonjour, Ital.: dolce far niente.
Lat.: alter ego, mirabile dictu.
Barbarisms are foreign words which have exact equivalents in the language thus being
unnecessary: e.g. chic (stylish); bon mot (a clever or witty saying). They are considered to be part
of the vocabulary of the given language constituting its peripheral layer. They are usually
registered in dictionaries (apropos, vis-a-vis, etc.).
Neologisms are new words or expressions. These words have the connotation of novelty.
Mainly these are terms with both new form and new meaning, e.g. audio typing; computer-buyer;
to telecommute; electronic cottage. The word «slum» was first substituted by the word «ghetto»
then by the word-group «inner town».
Colloquial words.
Common colloquial are words with a tinge of familiarity or inofficiality about them.
There is nothing ethically improper in their stylistic coloring, except that they cannot be
used in official forms of speech. Colloquial words mark the message as informal, non-official,
conversational.
Neutral vocabulary: His father has died.
Informal vocabulary: His old man has kicked away
Special colloquial words are slang words, jargonisms, vulgarisms and dialectal words.
Slang words are highly emotive and expressive. They lose their originality rather fast and
are replaced by newer formations: e.g. go crackers (go mad); guru (god); belt up (keep silence);
big-head (a boaster). Another definition of slang which is worth quoting is one made by Eric
Partridge, the eminent student of the non-literary language.
“Slang is much rather a spoken than a literary language. It originates, nearly always, in
speech. To coin a term on a writ­ ten page is almost inevitably to brand it as a neologism which
will either be accepted or become a nonce-word (or phrase), but, except in the rarest instances, that
term will not be slang“. In most of the dictionaries si. (slang) is used as convenient stylistic notation
for a word or a phrase that cannot be specified more exactly. The obscure etymology of the term
itself affects its use as a stylistic notation. Whenever the notation appears in a dictionary it may
serve as an indication that the unit presented is non-literary, but not pin­ pointed. That is the reason
why the various dictionaries disagree in the use of this term when applied as a stylistic notation.
Some of slang words and phrases have become common in Modern English, e.g. mate, chap, to go
in for, it’s up to you, chatter-box and many others.
Jargonisms replace those words which already exist in the language and stand close to slang
(substandard, expressive and emotive), but, unlike slang they are used by limited groups of people,
united either professionally or socially. Jargon is a recognized term for a group of words that exists
in almost every language and whose aitn is to preserve secrecy within one or another social group.
Jargonisms are generally old words with entirely new meanings imposed on them. The traditional
meaning of the words is immaterial, only the new, improvised meaning is of importance. Most of
the jargonisms of any language, and of the English language too, are absolutely incomprehensible
to those outside the social group which has invented them. They may be defined as a code within
a code, that is special meanings of words that are imposed on the recognized code—the dictionary
meaning of the words.
Thus the word grease means ‘money’; loaf means ‘head’; a tiger hunter is *a gambler’; a
lexer is *a student preparing for a law course*.
Jargonisms are social in character. They are not regional.
Professionalisms are unofficial substitutes of professional terms. They are used by
representatives of the profession to facilitate the communication. e.g. bull (one who buys shares at
the stock-exchange); bear (one who sells shares).
Social jargonisms are words used to denote non-professional things relevant for
representatives of the given social group with common interests (e.g. music fans, drug-addicts,
thieves, etc). Very often they are used for the purpose of making speech incoherent to outsiders.
Vulgarisms are coarse words with a strong emotive meaning, mostly derogatory, normally
avoided in polite conversation. e.g. There is so much bad shit between the two gangs that I bet
there will be more killings this year. The term vulgarism, as used to single out a definite group of
words of non-standard English, is rather misleading.
The function of expletives is almost the same as that of interjections, that is to express
strong emotions, mainly annoyance, anger, vexation and the like. They are not to be found in any
functional style of language except emotive prose, and here only in the direct speech of the
characters.
The border line between colloquialisms, slang words and vulgarisms is often hard to draw
for there are hardly any linguistic criteria of discrimination.
Dialectal words are normative and devoid of any stylistic meaning in regional dialects, but
used outside of them, carry a strong flavour of the locality where they belong. e.g. baccy (tobacco),
unbeknown (unknown). This group of words is obviously opposed to the other groups of the nonliterary English vocabulary and therefore its stylistic functions can be more or less clearly defined.
