THE PROBLEM OF FUNCTIONAL STYLES
Functional Stylistics and its concern
Functional Stylistics is a part of Stylistics studying different styles of language, their linguistic peculiarities and functions, or to be more exact, its attention is centred on the message in its correlation (*connection of cause and effect) with the communicative situation.
Language means, chosen and used in every functional style, depend on several factors. The most important among them is the purpose of communication. A language style can be defined as a system of coordinative, interrelated and interconditioned language means, aimed at fulfilling a specific function of communication and ensuring a definite effect.
Functional styles (FSs) are the subsystems of language, each having its specific features (phonetic, lexical and grammatical), determined by the condition of communication in various spheres of human activity.
FSs should be distinguished from the varieties of language. The written and the oral varieties of language are merely forms of communication which depend on the situation in which the communication is maintained (i.e. on the presence or absence of the interlocutor), whereas FSs are patterns of the written variety aimed at securing a desired purpose of communication.
The Classification of Functional Styles
The English literary language has evolved (*developed gradually by a long and continuous progress) a number of FSs easily distinguishable one from another. They are not homogeneous and fall into several variants. The classification of FSs is one of the most disputable and difficult problems in Stylistics. The reasons for it are as follows:
· FSs are historically changeable categories;
· The boundary lines between FSs are not clearly cut;
· The criteria of classification of FSs have not been defined yet.
Each FS is a relatively stable system at given stage in the language development, but it changes in the course of time, and sometimes considerably. The development of each style is predetermined by:
· the changes in the norms of Standard English;
· the changes of social conditions;
· the progress of science and the development of cultural life in the country.
The boundary lines between FSs are rather vague, because some FSs have common features. For example, the oratory style has much in common with the publicistic style; while the latter has many similar features with the scientific prose style. Up to now the criteria of FS classification remains disputable. The majority of linguists speak about five FSs: thebelles-lettres style, embracing all genres of emotive prose; the style of official documents; the scientific prose style; the publicistic style; the newspaper style.
|
|
|
A Brief Outline of Functional Styles
The Belles-lettres Style. It is the style of creative literature. It is the richest register of communication. Alongside with its own language means, it makes wide use of elements of other FSs. Its functions are informative, persuasive, and aesthetic. The form of presentation in the Belles-lettres style is meaningful and carries additional information. There are three substyles: emotive prose, poetry and drama.
The Style of Official Documents. The main function is to define the condition, binding two parties in some undertaking to reach an agreement between them. These parties may be: the state and a citizen, or a citizen and a citizen, two or more enterprises (business correspondence or contract); two or more governments (pacts, treaties, etc); a person in authority and a subordinate (orders, regulation instructions), etc.
This style is the most conservative in its structure and vocabulary used. Its forms are strictly regulated lexically and grammatically. The most remarkable features are:
· Absence of emotiveness and subjective modality;
· The use of words in their logical meaning;
· A set of terms, clichés, set-expressions symbols and abbreviation.
The Scientific Prose Style. It is characteristic of a professional style. The main function is to prove some hypothesis to create new concepts, to explain internal laws of development and links between phenomena. This style is marked by laconism, clarity and logical cohesion. The most remarkable features are:
· The abundance of terms denoting objects, phenomena or processes of a particular branch of science or technology;
· The vocabulary used bears its direct referential meaning (i.e. no emotiveness);
· Sentence patterns are of three types: postulatory, argumentative and formulative;
· Frequent use of quotations and references;
|
|
|
· The use of foot-notes (примечания);
· The use of passive constructions and clichés.
The Publicistic Style. It became a separate style in the 18th century and falls into three varieties, each having its own distinctive features. They are:
· Oratory and speeches (oratoricalsubstyle, radio and TV commentary);
· Essay (moral, philosophical, literary);
· Journalistic articles (political, social, economic) in newspapers and magazines.
The general aim of this style is:
· To constantly and deeply influence public opinion;
· To convince the reader or the listener that the interpretation given by the writer or the speaker is the only correct one;
· To cause them to accept the given viewpoint not only through logical argumentation but through emotional appeal as well.
The Newspaper Style. It dates from the 17th century. Not all printed matter found in the newspaper comes under newspaper style, as the modern newspaper carries material of extremely diverse character. Its main functions are: to inform and instruct the reader and to give the evaluation of the events described.
To draw the readers’ attention to the news certain graphic means are used by publishers: space ordering and types of print. Newspaper style is abundant in dates, names of countries, institutions and individuals. Its main substyles are: brief news items, advertisements and announcements, headlines and editorials.
STYLISTIC SEMASIOLOGY
Дата добавления: 2018-02-28; просмотров: 1981; Мы поможем в написании вашей работы! |
Мы поможем в написании ваших работ!