1.

The object of Stylistics and its key definitions: language, speech, text,
sublanguage, register, style.
Stylistics is the study and interpretation of texts from a linguistic perspective. As a
discipline it links literary criticism and linguistics, but has no autonomous domain
of its own. The preferred object of stylistic studies is literature, but not exclusively
"high literature" but also other forms of written texts such as text from the domains
of advertising, pop culture, politics or religion.
Stylistics also attempts to establish principles capable of explaining the particular
choices made by individuals and social groups in their use of language, such as
socialisation, the production and reception of meaning, critical discourse analysis
and literary criticism.
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and
using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a
system of complex communication. The word "language" has at least two basic
meanings: language as a general concept, and "a language" (a specific linguistic
system, e.g. "French"). In French, the language used by Ferdinand de Saussure
who first explicitly formulated the distinction, uses the word langage for language
as a concept and langue as the specific instance of language.[2]
Speech is the vocalized form of human communication. It is based upon the
syntactic combination of lexicals and names that are drawn from very large
(usually to about 10,000 different words) vocabularies. Each spoken word is
created out of the phonetic combination of a limited set of vowel and consonant
speech sound units.
A text, within literary theory, is a coherent set of symbols that transmits some kind
of informative message.[citation needed] This set of symbols is considered in
terms of the informative message's content, rather than in terms of its physical
form or the medium in which it is represented. In the most basic terms established
by structuralist criticism, therefore, a "text" is any object that can be "read,"
whether this object is a work of literature, a street sign, an arrangement of
buildings on a city block, or styles of clothing.
Sublanguage is a subvariety of language used in a particular field or by a
particular social group and characterized especially by distinctive vocabulary.
A register is a variety of a language used for a particular purpose or in a particular
social setting. For example, when speaking in a formal setting an English speaker
may be more likely to adhere more closely to prescribed grammar, pronounce
words ending in -ing with a velar nasal instead of an alveolar nasal (e.g. "walking",
not "walkin'"), choose more formal words (e.g. father vs. dad, child vs. kid, etc.),
and refrain from using the word ain't than when speaking in an informal setting.
Style is a set of linguistic variants to which specific social meanings are attributed.
In this context, social meanings can include group membership, personal attributes,
beliefs, etc. Linguistic variation is at the heart of the concept of linguistic style —
without the existence of variation there would be no basis for distinguishing social
meanings. Variation can occur syntactically, lexically, and phonologically.

2. Stylistic colouring and stylistic neutrality. Neutrality and norm.

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 Stylistics and other linguistic disciplines. Branches of Stylistics.
Paradigmatic and syntagmatic stylistics - stylistics of units and stylistics
of sequences.
Speaking of the notion of style and stylistic colouring we cannot avoid the problem
of the norm and neutrality and stylistic colouring in contrast to it. Most scholars
abroad and in this country giving definitions of style come to the conclusion that
style may be defined as deviation from the lingual norm. It means that what is
stylistically conspicuous, stylistically relevant or stylistically coloured is a
departure from the norm of a given national language. There are authors who
object to the use of the word «norm» for various reasons. Thus Y. M. Skrebnev
argues that since we acknowledge the existence of a variety of sublanguages within
a national language we should also acknowledge that each of them has a norm of
its own. Skrebnev claims there are as many norms as there are sublanguages. Each
language is subject to its own norm. To reject this would mean admitting
abnormality of everything that is not neutral. Only ABC-books and texts for
foreigners would be considered «normal». Everything that has style, everything
that demonstrates peculiarities of whatever kind would be considered abnormal.
Thus we observe an opposition of stylistically coloured specific elements to
stylistically neutral non-specific elements. The stylistic colouring is nothing but the
knowledge where, in what particular type of communication, the unit in question is
current. Stylistically coloured words are limited to specific conditions of
communication. If you isolate a stylistically coloured word it will still preserve its
label or «trade-mark» and have the flavour of poetic or artistic colouring. You're
sure to recognise words like decease, attire, decline (a proposal) as bookish and
distinguish die, clothes, refuse as neutral while such units as snuff it, rags (togs),
turn down will immediately strike you as colloquial or informal.
Branches of stylistics: - Lexical stylistics – studies functions of direct and
figurative meanings, also the way contextual meaning of a word is realized in the
text. LS deals with various types of connotations – expressive, evaluative, emotive;
neologisms, dialectal words and their behavior in the text. - Grammatical stylistics
– is subdivided into morphological and syntactical. MS views stylistic potential of
grammatical categories of different parts of speech. SS studies syntactic,
expressive means, word order and word combinations, different types of sentences
and types of syntactic connections. Also deals with origin of the text, its division
on the paragraphs, dialogs, direct and indirect speech, the connection of the
sentences, types of sentences. Phonostylistics – phonetical organization of prose
and poetic texts. Here are included rhythm, rhythmical structure, rhyme,
alliteration, assonance and correlation of the sound form and meaning. Also studies
deviation in normative pronunciation. Functional S (s. of decoding) – deals with
all subdivisions of the language and its possible use (newspaper, colloquial style). -
stylistics of encoding - The shape of the information (message) is coded and the
addressee plays the part of decoder of the information contained in message.

3. The notions of expressive means and stylistic devices (Galperin), tropes

and figures of speech (Skrebnev).
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Stylistics studies the special media of language which are called stylistic devices
and expressive means. Expressive means and stylistic devices form three large
groups of phonetic, lexical, syntactical means and devices. Each group is further
subdivided according to the principle, purpose and function of a mean or a device
in an utterance. Expressive means of a language are those phonetic, lexical,
morphological and syntactic units and forms which make speech emphatic.
Expressive means introduce connotational (stylistic, non-denotative) meanings into
utterances. Phonetic expressive means include pitch, melody, stresses, pauses,
whispering, singing, and other ways of using human voice. Morphological
expressive means are emotionally coloured suffixes of diminutive nature: -y (-ie), -
let (sonny auntie, girlies). To lexical expressive means belong words, possessing
connotations, such as epithets, poetic and archaic words, slangy words, vulgarisms,
and interjections. A chain of expressive synonymic words always contains at least
one neutral synonym. A chain of expressive synonyms used in a single utterance
creates the effect of climax (gradation). To syntactic expressive means belong
emphatic syntactic constructions. Such constructions stand in opposition to their
neutral equivalents. Stylistic devices (tropes, figures of speech) unlike expressive
means are not language phenomena. They are formed in speech and most of them
do not exist out of context. According to principles of their formation, stylistic
devices are grouped into phonetic, lexico-semantic and syntactic types. Basically,
all stylistic devices are the result of revaluation of neutral words, word-
combinations and syntactic structures. Revaluation makes language units obtain
connotations and stylistic value. A stylistic device is the subject matter of stylistic
semasiology.
A literary trope is the usage of figurative language in literature, or a figure of
speech in which words are used in a sense different from their literal meaning. The
term trope derives from the Greek τρόπος (tropos), "turn, direction, way", related
to the root of the verb τρέπειν (trepein), "to turn, to direct, to alter, to change".
A figure of speech is the use of a word or words diverging from its usual meaning.
It can also be a special repetition, arrangement or omission of words with literal
meaning, or a phrase with a specialized meaning not based on the literal meaning
of the words in it, as in idiom, metaphor, simile, hyperbole, or personification.
Figures of speech often provide emphasis, freshness of expression, or clarity.
However, clarity may also suffer from their use, as any figure of speech introduces
an ambiguity between literal and figurative interpretation. A figure of speech is
sometimes called a rhetorical figure or a locution.

