Content
1.
Introduction
2.Objectives
3.Main
Content
3.1
Meaning of Stylistics and its approaches
3.2
Style as Choice
3.3
Style as the Man
3.4
Style as Deviation
3.5
Style as Conformity
3.6
Style as Period or Time
3.7
Style as Situation
4.
Conclusion
5.
Summary
6.
References
Introduction
Stylistics,
a yoking of style and linguistics, is a discipline which has been
approached
from
many perspectives. Its meaning varies, based on the theory that is
adopted. When
we
carry out the different activities that are connected to our area of
business, either in
spoken
or written forms, we often use devices of thought and the rules of
language, but
there
are variations so as to change meanings or say the same thing in
different ways.
This
is what the concept of style is based upon: the use of language in
different ways, all for the purpose of achieving a common goal — to
negotiate meanings.
Stylistics is
the study and interpretation of texts in regard to their linguistic
and tonal style. As a discipline, it linksliterary
criticism to linguistics.
It does not function as an autonomous domain on its own, but it can
be applied to an understanding of literature and journalism as
well as linguistics. Sources
of study in stylistics may range from canonical works of writing to
popular texts, and from advertising copy
to news,
non-fiction, and popular
culture,
as well as to political and religious discourse.
Stylistics
as a conceptual discipline may attempt to establish principles
capable of explaining particular choices made by individuals and
social groups in their use of language, such as in the literary
production and reception of genre,
the study of folk
art,
in the study of spoken dialects and registers,
and can be applied to areas such as discourse
analysisas
well as literary
criticism.
Common
features of style include the use of dialogue,
including regional accents and
individual dialects (or ideolects),
the use of grammar,
such as the observation of active
voice and passive
voice,
the distribution of sentence lengths,
the use of particular language
registers,
and so on. In addition, stylistics is a distinctive term that may be
used to determine the connections between the form and effects within
a particular variety of language. Therefore, stylistics looks at what
is ‘going on’ within the language; what the linguistic associations
are that the style of language reveals.
OBJECTIVES
At
the end of this unit, you should be able to:
(i)
define style and stylistics;
(ii)
identify and explain at least three perspectives on style;
(iii)
explain stylistics as a multi-dimensional discipline.
Main content
Stylistics
is a broad term that has assumed different meanings from different
linguistic scholars. But it can simply be said to be the study of
style. Style on its own as defined by Lucas (1955:9) is: the
effective use of language, especially in prose, whether to make
statements or to rouse emotions. It involves first of all the power
to put fact with clarity and brevity.
The
term is applied to the realm of linguistics and literary science
which studies peculiarities of a writer individual manner of using
language means to achieve his goals of influencing the reader.
The
term “STYLE” originated from the Latin “stilus” which means a
pen used by the Romans for writing on wax, tablets. In the course of
time it developed several meanings, each one applied to a specific
study of language elements and their use in speech.
Prof.
Galperin defines INDIVIDUAL STYLE as a unique combination of language
units, expressive means and stylistic peculiar to a given writer,
which makes that writer’s works or even utterances easily
recognizable.
Saussure’s
disciple Charles Bally modeled his ideas of style on a structural
conception of language and started that branch of general linguistics
which is sometimes called linguostylistics.
Style
has also been defined as the description and analysis of the
variability forms of linguistic items in actual language use. Leech
(1969: 14) quotes Aristotle as saying that “the most effective
means of achieving both clarity and diction and a certain dignity is
the use of altered from of words.”
Stylistics
is also defined as a study of the different styles that are present
in either a given utterance or a written text or document. The
consistent appearance of certain structures, items and elements in a
speech, an utterance or in a given text is one of the major concerns
of Stylistics. Stylistics requires the use of traditional levels of
linguistic description such as sounds, form, structure and meaning.
