Stilistika

1. Stylistic and its objectives.
Subdivisions of stylistics
2. Functional style, individual style, idiolect
3. The notion of style. Different points of view on the concept of style
4. Stylistic function, information, norm
5. Phonetic stylistic devices (alliteration, assonance, onomatopoeia, paronomasia)
6. Phonetic stylistic devices (rhyme, rhythm, metre)
7. Graphical stylistic means
8. Morphological stylistic means (verb, adjective, adverb)
9. Morphological stylistic means (noun, pronoun, numeral)
10. The notion of imagery. Verbal and non-verbal images, their categories and
structure. Tropes and their classification.
11. Lexical stylistic devices based on the interplay of dictionary and contextual
meaning.
12. Lexical stylistic devices based on the interplay of logical and emotive meaning.
13. Lexical stylistic devices based on the interplay of primary and derivative
meaning.
14. Lexical stylistic devices based on the interplay of logical and nominative meaning.
15. Lexical stylistic devices based on the intensification of a feature.
16. Stylistic use of set expressions.
17. Syntactical stylistic devices based on peculiar arrangement of the members of the
sentence.
18. Syntactical stylistic devices based on peculiar linkage.
19. Syntactical stylistic devices based on stylistic use of structural meaning.
20. Syntactical stylistic devices based on peculiar use of colloquial constructions.
21. The notion of functional style. Different approaches to its definition and
classification.
22. The belles-lettres style.
23. The publicistic style.
24. The style of news items.
25. The scientific prose style.
26. The style of official documents.
27. Text stylistics. Correlation of notions text, functional style and discourse. Types of
context.
28. Structural text categories.
29. Basic text segments.
30. Semantico-pragmatic text categories.
1) Stylistics and its objectives. Subdivisions of stylistics
Stylistics - a special branch of Linguistics, which studies the behavior of each language unit in
functioning, its aptitude to convey various kinds of information.
Stylistics + rhetoric, psycholinguistics, the study of literature, phonetics, grammar, lexicology, history of lg…
Objectives: /ˈretərɪk/ /saɪˈkɒlədʒɪstɪks\
 the relation of form (expression) and matter (content): Language is a means of realizing the thought.
One idea may be worded very elaborately (you’re the pupil of my eye) or in a very simple way (I love
you). + Variability of expression. The stylist should be able to account for the differences of
expression, explore their correlation to the idea they represent & determine the effects of the form
chosen.
 Stylistic information: to explore stylistic information imparted by various language units with the
help of specially designated tools – expressive means & stylistic devices. info of 2 types: Primary/
basic information and Secondary information (associated with the conditions & the participants of
communication – the Speaker’s relation to his/ her interlocutor (собеседник) & his/her message) The
difference b/ primary & secondary information becomes particularly apparent at the lexical level, as words
may have apart from their conceptual (basic, referential, denotational) meaning various additional
(stylistic) meanings (connotations – Any subjectively marked information about the conditions &
peculiarities of communication) (girl, maiden, lass, lassie, chick, baby, young lady)
 Stylistic function: the study of language means by which these main & additional functions are
realized, thus securing the efficiency of communication as such.
The main functions of the lg: the referential (=communicative-intellectual)-conveying the information,
the emotive (that of conveying emotions or expressing the speaker’s attitude towards what he’s talking
about), expressive (=aesthetic /iːsˈθetɪk\) (aiming to give the reader/ listener aesthetic pleasure): Her eyes
were brown vs. Her eyes were dark as the deepest ocean, pragmatic (that of causing an effect or
influencing the person): You should give up politics vs. What a beautiful emotion you feel when you get
politics off your mind! Complete bliss!
 Expressive side of the lg: the investigation of the expressive aspect of language phenomena &
discovery of different language tools to achieve this expressiveness. Expressiveness – a kind of
intensification of an utterance (its part(s). Emotiveness –is about revealing the speaker’s emotions &
creating emotional emphasis in an utterance: sit down –sink to your seat —take the seat, please…
Expressiveness is a broader notion: Even though emotiveness is an integral part of expressiveness,
expressiveness can also be achieved with the help of logical emphasis.
Expressive means of the language - are registered in it (facts of lg) & are described in manuals on
phonetics, grammar, morphology and lexicology (at all language levels).
A stylistic device – a conscious/intentional unconventional use of some of the facts of the language for
further intensification of the emotional or logical emphasis in an utterance (a fact of speech). + stylistic
devices represent a greater amount of information as they show the attitude and emotional state of the
speaker in a very vivid original manner, drawing the reader’s attention more efficiently.
 Functional styles
 Individual styles
Subdivisions:
Literary stylistics: 1)The writer’s outlook 2) Different trends in literature 3) Different genres in
literature 4) The composition of a certain book, etc.
Linguo-stylistics:
1) Expressive stylistics (EM-s & SDs at different lg levels, their classification & functions)
2) Functional stylistics - investigates functional styles, that is special sublanguages or varieties of the national
language such as scientific, colloquial, business, publicist and so on.
3) Text stylistics aims at investigating the most effective ways and means of producing texts belonging to
different styles, substyles and genres.
4) The oral & written varieties of the lg
5) Non-literary forms of the lg & their relation to literary norms
6) Stylistics of decoding- Uses the notions & the terms of the theory of information: the encoder & the
decoder; Lg is viewed as the code to shape information into message (the text), Studies the problems
connected with adequate decoding (reception) of the message (without any informational losses or
deformations).
2) Functional style, individual style, idiolect
Functional style is a socially accepted system of interrelated (normative) language means,
which serves a definite aim in communication and is used in a definite sphere of
communication thus fulfilling social functions: aesthetico-cognitive, informative,
convincing, progressing of ideas, reaching agreements, regulating, coordinating relations
between people and states, etc.
+ I.R. Galperin’s classification of FS-s (subdivisions of the language):
 scientific prose Style: the function: to work out and ground theoretically objective
knowledge about reality; is employed in professional communication, abundance of
terms denoting objects, phenomena and processes characteristic of some particular field
of science and technique. Scientific style is also known for its precision, clarity and
logical cohesion /kəʊˈhiːʒən\ which is responsible for the repeated use of such clichés
as: “Proceeding from”,” As it was said above...”…
3 subdivisions: a) the style of humanitarian sciences b) the style of "exact" sciences c)
the style of popular scientific prose
 S. of official documents f: to reach an agreement and to state the conditions binding
2 parties in an undertaking, the extensive use of special terminology, clichés,
abbreviations…
4 subdivisions: a) S. of diplomatic documents b) business documents c) legal
documents d) military documents
 publicistic /ˈpʌblɪsɪstɪk/ S. f: to form public opinion, to convince the reader or the
listener; exact and convincing, imperative, impersonal, emotive, expressive in
character
4 subdivisions: a) the oratory and speeches b) the radio and TV commentary c) the
essay d) the journalistic articles
 newspaper S. f: to inform and influence the reader on certain matters; impersonal
character, the use of official, economic terminology, proper names, abbreviations,
the passive voice...
5 subdivisions: a) brief news items b) the editorial c) advertisements and
announcements d) articles purely informative in character + articles of great importance
e) headlines
 belles-letters S. aesthetico-cognitive f.: to give info + pleasure
3 subdivisions: a) the language of poetry (verse) b) emotive prose (fiction) c) drama
Individual style is a specific choice and unique combination of language units & stylistic
means peculiar to a given writer (or a famous speaker).
+ very often concerned with the breach or neglect of the norm: You look unkissable today.
Idiolect /ˈɪdiəlekt/ – unconscious habitual speech patterns of an individual.
! Individual style is conscious.
3) The notion of style. Different points of view on the concept of style.
STYLE originates from the Latin "stylus/stilus".
Style (the Oxford dictionary) – 1) a particular procedure by which something is done; a manner or way
‘different styles of management’: a way of painting, writing, composing, building, etc., characteristic of a
particular period, place, person, or movement (‘the concerto is composed in a neoclassical style’) + one's usual
way of behaving or approaching situations (‘backing out isn't my style’).
2) A distinctive appearance, typically determined by the principles according to which something is
designed (distinctive styles of local pottery): a particular design of clothing (‘his shoes were in a style that he
could wear anywhere’) + a way of arranging the hair.
3) Fashionable elegance and sophistication (he plays with such style).
Style is a system of interrelated language means which serves a definite aim in communication.
Concepts of style:
1. S. as embellishment (приукрашивание) of language
Critique: The choice of particular lg means reflects certain objective factors (achievement of a certain desired
effect), not the author’s subjective desire to make utterances more beautiful.
2. S. as a technique of expression
S. – the ability to write clearly, correctly & in a manner calculated to interest the reader: She has a good
style.
Critique: if this were true, S. could always be taught + the aesthetic side of the utterance is ignored.
3. S. as deviance /ˈdiːviəns/ from the norm (S.R. Levin (1962); Enkvist (1961); Hans Lindquist (2009))
S. can also be associated with the speaker’s ability to break standard rules, thus violating the norm (a
recognized standard).
Cr: Certain deviations from the rigid /ˈrɪdʒɪd/ жёсткие norms can be justifiable, while a complete departure
from them will result in misunderstanding + Our ability to create and to understand ‘abnormal’ sentences is
based on the knowledge of language norms. + Good writers & speakers don’t make a point of breaking the N.
Rather, they treat the N. in a peculiar way.
4. S. as a choice: is concerned with conscious specificity (mode, manner) of expression in speech acts and
in writing. style in language is above all a variety of language means chosen to perform certain functions
=>stylistics should study various possibilities of language behavior & its variability through deliberate choice
of specific lg means.
5. Individual S. is a specific choice and unique combination of language units & stylistic means peculiar
to a given writer (or a famous speaker). + very often concerned with the breach or neglect of the norm: You
look unkissable today. + Idiolect /ˈɪdiəlekt/ – unconscious habitual speech patterns of an
individual. ! Individual style is conscious.
6. S. as a functional unity: Functional style is a socially accepted system of interrelated (normative)
language means, which serves a definite aim in communication and is used in a definite sphere of
communication thus fulfilling social functions: aesthetico-cognitive, informative, convincing, progressing of
ideas, reaching agreements, regulating, coordinating relations between people and states, etc.
+ I.R. Galperin’s classification of FS-s (subdivisions of the language): scientific prose Style, S. of official
documents, publicistic /ˈpʌblɪsɪstɪk/ S., newspaper S., belles-letters S. (см. 2 вопрос)
4) Stylistic function, information, norm
Stylistic function: the study of language means by which these main & additional
functions are realized, thus securing the efficiency of communication as such.
The main functions of the lg:
1.the referential (=communicative-intellectual)-conveying the information
2.the emotive (that of conveying emotions or expressing the speaker’s attitude towards what
he’s talking about)
3.expressive (=aesthetic /iːsˈθetɪk\) (aiming to give the reader/ listener aesthetic pleasure):
Her eyes were brown vs. Her eyes were dark as the deepest ocean
4. pragmatic (that of causing an effect or influencing the person): You should give up politics
vs. What a beautiful emotion you feel when you get politics off your mind! Complete bliss!
Stylistic information: to explore stylistic information imparted by various language units
with the help of specially designated tools – expressive means & stylistic devices.
info of 2 types: Primary/ basic information and Secondary information (associated with the
conditions & the participants of communication – the Speaker’s relation to his/ her interlocutor
(собеседник) & his/her message).
The difference b/ primary & secondary information becomes particularly apparent at the
lexical level, as words may have apart from their conceptual (basic, referential, denotational)
meaning various additional (stylistic) meanings (connotations – Any subjectively marked
information about the conditions & peculiarities of communication) (girl, maiden, lass, lassie,
chick, baby, young lady).
The Norm - a recognized or received standard of language regarded as a pattern to be
followed + the socially accepted invariant of the phonemic, morphological, lexical &
syntactical patterns circulating in speech at a given period of time.
The basic characteristics of the norm:
1. stability of the norm: The norm imposes constraints on freedom of thought, making things
we say automatic & unoriginal -> saving effort & securing mutual understanding in
communication: Everything was quiet in the house.
2. A certain flexibility of the N: The norm is breached -> de-autamatization of lg. The old
form comes to have a new meaning, which was not present there before -> The house refused
to sleep. + A way of enriching the lg & revealing its potentialities.
The mechanics of changes in the N.: regular deviations from the N. gradually establish
themselves as variants of the N.: Migrants have flooded Europe.
5) Phonetic stylistic devices (alliteration, assonance, onomatopoeia, paronomasia)
PHONOSTYLISTICS – studies style -forming phonetic features of the text + describes