4. Definition of style. Classifications of styles.

Style is a set of linguistic variants to which specific social meanings are attributed.
In this context, social meanings can include group membership, personal attributes,
beliefs, etc. Linguistic variation is at the heart of the concept of linguistic style —
without the existence of variation there would be no basis for distinguishing social
meanings. Variation can occur syntactically, lexically, and phonologically.

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In accordance with the division of language into literary and colloquial, we may
represent the whole of the word stock of the English language as being divided into
3 main layers: the literary layer, the neutral layer and the colloquial layer.
The literary layer of words consists of groups accepted as legitimate members of
the English vocabulary. They have no local or dialect character. The literary
vocabulary consists of the following groups of words: 1. common literary; 2. terms
and learned words; 3. poetic words; 4. archaic words; 5. barbarisms and foreign
words; 6. literary coinages including nonce-words.
The aspect of the neutral layer is its universal character. That means it is
unrestricted in its use. It can be employed in all styles and in all spheres of human
activity. It is this that makes the layer the most stable of all.
The colloquial layer of words as qualified in most English or American
dictionaries is not infrequently limited to a definite language community or
confined to a special locality where it circulates. The colloquial vocabulary falls
into the following groups: 1. common colloquial words; 2. slang; 3. jargonisms; 4.
professional words; 5. dialect words; 6. vulgar words; 7. colloquial coinages.
The common literary, neutral and common colloquial words are grouped under the
term standard English vocabulary. Other groups in the literary layer are regarded as
special literary vocabulary and those in the colloquial layer are regarded as special
colloquial (non-literary) vocabulary.

5. Belles-lettres style (I.R. Galperin). Language of poetry.

The belles-lettres style is a generic term for 3 substyles:
1. the language of poetry or simply verse;
2. emotive prose, or the language of fiction;
3. the language of the drama.
The purpose of the belles-lettres style is to suggest a possible interpretation of the
phenomena of life by forcing the reader to see the viewpoint of the writer. This is
the cognitive function of the belles-lettres style. An aesthetico-cognitive effect is a
system of language means which secure the effect sought.
The belles-lettres style rests on certain indispensable linguistic features which are:
1. genuine, not trite, imagery, achieved by purely linguistic devices.
2. the use of words in contextual and very often in more than one dictionary
meaning, or at least greatly influenced by the lexical environment.
3. a vocabulary which will reflect to a greater or lesser degree the author’s personal
evaluation of things or phenomena.
4. a peculiar individual selection of vocabulary and syntax, a kind of lexical and
syntactical idiosyncrasy.
5. the introduction of the typical features of colloquial language to a full degree(in
plays) or a lesser one(in emotive prose) or a slight degree, if any(in poems).
The belles-lettres style is individual in essence. This is one of its most distinctive
properties.
a) Language of poetry
The first substyle is verse. Its first differentiating property is its orderly form,
which is based mainly on the rhythmic and phonetic arrangement of the utterances.
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The rhythmic aspect calls forth syntactical and semantic peculiarities which also
fall into a more or less strict orderly arrangement. Both the syntactical and
semantic aspects of the poetic substyle may be defined as compact, for they are
held in check by rhythmic patterns. Syntactically this brevity is shown in elliptical
and fragmentary sentences, in detached constructions, in inversion, asyndeton and
other syntactical peculiarities.
Rhythm and rhyme are immediately distinguishable properties of the poetic
substyle provided they are wrought into compositional patterns. The various
compositional forms of rhyme and rhythm are generally studied under the terms
versification or prosody.
The poetical language remains and will always remain a specific mode of
communication differing from prose. The poetic words and phrases, peculiar
syntactical arrangement, orderly phonetic and rhythmical patterns have long been
the signals of poetic language. But the most important of all is the power of the
words used in poetry to express more than they usually signify in ordinary
language.

6. Emotive prose (historic outline)

The substyle of emotive prose has the same common features as has for the belles-
lettres style in general; but all these features are correlated differently in emotive
prose. The imagery is not so rich as it is in poetry; the percentage of words with
contextual meanings is not so high as in poetry; the idiosyncrasy of the author is
not so clearly discernible. It is a combination of the literary variant of the language,
both in words and syntax, with the colloquial variant. It is more exact to define it
as a combination of the spoken an written varieties of the language, inasmuch as
there are always 2 forms of communication present – monologue (the writer’s
speech) and dialogue (the speech of the characters).
The language of the writer conforms or is expected to conform to the literary
norms of the given period in the development of the English literary language.
Emotive prose allows the use of elements from other styles as well. Thus we find
elements of the newspaper style, the official style, the style of scientific prose.
Present-day emotive prose is to a large extent characterized by the breaking-up of
traditional syntactical designs of the preceding periods.

7. Language of the drama

The first thing to be said about the parameters of this variety of belles-lettres is that
the language of plays is entirely dialogue. The author’s speech is almost entirely
excluded, except for the playwright’s remarks and stage directions.
The degree to which the norms of ordinary colloquial language are converted into
those of the language of plays, that is, the degree to which the spoken language is
made literary varies at different periods in the development of drama and depends
also on the idiosyncrasies of the playwright himself.

5
 Any presentation of a play is an aesthetic procedure and the language of plays is
of the type which is meant to be reproduced. Therefore even the language of a play
approximates that of a real dialogue, it will none the less be stylized.

8. Publicistic style: oratory and speeches, essays, journalistic articles

Publicistic style has spoken varieties, in particular, the oratorical substyle. The new
spoken varieties are the radio commentary, the essay and articles.
The general aim of publicistic style is to exert a constant and deep influence on
public opinion, to convince the reader or the listener that the interpretation given
by the writer or the speaker is the only correct one and to cause him to accept the
point of view expressed in the speech, essays or article. Due to its characteristic
combination of logical argumentation and emotional appeal, publicistic style has
features in common with the style of scientific prose, on the one hand, and that of
emotive prose, on the other. Its emotional appeal is generally achieved by the use
of words with emotive meaning; but the stylistic devices are not fresh or genuine.
Publicistic style is also characterized by brevity of expression.
1. Oratory and speeches
Oratorical style is the oral subdivision of the publicistic style.
Direct contact with the listeners permits the combination of the syntactical, lexical
and phonetic peculiarities of both the written and spoken varieties of language.
Certain typical features of the spoken variety of speech present in this style are:
direct address to the audience (ladies and gentlemen, honorable member(s), the use
of the 2nd person pronoun you, etc.), sometimes constractions (I’ll, won’t, haven’t,
isn’t and others) and the use of colloquial words.
The stylistic devices employed in oratorical style are determined by the conditions
of communication. Repetition can be regarded as the most typical stylistic device
of English oratorical style. Almost any piece of oratory will have parallel
constructions, antithesis, suspense, climax, rhetorical questions and questions-in-
the-narrative.
2. The essay
The essay is a literary composition of moderate length on philosophical, social,
aesthetic or literary subjects. It never goes deep into the subject, but merely
touches upon the surface. Personality in the treatment of theme and naturalness of
expression are 2 of the most obvious characteristics of the essay. An essay is rather
a series of personal and witty comments than a finished argument or a conclusive
examination of any matter. This literary genre has definite linguistic traits which
shape the essay as a variety of publicistic style.
In the 19th century the essay as a literary term gradually changed into what we now
call the journalistic article or feature article which covers all kinds of subjects from
politics, philosophy or aesthetics to travel, sport and fashions. Feature articles are
generally published in newspapers, especially weeklies and Sunday editions.
In comparison with oratorical style, the essay aims at a more lasting, hence at a
slower effect.
3. Articles

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 Irrespective of the character of the magazine and the divergence of subject matter
– whether it is political, literary, popular-scientific or satirical, all the features of
publistic style are to be found in any article. The character of the magazine as well
as the subject chosen affects the choice and use of stylistic devices. There are
popular scientific articles, satirical articles, political magazine articles, newspaper
articles, etc.
Literary reviews stand closer to essay both by their content and by their linguistic
form. More abstract words of logical meaning are used in them, they more often
resort to emotional language and less frequently to traditional set expressions.

