Creativity in language: from

everyday style to verbal art

Edited by Zsófia Demjén and Philip Seargeant
This publication forms part of the Open University module E302: Language and Creativity. Details of this
and other Open University modules can be obtained from Student Recruitment, The Open University, PO
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First published 2016
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ISBN 978 1 4730 0372 9

1.1
Contents
Series preface 9
Biographical information 11
Book introduction 13
Chapter 1 What is linguistic creativity? 17
Introduction 17
1.2 What is linguistic creativity? 21
1.3 Three lenses with which to explore linguistic creativity 23
1.4 Conclusion 43
Reading A: Graphological deviation, style variation and point
of view in Marabou Stork Nightmares by Irvine Welsh 46
Reading B: Ethnicity and humour in the workplace 54

Chapter 2 Creativity in everyday conversation 67

2.1 Introduction 67
2.2 Preliminary definitions 68
2.3 Everyday conversational creativity 76
2.4 Analysing what people do in everyday conversation 79
2.5 Conclusion 93
References 94
Reading A: Creativity and discourse 96
Reading B: Seeing things our way: the establishment of
common perspectives 108

Chapter 3 Creativity and creative writing 121

3.1 Introduction 121
3.2 Models of creativity within creative writing 122
3.3 Writers and authors 128
3.4 Drama, dialogue and everyday language 137
3.5 Applying linguistic analysis to writing 141
3.6 Short stories and creative writing 143
3.7 Conclusion 147
References 147
Reading A: Last to go 149
Reading B: Pinter’s Last to Go: a structuralist reading 154
Reading C: How to become a writer 166
Chapter 4 Creativity in translation 173
4.1 Introduction 173
4.2 What is translation? 174
4.3 Other conceptions of translation 179
4.4 A brief history of translation studies 181
4.5 Translator creativity 192
4.6 Translation problems 195
4.7 Conclusion 200
References 200
Reading A: Multiple translations: beyond pluralism 203
Reading B: Translator’s blog 209

Chapter 5 Word and image, words as image 217

5.1 Introduction 217
5.2 Semiotics 222
5.3 Word and image in storytelling 233
5.4 Postmodern multimodality 250
5.5 Conclusion 254
References 255
Reading A: Signs and myths 258
Reading B: Postmodernism and the picture book 264

Chapter 6 Art and language 277

6.1 Introduction 277
6.2 Relationships between language and art 279
6.3 Supplementary uses of language in art 284
6.4 Explicit uses of language in art 290
6.5 Street art and graffiti 300
6.6 Conclusion 301
Reading A: To frighten heaven and earth and make the
spirits cry 305
Reading B: Xu Bing and his language art 307
Reading C: Texts in the city 317
Chapter 7 Metaphor, creativity and genres 329
7.1 Introduction 329
7.2 Metaphor, creativity and the experience of pain across
genres 330
7.3 Conclusion 358
References 358

Acknowledgements 359
Index 363
 Series preface

Series preface
The books in this series provide an introduction to the study of
creativity in the English language. They look at what linguistic
creativity is, how it is used and the range of issues that it raises, both
in everyday contexts, and in literature and ‘high’ culture. They are core
texts for the Open University module E302 Language and creativity.
The series aims to provide students with:
. an understanding of the nature of creativity in English, and the
ways it is used to fulfil a range of social, cultural, artistic and
political functions
. knowledge of different theories and debates concerning creative
language practices
. the skills required to analyse and evaluate linguistic and semiotic
creativity
. an appreciation of how different modes (such as image, movement
and music) are used and combined to creative effect
. an understanding of how and why narrative plays such a central
role in people’s lives, and how narrative practices are changing in
the era of digital media
. an appreciation of how creative acts are shaped and constrained by
a combination of political, social and economic forces, and how
linguistic creativity can be used as a resource for political activity
. an appreciation of how the global status of English is altering both
the nature of linguistic practices and what is evaluated as creative
around the world.
The books include:
. activities designed to assist with the understanding and analysis of
the material
. key terms, which are emboldened in the text at the point where
they are explained (and in the index so that they are easy to find)
. readings at the end of each chapter, which offer further in-depth
discussion of key points. These involve relevant examples of
linguistic creativity from diverse contexts around the world, and

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Creativity in language: from everyday style to verbal art

represent an additional viewpoint on core discussions from the

chapter.