the prosodic (=the interaction of speech sounds and intonation, sentence stress, tempo)
features of prose and poetry and variants of pronunciation in different types of speech.
(SOUND SYMBOLISM - the apparent association between particular sound sequences
and particular meaning in speech.
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN A WORD AND ITS MEANING (PLATO’S
CRATYLUS): purely arbitrary + phonemes in a name can themselves convey meaning
SOCRATES: there is sometimes a connection between meaning and sound: Front-vowel
sounds, like the 'i' in mil, evoke smallness and lightness, while back-vowel sounds, as in mal,
evoke heaviness and bigness: dints – dents, a chip - a chop + Stop consonants—which include
'k' and 'b'—seem heavier than fricatives, like 's' and 'z.'
Controversies: If the sound of a word affects its meaning, then you should be able to tell what
a word means just by hearing it; there should be only on language.)
Phonetic expressive means produce an emotional and aesthetic effect and depend on the
choice of words, their arrangement and repetition.
Alliteration - is the repetition of consonants, usually at the beginning of words
or at close distance.
Give me the splendid silent sun with all his beams full dazzling! last but not least, now or
never, bag and baggage, cool as a cucumber…
Alliteration is deeply rooted in English and may be found in poems, songs, newspaper
headings, titles of books, brand names, proverbs, sayings, phraseological expressions.
Assonance /ˈæsənəns/ ассонанс/созвучие - is the repetition of similar vowels,
usually in stressed syllables.
Remember, remember! The fifth of November…
+ Alliteration and assonance may produce the effect of euphony /ˈjuːfeni \
благозвучность (a sense of ease and comfort in pronouncing or hearing) or cacophony /kə
ˈkɒfəni / какофония/неблагозвучность (a sense of strain and discomfort in pronouncing or
hearing). The vowels, semi-vowels (w, s) and the consonants (l, m, n, r, y) are considered to be
euphonious. Cacophony uses plosive consonants e.g., p, b, d, g, k.
+ In idioms; in poetry; in imaginative prose; in advertising, mass media.
Onomatopoeia /ɒnəmætəˈpiːə\ ономатопия/звукоподражание- is the use of
words which sounds imitate those of the signified object or action: hiss, buzz,
giggle, murmur…
The acoustic form of the word foregrounds the sounds of nature, man, inanimate objects.
+ Helps in transmitting not only the logical information, but also in supplying the vivid
portrayal of the situation described (making speech especially expressive).
Paronomasia ['pærənə'meɪzɪə] парономазия/каламбур/игра слов - using
words similar in sound but different in meaning with euphonic effect: And the
raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting
Paronymic attraction => Similarity in sound creates additional semantic ties between 2
contextually bound words => an indication of similarity in meaning.
But still he strummed on, and his mind wandered in and out of poultry and politics.
6) Phonetic stylistic devices (rhyme, rhythm, metre)
PHONOSTYLISTICS – studies style -forming phonetic features of the text + describes the prosodic
(=the interaction of speech sounds and intonation, sentence stress, tempo) features of prose and poetry and
variants of pronunciation in different types of speech.
+ SOUND SYMBOLISM, A WORD AND ITS MEANING (см. 5 вопрос)
Phonetic expressive means produce an emotional and aesthetic effect and depend on the choice of words,
their arrangement and repetition.
Rhyme /raɪm/ рифма - is created by the repetition of the same sounds in the last stressed
syllable of two (or more) lines in a stanza /ˈstænzə/:
 the male rhyme: the stress falls on the last syllable in the rhymed lines: love – above
 the female rhyme: the stress falls on the last but one syllable: weather – together
 eye-rhyme: the elements rhymed are similar only in spelling, but not in pronunciation:
find - wind
=> The most important quality of poetry is regular rhythm.
Rhythm /ˈrɪðəm/ ритм- a procedure which is characterized by regular recurrence of

certain elements/ features (e.g. beat/ stress) in alternation with opposite or different
elements/ features.
R. in lg demands such alternating oppositions as long-short; stressed – unstressed; high – low
and etc.
UNMEASURED RHYTHM: of everyday speech + of prose (based on repetition of images,
themes, parallel structures, the use of homogeneous members of the sentence & other syntactic
structures).
IN PROSE & POETRY RHYTHM – is not an embellishment or sensuous element separate
from the meaning: R. can convey meaning; rhythmical arrangement of any text is
stylistically relevant, it helps to make the author’s ideas & emotions more vivid.
FUNCTIONS OF RHYTHM:
1) expressive (reinforces the effect of other elements);
2) figurative: can express feelings & emotions (anxiety, tension, etc.) + can reflect
movements, atmosphere, behavior, etc.)
In poetic speech R. is produced by regular alternation of stressed and unstressed syllables –

metre /ˈmiːtə\ стихотворный размер (the basic plan of the line => rhythm in poetry is
measured/ structured): Why do you cry, Willie? Why do you cry? Why, Willie, why, Willie,
Why, Willie, Why?
THE METRE is determined by the type of foot and the number of feet in the line.
Rhythm - usage not restricted + a less clearly structured phenomenon
Metre - a means of manifesting rhythm in poetry + an ideal plan of the line
A FOOT (THE MAIN UNIT OF RHYTHM IN POETIC SPEECH) - a division of the poetic line from stress
to stress, which contains one stressed syllable and one or two unstressed syllables.
According to the correlation of stressed and unstressed syllables basic types –
1) trochee /'trəuki/ трохей/хорей (Su – Su: Peter, Peter, pumpkin-eater)
2) iambus /aɪˈæmbəs/ ямб (uS – uS: And then my love and I shall pace)
3) dactyl /ˈdæktɪl/ дактиль (Suu – Suu: Why do you cry, Willie?)
4) amphibrach /'æmfɪbræk/ амфибрахий (uSu – uSu: A diller, a dollar, a ten о 'clock scholar)
5) anapaest /'ænəpest/ анапест (стопа) (uuS – uuS: Said the flee, 'Let us fly', Said the fly, 'Let us flee')
7) Graphical stylistic means
GRAPHICAL STYLISTIC MEANS which contribute to expressiveness:
1) Graphons (phono-graphical level) - deliberate distortion of spelling norms used to

reflect its original pronunciation (additional information about a person – social,
regional characteristics, educational background, age, physical & emotional state, etc.):
 “Sho he ish,” her husband assured her.
 Girl -> gal; that -> dat (interior graphons)
 Lemmit <- let me; o’town <- of town (contact graphons)
+ Where: In regional & social variants of national lgs: Cockney (lady – [laidi]) \African
American English (they -> dey) => Graphons are style forming
2) Typographic techniques - to reflect the emphasis & emotion of live speech:

 Italic /ɪˈtælɪk/
 Bold type
 CAPITALIZATION
 Spacingout
 Mmmmmmultiplication of letters
 H-y-p-h-e-n-a-t-i-o-n /ˈhaɪfəneɪshen/ написание с дефисом
3) Punctuation marks – to attract the attention of the reader & to foreground stylistic
information:
 Exclamation & interrogation marks - to indicate special emotional charge &/or
irony; in rhetorical questions: I can’t believe it!!! Who do you think you are?!
 A dash/ suspension marks - to mark emotional pauses to indicate uncertainty,
embarrassment, nervousness, hesitation: “Well, thanks very much”, he stammered,
“but – I don’t know – you see – You … understand?”
 A full stop/ comma - to indicate detachment, which makes an adverbial modifier or
an attribute more accented: He left the house. It was better outside, in the dark.
 Inverted commas - to show irony or sarcasm: Mr. Dersingham was beginning to
wear a look of great self-importance, called a “big drive”.
8) Morphological stylistic means (verb, adjective, adverb)
Morphological stylistics: is concerned with the stylistic potential of different grammatical
categories + deals with variability of morphological forms & the stylistic potential of different
grammatical categories of parts of speech.
The major principle of the stylistic effect: deviation from the Norm +
Transposition - a phenomenon that destroys customary (normal, regular, standard) valences
and thus creates expressiveness of the utterance + the use of morphological forms in unusual
for them grammatical meanings +transition from one part of speech into another or the
formation of words with the help of suffixes
=> the stylistic effect is achieved when there is a break-up between the traditional usage
and the situational usage (Yu.M. Skrebnev): I’m loving it.
Types of grammatical transposition:
1) form - the transposition of a certain grammar form into a new syntactical distribution
with the resulting effect of contrast
2) functional: both—the lexical and grammatical meanings — are affected (e.g. There were
numerous Aunt Millies)
3) T. of classifying grammatical meanings: bringing together situationally incompatible
forms (e.g. the use of a common noun as a proper one – Mr. Know-all)
VERB
The subjects of transposition that are used as a means of expressiveness are:
 The category of tense: “historical present”- the present tense forms refer to past events-
artistic illusion: I was just to go to bed when all of a sudden there's a knock at the door
and Sam rushes in.
 aspect: the continuous aspect instead of expected common aspect sounds much more
expressive and may render such emotions as irritation, wonder, surprise, bewilderment:
Well, she's never coming here again, I tell you that straight (conviction, determination,
persistence), You’re always complaining of hardships! (surprise, indignation, disapproval)
 voice ...he is a long-time citizen and to be trusted...: the utterance is devoid of the doer of
an action, the action loses direction + extreme generalization and depersonalization+ to
avoid specifying an authority
 person: the personal forms, non-finite forms (the infinitive and participle I) To take steps!
How? Winifred's affair was bad enough! To have a double dose of publicity in the family!
no explicit doer of the action => generalized universal character; the worlds of the
personage and the reader blend into one whole => empathy.
Functional-stylistic potential of verb transposition:
Colloquial character of everyday speech: I, he, we ain't; I says; Plural subject + has/ is
(Times has changed); Well, I'm doing it, aren't I?auxiliary “have” (You done me a hill turn)
An elevated (solemn) atmosphere/ historical colouring: 2nd person sg (-st): dost, knowest;
3d person sg (-th): doth, knoweth; The past: hadst, didst.
The stylistic potential of the verb is high enough + the major mechanism of creating
additional connotations – the form & functional transposition of verb forms (1st & 2nd
types).
ADJECTIVE
 degrees of comparison: violation of the rules of forming degrees leads to more
expressiveness: the most poignant, the most bitter (as the most + with 3 or more
syllables words)
+ the indefinite article before the superlative degree leads to more emotiveness + high
degree of some feature: a most exciting
+ forming the degrees with not qualitative and quantitative adj.: more golden
 transferred epithets (or metaforical) –adj us. applied to human beings are applied to
inanimate objects-negative or ironical connotation: idiotic little moustaches
+the violation may be used as a means of speech characterization of a personage: the
most nice old man, I ever see.
ADVERB
Stylistic functions of the adverb:
1. In attributive function (He is one of the most compellingly watchable comic talents I
have seen for a long time - stylistic intensification)
2. As a chain of semantically heterogeneous adverbs (an absurdly, incomprehensibly
and untypically long lecture - raising the emotive charge)
3. As other parts of speech transposed into an adverb ('Oh, yes', said he matter-of-factly)
- stylistically charged
4. In different functional styles: Now – in scientific prose - a connective element (итак,
далее, в данной работе); in fiction - creates the time-tense narration frame
9) Morphological stylistic means (noun, pronoun, numeral)
Morphological stylistics: is concerned with the stylistic potential of different grammatical
categories + deals with variability of morphological forms & the stylistic potential of different
grammatical categories of parts of speech.
The major principle of the stylistic effect: deviation from the Norm +
Transposition - a phenomenon that destroys customary (normal, regular, standard) valences
and thus creates expressiveness of the utterance + the use of morphological forms in unusual
for them grammatical meanings +transition from one part of speech into another or the
formation of words with the help of suffixes
=> the stylistic effect is achieved when there is a break-up between the traditional usage
and the situational usage (Yu.M. Skrebnev): I’m loving it.
Types of grammatical transposition:
1) form - the transposition of a certain grammar form into a new syntactical distribution
with the resulting effect of contrast
2) functional: both—the lexical and grammatical meanings — are affected (e.g. There were
numerous Aunt Millies)
3) T. of classifying grammatical meanings: bringing together situationally incompatible
forms (e.g. the use of a common noun as a proper one – Mr. Know-all)
NOUN
 the category of number: Additional stylistic connotations arise when abstract nouns &
nouns denoting materials are used in the plural form: These were long silences - more
expressiveness + abstract nouns become more concrete & vivid
+ Proper names employed as plural: Stop mentioning all these Stephens as if they really
mattered!- proper names are thought of as class nouns, emphasize the insignificance of
people mentioned casually + a unique generalizing effect
+ sg N instead of a pl. form - a generalized, elevated effect often bordering on
symbolization: The faint fresh flame of the young year flushes From leaf to flower and
from flower to fruit And fruit and leaf are as gold and fire.
 case: when a noun denoting an inanimate object is used in the genitive case marked by the
‘s ending (instead of an of-phrase): Winter’s grim face. My country’s laws.
+ Group genitive: She is the girl I used to work with’s mother.- an indicator of
personification (the sun’s retreat) + more expressiveness + a humorous effect
 (in)definiteness: proper N: Metonymical usage with the indefinite article of proper
names denoting a work of art (This is a Shagal), a member of a family (She is an
Obama), Metaphorical evaluative usage (You are always complaining of hardships. You
need a Hitler to make you quiet down), to show that a person is well-known (It’s him, it’s
the Michael) => emphasizing the person's good or bad qualities
+ Relevant absence of articles: in enumeration: …And her thoughts went down the lane
toward the field, the hedge, the trees – oak, beech, elm.=> changing the tempo\ conveys
a maximum level of abstraction, generalization
+An additional article in a series of attributive combinations: Under the low sky the grass
shone with a brilliant, an almost artificial sheen. =>emphasis on the following word
 personification/animalification: Personification transposes a common noun into the
class of proper names by attributing to it thoughts or qualities of a human being => the
syntactical, morphological and lexical valency of this noun changes
Zoonimic metaphors (animalification) – transposition of a common noun into the class
of proper names (ass, bitch, bookworm, donkey, pig, shark, etc.) =>emotive connotations
+ negative evaluative connotations + expressiveness + functional-stylistic connotations
(colloquial)
+ Abstract nouns transposed into the class of personal nouns: The chubby little
eccentricity (a child) => The emotive connotations in such cases may range from affection
to irony or distaste
PRONOUN
 the indefinite pronoun one instead of the 1st person sg. pronoun – the utterance sounds
more philosophical, abstract, generalized: One gets nothing in the world without
paying for it.
 instead of one – you\ a man, a baby, a fellow… –generalizing function: Let a woman
into your plans and you never know where it will end. How should a baby know?
 archaic forms you - ye, thou in poetic and religious style – the dialectal character of
speech or the official lg of a lawyer
 it instead of he or she – depersonification- humorous, ironical, affectionate coloring
 demonstrative this and that NOT to single out the object – emotive, expressive
function, disagreement: Do you happen to know that new boy friend of hers?
 demonstrative + possessive in postposition – expressive: He hated that pride of hers.
 epithet + possessive – more expr-ve: their precious democracy
 we instead of I: in scientific prose - to show modesty: Let us assume that...
+in the lg of royal acts + to create an intimate atmosphere (doctor speaks to a patient)+
in the speech of uneducated people
!!! a strong stylistic potential of nouns & pronouns is realized due to the violation of the
normal links with their object of reference!!!
NUMERAL
Numerals, as words to represent the concept of number, are used in stylistic function to achieve
the effect of exaggeration: I told thousands of times!
10) The notion of imagery. Verbal and non-verbal images, their categories and
structure. Tropes and their classification.
Imagery is the basis of any art. Image – a result of a reflection of an object of reality in man’s
consciousness.
Art – a specific form of reflecting objective reality in human mind. This reflection is achieved with the help of
artistic images, which reflect reality as the author perceives it & have a double nature: inform us of a certain
phenomenon + express our attitude towards this phenomenon.
Artistic images are differentiated on the basis of their material of embodiment:
Verbal images take the form of words. Non-verbal: gestures, body language…
The verbal image is a pen-picture of a certain phenomenon expressed in a figurative way by words used
in their contextual meaning.
The verbal image is a complex phenomenon. It is based on two thoughts:
1) the direct thought termed the tenor (T) - is the subject of thought
2) the figurative thought – the vehicle (V) - is the concept of thing, person or an abstract notion with which
the tenor is compared
3) the ground of comparison (G) – the similar feature of T and V
4) the relation (R) between T and V
The old woman (T) is sly (G) like (R) a fox (V).
Types of images:
• general – embracing the whole book: War and Peace
• Individual – dealing with a certain thing, person or idea: thistly wind
Categories of images:
• Visual images are shaped through concrete pictures of objects: e.g. golden clouds
• Aural images may be created by means of onomatopoeia - it makes us hear the actual sounds of things. e.g.
ding-dong, bang
• Relational images show the relations between objects. e.g. Heirs of Glory.
!!!Imagery can be created by lexical SD’s only, others can add some logical, emotive, expressive
information to the utterance!!!
TROPES
Lexical stylistic devices are called tropes. The term trope dates back to Ancient Greek tropos (to turn).
Trope is the figurative use of a word or a phrase that creates imagery.
Tropes are used in verbal art to create general or individual images to attain a higher artistic expressiveness.
Classification by Prof. Galperin based on a purely linguistic principle – the interaction of diff. types of
lexical meanings:
- Logical (primary & secondary);
- Contextual logical (only in a certain context);
- Emotive;
- Nominal (only in proper names)
Group 1 - Interaction of diff types of lexical meaning – metaphor, metonymy, irony, zeugma, pun, epithet,
oxymoron, antonomasia
Group 2 - Intensification of a certain feature: simile, hyperbole, periphrasis
Group 3 – Peculiar use of set expressions: clichés, proverbs, allusions, epigrams, quotations
11) Lexical stylistic devices based on the interplay of dictionary and contextual meaning.
METAPHOR - the interaction of meanings is based on the principle of identification отождествление (T

