Phonetic expressive means and stylistic devices (onomatopoeia, alliteration, assonance).

Phonetic expressive means and stylistic devices (onomatopoeia, alliteration, assonance).

Phonetics as a branch of linguistics investigates acoustic & articulatory properties of speech sounds and informs us of various types of pronunciation of the same word or sentence.

Stylistic phonetics tells us which variant suits the given type of speech. The stylistic approach to the utterance is not confined to its structure and sense; there is another thing to be taken into account which plays an important role. This is the way a word, a phrase or a sentence sounds. The sound taken separately will have little or no aesthetic value. It is in combination with other words that a word may acquire a desired phonetic effect.

PHONETIC STYLISTIC DEVICES

Phonetic means of speech characterization Expressive phonetic means

1) Alliteration

Phonetic variation Prosodic means 2) Onomatopoeia

1) reduction of sounds 1) emphatic stress 3) Assonance

2) omission of sounds 2) intonation

3) substitution of sounds 3) rhythm

4) rhyme

5) pauses

Expressive phonetic means - (found in the author’s discourse). This part of stylistics deals with prosody& interaction of speech sounds in sequence. Phonetic expressive means deal with the sound instrumenting (звуковая инструментовка) of the utterance and are mainly found in poetry.

Phonetic expressive means and devices are used for several purposes:

• to produce a certain acoustic effect;

• to give emphasis to the utterance;

• to arouse emotions in the reader or the listener.

Alliteration

Alliteration - is the repetition of similar consonant in close succession, particularly at the beginning of successive words.

Phonetic expressive means deal with the sound with the sound instrumenting of the utterance and are mainly found in poetry.

e.g. D eep into the d arkness peering, long and stoo d there won d ering fearing,

D oubting, d reaming d reams no mortals ever d ared to d ream before. (E.A. Poe)

Взор застыл во тьме стесненный, и стоял я изумленный,

Снам отдавшись, недоступным на земле ни для кого …

Alliteration aims at imparting a melodic effect to the utterance; alliteration is generally regarded as a musical accompaniment of the author’s idea, it creates some vague emotional atmosphere, which each reader interprets for himself. Thus the repetition of the sound [d] in the lines quoted from Poe’s poem “The Raven” prompts the feeling of anxiety, fear, horror, anguish or all these feelings simultaneously.

Alliteration in the English language is deeply rooted in the traditions of English folklore. The laws of phonetic arrangement in Anglo-Saxon poetry differed greatly from those of present-day English poetry. In Old English poetry alliteration was one of the basic principles of verse and considered, along with rhythm to be its main characteristic. Thus, in Beowulf:

F yrst f orð zewát: f lota wæs un yðum,

b at under b eorze. B eornas zearwe

on s tefħ s tizon: s trēamas wundon,

s und wið s ande; s eczas bæron

on b earm nacan b eorhte frætwe…

In Old English alliteration was used to consolidate the sense within the line, leaving the relation between the lines rather loose. [Rhyme – it’s semantic function is to chain one line to another].

Onomatopoeia

Onomatopoeia is a combination of speech-sounds which aims at imitating sounds produced in nature;

· by things (machines or tools, etc.)

· by people (sighing, laughter, patter of feet, etc.)

· by animals.

There are two varieties of onomatopoeia: direct and indirect:

Direct onomatopoeia is contained in words that imitate natural sounds as

e.g. ding-dong, buzz, bang, cuckoo, mew, ping-pong, etc.

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)

… и завес пурпурных трепет издавал как будто лепет …

 

Indirect onomatopoeia, unlike alliteration, demands some mention of what makes the sound, a rustling (of curtains), etc.

The same can be said of the sound [w] if it aims at reproducing, let us say, the sound of wind. The word “wind’ must be mentioned as in the example:

“ Whenever the moon and stars are set,

Whenever the wind is high,

All night long in the dark and wet

A man goes riding by.” (R.S. Stevenson)

 

Indirect onomatopoeia is sometimes very effectively used by repeating words which themselves are not onomatopoetic, as in Poe’s poem “The Bells”

Silver bells… how they tinkle, tinkle, tinkle

“To the tintinnabulation that so musically wells

From the bells, bells, bells, bells,

Bells, bells, bells –

From the jingling and the tinkling of the bells.

 

The words “tintinnabulation”, tinkle, “jingling” are obviously onomatopoetic; the word “bells” begins to display such properties through the repetition.

Assonance

Assonance – a phonetic stylistic device; it is the agreement of vowel sounds (sometimes combined with likeness in consonants).

e.g. One’s upon a m i dnight dr ea r y, while I pondered, w ea k and w ea r y …

Как то в полночь, в час угрюмый, полный тягостною думой …

e.g. … and the Raven never fl i tt i ng, st i ll i s s i tt i ng, st i ll i s s i tt i ng …

… и сидит, сидит зловещий ворон черный, ворон вещий …

Some linguists among them Yu.M. Skrebnev considers that expressive means of language constitute the subject of stylistics only partially. Having an option to the force of form rather than that of logic, they are employed
in spheres of speech that aim to impress: poetry, fiction, oratory, colloquial speech, but hardly ever science, technology, business letters. In his opinion it would be wrong to confine the aims of stylistics to the investigating expressive means only. Style is regarded as a system of special stylistic devices except that we do not know as yet what these devices are. Stylistic perception is formed in people's minds not only by "special devices", but also by certain minor features, not conspicuous by themselves, but collectively affecting the stylistic quality of the text.

Working on the seminar you should also pay attention to plurality of terms suggested by Western and former Soviet scholars. As I.R. Galperin’s approach is taken into consideration in this course, your special concentration should be given to the terms of Expressive Means and Stylistic Device. Distinguishing between the two seems not an easy matter.

