Lecture 4 The Lexical level Stylistic classification of

Lecture 4. The Lexical level. Stylistic classification of the English vocabulary 1. The semantic structure of a word: a) Denotative and connotative meanings as a factor of style; b) The contextual meaning and its stylistic function; c) The theory of opposition: synonymy as a factor of style. 2. The stylistic classification of the English vocabulary; 3. The formal layer of the English vocabulary; 4. The informal layer of the English vocabulary.

1. Semantic structure of a word n "Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind. ”-- Rudyard Kipling n G. Frege n C. Ogden and I. Richards Reference Concept/Meaning Referential Approach Sound-form/ Graphic form Referent/thing

n A word is a unit of language functioning within the sentence or within a part of it which by its sound or graphical form expresses a concrete or abstract notion or a grammatical notion through one of its meanings and which is capable of enriching its semantic structure by acquiring new meanings and losing old ones /I. R. Galperin/

n A concept is an abstract or general idea of some phenomenon of objective reality and also subjective feelings and emotions of human beings. n A word expresses a concept by its meanings. Each meaning denotes a separate concept.

The Moscow school of stylistics (I. R. Galperin): n LOGICAL (referential, denotative); n NOMINAL & n EMOTIVE meaning n CONTEXTUAL meaning is accidental & found in a certain context: E. g. “Awake ye sons of Spain, awake, arise! (Byron “Childe Harold's Pilgrimage”)- revolt.

The Moscow school n Logical (referential) or denotative meaning is the precise naming of a feature of the idea, phenomenon or object, the name by which we recognize the whole concept. The literal meaning or "dictionary definition" of a term, devoid of emotion, attitude, and color. n The nominal meaning nominates an object, singling it out of the whole class of objects. It is referred to proper nouns: Mr. Black, Byron, the Thames n The emotive meaning (usual or occasional) of a word is its capacity to evoke or directly express emotions. It is called emotive charge, emotive connotation or colouring: Oh! Why! Hell! E. g. : Here she is, a poor little lamb, with her bags all packed /Ch. Dickens/.

The Leningrad school Professor I. V. Arnold distinguishes: n DENOTATIVE n CONNOTATIVE meanings.

The Leningrad school: Prof. Arnold’s semantic Structure of Words Denotative meaning Connotative meaning Emotive component Expressive component Evaluative component Stylistic component

The Leningrad school n The EMOTIVE component evokes emotions (dog - doggie) E. g. He besought a favour of the judge. n The EVALUATIVE component (negative or positive attitude, approval or disapproval): E. g. Time-tested method : : out-of-date method “Politics … is only the art to reach high position; wisdom is the art to get power, wealth, position” /H. Fielding/.

Leningrad school n The EXPRESSIVE component intensifies the denotative or connotative meaning (emotions and feelings): E. g. “She was a thin, frail little thing, ” “He is ever such a clever man” (ever, never, all, quite, really, terrific, wicked - intensifiers) n The STYLISTIC component (foregrounding) is characteristic of particular styles or spheres of communication E. g. official red-tape clichés: “Sincerely, Dear Sir/Madam, Hereinafter” colloquial: slang, jargon: wicked, smashing, lousy, busy-body (nosey), stuff, cut it out etc.

b) Contextual meaning and its stylistic function n Each context does not only specify the existing meanings of a word, but is also capable of adding new meanings, or deviating rather considerably from what is registered in the dictionary. E. g. : n He's got a headache and a slight fever. n The whole country seems to be in the grip of football fever.

E. g. “When the evening is spread out against the sky like a patient etherized upon a table. ” /G. Eliot/. n Ether – sky, air n Ether - a colourless volatile highly flammable liquid with a characteristic sweetish odour, used as a solvent and anaesthetic.

c) The theory of opposition: synonymy as a factor of style. n An opposition is a relationship of partial difference between two partially similar elements of the language. Steed Horse Gee

infant offspring Child tot brat babe Kid/kiddie

Girl maiden lass broad chick n “My children, my defrauded, swindled infants!” cried Mr. Renvings /Ch. Dickens/. n My kids, my hoodwinked, ripped off whipper snappers

2. Stylistic Differentiation of the English Vocabulary Archaisms Foreign Words Literary (Formal) Vocabulary Barbarisms Standard English Poetic Neologisms Terms Neutral vocabulary Slang Jargon Non – Literary (Informal) Vocabulary Vulgarisms Nonce words Dialectal words

Literary (formal) vocabulary n Formal (Literary) vocabulary: includes words of solemn, elevated character (learned, poetic). E. g. “The party arranged themselves on the different sides of the lofty apartment, and seemed eager to escape from the transient union, which the narrowness of the crowded entrance had for an instance compelled them to submit to” /W. Scott/

Archaic words: 1. Historical words, which have no notion at present: yeoman, mace (жезл, булава), goblet (кубок), baldric (перевязь) distaff (прялка); 2. Obsolescent (rarely used), substituted by modern synonyms: thou, thy, art, wilt, -eth. 3. Obsolete (out of use at present, but recognized): methinks, alack, alas. 4. Archaic proper, not recognized in modern English: troth (faith), a losel /louzl/ (a lazy fellow), anon /e’non/ (soon).

