STYLISTIC

SEMASIOLOGY OF THE
ENGLISH LANGUAGE
 Semasiology is a branch of linguistics which studies semantics or meaning of linguistic units
belonging to different language levels (words, word combinations, utterances, texts).

 Lexical semasiology analyses the meaning of words and word combinations, relations between
these meanings and the changes these meanings undergo.

 Stylistic semasiology is concerned only with those semantic relations and changes which
form the basis of EM and SD.
 The subject-matter of stylistic semasiology is stylistic semantics, i.e. additional meanings of a
language unit which may be given rise to by:

1) the unusual denotative reference of words, word-combinations, utterances and texts

(EM); or

2) the unusual distribution of the meanings of these units (SD).

 SEMASILOGICAL
EXPRESSIVE MEANS

Figures Of Substitution

Figures of quantity Figures of quality

Hyperbole Meiosis Metonymy Metaphor Irony

Litotes Synechdoche Antonomasia

Periphrasis
Personification
Euphemism
Allegory

Epithet
 Semasiological EM are figures of substitution, i.e. different means of secondary nomination or tropes.
The latter is based on the usage of existing words and word-combinations to denote new notions or to
give a new name to the already known objects (O. Morokhovsky).
 Figures of substitution are
divided into:

 Figures of quantity

 Figures of quality
 Figures of quantity consist of : a) Overstatement (exaggeration); b)

Understatement (weakening).

They demonstrate the most primitive type of renaming.

Figures of quality (secondary nomination) is not completely arbitrary, it is carried out
according to certain principles or rules.

 Most commonly the transfer of a name occurs:

 1) on the basis of similiarity or likeness (real or imaginary) of two objects belonging to different
areas of reality, which are regarded as such due to individual or collective perception (rat-spy,
rabbit- coward);
 2) on the basis of contiguity or some logical (usually objective) relations or associations
between different objects (chicken – food, hat – man in a hat);
 3) on the basis of contrast (when the two objects or things are diametrically opposite).
 FIGURES OF QUANTITY
 Hyperbole is a deliberate overstatement or exaggeration aimed at intensifying one of the features of
the object in question.

 An overstatement may be considered hyperbole only when the exaggeration is deliberate and both the
speaker and the listener are aware of it.
 Hyperbole is mainly used to intensify physical qualities of objects or people: size, colour, quantity,
age etc.,
 e.g. Her family is one aunt about a thousand years old.
(F.Sc. Fitzgerald).
 The use of hyperbole may show the overflow of emotions:

 e.g. I loved Ophelia; forty thousand brothers could not, with all their quantity of love, make up my
sum.
(W.Shakespeare).
 Hyperbole in oral speech is often used to intensify a statement

 e.g. She was a giant of a woman. (Fl. O'Connor).

Hyperbole, as any other semasiological EM, may become trite through frequent
repetition:

e.g. for ages, scared to death, I beg thousand pardons etc.

 Meiosis is a figure of speech
opposite to hyperbole.

 This is a deliberate understatement, or underestimation of some feature of an object or phenomena with

the aim of intensifying the expressiveness of speech.
 The features stressed are usually size, volume, distance, time etc.
 is mainly used in oral speech to emphasize the insignificance of an object,
 e.g. She wore a pink hat, the size of a button (J.Reed),
a pretty penny, Tom Thumb etc.
Litotes differs from meiosis by both its contents and structure.

 Litotes presents a statement in the form of negation.

 can be regarded as the transposition of a syntactical construction.
 has a specific semantic and syntactic structure: the usage of not before a word with a negative prefix,
 e.g. Julia was not dissatisfied with herself (W.S. Maugham).
 Litotes is used in oral speech

 to weaken positive characteristics of a thing or person;

 to convey the speaker's doubts as to the exact value or significance of the object of
speech,

 e.g. Her face was not unpretty (K. Kesey).

 FIGURES OF QUALITY

 To this group we refer figures of speech based on comparison of features and qualities of two objects,
belonging to different areas or classes, which are perceived as having a common feature.

 The basic tropes in this group are metaphor, metonymy, and irony.
 Metaphor and metonymy are universal means of reinterpretation and transfer of a
name from one denotate to another.
 The difference between them is that while in metaphor this transfer is realized on the basis
of likeness (real or imaginary) of the two objects (e.g. He is a brick, a log, a bear), in case
of metonymy it is realized on the basis of contiguity between the two objects (e.g. I like
Beethoven).
To the Metonymical Group we refer metonymy, synechdoche, periphrasis, and
euphemism.