 

11 In phonetics the basis of articulation is the default position or standard settings of a speaker's organs of articulation when ready to speak. An alternative term is articulatory setting,.^[1][2] Different languages each have their own basis of articulation, which means that native speakers will share a certain position of tongue, lips, jaw, possibly even uvula or larynx, when preparing to speak. These standard settings enable them to produce the sounds and prosody of their native language more efficiently.

Different accents within a given language may have their own characteristic basis of articulation, resulting in one accent being perceived as, e.g., more 'nasal', 'velarized' or 'guttural' than another. According to Cruttenden, “The articulatory setting of a language or dialect may differ from GB [General British]. So some languages like Spanish may have a tendency to hold the tongue more forward in the mouth, while others like Russian may have a tendency to hold it further back in the mouth.

The main peculiarities of the English articulation basis are: 1) the tongue is broadened and flattened; 2) the tip is slightly hollowed out and slightly drawn back from the teeth; 3) the lips are neutral, they are deliberately neutralized and spread, the upper lip is tense.

Out of many varieties of English, it is the British “received pronunciation”, mainly based on South England dialects, which has traditionally been used as a standard for ESL teaching in Europe and in many other places around the world.

 

Christopher Cooper (1685, 10-11) wrote that the English “speak their syllables and words distinctly and outwardly from the lips (cited by Laver (1978, 4)). English was often contrasted with German as not being guttural.

Wallis and Cooper only mentioned the tongue position indirectly. It was Henry Sweet who clearly described it as “broadened and flattened, and drawn back from the teeth (which it scarcely ever touches), and the forepart of it is hollowed out […]”

The tip of the tongue may be slightly raised forming a concave profile. The degree of the tip rising is subject to considerable dialectal variation. In some English and most American dialects the tip of the tongue is markedly raised giving the neutral vowel a specific [r] sound.

 

The secondary feature, directly relating to this anchorage, is the so-called “grooving” which is well attested in English. Stone et al. (1988) measured the continuous lateral contact with the upper molars throughout the production of all English vowels (Fig.2), particularly, the middle and front ones.

 

The articulation basis may be defined, аs the general tendencies (or habits 'in the way native speakers use their speech organs both during speech and at rest.

 

People belonging tо different races and nationalities possess an identical s speech apparatus. That is why in all existing languages there are typologically identical sounds, such as consonants, vowels and sonorants. For instance, in all European languages and in the languages of the Soviet Union there are such typologically identical sounds as /а, о, u, i, е, t, m, к, 1, s, d/ etc. And yet, not a single sound of one language is absolutely identical spectrally with a typologically identical sound, of another language. This is due to the fact that people use their speech organs differently, or, as phoneticians say, it is due tо the difference in the articulation basis.
The articulation basis may be defined, аs the general tendencies (or habits 'in the way native speakers use their speech organs both during speech and at rest.The articulation basis influences the phonetic system of a language. Тhe articulation basis of one language may differ from the articulation basis of another language. Though the articulation bases of English, Kazakh have not yet been studied we may only speak about the most characteristic features of the Received Pronunciation articulation basis as compared with the Kazakh Standard articulation bases. Differences in the articulation bases of English, Kazakh, reflected in the system of consonants, are as follows: (1) The English have a tendency to hold the tip of the tongue in neutral position at the level of the alveoli (or teeth-ridge), whereas the Kazakhs keep it much lower, at tooth level. That is why there are about 50 % of all the consonants in R.P. which are articulated with the tip of the tongue against the alveoli, as in /t, d, n, 1, s, z, ∫,ӡ, ʧ, ʤ, r /. They are alveolar, palato-alveolar and post-alveolar in accordance with the place of obstruction. The tip of the tongue in the articulation of Kazakh forelingual consonants occupies dental position.

 

15 British descriptions of English intonation can be traced back to the 16th century.^[15] Early in the 20th century the dominant approach in the description of English and French intonation was based on a small number of basic "tunes" associated with intonation units: in a typical description, Tune 1 is falling, with final fall, while Tune 2 has a final rise.^[16] Phoneticians such as H.E. Palmer^[17] broke up the intonation of such units into smaller components, the most important of which was the nucleus, which corresponds to the main accented syllable of the intonation unit, usually in the last lexical word of the intonation unit. Each nucleus carries one of a small number of nuclear tones, usually including fall, rise, fall-rise, rise-fall, and possibly others. The nucleus may be preceded by a head containing stressed syllables preceding the nucleus, and a tail consisting of syllables following the nucleus within the tone unit. Unstressed syllables preceding the head (if present) or nucleus (if there is no head) constitute a pre-head. This approach was further developed by Halliday ^[18] and by O'Connor and Arnold,^[19] though with considerable variation in terminology. This "Standard British" treatment of intonation in its present-day form is explained in detail by Wells ^[20] and in a simplified version by Roach.^[21] Halliday saw the functions of intonation as depending on choices in three main variables: Tonality (division of speech into intonation units), Tonicity (the placement of the tonic syllable or nucleus) and Tone (choice of nuclear tone);^[22] these terms (sometimes referred to as "the three T's") have been used more recently.^[20]

Research by Crystal^[23][24] emphasized the importance of making generalizations about intonation based on authentic, unscripted speech, and the roles played by prosodic features such as tempo, pitch range, loudness and rhythmicality in communicative functions usually attributed to intonation.