It then follows that the consistent appearance of certain structures,
items and elements in speech utterances or in a given text is one of
the major concerns of stylistics. Linguistic Stylistic studies is
concerned with the varieties of language and the exploration of some
of the formal linguistic features which characterize them. The
essence and the usefulness of stylistics is that it enables the
immediate understanding of utterances and texts, thereby maximizing
our enjoyment of the texts.
The
concepts of style and stylistic variation in language are based on
the general notion that within the language system, the content can
be encoded in more than one linguistic form. Thus, it is possible for
it to operate at all linguistic levels such as phonological, lexical
and syntactic. Therefore, style may be regarded as a choice of
linguistic means, as deviation from the norms of language use, as
recurrent features of linguistic forms and as comparisons. Stylistics
deals with a wide range of language varieties and styles that that
are possible in creating different texts, whether spoken or written,
monologue or dialogue, formal or informal, scientific or religious
etc.
Again,
stylistics is concerned with the study of the language of literature
or the study of the language habits of particular authors and their
writing patterns. From the foregoing, stylistics can be said to be
the techniques of explication which allows us to define objectively
what an author has done, (linguistic or non-linguistic), in his use
of language.
The
main aim of stylistics is to enable us understand the intent of the
author in the manner the information has been passed across by the
author or writer. Therefore, stylistics is concerned with the
examination of grammar, lexis, semantics as well as phonological
properties and discursive devices. Stylistics is more interested in
the significance of function that the chosen style fulfils.
The
analysis of literary style goes back to the study of classical
rhetoric, though modern stylistics has its roots in Russian
Formalism[ and
the related Prague
Schoolof the early twentieth century.
In
1909, Charles
Bally’s Traité
de stylistique française had
proposed stylistics as a distinct academic discipline to
complement Saussurean linguistics.
For Bally, Saussure’s linguistics by itself couldn’t fully describe
the language of personal expression. Bally’s programme fitted
well with the aims of the Prague School.
Taking
forward the ideas of the Russian Formalists, the Prague School built
on the concept of foregrounding,
where it is assumed that poetic language is considered to stand apart
from non-literary background language, by means of deviation (from
the norms of everyday language) or parallelism.
According to the Prague School, however, this background language
isn’t constant, and the relationship between poetic and everyday
language is therefore always shifting.
Roman
Jakobson had been an active member of the Russian Formalists
and the Prague School, before emigrating to America in the 1940s. He
brought together Russian Formalism and American New
Criticism in his Closing
Statement at
a conference on stylistics at Indiana
University in 1958. Published as Linguistics
and Poetics in
1960, Jakobson’s lecture is often credited with being the first
coherent formulation of stylistics, and his argument was that the
study of poetic language should be a sub-branch of
linguistics.[10] The poetic
function was
one of six general functions
of language he described in the lecture.
Michael
Halliday is an important figure in the development of
British stylistics. His 1971 study Linguistic
Function and Literary Style: An Inquiry into the Language of William
Golding’s The
Inheritors is
a key essay. One of Halliday’s contributions has been the use of the
term register to
explain the connections between language and its context. For
Halliday register is distinct from dialect.
Dialect refers to the habitual language of a particular user in a
specific geographical or social context. Register describes the
choices made by the user, choices which depend on three
variables: field («what
the participants… are actually engaged in doing», for
instance, discussing a specific subject or topic),
tenor (who
is taking part in the exchange) and mode (the
use to which the language is being put).
Fowler
comments that different fields produce different language, most
obviously at the level of vocabulary (Fowler.
1996, 192) The linguist David
Crystal points out that Halliday’s ‘tenor’ stands as a
roughly equivalent term for ‘style’, which is a more specific
alternative used by linguists to avoid ambiguity. (Crystal. 1985,
292) Halliday’s third category, mode,
is what he refers to as the symbolic organisation of the situation.