9. Newspaper style
English newspaper style may be defined as a system of interrelated lexical,
phraseological and grammatical means which is perceived by the community
speaking the language as a separate unity that basically serves the purpose of
informing and instructing the reader.
Since the primary function of newspaper style is to impart information, only
printed matter serving this purpose comes under newspaper style proper. Such
matter can be classed as:
1. brief news items and communiqués;
2. press reports (parliamentary, of court proceedings, etc.);
3. articles purely informational in character;
4. advertisements and announcements.
The most concise form of newspaper informational is the headline. The headlines
of news items, apart from giving information about the subject-matter, also carry a
considerable amount of appraisal (the size and arrangement of the headline, the use
of emotionally colored words and elements of emotive syntax), thus indicating the
interpretation of the facts in the news item that follows.
a) Brief news items
The function of a brief news item is to inform the reader. It states only facts
without giving comments. Newspaper style has its specific vocabulary features and
is characterized by an extensive use of: 1. special political and economic terms; 2.
non-term political vocabulary; 3. newspaper cliché; 4. abbreviations; 5.
neologisms.
The following grammatical peculiarities of brief news items are of paramount
importance, and may be regarded as grammatical parameters of newspaper style: 1.
complex sentences with a developed system of clauses; 2. verbal constructions; 3.
syntactical complexes; 4. attributive noun groups; 5. specific word order.
b) The headline
The headline is the title given to a news item of a newspaper article. The main
function of the headline is to inform the reader briefly of what the news that
follows is about.
Syntactically headlines are very short sentences or phrases of a variety of patterns:
1. full declarative sentences; 2. interrogative sentences; 3. nominative sentences; 4.
elliptical sentences; 5. sentences with articles omitted; 6. phrases with verbals; 7.

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questions in the forms of statements; 8. complex sentences; 9. headlines including
direct speech.
c) Advertisements and announcements
The function of advertisement and announcement is to inform the reader. There are
2 basic types of advertisements and announcements in the modern English
newspaper: classified and non-classified(separate).
In classified advertisements and announcements various kinds of information are
arranged according to subject-matter into sections, each bearing an appropriate
name.
As for the separate advertisements and announcements, the variety of language
form and subject-matter is so great that hardly any essential features common to all
be pointed out.
d) The editorial
Editorials are an intermediate phenomenon bearing the stamp of both the
newspaper style and the publistic style.
The function of the editorial is to influence the reader by giving an interpretation
of certain facts. Emotional coloring in editorial articles is also achieved with the
help of various stylistic devices(especially metaphors and epithets), both lexical
and syntactical, the use of which is largely traditional.

10.Scientific prose style

The language of science is governed by the aim of the functional style of scientific
prose, which is to prove a hypothesis, to create new concepts, to disclose the
internal laws of existence, development, relations between different phenomena,
etc. There are following characteristic features of scientific style:
1. the logical sequence of utterances;
2. the use of terms specific to each given branch of science;
3. so-called sentence-patterns. They are of 3 types: postulatory, argumentative and
formulative.
4. the use of quotations and references;
5. the frequent use of foot-note, of the reference kind, but digressive in character.
The impersonality of scientific writings can also be considered a typical feature of
this style.

11.Officialese
In standard literary English this is the style of official documents. It is not
homogeneous and is represented by the following substyles or variants: 1. the
language of business documents; 2. the language of legal documents; 3. that of
diplomacy; 4. that of military documents.
The main aim of this type of communication is to state the conditions binding two
parties in an undertaking. The most general function of the style of official
documents predetermines the peculiarities of the style. The most noticeable of all
syntactical features are the compositional patterns of the variants of this style.

8
 The over-all code of the official style falls into a system of subcodes, each
characterized by its own terminological nomenclature, its own compositional form,
its own variety of syntactical arrangements. But the integrating features of all these
subcodes emanating from the general aim of agreement between parties, remain
the following: 1. conventionality of expression; 2. absence of any emotiveness; 3.
the encoded character of language; symbols and 4. a general syntactical mode of
combining several pronouncements into one sentence.

12.Stylistic phonetics and graphics. Graphon. Stylistic function of

intonation.
Phonetic expressive means and devices are used for the purpose of producing a
certain acoustic effect, giving emphasis to the utterance and arousing emotions in
the reader or the listener.
Intonation and stress are very important means in oral speech where they are
expressed directly by the speaker. In written speech they are conveyed indirectly
by graphical expressive means and by a special syntactical arrangement of
utterance (such as inversion, isolated members, parallel construction, etc.).
Graphical means include punctuation, different types of print (italics, bold type)
and a specific arrangement of printed material. Such marks of punctuation (a series
of dots, a dash, exclamation, question marks, etc.) may be used not only to show
the logical arrangement of speech but also to convey the intonation of the uttered
speech and to express emphasis.

13.Sound imitation and sound symbolism. Onomatopoeia. Assonance and

alliteration. Paronomasia
The sound of most words taken separately will have little aesthetic value. It is in
combination with other words that a word acquire a desired phonetic effect. The
theory of sound symbolism is based on the assumption that separate sounds due to
their properties make awake certain ideas or perceptions. This theory is widely
used in poetry.
Onomatopoeia is a combination of speech sounds which aims at imitating sounds
produced in nature: hiss, grumble, sizzle, murmur, bump., sea, thunder, by things
like machines tools, by people (laughter, cough), by animal.
1) Direct onomatopoeia: in words that imitate natural sound (ding-dong, buzz, hiss,
roar, ping-pong, mew, cock-a-doodle-doo) 2) Indirect: a combination of sounds,
the aim of which is to make the sound of the utterance an echo of its sense (And
the silken sat uncertain, rusting of each purple curtain).
Alliteration is the repetition of the same construction at the beginning of words.
It’s often used in newspaper headlines, proverbs, set expressions. (As blind as bat;
Pride and prejudice. Sense and sensibility. The school of scandal) Assonance is
the repetition of similar vowels usually in stressed syllables. (Nor soul flesh now
more than flesh helps soul).

