Stylistic devices based on the change of the traditional word order ( inversion, detachment)

Stylistic devices based on the change of the traditional word order (inversion, detachment)

Inversion is the violation of the fixed word order within an English sentence. There are two major kinds of inversion:

1. that one which results in the change of the grammatical meaning of a syntactic struc-ture, i.e. grammatical inversion (exclamatory and interrogative sentences), and

2. that one which results in adding to a sentence an emotive and emphatic colouring, i.e. stylistic inversion, e.g. And the palm-trees I like them not (A. Christie).

Inversion may be of two types:

1) complete, i.e. comprising the principal parts of the sentence, e.g. From behind me came Andrews voice (S. Chaplin);

2) partial, i.e. influencing the secondary parts of the sentence, e.g. Straight into the arms of the police they will go (A. Christie).

Detachment is a separation of a secondary part of the sentence with the aim of emphasizing it.

Detachment is to be regarded as a special kind of inversion, when some parts of the sentence are syntactically separated from its other members with which they are grammatically and logically connected.

 

 

Stylistic syntactical patterns based on the absence of obligatory elements (ellipsis, aposiopesis, asyndeton).

Ellipsis

Ellipsis - is the omission of a word necessary for the complete syntactical construction of a sentence, but not necessary for understanding. The stylistic function of ellipsis used in author's narration is to change its tempo, to connect its structure. You feel all right? Anything wrong or what?

More frequently it is used in represented speech, it creates a stylistic effect of the natural abruptness and the fragmentary character of the process of thinking and used to heighten the emotional tension of the narration or to single out the character’s or the author’s attitude towards what is happening.

Aposiopesis (Break - in - the narrative) is a sudden break in the narration has the function to reveal agitated state of the speaker. It is caused by strong emotion or some reluctance to finish the sentence. In belle-letters style a break in speech is often used in dialogue to reflect its naturalness.

Asyndeton is a deliberate avoidance of conjunctions in constructions in which they would normally used. He couldn't go abroad alone, the sea upset his liver, he hated hotels.

The connection of sentences, phrases or words without any conjunctions is called asyndentic. Asyndeton helps the author to make each phrase or word sound independent and significant, creates an effect that the enumeration is not completed, creates a certain rhythmical arrangement, usually making the narrative measured and energetic.

Functional style as one of the basic categories of stylistics

A style of language can be defined as a system or coordinated, interrelated and interconditioned language means intended to fulfil a specific function of communication and aiming at a definite effect.

Each style is a relatively stable system at the given stage in the development of the literary language. Therefore style of language is a historical category. The development of each style is predetermined by the changes in the norms of standard English.

The notion of functional style. One and the same thought may be worded in more than one way. This diversity is predetermined by coexistence of separate language subsystems, elements of which stand in relations of interstyle synonymy. Compare: I am afraid lest John should have lost his way in the forest (bookish) = I fear John's got lost in the wood (conversational). Such language subsystems are called "functional styles". Functional style units are capable of transmitting some additional information about the speaker and the objective reality in which communication takes place, namely the cultural and educational level of the speaker, his inner state of mind, intentions, emotions and feelings, etc. The most traditionally accepted functional styles are the style of official and business communication, the style of scientific prose, the newspaper style, the publicistic style, the belletristic style, the conversational style. The style a writer or speaker adopts depends partly on his own personality but very largely on what he has to say and what his purposes are. It follows that style and subject matter should match each other appropriately. Just how important it is to choose an appropriate style can be seen by examining the following three sentences, which all say the same thing but in different ways: John's dear parent is going to his heavenly home (bookish). John's father is dying (literary colloquial). John's old fella's on his way out (informal colloquial). Though these sentences say the same thing, the style is very different in each.

The Belles-Lettres Style

Publicistic Style

Newspaper Style

Scientific Prose Style

The Style of Official Documents

 

 

Stylistic syntactical patterns based on the excess of speech elements (repetition, polysyndeton, parenthesis)

Repetition is a direct successor of repetition as an expressive language means, which serves to emphasize certain statements of the speaker, and so possesses considerable emotive force.

It is not only a single word that can be repeated but a word combination and a whole sentence too.