Dialectal words are those which in the process of integration of the English national language
remained beyond its literary boundaries, and their use is generally confined to a definite locality.
We exclude here what are called social dialects or even the still looser application of the term as
in expressions like poetical dialect or styles as dialects.
For example, a sandwich on a large roll with a variety of meats and cheeses may be called
a grinder, a sub, a hero, or a poor boy, depending on the region of the USA. Similarly, a carbonated
soft drink is called soda in many parts of the United States; in other parts it is called pop, and yet
in others it is called tonic or soda pop.
With reference to this group there is a confusion of terms, particularly between the terms
dialectal, slang and vernacular. In order to ascertain the true value and the stylistic functions of
dialectal words it is necessary to look into their nature.
Professionalisms, as the term itself signifies, are the words used in a definite trade,
profession or calling by people connect­ ed by common interests both at work and at home. They
commonly designate some working process or implement of labour. Professional­ isms are
correlated to terms. Terms, as has already been indicated, are coined to nominate new concepts
that appear in the process of, and as a result of, technical progress and the development of science.
Professional words name anew already-existing concepts, tools or instruments, and have
the typical properties of a special code. The main feature of a professionalism is its technicality.
Professionalisms are special words in the non-literary layer of the English vocabulary, whereas
terms are a specialized group belonging to the literary layer of words. Terms, if they are connected
with a field or branch of science or technique well-known to ordinary people, are easily decoded
and enter the neutral stratum of the vocabulary. Professionalisms generally remain in circulation
within a definite community, as they are linked to a common occupation and common social
interests. The semantic structure of the term is usually transparent and is therefore easily
understood. The se­ mantic structure of a professionalism is often dimmed by the image on which
the meaning of the professionalism is based, particularly when the features of the object in question
reflect the process of the work, metaphorically or metonymically. Like terms, professionalisms do
not allow any polysemy, they are monosemantic.
Here are some professionalisms used in different trades: tin-fish ( = submarine); blockbuster ( = a bomb especially designed to destroy blocks of big buildings); piper (—a specialist
who decorates pastry with the use of a cream-pipe); a midder case (—a midwifery case); outer (=a
knockout blow).
3.
Explain the difference in functional stylistic (and sometimes other components of) connotation
among the members of the following groups of words:
- to begin (neutral), to start (colloquial), to get started (formal), to commence (literary);
- to continue (neutral), to go on (colloquial), to get on (formal), to proceed (literary);
- to end , to finish, to be through, to be over, to terminate;
- child (neutral), baby (neutral), kid (informal), brat (colloquial), bearn, infant (literal), babe
(colloquial);
- to rise (formal), to mount (colloquial), to ascend (literal);
- to leave (colloquial), to give up (neutral), to abandon (literal);
- valley (neutral), dale (literal);
- act (neutral), deed (literal);
- fair (formal), beautiful (neutral);
- to ask (neutral), to question (formal), to interrogate (literal).
4. In what way do the following texts differ in style? What is the difference due to?
(1) – They chucked a stone at the cops, and then did bunk with the loot. (slang, informal,
colloquial)
- After casting a stone at the police, they absconded with money. (formal, literal)
(2) – King Charles was publicly decapitated. (more formal, literal)
- King Charles was publicly beheaded. (neutral, more informal)
- They chopped off King Charles’s head in the sight of anyone who cared to see it done.
(colloqual)
5. State the type and function of literary and colloquial words in the following examples:
(1) The story of your romantic origin as related to me by mamma, with unpleasing comments,
has naturally stirred the deepest fibres of my nature. Your Christian name has an irresistible
fascination. The simplicity of your nature makes you exquisitely incomprehensible to me…
(O. Wilde).
Poetic words (to attract the reader, to make the utterance understandable only to a limited
number of readers) this manner is speech is not typical of him
(2) – Will it rain do you think?
- The shallow depression in the west of these islands is likely to move slowly in an easterly
direction. There are no indications of any great change in the barometrical situation. (B.
Shaw).
Parody, official style
(3) The Flower Girl: …Now you are talking! I thought you’d come off it when you saw a chance
of getting back a bit of what you chucked at me last night. (Confidentially). You’d had a drop
in, hadn’t you? (B. Shaw).
Colloquial words, Slang (to make speech expressive, emotional)
(4) “The scheme I would suggest cannot fail of success, but it has what may seem to you a
drawback, sir, in that it requires a certain financial outlay.”
