Stylistic neutrality and stylistic colouring 


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Stylistic neutrality and stylistic colouring



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. (G. Leech, M. Riffaterre, M. Halliday, R. Jacobson and others).

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. So the sentence «I haven't ever done anything» (or «I don't know anything») as juxtaposed to the sentence «I ain't never done nothing» («I don't know nothing») is not the norm itself but merely conforms to the literary norm.

The second sentence («I ain't never done nothing») most certainly deviates from the literary norm (from standard English) but if fully conforms to the requirements of the uncultivated part of the English speaking population who merely have their own conception


Chapter 1. The Object of Stylistics


1.5. Stylistic neutrality and stylistic colouring


 


of the norm. So 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, including works by Dickens, Twain, O'Henry, Galsworthy and so on (47, pp. 21—22).

For all its challenging and defiant character this argument seems to contain a grain of truth and it does stand to reason that what we often call «the norm» in terms of stylistics would be more appropriate to call «neutrality».

Since style is the specificity of a sublanguage it is self-evident that non-specific units of it do not participate in the formation of its style; units belonging to all the sublanguages are stylistically neutral. 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. On hearing for instance the above-cited utterance «I don't know nothing» («I ain't never done nothing») we compare it with what we know about standard and non-standard forms of English and this will permit us to pass judgement on what we have heard or read.

Professor Howard M. Mims of Cleveland State University did an accurate study of grammatical deviations found in American English that he terms vernacular (non-standard) variants (44). He made a list of 20 grammatical forms which he calls relatively common and some


of them are so frequent in every-day speech that you hardly register them as deviations from the norm, e. g. They ready to go instead of They are ready to go; Joyce has fifty cent in her bank account instead of Joyce has fifty cents in her bank account; My brother, he's a doctor instead of My brother is a doctor, He don't know nothing instead of He doesn't know anything.

The majority of the words are neutral. Stylistically coloured words-bookish, solemn, poetic, official or colloquial, rustic, dialectal, vulgar—have each a kind of label on them showing where the unit was «manufactured», where it generally belongs.

Within the stylistically coloured words there is another opposition between formal vocabulary and informal vocabulary.

These terms have many synonyms offered by different authors. Roman Jacobson described this opposition as casual and non-casual, other terminologies name them as bookish and colloquial or formal and informal, correct and common.

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.

In surveying the units commonly called neutral can we assert that they only denote without connoting? That is not completely true.

 

 

1.6. Stylistic function notion


Chapter 1. The Object of Stylistics

If we take stylistically neutral words separately, we may call them neutral without doubt. But occasionally in a certain context, in a specific distribution one of many implicit meanings of a word we normally consider neutral may prevail. Specific distribution may also create unexpected additional colouring of a generally neutral word. Such stylistic connotation is called occasional.

Stylistic connotations may be inherent or adherent. Stylistically coloured words possess inherent stylistic connotations. Stylistically neutral words will have only adherent (occasional) stylistic connota­tions acquired in a certain context.

A luxury hotel for dogs is to be opened at Lima, Peru a city of 30.000 dogs. The furry guests will have separate hygienic kennels, top medical care and high standard cuisine, including the best bones. (Mailer)

Two examples from this passage demonstrate how both stylistically marked and neutral words may change their colouring due to the context:

cuisine —* inherently formal (bookish, high-flown);

—> adherent connotation in the context—lowered/humorous;

bones —> stylistically neutral;

—> adherent connotation in the context—elevated/humorous.

1.6. Stylistic function notion

Like other linguistic disciplines stylistics deals with the lexical, grammatical, phonetic and phraseological data of the language. However there is a distinctive difference between stylistics and the


other linguistic subjects. Stylistics does not study or describe separate

linguistic units like phonemes or words or clauses as such. It studies

their stylistic function. Stylistics is interested in the expressive potential

of these units and their interaction in a text.

Stylistics focuses on the expressive properties of linguistic units,

their functioning and interaction in conveying ideas and emotions in

a certain text or communicative context.