As to the position occupied by the repeated unit in the sentence or utterance, we shall mention four main types, most frequently occurring in English literature:

1) anaphora – the repetition of the first word of several succeeding sentences or clauses (a …, a …, a …);

2) epiphora – the repetition of the final word (… a, … a, … a);

3) anadiplosis or catch repetition – the repetition of the same unit (word or phrase) at the end of the preceding and at the beginning of the sentence (…a, a …);

The combination of several catch repetitions produces a chain repetition.

4) framing or ring repetition – the repetition of the same unit at the beginning and at the end of the same sentence (a …, … a).

Stylistic functions of repetition are various and many-sided. Besides emphasizing the most important part of the utterance, rendering the emotions of the speaker or showing his emotive attitude towards the object described, it may play a minor stylistic role, showing the durability of action, and to a lesser degree the emotions following it.

Repetition, deliberately used by the author to better emphasize his sentiments, should not be mixed with pleonasm – an excessive, uneconomic usage of unnecessary, extra words, which shows the inability of the writer to express his ideas in a precise and clear manner.

Morphological repetition, that is the repetition of a morpheme, is to be included into the stylistic means.

Polysyndeton

Polysyndeton is the connection of sentences, phrases or words based on the repetition of conjunctions or prepositions.

The repetition of the conjunction “and” before each word or phrase stresses these enumerated words or phrases.

Polysyndeton is sometimes used to retard the action and to create the stylistic effect of suspense.

Besides, polysyndeton is one of the means used to create a certain rhythmical effect.

Parenthesis.

Parenthesis should be distinguished from detachment. It is a word or phrase that is inserted abruptly into the sentence, so as to attract the reader’s attention to one of the aspects of the subject matter of the utterance. It is usually set off by commas, dashes or brackets to introduce an illustration, explanation, definition, or any other sort of additional information into a sentence that is logically and grammatically complete without it.

 

The headline

The headline is the title given to a news item of a newspaper article. The main function of the headline is to inform the reader briefly of what the news that follows is about.

Syntactically headlines are very short sentences or phrases of a variety of patterns: 1. full declarative sentences; 2. interrogative sentences; 3. nominative sentences; 4. elliptical sentences; 5. sentences with articles omitted; 6. phrases with verbals; 7. questions in the forms of statements; 8. complex sentences; 9. headlines including direct speech.

 

 

7. The belles-lettres style (language of the drama)

The belles-lettres style is a generic term for 3 substyles:

1. the language of poetry or simply verse;

2. emotive prose, or the language of fiction;

3. the language of the drama.

The purpose of the belles-lettres style is to suggest a possible interpretation of the phenomena of life by forcing the reader to see the viewpoint of the writer. This is the cognitive function of the belles-lettres style. An aesthetico-cognitive effect is a system of language means which secure the effect sought.

The belles-lettres style rests on certain indispensable linguistic features which are:

1. genuine, not trite, imagery, achieved by purely linguistic devices.

2. the use of words in contextual and very often in more than one dictionary meaning, or at least greatly influenced by the lexical environment.

3. a vocabulary which will reflect to a greater or lesser degree the author’s personal evaluation of things or phenomena.

4. a peculiar individual selection of vocabulary and syntax, a kind of lexical and syntactical idiosyncrasy.

5. the introduction of the typical features of colloquial language to a full degree(in plays) or a lesser one(in emotive prose) or a slight degree, if any(in poems).

The belles-lettres style is individual in essence. This is one of its most distinctive properties.

Language of the drama

The first thing to be said about the parameters of this variety of belles-lettres is that the language of plays is entirely dialogue. The author’s speech is almost entirely excluded, except for the playwright’s remarks and stage directions.

The degree to which the norms of ordinary colloquial language are converted into those of the language of plays, that is, the degree to which the spoken language is made literary varies at different periods in the development of drama and depends also on the idiosyncrasies of the playwright himself.

Any presentation of a play is an aesthetic procedure and the language of plays is of the type which is meant to be reproduced. Therefore even the language of a play approximates that of a real dialogue, it will none the less be stylized.

 

Oratory and speeches

Oratorical style is the oral subdivision of the publicistic style.