Downes recognises two distinct aspects within the category of mode
and suggests that not only does it describe the relation to the
medium: written, spoken, and so on, but also describes the genre of
the text. (Downes. 1998, 316) Halliday refers to genre as pre-coded
language, language that has not simply been used before, but that
predetermines the selection of textual meanings. The linguist William
Downes makes the point that the principal characteristic of
register, no matter how peculiar or diverse, is that it is obvious
and immediately recognisable. (Downes. 1998, 309)
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Style is widely used to shape what is written. Just as we dress in different style of pants, garment shirts, using different colors depending on the time of the year or the season, so the style is the narrator’s dress that exposes with the purpose of attracting the attention of those who see it, in this case of the one who reads his writing. Style in linguistics
The purpose of this style work is to have a concept of what style is, how style is classified and what elements are taken into account when classifying them. Characteristics of these and differences from each other.
The different styles are also listed each with a clear and simple example so that the reader does not have any inconvenience when applying it to any writing or personal walk .
This work was based on the methodology of research where I lean on various sources of information such as books like text , internet , etc.
He who leaves a mark because he thinks; nails, because it impresses; like, because it captivates and admires; leaves a mark , because it denotes the author’s culture , tastes, personality , way of being, sign and sign of many things, be it knowledge, ability, training, points of view, independence , are living parts of the writer who has left his trail in the arts, literature , science , religions , something so experiential that it personalizes and differs from others, but nevertheless it is invisible, it is not even known that it is had and nor can it be safely define; Everything is said, we are all on the same level, we see, hear and think almost the same, but nevertheless, each one gives it its particular form.
Style Definitions:
- It is the way in which the author expresses what he writes using his own and particular features.
- Style is the expression of the author’s personality . It is the face of the soul . It is the man . It is his life.
Each author is a new style. Exactly inimitable., Ineditable, absolute it would be said.
Two authors may resemble writing, but their styles will never be an exact copy of each other. Nor that they deal with the same subject. Or use equal words. Or that they put in their works the same fervor.
Two fundamental elements integrate it, the spirit and the literary technique. Predominating the spirit, which is like saying, pain, joy, anguish, hope, hate, love , cynicism, brotherly sincerity. Style in linguistics
Classification of style according to objective or subjective
They are classified as DIRECT AND INDIRECT
A) Direct Style :
It is one in which the person who speaks or writes repeats textually what another person or himself has said. Also in the direct style the character speaks and not the narrator. This style is objective because the author tries to give the text an exact expression of things. This narration is usually indicated with stripes or quotes.
Ex.
“They said: – Show us the way.
He told them: – I am the way, the truth and the life; nobody comes to the father but it is for me. “
B) Indirect Style:
It is where the author or narrator indirectly quotes what the character said. The author exposes what he thought happened in the narrative. When writing the writer judges and explains what he thinks about something, a story, a fact, etc. It should also be noted that in the indirect style the narrator is the main figure and narrates indirectly citing the character. Style in linguistics
Ex.
“They in a voice cried out if He would show them the way, to which Jesus claimed to be the way, the truth and the life and also added that no one would go to the father except through him.”
Classification of the style according to the level of language used.
1. Formal style.
It is characterized by its select theme, specialized lexicon. An indirect language is used that consists in designating the objects or actions through periphrasis. This style is widely used.
in academic speeches , essays , seminars, scientific reports , doctoral theses etc.
Ex.
“After the initial excitement – logic in that situation – we began to chat. Soon we realized that our meeting had not been casual. Although she had very clear intentions, and so repeated it several times That afternoon we confessed our sorrows to each other, and this relationship began that has turned my life around. […]
After two or three meetings I came to the conclusion that she had decided to erase from her mind any possibility of maintaining a stable relationship with a man . I don’t know what experiences he had, but I began to think that he didn’t explain his past relationships in detail. ” Style in linguistics
2. Poetic style.
It is used both in verse and prose. This style shows the predominance of stylistic figures, words with a connotative value . The predominant language is artistic or aesthetic .
The author tries to arouse pleasant and unpleasant emotions and feelings.
