Structural Peculiarities of the PS

The PS has features in common with the style of scientific prose, that’s why - coherent and logical syntactical structure, an expanded system of connectives and careful paragraphing. PS is also characterized by brevity of expression. In some varieties of this style it becomes a leading feature, an important linguistic means. In essays brevity sometimes becomes epigrammatic.

Oratory & Speeches. Such syntactical expressive means and stylistic devices as: repetitions (to enable listeners to follow the speaker; to persuade the audience), synonymous phrase repetition, parallel constructions, antithesis, anaphora, anadiplosis, suspense, climax, rhetorical questions and questions-in-the-narrative. Questions are most frequent because they promote closer contact with the audience. Similie and metaphor. Special obligatory forms open up and end an oration. Expressions of direct address can be repeated in the course of the speech and may be expressed differently: dear friends, my friends, etc.

The Essay. There is close resemblance in structure between the essay and the oration. The most characteristic language features of the essay: 1) brevity of expression, reaching in good writers a degree of epigrammaticalness, 2) the use of the first person singular, which justifies a personal approach to the problems treated, 3) a rather expanded use of connectives, which facilitate the process of grasping the correlation of ideas, 4) the abundant use of emotive words, 5) the use of similes and sustained metaphors as one of the media for the cognitive process. Epigrams, paradoxes and aphorisms are quite common in the essay.

 

(Journalistic) Articles.

1) Emphatic constructions of different kinds – argumentation and emotional appeal

2) Periphrases- humorous effect

3) Bookish and high-flown words.

4) Abstract words of logical meaning in literary reviews; emotional l-ge.

5) Political newspaper article: rare and bookish words, neologisms, traditional word combinations and paranthesis.

15) Literary-Colloquial Style / Received Standard /. Its Criteria & Linguistic Peculiarities

Phatic & emotive functions play an important role in this style. They are realized by society in the form of norms of politeness. Speech shouldn’t be too confident, rigid. It should show interest towards the addressee. That’s why there are many forms of polite modality, which is expressed by lexis, morphology, intonation & syntax. Emotive function causes the appearance of various intensifiers in this style. LCS is used by educated people in every-day ordinary conversations or while writing letters to intimate friends.

Received Standard – the public school English, characterized by the correctness of pronunciation. It’s informal, used by educated & upper-class people. (Lecture ) Standard English (SE) – the speech proper to the educated class. It is a historical category. National language goes hand in hand with the nation (the consolidation of the nation, 2^nd half of the 13 century). The state demanded the national language (London an Southerner dialect). To write literature, to issue laws, for education, government and church – standard language was needed. At the end of the 18 century standard language was formed, it became fixed and regularized (before that spelling was irregular, grammar experimental, lexis uncertain (a lot of dialects). Samuel Johnson created the dictionary, which fixed meaning and later pronunciation), appeared grammar books (conformity of the use of the grammar rules). Language became the test of the culture; it could be understood through time and space by all people. SE has the national scope and the national use. There is no resistance to the thought; thinking is made easier because the symbols are the same for the whole nation. It becomes the effective means of communication through education. SE has become highly cultivated, subtle, and delicate. It has the widest currency, that is why unlike other forms it is considered to be good English. SE is correct English (grammar, pronunciation). SE – the standard of Oxford and public school language. SE has rich vocabulary, correct grammar. It stalls information. It has grown from social need and it serves the social need. It is universal, the language ideal, that has general usage and is universally received as to the range of its limits and variations. It is represented in the speech of educated people. To be effective (to achieve the writer’s/speaker’s goal) the language must be appropriate to the material, time, place, audience aimed at, and impression of himself he wants to give. Thus, good English is SE, correct English, appropriate to a certain level of communication. SE – is a complex of functional styles, where a style – is a set of norms, which are generally used in traditional realization of the language, corresponding to the certain spheres of communication the function, which is necessary to realize.

Classifications:

Written, formal.

 

Spoken by educated class, Oxbridge English.

 

Modified by various regional and social influences, has little or no uniformity. Dialects.

Formal SE: written, used by highly educated people in formal situations, usually in monologues; it is precise, correct. Examples may be found in scholarly articles, formal letters and public addresses, technical scientific textbooks, poetry. It avoids contractions and colloquial expressions; style, grammar usage is generally conservative; wide and exact vocabulary; frequency is an important characterization of Formal English.

Informal SE: usually written or spoken by educated people; may be found in informal letters, business letters, most current novels, short stories and plays. Vocabulary and syntax are less formal and elaborate than in the formal SE. Sentences are shorter and simpler.

