LECTURE 2
Expressive means of Phonetics. Phonetics of units. The difference between phonetics of
units and sequences.
Phonetics as a branch of linguistics investigates acoustic & articulatory properties of
speech sounds and informs us of various types of pronunciation of the same word or
sentence.
Stylistic phonetics tells us which variant suits the given type of speech. The stylistic
approach to the utterance is not confined to its structure and sense; there is another thing to
be taken into account which plays an important role. This is the way a word, a phrase or a
sentence sounds. The sound taken separately will have little or no aesthetic value. It is in
combination with other words that a word may acquire a desired phonetic effect.
PHONETIC STYLISTIC DEVICES
Phonetic means of speech characterization
Expressive phonetic means
1) Alliteration
Phonetic variation
Prosodic means
1) reduction of sounds
1) emphatic stress
2) omission of sounds
2) intonation
3) substitution of sounds
3) rhythm
4) rhyme
5) pauses
2) Onomatopoeia
3) Assonance
Classification of phonetic stylistic devices
I.
PHONETICS OF UNITS
Phonetic means of speech characterization (normally found in the personages discourse):
1. Phonetic variation:
•
Reduction of vowels: haven’t, isn’t, you = ye – found in colloquial speech
fellow = fella, kind of = kinda, going to = gonna, would you = wudja,
give me a cup of (tea) = gimme a cuppa (characterize negligent fluent speech
•
Omission & substitution of consonants:
could have been = could ‘of been; old = ole; and = an’; say =sy (cockney);
Henry =’Enry (cockney); Mith = Miss (lisping - шепелявость)
•
Substitution of sounds: darling = dulin’; everything = eve’thin; somewhat = summut
- complete mispronunciation.
These stylistic devices have different functions. Contracted forms characterize
colloquial speech. Other deviations can be used as a means of the personage’s speech
characteristics – they indicate his/her social status, educational level, characterize him as a
carrier of some dialect or transfer some individual peculiarities of pronunciation (children’s
speech, lisping, burr – картавость). Moreover, phonetic variation can transfer the
personage’s emotional state, the baby talk and so on.
It is necessary to distinguish phonetic and graphical stylistic means (graphons).
Graphon - is intentional violation (искажение) of the spelling of a word (or word
combination) used to reflect its authentic pronunciation. The majority of the above
mentioned examples of phonetic variation (except standard contracted forms) can be defined
as graphons.
2.Prosodic means
Prosodic means: (stress, emphatic stress, pauses, special intonation contours, rhythm,
rhyme) serve to transfer emotions. Intonation and stress are very important means in oral
speech where they are expressed directly by the speaker. In written speech they are conveyed
indirectly by graphical expressive means and by a special syntactical arrangement of
utterance (such as inversion, isolated members, parallel constructions and other syntactical
stylistic devices).
Graphical means include punctuation, different types of print (italics, bold type) and a
specific arrangement of printed material. Such marks of punctuation as a series of dots (…),
a dash (-), exclamation and question marks and some others may be used not only to show
the logical arrangement of speech but also to convey the information of the uttered speech
and to express emphasis. Examples:
•
•
•
•
•
italics (she was simply beautiful)
bold type (Muriel, I don’t know!)
capital letters (He was SLAIN in North Africa)
letter multiplication (умножение букв) (Allll aboarrrrd!)
dash (re-fuse).
II PHONETICS OF SEQUENCES
Expressive phonetic means - (found in the author’s discourse). This part of stylistics
deals with prosody& interaction of speech sounds in sequence. Phonetic expressive means
deal with the sound instrumenting (звуковая инструментовка) of the utterance and are
mainly found in poetry.
Phonetic expressive means and devices are used for several purposes:
• to produce a certain acoustic effect;
• to give emphasis to the utterance;
• to arouse emotions in the reader or the listener.
1.Alliteration
Alliteration is the repetition of similar consonant in close succession, particularly at
the beginning of successive words.