Ex. ” Behold, you are beautiful, my friend. Your eyes between your gums, like a dove; your lips like threads of grana, and your beautiful speech. Your neck like the tower of David built for armory.” Songs 4
3. Popular or informal style.
It is used daily in simple communication . Its terms are common, direct and plain. In this style the vulgar, incorrect words, etc. abound. This style is characteristic of the idealistic culture . Style in linguistics
Ex.
“At that time it was obligatory to eat all together, children, grandchildren, cousins and Uncles at the table in the living room near the railing. The avocado and the bean-filled conon were never lacking in a meal.
Deep white plate. Yes! my grandfather always left the snack for the old woman; and in the afternoon he was fixed on his guano table. “
4. Scientific or Demonstrative Style.
In this style, the writer must convince the reader, not only with reasoning, but with facts. Denotative words are used directly in this style. This style is accurate and precise; the many verbs and the ornate words are also avoided. The method used is that of logical argumentation, based on facts and conclusions, theorems and proof. Style in linguistics
Ex.
” Water is composed of 2 molecules of Hydrogen and one of Oxygen , resulting in the scientific composition or formula H2O. This composition is standard in its natural state and is also unalterable, which means that; it does not matter the volume or mass , the H2O composition will maintain its characteristics. “
5. The Picturesque style .
It is a style in which the narrator tries to give it life, through descriptive liveliness; highlighting the fundamental, so that in this way, it is firmly engraved in the imagination of the reader.
Task I. 1. Stylistics. FS. EM. SD. Stylistics, sometimes called linguo-stylistics is a branch of general ling. It deals mainly with two interdependent tasks: a) the investigation of the inventory of special language media which by their ontological features secure the desirable effect of the utterance b) certain types of texts (discourses) which due to the choice and arrangement of language means are distinguished by the pragmatic aspect of communication. The types of texts that are distinguished by the pragmatic aspect of comm.are called FS of lang. , the special media of language which secure the desirable effect of the utterance are called SD and EM. SDs and Ems touch upon such general lang.problems as the aesthetic function of lang.,synonymous ways of rendering one and the same idea, emotional colouring in lang.,the interrelaton between language and thought,the individual manner of an author in making use of lang. and a number of other issues. The FS cannnot avoid discussionof such most gener.ling. issues as oral and wr. Varieties of lang., the notion of the literary lang.,the constituents of texts larger than the sentence,the generative aspect of literary texts and some others.Stylistics also has link with such diciplines as theory of information,literature,psychology,logic and even statistics. Styl. Deals with the results of the act of communicaton and it also investigates the ontological,i.e.natural,inherent and functional pecularities of the means of com. The word style is now used in many aspects such as teaching how to write compositions,it is used to reveal correspondence between thought and expression,it denotes an individul manner of making use of lang. there are many definitions of style but the most frequent is one given by Seymoyr Chatman: Style is a product of individual choices and patterns of choices among linguistic possibilities.Dealing with stylistics we should use the term individual style that is indiv.manner of the author to usel ang.means to achieve the effect he desires,it is a unique combination of lang.units EM and SD peculiar to a given writer which makes his works easily recognizable. Now it should be possible to define the notion of expressive means.The expressive means of a lang are those phonetic, morphological,word-Building, lexical, phraseological and syntactical forms which exist In language-as-a-system for the purpose of logical and/or emotional in-tensification of the utterance. These intensifying forms, wrought by social usage and recognized by their semantic function, have been singled out in grammars, courses in phonetics and dictionaries (including phra-seological ones) as having special functions in making the utterances emphatic. Morphological expressive means of the English language is now a rather impoverished set of media to which the quality of expressiveness can be attributed. Among the word-building means we find a great many forms which serve to make the utterance more expressive by intensifying some of their semantic and/or grammatical properties. The diminutive suffixes,-y,-let,-ie e.g. ‘dearie’, ‘sonny’, ‘auntie’, At the lexical level there are a great many words which due to their inner expressiveness constitute a special layer. There are words with emotive meaning only (interjections), words which have both referential and emotive meaning (epithets), words which still retain a twofold meaning: denotative and connotative (love, hate, sympathy),Finally, at the syntactical level there are many constructions which, when set against synonymous neutral ones, will reveal a certain degree of logical or emotional emphasis. What then is a stylistic device? It is a conscious and intentional intensification of some typical structural and/or semantic property of a language unit (neutral or expressive) prompted to a generalized status and thus Becoming a
1. The Major Concepts of Stylistics. Style as a Linguistic Phenomenon. Lecture 2
2. Conceptions of style
3. Style
a specific
characteristic of a
human activity
presupposing some
choice within the
system of accepted
norms, a way, a mode,
a manner of fulfilling
some activity
K.A. Dolinin
4.