 Metonymy as a secondary nomination unit is based on the real association of the object of nomination with
the object whose name is transferred.
 The simplest kind of metonymy is lexical metonymy, when the name of an object (most often, a proper
name) is transferred to another object (Lewis, Makintosh, volt, amper). Such metonymies have no
stylistic value as they become common nouns.
 Stylistic metonymy suggests a new, unexpected
association between the two objects.
 In metonymy, the associations between the object named and the object implied vary.
 They may bring together
 some features of a person and the person him/herself;
 an article of clothing and the person wearing it;
 an instrument and the action it performs;
 the two objects whose functions coincide

 e.g. She was a sunny, happy sort of creature. Too fond of the bottle (A. Christie); He made his way
through the perfume and conversation (I. Shaw).
 Synecdoche is a variety of metonymy in
which the transfer is based on the association between a part and the whole, the singular and the
plural.
 The first variant is naming the whole object by mentioning part of it:

 e.g. Caroline lives with Jack under the same roof (under the same roof - in the same
house).

 The second variant of synecdoche is using the name of the whole object to denote a constituent
part of this object:

 e.g. The hall applauded (the hall = the people inside).

 Periphrasis (Greek: peri – around; phraseo – speak) is a stylistic figure which substitutes a
word designating an object for a word-combination which describes its most essential and
characteristic features.
 Periphrasis both names and describes;
 indicates a feature which the speaker or writer wants to stress and often conveys an individual
perception of the object or phenomenon named.

 e.g. The hospital was crowded with the surgically interesting products {the wounded} of
the fighting in Africa (I. Shaw).
 As a result of frequent repetition, periphrasis can become well-established as a
synonymous expression for the word generally used to designate the object. It is called
traditional, dictionary or language periphrasis,

 e.g. gentlemen of the long robe (lawyers),

 the better (fair, gentle) sex,
 my better half (my spouse),
 the minions of the law (police).
 Logical periphrasis is based upon one of the inherent properties of the object:
 weapons = instruments of destruction;
 love = the most pardonable of human weaknesses;

 Figurative periphrasis is based upon metaphor or metonymy:

 to marry = to tie the knot (metaphor); enthusiast = young blood (metonymy);
money = mote of evil (metaphor).
Euphemism (Greek: eupheme – speaking well) is a variety of periphrasis which is used to replace
an unpleasant word or expression by a conventionally more acceptable one.
 Euphemisms may be divided into several groups according to the spheres of usage:
1) religious euphemisms: God may be replaced
by Goodness, Lord, Jove, Heaven etc.; Devil - by the dence, the dickens, old Nick, old Harry;

2) euphemisms connected with death: to join the majority, to pass away, to go the way of all flesh, to go
west, to breathe one's last, to expire, to depart etc;

3) political euphemisms, widely used in mass

media: undernourishment for starvation, less fortunate elements for the poor, economic tunnelfor the
crisis etc.
 The euphemistic transfer of a name is often based on metaphor or metonymy.
 In fiction, euphemisms are used to give more positive characteristics to the denotate

 e.g. Jean nodded without turning and slid between two vermilion-coloured buses so that two
drivers simultaneously used the same qualitative word (J. Galsworthy).
 Metaphor is a secondary nomination unit based on likeness, similarity (real or imaginary) of some
features of two different objects;
 is usually used in the predicate group, because it aims at individualization and characterization of
the object.
4 types of metaphor, the stylistic value of each type being different:
 1) nominative metaphor, i.e. one name which is substituted for by another. The nominative metaphor
gives a new name to a class of objects. Such metaphors are a mere technical device for extracting a new
name, from the old word-stock
 e.g. the apple of the eye, a leg of the table, an arm of the clock, the foot of the hill.

 2) cognitive metaphor is created as a result of the shift in the combinability of qualifying lexical units,
when their meaning becomes more abstract. Objects named are ascribed the features of quite different
objects, sometimes even alien qualities
 e.g. black night (water, heat, despair etc). It may be based on implied simile, e.g. Time flies (as a
bird).
 3) generalizing metaphor leads to polysemy as it destroys the borderline between different notions. In
this case, predicative lexical units undergo metaphorization and transform into identifying lexical
units. This metaphor is somewhat artificial and it indicates the feelings some artefacts can evoke in the
customers rather than the qualities of some goods. Its stylistic effect is weak
 e.g. восторгаться → шоколад "Bocmopг".