= V): Life was a hollow shell all round him (life = a shell: 1. the hard protective outer case of a mollusk; 2. an
outer form without substance).
Metaphor /ˈmetəfə - (from Greek metaphora ‘transference’) is a deliberate use of a word (words) in two
meanings - dictionary and contextual. The basis for such use is a vague similarity of notions.
In terms of T and V, Metaphor is an imaginative identification of one concept (T) with another (V) and the
resulting violation of normal correspondence between concepts and words: This journalist is a shark.
Types:
A. According to the degree of unexpectedness:
 dead/ trite/ hackneyed /ˈhæknid/ мёртвая/стёртая/избитая, т.к. утратила свою образность
(these misgivings gradually melted away) – belong to lg-as-a-system, in newspaper articles, in oratorical
style, in scientific lg
 original/ genuine (the land shouted with grass) – belong to lg-in-action, in poetry & emotive prose
B. According to the part of speech:
 Noun metaphors (England has two eyes, Oxford and Cambridge);
 Verb metaphors (The night whispered to him);
 Adjective metaphors (friendly trees, monkeyish nimbleness);
 Adverb metaphors (The home was telling him … sorrowfully, reproachfully that it was there and
wanted him).
C. According to their structure:
 simple (Life is but a dream) – 1 vehicle;
 sustained/ prolonged устойчивая (End-of-the-summer mountains, all hunched up, their heavy
Egyptian limbs folded under folds of tawny moth-eaten plush) – the central image is supplied with a
number of contributory images => a central vehicle + additional vehicles
D. Personification олицетворение – the author attributes the qualities of a living being to an inanimate
thing:
The moon lifted her white brow.
Functions:
A. Contributes to expressiveness:
 Reflects objective reality in an unusual way => expresses the idea more efficiently, makes the manner
of presentation more vivid & original;
 Reveals the author’s emotional evaluation of a certain idea;
B. Influences the recipient through activating his/her imagination & emotions
C. Metaphor is pervasive in everyday life, not just in language but in thought and action.
+ Conceptual metaphors: HAPPY IS UP vs. SAD IS DOWN (She is in high spirits vs. I feel low) +
ARGUMENT IS WAR (He always wins an argument / She attacked my argument)
METONYMY [mɪ'tɒnɪmɪ] –the interaction of meanings is based on the principle of association/ proximety
(T => V): The white coat moved out.
Metonymy – (from Greek metonymia, "a change of name") is a trope in which the name of a thing is
replaced by the name of an associated thing.
Types:
A. According to the degree of originality:
 trite/ dead (the crown, the bench, the grave)
 original/ genuine (reveals an unexpected substitution of one word for another): -Who lives in our
place? - There’s a wooden leg in No 6, a pair of boots in 13, two pairs of shoes in trade number.
B. According to the type of relation between T and V:
 A concrete thing used instead of an abstract notion -> the thing becomes a symbol of the notion;
 The container used instead of the thing contained (The hall applauded);
 The relation of proximity (The table was happy);
 The material instead of the thing made of it (The marble spoke);
 The instrument instead of the action/ the doer himself (The sword is the worst argument that can be
used).
Functions:
A. to characterize (showing smb’s insignificance/an outstanding feature)
B. cf. metaphor
Metaphor Vs Metonymy
1) metonymy needs a broader context to be grasped
2) In a metaphor one image excludes the other, we perceive only one object: The sky lamp of the night vs.
metonymy when two objects are perceived simultaneously
IRONY - the interaction of meanings is based on the principle of opposition (T ≠ V) (the meaning that is born
in context is the opposite to the dictionary meaning of the word) The simultaneous realization of two
meanings takes place: the literal meaning is the opposite of the intended meaning:
It must be delightful to find oneself in a foreign country without a penny in one’s pocket.
Dictionary meaning: very pleasant, attractive or enjoyable.
Intended meaning: awful, scary, depressing.
Dictionary meaning ≠ intended meaning
+Intonation plays an important role in expressing irony!
Functions:
1) Irony is generally used to convey a negative meaning => express a feeling of irritation, displeasure, pity
or regret (vs. humour)
2) a humorous effect.
12) Lexical stylistic devices based on the interplay of logical and emotive meaning.
EPITHET /ˈepəθet/ (From Greek epitithenai "to add on“) is based on the interplay of
emotive & logical meanings in an attributive word (phrase/ sentence) used to characterize
an object with the aim of giving an individual perception & evaluation of these features: the
wild wind; formidable waves; heart-burning smile
Types:
A. Semantically:
 Associated (point to a feature that is expected in the objects they describe – dreary
midnight, fantastic terrors, careful attention, dark forest);
 Unassociated (add an unexpected characteristic – a heart burning smile, voiceless sands);
 Traditional vs. original (a bright face, a sweet smile, a deep feeling vs. sullen earth);
 Fixed (a unit doesn’t lose its poetic power – true love, dark forest, good ship).
B. Structurally:
 Simple (The room was old and tired and uncaring)
 Compound (a mind-blowing experience);
 Phrase & sentence (I hate your do-it-yourself, go-it-alone attitude);
 Reversed (2 nouns, linked by an of-phrase – the shadow of a smile, the devil of a job)
C. From the point of view of distribution:

 String epithets (to give a many-sided description – the wonderful, cruel, enchanting,
bewildering, fatal, great city);
 Transferred epithets (ordinary logical attributes refer to an inanimate object - a sick
chamber, merry hours)
Epithets Vs Logical attributes

 subjective Vs objective (pale cheeks)
 evaluating Vs descriptive (white snow)
 not indicates an inherent feature of an object Vs indicates (a blue sky)
Epithets Vs other SD’s - a direct & straightforward way of showing the author’s attitude
towards the things described.
OXYMORON /ˌɒksiˈmɔːrɒn - a combination of 2 words in which the meanings of the 2
clash, being opposite in sense: a low sky-scraper, sweet sorrow, nice rascal, horribly
beautiful, speaking silence
The combination of incompatible things changes the semantic structure of the qualifying word
=> appearance of a new assessing tendency
Trite oxymora: awfully nice, terribly sorry (primary logical meaning is lost)
Oxymoron vs. irony: He smiled a sweet smile of a crocodile Vs sweet sorrow:

 Types of meanings involved (logical + emotive/ logical contextual)
 The opposites (coexist vs. implied)
 Function (explicit vs. implicit evaluation)
13) Lexical stylistic devices based on the interplay of primary and derivative meaning.
ZEUGMA ['zju:gmə] - (from Greek zeugma -joining; uniting) the use of word in the same
grammatical but different semantic relations (literal & transferred) to 2 adjacent words
in the context:
He took his hat & his leave.
He fished for compliments & trout.
PUN - a humorous use of a word realizing 2 meanings simultaneously (polysemy)/ the use
of 2 words which sound the same/ nearly the same (homophony):
The invention of dynamite sure was ground breaking.
Santa’s helpers are known as subordinate Clauses.
Нервно курит балерина в пачке сигарет.
+ It is also called paronomasia/”word play”
Function of Zeugma & Pun:

 To create a humorous effect
ZEUGMA VS PUN
 Zeugma – a realization of 2 meanings with the help of a verb/adjective.
 Pun – grammatically independent.
14) Lexical stylistic devices based on the interplay of logical and nominative meaning.
ANTONOMASIA ['æntɔnə'meɪжə] - (from Greek antonomasia "to name instead") is a
stylistic device in which the proper name of a person, who is famous for some of his
features, is put for a person having the same feature.
! To make a SD the 2 meanings must be realized simultaneously: Miss Zero

Otherwise – not a SD (Pushkin, a Mercedes, a hooligan)
Types:
1) the proper name used instead of a common noun (He’s the Napoleon of crime)
2) the use of a descriptive word/word-combination instead of a proper name (Mr. Know
all)
3) speaking names (Becky Sharp)
Function
 to characterize diff objects and diff people
15) Lexical stylistic devices based on the intensification of a feature. 17:03
SIMILE /ˈsɪməli/ – (from Latin simile "a comparison, likeness, parallel“) is

characterization of an object (T) by bringing it into contact with another object (V)
belonging to an entirely different class of things/based on likening 2 things that belong to
different classes:
The clerks are like sailors navigating the sea of paper.
Day by day he felt more & more like a bubble filled with darkness.
! A minor feature is intensified & given a greater importance.
Formal means to establish comparison between T and V:
 link words like, as – establishing the analogy categorically: His face remained as
immobile as stone
 link words as though, as if – establishing but a slight similarity: It looks as though he
had been tortured
 lexical means to express resemblance: The water resembled a slab of slate 200 feet in
diameter.
Types:
 trite/hackneyed vs. genuine (sly as a fox, thirsty as a camel)
 simple & sustained: So she relaxed, & seemed to melt, to flow into him, as if she were
some infinitely warm & precious suffusion filling into his veins, like an intoxicant.
SIMILE VS. LOGICAL COMPARISON

 Simile – T & V belong to different classes (The Monster Book of Monsters scuttled
sideways along the bed like some weird crab
 Comparison – both objects belong to the same class (The girl is like her mother) – no
imagery
SIMILE VS. METAPHOR

Simile Metaphor
<…> he felt more & more like a bubble He is a bubble filled with darkness
filled with darkness
similarity between the turner & the vehicle identification of the turner with the vehicle
Keeps objects apart One image excludes the other, we perceive
only one object
Turner, vehicle & ground are usually The ground is usually emplicit
explicit (He is as sly as a fox)
Associations are richer
HYPERBOLE /haɪˈpɜːbəli/ - (from Greek hyperbole "exaggeration, extravagance") - a

deliberate over(under) intended to intensify some idea: Hagrid blew his nose on a
handkerchief the size of a table cloth.
An essential feature is intensified & given a greater importance.
Trite hyperboles: they are used in everyday life without specific artistic effects: I’d give the
world to see him. A thousand pardons.
+ understatement – variant of a H; smallness is exaggerated: A woman of a pocket size.
Hyperbole Vs a Lie: Hyperbole is intended to be understood as an exaggeration.

Function: sharpens the reader’s ability to make a logical assessment of the utterance, etc.
PERIPHRASIS /pəˈrɪfrəsɪs/ - (from Greek periphrasis "speak in a roundabout way") - a

trope, where the universally accepted name of a thing is replaced by a word-combination or a
descriptive name that mentions some insignificant features of this thing & intensifies these
features by giving the thing a corresponding name:
He Who Must Not Be Named
Types:
 genuine/original- decipherable only in context, a very individual idea of the concept (the
new & the old names are perceived simultaneously): My dear Tina, we have paid our
homage to Neptune. He will forgive us if we now turn our backs on him.
 (otherwise – a synonymous expression/ a traditional periphrasis): The fair sex; my better
half; the country of the rising sun; I’m seeing things.
+ 1) logical – based on one of the inherent properties (that proportion of the population which
is yet able to read words of more than one syllable and to read them without perceptible
movement of the lips = half-literate)
2) figurative– is based on either a metaphor or on metonymy (to tie the knot)
3) euphemistic– a mild/ permissible substitution for a harsh/ tabooed word (to die => to be
no more; to join the majority; to depart; to kick the bucket; to give up the ghost)
Functions:
 A cognitive function (deepens our knowledge of the phenomenon described)
 Political euphemisms can distort unpleasant facts (uprising => tensions; starvation =>
undernourishment; poor => developing, etc.).
+ If a euphemism fails to call up the word it stands for, it’s not a euphemism, but a
deliberative veiling of the truth: Syrian rebel fighters/ the oppressive regime of Bashar al-
Assad vs. terrorists/ the legitimate government of Bashar al-Assad
16) Stylistic use of set expressions.
Set expressions- (fixed expressions, idioms) – the word-groups consisting of two or more words,
combination of which is integrated as one unit with specialized non-literal meaning of the whole: a
skeleton in the cupboard, to keep up with the Joneses, Can a leopard change its spots?, as busy as a bee, etc.
CLICHES - an expression that has become hackneyed & lost its originality: Rosy dreams of youth; the
patter of little feet; deceptively simple; keep calm; to be or not to be
! A contrast between the aim (originality) & what is really achieved (irritating to people)
PROVERBS and SAYINGS- brief statements showing the accumulated life experience of the community
& serving as conventional practical symbols for abstract ideas. Usually didactic & image bearing: To cut
one’s coat according to one’s clothes
+ Presuppose a simultaneous application of 2 meanings: the face-value of primary meaning & an extended
meaning drawn from the context.
+ Brevity, rhythm, (rhyme), (alliteration)
EPIGRAMS – terse /tɜːs лаконичный, witty, pointed statements, showing the ingenious turn of mind
of the originator (a literary-bookish air): A God that can be understood is no god. Mighty is he who
conquers himself.
Don’t depend on the context, self-sufficient. Brief=> can function in speech as ready-made units.
+ Brevity, rhythm, (rhyme), (alliteration).
QUOTATIONS - an exact repetition of a phrase or statement from a book, speech & the like used by
way of authority, illustration, proof or as a basis for further speculation on the matter in hand.
! A reference to the author!
Comprises 2 meanings: the primary meaning & the applicative meaning (the one it acquires in the new
context).
ALLUSION - an indirect reference by word or phrase to a historical, literary, mythological, biblical fact
or to a fact of everyday life made in the course of speaking or writing: Pop Lolitas: Britney Spears and her
sisters. (no indication of the source)
An interplay between the primary meaning (which is assumed to be known) & the new meaning.
A. is based on the accumulated experience & the knowledge of the writer who presupposes a similar
experience in the reader + it’s a common device in advertisements and headlines
Decomposition
! The meaning of set phrases is understood only from the combination as a whole (as dead as a door-nail).
Decomposition revives the independent meanings which make up the component parts of the fusion =>
each word acquires its literal meaning => a humorous effect: It was raining cats and dogs, and two kittens
and a puppy landed on my window-sill.
Or: deliberate comic, sarcastic, or other effect.
Ways of stylistic decomposition:

 prolongation (She was born with a silver spoon in her mouth, which was rather large)
 substitution of an element (Divorces are made in heaven; Too many cooks spoil the figure)
 interaction (When you buy something for a song you may face the music later on)
17) Syntactical stylistic devices based on peculiar arrangement of the members of the
sentence.
Syntactical stylistics - the expressive potential of the word order, types of sentences & connectives.
The main groups of SD-s by Prof. Galperin:
 the peculiar syntactical arrangement of the members of the sentence (9)

 peculiar linkage
 Peculiar use of colloquial constructions
 Stylistic use of structural meaning
STYLISTIC INVERSION - the predominance of S – P – O word order in English => Any changes in the
structure are made conspicuous.
The most conspicuous places in the sentence – the first & the last => a clash when semantically
insignificant elements are placed in structurally important positions: Yatseniuk is out. In comes V.
Groisman.
Function: attaches logical stress/ additional emotional colouring to the utterance.
Patterns of SI:
A) The Object at the beginning (Talent Mr. Micawber has; capital Mr. Micawber has not)
B) The predicative before the Subject (A good generous prayer it was)
C) The Adverbial modifier at the beginning (In silence, Sienna & Langdon hurried downstairs towards the
basement)
D) The Adverbial modifier & the Predicate before the subject (Down dropped the breeze)
E) Postposition of the Attribute (They sounded also like strange machines, heavy, oiled)
DETACHED CONSTRUCTIONS - one of the secondary members of the sentence is placed so that it
seems formally independent of the word it logically refers to: The ponding on the little grey door returned.
Firm & relentless.
A clash: structurally – like a primary member; semantically- secondary
Functions:
1) to give more significance to the secondary member (=> specific intonation);
2) to force the reader to interpret the logical connections between the components of the sentence
3) to make the written variety of language akin /əˈkɪn/ родственный/близкий to the spoken one
+ Parenthesis- (a type of detached constructions) – a qualifying/ explanatory phrase which interrupts a
syntactic construction without otherwise affecting it: Langdon & Sienna sprang into motion again –
although probably delaying the inevitable – shuffling backward on all fours into the second cavern.
Usually indicated in writing by commas, brackets or dashes.
Functions: embodies a considerable amount of predicativeness
PARALLEL CONSTRUCTIONS - constructions, identical or similar in structure, closely following
each other:
I have shown you this image of impending misery (S-P-O - Oof).
I have reminded you of the awesome power of the population growth (S – P – (Attr) – Opr - Oof).
I have enlightened you about the fact that we are on the brink of a spiritual collapse (S – P - Opr).
=> Incomplete parallelism (partial repetition of some parts of successive sentences/ clauses)
Complete parallelism (balance) – maintains the principle of identical structures throughout the
corresponding sentences: He knew his mission. And he knew his stakes (S – P -Od)
Parallel constructions are often backed up by: Repetition; Polysyndeton; Alliteration; Antithesis; Rhetorical
questions; Enumeration; Climax.
Functions:
 consolidate the effect achieved by the other SD-s;
 carry the idea of semantic equality of the parts (e.g. in scientific prose);
 carry an emotive function (in the belles-lettres style);
 emphasize the diversity & contrast of ideas
 generate rhythm (e.g. in poetical structures & public speeches)
CHIASMUS [kaɪ'æzməs] хиазм/обратный параллелизм- reversed parallelism: If success is slow &
rare, everybody knows how quick & easy ruin is (S – Cop – P-ve vs. P-ve – S - Cop)
Functions:
 lays stress on the second part of the utterance
 breaks the monotony of parallel constructions
 contributes to the rhythmical quality of the utterance
ANTITHESIS /ænˈtɪθɪsɪs/ (stylistic opposition) - a SD, based on parallel constructions, which aims to
characterize things/ phenomena by finding points of sharp contrast between them: Last night she had
been worried about protecting her job. Now she was worried about protecting her life.
+ 2 main aspects: structural and semantic (relative opposition, which arises out of the context => additional
nuances of meaning)
Functions: Comparative, Rhythm-forming, Copulative - соединительный союз, Disserving –
неприятность/вред
REPETITION - a SD which aims at logical emphasis through deliberate repetition of certain words in
an utterance (an emphasis necessary to fix the reader’s attention on the key word).
Compositional types of R:
 Anaphora (The repeated word or phrase comes at the beginning of two or more consecutive sentences)
[R..., R...]
 Epiphora (The repeated unit is placed at the end of successive clauses) [... R, …R]
 Framing (The initial part is repeated at the end) [R..., …R]
 Anadiplosis (The last word or phrase of one part of an utterance is repeated at the beginning of the next
part) […R, R…]
 Chain Repetition (It is the succession of several anadiplosis) […R, R…] + […R, R…]
Functions:
 the rhythmical function
 the logical f. (intensifies the utterance)
 the background f.
 makes the utterance more compact & complete (e.g. frame R.)
 stresses monotony of action (What has my life been? Turn the wheel, turn the wheel)
ENUMERATION - a SD, by which separate things, objects, properties, actions are named one by one so
that they produce a chain, the links of which, being syntactically in the same position are forced to
display semantic homogeneity (remote though it may seem): The principal production of these towns appear
to be soldiers, sailors, Jews, chalk, shrimps, officers & dock-yard men. A clash!
Functions:
 Gives one an insight into the great variety of miscellaneous objects which are grouped together to meet
some peculiar purpose of the writer
 Arrests the reader’s attention
CLIMAX /ˈklaɪmæks/ (gradation) - an arrangement of sentences (the homogeneous parts of the

sentence) which secures a gradual increase in significance, importance, or emotional tension in the
utterance: It was a lovely city, a beautiful city, a fair city, a veritable gem of a city.
Types:
 Logical – an increase of relative importance from the point of view of concepts embodied (Who would
risk the throne, the world the universe?)
 Emotional – an increase in emotional evaluation (Your son is very, seriously, desperately ill)
 Quantitative – an increase in the volume of corresponding concepts (Little by little, bit by bit, & day by
day, & year by year, the baron got the worst of some disputed question)
Functions:
 to show the relative importance of things as seen by the author
 to impress upon the reader the significance of the things described
 to depict phenomena dynamically
SUSPENSE - a compositional device which helps to arrange the matter of communication in such a way
that the less important, descriptive, subordinate parts are amassed at the beginning, the main idea being
withheld till the end of the sentence.
Functions:
 to prepare the reader for the only logical conclusion of the utterance (a psychological effect, arouses the
feeling of expectation), to attract & keep up the Reader’s interest => in public speeches (!)
=> should be framed in 1 (usually very long) sentence (not to break the intonation pattern)
18) Syntactical stylistic devices based on peculiar linkage.

ASYNDETON [æ'sɪndɪtən] бессоюзие - connection between parts of a sentence/ between
sentences without any formal signs, a deliberate omission of the connective where it is
generally expected according to the norms of literary language: There was no rest for her
(the ship) and no rest for us. She tossed, pitched, stood on her head, sat on her tail, rolled,
groaned. (The absence of the conjunction "and" before the last homogeneous part in the
enumeration conveys the idea that the enumeration is not complete)
Functions:
 helps in speeding up the rhythm of words
 helps in attracting the readers to collaborate with the writers, since it suggests that
sentences are incomplete and the readers would have to do some work to deduce
meanings.
POLYSYNDETON ['pɔlɪ'sɪndɪtən] многосоюзие - an intentional repetition of

connectives/ prepositions before each component of the sentence: And wherever you go or
turn on streets, or subways, or buses, or airports...
Functions:
 a rhythmical function
 expressing sequence (and -> then);
 emphasizing the simultaneousness of actions described & to stress the close connection
between them
 a disintegrating function (causes each member of a string of words to stand out
conspicuously)
GAP-SENTENCE LINK - a way of connecting two sentences seemingly unconnected &
leaving it to the reader to grasp the idea implied:
She and that fellow ought to be the sufferers, and they were in Italy.
An unexpected coupling of ideas => the need to “bridge the semantic gap”
No immediate semantic connections => formal indications of connection (and/ but/ or)
Functions:
 indicates a subjective evaluation of the facts
 introduces an effect resulting from a cause which has already had verbal expression (It
was an afternoon to dream. And she took out Jon’s letters)
 aims at stirring up in the reader’s mind the suppositions, associations & conditions
under which the sentence can really exist
 signals the introduction of inner represented speech
19) Syntactical stylistic devices based on stylistic use of structural meaning.

RHETORICAL QUESTIONS /rɪˈtɒrɪkəl – an emphatic statement made in the form of a
question => there is an interaction of 2 structural meanings realized simultaneously – that of
a question & that of a statement:
Wouldn’t we all do better not trying to understand?
Functions:
 Make the pronouncement still more categorical;
 Render various shades of emotive meanings (doubt, assertion, scorn, irony, etc.)
LITOTES ['laitə(u)ti:z] - a SD, which involves a deliberate understatement & is based on

a peculiar use of negative constructions (presupposes 2 negations):
a negative particle +
 a N, Adj with negative connotations (it’s not a bad thing; He is no coward) or
 a negative construction (not without dignity) or
 an Adv, Adj preceded by “too/rather” (not too pleased)
=> formally – a negation
semantically – an affirmation
Functions:
 may manifest some restraint, a desire to avoid a too categorical tone
 additional connotations => has a stronger impact on the reader than affirmative
constructions
What was Peter’s reaction to your victory?
He said that he is not unpleased with you.
20) Syntactical stylistic devices based on peculiar use of colloquial constructions.

