E.g. Then with enormous, shattering rumble, sludge-puff, sludge-puff, the train came into the station. (A.Saxton)

Indirect onomatopoeia demands some mention of what makes the sound.

Indirect onomatopoeia is a combination of sounds the aim of which is to make the sound of the utterance an echo of its sense. It is sometimes called “echo writing”: “And the silken, sad, uncertain rustling of each purple curtain” (E.A.Poe), where the repetition of the sound [s] actually produces the sound of the rustling of the curtain or the imitation of the sounds produced by the soldiers marching over Africa:

“We are foot-slog-slog-slog-slogging

Foot-foot-foot-foot-slogging over Africa.

Boots- boots- boots- boots - moving up and down again (Kipling).

5. A peculiar phenomenon is connected with onomatopoeia but opposite to it psychologically is mental verbalization of extra-lingual sounds:

· noises produced by animals;

· natural phenomena;

· industrial or traffic noises, that is turning non-human sounds into human words.

One hears what one subconsciously wishes or fears to hear. Thus the croak of a raven seems to Edgar Poe’s inflamed imagination to be an ominous verdict “ Never more ”.

Part II. Stylistic Phonetic. Syntagmatic phonetics.

Outline:

Stylistics of sequence (Syntagmatic stylistics)

Alliteration

Assonance

Paronomasia

Rhythm and meter

 

1. Stylistics of sequence treats the function of co-occurrence of identical, different or contrastive units.

What exactly is understood by co-occurrence? What is felt as co-occurrence and what cases produce no stylistic effect? The answer depends on what level we are talking about.

The novel “An American Tragedy ” by Theodore Dreiser begins with a sentence: “ Dusk of a summer night ”. The same sentence recurs at the end of the second volume and at the beginning of the epilogue. An attentive reader will inevitably recall the beginning of the book as soon as he comes to the conclusion.

In opposition to recurring utterances phonetic units are felt as co-occurring only within more or less short sequences. If the distance is too great our memory doesn’t retain the impression of the first element and the effect of phonetic similarity doesn’t occur.

 

2. Alliteration is the recurrence of an initial consonant in two or more words which either follow each other or appear close enough to be noticeable.

Alliteration is the first case of phonetic co-occurrence.

Alliteration is widely used in English, more than in other languages. It is a typically English feature because ancient English poetry was based more on alliteration than on rhyme. We find a vestige if this once all embracing literary device in the titles of books, in slogans and set-phrases.

For example, titles “ Pride and Prejudice”, “Sense and Sensibility ” (by Jane Austin);

set-phrases: now and never, forgive and forget, last but not the least;

slogan: “ Work or wages!”

3. The term is employed to signify the recurrence of stressed vowels (i.e. repetition of stressed vowels within a word).

e.g. Tell this soul, with sorrow l a den, if within the distant Ai den,

I shall clasp a s ai nted m ai den, whom the a ngels name Lenore –

Clasp a rare and r a diant m ai den, whom the a ngels name Lenore?

Both alliteration and assonance may produce the effect of euphony or cacophony.

Euphony is a harmony of form and contents, an arrangement of sound combinations, producing a pleasant effect. Euphony – (эвфония) is a sense of ease and comfort in pronouncing or hearing: “ The moan of doves in immemorial elms, and murmuring of innumerable bees” (Tennyson).

Cacophony is a disharmony of form and contents, an arrangement of sounds, producing an unpleasant effect. (I.V.A.) Cacophony is a sense of strain and discomfort in pronouncing or hearing. (V.A.K.)

E.g. Nor soul helps flesh now // more than flesh helps soul. (R.Browning)

Alliteration and assonance are sometimes called sound-instrumenting.

4. Paronyms are words similar but not identical in sound and different in meaning.

Co-occurrence of paronyms is called paronomasia. The function of paronomasia is to find semantic connection between paronyms.

Phonetically paronomasia produces stylistic effect analogous to those of alliteration and assonance. In addition phonetic similarity and positional nearness makes the listener search for the semantic connection of the paronyms (e.g. “ не глуп, а глух ”)

e.g. And the raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting.

 

5. Rhyme is the repetition of identical or similar terminal sound combination of words. Rhyming words are generally placed at a regular distance from each other. In verses they are usually placed at the end of the corresponding lines.

Identity and similarity of sound combinations may be relative. For instance, we distinguish between full rhymes and incomplete rhymes. The full rhyme presupposes identity of the vowel sound and the following consonant sounds in a stressed syllable, including the initial consonant of the second syllable (in polysyllabic words), we have exact or identical rhymes.