The other books in this series are:

Maybin, J. (ed.) Narrative, Language and Creativity: Contemporary
Approaches, Milton Keynes, The Open University.
Hann, D. and Lillis, T. (eds) The Politics of Language and Creativity in a
Globalised World, Milton Keynes, The Open University.

Philip Seargeant
Series Editor

10
 Book introduction

Book introduction
Everyday style and verbal art

‘Narrative’
One day at about midday in the Parc Monceau district, on the
back platform of a more or less full S bus (now No. 84), I
observed a person with a very long neck who was wearing a felt
hat which had a plaited cord round it instead of a ribbon.
(Queneau, 1998 [1947], p. 43)

‘Rhyming slang’
I see a chap in the bus with a huge bushel and peck and a
ridiculous titfer on his loaf. He starts a bull and cow with another
chap and complains that he keeps treading on his plates with his
daisy roots.
(Queneau, 1998 [1947], p. 158)

‘Sonnet’
Glabrous was his dial and plaited was his bonnet,
And he, a puny colt – (how sad the neck he bore,
And long) – was now intent on his quotidian chore –
The bus arriving full, of somehow getting on it.
(Queneau, 1998 [1947], p. 112)

Exercises in Style is a work by the French author Raymond Queneau,

in which he takes a short and rather prosaic anecdote – about a man in
a hat getting jostled on a crowded bus – and tells it over and over
again, each time in a different style. In the extracts above, one uses
extensive metaphor, another is in rhyming slang, and a third is in the
form of a sonnet. Queneau repeats the same story 99 times in total
and each one – despite relating exactly the same incident – produces a
different effect due to the way language is being manipulated.

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Creativity in language: from everyday style to verbal art

Queneau’s book is a practical illustration of the creative possibilities of

language use; of how the choice of words, register, structure, and so on
can alter profoundly the way we, as readers, perceive an idea or
scenario.
This same topic is also the subject of this book. The chapter authors
take an analytic and exploratory look at creativity in language: at how it
is effected, the processes it involves, and the ends to which it is put.
We begin with the simple question of what creativity is, and how it
relates to language. From this starting point we explore the concept
from a range of different perspectives, examining its definitions, its
manifestations and uses, and the various issues it raises. The book
looks at both written and spoken language, drawing on the
perspectives of stylistics and discourse analysis; it includes practitioners’
approaches in terms both of creative writing and translation; and it
extends out to consider other forms of semiotic creativity, looking in
particular at visual communication and the way it combines with the
verbal mode.
Throughout the book we ask three main questions:
. What is linguistic and semiotic creativity?
. How can one study it?
. Why is it important to study it?
Underpinning all the topics that this book covers is the conviction that
creativity, in one form or another, is central to human activities.
Similarly, language is something that permeates all aspects of our lives:
in using language – often creatively – we discursively construct forms
of identity as well as an understanding of the social world around us.
Seen from this perspective, an understanding of linguistic creativity can
provide fresh perspectives on how communication operates, the uses to
which it is put, and, ultimately, on our sense of self and society.
As indicated by the title of the book (‘from everyday style to verbal
art’), the various chapters focus on the questions above using a range
of texts: some traditionally considered literature (e.g. poems, novels),
others considered more ‘everyday’ or ordinary (e.g. workplace humour,
interactions on social media). In this way, the book investigates the
relationships between creativity and a variety of different disciplines. It
looks at the resources that people use in acts of creativity, how these
resources are manipulated for creative ends, and how the meaning of

14
 Book introduction

creative acts is a product both of these resources and the ways and
contexts in which they are used.