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They both produce the effect of euphony (афония) – a sense of ease and comfort,
a pleasing effect of pronouncing and hearing. The opposite process is cacophony –
a sense of strain and discomfort in pronouncing and hearing.
Paronomasia is the use of words that sound similar to other words, but have
different meanings.
"A good farmer is nothing more nor less than a handyman with a sense of humus."
I used to be a tap dancer until I fell in the sink.
Curl Up and Dye"

14.Versification: rhythm and meter, rhymes. The most common types of

English verse.
metre (meter in American English) is the basic rhythmic structure of a verse or
lines in verse. Many traditional verse forms prescribe a specific verse metre, or a
certain set of metres alternating in a particular order. The study of metres and
forms of versification is known as prosody. (Within linguistics, "prosody" is used
in a more general sense that includes not only poetical metre but also the rhythmic
aspects of prose, whether formal or informal, which vary from language to
language, and sometimes between poetic traditions.)
Rhythm is a regular alteration of similar or equal units of speech. It is sometimes
used by the author to produce the desired stylistic effect, whereas in poetry
rhythmical arrangement is a constant organic element, a natural outcome of poetic
emotion. Poetic rhythm is created by the regular recurrence of stressed and
unstressed syllables or equal poetic lines. The regular alternations of stressed and
unstressed syllables form a unit – the foot. There are 5 basic feet: iambus(a foot
consisting of one unstressed syllable followed by one stressed syllable), trochee(a
foot consisting of one stressed syllable followed by one unstressed syllable),
dactyl(a foot consisting of one stressed syllable followed by two unstressed
syllables), anapest(a foot consisting of two unstressed syllables followed by one
stressed syllable) and amphibrach(a foot consisting of one unstressed syllable
followed by one stressed and one unstressed syllable).
Rhyme is a characteristic feature of poetry but in prose euphony final sound
(ending). Such recurrence takes place at the end of a poetic line. With regard to the
similarity of sounds we distinguish: full rhymes, imperfect rhymes. With regard to
the structure of rhymes we distinguish: masculine (or single) rhyme, feminine (or
double) rhyme, dactylic (or triple) rhyme, full double or broken rhyme. The
arrangements of rhymes may assume different schemes: couplet rhyme, cross
rhyme, frame rhyme. The functions of rhyme in poetry are very important: it
signalizes the end of a line and marks the arrangement of lines into stanzas.

15.Stylistic morphology. Instances of synonymy of morphemes and

inflexions. Instances of variability of their use.

16.Stylistic lexicology. General stylistic classification of words. Neutral and

stylistically coloured words. Informal vocabulary: colloquialisms, slang,
dialectal words, vulgarisms
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Lexicology deals with stylistic classification (differentiation) of the vocabulary
that form a part of stylistics (stylistics lexicology). In stylistic lexicology each units
are studied separately, instead of as a whole text (group of words, word
classification).
Lexico-phraseological stylistic means and devices are grouped into the following
classes:
A. Those based on interaction of different lexical meanings of the word.
B. Those which give additional characteristics of the objects described.
C. Those which are based on the use of phraseological units and allusions.
For stylistic purpose out of a variety of meanings, belonging to a word we single
out the following three types of lexical meanings: 1) logical meaning, 2) nominal
meaning and 3) emotive meaning.
Logical meaning is the base of the concept of the given thing or phenomenon.
Nominal meaning names beings or things.
Emotive meaning expresses the feelings and emotions.
These three lexical meanings form the semantic structure of the word. Apart from
them there exists one more lexical meaning which appears only within the given
context. This is the contextual meaning.
Contextual meaning of the word is closely connected with such lexicological
notions as polysemy, shades of meaning and transference of meaning.

A colloquialism is a word or phrase that is common in everyday, unconstrained

conversation rather than in formal speech, academic writing, or paralinguistics.[1]
Dictionaries often display colloquial words and phrases with the abbreviation
colloq. as an identifier. Colloquialisms are sometimes referred to collectively as
"youknowhatitis language".[2]
The term slang is ambiguous and obscure. The “New Oxford English Dictionary”
defines slang as follows: 1) the special vocabulary used by any set of persons of
low or disreputable character; language of a low and vulgar type…; 2) the cant or
jargon of a certain class or period; 3) language of highly colloquial type considered
as below the level of standard educated speech, and consisting either of new words
or current words employed in some special sense.
In England and USA slang is regarded as the quintessence of colloquial speech
and therefore stands above all the laws of grammar.
Dialectal words are those which in the process of integration of the English
national language remained beyond its literary boundaries, and their use is
generally confined to a definite locality. There sometimes is confusion between the
terms dialectal, slang and vernacular. All these groups when used in emotive prose
are meant to characterize the speaker as a person of a certain locality, breeding,
education, etc.
Some dialectal words are universally accepted as recognized units of the standard
colloquial English. Of quite a different nature are dialectal words which are easily
recognized as corruptions of standard English words. Dialectal words are only to
be found in the style of emotive prose, very rarely in other styles. And even here

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their use is confined to the function of characterizing personalities through their
speech.
The term vulgarism is rather misleading. Webster’s “New International
Dictionary” defines vulgarism as “a vulgar phrase or expression, or one used only
in colloquial, or, esp. in unrefined or low, speech”. I.R.Galperin defines vulgarisms
as expletives or swear-words and obscene words and expressions.
There are different degrees of vulgar words. Some of them, the obscene ones, are
called “four-letter” words. A lesser degree of vulgarity is presented by expletives
and they sometimes appear in euphemistic spelling.
The function of vulgarisms is almost the same as that of interjections, that is to
express strong emotions. They are not to be found in any style of speech except
emotive prose, and here only in the direct speech of the characters.

17.The formal sphere of vocabulary use. Bookish (learned) words (words

of scientific prose, officialese, language of fiction, modes of poetic
diction), archaic and obsolete words, professional terminology,
languages for specific purposes (LSP).
Neutral words, which form the bulk of the English vocabulary, are used in both
literary and colloquial language. Neutral words are the main source of synonymy
and polysemy. It is the neutral stock of words that is so far prolific in the
production of new meanings.
Common literary words are chiefly used in writing and in polished speech.
Common colloquial vocabulary overlaps into the standard English vocabulary and
is therefore to be considered part of it. It borders both on the neutral vocabulary
and on the special colloquial vocabulary, which falls out of the standard English
altogether.
The stylistic function of the different strata of the English vocabulary depends not
so much on the inner qualities of each of the groups, as on their interaction when
they are opposed to one another.
Specific literary vocabulary
a) Terms
Terms are generally associated with a definite branch of science and therefore
with a series of other terms belonging to that particular branch of science. They
know no isolation; they always come in clusters, either in a text on the subject to
which they belong, or in special dictionaries which, unlike general dictionaries,
make a careful selection of terms. All these clusters of terms form the
nomenclature, or system of names, for the objects of study of any particular branch
of science.
Terms are characterized by a tendency to be monosemantic and therefore easily
call forth the required concept. Terms may appear in scientific style, newspaper
style, publicistic style, the belles-lettres style, etc. Terms no longer fulfill their
basic function, that of bearing an exact reference to a given notion or concept. The
their function is either to indicate the technical peculiarities of the subject dealt
with, or to make some references to the occupation of a character whose language
12
would naturally contain special words and expressions. A term has a stylistic
function when it is used to create an atmosphere or to characterize a person.
b) Poetic and highly literary words
First of all poetic words belong to a definite style of language and perform in it
their direct function. If encountered in another style of speech, they assume a new
function, mainly satirical, for the two notions, poetry and prose, have been opposed
to each other from time immemorial.
Poetic language has special means of communication, i.e. rhythmical arrangement,
some syntactical peculiarities and certain number of special words. The specific
poetic vocabulary has a marked tendency to detach itself from the common literary
word stock and assume a special significance. Poetic words claim to be, as it were,
of higher rank.
Poetic words and ser expressions make the utterance understandable only to a
limited number of readers. It is mainly due to poeticisms that poetical language is
sometimes called poetical jargon.
c) Archaic words
The word stock of a language is in an increasing state of change. In every period
in the development of a literary language one can find words which will show
more or less apparent changes in their meaning or usage, from full vigour, through
a moribund state, to death, i.e. complete disappearance of the unit from the
language. We’ll distinguish 3 stages in the aging process of words: 1) the
beginning of the aging process when the word becomes rarely used. Such words
are called obsolescent, i.e. they are in the stage of gradually passing out of general
use; 2) The second group of archaic words are those that have already gone
completely out of use but are still recognized by the English speaking community.
These words are called obsolete. 3) The third group, which may be called archaic
proper, are words which are no longer recognized in modern English, words that
were in use in Old English and which have either dropped out of the language
entirely or have changed in their appearance so much that they have become
unrecognizable.
There is another class of words which is erroneously classed as archaic, historic
words. Words of this type never disappear from the language.
Archaic words are used in historical novels, in official and diplomatic documents,
in business letters, legal language, etc. Archaic words, word-forms and word
combinations are also used to create an elevated effect.