Characteristics of style
5.
1. a set of
characteristics by
which we distinguish
one author from
another, one social
group, trend, period,
etc. from another
2. something belonging
to the plane of
expression
6. What is style in language?
Language — a vehicle of human
communication (some kind of activity).
Style – a manner of conducting this
activity.
7. Style in linguistics
• aesthetic function and emotional
colouring of language
• EMs and SDs of language
• synonymous ways of expressing the
same idea
• individual manner of using language
8. Style as a decoration of language
Style and language – 2 separate
bodies.
Style – like a trimming to a dress.
9. Style as a technique of expression
Style – an ability to write clearly,
correctly and in a interesting manner.
Style in the utilitarian sense, can be
taught.
10. Style as a literary genre
Classical style, realistic style, the style
of Romanticism, etc.
Is applied to different types of literary
works – fable, novel, ballad, etc.
11. Style depending on the aim of communication
Functional style
A system of interrelated language
means which serves a definite aim of
communication
12.
The problem of the
norm. Deviations from
the norm
Style is a product of individual
choices and patterns of choices
among linguistic possibilities.
S. Chatman
13. What is the norm?
1. the invariant of the norm (an abstraction:
phonetic, lexical, grammar and spelling
rules of a language)
2. its variants (realized in concrete texts)
14.
Norm
a set of stable language means which
are recognized by the language
community as a model or standard
15. Two opposite points of view
Style
reveals
itself
through
variations
within the limits
of the norm.
Anything that can be
labelled as “stylistic”
is already a deviation
from the established
norm.
Style is deviations.
(Enkvist)
16. Deviations
non-expressive
expressive
anomalies which
are found in the
speech of
children,
foreigners and
people with
mental disorders
deliberate,
motivated
violations,
producing a
specific effect,
often creating
an image
e.g. a books, me speaks
e.g. two wives ago,
it was an I who
17. Rule – restriction – violation
1.
2.
3.
every countable noun can take -s in
plural and be used with an article
mass and abstract nouns are used with
the Ø article and have no plural form
violation
18.
1. a book – books
2. sand, water
sands (a vast amount, the sands of Sahara)
the waters of the Pacific
3. footsteps on the sand of war
19. The Foregrounding Theory
Foregrounding – an ability of a verbal
element to obtain extra significance in a
given context.
Prague School of Structural Linguistics
Russian formalists – Y. Tynyanov, R.
Jacobson, B. Tomashevsky, V. Shklovsky
20. Theory of text structuring
Underlining main ideas
Dividing text into paragraphs (slow
perception of an unbroken text )
Headlines help to focus on main ideas
21. Types of Foregrounding
1. Coupling
2. Convergence
3. Defeated Expectancy (Low Predictability)
4. Salient Feature (Strong Position)
22. Coupling
a deliberate repetition of similar elements
in similar positions
R. Jacobson: parallel constructions.
S. Levin: universal character of coupling.
23.
Coupling on every level of
language
• phonetic – rhyme, alliteration,
assonance
• lexical – synonyms, antonyms,
derivatives, words belonging to one
semantic field
• syntactical – anaphora, epiphora,
polysyndeton
24.