How the book is structured

The book begins with Zsófia Demjén introducing the concept of
linguistic creativity and proposing three ways in which it can be
understood and investigated. Approaching the topic primarily from the
perspective of stylistics, this opening chapter introduces an array of
categories for describing and analysing verbal language in written texts.
Following on from this, Chapter 2 by David Peplow also draws on
stylistics, but employs techniques of discourse and conversation
analysis, and examines conversational interactions rather than written
texts, to focus on creativity in everyday life.
Chapter 3, by Derek Neale, takes a different tack to the topic, looking
at it from the perspective of creative writing and examining creative
processes from a practitioner’s perspective. The chapter also asks how
(or if) creativity, as it is conceptualised in this context, is something
that can be taught. The practitioners’ perspective continues in
Chapter 4, where Frank Monaghan and Guy Cook look at the art of
translation. The chapter explores how different creative strategies can
address the challenges of translating works from one language (and
culture) to another.
The next two chapters in the book focus explicitly on multimodal
communication, which includes verbal language but also image, colour,
shape and sound. Multimodality foregrounds the importance of
different modes and media in any creative activity, and here we look at
how these intersect and interact to produce meaning. In Chapter 5,
Sharon Goodman introduces social semiotics – which is concerned
with exploring the ways in which specific signs, like colours, fonts, or
images, connect with specific social meanings – as an approach to
analysing creativity in multimodal print texts. This focus on visual
communication continues in Chapter 6, where Philip Seargeant
explores the ways in which verbal language is incorporated into the
visual arts, and what this can tell us about the natures both of art and
of language.
The book concludes with a chapter which is structured around a text
by Elena Semino on creativity in the context of verbal descriptions of
pain. This text is used as an applied case study, drawing together the

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Creativity in language: from everyday style to verbal art

key threads that have emerged throughout the book and putting into
practice some of the approaches to language and creativity that have
been previously discussed.
In examining the complexity around linguistic creativity from these
various different perspectives, using a range of different approaches
and different types of texts, the book aims to both stimulate thought
and illuminate ideas about the nature of creativity and the fundamental
role it plays in how we interact and express ourselves.

Reference
Queneau, R. (1998 [1947]) Exercises in Style (trans. B. Wright), London, John
Calder.

16
 Chapter 1 What is linguistic creativity?

Chapter 1 What is linguistic creativity?

Zsófia Demjén

1.1 Introduction
The terms ‘creativity’ and ‘creative’ are used in a variety of contexts.
There are creative artists, thinkers, writers, designers and entrepreneurs;
there can be creative talent, ideas, processes and minds. Creativity can
be boundless and spontaneous, but it needs to be unleashed, fostered,
stimulated and expressed, though sometimes it may be stifled.
Creativity is also strongly associated with imagination, innovation,
originality and genius. Similar lists and descriptions can be found in
many discussions of the concept (e.g. Pope, 2005; Carter, 2011; Pope
and Swann, 2011) and it is an area studied in a number of disciplines.

Figure 1.1 Mercedes-Benz advertisement showing creativity

Psychologists and neuroscientists are investigating creativity to find out

more about its relationship with the mind and the brain; ethnographic
work is being done to explore its role in society; linguists are exploring
creative language to understand more about how people communicate;
and commercial organisations are constantly trying to find ways of

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Creativity in language: from everyday style to verbal art

making themselves and their employees more creative. Given this wide-
ranging interest in the topic, it might be reasonable to assume that it is
clear what ‘creativity’ means. But this is not necessarily the case: you
will find that each field and discipline defines creativity slightly
differently, and takes a different approach to investigating it.
This book looks specifically at linguistic forms of creativity and at how
creativity can be understood in different contexts of language use. This
first chapter will begin by asking what linguistic creativity is, how it can
be defined and how it can be studied. It will also touch on why it
might be important to know more about linguistic creativity in the first
place. For example, it has been suggested that linguistic creativity
allows a better understanding of our sense of self and our societies
(Jones, 2012).

Activity 1.1
Allow about 30 minutes
Look at the six examples given in Figure 1.2. On first reading, which
ones do you think are creative? Which ones are not? Is it easy to put
them into these two categories?
Look over them again and think about what made you decide that some
of them are creative and others are not. What aspects of the examples
suggest creativity?

Discussion
Your answers may differ from mine, but I thought that the Atonement
extract (Example 1), the poem (6) and possibly even the cartoon (5) are
creative. The joke (2), on the other hand, didn’t seem very creative. But
how did you classify the tweet (3) and the graffiti (4)? Perhaps the binary
distinction between ‘creative’ and ‘not creative’ feels too restrictive. I
would say that Examples 3 and 4 are perhaps less creative than the
poem (6), but more creative than the joke (2).
There are several things that you could have considered when making
your decisions. You might have asked yourself, ‘What kind of text is
this?’ and decided that Example 1 is creative because it is from a novel
and that Example 6 is creative because it is a poem. You might also
have thought about what the examples look like and decided that 6 is
creative because of its unusual form (depending on what you’re
comparing it to).
You might have looked in more detail at the language of the examples:
perhaps you noticed metaphors in Example 1 (e.g. ‘lazy creature’), the

18