The transcription of intonation in such approaches is normally incorporated into the line of text. A typical example would be:

We ˌlooked at the ↗sky | and ˈsaw the ↘clouds

in this example, the | mark indicates a division between intonation units

 

Intonation describes how the voice rises and falls in speech. The three main patterns of intonation in English are: falling intonation, rising intonation and fall-rise intonation.

Falling intonation

Falling intonation describes how the voice falls on the final stressed syllable of a phrase or a group of words. A falling intonation is very common in wh -questions.

Where’s the nearest p↘ost-office?

What time does the film f↘inish?

We also use falling intonation when we say something definite, or when we want to be very clear about something:

I think we are completely l↘ost.

OK, here’s the magaz↘ine you wanted.

Rising intonation

Rising intonation describes how the voice rises at the end of a sentence. Rising intonation is common in yes-no questions:

I hear the Health Centre is expanding. So, is that the new d↗octor?

Are you th↗irsty?

Fall-rise intonation

Fall-rise intonation describes how the voice falls and then rises. We use fall-rise intonation at the end of statements when we want to say that we are not sure, or when we may have more to add:

I do↘n’t support any football team at the m↘om↗ent. (but I may change my mind in future).

It rained every day in the firs↘t w↗eek. (but things improved after that).

We use fall-rise intonation with questions, especially when we request information or invite somebody to do or to have something. The intonation pattern makes the questions sound more polite:

Is this your cam↘er↗a?

Would you like another co↘ff↗ee?

In linguistics, intonation is variation of spoken pitch that is not used to distinguish words; instead it is used for a range of functions such as indicating the attitudes and emotions of the speaker, signalling the difference between statements and questions, and between different types of questions, focusing attention on important elements of the spoken message and also helping to regulate conversational interaction. It contrasts with tone, in which pitch variation in some languages distinguishes words, either lexically or grammatically. (The term tone is used by some British writers in their descriptions of intonation but to refer to the pitch movement found on the nucleus or tonic syllable in an intonation unit:

Although intonation is primarily a matter of pitch variation, it is important to be aware that functions attributed to intonation such as the expression of attitudes and emotions, or highlighting aspects of grammatical structure, almost always involve concomitant variation in other prosodic features. David Crystal for example says that "intonation is not a single system of contours and levels, but the product of the interaction of features from different prosodic systems – tone, pitch-range, loudness, rhythmicality and tempo in particular

.

Pitch level and range

Pitch level (mid, high, low) and range (normal, wide, narrow) are important characteristics of intonation and tones. The voice does not jump up and down while pronouncing sentences, and the voice does not rise high or fall low without reason.

Each tone has its own pitch levels on which it begins and ends. Each tone has its own range, that is, the span (pitch span, pitch interval) between the beginning of a tone and its end.

Very high or very low pitch levels together with the ranges that are much wider or much narrower than normal indicate the presence of some strong (positive or negative) emotions. (For example, very high pitch usually indicates nervousness and excitedness.)

It is important to stress that very high or very low pitch level and widened or narrowed range do not specify what kind of strong emotion is expressed. It all depends on the situation, on the context, and on some other factors, such as the choice of words, tone and loudness of your voice, tempo of speech, expression on your face, etc.

Language learners rarely need to express strong feelings in their speech (and should avoid expressing them, if possible). But it is necessary to understand various emotions in the speech of other people.

Women generally use higher pitch levels and change pitch more often than men.

Higher pitch level and change of pitch are frequent in Russian speech, and if you speak English with Russian intonation, your emotions and even the meaning of your utterance may be misunderstood.

Tones in sense groups

When we speak, we divide sentences into sense groups (thought groups), that is, groups of logically connected words. Short simple sentences usually contain only one sense group; long sentences usually contain several sense groups.

For example, the sentence "Anton lives in Rome." contains one sense group "Anton lives in Rome". The sentence "When Anton lived in London, he worked at a bank." contains two sense groups: the nonfinal sense group "When Anton lived in London" and the final sense group "he worked at a bank".

Examples of the sequence of tones

Rise + fall: If he doesn't /find it, he'll be in \trouble. I will go for a /walk after I finish my \work. She bought /bread, /butter, and \cheese. /Mike, this is \Peter. Would you like /tea or \coffee?

Fall + fall: Their house is \large, but they are not \rich. This is Alan \Brown, a \friend of mine. I think I saw your cell phone in the \kitchen, on the \windowsill. It's a great \film, \isn't it?

Rise + rise: If she /calls, will you /ask her? Did he go /back and /tell her about it? /Lena, can you /help me?

Fall + rise: It's a great \film, /isn't it? We can have lunch \now, if you /like.

Note: Nonfinal sense group at the end of the sentence

Nonfinal sense group may stand at the end of the sentence, for example, as in the last example above: We can have lunch \now, if you /like. Though the nonfinal sense group "if you like" stands at the end here, it does not determine the type of this sentence.

The author's words at the end of the sentence usually do not have any intonation of their own if they are represented by the words "he said; she said; said the man", and the like. But if the author's words are important or if their group is large enough, they may form a nonfinal sense group pronounced with the low fall (or with the low rise). For example: "My car was \stolen yesterday," said the young man \gloomily.

Description of tones

Emphatic tones (high fall, high rise) are described here for understanding, and not for active use. Low fall may be emphatic or unemphatic depending on the situation. (See "Low fall" below.)

Falling tone

The falling tone is used at the end of statements (It's \nice.), special questions (What \happened?), commands (\Call him.), exclamatory sentences (How \nice!), in the first part of tag questions (He \works, \doesn't he?), and in the last part of alternative questions (Do you /study or \work?).

The falling tone expresses finality, completeness, confidence. The falling tone begins on the last stressed syllable of the sentence and goes down (much deeper than in Russian), ending near the bottom of the normal speaking range.