So long as men can breathe and eyes can
see,
So long lives this and this gives life to me.
W. Shakespeare
Lend your money and lose your friend.
25. Convergence
accumulation of SDs promoting the same
idea, motive
26. Defeated Expectancy
Some element of the text receives
prominence due to the interruption in
the pattern of predictability.
27.
Колумб
открыл
окно
2
informational
peaks
Information peaks and recessions agree
with organization of human attention
28.
Talk all you like about automatic ovens
and electric dishwashers, there’s nothing
you can have around the house as useful
as a husband.
Чем меньше женщину мы любим, тем
лучше нравимся мы ей.
А.С. Пушкин «Евгений Онегин» Глава IV.
29. Semi-marked structures
a variety of defeated expectancy
associated with deviation from the
grammatical and lexical norms
30.
N. Chomsky: gradation of grammatical
norm
Marked
are generated
according to
grammar rules of a
given language
Semi- marked
Unmarked
grammatically
incorrect
sentences.
Don’t
exist in a language,
can’t be generated
according to its
rules
31. Semi-marked structures
structures that deviate from the
established rules of grammar and require
special interpretation
32.
• are a linguistic basis for tropes and
SDs
• low predictivness
• a source of expressing limitless
number of vivid images (structures
are vague and allow different
interpretations)
• compression
33.
Colourless green ideas sleep
furiously.
N. Chomsky
34. Strong position
headline
beginning of the text
final episode
35. Thank you!
STYLISTICS AS A
BRANCH OF LINGUISTICS:GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS
1) The subject of stylistics
2) Problems of stylistic research
3) Types of research and branches of stylistics
4) The concept of norm and its variants
5) Individual study
6) The concept of functional styles
Units of language on different levels are
studied by traditional branches of linguistics such as phonetics that deals
with speech sounds and intonation; lexicology that treats words, their meaning
and vocabulary structure, grammar that analyzes forms of words and their
function in a sentence which is studied by syntax. These areas of linguistic study
are rather clearly defined and have a long-term tradition of regarding language
phenomena from a level-oriented point of view. Thus, the subject matter and the
material under study of these linguistic disciplines are more or less
clear-cut.
It gets more complicated when we talk about
stylistics. Some scholars claim that it is a comparatively new branch of
linguistics which has only several decades of intense linguistic interest
behind it. Actually, the term stylistics came into existence not so long ago.
Thus, stylistics or as it is often called
linguo-stylistics is on the list of the youngest sciences. This branch of
linguistic came into active functioning in the middle of the 20th century. At
that period of time one could observe a serious decline in structural
linguistics when grammar failed to explain some linguistic phenomena. So,
stylistics came in.
As a matter of fact the problems of style and
the object of stylistics go as far back
as to ancient schools of rhetoric and poetics.
In ancient times rhetoric appeared as an
oratorical science. It was aimed at solving practical tasks – to teach people
how to express their thoughts skillfully. Ancient Greeks stated that
elaborately combined language means really possessed strong power of persuasion
and they appealed to embellish human speech by all possible language resources.
Actually, the word stylistics is derived from
the Latin word stylus/stilus – which means a slender-pointed writing
instrument (or a small stick with a
pointed end) used by both Romans and Greeks for scratching letters on
wax-covered plates/tablets.
In the course of time this word acquired several
meanings, each of these meanings can be applied to a specific study of language
areas and their use in speech.
It will not be an exaggeration to say that among
various branches of linguistics, the most obscure in content is undoubtedly
stylistics. It happens due to a number of reasons.
First of all, we should bear in mind that there
is a confusion between the terms “style” and “stylistics”. The concept of
“style’ is really broad and it is difficult to regards it as a term. The word
style today is used in its reference to completely different spheres of human
activity. We can speak of style in architecture (gothic, classical, barocco,
neo-classical); style in literature (naturalism, sentimentalism, realism); art
(surrealism, classicism, realism); behavior (eccentric; reserved; outspoken);
fashion (casual; classical);
In the given context style is viewed as a mode
of doing something.