Deep into the darkness peering, long and stood there wondering fearing,
Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortals ever dared to dream before. (E.A. Poe)
Взор застыл во тьме стесненный, и стоял я изумленный,
Снам отдавшись, недоступным на земле ни для кого …
The repetition of the sound [d] in the lines quoted from Poe’s poem “The Raven”
prompts the feeling of anxiety, fear, horror, anguish or all these feelings simultaneously.
Alliteration aims at imparting a melodic effect to the utterance; alliteration is generally
regarded as a musical accompaniment of the author’s idea; it creates some vague emotional
atmosphere, which each reader interprets for himself.
Alliteration is often used in phraseological combinations: busy as a bee (занятый), cool as
a cucumber (хладнокровный), hungry as a hunter (голодный как волк), spick and span
(очень аккуратный), forget and forgive. In the titles of books: “Pride and Prejudice” (J.
Austen), “The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club” (Ch. Dickens), “The Last Leaf”
(O’Henry).
2. Onomatopoeia
Onomatopoeia is a combination of speech-sounds which aims at imitating sounds
produced in nature;
 by things (machines or tools, etc.)
 by people (sighing, laughter, patter of feet, etc.)
 by animals.
There are two varieties of onomatopoeia: direct and indirect:
Direct onomatopoeia is contained in words that imitate natural sounds as
e.g. ding-dong, buzz, bang, cuckoo, mew, ping-pong, etc.
Indirect onomatopoeia – is a combination of sounds the aim of which is to make the
sound of the utterance an echo of its sense. It is sometimes called “echo-writing”
And the silken, sad, uncertain rustling of each purple curtain … (E.A.Poe)
… и завес пурпурных трепет издавал как будто лепет …
Indirect onomatopoeia, unlike alliteration, demands some mention of what makes the
sound, a rustling (of curtains), etc.
The same can be said of the sound [w] if it aims at reproducing, let us say, the sound of
wind. The word “wind’ must be mentioned as in the example:
“Whenever the moon and stars are set,
Whenever the wind is high,
All night long in the dark and wet
A man goes riding by.” (R.S. Stevenson)
Indirect onomatopoeia is sometimes very effectively used by repeating words which
themselves are not onomatopoetic, as in Poe’s poem “The Bells”
Silver bells… how they tinkle, tinkle, tinkle
“To the tintinnabulation that so musically wells
From the bells, bells, bells, bells,
Bells, bells, bells –
From the jingling and the tinkling of the bells.
The words “tintinnabulation”, tinkle, “jingling” are obviously onomatopoetic; the word
“bells” begins to display such properties through the repetition.
3. Assonance
Assonance – a phonetic stylistic device; repetition of similar vowel sounds usually in
stressed syllables.
One’s upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary …
Как то в полночь, в час угрюмый, полный тягостною думой …
… and the Raven never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting …
… и сидит, сидит зловещий ворон черный, ворон вещий …
Seminar 2
Phonetic and Graphical Means of Expressiveness
1)
Phonetic stylistics.
2)
Phonetic means of speech characterization.
a)
Phonetic variation (reduction of vowels, omission and substitution of consonants,
substitution of sounds).
b)
Prosodic means (stress, emphatic stress, pauses, special intonation contours, rhythm,
rhyme).
c)
Graphical means of expressiveness (dash, italics, bold type, etc.)
3)
Expressive phonetic means (alliteration, onomatopoeia, assonance).
Questions:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
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10)
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12)
13)
What is the subject-matter of stylistic phonetics?
In what regard does stylistic phonetics investigate an utterance?
In what case does a word acquire a desired phonetic effect?
How can phonetic stylistic devices be classified?
Where are phonetic means of speech characterization and expressive phonetic
means found?
What peculiarities of speech can be rendered by phonetic stylistic means?
What is “graphon”?
What graphical means can be used to reproduce phonetic (prosodic) peculiarities of
speech?
What is alliteration (onomatopoeia, assonance, etc.)?
What is their stylistic function?
What is the difference between direct and indirect onomatopoeia?
In what spheres is alliteration frequently used?
Can alliteration be at the same time onomatopoeia? What is the main difference
between alliteration &onomatopoeia?