Professionalisms are the words used in a definite trade, profession or calling by

people connected by common interests both at work or at home. Professional
words name anew already existing concepts, tools or instruments, and have the
typical properties of a special code. Their main feature is technicality. They are
monosemantic.
Professionalisms do not aim at secrecy. They fulfill a socially useful function in
communication, facilitating a quick and adequate grasp of the message.
Professionalisms are used in emotive prose to depict the natural speech of a
character. The skilful use of a professional word will show not only the vocation of
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a character, but also his education, breeding, environment and sometimes even his
psychology.
Language for Specific Purposes (LSP) has been primarily used to refer to two areas
within applied linguistics:
one focusing on the needs in education and training.
one with a focus on research on language variation across a particular subject field.
A third approach, content or theme-based language instruction (CBI) has also been
confused with LSP. These several uses of the label of LSP have caused some
confusion internationally.
LSP is a widely applied approach to second or foreign language teaching and
training that addresses immediate and very specific needs of learners who need that
language as a tool in their education, training or job. Needs analysis is the
underlying “driver” for the development of LSP programs. [1] For example,
English native speaking nurses who work in hospitals with a high percentage
patient whose native language is Spanish might have to study Spanish for the very
specific purpose of communication between nurses and patients. LSP can be used
with any target language needed by the learners as a tool for specific purposes, and
has often been applied to English (English for Specific Purposes, or ESP).

18.Stylistic semasiology. Nomination in language and speech. Imagery

without transfer of denominations (autologous images) (‘Interpretation
of Imaginative Literature’).

19.Tropes, or figures of replacement. Metaphor and its derivatives.

A literary trope is the usage of figurative language in literature, or a figure of
speech in which words are used in a sense different from their literal meaning. The
term trope derives from the Greek τρόπος (tropos), "turn, direction, way", related
to the root of the verb τρέπειν (trepein), "to turn, to direct, to alter, to change".
Metaphor
A metaphor is the interaction between the logical and contextual logical meanings
of a word which is based on a likeness between objects and implies analogy and
comparison between them.
Similar to all lexical stylistic devices metaphor may be genuine, that is original,
invented by the writer, or trite, that is hackneyed, often used in the language.
The metaphor suggests an analogy. An implied analogy and likeness to concrete
objects makes abstract ideas more concrete, complex ideas more simple and the
thoughts more comprehensible.
The metaphor may be expressed through nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs.
The noun metaphor may consist of one word or may have an attribute in the form
of an “of-phrase”. The verb-metaphor is very emphatic as it throws the
metaphorical light on the subject of the sentence too. Metaphors expressed by
adjectives and adverbs are called metaphorical epithets and will be dealt with in the
chapter on the epithet.
Sometimes a metaphor is not confined to one image. The writer finds it necessary
to prolong the image by adding a number of other images, but all these additional
14
images are linked with the main, central image. Such metaphors are called
sustained or prolonged metaphors.
e.g. But there was no May morning in his cowardly human heart.
Personification
Personification is a stylistic device closely related to metaphor.
Personification is the presentation of a phenomenon or an idea as a human being.
This device is usually achieved by ascribing actions and qualities characteristic of
people to the idea or the thing described.
The weak form of personification is the so-called apostrophe. It usually has the
form of an address.
The poetical tradition of writing nouns denoting feelings or abstract phenomena
with the capital letter may also be regarded as a form of personification.
e.g. Oh Rome! My country! City of the soul.

20.Metonymy and its derivatives. Antonomasia.

A different type of interaction between logical and contextual logical meanings is
called metonymy. It is based on definite relations between the object implied and
the object named.
The interaction between the logical and the contextual meanings of the words is
based on close relations objectively existing between the part and the body itself.
In metonymy relations between the object named and the object implied are
various and numerous. Here are the most frequent types of relations:
1) The relations that exist between an instrument and the action it performs (or
between an organ of the body and its function).
2) The relations that exist between an article of clothing and the person wearing it.
3) The relations that exist between the symbol and the phenomenon it symbolized.
Apart from this group of metonymies some other trite types of metonymies should
be mentioned – that is metonymies based on very close, common relations between
objects. They are:
a) The relations between the creator and his creation.
b) The relations between the material and the thing made of it.
c) The relations between the singular and the plural. This type of metonymy is
called synecdochy.
The stylistic effect of trite metonymies is in most cases weak.
Metonymy as a genuine stylistic device is used to achieve concreteness of
description. By giving a specific detail connected with the phenomenon, the author
evokes a concrete and life-like image and reveals certain feelings of his own.
By mentioning only one seemingly insignificant feature or detail connected with
the phenomenon the author draws the reader’s attention to it and makes him see the
character he describes as he himself sees it.
e.g. Then a pause, as the bonnet and dress neared the top of the Square.
Antonomasia is a stylistic device based on the interaction of logical and nominal
meanings of the same word. One of the interacting meanings exists independently
of the context, the other one is born within the context.

15
 Depending on the character of the contextual meaning there are two types of
antonomasia:
1) That based on the interaction between the nominal and contextual logical
meanings.
2) That based on the interaction between the logical and contextual nominal
meanings.
To the first group we shall refer those cases in which a proper noun is used for a
common noun.
This type of antonomasia is usually trite for writer repeats the well-known, often-
mentioned facts. Through long and consistent usage of a proper noun for a
common noun the former may lose its nominal meaning altogether to acquire the
function of naming a certain objects or phenomenon.
In the second type of antonomasia we observe the interaction between the logical
and the contextual nominal meaning, i.e. practically any common noun can be used
as a common name. It is always original. In such cases the person’s name serves
his first characteristics.
But to characterize a person through his name is not the only function of
antonomasia. Very often it helps to give concrete expression for abstract notions.
The stylistic effect of such antonomasia very much depends upon the very
unexpectedness of a name being expressed by a word-combination.
Names-phrases are usually spelt with hyphens between their components to stress
their close syntactical and semantic relations.
e.g. So, my dear Simplicity, let me give you a little respite.