Stylistics interprets the opposition or clash between the contextual

meaning of a word and its denotative meaning.

Accordingly stylistics is first and foremost engaged in the study of

connotative meanings.

In brief the semantic structure (or the meaning) of a word roughly

consists of its grammatical meaning (noun, verb, adjective) and

its lexical meaning. Lexical meaning can further on be subdivided

into denotative (linked to the logical or nominative meaning) and

connotative meanings. Connotative meaning is only connected with

extra-linguistic circumstances such as the situation of communication

and the participants of communication. Connotative meaning consists

of four components:

1) emotive;

2) evaluative;

3) expressive;

4) stylistic.

A word is always characterised by its denotative meaning but not necessarily by connotation. The four components may be all present


Chapter 1. The Object of Stylistics


1.6. Stylistic function notion


 


at once, or in different combinations or they may not be found in the word at all.

1. Emotive connotations express various feelings or emotions. Emo­tions differ from feelings. Emotions like joy, disappointment, pleasure, anger, worry, surprise are more short-lived. Feelings imply a more stable state, or attitude, such as love, hatred, respect, pride, dignity, etc. The emotive component of meaning may be occasional or usual (i. e. inherent and adherent).

It is important to distinguish words with emotive connotations from words, describing or naming emotions and feelings like anger or fear, because the latter are a special vocabulary subgroup whose denotative meanings are emotions. They do not connote the speak­er's state of mind or his emotional attitude to the subject of speech.

Thus if a psychiatrist were to say You should be able to control feelings of anger, impatience and disappointment dealing with a child as a piece of advice to young parents the sentence would have no emotive power. It may be considered stylistically neutral.

On the other hand an apparently neutral word like big will become charged with emotive connotation in a mother's proud description of her baby: He is a BIG boy already!

2. The evaluative component charges the word with negative, positive, ironic or other types of connotation conveying the speaker's attitude in relation to the object of speech. Very often this component is a part of the denotative meaning, which comes to the fore in a specific context.


The verb to sneak means «to move silently and secretly, usu. for a bad purpose» (8). This dictionary definition makes the evaluative component bad quite explicit. Two derivatives a sneak and sneaky have both preserved a derogatory evaluative connotation. But the negative component disappears though in still another derivative sneakers (shoes with a soft sole). It shows that even words of the same root may either have or lack an evaluative component in their inner form.

3. Expressive connotation either increases or decreases the expres­siveness of the message. Many scholars hold that emotive and expressive components cannot be distinguished but Prof. I. A. Arnold maintains that emotive connotation always entails expressiveness but not vice versa. To prove her point she comments on the example by A. Hornby and R. Fowler with the word «thing» applied to a girl (4, p. 113).

When the word is used with an emotive adjective like «sweet» it becomes emotive itself: «She was a sweet little thing». But in other sentences like «She was a small thin delicate thing with spectacles», she argues, this is not true and the word «thing» is definitely expressive but not emotive.

Another group of words that help create this expressive effect are the so-called «intensifiers», words like «absolutely, frightfully, really, quite», etc.

4. Finally there is stylistic connotation. A word possesses stylistic connotation if it belongs to a certain functional style or a spe­cific layer of vocabulary (such as archaisms, barbarisms, slang, jargon, etc). Stylistic connotation is usually immediately recogni­zable.


Chapter 1. The Object of Stylistics


Practice Section


 


Yonder, slumber, thence immediately connote poetic or elevated writing.

Words like price index or negotiate assets are indicative of business language.

This detailed and systematic description of the connotative meaning of a word is suggested by the Leningrad school in the works of Prof. I. V. Arnold, Z. Y. Turayeva, and others.

Galperin operates three types of lexical meaning that are stylistically relevant—logical, emotive and nominal. He describes the stylistic colouring of words in terms of the interaction of these types of lexical meaning. Skrebnev maintains that connotations only show to what part of the national language a word belongs—one of the sub-languages (functional styles) or the neutral bulk. He only speaks about the stylistic component of the connotative meaning.