“He means’, translated to Corky, “that he has got a pippin of an idea but it’s going to cost a
bit.”
Jargonism (give a negative connotation to the word and the meaning of the word) forst part formal to show the social difference
(5) He kept looking at the fantastic green of the jungle and then at the orange-brown earth,
febrile and pulsing as though the rain were cutting wound into it. Ridges flinched before the
power of it.
The Lord giveth and He taketh away, Ridges thought solemnly.
Poetic words (epithet to make speech attractive)
(6) Be silent and hearken unto me, ye quaint little islanders. Give ear, ye men. Hear me, ye
women.
Hearken to me then, oh ye compulsory educated ones.
Colloquial words (using a synonym to increase the importance of an action) archaic words, slang
words
(7) “…some thief in the night boosted my clothes whilst I slept. I sleep awful sound on the
mattresses you have here.”
“Somebody boosted…?”
“Pinched. Jobbed. Swiped. Stole,” he says happily.
Colloquial words (to make speech expressive)
(8) "Now take fried, crocked, squiffed, loaded, plastered, blotto, tiddled, soaked, boiled, stinko,
viled, polluted."
"Yes," I said.
"That's the next set of words I am decreasing my vocabulary by", said Atherton. "Tossing them
all out in favor of-"
"Intoxicated?" I supplied.
"I favor fried," said Atherton. "It's shorter and monosyllabic, even though it may sound a little
harsher to the squeamish-minded."
"But there are degrees of difference," I objected. "Just being tiddled isn't the same as being
blotto, or-"
"When you get into the vocabulary-decreasing business," he interrupted, "you don't bother with
technicalities. You throw out the whole kit and caboodle - I mean the whole bunch," he hastily
corrected himself.
Colloquial words
(9) Mr. James Duffy lived in Chapelizod because he wished to live as far as possible from the
city of which he was the citizen and because he found all the other suburbs of Dublin mean,
modern and pretentious.
The word modern for him has his own connotative meaning, that’s why it is written in italics
(irony), modern doesn’t mean good for him.
(10) "Of course it was considered a great chance for me, as he is so rich. And - and - we drifted
into a sort of understanding - I suppose I should call it an engagement -"
"You may have drifted into it; but you will bounce out of it, my pettikins, if I am to have
anything to do with it."
We can see that one speaker interrupted another one. Colloquial words and jargonisms are used
here.
(11) "The only thing that counts in his eyes is solid achievement. Sometimes I have been
prostrate with fatigue. He calls it idleness. I need the stimulation of good company. He terms
this riff-raff. The plain fact is, I am misunderstood."
On the whole the text seems rather formal and literal, but there is only one word – riff-raffwhich is a slang word and maybe the author wanted to pint at the fact that that man is not very
smart.
(12) "Obviously an emissary of Mr. Bunyan had obtained clandestine access to her apartment
in her absence and purloined the communication in question." It took Lord Uffenham some
moments to work this out, but eventually he unravelled it and was able to translate it from his
butler's language. What the man was trying to say was that some low blister, bought with
Bunyan's gold, had sneaked into the girl's flat and pinched the bally things.
Here is a formal style, a lot of literal words.
(13) ''I say, old boy, where do you hang out?" Mr. Pickwick responded that he was at present
suspended at the George and Vulture.
Literal, but with a slang expression: old boy, which means a close friend.
(14) "Also it will cost him a hundred bucks as a retainer."
"Huh?" Suspicious again. Stick to basic English.
"Hundred dollars," I said. "Iron men. Fish. Bucks to the number of one hundred. Me no money,
me no come. Savvy?" I began to count a hundred with both hands.
Here we can see a deviation, using of slang, the author wanted to show a specific way of
speaking of the hero.
(15) "That's so, my lord. I remember having tae du much the same thing, mony years since, in
an inquest upon a sailing vessel that ran aground in the estuary and got broken up by bumping
herself to bits in a gale. The insurance folk thocht that the accident wasna a'tegither
straightforward. We tuk it upon oorsels tae demonstrate that wi' the wind and tide setti' as they
did, the boat should ha' been wellaway fra' the shore if they started at the hour they claimed tae
ha' done. We lost the case, but I've never altered my opeenion."
Slang word, deviations – specific manner of speaking.