Expressive Means and Stylistic Devices
Stylistics studies linguistic means in a system, revealing their linguistic properties and nature, as well as the laws of their functioning.
In other words, it studiesexpressive means (EMs) and stylisticdevices (SDs), which help the author to render information vividly and more colourfully. Our aim is not only to study all of them, but also to perceive them in their interaction on the syntagmatic plane.
EMs are such language means of the paradigmatic plane, which function in the language for emotional and logical intensification. These are phonetic means, morphological forms, means of word building and some lexical, phraseological and syntactic forms.
The most powerful EMs of the language are phonetic (logical stress, different intonation patterns), because no other language means can so brilliantly indicate the slightest nuances of meaning.
Among morphological EMs one should mention the historical present, which helps the author to make things described more vivid. (The word “shall” in the 2-nd and 3-d person singular always gets emphatic stress in this case).
Among word building EMs one can find a number of forms which serve to make an utterance more expressive and vivid.
Lexical EMs are those words which possess inner expressiveness (e.g. interjections, etc). Syntactic EMs are those constructions which render a certain degree of logical or emotional emphasis due to their structure.
As to Stylistics, it does not so much study EMs as such, but their potential ability of becoming a SD. EMs are concrete facts of the language, while SD is a deliberate literary use of some facts of the language, including EMs in which the most essential features are brought to the foreground. SD is an intentional intensification of some typical structural and/or semantic property of a language unit promoted to a generalized status and thus becoming a model.
SDs is a special group of language means more abstract in character than EMs. EMs have a greater degree of predictability than SDs, because they are more frequently used in the language and therefore are easily predictable. SDs carry a greater amount of information and can be treated as a special code that requires certain efforts on the part of the reader to decode the meaning and the author’s intentions. SDs should be used sparingly not to overburden the text with information.
Of late there has appeared a new approach to the question of stylistic means. This is the opposition betweennorm and deviation from norm (i.e. the opposition between traditionally meant and situationally meant). The majority of SDs is based on the substitution of traditionally meant by situationally meant. Stylistic effects are based on the contrast between them.
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SDs are classified into: Lexical SDs (tropes); Syntactic SDs (figures of speech); Lexico-syntactic SDs; Graphic EMs; Phonetic EMs.
Varieties of the Language
Language serves as a means of communication. The actual situation of communication, its aim and the language function in different spheres of human activity have given rise to two varieties of the language: the spoken and the writtenones, each with its own peculiarities. Diachronically the spoken variety is primary and the written one is secondary.
The main differences are the following:
· The spoken variety presupposes the presence of an interlocutor, while the written variety – his absence;
· The spoken variety presupposes the form of a dialogue, while the written one – that of a monologue;
· The advantage of the spoken variety is the human voice with all its modifications, various intonation patterns and gestures.
· The spoken variety cannot be detached from the speaker, while the written one can be detached from the writer.
All the above mentioned factors help the speaker to render additional information. The written variety should compensate for it, seeking for the ways to render the same implications by some linguistic means. The spoken variety differs from the written one phonetically, lexically, morphologically and syntactically.
One should not overuse the peculiarities of the spoken language in the written variety. To assert a political, cultural or educational impact, one should apply to the written language with its careful organization, deliberate choice of words and constructions, thus it bears a greater responsibility than its spoken counterpart.
Morphological and Phonetic Differences. In spoken language contracted forms are used, though we may come across them in the written variety to show the territorial or social dialects and colloquialisms: he instead of him, don’t instead of doesn’t, them instead of this/that/these, etc.
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E.g. She used to play tennis with he and Mrs.Torrance.
The striking difference between the two varieties lies in the vocabulary used:
| Typically colloquial | Typically bookish |
| I take it To hang out Lass | I understand it To go around Girl, etc. |
In spoken language words are often intensified by interjections, curse words, adjectives which have lost their primary meaning, words of hesitation, etc.
E.g. Well, she was awfully nice. I’m busy, you know.
Syntactic Peculiarities of the Spoken Variety. They are not so strong as lexical ones; and reveal the situational character of communication.
E.g. “Playing, children?” /ellipsis/; “She fell ill?” /word order/;
“If you do it again I’ll –“ /unfinished sentence/
“Amanda she is a nice girl.” /the use of two subjects/ etc.
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