Practice Section

1. Comment on the notions of style and sublanguages in the
national language.

2. What are the interdisciplinary links of stylistics and other lin­
guistic subjects such as phonetics, lexicology, grammar, and
semasiology? Provide examples.

How does stylistics differ from them in its subject-matter and fields of study?

3. Give an outline of the stylistic differentiation of the national
English vocabulary: neutral, literary, colloquial layers of words;


areas of their overlapping. Describe literary and common collo­quial stratums of vocabulary, their stratification.

4. How does stylistic colouring and stylistic neutrality relate to
inherent and adherent stylistic connotation?

5. Can you distinguish neutral, formal and informal among the
following groups of words.

 

  A В С
1. currency money dough
2. to talk to converse to chat
3. to chow down to eat to dine
4. to start to commence to kick off
5. insane nuts mentally ill
6. spouse hubby husband
7. to leave to withdraw to shoot off
8. geezer senior citizen old man
9. veracious opens sincere
10. mushy emotional sentimental

6. What kind of adherent stylistic meaning appears in the otherwise neutral word feeling?

I've got no feeling paying interest, provided that it's reasonable. (Shute) I've got no feeling against small town life. I rather like it. (Shute)



Chapter 1. The Object of Stylistics


Practice Section


 


7. To what stratum of vocabulary do the words in bold type in
the following sentences belong stylistically? Provide neutral or
colloquial variants for them:

/ expect you've seen my hand often enough coming out with the grub. (Waugh)

She betrayed some embarrassment when she handed Paul the tickets, and a hauteur which subsequently made her feel very foolish. (Cather)

/ must be off to my digs. (Waugh)

When the old boy popped off he left Philbrick everything, except a few books to Grade. (Waugh)

He looked her over and decided that she was not appropriately dressed and must be a fool to sit downstairs in such togs. (Cather)

It was broken at length by the arrival of Flossie, splendidly attired in magenta and green. (Waugh)

8. Consider the following utterances from the point of view of the
grammatical norm. What elements can be labelled as deviations
from standard English? How do they comply with the norms of
colloquial English according to Mirns and Skrebnev?

Sita decided that she would lay down in the dark even if Mrs. Waldvogel came in and bit her. (Erdrich)

Always popular with the boys, he was, even when he was so full he couldn't hardly fight. (Waugh)

...he used to earn five pound a night... (Waugh)

/ wouldn't sell it not for a hundred quid, I wouldn't. (Waugh)


 


There was a rapping at the bedroom door. «I'll learn that Luden Sorrels

to tomcat.» (Chappel)

9. How does the choice of words in each case contribute to the stylistic character of the following passages? How would you define their functional colouring in terms of technical, poetic, bookish, commercial, dialectal, religious, elevated, colloquial, legal or other style? Make up lists of words that create this tenor in the texts given

below.

Whilst humble pilgrims lodged in hospices, a travelling knight would

normally stay with a merchant. (Rutherfurd)

Fo' what you go by dem, eh? Wy not keep to у о'self? Dey don' want

you, dey don' carefo' you. H' ain' you got no sense? (Dunbar-Nelson) They sent me down to the aerodrome next morning in a car. I made

a check over the machine, cleaned filters, drained sumps, swept out the cabin, and refuelled. Finally I took off at about ten thirty for the short

flight down to Batavia across the Sunda straits, and found the aerodrome and came on to the circuit behind the Constellation of K. L. M. (Shute) We ask Thee, Lord, the old man cried, to look after this childt. Fa­therless he is. But what does the earthly father matter before Thee? The childt is Thine, he is Thy childt, Lord, what father has a man but Thee? (Lawrence)

We are the silver band the Lord bless and keep you, said the stationmaster in one breath, the band that no one could beat whatever but two indeed in the Eisteddfod that for all North Wales was look you. I see, said the Doctor; I see. That's splendid. Well, will you please go into your tent, the little tent over there.