 4) figurative or image-bearing metaphor presupposes that identifying lexical units are transferred
into the predicate-slot and, as a predicate, refer to other objects or a class of objects. Here, metaphor
is a means of individualization, evaluation, and discrimination of the shades of meaning. Such
metaphor appeals to the reader's intuition, giving him/her a chance to interpret the text creatively.
 e.g. They walked along, two continents of experience and feeling, unable to
communicate (W.S. Gilbert).
According to its structure, metaphor may be:

 a) simple or elementary, which is based on the actualization of one or several features common
for two objects;

 b) prolonged or sustained, which is not confined to one feature that forms the main, central
image but also comprises other features linked with and developing this image in context,

 e.g. He was surprised that the fire which flashed from his eyes did not melt the glasses of
the spectacles (A. Huxley).

 In this example, images flashed and melted are connected with the main image expressed by
the word fire.
 According to the peculiarities of its semantics, metaphor may be trite (traditional,
language) and genuine (speech).
 Stylistic functions of metaphor are twofold. By evoking images and suggesting
analogies, it:

1) makes the author's thought more concrete, definite, and clear, and

2) reveals the author's emotional attitude towards what he/she describes.

Antonomasia (Greek: antonomasia –
renaming) is a peculiar variety of metaphor
 based upon the principle of identification of human beings with things which surround them.

 There are two types of antonomasia:

1) the usage of a proper name for a common noun (Othello, Romeo, Hamlet);

2) the usage of common nouns or their parts as proper names (Mr.Snake, Mr.Backbite etc.),
 e.g. "Don't ask me,” said Mr. Owl Eyes washing his hands off the whole matter (F.Sc. Fitzgerald).

The main stylistic function of antonomasia - to characterize a person simultaneously with naming him/her.
 Personification (Latin: persona – person, facere – do) is also a variety of metaphor. It is based
on ascribing some features and characteristics of a person to a thing.

 e.g.
Autumn comes
And trees are shedding their leaves And Mother Nature blushes Before
disrobing
(N. West)
 Allegory is another variety of metaphor.

 It differs from metaphor as it is mainly used in fiction and it differs from personification as it appears only
in a text, no matter how short it may be (e.g. proverbs, fables or fairy tales).
 Irony (Greek: eironeia – concealed mockery) is realized when the speaker intentionally breaks
the principle of sincerity of speech.

 In a narrow sense, irony is the use of a word having a positive meaning to express a negative one.
 In a wider sense, irony is an utterance which formally shows a positive or neutral attitude of the
speaker to the object of conversation but in fact expresses a negative evaluation of it.

 e.g. She was a gentle woman, and this, of course, is a very fine thing to be; she was proud of
it (in quite a gentlewomanly way), and was in the habit of saying that gentlefolk were
gentlefolk, which, if you come to think of it, is a profound remark (W.S.Maugham).
 FIGURES OF COMBINATION
(SD)

 Figures of combination are SD of semasiology.

 They are stylistically relevant semantic means of combining lexical, syntactical and other units
(including EM) belonging to the same or different language levels. So, the realization of the figures of
combination is possible only in context.
There are 3 basic types of semantic relations between words, phrases, and utterances:

1) those involving similar (synonymous) meanings of such units. The speaker combines within an utterance
or text the units whose meaning he/she considers similar, thus figures of identity are formed;
2) those based on opposite (antonymous) meanings of the units. The speaker combines within an utterance
or text two semantically contrasting units. As a result, figures of opposition are formed;
3) those comprising somewhat different meanings of the units. The speaker combines within an utterance or
text lexical units denoting different but close notions. As a result, the figures of unequality are formed.
 FIGURES OF COMBINATION

FIGURES OF FIGURES OF FIGURES OF

IDENTITY OPPOSITION INEQUALITY

Simile Antithesis Climax

Synonyms- Oxymoron Anticlimax

substitutes Pun

Synonyms- Zeugma

specifiers
 FIGURES OF IDENTITY

 Simile (Latin: simile - similar) is a partial identification of two objects belonging to different spheres or
bringing together some of their qualities.

