THE NATURE AND GOAL OF STYLISTIC

WHAT IS STYLISTICS?

*Stylistic, is a branch of applied linguistics.

*It is also the study and interpretation of the text of all types and/or spoken language in regard to their
linguistic and tonal style, where style is the particular variety of language used by different individuals
and/or in different situations or settings.

*Stylistics is the science that explores how readers interact with the language of the main text in order to
explain how we understand and are affected by text when we read them.
Since it emerges as a significant academic field within the scope of linguistics in the 1960s, stylistic has
continued to attract intellectual attention of varying degrees. Several meanings and theories of stylistic
exist in linguistic scholarship (Crystal and Davy, 1969, Fowler, 1975 and Wales, 2001, etc.).

*While some see stylistic as a branch of linguistics deals with the study of varieties of language. Its
properties, principles behind the choice, dialogue, accent, length, and register (Bradford,1979
Downes,1998.

*Others insist that it attempts to establish principles capable of explaining the particular (style) choices
used by individuals and social groups in their use of language. (Turner,1973, Birch,1995 and
Fowler,1998, etc.)

Main terms

 Style a selection of non-distinctive features of the language.

 Norm an assemble of stable means objectively existing in the language and systematically used,
 Individual Style a unique combination of language units peculiar to given writer which makes his
works easily recognizable,
 Function role of the object in certain systems.
 STYLISTIC is a branch of linguistic investigating principles and the results of selection and use of
lexical, grammatical, phonetic, and other language use for the transfer of thoughts and emotions
under different circumstances of communication.

NATURE OF STYLISTIC
The nature of stylistics is that it always focuses on the language used in a particular text, literary or non-
literary text.
• Stylistics is a borderline discipline between language and literature.
• It uses insight from numerous disciplines such as literature, psychology, sociology, philosophy, and so
on.
☆Stylistics is a distinctive term that can be used to determine the connection between the form in a
particular variety of a language. Therefore, Stylistics looks at what is going on within the language, what
the linguistic association is, and what this tells about the language. While there is a style of focus it is
multi-discipline in nature.

Stylistics looks at style in such;

DIMENSIONS:
•Style as Choice
• Style as Deviation
• Style as Situation
• Style as Temporal Phenomenon
• Style as the Individual
1. Style as Choice
• This considers style as the characteristic choices that a writer or speaker makes in a text at the various
levels of language description.
☆When we say Style as a choice, it is one of the most important tools of stylistics. It is always the writer’s
choice, it depends on how the author or writer uses ideas that are available in their mind. It also depends
on how the writer expresses thoughts in a given text depending on the situation or genre that will use.

2. Style as Deviation
•What is deviant? i.e what does not conform to the standard is said to be stylistically significant. This can
also be at any level of language description.
☆ It can be the language creative there using language that they can use to give the readers unexpected
surprises that show expression towards their literary works. They created a new word that did not exist
previously, sometimes they use figurative language in their literary works.

Example:
And from the first declension of flesh
I learn't man’s tongue, to twist the shape of thoughts
Into the stony Idiom of the brain
To shade and knit the anew the patch of the words
Left by the dead who is moonless acre,
Need no word with.

3. Style as Situation
•The situation is the context in which a text comes to life. This could be physical, socio-cultural, pragmatic,
etc.
☆Language is used according to situation or circumstance. The author should have to choose the
language that is related to the situation that they are writing. The context determined language choice that
they are speaking or writing and also the certain words that are appropriate to form a certain occasion will
some should consider as vulgar
Example:
Journalese, Legalese, Literature, Babytalk, The language of sport Commentaries, The language of
criminals-argot, The language of the classroom, and Courtroom.

4. Style as Temporal Phenomenon

•This deals with the time of relevance of style that is whether it is still in vogue or not
(ancient or modern)
☆Time, factor, and place are important roles when the writer wants to write a text. They should consider
the time factor.
Example
Old English vs. Modern English
Shakespeare wrote the play and used the language that was relevant to his period.

5. Style as the Individual

•This focuses on the specific features that are associated with particular individuals i.e writers or
speakers, idiolects.
☆It implies the uniqueness of the writer’s individual manner of using language, means to achieve the
effects of desire. So, in short, it is our individualism.
*Each one of us has a unique talent on how we are going to write specific poems and stories.
Example:
Edgar Allan Poe – Poe’s genre is investigative and mysterious.

Goals of Stylistic
Stylistics is adaptive in nature and as a veritable linguistic analytical approach, it deals with a whole range
of human discourse in such as Medical, religious, political, legal, social interpersonal, group,
communication, and so on. The practice of stylistics has targeted in achieving the following goals:

1. To establish discourse peculiarities: (Upang magtatag ng mga kakaibang diskurso)

*Stylistics studied the peculiarities that characterize the discourse (diskurso) of a writer, speaker, period,
people, or genre.
*Stylistics could bring out certain features of works that are different from others.
*It could help us identify the style and its differences from another style.

2. To induce Appreciation of discourses: (Upang mahikayat ang Pagpapahalaga sa mga diskurso)

*Stylistics can help us appreciate a discourse and increase our enjoyment of it.
*It opens our minds to the form and function of a particular discourse.
*Stylistics is sensitive to different linguistics manipulations and choices in a given text.
*It unfolds the beauty in authorial and characters linguistics choices and opens the reader or listener’s
mind to the aesthetic appeals of such choices.

3. To ascertain linguistics habits: (Upang matiyak ang mga gawi sa linggwistika)

*An author’s style is the product of a particular linguistics habit, conditioned by some social, cultural, and
ideological environments.
*The objective of stylistics is to help determine the linguistics background and orientation of a given writer
or speaker.

According to Chatman (1971), every analysis of style can be seen as an attempt to discover the artistic
principles that underpin the choice a writer has made. As a useful tool in the interpretation of a text.
*It leads us to arrive at an objective conclusion, rather than a subjective one.

According to Crystal and Davy (1969-10)

The aim of stylistic is;
*To analyze language habits with the main purpose of identifying, from the general mass of linguistics
features common to English as used on every conceivable occasion, those features which are restricted
to certain features to certain kinds of social context;
*To explain, where possible, why such features have been used, as opposed to other alternatives; and
to classify these features into categories based upon a view of their function in the social context.
*To make critical judgments: the application of stylistics on a discourse may help statisticians to make an
evaluative of critical judgment.

References:
 https://www.slideshare.net.>intro-to-stylistic.com
 https://youtu.be/wn5-vfdoqsa
 https://easierwithpractice.com/what-are-the-goals-of-stylistics/
 https://ww.thougtco.com.stylisticinliterature.com