ELLIPSIS /ɪˈlɪpsɪs/ - a deliberate omission of one/ more members of the sentence in
written speech: There’s somebody wants to speak to you.
Functions:
 Adds emotional colouring
 Changes the tempo of speech, condenses the structure of the utterance
 In personages’ speech – creates the effect of naturalness
 A characterizing function
APOSIOPESIS (break-in-the-narrative) ['æpəzaɪə'pi:sɪs] апозиопезис/умолчание -
leaving the utterance unfinished: You just come home or I’ll…
+ A strong degree of predictability
+ Intonation
Functions:
 Conveys a strong upsurge of emotions
 Serves as a euphemistic device
QUESTION-IN-THE-NARRATIVE /ˈnærətɪv/ - the SD, which consists in asking and

answering of a question by one person (us. the author) => the question begins to acquire
functions not directly arising from its linguistic & psychological nature:
 Shows the author’s emotional state;
 Arrests the reader’s attention;
 Gives the impression of an intimate
talk between the writer & the reader
When will you be satisfied? We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the
unspeakable horrors of police brutality <…>
REPRESENTED SPEECH - peculiar blend of direct & indirect speech/ a combination of
the speech of the character & the author’s speech
+ representation of the actual words of the speaker through the mouth of the writer,
which retains the peculiarities of the speaker’s mode of expression:
And the first thing she saw outside the house was her father’s car. He! What had he come for?
Why did people pester her?
RS may be marked by certain grammatical features:
 the tense forms of the V are switched from the present to the past
 personal pronouns are changed from the 1st and 2nd person to the 3rd
 but the syntactical structure of the utterance doesn’t change
Types of RS:
1. uttered- like authors narration lacks inverted commas, 3d person instead of the 1st, past
tense instead of the present
2. unuttered/inner monologue - expresses characters’ feelings & thoughts =>
fragmentary & emotional, resembles indirect speech in shifting tenses and the
pronouns but also retains features of direct speech such as: exclamatory words &
phrases, elliptical constructions, breaks, colloquial collocations, emotionally coloured
words, interjections, etc.
21) The notion of functional style. Different approaches to its definition and
classification.
FUNCTIONAL STYLISTICS - the use of lg in real communication (which depends not only on lg system
AS SUCH, but mostly on extralinguistic factors)
+ Sublanguages – subsystems of lg suited for communication purposes in a given sphere (Yu.M. Skrebnev)
+ in Western linguistics Register - a variety of lg, which is distinguished according to its use (sports
commentary, school lesson, family situations…)
FUNCTIONAL STYLE – a socially accepted variety of speech whose specific character is a result of
deliberate (?) choice & arrangement of lg units that are predetermined by a set of extralinguistic factors
(V.V. Vinogradov) => subject to change
 - a socially accepted variety of speech whose specific character is a result of deliberate (?) choice
& arrangement of lg units that are predetermined by a set of extralinguistic factors (V.V.
Vinogradov) => subject to change
a variety of lg, which is distinguished accordin
+ a system of interrelated language means, which serves a definite aim in communication (Galperin)
Factors that predetermine the choice of a peculiar set of lg media for expressing a similar context:
 The type of social consciousness (science, philosophy, art, morality, religion, politics, law, economy)
 The sphere of communication
 Typical content
 Aims of communication
Stylistic variations are observable on different lg levels: morphological, lexical, syntactical =>
A FS – a system of interrelated lg means (a subsystem of the lg)
The theory of style-forming linguistic features (by prof. Screbnev):

Any FS makes use of 3 kinds of lg units:
 Absolutely specific (belonging only to the given style, e.g. terms in the scientific style) – style markers,
relatively few
 Relatively specific (belonging to 1/ more FSs, e.g. passive constructions in the scientific & business
styles)
 Non-specific (common to all styles & prevent them from falling into separate lg-s) – the overwhelming
majority of lg means.
! Their frequency & peculiarity of organization give each FS its specific character.
“The FS” has been under investigation since the 1920s (by the Prague Linguistic Circle, Vinogradov,
Arnold, Kozhina, Razinkina, Screbnev)
CLASSIFICATIONS:
By prof. GALPERIN:
 Scientific Prose Style
 The Style of Official documents: business documents; legal documents; the language of diplomacy;
military documents.
 Newspaper Style: brief news items; headlines; advertisements and announcements; the editorial.
 Publicist Style: oratory and speeches; the essay; articles.
 The Belles-Lettres Style: poetry; emotive prose; the language of the drama.
By prof. NAYER (3 types of communication):
 Proffessional and business communication: scientific, official documents, proffesional-technical
 mass c-on: newspapers, publicistic, religious
 aesthetic c.: belles-lettres
D. CRYSTAL’s lg variaties:
 Regional styles: reflect the geographical origin of the language used by the speaker (Canadian English,
Cockney, etc.)
 Social styles: testify to the speaker's family, education, social status background, upper class and non-
upper class, a political activist, a member of the proletariat…
 Occupational styles: religious English; scientific English; legal English; plain (official) English;
political English; news media English
 Restricted styles: congratulatory messages; newspaper announcements; newspaper headlines; scores
 Individual styles: involve types of speech that arise from the speaker's personal differences meaning
such features as physique, interests, personality, experience…
By KUZNETS:
 Literary or Bookish S: scientific (technological), publicist S, official documents
 Free ("Colloquial") S: literary colloquial s; familiar colloquial s
 the belles-lettres S
By ARNOLD:
 Bookish S: scientific; publicistic (newspaper); official documents; oratorical; lofty-poetical
 Colloquial S: literary colloquial; familiar colloquial; low colloquial
 Neutral S
 the belles-lettres
By MALTSEV:
 Formal: written, spoken
 Informal: spoken (colloquial), written
+ Is it possible to single out functional styles within the oral variety of lg?
 YES (I.V. Arnold, Yu.M. Skrebnev, V.A. Maltsev) => the colloquial style
 NO (I.R. Galperin) - FSs can be singled out only within the written variety
(style is the result of creative activity of the writer who consciously and deliberately selects corresponding
language means)
The existence of the belles-lettres style?
 YES (I.R. Galperin, V.A. Kukharenko): Regardless of its versatility the style fulfills the aesthetic
function => its systematic uniqueness
 NO (Yu.M. Skrebnev): Individual texts are very unique & original => it’s difficult to find smth in
common so as to unite them in a single FS
+ Creative writing includes many elements of other styles, which blurs the boundaries of the style
The existence of the religious style?
 Yes (by Nayer): Is well explored on the basis of a number of lg-s (e.g. Polish) + The religious style
relies on all the extralinguistic factors that are necessary for a FS to emerge
 No: FS-s should be singled out on the basis of 1 lg only, while the lg of religion is rooted in the
Church Slavonic lg + Up to a very recent past religious communication was separated from the state &
hence, couldn’t be considered as part of the literary Russian lg
!!! Any classification is conventional

+ The boundaries between FSs often become blurred (e.g. the newspaper FS & the publicistic FS).
But the extremes are always apparent!!!
Expressiveness as a basis for singling out FSs (сверху вниз):

 The style of official documents
 The style of scientific prose
 The news media
 The publicistic style
 The belles-lettres style
22) The belles-lettres style.
+a system of interrelated language means, which serves a definite aim in communication
 Typical content
THE BELLES-LETTRES STYLE

Function: aesthetico-cognitive (causing a feeling of pleasure & securing the gradual
unfolding of the idea)
Substyles:
 POETRY (VERSE) - Orderly form (rhythmic & phonetic arrangement); Rhyme &
rhythm – external differentiating features => semantics & syntax (brevity of
expression <- elliptical & fragmentary sentences, detached constructions, inversion,
asyndeton, etc.), Fresh, unexpected imagery (a compressed form), The emotional
element, Literary vocabulary
 EMOTIVE PROSE (FICTION) - The imagery of emotive prose is not as rich as it is
in poetry; Words with contextual meaning; Elements from the other FSs; The
breaking up of traditional literary patterns (GSL, Represented speech); Two forms
of communication - monologue and dialogue - are presented; Spoken + written lg
varieties; The combination of the literary variant of the language with the colloquial
variant + !Stylization!
 DRAMA: Entirely dialogue + the playwright’s remarks; Stylization of the spoken lg
variety(!): long utterances, a series of monologues within the framework of a dialogue;
no signals of the interlocutor’s attention; several questions can be asked one after
another; the sequence of sentences will not allow any digressions => sequence signals
(pronouns, adverbs, conjunctions) <= purposeful lg; Specific choice of words
Common linguistic features:
• genuine imagery, achieved by purely linguistic devices
• words in contextual and very often in more than one dictionary meaning;
• a vocabulary which reflects the author's personal evaluation of things or phenomena
• a peculiar individual selection of vocabulary and syntax used to convey the author's
personal ideas
23) The publicistic style.

 Typical content
THE PUBLICISTIC STYLE

Function: persuading, influencing the reader/ listener & shaping his/ her views in
accordance with the argumentation of the author => forming public opinion
Basic extralinguistic style forming factors:
 Ideological social consciousness
 The aim of forming public opinion (through informing & persuading)
 Typical content – unlimited (politics, philosophy, economy, culture, sports, current
events, etc. – from an ideological point of view)
Stylistic features:
 Standardization/expressiveness
 Social evaluation
 Subjectivity (author as a private person & social being)
 Dialogical character
Spoken varieties:
 ORATORY:
Types of public speeches: political (parliamentary debates, election campaigns), religious/
sermons (sacred); judicial (legal)
Grades of oratory: 1st (pleasing the audience – panegyrics, inaugural speech, etc.); 2nd
(pleasing + informing, instructing & persuading); 3d (great influence on the soul + persuading)
Methods of convincing the audience:
- Logical argumentation ~ the scientific prose style; (substantial arguments, clear methods,
integrity): SSD-s (repetitions; parallelism; antithesis, suspense, climax, rhetorical questions,
questions-in-the narrative); Syntactical structures (logical & coherent); An expanded
system of connectives; Careful paragraphing
- Emotional appeal ~ the style of emotive prose; Emotionally colored words (I am happy to
join you…; a joyous daybreak; a shameful condition); LSD-s (trite –a great beacon light of
hope; withering injustice); SSD-s (repetitions…)
+ Audience contact: we instead of I; memory (repetitions); interest (emotional appeal,
suspense, question-in-the-narrative, rhetorical questions); phonetic means (rhyme, alliteration,
rhythm, assonance)
+ Element of the spoken lg => Contractions (I’ll); Direct address to the audience; 2nd
person pronoun “you”; SSD; Colloquial words (5 score years ago) => More intimate &
conversational
 RADIO/TV COMMENTARY
Written varieties:
 INFORMATIVE GENRES
 ANALYTICAL ARTICLES
Function: inform, interpret, convince
- disclose by commentary or opinion the nature of certain issues (the factual
information is subject to research & analysis)
1. Editorials (leading articles) – expository articles that give the opinion of the editor/
editorial board about the current news
2. Op-eds – opinion articles written by any contributor (guest writer)
 CREATIVE-PUBLICISTIC (FEATURES, ESSAYS, REVIEWS)
Essay - a literary composition on any subject from politics, philosophy, aesthetics to
travelling, fashion, etc. that deals with a problem from an individual point of view &
never goes deep into the subject, merely touching upon the surface (a series of
personal & witty comments, not a conclusive examination of the matter).
 personality in the treatment of theme
 naturalness of expression
 (often) entertaining
oratory:
 Brevity of expression
 1st person sg.
 Emotive words
 LSD-s & SSD-s (more original)
 Epigrams, paradoxes, allusions, aphorisms, decomposition of set expressions, etc.
 connectives
24) The style of news items.
 Typical content
THE NEWSPAPER STYLE