Direct contact with the listeners permits the combination of the syntactical, lexical and phonetic peculiarities of both the written and spoken varieties of language. Certain typical features of the spoken variety of speech present in this style are: direct address to the audience (ladies and gentlemen, honorable member(s), the use of the 2^nd person pronoun you, etc.), sometimes constractions (I’ll, won’t, haven’t, isn’t and others) and the use of colloquial words.

The stylistic devices employed in oratorical style are determined by the conditions of communication. Repetition can be regarded as the most typical stylistic device of English oratorical style. Almost any piece of oratory will have parallel constructions, antithesis, suspense, climax, rhetorical questions and questions-in-the-narrative.

 

 

Brief news items

The function of a brief news item is to inform the reader. It states only facts without giving comments. Newspaper style has its specific vocabulary features and is characterized by an extensive use of: 1. special political and economic terms; 2. non-term political vocabulary; 3. newspaper cliché; 4. abbreviations; 5. neologisms.

The following grammatical peculiarities of brief news items are of paramount importance, and may be regarded as grammatical parameters of newspaper style: 1. complex sentences with a developed system of clauses; 2. verbal constructions; 3. syntactical complexes; 4. attributive noun groups; 5. specific word order.

The scientific prose style

The language of science is governed by the aim of the functional style of scientific prose, which is to prove a hypothesis, to create new concepts, to disclose the internal laws of existence, development, relations between different phenomena, etc. There are following characteristic features of scientific style:

1. the logical sequence of utterances;

2. the use of terms specific to each given branch of science;

3. so-called sentence-patterns. They are of 3 types: postulatory, argumentative and formulative.

4. the use of quotations and references;

5. the frequent use of foot-note, of the reference kind, but digressive in character.

The impersonality of scientific writings can also be considered a typical feature of this style.

 

 

Climax

Climax presents a structure in which every successive sentence or phrase is emotionally stronger or logically more important than the preceding one. Such an organization of the utterance creates a gradual intensification of its significance, both logical and emotive, and absorbs the reader’s attention more completely.

Climax may be of three main types:

1) quantitative, when it is quality or size that increases with the unfolding of the utterance.

2) qualitative, when intensification is achieved through the introduction of emphatic words into the utterance, which fact increases its emotive force.

3) logical, the most frequent type, in which every new concept is stronger, more important and valid.

Parallel Constructions

Constructions formed by the same syntactical pattern, closely following one another present the stylistic device of parallelism. Parallelism strongly affects the rhythmical organization of the paragraph, so it is imminent in oratoric speech, in pathetic and emphatic extracts.

Parallelism can be complete when the construction of the second sentence fully copies that of the first one. Or parallelism can be partial, when only the beginning or the end of several sentences are structurally similar.

Reversed parallelism is called chiasmus. In chiasmus the central part of the sentence – the predicate remains the hinge around which occur syntactical changes – the subject of the first sentence becomes the object of the second and vice versa.

Chiasmus is a kind of parallelism where the word order of the sentence or clause that follows becomes inverted.

Repetition devices

Repetition as a stylistic device is a direct successor of repetition as an expressive language means, which serves to emphasize certain statements of the speaker, and so possesses considerable emotive force.

It is not only a single word that can be repeated but a word combination and a whole sentence too.

As to the position occupied by the repeated unit in the sentence or utterance, we shall mention four main types, most frequently occurring in English literature:

1) anaphora – the repetition of the first word of several succeeding sentences or clauses (a …, a …, a …);

2) epiphora – the repetition of the final word (… a, … a, … a);

3) anadiplosis or catch repetition – the repetition of the same unit (word or phrase) at the end of the preceding and at the beginning of the sentence (…a, a …);

The combination of several catch repetitions produces a chain repetition.

4) framing or ring repetition – the repetition of the same unit at the beginning and at the end of the same sentence (a …, … a).

Stylistic functions of repetition are various and many-sided. Besides emphasizing the most important part of the utterance, rendering the emotions of the speaker or showing his emotive attitude towards the object described, it may play a minor stylistic role, showing the durability of action, and to a lesser degree the emotions following it.

Repetition, deliberately used by the author to better emphasize his sentiments, should not be mixed with pleonasm – an excessive, uneconomic usage of unnecessary, extra words, which shows the inability of the writer to express his ideas in a precise and clear manner.