21. Irony, ways of creating irony.

Irony is such a case of interaction between logical and contextual logical meanings
when the contextual logical meaning of the word becomes the opposite of its
logical meaning.
In most cases the sentence suffices to make irony clear. In certain cases, though, a
much wider context is needed to understand that the word is used ironically and to
perceive its stylistic effect.
Irony may be expressed by any part of speech, most often by a noun, adjective and
adverb.
The effect of irony largely depends on the unexpectedness and seeming lack of
logic of a word used by the author in an incompatible context. The reader is fully
aware of the contrast between what is logically expected and what is said. This
contrast, this interaction of the contextual logical and logical meanings of the word
often produces a humorous effect.
Irony may be used to achieve an effect of bitter mockery and sarcasm as well,
especially when it concerns some social phenomena.
e.g. “Perhaps you had a grand passion”. Soames looked at her intently. “Yes – if
you want to know – and much good it did me.”

22.Periphrasis, euphemism, epithet.

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Periphrasis is a word-combination which is used instead of the word designating
an object.
Every periphrasis indicates the feature of a notion which impressed the writer and
conveys a purely individual perception of a given phenomenon.
As a result of frequent repetition periphrasis may become well established in the
language as a synonymous expression for the word generally used to signify the
object. Such word-combinations are called periphrastic synonyms.
In contrast to periphrastic synonyms genuine periphrasis is created in the process
of writing and is an element of the individual style of a writer.
Periphrasis may be logical and figurative. Logical periphrases are based on logical
notions. Figurative periphrasis may be based on metaphor and on metonymy.
Euphemistic periphrasis is a variety of periphrasis which substitutes a mild,
delicate expression for one which seems to be rude or unpleasant. Euphemistic
periphrasis has some features in common with euphemisms.
Periphrasis is used for various stylistic purposes, usually to achieve a humorous or
satirical effect.
e.g. He bore under his arm the instruments of destruction.
A euphemism is the substitution of a frank expression that might offend or
otherwise suggest something unpleasant to the audience, for a mild, inoffensive,
relatively uncontroversial phrase. [1]
Some euphemisms are intended to amuse, while others are created to mislead or at
least put a positive spin on events. Euphemisms can also be used in the place of
words considered profane.
Epithet is a stylistic device based on the interaction of the logical and emotive
meanings. It shows the purely individual emotional attitude of the writer or the
speaker towards the object mentioned.
Epithet is expressed by:
1) adjectives;
2) adverbs;
Adjectives and adverbs constitute the greatest majority of epithets.
3) participles, both present and past;
4) nouns, especially often in of-phrases;
5) word-combinations;
6) whole phrases.
The last two groups of epithets help the writer in a rather concise form to express
the emotional attitude of a personage towards an object or phenomenon. In most
cases it is a direct quotation of the character’s remark. Such a usage of a quotation
for an epithet stresses the subjectivity, individuality of the character’s perception. It
renders the emotional attitude of the personage.
Phrase-epithet helps not only to reveal the individual view of the author and his
characters but at the same time to do it in a rather economical manner.
One more structural type of epithet is “monopolized” by the English language. It
is based on the illogical syntactical relations between the modifier and the
modified. Such constructions enable the writer to use nouns of high emotional

17
coloring, supplying them with additional characteristics without overcrowding the
description.
Epithets vary not only in structure but in the manner of application too. So, most
often we meet one-word, or simple epithet. Rather often epithets are used in pairs.
Not seldom three, four, five and even more epithets are joined in chains.
From the viewpoint of their expressive power epithets can be regarded as those
stressing qualities of the object or phenomenon and as those transferring the
quality of one object to its closest neighbour. When the same definition is given to
a smile it becomes an individual evaluation of the same, and is classified as a
transferred epithet. A metaphoric epithet presents a metaphor within an epithet.
In most cases metaphoric epithet is expressed by adjectives and adverbs. Into the
same group of metaphoric epithets must be included compound epithets, the
second element of which is “-like”.
As all the other stylistic devices, epithets become hackneyed through long usage.
Epithets should not be mixed up with logical attributes which have the same
syntactical function but which do not convey the subjective attitude of the author
towards the described object, pointing out only the objectively existing feature of
the same.
e.g. “Can you tell me what time that game starts today?” The girl gave him a
lipsticky smile.

23.Hyperbole, meiosis, litotes.

Hyperbole is a stylistic device based on the interaction between the logical and
emotive meanings of a word. It is a deliberate over statement. Both the writer and
the reader (or the speaker and the listener) are fully aware of the deliberateness of
the exaggeration. The use of hyperbole shows the overflow of emotions in the
speaker, and the listener is carried away by the flood.
Very often the hyperbole is used to create humorous or satirical effect and so to
express the author’s attitude towards the described.
Through continuous usage hyperbole may lose its originality and become trite.
A kind of hyperbole with the same inner mechanism of the device is presented by
understatement which is, too, based on the interaction between the logical and
emotive meaning and shows the overflow of the speaker’s sentiments.
The specific feature of this kind of hyperbole is the direction of the exaggeration:
hyperbole enlarges, while understatement deliberately diminishes the described
object, phenomenon, etc.
e.g. “The little woman, for she was of pocket size, crossed her hands solemnly on
her middle.”
meiosis is a euphemistic figure of speech that intentionally understates something
or implies that it is lesser in significance or size than it really is. Meiosis is the
opposite of auxesis, and also sometimes used as a synonym for litotes. The term is
derived from the Greek μειόω (“to make smaller”, "to diminish").
"The Troubles" as a name for decades of violence in Northern Ireland.
"The Pond" for the Atlantic Ocean ("across the pond").
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Litotes - is a device whereby an affirmation is expressed by denying its contrary.
Usually litotes presupposes double negation - one through a negative particle (no,
not), the other - through a word with negative meaning. Its function is to convey
doubts of the speaker concerning the exact characteristics of the object or a feeling.
It's not a bad thing - It's a good thing. He is no coward. He is a brave man. He was
not without taste.
They are used to weaken the positive characteristics of a thing or phenomenon.
The obligatory presence of the particle “not” makes the statement less categorical
and conveys certain doubts of the speaker as to the quality he mentions.
The final result of litotes is always the assertion of a positive, though weakened
quality or characteristics. She said it, but not impatiently.

24.Stylistic syntax. Stylistically relevant phenomena: syntactical deficiency,

syntactical redundancy, inversion, unusual functions of certain
communicative types of sentences.
Syntactical stylistic devices are based on the syntactical arrangement of the
elements of a sentences or a paragraph.
Besides there is a comparatively large group of syntactical stylistic devices in
which the stylistic effect is achieved not only through a peculiar syntactical
structure of the utterance, but also through the employment of the semantical side
of its elements. To these we can refer repetition, climax, antithesis and represented
speech.
To finish up with the syntactical stylistic devices we shall describe the types of
connection used stylistically: cumulation, asyndeton and polysyndeton.
Inversion
The violation of the traditional word order of the sentence (subject-predicate-
object-adverbial modifiers) which does not alter the meaning of the sentence only
giving it an additional emotional coloring is called stylistic inversion.
Stylistic inversion may be of various types:
1) the predicate may precede the subject of the sentence;
2) the object is placed before the predicate;
3) the attribute stands after the word it modifies (the post-position of an attribute).
Stylistic inversion is used to single out some parts of the sentence and sometimes
to heighten the emotional tension.
e.g. Then he said: “You think it’s so? She was mixed up in this lousy business?”
Isolated members of the sentence (detachment)
Isolated members of the sentence are regarded as a special kind of inversion.
Isolated members are syntactically separated from other members of a sentence
with which they are grammatically and logically connected.
The violation of the traditional word order and connections between the members
of the sentence make isolated words more independent and give them greater
prominence.
Only secondary parts of the sentence, generally attributes, adverbial modifiers and
apposition, may be used in isolation.
19
 In written speech isolated members are separated from the words they modify by
graphic means: by a comma, brackets, dash, and even a full stop.
Isolated members of the sentence give prominence to some words and help the
author to laconically draw the reader’s attention to a certain detail or circumstance
or help the author to emphasize his emotional attitude toward what he describes.
e.g. I have to beg you for money. Daily!