Function: to inform and influence the reader on certain matters
Feature: expressiveness + standardization
Subdivisions: a) brief news items b) the editorial c) advertisements and announcements d)
articles purely informative in character + articles of great importance e) headlines
BRIEF NEWS ITEMS- impersonal and objective, present the info compressed into
limited space, should be clear, interesting and devoid of ambiguity
Function: to inform the reader, it states only facts without giving comments
 special political and economic terms;
 non-term political vocabulary
 newspaper clichés
 proper names
 abbreviations of various kinds
 neologisms
 passive voice
HEADLINES
Function: to inform the reader briefly оf what the news that follows is about + contain
clear and intriguing message, to produce “eye-catching” effect
 the use of graphical means (bold type, italics, diff kinds of type, subheadlines…)
 Headlines contain emotionally colored words and phrases
 A deliberate breaking-up of set expressions is also common
 The use of alliteration and pun
 The use of noun strings
 Noun phrases without verbs (nominal phrases)
 exclamatory/interrogative sentences
 The use of simple verb forms, the continuous and the perfect aspect are generally
avoided
 The use of infinitive verb forms
 The omission of articles and auxiliary verbs (in passive forms)
ADVERTISEMENTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

Function: to inform the reader
The vocabulary of classified ads and announcements is on the whole neutral, and is composed
of a number of stereotyped patterns.
EDITORIALS – are of analytical and generalizing character + impersonal; are an

intermediate phenomenon between the newspaper style and the publicistic style
Function: to influence the reader by giving interpretation of certain facts or commentaries on
political and social events and happenings of the day
Purpose: to give the editor's opinion on the news published and to prove to the reader that it
is the only correct one
Alongside emotionally neutral words there are colloquial words and expressions, slang,
professionalisms.
SD’S:
 phonology –alliteration, rhythm
 graphical means
 paragraphing
 lexicology – careful choice of words (as there is always need of compression info into a
limited space, the need for clarity, the avoidance of ambiguity)
25) The scientific prose style.

The Scientific FS
Function – to prove a hypothesis, to create new concepts, to disclose the internal laws of
existence
Basic extralinguistic style-forming factors:
 Scientific social consciousness
 Professional scientific sphere of communication
 The aim of imparting & proving new knowledge
Stylistic features:
 Generalization & abstractness:
-Lexis: Nouns in abstract meaning (+ terms - words, which have only referential meaning &
are used to express specialized concepts in the given branch of science – alkali, carbon,
hydrogen); Nouns rendering general concepts (observation, experiment); Universal
adverbs & pronouns (as a rule, usually, typically, always, each, every, all – e.g.);
Decemanticized verbs with general meaning (exist; have)
-Morphology: Verbs as ‘copulas’ (be; serve; undergo; subject to; execute – e.g. the notion of
grammaticalness is not absolute but relative); Verbs in timeless Present (Some verbs
always incorporate, some usually do, some often do, some rarely do, and some never do);
Restricted use of finite verb forms; Extensive use of participial, gerundial and infinitive
complexes; Prevalence of nominal constructions over the verbal ones (to avoid time
reference – e.g. the insertion of the conjunction ‘and’ adds another possible reading)
-Syntax: Impersonal sentences; Passive voice (It is suggested in the paper …); Nominalized
constructions
 Logical cohesion /kəʊˈhiːʒən целостность: Complete (non-elliptical) sentences;
Extended complex and compound sentences without omission of conjunctions;
Subordination prevails over coordination; A developed system of inter-sentence
links/ connectives (consequently, on the contrary, likewise, insofar, so, according to);
Parentheses; Word order (direct; theme precedes the rheme); Repetitions; Text
composition (chapters; paragraphs; specific compositional pattern: introduction- main
body-conclusion); Phases of the author’s cognitive activity (a problem- a hypothesis-
research- proofs- conclusions)
 Exactness and Lucidity /luːˈsɪdəti/ ясность: Terms; Words used in their primary
logical meaning (ascribe, distinction, etc.); Limited use of synonyms; Exact
definitions of new concepts; Monosemanticity of words & utterances; Parentheses for
specifications ()/ - -; Abundance of footnotes & references; Attributive phrases with a
number of nouns used as attributes to the following head-noun (the time and space
relativity theory); Prevalence of formulae, figures, tables, diagrams supplied with
concise commentary phrases
 Objectivity and Impersonality: exactness; Very few emotionally colored words &
tropes; Restricted use of interjections, expressive phraseology, phrasal verbs,
colloquial vocabulary; Prevalence of rational evaluation over emotive evaluation;
Avoidance of subjectively coloured statements; Measured evaluations (non-
categorical statements); Impersonal sentences (mention should be made, it can be
inferred, assuming that); Passive voice (Methane is produced by leaks from gas
pipelines); Frequent use of non-finite verb forms (The measures suggested are worth
considering); The use of the 1st person pronoun “we” instead of “I”
 Stereotypical nature
But: the author’s presence is implicit/ indirect:
 evaluative words (rational evaluation)– essential, significant;
 expression of possibility – apparently, clearly, perhaps;
 intensity of qualities & actions described – considerably, overwhelmingly, largely
 SDs: LSD’s – Metaphor (a driving force), Simile (Synthetic pathogens drift across the
planet like pollen), Metonymy (trite – the paper presents…), Epithet (traditional – an
elegant symmetry) and SSD’s – Inversion, Detachment (In this article, we develop…),
Parallelism, Antithesis, Repetition, Parenthesis, Question-in-the-Narrative
Functions of SD’s:
 reveal the author’s emotional state
 to express the idea more efficiently
 to make the arguments sound more convincing
 to make the manner of presentation more vivid and original
Substyles/subdivisions:
 scientific proper (exact sciences, natural sciences, humanities) + (basic extralinguistic
factors)
 scientific-technical
 scientific-academic (basic + other extralinguistic factors)
 scientific popular writing (basic + other extralinguistic factors – the function of
popularization; different spheres)
Genres (by Troyanskaya) + communicative-pragmatic features:
 A journal article; monograph; dissertation; presentation, report; scientific-technical
account - Conveying & grounding new scientific knowledge
 Abstract; annotation - Conveying new scientific knowledge in a condensed form with
a view of familiarizing the reader with the original work
 Encyclopedia; reference book - Conveying condensed scientific knowledge pertaining
to a multitude of science-related topics
 Review; debate; expert resolution- Critical evaluation of smb’s scientific contribution
 Textbook; lecture course - Educational
26) The style of official documents.

Function: to reach an agreement & to state conditions binding 2 parties in an
undertaking (the parties – the state & the state; the state & the citizen; the citizen & the
citizen; a person in authority & a subordinate).
Basic extralinguistic style forming factors:

 The legal social consciousness
 Sphere of communication – law
 The aim of regulating relations in society
 Typical content – norms, regulating relations in society
Stylistic features:
 Imperative character:
- Infinitive, present forms with the meaning of order; Modal words (must, liable,
entitled, accountable)
- Infinitive constructions with the meaning of order (It is necessary to…)
- Words conveying the will of an authority (allow, forbid, necessary)
 Exactness: Terms (diplomatic: to accredit, dispatch, ambassador; legal: duly, deemed,
insurance; business: aviso, contractor, transit; military: machine-gun, order, attack);
Limited usage of synonyms; Repetitions; Constructions with compound prepositions;
Chains of the genitive case; Extended compound sentences with the subordinate
clause of condition; Abundance of syndetic sentences; Short sentences in business &
military docs; Participial constructions; Homogeneous members
 Lucidity/ clarity /luːˈsɪdəti/ ясность
 Objectivity: Few 1st p. pronouns; Abundance of 3-d person forms with impersonal
meaning; Collective nouns; Passive voice
 Brevity: Abbreviations (The UNO, EE – Envoy Extraordinary, AG – Attorney General,
LTD, cml – commercial; Bde – brigade, Inf. Div. – Infantry Division)
 Stereotypical, highly standardized nature: Archaic words (diplomatic & legal docs:
hereto, henceforth, whereon, in witness whereof, per capita, modus operandi); Non-
assimilated borrowings (bona fide, persona non grata, memorandum, attace); Clichés
and set-expressions (Diplomatic: the high contracting parties, to ratify an agreement;
Legal: a body of judges, summary procedure; Business: extra revenue, taxable capacities;
Military: intelligence report, operation map); Standard composition
Substyles+ Genres (- historically formed stable varieties of a FS which are singled out due
to a specific functional-stylistic character & stereotypical composition & content):
 Diplomatic documents (treaties, agreements, conventions, declarations, protocols, notes)

Style markers characteristics
Compositio The preamble + the substantive clauses + the final clauses + standardization
n formal acknowledgement of signatures + the signatures
Vocabulary Special terms (to accredit, order of precedence, negotiator, elimination of ambiguity
etc.)
Borrowings (bona fide)
Archaic words (hereto, thereon, whereof) conservative character
Syntax Simple, extended & complex sentences; preference for the transparency of meaning
separation of the S-t & the P-te; homogeneous members
 Legal d. (court sentence, indictment, claims, appeals; regulations, laws, executive orders,
decrees; statutes, acts, constitutions, etc.)
Style markers Characteristics
Composition a solid block of script with no spacing & the least communicative (composed for
punctuation reading)
Vocabulary archaic words, borrowings conservatism
Syntax long sentences elimination of ambiguity & prevention
of forgery
Graphical means capitalization
 Business d. (charters; orders; business letters, autobiographies, CVs, memoranda, letters
of explanation, etc.)
compositio the beginning + the body + the ending standardization

n
vocabulary ready-made forms & standard formulas stereotyped character; economy of linguistic
(Dear Sir; Yours faithfully; We means – conciseness; lucidity;
acknowledge the receipt of your …; we precision; exactness; elimination of
offer our sincere apologies for…) ambiguity
syntax short direct sentences
 Military d. (military plans, estimates, summaries, surveys, situation maps, etc.)

