Classification of Expressive Means and Stylistic Devices. Epithet

Lecture 4 Semantic Structure of a Word

The subject matter of stylistic lexicology is a word

Word is a language sing, which expresses a concept by its forms and meanings,

Concept is an abstract or general idea of some phenomenon of objective reality, including the subjective feelings and emotions of human beings.

General linguistics deals mainly with the interrelation between meaning and concept, meaning and sign, meaning and referent. It regards meaning as smth stable.

Stylistics focuses on the expressive properties of ling.units on their functioning and interaction on a certain text or communicative context.

The semantic structure of a word is a system of interrelated meanings:

1. Linguistic m. – is the specific kind of “content” produced by the reflection of objective reality in the human mind. There are 2 kings of ling.meaning:

- lexical – the reflection of the concept, emotion or attitude by means of lang. system

- grammatical (structural, abstract) – it reveals relation between words

Lexical meaning is subdivided into:

- denotative

- connotative

Denotative meaning carries extraling. info describing the object of message. It is not connected with the participants of the communication. It is obligatory and indispensible.

The knowledge of word “denotation” is shared by all speakers of the given lang.

It makes communication possible.

There is a distinction btw primary and secondary denotative meanings.

Primary is characterized by highest frequency and used in widely diff.contexts.

Secondary m. occur only in certain contexts, their sphere by application is limited.

E.g. inwardly – 1) “internally, within” 2) towards the center, mentally, secretly

Dictionary meanings are registered in the dictionaries and comprise the semantic structure of a word.

Contextual meanings are additional, acquired by a word in a context. They are not regarded as components of a semantic structure of a word.

E.g. “presence” – D: He didn’t even acknowledge my presence.

C: We intend to maintain a presence in the country until there is a peace (=occupation)

Stylistics interprets the opposition, or clash, btw the contextual and denotative meanings

Such shifts of meanings are especially obvious when we deal with transferred meaning, or figuratve.

E.g. angry man, angry letter

Transferred m. is the interrelation btw dictionary and contextual meanings. It not only names the object as any dictionary m. would, but characterizes it through its similarity with another object.

Transf.m. as a result of lang. use becomes a derivative meaning and it’s already in a dictionary (metaphorical)

E.g. buccaneer 1) pirate 2) a person who achieves success skillfully but not honestly

ostrich – 2) person refusing to face unpleasant facts

monkey – 2) small child who’s active and likes to play tricks

dinosaur – 2) old-fashioned person

Nominal meaning is closely linked to a denotative m. It’s a definite name to an object recognized as a unique object because of its peculiar properties.

Nom.meaning is typical of proper names. It’s a derivative logical meaning.

E.g. Smith, Longfellow, Everest, Thames

The logical m. from which this word origins may be forgotten and not easily traced back.

The opposite process is observed in eponyms.

Eponyms – words in which some recognized of a person, survives as a basis for the new logical meaning. The nom.m. in eponyms fades away. Perceived is only logical.

e.g. sandwich – Diplomat John Montagu, the 4^th Earl of Sandwich

pullman – inventor George Pullman

hooligan – rowdy family of the Houligans

boycott – Captain Charles Boycott

Stylistics is engaged in a study of connotative meanings.

Connotative meaning is connected with the circumstances and participant of communication.

Types:

Personal (indicative) connotation – reflects the experience of the person with the word and its referent and its individual reaction to it.

e.g. teacher

General (universal) – similar reactions of the majority of people to a specific word.

Eg. GM foods, drugs, spa-sport

Sociolinguistic (Minaeva’s approach) – association that people from diff. cultures have with one and the same concept, idea, object. Their diff.reactions depend on diff.factors: historical, geographical, social, economical.

e.g. “hot water bottle” (to make a bed warm, posiitive conn.)VS “Грелка” (illness, decease)

interpretations of color

Components of connotative meaning (I.V.Arnold), which influence expressivity:

1. Emotive comp. – refers to the feelings and emotions of the speaker, reveals the subj. attitude. Always is found in the following:

- interjections – alas, ouch, oh, hmmm

- oaths and swear words (expletives) – devil, damn, Christ, bloody, Gosh (emotional tension or anxiety)

- qualitative, intensifying adj. – fabulous, cute, lovely (logical m. is not important)

Words with emotive connotations should not be mixed up with words, describing or naming emotions and feelings. The denotative m. of those are emotions

E.g. You should be able to control feelings of anger, impatience and disappointment with a child.

They are stylistically neutral.

BUT: He is a big boy already (big – has emotive m.)

Honey, duck – in address to people lose diff. denontative m-s, only emotive component of tenderness

2. Evaluative comp. – positive or negative evaluation, approval or disapproval. Very often is a part of denotative m. and is included into the dictionary entry.

e.g. time-tested / out-of-date, fashionable / moth-eaten

to sneak, sneaky – to move secretly, in silence with a bad purpose

BUT the derivative “sneakers” has no negative conn.

Vocabulary with eval.comp is employed in description of political and social events.

3. Expressive comp. – intensifies the m. of a word with a help of imagery or some other means.

e.g. life was not merely to be slave away. She was a sweet little thing ( gram.transposition)

Always present in:

- intensifiers: all, ever, absolutely, quite, pretty, so.

- intensifying adverbs: awfully, nice, sorry, beautifully (may sound like oxymoron: terribly nice)

Usually intensifiers are markers of colloq. speech. So here is the stylistic comp of connotation.

4. Stylistic comp – reveals that a word belongs to a certain functional style or to a specific layer of vocabulary.

e.g younder, slumber, thence (poetic writing)

price index (businesslang)

St.comp. serves as:

- speech characterization (the Catcher in the Rye)

- epoch characterization (imitation style, W.Scott)

- rendering local color (foreign words)

Expressive means of lang. are ling. Forms and properties which have the potential to make the utterance emphatic or expressive

Can be found in all levels:

Phonetic – logical stress, pause, intonation

Morphological – diminutive suffixes

Syntactical – emphatic gram constructions

E.g. That dog of yours! piggie, I DO know you

Expressive means and stylistic devises are not completely synonyms.

All styl.devices belong to expres.means, but not all expres.means are styl.devices.

A stylistics device is a literary model in a which semantic and structural features are blended, so it represents a generalized pattern.. Thus a lang. fact can be transformed into stylistic device though frequent use.

3 modern classifications:

1. G. Leech’s

It is build on the principle of distinction btw normal and deviant features in the lang. of literature.

There are: paradigmatic deviations

syntagmatic deviations

from lexical and grammatical norms of lang.

In syntagmatic deviations there is a redundancy of choice. Instead of missing the predictable choice the author imposes the same kind of choice in the same place

e.g. alliteration: to live in a lap of luxury

Paradigmatic figures give a choice from equivalent items which are contrasted to the normal range of choices

e.g farmyards away, a grief ago, all sun long

2. Galperin’s approach – level-oriented

- phonetic expressive means and styl.devices

- lexical Ems and Sds

- syntactical Ems and Sds

3. Screbnev’s approach demonstrates a combination of previous 2

Paragdigmatic level syntagmatic

(stylistics of units) (stylistics of sequences)

Phonetic level

Morphological

Lexicological

Syntactical

Semasiology

Stylistic Semasiology 2 branches:

- paradigmatic s.– studies figures of replacement traditionally known as tropes which deal with renaming

- syntagmatic s. – studies figures of co-occurrence, types of names used for linear arrangement of meaning and deals with semantic relationships expressed of the length of a whole text.

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