Morphological repetition, that is the repetition of a morpheme, is to be included into the stylistic means.

 

Slang

The term slang is ambiguous and obscure. The “New Oxford English Dictionary” defines slang as follows: 1) the special vocabulary used by any set of persons of low or disreputable character; language of a low and vulgar type…; 2) the cant or jargon of a certain class or period; 3) language of highly colloquial type considered as below the level of standard educated speech, and consisting either of new words or current words employed in some special sense.

In England and USA slang is regarded as the quintessence of colloquial speech and therefore stands above all the laws of grammar.

Jargonisms

Jargon is a recognized term for a group of words that exist in almost every language and whose aim is to preserve secrecy within one or another social group. Jargonisms are generally old words with entirely new meanings imposed on them. Most of the jargonisms of any language are absolutely incomprehensible to those outside the social group which has invented them. They may be defined as a code within a code. Jargonisms are social in character. In England and in the USA almost any social group of people has its own jargon. There is a common jargon and special professional jargons. Jargonisms do not always remain on the outskirts of the literary language. Many words entered the standard vocabulary.

Professionalisms

Professionalisms are the words used in a definite trade, profession or calling by people connected by common interests both at work or at home. Professional words name anew already existing concepts, tools or instruments, and have the typical properties of a special code. Their main feature is technicality. They are monosemantic.

Professionalisms do not aim at secrecy. They fulfill a socially useful function in communication, facilitating a quick and adequate grasp of the message. Professionalisms are used in emotive prose to depict the natural speech of a character. The skilful use of a professional word will show not only the vocation of a character, but also his education, breeding, environment and sometimes even his psychology.

Asyndeton

The connection of sentences, phrases or words without any conjunctions is called asyndentic.

Asyndeton helps the author to make each phrase or word sound independent and significant.

Asyndeton generally creates an effect that the enumeration is not completed.

Asyndeton also creates a certain rhythmical arrangement, usually making the narrative measured and energetic.

Polysyndeton

Polysyndeton is the connection of sentences, phrases or words based on the repetition of conjunctions or prepositions.

The repetition of the conjunction “and” before each word or phrase stresses these enumerated words or phrases.

Polysyndeton is sometimes used to retard the action and to create the stylistic effect of suspense.

Besides, polysyndeton is one of the means used to create a certain rhythmical effect.

Oxymoron

Oxymoron is based on the interaction of logical and emotive meanings. It presents a combination of two contrasting ideas.

The oxymoron reveals the contradictory sides of one and the same phenomenon. One of its components discloses some objectively existing feature or quality, while the other one serves to convey the author’s personal attitude towards the same.

The structure of oxymoron is extremely varied. By most critics it is regarded as an attributive syntagma.

As soon as an oxymoron gets into circulation it loses its most characteristic feature of bringing two opposite ideas together and becomes a phraseological unit.

Antithesis

Antithesis is a stylistic device presenting two contrasting ideas in a close neighbourhood.

The phenomena opposed to one another can be pictured in an extended way. Or else the contradictory ideas may intermingle, thus creating the effect of not only the contrast, but also of the close unity of the contrasting features. E.g. The smell of life and richness, of death and digestion, of decay and birth, burden the air.

 

Archaic words

The word stock of a language is in an increasing state of change. In every period in the development of a literary language one can find words which will show more or less apparent changes in their meaning or usage, from full vigour, through a moribund state, to death, i.e. complete disappearance of the unit from the language. We’ll distinguish 3 stages in the aging process of words: 1) the beginning of the aging process when the word becomes rarely used. Such words are called obsolescent, i.e. they are in the stage of gradually passing out of general use; 2) The second group of archaic words are those that have already gone completely out of use but are still recognized by the English speaking community. These words are called obsolete. 3) The third group, which may be called archaic proper, are words which are no longer recognized in modern English, words that were in use in Old English and which have either dropped out of the language entirely or have changed in their appearance so much that they have become unrecognizable.

There is another class of words which is erroneously classed as archaic, historic words. Words of this type never disappear from the language.

Archaic words are used in historical novels, in official and diplomatic documents, in business letters, legal language, etc. Archaic words, word-forms and word combinations are also used to create an elevated effect.

