On Contrastive Stylistics of the English

And Ukrainian Languages

The themes of seminars

On Contrastive Stylistics of the English

And Ukrainian Languages

LECTURES 1-2

Theme: Stylistics as a branch of linguistics. The main concepts of stylistics

PLAN:

1. General notes on style and stylistics

2. Stylistics as a linguistic science. Concepts and categories of stylistics

3. The subject and the object of stylistics

4. The Structure of Stylistics

5. Branches of stylistics

6. Expressive means (EM) and stylistic devices (SD)

7. Methods of stylistic research

8. Information theory in stylistic

1. General notes on style and stylistics

The subject of stylistics has so far not been definitely outlined. This is due to a number of reasons. First of all there is a confusion between the terms style and stylistics. The first concept is so broad that it is hardly possible to regard it as a term.

The word style is derived from the Latin word “ stilus ” which meant a short, stick sharp at one end and flat at the other used by the Romans for writing on wax tablets. Now the word “style” is used in so many senses that it has become a breeding ground for ambiguity. The word is applied to the teaching of how to write a composition (see below); it is also used to reveal the correspondence between thought and expression; it frequently denotes an individual manner of making use of language; it sometimes refers to more general, abstract notions thus inevitably becoming vague and obscure, as, for example, “Style is the man himself” (Buffon), “Style is depth” (Darbyshire), “Style is deviations” (Enkvist), “Style is choice”, etc.

Even in linguistics the word style is used so widely that it needs interpretation. The majority of linguists who deal with the subject of style agree that the term applies to the following fields of investigation.:

o the aesthetic function of language;

o expressive means in language;

o synonymous ways of rendering one and the same idea;

o emotional coloring of language;

o a system of special devices called stylistic devices;

o the splitting of the literary language into separate subsystems called stylistic devices;

o the interrelation between language and thought;

o the individual manner of an author in making use of language.

There are some notions on style:

1. There is a widely held view that style is the correspondence between thought and expression. The notion is based on the assumption ^; that of the two functions of language, (language is said to have two functions: it serves as a means of communication and also as a means of shaping one's thoughts). The first function is called communicative, the second - expressive, the latter finds its proper materialization in strings of sentences especially arranged to convey the ideas and also to get the desired response.

Indeed, every sentence uttered may be characterized from two sides: whether or not the string of language forms expressed is something well-known and therefore easily understood and to some extent predictable; whether or not the string of language forms is built anew; is, as it were, an innovation made on the part of the listener to get at the meaning of the utterance and is therefore unpredictable.

Many great minds have made valuable observations on the interrelation between thought and expression. The main trend in most of these observations may be summarized as follows the linguistic form of the idea expressed always reflects the peculiarities of the thought. And vice versa, the character of the thought will always in a greater or lesser degree manifest itself in the language forms chosen for the expression of the idea.

2. Another commonly accepted connotation of the term style is embellishment of language. This concept is popular and is upheld in some of the scientific papers on literary criticism. Language and style are regarded as separate bodies, language can easily dispense with style, which is likened to the trimming on a dress. Moreover, style as an embellishment of language is viewed as something that hinders understanding. In its extreme, style may dress the thought in such fancy attire that one can hardly get at the idea hidden behind the elaborate design of tricky stylistic devices.

This notion presupposes the use of bare language forms deprived of any stylistic devices of any expressive means deliberately employed. Perhaps it is due to this notion that the word "style" itself still bears a somewhat derogatory meaning. It is associated with the idea of something pompous, showy artificial, something that is set against simplicity, truthfulness, the natural. Shakespeare was a determined enemy of all kinds of embellishments of language.

3. A very popular notion among practical linguists, teachers of language, is that style is technique of expression. In this sense style is generally defined as the ability to write clearly, correctly and in a manner calculated to the interest of the reader. Style in this utilitarian sense should be taught, but it belongs to the realm of grammar, and not to stylistics. It sets up a number of rules as to how to speak and write and discards all kinds of deviations as being violations of the norm. The norm itself becomes rigid, self-sustained and to a very great extent inflexible.

4. The term style also signifies a literary genre. Thus we speak of classical style or the style of classicism; realistic style; the style of romanticism and so on. On the other hand, the term is widely used in literature, being applied to the various kinds of literary work, the fable, novel, ballad, story etc. Thus we speak of a story being written in the style of a fable or we speak of the characteristic features of the epistolary style or the essay and so on.

Finally there is one more important application of the term style. We speak of the different styles of language. A style of Language is a system of interrelated language means which serves a definite aim in communication. The peculiar choice of language means is primarily dependent on the aim of communication.

Thus we may distinguish the following styles within the English literary language: 1) the belles- letters style; 2) the publicistic style; 3) the newspaper style; 4} the scientific prose style; 5) the style of official documents and presumably some others.

Archibald A. Hill states that “A current definition of style and stylistics is that structures, sequences and patterns which extend or may extend beyond the boundaries of individual sentences define style, and that the study of them is stylistics”. The truth of this approach to style and stylistics lies in the fact that the author concentrates on such phenomena in language as present a system, in other words, on facts which are not confined to individual use.

