Stylistics

stylistics

style linguistics

“Take an egg, and make a perforation in the base and a corresponding one in the apex. And then, apply the lips to the aperture, and by frocibly inhaling the breath, the shell is entirely discharged of its contents.”

“When I was a gal, they made a hole in each end and sucked.”

I. Concepts of Style

1. A person’s distinctive language habits, or the set of individual characteristics of language use

e.g. Hemingway’s style Henry James’s style Mark Twain’s style

2. Some or all of the language habits shared by a group of people at one time,or over a period of time.

e.g. Elizabethan style

the style of legal document

the style of news reporting

3. A characteristic of “good” or “beautiful” literary writings.

e.g. ornate style

terse style

plain style

Definition of style

Manner indicating prominent linguistic features, devices or patterns, most (or least) frequently occur in a particular text of a particular variety of language.

II. Concepts of Stylistics

1. Stylistics is a discipline that studies the ways in which language is used; it is a discipline that studies the styles of language in use.

2. Stylistics is a branch of linguistics which applies the theory and methodology of modern linguistics to the study of style.

Definition of Stylistics

Stylistics is a branch of linguistics which studies style in a scientific and systematic way concerning the manners / linguistic features of different varieties of language at different levels.

Linguistic Description

The level of phonology / graphology

The level of lexis

The level of syntax / grammar

The level of semantics

1. The level of phonology / graphology

Phonology is the study of the rules for the organization of the sound systems of a language.

Graphology is the study of the writing system of a language.

2. The level of lexis

Lexicology studies the choice of specific lexical items in a text, their distribution in relation to one another, and their meanings.

3. The level of syntax / grammar

• Syntax refers to rules for ordering and connecitng words into sentences.

4. The level of semantics

Semantics studies the overall meaning of a text, the meaning derived from the way sentences / utterances are used and the way they are related to the context in which they are used / uttered and some rhetoric devices.

Literary Stylistics

General Stylistics

III. The Scope of StudiesIII. The Scope of Studies

Literary stylistics: concentrating on the unique features of various literary works,such as poem, novel, prose, drama…General stylistics: concentrating on the general features of various types of language use, including literary discourses and other practical styles

General stylisticsGenres: news reports, advertisements, public speeches, scientific treatises, leagal documents and other practical styles…

Attitudes: formal and informal language

Media of communication: spoken English,

written English, e-discourse

Regions: British English, American English and other regional dialects

Social groups: standard and non-standard language

IV. A brief introduction to the development of stylistics

Rhetoric (Aristotle)Beginning (Charles Bally)Development

(L. Spitzer)Flourish (Investigating English Style)

王佐良《英语文体学引论》 秦秀白《英语文体学入门》 钱瑗《实用文体学教程 》 王守仁《英语文体学要略》 申丹《文学文体学与小说翻译》 张德禄《功能文体学》

V. Stylistics Analysis

The stylistics analysis of a text involves the description of a writer’s / speaker’s verbal choices.

Stylistics does not reflect the views of the individual critic, but an impersonal, reproducible ‘truth’.

VI. The Need For Stylistic Study

(I) Stylistic study helps cultivate a sense of appropriateness

* Who speaks what language to whom

and when * Proper words in proper places make the true definition of a style. -- Swift

First, a certain style is determined by the characteristics of the USER of language, such as the age, sex, education, socio-regional or ethnic background.

Second, it’s related to the characteristics of the USE of language in situation:

# role-relationship between addresser and addressee (degree of intimacy)

# medium of communication (speech or writing)

# setting: private or public

# purpose for which language is used

(to inform, persuade…)

For Example:

(1)

Dear Sir,

I must apologize for the delay in replying to your letter of the 30th of December…

(2)

Dear Jane,

I’m terribly sorry not to have got round to writing before now …

1. Now allow me to propose a toast to the friendship between …

2. Here’s to the health of our friends!

3. Cheers!

4. Bottoms up!

For example:

When his dad died, Peter had to get another job.

After his father’s death, Peter had to change his job.

On the decease of his father, Mr. Brown was obliged to seek alternative employment.

II. Stylistic study sharpens the understanding and appreciation of literary works

Deviation: the breaking of normal rules of linguistic structure Repetition: the overuse of a particular linguistic features Foregrounding

e.g. a month ago (normal) a grief ago (abnormal) a joy ago (abnormal) a happiness ago (abnormal)

III. Stylistic study helps achieve adaptation in translation

For example

1. Whoever tries to twist you up, may the end of his nose take a twist.

(1) He said to his little son, “At that time, I was so fatigued after a day’s drudgery that I found it very hard to mount the kang. My whole frame aching acutely, I couldn’t go to sleep however hard I tried.”

(2) He said to his little son, “ In those days, I was usually so done up after a day’s hard work that I could hardly get on the kang. As my whole body ached like anything, I simply couldn’t get to sleep even I tried to.

3. For example:(1)It has been noted with

concern that the stock of books in the library has been declining alarmingly. Students are requested to remind themselves of the rules of the borrowing and returning of books, and to bear in mind the needs of other students. Penalties for overdue book will in the future be strictly enforced.

(2) The number of books in the library has been going down. Please make sure you know the rules for borrowing, and don’t forget that the library is for everyone’s convenience. So from now on, we’re going to enforce the rules strictly. You have been warned!

4. For example

(1) Although learning is judged to require from teachers (and sometimes indeed it does), real instructors may be found not so much in school or in great laboratories as in the student’s powers of insight.

(2) We think we learn from teachers, and we sometimes do. But teachers are not always be found in school or in great laboratories. Sometimes what we learn depends upon our own powers of insight.

(3) You know, people are always saying they learn from teachers! Ok, so they do, sometimes. But what I want to get across is this: you don’t always find your teachers in schools or in labs, either. No sir! Sometimes you find the teacher right in your own eyes and ears and brains. That’s where it’s at!

Thank you for your attention!