30

 

 

Chapter 1. The Object of Stylistics


To march about you would not like us? Suggested the stationmaster; we have a fine flaglook you that embroidered for us was in silks. (Waugh) The evidence is perfectly clear. The deceased woman was unfaithful to her husband during his absence overseas and gave birth to a child out of wedlock.

Her husband seemed to behave with commendable restraint and wrote nothing to her which would have led her to take her life... The deceased appears to have been the victim of her own conscience and as the time for the return of her husband drew near she became mentally upset. I find that the deceased committed suicide while the balance of her mind was temporarily deranged. (Shute)

/ say, I've met an awful good chap called Miles. Regular topper. You know, pally. That's what I like about a really decent party—you meet such topping fellows. I mean some chaps it takes absolutely years to know, but a chap like Miles I feel is a pal straight away. (Waugh) She sang first of the birth of love in the hearts of a boy and a girl. And on the topmost spray of the Rose-tree there blossomed a marvellous rose, petal following petal, as song followed song. Pale was it, at first as the mist that hangs over the river—pale as the feet of the morning. (Wilde) He went slowly about the corridors, through the writing—rooms, smoking-rooms, reception-rooms, as though he were exploring the chambers of an enchanted palace, built and peopled for him alone.

When he reached the dining-room he sat down at a table near a window. The flowers, the white linen, the many-coloured wine-glasses, the gay toilettes of the women, the low popping of corks, the undulating repetitions of the Blue Danube from the orchestra, all flooded Paul's dream with bewildering radiance. (Gather)


 

 


Chapter 2

Expressive Resources of the Language

Expressive means and stylistic devices. Different classifications of expressive means and stylistic devices from antique to modern times.

In my reading of modern French novels I had acquired the habit of underlining ex­pressions, which struck me as aberrant from general usage, and it often happened that the underlined passages taken together seemed to offer a certain consistency. I wondered if it would be possible to establish a common denominator for all or most of these devi­ations, could we find a common spiritual etymon or the psychological root of 'several' individual 'traits of style' in a writer.

Leo Spitzer. Linguistics and Literary History


Chapter 2. Expressive Resources of the Language

2.1. Expressive means and stylistic devices Expressive means

Expressive means of a language are those linguistic forms and properties that have the potential to make the utterance emphatic or expressive. These can be found on all levels—phonetic, graphical, morphological, lexical or syntactical.

Expressive means and stylistic devices have a lot in common but they are not completely synonymous. All stylistic devices belong to expressive means but not all expressive means are stylistic devices. Phonetic phenomena such as vocal pitch, pauses, logical stress, and drawling, or staccato pronunciation are all expressive without being stylistic devices

Morphological forms like diminutive suffixes may have an expres­sive effect: girlie, piggy, doggy, etc. An unexpected use of the author's nonce words like: He glasnosted his love affair with this movie star (People) is another example of morphological expressive means.

Lexical expressive means may be illustrated by a special group of intensifiers— awfully, terribly, absolutely, etc. or words that retain their logical meaning while being used emphatically: // was a very special evening/event/gift.

There are also special grammatical forms and syntactical patterns attributing expressiveness, such as: / do know you! I'm really angry with that dog of yours! That you should deceive me! If only I could help you!


2.1. Expressive means and stylistic devices

Stylistic devices

A stylistic device is a literary model in which semantic and structural features are blended so that it represents a generalised pattern.

Prof. I. R. Galperin calls a stylistic device a generative model when through frequent use a language fact is transformed into a stylistic device. Thus we may say that some expressive means have evolved into stylistic devices which represent a more abstract form or set of forms. A stylistic device combines some general semantic meaning with a cer­tain linguistic form resulting in stylistic effect. It is like an algorithm employed for an expressive purpose. For example, the interplay, in­teraction, or clash of the dictionary and contextual meanings of words will bring about such stylistic devices as metaphor, metonymy or irony.

The nature of the interaction may be affinity (likeness by nature), proximity (nearness in place, time, order, occurrence, relation) or contrast (opposition).