It follows then that term “style”, being ambiguous, needs a restricting adjective to denote what particular aspect of style we intend to deal with. It is suggested here that the term “individual style” should be applied to that sphere of linguistic and literary science which deals with the peculiarities of a writer’s individual manner of using language means to achieve the effect he desires. It follows then that the individual style of a writer is marked by its uniqueness. Naturally, the individual style of a writer will never be entirely independent of the literary norms and canons of the given period. When we read novels by Swift or Fielding we can easily defect features common to both writers. These features are conditioned by the general literary canons of the period and cannot therefore be neglected. But the adaptations of these canons will always be peculiar and therefore distinguishable. To analyse the form in order to discover the idiosyncrasies of a writer’s style is not an easy, but a rewarding task. Approaches to components of individuality such as 1) composition of larger-than- the sentence units, 2) rhythm and melody of utterances, 3) system of imagery, 4) preferences for definite stylistic devices and their co-relation with neutral language media, 5) interdependence of the language media employed by the author and the media characteristic of the personages, are indispensable.

↓ What we here call individual style, therefore, is a unique combination of language units, expressive means and stylistic devices peculiar to a given writer, which makes that writer’s works or even utterance easily recognizable.

Hence, individual style may be likened to a proper name. It has nominal character. The analogy is, of course, conventional, but it helps to understand the uniqueness of the writer’s idiosyncrasy. Individual style is based on a thorough knowledge of the contemporary language and also of earlier periods in its development.

This point of view is not, however, to be taken literally. The fact that there are different norms for various types and styles of language does not exclude the possibility and even the necessity of arriving at some abstract notion of norm as an invariant, which should embrace all variants with their most typical properties. Each style of language will have its own invariant and variants, yet all styles will have their own invariant, that of the written variety of language. Both oral (colloquial) and written (literary) varieties can also be integrated into an invariant of the standard (received) language.

The norm, therefore, should be regarded as the invariant of the phonemic, morphological, lexical and syntactical patterns circulating in language-in-action at a given period of time.

1. Stylistics as a Linguistic Science. Concepts and categories of stylistics

The object of style studies: expressive functions and expressive means of different language levels, their stylistic meanings and connotations, communicative laws of discourse (speech peculiarities of the text or a certain type of texts). Tasks: analysis of the evolution of styles in connection with the history of literary standard, investigation into the language of fiction and its development, universal laws of literary composition (including poetics), genres of communication (pragmatic approach).

Stylistics must take into consideration the “output of the act of communication”. But stylistics must also investigate the ontological, i.e. natural inherent, and functional peculiarities of the means of communication which may ensure the effect sought.

Stylistics can be defined as a branch of modern linguistics devoted to the detailed analysis of literary style, or of the linguistic choices made by speakers and writers in non-literary contexts. (Chris Baldick Oxford Concise Dictionary of Literary Terms, 1996)

↓According to I.R. Galperin, stylistics is a branch of general linguistics, which deals with the investigation of two independent tasks:

1. Stylistics studies the special media of language which are called stylistic devices and expressive means.

Expressive means and stylistic devices form three large groups of phonetic, lexical, syntactical means and devices. Each group is further subdivided according to the principle, purpose and function of a mean or a device in an utterance.

2. Stylistics studies the types of texts which are distinguished by the pragmatic aspect of the communication and are called functional styles of language.

That is, Stylistics, sometimes called linguostylistics, is a branch of general linguistics. It deals mainly with two interdependent tasks:

a) the investigation of the inventory of special language media which by their ontological features secure the desirable effect of the utterance and

b) certain types of texts (discourse) which due to the choice and arrangement of language means are distinguished by the pragmatic aspect of the communication.

The two objectives of stylistics are clearly discernible as two separate fields of investigation. The inventory of special language media can be analyzed and their ontological features revealed if presented in a system in which the co-relation between the media becomes evident.

The types of texts can be analyzed if their linguistic components are presented in their interaction, thus revealing the unbreakable unity and transparency of constructions of a given type. The types of texts that are distinguished by the pragmatic aspect of the communication are called functional styles of language (FS); the special media of language, which secure the desirable effect of the utterance, are called stylistic devices (SD) and expressive means ( EM).

SDs and EMs necessarily touches upon such general language problems as the aesthetic function of language, synonymous ways of rendering one and the same idea, emotional colouring in language, the interrelations between language and thought, the individual manner of the author in making use of language and a number of other issues.

FSs cannot avoid discussion of such most general linguistic issues as oral and written varieties of language, the notion of the literary (standard) language, the constituents of texts larger than the sentence, the generative aspect of literary texts, and some others.

But language studies cannot avoid subjecting to observation any language data wherever, so where grammar refuses to tread stylistics steps in. Stylistics has acquired its own status with its own inventory of tools (SDs and EMs), with its own object of investigation and with its own methods of research.

Expressive means of a language are those phonetic, morphological, word-building, lexical, phraseological and syntactical forms which exist in language-as-a-system for the purpose of logical and/or emotional intensification of the utterance. These intensifying forms have special functions in making the utterances emphatic.