The fall takes place within the last stressed syllable: Tom is my \friend. If there are unstressed syllables after the final stressed syllable, they are pronounced on the same low level where the fall ends: Tom is a \journalist.

In many cases you can use the normal falling tone instead of the high fall and low fall.

Rising tone

The rising tone is used at the end of general questions (Is she /here?), in requests (Could you /help me?), at the end of introductory phrases beginning the sentence (As /usual, he was \late.), in the first part of alternative questions (Is it /short or \long?), in the second part of tag questions (Nice \weather, /isn't it?), in direct address (/Mike, where \are you?), and in enumerations (I bought /milk, /cheese, and \fruit.).

Depending on the context, the rising tone may express interest, politeness, surprise, doubt, incompleteness, and so on. The rising tone begins on the last stressed syllable of the sentence and first goes down just a little and then continues going up. The English rising tone does not go up as high as the Russian rising tone does.

If the sentence ends on the last stressed syllable, the rise takes place within the last stressed syllable: Do you have a /pen? If there are unstressed syllables after the final stressed syllable, the rise goes down a little on the stressed syllable and then continues going up on the unstressed syllables: Do you have a /pencil?

In many cases you can use the normal rising tone instead of the fall-rise, high rise, mid-level rise, low rise.

Fall-rise

The fall-rise may be used instead of the rising tone in various cases, for example in introductory phrases and in subordinate clauses at the beginning of the sentence. Examples:

If you don't hurry \ /up, you'll be \late.

Despite her \ /warning, he opened the \door.

The fall-rise expresses nonfinality, signals continuation of the utterance, emphasizes the word on which it is used, and may express polite warning, suggestion, correction, contrast, and so on. The voice falls down and goes up within one word.

High fall

The high fall is an emphatic variation of the falling tone. It may be used in informal situations to show lively interest and friendliness, usually in exclamatory sentences. Examples:

OH \HI! How \NICE! What a sur\PRISE!

The high fall begins much higher than the falling tone and goes down into the lower part of the normal speaking range, but not always as low as the falling tone. The stressed syllable on which the high fall takes place is pronounced more loudly, and the stress on it is stronger.

Though this tone is rather common in everyday speech, language learners should use it with caution and not too often because it is emphatic and rather expressive and, depending on the situation, may express various strong feelings ranging from admiration and delight to disgust and horror.

Low fall

Lowering the pitch into the lower part of the normal speaking range and using the low fall as the final tone in the sentence may indicate, depending on the situation, such feelings as disappointment, sadness, hopelessness, sympathy, sincerity, responsibility, fear, threat. When strong emotions are expressed, the low fall may be emphatic.

The low fall begins much lower than the falling tone, and the speaker usually pronounces the words less loudly, in a soft voice, and sometimes even close to whisper.

The unemphatic low fall may be used at the end of the sentence in a group of words added as an afterthought after the final fall, or in the author's words at the end of the sentence (if they are important). For example: I think I saw your cell phone in the \kitchen, on the \windowsill. "\Stop it!" a woman's voice behind them said \angrily.

If the speaker wants to mark the end of his whole utterance (after he has been speaking for some time), the whole final sentence may be pronounced on a lower level with low-falling intonation and with the low fall at the end.

High rise

The high rise is an emphatic rising tone that may be used for expressing strong surprise or disbelief, mostly in surprised echo questions. Examples:

/What? You lost my /money?

The high rise begins higher than the normal rising tone, goes into the higher part of the normal speaking range, and ends much higher than the normal rising tone. Depending on the emotion expressed, the high rise may even go beyond the upper boundary of the normal speaking range.

Depending on the situation, the high rise may also indicate astonishment, indignation, anger, and so on. Because the high rise is emphatic, very expressive and may indicate various emotions, it is advisable for language learners to limit the use of this tone in speech.

Mid-level rise

The mid-level rise is used mostly in informal American speech, for example, in direct address, in introductory phrases, in subordinate clauses at the beginning of the sentence.

The mid-level rise begins at mid level (or a little higher) and immediately goes up (not too high) – without first going down a little as the ordinary rising tone does. Example: Mrs. /Smith, this is \Annie, my \niece.

Low rise

The low rise may be used in a group of words added (as direct address, as a suggestion, for politeness, etc.) at the end of the sentence after the final fall. The low rise begins and ends lower than the ordinary rising tone.

The low rise generally signals the speaker's polite interest and his readiness to continue the conversation. Examples: Good to \see you, /Alan. You can stay \here, if you /like.

17. Speaking of the semantic structure of the word the branch of the study of language concerned with the meaning of words is called semasiology. The name comes from the Greek semasia ‘signification’ (from sema ‘sign’ and semantikos ‘significant’). As semasiology deals not with every kind of linguistic meaning but with lexical meaning only, it may be regarded as a branch of lexicology.

This does not mean that the semasiologist needn’t pay attention to grammatical meaning. On the contrary, grammatical meaning must be taken into consideration in so far as it bears a specific influence upon lexical meaning. This influence is manifold and will be discussed at length later. At this stage it will suffice to point out that a certain basic component of the word meaning is described when one identifies the word morphologically, i. e. states to what grammatical word class it belongs. If treated diachronically, semasiology studies the change in meaning, which words undergo. Descriptive synchronic approach demands a study not of individual words but of semantic structures typical of the language studied, and of its general semantic system.

These famous lines reflect one of the fundamental problems of linguistic research: what is in a name, in a word? Is there any direct connection between a word and the object it represents? Could rose have been called by “ any other name” as Juliet says? These and similar questions are answered by lexicological research. Lexicology, a branch of linguistics, is the study of words. For some people studying words may seem uninteresting. But if studied properly, it may well prove just as exciting and novel as unearthing the mysteries of Outer Space.