 

Rhetorical Question

Rhetorical question presents a statement in the form of a question. A question appealing to the reader for an answer, is emphatic and mobilizes the attention of the reader even when the latter is not supposed to answer anything, when the only possible answer is implied within the boundaries of the question.

The form of a rhetorical question is often negative.

Rhetorical question preserves the intonation of a question, though sometimes the assertive sentiment is so strong that both the intonation and the punctuation are changed to those of the exclamatory sentence.

Rhetorical question is an indispensable element of oratorical style, but is not confined to it only, more and more penetrating into other style. So it is widely employed in modern fiction for depicting the inner state of a personage, his meditations and reflections.

Through frequent usage some rhetorical questions became traditional (for example, What business is it of yours? What have I to do with him? etc.)

Such questions usually imply a negative answer and reflect a strongly antagonistic attitude of the speaker towards his interlocutor or the subject discussed.

e.g. Can anybody answer for all the grievances of the poor in this wicked world?

Litotes

Litotes presents a statement in the form of a negation.

The stylistic device of litotes is used to weaken the positive characteristics of a thing or phenomenon. It is based upon discrepancy between the syntactical form, which is negative and the meaning which is positive. E.g. “She said it, but not impatiently” We have here an assertion of a certain positive fact but its form is negative. The obligatory presence of the particle “not” makes the statement less categorical and conveys certain doubts of the speaker as to the quality he mentions.

The structure of litotes is rather rigid: its first element is always the negative particle “not” and its second element is, too, always negative in meaning, if not in form.

If the second element of litotes is expressed by an adjective or adverb, it has as a rule a negative affix.

If the form of a noun or a word-combination, presenting the second component of litotes is not negative, its negative meaning is implied.

The final result of litotes is always the assertion of a positive, though weakened quality or characteristics.

 

 

Metaphor

A metaphor is the interaction between the logical and contextual logical meanings of a word which is based on a likeness between objects and implies analogy and comparison between them.

Similar to all lexical stylistic devices metaphor may be genuine, that is original, invented by the writer, or trite, that is hackneyed, often used in the language.

The metaphor suggests an analogy. An implied analogy and likeness to concrete objects makes abstract ideas more concrete, complex ideas more simple and the thoughts more comprehensible.

The metaphor may be expressed through nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs.

The noun metaphor may consist of one word or may have an attribute in the form of an “of-phrase”. The verb-metaphor is very emphatic as it throws the metaphorical light on the subject of the sentence too. Metaphors expressed by adjectives and adverbs are called metaphorical epithets and will be dealt with in the chapter on the epithet.

Sometimes a metaphor is not confined to one image. The writer finds it necessary to prolong the image by adding a number of other images, but all these additional images are linked with the main, central image. Such metaphors are called sustained or prolonged metaphors.

Irony is a stylistic device based on the simultaneous realisation of two meanings: the literal meaning is the opposite of the intended meaning; used in ridicule, contempt, or humour. Emphasis is placed on the opposition between the dictionary and the intended meaning of a statement: one thing is said and the opposite is implied. Nice weather isn't it. (On a rainy day) Intonation plays an important role in expressing irony. Irony is generally used to convey a negative meaning, but only positive concepts may be used in it (as above: great, nice).

 

Stylistic devices based on the change of the traditional word order (inversion, detachment)

Inversion is the violation of the fixed word order within an English sentence. There are two major kinds of inversion:

1. that one which results in the change of the grammatical meaning of a syntactic struc-ture, i.e. grammatical inversion (exclamatory and interrogative sentences), and

2. that one which results in adding to a sentence an emotive and emphatic colouring, i.e. stylistic inversion, e.g. And the palm-trees I like them not (A. Christie).

Inversion may be of two types:

1) complete, i.e. comprising the principal parts of the sentence, e.g. From behind me came Andrews voice (S. Chaplin);

2) partial, i.e. influencing the secondary parts of the sentence, e.g. Straight into the arms of the police they will go (A. Christie).

Detachment is a separation of a secondary part of the sentence with the aim of emphasizing it.

Detachment is to be regarded as a special kind of inversion, when some parts of the sentence are syntactically separated from its other members with which they are grammatically and logically connected.