A stylistic device is a conscious and intentional intensification of some typical structural and/or semantic property of a language unit (neutral or expressive) promoted to a generalized status and thus becoming a generative model. A stylistic device is an abstract pattern, a mould into which any content can be poured.

A functional style of language is a system of interrelated language means which serves a definite aim in communication. A functional style should be regarded as the product of a certain concrete task set by the sender of the message. Functional styles appear mainly in the literary standard of the language. These represent varieties of the abstract invariant and can deviate from the invariant, even breaking away with it.

↓According to I.V. Arnold, "stylistics is a branch of linguistics, which studies the principles and results of the choice and usage of lexical, grammatical, phonetic and other language means with the aim of transmitting of ideas and emotions in different communication settings. "

The most important concepts and categories of stylistics are “a style”, “a norm”, “a context”, “stylistic meanings”, “expressive means”, “stylistic devices”.

Speech activity as any other human activity is conditioned by the human needs and aims. It always pursues achieving of some pragmatic effect. That’s why, when we speak of human activity it is necessary to differentiate means or instruments of this activity and devices or ways of this activity. Both means and devices of the activity have functional forces. If function expresses the purpose of an object, style expresses the property of an object. And it’s necessary to make difference between the style of speech activity and the style of the product of speech activity.

The style of speech activity is some socially adopted stereotype of speech behavior. It appears when a person chooses manners of behavior in the limits of the generally socially adopted norms. This manner of behavior carries the information about a person. The information of his social role, his membership to this/that social group, of his character and psychological state at the moment of speech. Definite manners of speech activity lead to the fact that the products of this activity (utterances, words) have definite semantic and structural peculiarities.

A style is the semantic property of an utterance or a text which is a result of choice of definite number of devices for conveying the context.

Definite manners of speech activity are reflected in the product of this activity which can be distinctive features of the language of the whole nation. In this case we may speak of the literary norm and the literary language.

The literary norm of the national language is a set of language rules and habits of the language usage excepted in the given society and in the given period of time. If the style is the property of the activity and the product of this activity then the norm is such a style of the activity and its product which is regarded to be the most regular and prestigious in the society in the given period of time.

Notion of context can be defined as the surroundings of speech units in which the properties of these units are revealed.

Linguists differentiate 2 types of contexts situational context

speech context

Situational context is usually understood as the extra linguistic condition in which the act of communication takes place.

Speech context can be subdivided in 2 types linguistic context

stylistic context

linguistic context is defined as a whole complex of definite formal conditions under which the meaning of the given language unit is revealed as the only possible one.

Linguistic context can be lexical

synthetically

lexical-syntactical

morphological

morphological-syntactical

mixed

As for the size of the context, linguists usually speak of 3 types of it.

Micro context is such of a context in the size of an utterance.

Macro context is a paragraph or dialogical unit.

Mega context (topical) is the context in size of a chapter, some chapters or even of a whole story.

Stylistic context is a piece of text by the appearance of an element which is unexpected, unpredictable in its nature in respect to the given context. And the appearance of this element creates a stylistic device. A stylistic device is created not only by the deviation from the norm of the context.

e.g.

house

abode, dome (bookish)

cot

hutch (coll)

crib (thievish)

hole

hovel

den

All these words have common invariant meaning of dwelling. The word “house” is stylistically neutral and all the other words are stylistically marked. They have some additional meaning and this additional meaning is called functional stylistical meaning. Each of the words which are stylistically marked form stylistic opposition to the word “house” (neutral one) because each of the words carries some additional functional stylistical meaning. And this additional functional stylistical meaning points to the belonging of the word to the definite sphere of speech activity.

Thus, all the words of the language can be divided into 2 groups

Stylistically neutral words

Marked words

of high flown

of low flown

3.The subject and the object of stylistics

The subject and the object of any science are usually differentiated. The object is the material body, a phenomenon, or a process that exists in reality irrespective of any human activity, human consciousness. That is the process of studying of any object of the reality is a very complicated task. As a result, any science studies only one aspect of this object of the reality. And this aspect of investigation is the subject of the science. Thus, the object of the science can exist irrespectively of us, while the subject of the science is formed by the science itself.

The object of linguistics is human language and due to the complicacy of the language itself it is studied by many sciences (lexicology, stylistics, etc). and each of them has its own subject of investigation.

In different situations language as a means of communication is used in different ways. The utterance may acquire this or that form due to different factors: social, educational, emotional, territorial, the origin of a person, etc. That is why, the ways of conveying these factors are the subject of stylistics.

The subject of stylistics can be also outlined as the study of the nature, functions and structure of stylistic devices, on the one hand, and, on the other, the study of each style of language as classified, its aim, its structure, its characteristic features and the effect it produces, as well as its interrelation with other styles of language. The task we set before ourselves is to make an attempt to single out such, problems as are typically stylistic and cannot be treated in any other branch of linguistic science.

There are 2 basic objects of stylistics:

- special linguistic means (stylistic devices and expressive means) which secure the desirable effect of the utterance;

- certain types of texts “discourse” which due to the choice and arrangement of the language are distinguished by the pragmatic aspect of communication (functional styles).

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