Colloquial SE: used in familiar and informal conversations; has short sentences, casual constructions and vocabulary of the everyday relaxed speech of educated people, colloquial expressions; it is personal and familiar in tone.

Non-standard E is used by people with little or no education, nearly always spoken, misuse of words, and corruption of what is now considered to be correct.

15,16,17

Kuznetz and Skrebnev give the definitions of bookish and colloquial styles. The bookish style is a style of a highly polished nature that reflects the norm of the national literary language. The bookish style may be used not only in the written speech but in oral, official talk. Colloquial style is the type of speech which is used in situation that allows certain deviations from the rigid pattern of literary speech used not only in a private conversation, but also in private correspondence. So the style is applicable both to the written and oral varieties of the terms "colloquial" and "bookish" don't exactly correspond to the oral and written forms of speech. Maltzev suggests terms "formal" and "informal" and states that colloquial style is the part of informal variety of English which is used orally in conversation. Some authors call colloquial functional style a "free style" for it contains some deviations from the strict regularity of the literary speech norm.

Colloquial functional style is a speech style and consequently mostly found in dialogue. It is a style of everyday use. The vocabulary is more free, the syntax more simple, the pronunciation in oral speech more careless.

There are three types of colloquial functional style and the use of them depends on the circumstances, the relations of the speakers:

1. Particular colloquial style

2. Literary colloquial, or

3. Familiar colloquial (low colloquial being illiterate popular speech).

The boundaries between colloquial styles are not very sharply defined, especially concerning their grammatical peculiarities.

Literary colloquial is the speech of educated persons. It is employed in dialogue when the speakers conform to social conventions, when they know each other very little, or their conversation deals with some serious or business topic. Voc used by educated people in the course of ordinary conv or when writing letters to intimate friends. The utterances abound in imaginative phraseology, ready-made formulas of politeness, tags, standard expression of assent, dissent, surprise, pleasure, gratitude,apology.

Compression (phonetic, morphology., syntactic.). Semantically redundant elements are compressed (omission of auxiliary verbs, it’s can’t), simplicity, economy. (The mother kissed the child tears away is more complicated than The mother kissed the child and he stopped crying)

Emotive, phatic functions play a great role in literary-c. st. They are realized in conversational formulas and polite formulas and clichés, which can be expressed syntactically, lexically, morphologically.

The verb “to do” / What’s happened to your strange neighbor? I did hear he’d gone to Australia. /-expresses lack of confidence in these words/// You can’t blame anyone it’s the war. The war does spoil evr, does it? - The speaker is interested in the reaction of interlocutor. “Do” is used in order to express indignation, or admiration, intensification together with the phrases actually, in fact, indeed, really, undoubtedly.

The emotive funct and emphatic impact are achieved in the ex (I do want to go on a donkey. I do want a donkey ride. Ladie’s maid Mansfield.)

Literary colloqual is used in the nlit for children.

1. Whole formulas (There you are, You see, I’m most grateful),

2. set expressions, (for all that, to keep s. on the run.),

3 cases of semi-convert or typical w-groups (to give a scare, to have drink),

4. particles (just, well)

5 understatement (a bit of a scare, I could just do with you)

6. substantivised adj.(greens, woolies)(woolen clothes)

7. New formations (composition /conversion) carry-on, let-down-an unexpected disappointment, make-up

.8. compounds coined by back-formation.(to baby-sit,.).

Colloq E. is very emotional, emotions are expressed with a help of intensifiers, emphatic adverbs, understatement (Gazing down with an expression that was loving, gratified, knowledgeable, she said, " Now I call it a bit of all right. Ex. of heated discussion between the well-bred /educated personages of Snow’s " The Conscience of the rich

8,. Oaths, swear words their euphemistic variants that function as emotional colloq. independent of the context (by God, Goodness gracious) Emotionally charged w. occur in hackneyed comparisons (to work like a devil, like hell, like mad, like anything.

9. Lexical expressions of modality Affirmative/ negative answers (definitely, up to the point, in a way, exactly. I expect so.

Syntax:

1. Elliptical sentences: When do you begin? Tomorrow.

2. Dialogue with catch-up, interruption: So you would naturally say? And mean.

3. Dialogue with repetition: There is some talk of suicide. Suicide? What did he do that for?

4. Syntactically parallel utterances: Will, Dr. Desert, do you find reality in politics now? Do you find reality in anything? Repetition only evaluates the utterance of the interlocutor, while the catch-up contains emotional reaction and new inf. Repetitions exclamations show indignation, mockery. What do you call it? Call it? A big field.