It is significant that many scholars have attempted to define the word as a linguistic phenomenon. Yet none of the definitions can be considered totally satisfactory in all aspects. It is equally surprising that, despite all the achievements of modern science, certain essential aspects of the nature of the word still escape us. Nor do we fully understand the phenomenon called “language”, of which the word is a fundamental unit. We know nothing- or almost nothing – about the mechanism by which a speaker’s mental process is converted into sound groups called “ words”, nor about the reverse process whereby a listener’s brain converts the acoustic phenomena into concepts and ideas, thus establishing a two - way process of communication. We know very little about the nature of relations between the word and the referent (i.e. object, phenomenon, quality, action, etc. denoted by the word). If we assume that there is a direct relation between the word and the referent - which seems logical- it gives rise to another question: how should we explain the fact that the same referent is designated by quite different sound groups in different languages.

We do know by now - though with vague uncertainty- that there is nothing accidental about the vocabulary of the language; that each word is a small unit within a vast, efficient and perfectly balanced system. But we do not know why it possesses these qualities, nor do we know much about the processes by which it has acquired them. The list of unknowns could be extended, but it is probably high time to look at the brighter side and register some of the things we do know about the nature of the word.

First, we do know that a word is a unit of speech, which, as such, serves the purposes of human communication. Thus, the word can be defined as a unit of communication.

Secondly, the word can be perceived as the total of the sounds, which comprise it.

Third, the word, viewed structurally, possesses several characteristics.

The modern approach to word studies is based on distinguishing between the external and internal structures of the word.

By external structure of the word we mean its morphological structure. For example, in the word post-impressionists the following morphemes can be distinguished: the prefixes post-, im-, the root press, the noun- forming suffixes –ion, -ist, and the grammatical suffix of plurality –s. All these morphemes constitute the external structure of the word post-impressionists.

The internal structure of the word, or its meaning, is nowadays commonly referred to as the word’s semantic structure. This is certainly the word’s main aspect. Words can serve the purposes the human communication solely due to their meanings, and it is most unfortunate when this fact is ignored by some contemporary scholars who, in their obsession with the fetish of structure tend eludes mathematical analysis. And this is exactly what meaning, with its subtle variations and shifts is apt to do.

The question posed by the title of it is one of those questions, which are easier to ask than to answer. The linguistic science at present is not able to put forward a definition of meaning which is conclusive. However, there are certain facts of which we can be reasonably sure, and one of them is that the very function of the word as unit of communication is made possible by it possessing a meaning. Therefore, among word’s various characteristics, meaning is certainly the most important.

Generally speaking, meaning can be more or less described as a component of the word through which a concept is communicated, in this way endowing the word with the ability of denoting real objects, qualities, actions and abstract notions. The complex and somewhat mysterious relationships between referent (object, etc. denoted by the word), concept and word are traditionally represented by the following triangle:

By the “symbol” here is meant the word; thought or reference is concept. The faltering line suggests that there is no immediate relation between word and referent: it is established only through the concept.

If speaking about components of semantic structure of the word, we can say that, the leading semantic component is usually termed denotative component (also, the term referential component may be used). The denotative component expresses the conceptual component of a word.

The following list presents denotative components of some adjectives and verbs:

Lonely, adj. Alone, without

company

Notorious, adj. Widely known

Celebrated, adj. Widely known

To glare, v. to look

To glance, v. to look

To shiver, v. to tremble

To shudder, v. to tremble

It is quite obvious that the definitions given in the right column only partially and incompletely describe the meanings of their corresponding words. To give a more or less full picture of the meaning of the word, it is necessary to include in the scheme of analysis additional semantic components, which are termed connotations,or connotative components.

Let us complete the semantic structures of the words given above introducing connotative components into the schemes of their semantic structures.

The above show how by singling out denotative and connotative components one can get a sufficiently clear picture of what the word really means. The schemes presenting the semantic structures of glare, shiver, shudder also show that a meaning can have two or more connotative components.

The given examples do not exhaust all the types of connotations but present only a few: emotive, evaluative connotations, and also connotations of duration.

So the branch of linguistics, which specializes in the study of meaning, is called semantics. As with many terms, the term “semantics” is ambiguous for it can stand, as well, for the expressive aspect of language in general and for the meaning of one particular word in all its varied aspects and nuances (i.e. the semantics of a word= the meaning(s) of a word). Meaning can be described as a component of the word through which a concept is communicated, endowing the word with the ability of denoting real objects, qualities, actions, and abstract notions. The semantic structure of the word does not present an indissoluble unity (that is actually, why it is referred to as “structure”), nor does it necessarily stand for one concept. Most words convey several concepts and thus possess the corresponding number of meanings. A word having several meanings is called polysemantic, and the ability of the word to have more than one meaning is described by the term polysemy. The vocabulary is the most flexible part of the language and it is precisely its semantic aspect that responds most readily to every change in the human activity in whatever sphere it may happen to take place. Speaking about different types of semantic structure they play their own role and affect in various aspect on the word and its structure but so that to make any changes, elements of the word exist and have an important part in changes of the word causes by different changes of the epoch, and different races.