Respectively there is metaphor based on the principle of affinity, metonymy based on proximity and irony based on opposition.

The evolution of a stylistic device such as metaphor could be seen from four examples that demonstrate this linguistic mechanism (interplay of dictionary and contextual meaning based on the principle of affinity):

1. My new dress is as pink as this flower: comparison (ground for
comparison—the colour of the flower).

2. Her cheeks were as red as a tulip: simile (ground for simile—
colour/beauty/health/freshness)

3. She is a real flower: metaphor (ground for metaphor—frail/
fragrant/tender/beautiful/helpless...).


Chapter 2. Expressive Resources of the Language


2.2. Different classifications of expressive means


 


My love is a red, red rose: metaphor (ground for metaphor—

passionate/beautiful/strong...).

4. Ruby lips, hair of gold, snow-white skin: trite metaphors so frequently employed that they hardly have any stylistic power left because metaphor dies of overuse. Such metaphors are also called hackneyed or even dead.

A famous literary example of an author's defiance against immoderate use of trite metaphors is W. Shakespeare's Sonnet 130

My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;

Coral is far more red than her lips' red;

If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;

If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.

I have seen roses damasked, red and white,

But no such roses see I in her cheeks;

And in some perfumes is there more delight

Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.

I love to hear her speak, yet well I know

That music hath a far more pleasing sound;

I grant I never saw a goddess go;

My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground.

And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare

As any she belied with false compare.

The more unexpected, the less predictable is the ground for com­parison the more expressive is the metaphor which in this case got a special name of genuine or authentic metaphor. Associations sug­gested by the genuine metaphor are varied, not limited to any definite number and stimulated by the individual experience or imagination.


2.2. Different classifications of expressive means

In spite of the belief that rhetoric is an outmoded discipline it is in rhetoric that we find most of the terms contemporary stylistics generally employs as its metalanguage. Rhetoric is the initial source of information about metaphor, metonymy, epithet, antithesis, chi­asmus, anaphora and many more. The classical rhetoric gave us still widely used terms of tropes and figures of speech.

That is why before looking into the new stylistic theories and findings it's good to look back and see what's been there for centuries. The problems of language in antique times became a concern of scholars because of the necessity to comment on literature and poetry. This necessity was caused by the fact that mythology and lyrical poetry was the study material on which the youth was brought up, taught to read and write and generally educated. Analysis of literary texts helped to transfer into the sphere of oratorical art the first philosophical notions and concepts.

The first linguistic theory called sophistry appeared in the fifth century В. С Oration played a paramount role in the social and political life of Greece so the art of rhetoric developed into a school.

Antique tradition ascribes some of the fundamental rhetorical no­tions to the Greek philosopher Gorgius (483-375 В. С). Togeth­er with another scholar named Trasimachus they created the first school of rhetoric whose principles were later developed by Aristotle (384-322 В. С.) in his books «Rhetoric» and «Poetics».

Aristotle differentiated literary language and colloquial language. This first theory of style included 3 subdivisions:


Chapter 2. Expressive Resources of the Language


2.2. Different classifications of expressive means


 


the choice of words;

• word combinations;

• figures.

 

1. The choice of words included lexical expressive means such
as foreign words, archaisms, neologisms, poetic words, nonce
words and metaphor.

2. Word combinations involved 3 things:

 

a) order of words;

b) word-combinations;

c) rhythm and period (in rhetoric, a complete sentence).

3. Figures of speech. This part included only 3 devices used by the
antique authors always in the same order:

a) antithesis;

b) assonance of colons;

c) equality of colons.

A colon in rhetoric means one of the sections of a rhythmical period in Greek chorus consisting of a sequence of 2 to 6 feet.

Later contributions by other authors were made into the art of speaking and writing so that the most complete and well developed antique system, that came down to us is called the Hellenistic Roman rhetoric system. It divided all expressive means into 3 large groups: Tropes, Rhythm (Figures of Speech) and Types of Speech.

A condensed description of this system gives one an idea how much we owe the antique tradition in modern stylistic studies.



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