compositio peculiar to each type

n
vocabulary terms, elimination of
abbreviations, symbols, special military phraseology (to lift fire); ambiguity;
personal & geographical names brevity; precision
morpholog Rare use of possessive case; omission of articles; imperative &
y indicative moods; Present Simple & Past Simple
syntax simple short sentences; no exclamatory & negative sentences
27) Text stylistics. Correlation of notions text, functional style and discourse. Types of
context.
T.S.– the most effective ways & means of producing texts belonging to different styles,
substyles & genres; a profound analysis of the content.
Genuine texts vary in communicative aims, their topics, length, structure and composition.
That’s why it is difficult to give the concept of "text" a generalizing and precise definition.
TEXT (by Galperin) – a product of speech, represented in written form, that follows some
literary norms;
T. is characterized by completeness, wholeness and coherence and consists of specific text
units (supraphrasal units) under one title (or headline) joined by various logical, lexical,
grammatical and stylistic relations;
T. has a definite communicative aim
FUNCTIONAL STYLE is a socially accepted system of interrelated (normative) language
means, which serves a definite aim in communication and is used in a definite sphere of
communication thus fulfilling social functions: aesthetico-cognitive, informative,
convincing, progressing of ideas, reaching agreements, regulating, coordinating relations
between people and states, etc.
TEXT & DISCOURSE
1. text = discourse (processes)
2. text ≠ discourse: text – an abstract unit of lg, a result of speech activity (textual units
& ways of their arrangement); discourse – a concrete unit of speech, generated &
perceived in its oral or written form, a process of generating/ perceiving the text (the
author, the recipient & communicative situation)
3. text < discourse: discourse – a set of texts on a common topic determined by various
extra-linguistic factors (social; ideological; cultural; pragmatic - the aim, the author,
the recipient)
Discourse = text +context
In its most general sense "context" is a set of circumstances or facts that surround a particular
event, situation, etc.
Types of context:
 INTRALINGUISTIC - the parts of something written or spoken that immediately
precede and follow a word or passage and clarify its meaning: we are faced with a host
of difficulties (linguistic cx); Stylistic/ poetic cx (explains how new meanings &
connotations appear)
 EXTRALINGUISTIC - the circumstances that form the setting for an event,
statement, or idea, and in terms of which it can be fully understood and assessed:
communicative situation (addresser, addressee, the setting); cultural and social
circumstances
28) Structural text categories.
A category - a highly abstract scientific concept which reflects the most essential
properties of certain objective phenomena.
Linguistic categories:
 Semantic – the most fundamental semantic invariants – condition, cause, quality,
quantity, etc., – which are realized in speech by concrete variants
 Grammatical - a class of grammatical forms which are used to denote a common
grammatical concept – tense, aspect, voice, gender, etc.
 Textual (I.R. Galperin) – the most distinctive abstract features of the text as a separate
lg unit that find their own specific forms of realization
Textual categories:
 Structural: cohesion, divisibility
 Content (semantics + pragmatics): coherence (integrity), completeness,
informativity, prospection and retrospection, modality, expressiveness
(emotiveness+accentuation), intertextuality, etc.
COHESION /kəʊˈhiːʒən связность речи- the action or fact of forming a united whole.
C. is realized by the means of formal links – connectors (and, but, yet, however, therefore,
moreover, as a result, for example, on the other hand, first, second, finally), transitions,
pronouns (this, that, these, those, his, her, its), repetitions, sustained metaphors & similes,
parallelism, developed antithesis)
Cohesive devices (by Haliday):
 Reference – pointing to an item within the text (nouns, determiners, personal and
demonstrative pronouns or adverbs):
ANAPHORA (referring to preceding text - Three blind mice see how they run)
CATAPHORA (referring to following text - I would never have believed it. They've
accepted the proposal)
 Ellipsis - omission of something referred to earlier (Have some more; Have you been
swimming? Yes, I have)
 Substitution – substitution of one word for another, more general one ("Which ice-cream
would you like?" - "I would like the pink one")
 Lexical cohesion - establishes semantic connectedness (through lexical devices, such as
repetition, equivalence - synonymy, hyponymy, hyperonymy, paraphrase, collocation);
 Conjunction - relating sentences and paragraphs to each other by using words from the
class of conjunctions (He was climbing for the whole day…
ADDITIVE: …and in all this time he met no one.
ADVERSATIVE: …yet he was hardly aware of being tired.
CAUSAL: …so by night time the valley was far bellow him
TEMPORAL: …then as dusk fell, he sat down to rest).
DIVISIBILITY [dɪ'vɪzɪ'bɪlɪtɪ] - the text can be divided into parts, chapters and
paragraphs dealing with specific topics, therefore having some formal and semantic
independence.
29) Basic text segments.
A SUPRA-PHRASAL UNIT – a passage of the text larger than a sentence, which
comprises a number of sentences, structurally & semantically interconnected which
express only one definite thought & can be extracted from the context without losing a
relative semantic independence of its own.
+ The practical problem is that supra-phrasal units are not clearly perceived in most types of
texts. Moreover, they often coincide with paragraphs also competing for the role of basic
textual segment.
A PARAGRAPH – a graphically independent textual unit that is treated as a unit of
thought (from the author’s point of view)
2 parts: the thesis in the topic/ key sentence + the supporting details expanding the main
idea
Structural patterns (the topic sentence may be located in diff parts of the paragraph):
 Deductive: at the top of the P.
 Inductive: at the bottom
 Deductive-inductive: 2 sentences: at the top and at the bottom
+ Paragraphing can be of different character in different functional styles. It is strictly
logical in the language of science, highly traditional in legal documents, to a great extent
psychological in the language of the press, and mainly aesthetic in poetry and emotive prose.
A P. is the basic textual segment => it is possible to describe the scheme of a text in terms of
discourse types:
 Paragraph-narration => the text is a narrative
 Paragraph-description => a description
 Paragraph-reasoning (= comment) – subdivided into analyses and argumentation =>
a piece of expository writing
+ mixed discourse types
30) Semantico-pragmatic text categories.

A category - a highly abstract scientific concept which reflects the most essential properties of certain
objective phenomena.
Linguistic categories:
 Semantic – the most fundamental semantic invariants – condition, cause, quality, quantity, etc., –
which are realized in speech by concrete variants
 Grammatical - a class of grammatical forms which are used to denote a common grammatical
concept – tense, aspect, voice, gender, etc.
 Textual (I.R. Galperin) – the most distinctive abstract features of the text as a separate lg unit that find
their own specific forms of realization
Textual categories:
 Structural: cohesion, divisibility
 Content (semantics + pragmatics): coherence (integrity), completeness, informativity, prospection
and retrospection, modality, expressiveness (emotiveness+accentuation), intertextuality, etc.
COHERENCE (INTEGRITY) – (internal) interconnectedness; smth that makes a text
semantically meaningful; a continuity of senses which holds a text together
The major relations of coherence:
 logical sequences: cause-consequence (so); condition-consequence (if); contrast
(however); compatibility (and), etc.
 the topic development (George entered the room. He saw Mary cleaning the table.
John fell and broke his neck. (?) John broke his neck and fell)
- psychological nature – the addressee!
-may or may not be indicated by formal markers of cohesion (formal & semantic means)
COMPLETENESS – the text must be a complete whole; the result of the integrity of its
constituent units of the text.
It is up to the author to decide where "to put a full stop". Doing so, he demonstrates that the
message has been conveyed.
INFORMATIVITY
Types of textual info (by Galperin):
o Factual information is associated with data about people, things, and events
existing in real or fictitious worlds. It is explicit ((is rendered by lexical units in their
direct dictionary meanings) + logical and objective by character.
 Conceptual information reflects the author's individual understanding of the
relationships among the people, things, and events described. It is derived from the text by
the reader and it can be subjective + various interpretations
 Subtextual information - a result of interaction of different types o lexical &
structural meanings; implicit information – omitted, vague and uncertain encoded info,
which only a skillful and well-educated reader can properly understand
+ The objective aesthetic information is part of general semantic information of a text. The
subjective aesthetic information is embodied in connotative and emotive stylistic means of
this text which contribute to its implicit content.
PROSPECTION & RETROSPECTION
Prospection (flash-forward) – anticipation of future events (As we are going to see…; as
we are going to show below…);
Retrospection (flash-back) – return to events in the past (As we’ve seen…);
- break the space-time continuum of the text
A category Definition Forms of realization
MODALITY the manifestation of the - modal & evaluative words
author’s attitude to the things  the category of mood
described  tropes
 exclamatory
sentences, disjunctive
questions & rhetorical
questions
EXPRESSIVENESS intensification of the imagery, transposition,
utterance dialectal words &
borrowings, etc.
EMOTIVENESS reveals the emotions of the emotive words & stylistic
author means
ACCENTUATION special emphasis on the most  explicit connectives,
important elements of parenthetic words,
conceptual information question-answer
patterns;
 intensifiers, stylistic
SDs, etc.
INTERTEXTUALIT a dialogue going on between allusions, reminiscences,
Y the author, the reader & other citations, etc.
writers

Stilistika

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Stilistika

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

1. Stylistic and its objectives.

PHONOSTYLISTICS – studies style -forming phonetic features of the text + describes

Rhythm /ˈrɪðəm/ ритм- a procedure which is characterized by regular recurrence of

In poetic speech R. is produced by regular alternation of stressed and unstressed syllables –

1) Graphons (phono-graphical level) - deliberate distortion of spelling norms used to

2) Typographic techniques - to reflect the emphasis & emotion of live speech:

METAPHOR - the interaction of meanings is based on the principle of identification отождествление (T

+Intonation plays an important role in expressing irony!

C. From the point of view of distribution:

Epithets Vs Logical attributes

Oxymoron vs. irony: He smiled a sweet smile of a crocodile Vs sweet sorrow:

+ It is also called paronomasia/”word play”

Function of Zeugma & Pun:

! To make a SD the 2 meanings must be realized simultaneously: Miss Zero

SIMILE /ˈsɪməli/ – (from Latin simile "a comparison, likeness, parallel“) is

SIMILE VS. LOGICAL COMPARISON

SIMILE VS. METAPHOR

HYPERBOLE /haɪˈpɜːbəli/ - (from Greek hyperbole "exaggeration, extravagance") - a

Hyperbole Vs a Lie: Hyperbole is intended to be understood as an exaggeration.

PERIPHRASIS /pəˈrɪfrəsɪs/ - (from Greek periphrasis "speak in a roundabout way") - a

Ways of stylistic decomposition:

 the peculiar syntactical arrangement of the members of the sentence (9)

CLIMAX /ˈklaɪmæks/ (gradation) - an arrangement of sentences (the homogeneous parts of the

18) Syntactical stylistic devices based on peculiar linkage.

POLYSYNDETON ['pɔlɪ'sɪndɪtən] многосоюзие - an intentional repetition of

19) Syntactical stylistic devices based on stylistic use of structural meaning.

LITOTES ['laitə(u)ti:z] - a SD, which involves a deliberate understatement & is based on

20) Syntactical stylistic devices based on peculiar use of colloquial constructions.

QUESTION-IN-THE-NARRATIVE /ˈnærətɪv/ - the SD, which consists in asking and

The theory of style-forming linguistic features (by prof. Screbnev):

!!! Any classification is conventional

Expressiveness as a basis for singling out FSs (сверху вниз):

THE BELLES-LETTRES STYLE

23) The publicistic style.

THE PUBLICISTIC STYLE

THE NEWSPAPER STYLE

ADVERTISEMENTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

EDITORIALS – are of analytical and generalizing character + impersonal; are an

25) The scientific prose style.

26) The style of official documents.

Basic extralinguistic style forming factors:

 Diplomatic documents (treaties, agreements, conventions, declarations, protocols, notes)

compositio the beginning + the body + the ending standardization

syntax short direct sentences

 Military d. (military plans, estimates, summaries, surveys, situation maps, etc.)

compositio peculiar to each type

30) Semantico-pragmatic text categories.

You might also like