 

19. тут немного инфа из истории и некоторые материалы которые мы не проходили, а так наунды оттык кой, бары лекцияда бар, оны кайта жазудын жоны жок деп ойлаймҚҚҚҚ

A noun (from Latin nōmen, literally meaning "name")is a word that functions as the name of some specific thing or set of things, such as living creatures, objects, places, actions, qualities, states of existence, or ideas. Linguistically, a noun is a member of a large, open part of speech whose members can occur as the main word in the subject of a clause, the object of a verb, or the object of apreposition. Lexical categories (parts of speech) are defined in terms of the ways in which their members combine with other kinds of expressions. The syntactic rules for nouns differ from language to language. InEnglish, nouns are those words which can occur with articles and attributive adjectives and can function as the head of a noun phrase. Word classes (parts of speech) were described by Sanskrit grammarians from at least the 5th century BC. In Yāska's Nirukta, the noun (nāma) is one of the four main categories of words defined.^[4]

The Ancient Greek equivalent was ónoma (ὄνομα), referred to by Plato in the Cratylus dialog, and later listed as one of the eight parts of speech in The Art of Grammar, attributed to Dionysius Thrax (2nd century BC). The term used in Latin grammar was nōmen. All of these terms for "noun" were also words meaning "name". The English word noun is derived from the Latin term, through the Anglo-Norman noun. The word classes were defined partly by the grammatical forms that they take. In Sanskrit, Greek and Latin, for example, nouns are categorized by gender and inflected for case and number. Because adjectives share these three grammatical categories, adjectives are placed in the same class as nouns. Similarly, the Latin nōmen includes both nouns (substantives) and adjectives, as originally did the English word noun, the two types being distinguished as nouns substantive and nouns adjective (or substantive nouns and adjective nouns, or short substantives and adjectives). (The word nominal is now sometimes used to denote a class that includes both nouns and adjectives.)

 

Onomatopoeia

Onomatopoeia is a combination of speech sounds which aims at imitating sounds produced in nature (wind, sea, thunder, etc. – splash, bubble, rustle, whistle) by things (machines or tools, etc. - buzz) by people (singing, laughter, yawning, roar, giggle) and animals (moo, bleat, croak - frog). Therefore the relation between onomatopoeia and the phenomenon it is supposed to represent is one of metonymy: that is it can be used in transferred meaning – tintinnabulation-the sound of bells

There are two varieties of onomatopoeia: direct and indirect.

Direct onomatopoeia is contained in words that imitate natural sounds, as thud, bowwow, ding-dong, buzz, bang, ‘cuckoo. These words have different degrees of ‘imitative quality. Some of them immediately bring to mind whatever it is that produces the sound. Others require some imagination to decipher it.

e.g. And now there came the chop-chop of wooden hammers.

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". Indirect onomatopoeia demands some mention of what makes the sound, as rustling of curtains in the following line. And the silken, sad, uncertain rustling of each purple curtain. An example is: 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.

Indirect onomatopoeia is sometimes effectively used by repeating words which themselves are not onomatopoetic but they contribute to the general impact of the utterance: in the poem Boots by R. Kipling soldiers’ tread is shown -

We’re foot-slog-slog-slog-sloggin’ over Africa –

Foot-foot-foot-foot –sloggin’ over Africa.

(Boots – boots – boots – boots – moovi’ up and down again!)

Onomatopoeia helps to create the vivid portrayal of the situation described, and the phonemic structure of the word is important for the creation of expressive and emotive connotations.

Alliteration and assonance

Alliteration is a phonetic stylistic device which aims at imparting a melodic effect to the utterance. The essence of this device lies in the repetition of similar sounds, in particular consonant sounds, in close succession, particularly at the beginning of successive words: " The po ss essive in s tinct never s tands s till (J. Galsworthy) or, " D eep into the d arkness peering, long I stoo d there won d ering, fearing, d oubting, d reaming d reams no mortals ever d ared to d ream before" (E. A. Poe). Alliteration is also used to name the repetition of first letters: A pt A lliteration’s a rtful a id.(Charles Churchill).

Alliteration has a long tradition in English poetry as Germanic and Anglo-Saxon poems were organized with its help. (Beowulf)

Assonance is the repetition of similar stressed vowels within the line or stanza.

“… Tell this soul, with sorrow laden, if within the distant Aiden,

I shall clasp a sainted maiden, whom the angels name Lenore… (E. A. Poe)”

Alliteration, like most phonetic expressive means, does not bear any lexical or other meaning. However it supplies the utterance with a certain nuance of the meaning [d]. That’s why alliteration is regarded as a musical accompaniment of the author’s idea, supporting it with some vague emotional atmosphere which each reader interprets for himself.

Alliteration heightens the general aesthetic effect of the utterance when it has connection with sense. Now it’s used only as a subsidiary device. Its role is an expressive one – alliterated words indicate the most important concepts. It’s often used in emotive prose, newspaper headlines, titles, proverbs and sayings: Sense and Sensibility; Pride and Prejudice; safe and sound; part and parcel etc.

Rhyme

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 verse they are usually placed at the end of the corresponding lines.

Identity and similarity of sound combinations may be relative. Thus, the first criterion is the identity of sound. Form this point of view 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 (heart – part, flood-blood).

Incomplete rhymes are divided into two main groups: vowel rhymes (ассонансы) and consonant rhymes (консонансы). In vowel rhymes the vowels of the syllables in corresponding words are identical, but the consonants may be different as in (adv ice -comprom ise). In consonant rhymes, on the contrary, consonants are identical and disparity in vowels, as in (wi nd -la nd, gr ey- gr ow).

The second criterion: morphological characteristics. Compound (broken) rhymes - when one word rhymes with a combination of words; or two or even three words rhyme with a corresponding two or three words, as in "better – forget her". The peculiarity of rhymes of this type is that the combination of words is made to sound like one word - this device will inevitably give 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 l ove - pr ove, fl ood - br ood, h ave - gr ave. It follows that compound rhyme is perceived in reading aloud, eye - rhyme can only be perceived in the written verse.