We can say that the scope of problems in
stylistics is open to discussion up to the present day. In linguistics the word
style is used so widely that it requires some interpretation.
Out of different approaches as to the fields of
investigation, the most representative was worked out by professor I. Galperin
who singled out its leading aspects.
1)
The aesthetic
function of the language;
2)
Expressive means of
the language;
3)
Synonymous ways of
expressing one and the same idea;
4)
Emotional colouring
in language;
5)
A system of special
devices – called SDs;
6)
The splitting of a
literary language into separate systems – called styles;
7)
The interaction
between language and thought;
The individual manner
of an author in making use of language (individual study).
Practically all of
these statements have a certain bearing on the subject. Let’s examine them one
by one.
1) The Aesthetic function of the language is an
immanent part of works of art – poetry, imaginative prose – but one can’t
observe it in the works of science, diplomatic and business documents and other
types of texts. Thus, the definition covers only a limited part of the problems
of stylistics.
2) Expressive means are more typical of the
language of poetry, fiction, oratory, colloquial speech rather than the
language of science, technology, commercial documents.
3) Synonymous ways of expressing one and the same
idea is a doubtful statement as with the change of wording — a change of
meaning inevitably takes place – no matter how slight this change is.
4) The emotional colouring of words and sentences
is partially accepted as there are many types of texts that seem to be
unemotional but still subject to stylistic investigation.
5) A system of special devices – called SDs – is
also questionable as no work of art, no text, no speech consists of a system of
SDs. At the same time we can’t deny the fact that the style of anything is
formed by the combination of features, peculiar to it.
6) The splitting of a literary language into
separate systems – called styles. The given aspect also requires some
corrections. As any national language contains a great variety of sublanguages
or sub-standard types of speech – slang, barbarisms, vulgarisms, taboo and a
number of other – reflecting a fleeting character of language development. The
same concerns the problem of nomenclature of styles – in general.
7) The
interaction between language and thought. Thought and its lingual expression
make an inseparable unity, though a real intention may be different from what a
person says. At the same time the idea can be misinterpreted. Moreover, in case
form is changed – a change in content can be observed accordingly.
The individual manner of an author in making use
of language (individual study). The given thesis can be partly accepted as
individual analysis is based on the principle of generalizations.
Thus, none
of the given entries can be entirely acceptable.
The most
representative definitions of style were introduced from the 50-tieth to the
90-iethof the 20th century.
In 1955 the
academician V Vinogradov defined style as a “socially recognized and functionally
conditioned, internally united totality of the ways of using, selecting and
combining the means of lingual
intercourse in the sphere of national language”.
Prof. I. Galperin
offered his definition of style as “a system of interrelated language means
which serves a definite aim in communication”.
According to prof.
Y.I. Screbnev style is what differentiates a group of homogeneous texts (an individual text) from all other groups
(other texts).
Such researchers as
Riesel E., Brandes M.P., Stepanov Y.S., Piotrovsky R.S., Dolinin K.A., Arnold
I.V., Maltsev V.A., Kukharenko V.A., Morokhovsky P.N., Kozhina M.N., Golub I.B.
propose more or less analogous systems of styles based on the subdivision of styles
into 2 classes: literary and colloquial.
Different approaches to the phenomenon of style were
outlined by the representatives of foreign linguistic thought.
The set of rules how to write a composition –
sometimes style is associated with very simple notions like “style is the man
himself (Buffon 18thc.)
“Style – is depth,” said Darbyshire in 1971 “A Grammar
of Style”;
“style is deviation”- considered Enkvist in his book
Linguistic Stylistics published in the Hague in 1973.
