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 newspaper style (the headline)

English newspaper style may be defined as a system of interrelated lexical, phraseological and grammatical means which is perceived by the community speaking the language as a separate unity that basically serves the purpose of informing and instructing the reader.

Since the primary function of newspaper style is to impart information, only printed matter serving this purpose comes under newspaper style proper. Such matter can be classed as:

1. brief news items and communiqués;

2. press reports (parliamentary, of court proceedings, etc.);

3. articles purely informational in character;

4. advertisements and announcements.

The most concise form of newspaper informational is the headline. The headlines of news items, apart from giving information about the subject-matter, also carry a considerable amount of appraisal (the size and arrangement of the headline, the use of emotionally colored words and elements of emotive syntax), thus indicating the interpretation of the facts in the news item that follows.

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.