III the way the rhymes are arranged within the stanza: couplets – when the last words of 2 successive lines are rhymed – aa; cross rhymes – перекрёстные - abab; framing or ring rhymes – опоясывающие - abba.

IV according to their position: e.g. internal rhyme – the rhyming words are placed not at the ends of the lines but within the line:

“I bring fresh showers for the thirsting flowers. ” (Shelley)

The rhyme has 2 functions, which are realized simultaneously: disserving (it breaks the line into 2 distinct parts, making the reader to pause) and consolidating (consolidates the ideas expressed in 2 parts).

Rhythm

Rhythm is the alternation of stressed and unstressed syllables, more or less regular. As a SD rhythm is a combination of the ideal metrical scheme and its variations governed by the standard.

It exists in all spheres of human activity and assumes multifarious forms. It stirs up emotions whatever its nature or origin, whether it is musical, mechanical or symmetrical as in architecture.

It’s not only a regular pattern of sounds or movements; it’s also any regular pattern in nature or in life. Rhythm can be perceived only provided that there is some kind of experience in catching regularity of alternating patterns.

Rhythm has a great importance not only for music and poetry, but also for prose. In prose rhythm is closely connected with the metre, i.e. different metrical patterns. The rhythm of prose is based on the succession of images, themes and other big elements of the text; repetition, parallel constructions, chiasmus- перекрестный/ реверсированный повтор, similar syntactical patterns. The unit of measure here is not a syllable but a structure, a word-combination, a sequence of phrases, sentences and supra-phrasal units.

Rhythm intensifies the emotions. It contributes to the general sense, helps to get the flow of thoughts and humour of the author. In poetry it conveys the mood, emotions and feelings, sharpens the thought of the author and his characters. Rhythm adds specific importance to some ideas and feelings, it helps to create reality in text. It has expressive, symbolic and graphic functions. It can imitate movement, behaviour and even setting. It foregrounds some particular words, thoughts, ideas, feelings, and vice versa obscures others, thus adding a per’spective to the text.

Graphical EMs

Graphical EMs serve to convey in the written form those emotions which in the oral speech are expressed by intonation and stress, in written form they are shown mostly with the help of punctuation and deliberate change of a spelling of a word.

“A detective! I never ‘eard of such a thing! What d’yer come ‘ere for if yer want to be a detective. ‘Ere, yer not big enough, ‘cos yer’d ‘ave to be a pleeceman first before they’d let yer be a detective, and they’d never ‘ave yer as a pleeceman. ” (J.D. Priestley,“ Angel Pavement”)

Woman, without her, man is nothing.

All types of punctuation can be used to reflect the emphatic intonation of the speaker. Such ‘emphatic’ punctuation is used in many syntactical SDs: aposiopesis (break-in-the-narrative) [You’ll just come home, or I’ll …], rhetorical questions, suspense etc.

The changed type (italics, bold type) or spelling multiplication (laaarge) are used to indicate the additional stress on the emphasis word or part of the word.

There is no direct connection between the graphical SDs and the intonation they reflect, for their choice is too inadequate for the variety and quality of emotions recurrent in intonation.

The categories of the text

Textual types refer to the following four basic aspects of writing: descriptive, narrative, expository, and argumentative

Descriptive text type

Based on perception in space. Impressionistic of landscapes or persons are often to be found in narratives such as novels or short stories. Example: About fifteen miles below Monterey, on the wild coast, the Sido family had their farm, a few sloping acres above the cliff that dropped to the brown reefs and to the hissing white waters of the ocean...

Purpose

Description is used in all forms of writing to create a vivid impression of a person, place, object or event e.g. to:

· describe a special place and explain why it is special

· describe the most important person in your life.

Descriptive writing is usually used to help a writer develop an aspect of their work, e.g. to create a particular mood, atmosphere or describe a place so that the reader can create vivid pictures of characters, places, objects etc.

Features

Description is a style of writing which can be useful for a variety of purposes:

· to engage a reader's attention

· to create characters

· to set a mood

Language

· aims to show rather than tell the reader what something/someone is like

· relies on precisely chosen vocabulary with carefully chosen adjectives and adverbs.

· is focused and concentrates only on the aspects that add something to the main purpose of the description.

· sensory description - what is heard, seen, smell, felt, tasted. Precise use of adjectives, similes, metaphors to create images/pictures in the mind e.g. their noses were met with the acrid smell of rotting flesh.

· strong development of the experience that "puts the reader there" focuses on key details, powerful verbs and precise nouns.

Narrative text type

Based on perception in time. Narration is the telling of a story; the succession of events is given in chronological order.

Purpose

The basic purpose of narrative is to entertain, to gain and hold a readers' interest. However narratives can also be written to teach or inform, to change attitudes / social opinions e.g. soap operas and television dramas that are used to raise topical issues. Narratives sequence people/characters in time and place but differ from recounts in that through the sequencing, the stories set up one or more problems, which must eventually find a way to be resolved. The common structure or basic plan of narrative text is known as the "story grammar". Although there are numerous variations of the story grammar, the typical elements are:

· Setting — when and where the story occurs.

· Characters — the most important people or characters in the story.

· Initiating event — an action or occurrence that establishes a problem and/or goal.

· Conflict/goal — the focal point around which the whole story is organized.

· Events — one or more attempts by the main character(s) to achieve the goal or solve the problem.

· Resolution — the outcome of the attempts to achieve the goal

The graphic representation of these story grammar elements is called a story map. The exact form and complexity of a map depends, of course, upon the unique structure of each narrative and the personal preference of the teacher constructing the map.