 The objects compared are not identical, though they have some resemblance, some common features.
Emphasizing their partial identity gives new characteristics to the referent.
 Simile is a structure consisting of two components:
 the subject of comparison, and
 the object of comparison which are united by formal markers: as, as … as, like, as though, as if, such as
etc.,

 e.g. Unhappiness was like a hungry animal waiting beside the track for any victim /G.Greene/.
 If formal markers are missing but the relations between the two objects are those of similarity and
identity, we have implied
simile. In such similes notional or seminotional words (verbs, nouns etc.) substitute formal markers (Cf: to
resemble, to remind, to seem, resemblance etc.):

 e.g. H.G.Wells reminded her of the nice paddies in her native California (A.Huxley).
 Synonyms-substitutes (substituting synonyms) are words used to denote objects or action,
supplementing new additional details, which helps to avoid monotonous repetitions.

 e.g. But he had no words to express his feelings and to relieve them would utter an obscene jest;
it was as though his emotion was so violent that he needed vulgarity to break the tension.
Mackintosh observed this sentiment with an icy disdain /W.S.Maugham/.
 Synonyms-specifiers (specifying synonyms) are used as a chain of words which express
similar meanings;
 are used for a better and more detailed description of an object or person.
 There are two ways of using specifying synonyms:
1) as paired synonyms, and
2) as synonymic variations,

e.g. …the intent of which perjury being to rob a

poor native widow and her helpless family of a plantation-patch, their only stay and support in
their bereavement and desolation /M.Twain/.
 FIGURES OF OPPOSITION

 Antithesis (Greek - opposition) is a stylistic device which presents two contrasting ideas in close
proximity in order to stress the contrast.

 There are several variants of antithesis based on different relations of the ideas expressed:
1) opposition of features possessed by the same referent,

 e.g. Some people have much to live on, and little to live for (O.Wilde);
2) opposition of two or more different referents having contrasting features,
e.g. Their pre-money wives did not go together with their post-money daughters
/E.Hemingway/;

3) opposition of referents having not only contrasting feature but embracing a wider
range of features,
e.g. New England had a native literature, while Virginia had none; numerous industries, while
Virginia was all agricultural /Th.Dreiser/.
Antithesis is widely used in all kinds of speech: fiction, publicistic, scientific, and
colloquial English.

It performs various stylistic functions: stressing the contrast and rhythmically organizing
the utterance.
Due to the last quality antithesis is widely used in poetry in combination with anaphora,
epiphora, and alliteration.
 Oxymoron (Greek: oxymoron – witty – foolish) is also a combination of opposite meanings
which exclude each other.
But in this case, the two semantically contrasting ideas are expressed by syntactically
interdependent words (in predicative, attributive or adverbial phrases).

e.g.He was certain the whites could easily detect his adoring hatred to them /R.Wright/.
 Original oxymorons are created by the authors to make the utterance emotionally charged,
vivid, and fresh,

 e.g. Oh brawling love! Oh loving hate! Oh heavy lightness! Serious vanity! Feather
of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health!
/W. Shakespeare/.
 Figures (Relations) of
Unequality

 Gradation (climax) is a stylistic device consisting in such distribution of elements of the utterance
when each next element is characterized by increasing degree of intensity.
 e.g. Of course, it's important. Incredibly, urgently, desperately important.
 Anticlimax (Bathos) is a stylistic device consisting in such distribution of elements of the utterance
when each next element is characterized by decreasing degree of intensity.
 e.g. He was unconsolable - for an afternoon.
 Pun (play upon words) is a stylistic device based on the interaction of two well-known meanings of a
word or phrase.

 e.g. There comes a period in every man's life, but she is just a semicolon in his.
 1. Play on the words may be based on
polysemy and homonymy:

e.g. Visitor, to a little boy:

-Is your mother engaged?
-Engaged? She is already married.

 2. Play on words may be based upon similarity of pronunciation:

e.g. John said to Pete at dinner: "Carry on". But Pete never ate carrion [9; 12].
 Zeugma is a stylistic device based on the
use of a word in the same grammatical but different semantic relations to two adjacent
words in the context, the semantic relations being, on the one
hand, literal, and, on the other, transferred.

e.g. He took his hat and his leave.

She went home, in a flood of tears and a sedan chair.