All these definitions deal somehow with the essence of
style that is summed up by the following
observations:
Style is a quality of language which communicates
precisely emotions or thoughts or a system of them peculiar to the author
A true idiosyncrasy of style is the result of an
author’s success in compelling language to conform to his mode of experience
(Middleton Murry)
Style is a contextually restricted linguistic
variation (Enkvist)
Style is a selection of non-distinctive features of language(Bloomfield)
Style is simply synonymous with form or expression (Benedetto
Croce)
Archibald Hill states “structures, sequences and patterns which extend or
may extend beyond the boundaries of individual sentences define style”.
The most frequently met definition of style belongs to Seymour Chatman:
“Style – is a product of individual choices and the patterns of choices among
linguistic possibilities”.
Werner Winter continues this idea by claiming that the style may be
characterized by a pattern of recurrent selections from the inventory of
optional features of a language.
A famous French
linguist Ch. Bally claimed that stylistics is primarily the study of various
language resources of human emotions and that each stylistic form is marked
either by expressivity and emotivity.
The term style is
also applied to the teaching how to
write clearly, simply and emotionally to achieve correctness in writing and
avoid ambiguity.
From the practical
point of view stylistics is a science which provides a guide and recommendations
aimed at ensuring that speech is not only correct and precise, clear but at the
same time expressive and addressed not only to the hearer’s intellect but to
his feelings as well.
This practical
emphasis in stylistics presupposes the
existence of some definite norms that have taken shape as a result of selection from the whole range of language
means of definite patterns recognized by the majority of native speakers as the
most suitable for a particular situation of verbal communication.
THE CONCEPT OF NORM
The problem of
linguistic norm, including among others stylistic norm arises from the
immediate essence of language in use.
It is quite evident that in any literary
language norm is regarded as the invariant of phonetic, morphological, lexical,
syntactical patterns in circulation during a given period in the development of
the given language.
On the one hand – a
norm must possess a definite degree of stability so as to provide a firm basis
for its functioning without which no norm could exist.
On the other hand –
the linguistic norm is inevitably subject to change a various periods of the
evolution of a language, since language is a social phenomenon.
Variants of these
patterns may sometimes diverge from the invariant but never sufficient to become
unrecognizable or misleading.
The development of
any literary language shows that variants will always center around invariant
forms.
The concept of
linguistic norm is very complex. The flexibility of the linguistic norm results
in the situation where there may exist 2 equally valid variants of expression for 1 and the same language
phenomenon, both of which are accepted as correct. So, there may appear such a
situation when the old norm still exists as it hasn’t yet fallen into disuse and
a new one appears – though it has not yet fully asserted itself.
Thus, we can assume that variants appear all
the time, enriching the language to the
degree which no artificial language will ever be able to reach.
The norm of the
literary language will always presuppose vacillations from the received
standard. The problem is to establish the range of permissible vacillations
from the norm.
It is a constant
process of gradual change observed in the forms and meanings of the language
forms at a given period. And it is therefore very important to understand the
received standard of the given period of the language development in order to
comprehend the direction of further process.
To sum up, we can
conclude that variant as the term itself
suggests will never detach itself from the invariant to such a degree as to
claim entire independence. Yet, there is a tendency to estimate the value of
the individual style by the degree it violates the norms of the language.
INDIVIDUAL STYLE STUDY
Problems concerning
the choice of the most appropriate language means and their organization into a
message from the viewpoint of the addresser are in the centre of attention of the individual
style study.
The message is the common ground for communicants in an act of
communication, in the exchange of information between two participants of the
communicative act –
the addresser (the supplier of information, the speaker, the writer) and
the addressee (the receiver of the information, the listener, the reader).
The individual style study puts particular emphasis on the study of an
individual author’s style, it looks for correlations between the creative
concepts of the author and the language of his works.
In terms of information theory the author’s stylistics may be termed as
the stylistics of the encoder. In this case he tries to encode the information
and the supplier of the information, the addresser as the encoder. His
immediate task is to decode the information – to understand the message ad all
the implications and the problems connected with the adequate reception of the
message (without any informational losses or deformations, i.e. with adequate
decoding — the concern of decoding stylistics.