Types of Narrative

There are many types of narrative. They can be imaginary, factual or a combination of both. They may include fairy stories, mysteries, science fiction, romances, horror stories,adventure stories, fables, myths and legends, historical narratives, ballads, slice of life, personal experience.

Features

· Characters with defined personalities/identities.

· Dialogue often included - tense may change to the present or the future.

· Descriptive language to create images in the reader's mind and enhance the story.

Structure

In a Traditional Narrative the focus of the text is on a series of actions:

Orientation

(Introduction) in which the characters, setting, and time of the story are established. Usually answers who? When? Where? E.g. Mr. Wolf went out hunting in the forest one dark gloomy night.

Complication or problem

The complication usually involves the main character(s) (often mirroring the complications in real life).

Resolution

There needs to be a resolution of the complication. The complication may be resolved for better or worse/happily or unhappily. Sometimes there are a number of complications that have to be resolved. These add and sustain interest and suspense for the reader.

Further more, when there is plan for writing narrative texts, the focus should be on the following characteristics:

· Plot: What is going to happen?

· Setting: Where will the story take place? When will the story take place?

· Characterization: Who are the main characters? What do they look like?

· Structure: How will the story begin? What will be the problem? How is the problem going to be resolved?

· Theme: What is the theme / message the writer is attempting to communicate?

·

· Expository Essay

· Exposition is a type of discourse used to explain, describe or inform. In an expository essay, the purpose is to give the reader a balanced account of a subject, with a neutral, objective tone. The structure typically includes:

· Introduction:

· Lead the reader into the topic and state the overall point/purpose of your essay

· Main body:

· Divide the main topic of your essay down into sub-points. These points can involve describing, explaining, comparing, or classifying, depending on the purpose of your paper.

· Conclusion

· As with any essay conclusion, the aim is to briefly remind the reader of your overall point, possibly suggest wider implications, and give the essay a satifying sense of closure

· Argumentative Essay

· The purpose of an argumentative essay is to convince the reader of the validity of your point of view. Although your essay should still appeal to the reader's logic rather than emotion, you should clearly state an opinion rather than appearing neutral. The structure typically includes:

· Introduction:

· Lead the reader into the topic, the controversy or debate surrounding that topic, and clearly state your position.

· Body:

· Begin by making points that support your overall position.

· Then present and refute opposing arguments. Try to distance your own voice in the text from the opposing argument (e.g. It has been claimed that..., Several writers have argued that..., However,...).

· Note that you can also refute possible opposing arguments after each supporting argument. Use whichever structure seems clearest.

· Conclusion:

· This is your final chance to convince the reader. Do not introduce new arguments here, but rather restate your overall position clearly and briefly explain how you have demonstrated its validity.

 

 

Word stress

In linguistics, stress is the relative emphasis that may be given to certain syllables in a word, or to certain words in a phrase or sentence. Stress is typically signaled by such properties as increased loudness and vowel length, full articulation of the vowel, and changes in pitch.

The stress placed on syllables within words is called word stress or lexical stress. Some languages have fixed stress, meaning that the stress on virtually any multisyllable word falls on a particular syllable, such as the first or the penultimate. Other languages, like English, have variable stress, where the position of stress in a word is not predictable in that way. Sometimes more than one level of stress, such as primary stress and secondary stress, may be identified. However, some languages are considered to lack lexical stress entirely.

A few things to remember:

1. A word can only have one stress. In a very long word you can have a secondary stress but it is always a much smaller stress.

2. Only vowels are stressed, not consonants. The vowels in English are a, e, i, o, and u. The consonants are all the other letters.

Words with various endings

Take a good look at the list of suffixes below (suffixes are word endings).

Your stress is going to come on the syllable right before the suffix. This applies to words of all syllable lengths.

Examples:

 

1. able: ADDable, DURable, LAUGHable
2. ial: differENTial, SOcial, fiNANcial
3. cian: muSIcian, phySIcian, cliNIcian
4. ery: BAkery, SCEnery
5. ian: coMEdian, ciVILian, techNIcian
6. ible: reSIstible, imPOSsible, TERRible
7. ic: arCHAic, plaTOnic, characteRIStic
8. ics: diaBEtics, paediAtrics, TOpics
9. ion: classifiCAtion, repoSItion, vegeTAtion
10. ia: MEdia, bacTERia, vicTORia
11. ient: inGREdient, PAtient, ANcient
12. ious: mySTERious, reLIgious, VARious
13. ish: SELfish, ENglish, PUnish
14. osis: hypNOsis, diagNOsis, osMOsis

7. Words ending in ade, ee, ese, que, ette, oon

Words that use the suffix ade, ee, ese, eer, que, ette, or oon have the primary stress actually placed on the suffix.

This applies to words of all syllable lengths.

Examples:

 

1. ade: lemoNADE, cruSADE, arCADE
2. ee: aGREE, jamborEE, guaranTEE
3. eer: sightSEER, puppeTEER
4. ese: SiamESE, JapanESE, chEESE
5. ette: cassETTE, CorvETTE, towelETTE
6. que: unIQUE, physIQUE
7. oon: baLOON, afterNOON, carTOON

8. Prefixes

Usually, prefixes do not take the stress of a word.

There are a few exceptions to this rule, however, like: un, in, pre, ex and mis, which are all stressed in their prefix.

Examples:

 

1. ex: EXample, EXplanation, EXamine
2. in: INside, INefficient, INterest
3. mis: MISspoke, MIStake, MISspelled
4. pre: PREcede, PREarrange, PREliminary

9. Stress on the second from the