25.Types of figures of speech. Figures of co-occurrence.

26. Figures of identity. Simile, quasi-identity, synonymous replacements and

specifiers.

The simile is a stylistic device expressing a likeness between different objects.

The formal element of the simile is the following conjunctions and adverbs: like,
as, as like, etc.
The simile is based on the comparison of objects belonging to different spheres
and involves an element of imagination.
Simile interprets the object by comparing it with some other objects of an entirely
different nature, and produces the desired effect on the reader.
The simile usually serves as a means to clearer meaning. By comparing the object
or phenomenon the writer describes with a concrete and familiar thing, he makes
his description clearer and more picturesque.
Besides making a narrative more concrete and definite, the simile helps the author
to reveal certain feelings of his own as well.
Besides the original similes created by writers there are a great number of so-
called traditional similes in the language which must be regarded as phraseological
units.
In the author‘s narrative traditional similes are most often used to stress the
highest degree of quality.
e.g. “Funny how ideas come,” he said afterwards, “like a flash of lightning.”

27.Figures of inequality. Pun, zeugma, paradox. Semi-defined structures.

Simultaneous realization within the same short context of two meanings of a

polysemantic word is called zeugma. E.g. “All girls were in tears and white
muslin”. Here the independent meaning of the verb “were” (to be in white muslin –
to be dressed in white muslin) and its phraseological meaning (to be in tears – to
cry), which slightly faded in the phraseological unit, are realized simultaneously.
The same effect is achieved when the word upon which the effect is based, is
repeated, which creates the stylistic device of pun. Such simultaneous realization
of two meanings sometimes leads to a misunderstanding, deliberately organized by
the author. The same happens with the ambiguous use of prepositions, which leads
to mixing up the attribute with the prepositional object. E.g. “Did you hit a woman
with the child?” – “No, Sir, I hit her with a brick.”
20
 The further away are the meanings of a polysemantic word, the stronger is the
stylistic effect achieved by their simultaneous realization. Humoristic effect is
achieved here due to the ridiculousness of bringing together two such different
meanings.
Two homonyms have still less in common than two meanings of a polysemantic
word, and their realization within the same context always brings forth a pun.
paradox, a statement that is contradictory or absurd on the surface: The worse —
the better. War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Literary or rhetorical paradoxes
abound in the works of Oscar Wilde and G. K. Chesterton

28. Figures of contrast. Oxymoron, antithesis.

Oxymoron is based on the interaction of logical and emotive meanings. It presents

a combination of two contrasting ideas.
The oxymoron reveals the contradictory sides of one and the same phenomenon.
One of its components discloses some objectively existing feature or quality, while
the other one serves to convey the author’s personal attitude towards the same.
The structure of oxymoron is extremely varied. By most critics it is regarded as an
attributive syntagma.
As soon as an oxymoron gets into circulation it loses its most characteristic feature
of bringing two opposite ideas together and becomes a phraseological unit.
e.g. awfully nice, pretty bad, mighty small.
Antithesis is a stylistic device presenting two contrasting ideas in a close
neighbourhood.
The phenomena opposed to one another can be pictured in an extended way. Or
else the contradictory ideas may intermingle, thus creating the effect of not only
the contrast, but also of the close unity of the contrasting features. E.g. The smell
of life and richness, of death and digestion, of decay and birth, burden the air.
e.g. The smell of life and richness, of death and digestion, of decay and birth,
burden the air.

29.Figures based on syntactical arrangement: gradation, bathos,

parallelism, chiasmus, suspense
(gradation) - an ascending series of words or utterances in which intensity or
significance increases step by step. Every racing car, every racer, every mechanic,
every ice - cream van was also plastered with advertising.
Gradation presents a structure in which every successive sentence or phrase is
emotionally stronger or logically more important than the preceding one. Gradation
may be of three main types:
1) quantitative, when it is quality or size that increases with the unfolding of the
utterance.
2) qualitative, when intensification is achieved through the introduction of
emphatic words into the utterance, which fact increases its emotive force.

21
3) logical, the most frequent type, in which every new concept is stronger, more
important and valid.
bathos, (from Greek bathys, “deep”), unsuccessful, and therefore ludicrous,
attempt to portray pathos in art, i.e., to evoke pity, sympathy, or sorrow. Bathos
may result from an inappropriately dignified treatment of the commonplace, the
use of elevated language and imagery to describe trivial subject matter, or from
such an exaggeration of pathos (emotion provoked by genuine suffering) as to
become overly sentimental or ridiculous.
Constructions formed by the same syntactical pattern, closely following one
another present the stylistic device of parallelism. Parallelism strongly affects the
rhythmical organization of the paragraph, so it is imminent in oratoric speech, in
pathetic and emphatic extracts.
Parallelism can be complete when the construction of the second sentence fully
copies that of the first one. Or parallelism can be partial, when only the beginning
or the end of several sentences are structurally similar.
Reversed parallelism is called chiasmus. In chiasmus the central part of the
sentence – the predicate remains the hinge around which occur syntactical changes
– the subject of the first sentence becomes the object of the second and vice versa.
e.g. The coach was waiting, the horse were fresh, the roads were good, and the
driver was willing.
Suspense is the deliberate slowing down of the thought, postponing its completion
till the very end of the utterance.
Suspense unfolding the thought in process, enhances the logical and emotive force
of the final words of a sentence or paragraph for, due to the intervening elements,
the reader is left in suspense and uncertainly as to the possible completion of the
thought.
Very often the stylistic device of suspense is formed by various kinds of
parenthetical words and sentences.
e.g. I have been accused of bad taste. This has disturbed me, not so much for my
own sake as for the sake of criticism in general.

30.Figures based on syntactical transposition of words: parenthesis,

inversion, detachment, rhetorical questions.
a parenthesis (plural: parentheses; from the Greek word παρένθεσις, which comes
in turn from words meaning "alongside of" and "to place") is an explanatory or
qualifying word, clause, or sentence inserted into a passage with which it doesn't
necessarily have any grammatical connection. Parentheses are usually marked off
by round or square brackets, dashes, or commas.
Examples
Billy-bob, a great singer, was not a good dancer.
The phrase a great singer, set off by commas, is both an appositive and a
parenthesis.
A dog (not a cat) is an animal that barks.
The phrase not a cat is a parenthesis.