Incomplete rhymes present a greater variety. They can be divided into two main groups: vowel rhymes and consonant rhymes. In vowel-rhymes the vowels of the syllables in corresponding words are identical, but the consonants may be different as in flesh - fresh -press. Consonant rhymes, on the contrary, show concordance in consonants and disparity in vowels, as in worth - forth, tale - tool -treble - trouble; flung - long.

Modifications in rhyming sometimes go so far as to make one word rhyme with a combination of words; or two or even three words rhyme with a corresponding two or three words, as in “ upon her honour - won her”, “ bottom –forgot them- shot him”. Such rhymes are called compound or broken. The peculiarity of rhymes of this type is that the combination of words is made to sound like one word - a device which inevitably gives a colloquial and sometimes a humorous touch to the utterance. Compound rhyme may be set against what is called eye - rhyme, where the letters and not the sounds are identical, as in love - prove, flood - brood, have - grave. It follows that compound rhyme is perceived in reading aloud, eye - rhyme can only be perceived in the written verse.

Full rhymes: Might - Right

Incomplete rhymes: worth - forth

Eye - rhyme: love - prove

Types of rhymes:

1) Couplet: aa: The seed ye sow, another reaps; (a)

The wealth ye find, another keeps; (a)

2) Triplet: aaa: And on the leaf a browner hue, (a)

And in the heaven that clear obscure, (a)

So softly dark, and darkly pure, (a)

3) Cross rhymes: abab:

It is the hour when from the boughs (a)

The nightingales’ high note is heard;(b)

It is the hour when lovers’ vows (a)

Seem sweet in every whispered word, (b)

4) Frame (ring): abba:

He is not here; but far away (a)

The noise of life begins again, (b)

And ghastly thro ’the drizzling rain (b)

On the bald streets breaks the blank day (a)

5) Internal rhyme

“ I dwelt alone (a) in a world of moan, (a)

And my soul was a stagnant tide.”

Rhythm exists in all spheres of human activity and assumes multifarious forms. It is a mighty weapon in stirring up emotions whatever its nature or origin, whether it is musical, mechanical or symmetrical as in architecture. The most general definition of rhythm may be expressed as follows: “rhythm is a flow, movement, procedure, etc. characterized by basically regular recurrence of elements or features, as beat, or accent, in alternation with opposite or different elements of features” (Webster's New World Dictionary).

Rhythm can be perceived only provided that there is some kind of experience in catching the opposite elements or features in their correlation, and, what is of paramount importance, experience in catching regularity of alternating patterns. Rhythm is a periodicity, which requires specification as to the type of periodicity. In verse rhythm is regular succession of weak and strong stress. A rhythm in language necessarily demands oppositions that alternate: long, short; stressed, unstressed; high, low and other contrasting segments of speech.

Academician V.M.Zhirmunsky suggests that the concept of rhythm should be distinguished from that of a metre. Metre is any form of periodicity in verse, its kind being determined by the character and number of syllables of which it consists. The metre is a strict regularity, consistency and exchangeability. Rhythm is flexible and sometimes an effort is required to perceive it. In classical verse it is perceived at the background of the metre. In accented verse - by the number of stresses in a line. In prose - by the alternation of similar syntactical patterns. Rhythm in verse as a S. D. is defined as a combination of the ideal metrical scheme and the variations of it, variations which are governed by the standard.

Rhythm is not a mere addition to verse or emotive prose, which also has its rhythm. Rhythm intensifies the emotions. It contributes to the general sense. Much has been said and writhen about rhythm in prose. Some investigators, in attempting to find rhythmical patterns of prose, superimpose metrical measures on prose. But the parameters of the rhythm in verse and in prose are entirely different. Rhythm is a combination of the ideal metrical scheme and its variations, which are governed by the standard.

English metrical patterns:

1) iambic metre: -/-/-/:

Those evening bells,

Those evening bells

2) trochaic metre: /-/- :Welling waters, winsome words (Swinborne)

3) dactylic metre: /- - / - -: Why do you cry Willie?

Why do you cry?

4) amphibrachic metre: -/-: A diller, a dollar, a ten o’clock scholar …

5) anapaestic metre: - -/- - /: Said the flee, ‘Let us fly’,

Said the fly, ‘Let us flee’,

So they flew through a flaw in the flue

 

 

Types of graphons

N	Name	Example
	territorial or social dialect of a speaker	“ I want some more ‘am (=ham)”
	doubling the letter	“ N-n o!”
	scanning	“Im-pos-sible”
	italics	“I’m desperate. I am desperate, Ed, do you hear?”
	capitalization	. O Music! Sphere – descended maid, // Friend of Pleasure, Wisdom’s aid! (W.Collins) “Help, Help, HELP”
	multiplication	“Allll aboarrrd! ”- Babbit Shrieked.
	hyphenation	“grinning like a chim-pan-zee”