22
The violation of the traditional word order of the sentence (subject-predicate-
object-adverbial modifiers) which does not alter the meaning of the sentence only
giving it an additional emotional coloring is called stylistic inversion.
Stylistic inversion may be of various types:
1) the predicate may precede the subject of the sentence;
2) the object is placed before the predicate;
3) the attribute stands after the word it modifies (the post-position of an attribute).
Stylistic inversion is used to single out some parts of the sentence and sometimes
to heighten the emotional tension.
e.g. Then he said: “You think it’s so? She was mixed up in this lousy business?”
Isolated members of the sentence are regarded as a special kind of inversion –
detachment. Isolated members are syntactically separated from other members of a
sentence with which they are grammatically and logically connected.
The violation of the traditional word order and connections between the members
of the sentence make isolated words more independent and give them greater
prominence.
Only secondary parts of the sentence, generally attributes, adverbial modifiers and
apposition, may be used in isolation.
In written speech isolated members are separated from the words they modify by
graphic means: by a comma, brackets, dash, and even a full stop.
Isolated members of the sentence give prominence to some words and help the
author to laconically draw the reader’s attention to a certain detail or circumstance
or help the author to emphasize his emotional attitude toward what he describes.
e.g. I have to beg you for money. Daily!
Rhetorical question presents a statement in the form of a question. A question
appealing to the reader for an answer, is emphatic and mobilizes the attention of
the reader even when the latter is not supposed to answer anything, when the only
possible answer is implied within the boundaries of the question.
The form of a rhetorical question is often negative.
Rhetorical question preserves the intonation of a question, though sometimes the
assertive sentiment is so strong that both the intonation and the punctuation are
changed to those of the exclamatory sentence.
Rhetorical question is an indispensable element of oratorical style, but is not
confined to it only, more and more penetrating into other style. So it is widely
employed in modern fiction for depicting the inner state of a personage, his
meditations and reflections.
Through frequent usage some rhetorical questions became traditional (for
example, What business is it of yours? What have I to do with him? etc.)
Such questions usually imply a negative answer and reflect a strongly antagonistic
attitude of the speaker towards his interlocutor or the subject discussed.
e.g. Can anybody answer for all the grievances of the poor in this wicked world?

31.Figures entailing syntactical deficiency: ellipsis, aposiopesis, apokoinu,

asyndeton.

23
The deliberate omission of one or more words in the sentence for definite stylistic
purpose is called the stylistic device of ellipsis.
The omission of some parts of the sentence is an ordinary and typical feature of
the oral type of speech. In belle-letters style the peculiarities of the structure of the
oral type of speech are partially reflected in the speech of characters (for example,
the informal and careless character of speech).
Some parts of the sentence may be omitted due to the excitement of the speaker.
The stylistic device of ellipsis is sometimes used in the author’s narration but
more frequently it is used in represented speech.
The stylistic device of ellipsis used in represented inner speech creates a stylistic
effect of the natural abruptness and the fragmentary character of the process of
thinking.
It is difficult to draw a line of demarcation between elliptical sentences and one-
member sentences.
One-member sentences may be used to heighten the emotional tension of the
narration or to single out the character’s or the author’s attitude towards what is
happening.
e.g. A dark gentleman… A very bad manner. In the last degree constrained,
reserved, diffident, troubled.
Aposiopesis. A sudden break in speech often occurs in the oral type of speech. It is
caused by strong emotion or some reluctance to finish the sentence. In belle-letters
style a break in speech is often used in dialogue to reflect its naturalness.
A sudden break in the narration when used in written speech for certain stylistic
purposes, creates the stylistic device of aposiopesis. Aposiopesis is marked
graphically by a series of dots or a dash. It is often used in represented speech.
Graphical expressive means, such as dash and dots are indispensable in
aposiopesis.
e.g. I still don’t quite like the face, it’s just a trifle too full, but –“ I swung myself
on the stool.
The Apokoinu Construction is a blend of two sentences through a word which has
two syntactical functions, one in each of the blended sentences.
Usually the word common for both sentences is a predicative or an object in the
first sentence and subject in the second one. So far as such construction does not
make part of the grammatically correct modern English, it almost does not occur in
the author’s speech, having for its main stylistic function the characteristic of a
personage through his speech. Apokoinu testifies as a rule the slovenly, careless or
uneducated speech.
e.g. There was no breeze came through the door.
The connection of sentences, phrases or words without any conjunctions is called
asyndentic.
Asyndeton helps the author to make each phrase or word sound independent and
significant.
Asyndeton generally creates an effect that the enumeration is not completed.
Asyndeton also creates a certain rhythmical arrangement, usually making the
narrative measured and energetic.
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e.g. She watched them go; she said nothing; it was not to begin then.

32.Figures entailing syntactical redundancy: repetition, anaphora,

epiphora, anadiplosis, framing, polysyndeton, convergence.

Repetition as a stylistic device is a direct successor of repetition as an expressive

language means, which serves to emphasize certain statements of the speaker, and
so possesses considerable emotive force.
It is not only a single word that can be repeated but a word combination and a
whole sentence too.
As to the position occupied by the repeated unit in the sentence or utterance, we
shall mention four main types, most frequently occurring in English literature:
1) anaphora – the repetition of the first word of several succeeding sentences or
clauses (a …, a …, a …);
2) epiphora – the repetition of the final word (… a, … a, … a);
3) anadiplosis or catch repetition – the repetition of the same unit (word or phrase)
at the end of the preceding and at the beginning of the sentence (…a, a …);
The combination of several catch repetitions produces a chain repetition.
4) framing or ring repetition – the repetition of the same unit at the beginning and
at the end of the same sentence (a …, … a).
Stylistic functions of repetition are various and many-sided. Besides emphasizing
the most important part of the utterance, rendering the emotions of the speaker or
showing his emotive attitude towards the object described, it may play a minor
stylistic role, showing the durability of action, and to a lesser degree the emotions
following it.
Repetition, deliberately used by the author to better emphasize his sentiments,
should not be mixed with pleonasm – an excessive, uneconomic usage of
unnecessary, extra words, which shows the inability of the writer to express his
ideas in a precise and clear manner.
Morphological repetition, that is the repetition of a morpheme, is to be included
into the stylistic means.
e.g. I might as well face facts: good-bye, Susan, good-bye a big car, good-bye a big
house, good-bye power, good-bye the silly handsome dreams.
Polysyndeton is the connection of sentences, phrases or words based on the
repetition of conjunctions or prepositions.
The repetition of the conjunction “and” before each word or phrase stresses these
enumerated words or phrases.
Polysyndeton is sometimes used to retard the action and to create the stylistic
effect of suspense.
Besides, polysyndeton is one of the means used to create a certain rhythmical
effect.
e.g. He put on his coat and found his mug and plate and knife and went outside.
Convergence denotes a comb-n of stylistic devices promoting the same idea,
emotion or motive. Any type of expr. means will make sense styl-ly when treated

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as a part of a bigger unit, the context, or the whole text. It means that there is no
immediate dependence between a cert. styl. device and a definite stylistic fun-n.
A stylistic device is not attached to this or that stylistic effect. Therefore a
hyperbole, for ex., may provide any number of effects: tragic, comical, pathetic or
grotesque. Inversion may give the narration a highly elevated tone or an ironic ring
of parody.
This «chameleon» quality of a stylistic device enables the author to apply dif.
devices for the same purpose. The use of more than one type of expr. means in
close succession is a powerful technique to support the idea that carries paramount
importance in the author's view. Such redundancy ensures the delivery of the
message to the reader.

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