Legal documents n Declaration: Persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities (hereinafter (далее) referred to as persons belonging to minorities) have the right to enjoy their own culture (…) n THIS ADDENDUM hereby (этим) modifies and supplements the attached Publication Agreement concerning the following Article… n By calling to access the Internet, Subscriber, and/or any person using Subscriber’s login identification name or login identification names ordered by Subscriber, is deemed to have accepted the items and conditions contained in this Internet Access Agreement (the “Agreement”) and shall be bound thereby (в связи с этим). n DEFINITIONS: “Subscriber, ” as used herein (в этом договоре), means an individual, a corporation, or a legal entity who incurs (несет, берет на себя) usage charges for the Service for its own use or who incurs such charges on behalf of a third party, i. e. , a User.

Barbarisms Words borrowed from foreign languages can be divided into: n Fully assimilated: wine, street; (no longer perceived as barbarisms) n Partially assimilated: machine, police, garage, prestige; n Unassimilated: randezvous, belles- lettres, alter ego, beau-monde, de facto, bon mot (barbarisms proper !) n Etc. , e. g. , i. e. (that is), ibid. (in the same book), cf (compare)

Foreign words proper n Foreign words are completely alien to the English language and they mostly fulfill a terminological function (blitzkrieg, Luftwaffe). n Moreover, they denote certain concepts which are not familiar to the English speaking community (volost, ukase, kolhoz, schnapps) n Foreign words can be used to supply local colour: E. g. : The little boy had a famous appetite, and consumed Schinken (ветчина), and Braten (жаркое), and Kartoffeln, and cranberry jam with a gallantry that did honour to his nation (W. Thackeray)

Poetic words n Poetic words denote a set of words traditionally used in poetry: E. g. : behold, deem, thou, quoth (said), foe, ere (before), woe, nigh, oft, anon (soon), morn, visage.

Poetic words: n To a Skylark Hail to thee, blithe spirit ! (you, happy) Bird thou never wert, (you, were) That from heaven, or near it, Pourest thy full heart (pours, your) In profuse strains of unpremeditated art (in rich melody of simple art). Teach me half the gladness That thy brain must know; Such harmonious madness From my lips would flow, The world should listen then, as I am listening now. P. B. Shelley (1792 -1822)

Terms (special literary words) are words denoting objects, processes, phenomena of science, humanities, technology n n n hydrophobic oil reservoir (гидрофобный коллектор нефти) airwaybill (авиагрузовая накладная) boundary survey (межевание) laser (лазер) diode (диод) nullification (аннулирование)

Stylistic functions of highly literary vocabulary: 1. To characterize the speech of the bygone epoch and to reproduce its atmosphere (in prose). 2. To create a romantic atmosphere, the general colouring of elevation (in poetry); 3. To introduce the atmosphere of solemnity (in official speech), to indicate precision (in scientific texts, news reports and business documents)

INFORMAL VOCABULARY n INFORMAL VOCABULARY includes words of colloquial, conversational character used in personal, everyday communication. n Colloquial words proper (guy, bloke, dude, grub/nosh, to scram) n Phonetic variations of neutral words (feller, tomorra, kinda) n Diminutives of neutral words (granny, daddy, piggy, Johnny)

Colloquial words n Shortenings (pram, exam, diff, miz) n Colloquial meanings of polysemantic words (pretty (good), wicked (good)) n Phrasal verbs (put up, make up, turn in) n Words made-up by means of composition and conversion: E. g. a go-between (посредник), a has-been (потерявший популярность), a kill-joy (зануда). n Interjections (gee! eh? well, why)

Low colloquial vocabulary (slang, jargon, vulgarisms) n Low colloquial vocabulary is more restricted in usage. This vocabulary group closely verges on slang and has a tinge of its coarse flavour. n E. g. : to beat it (to go away), it sucks, to piss off, to screw up, a jerk, groady to the max, plastered, lousy

Occasional words are individual neologisms created by writers or ordinary language users according to the existing word-building patterns and used as EM or means of word play. “Let me say in the beginning that even if I wanted to avoid Texas I could not, for I am wived in Texas, and mother-in-lawed and uncled, and aunted and cousined within an inch of life” (J. Steibeck)

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.

Slang n Slang: is a special vocabulary of low colloquial type, often fresh and emotional description of an object, being highly colloquial and possessing all the connotations: emotive, expressive, evaluative and stylistic. n All slang is jocular metaphor (G. K. Chesterton) n E. g. : mug (face), saucers (eyes), trap (mouth), dogs (feet) n E. g. : money (jack, tin, brass, vof, dough, slippery stuff, loot, lolls, gravy, bucks, mula etc).

American Slang Nouns n An airhead n A brain n A drip n Grub n A hunk n A knockout n Munchies n A wacko- • stupid person • very intelligent person • boring person • food • handsome man • beautiful woman • snacks, like potato chips, popcorn, pretzels • crazy person

American Slang Adjectives • Awesome/wicked - • Amazing • Beat - • Tired • Blue (or down)- • sad, depressed • Fishy- • Suspicious • Hammered - • Drunk • Hot - • Sexy • Ticked- • Angry • Upbeat- • Positive

Jargon n Jargon: is a low colloquial vocabulary meant to be secret and cryptic (social jargon) or meant to be a colloquial equivalent of terms (professional jargon). E. g. : He got a book (a life sentence) (social) n to go west (die) (professional – military jargon) n a brass head (officer of high rank) (professional – military jargon)

Vulgarisms n Vulgarisms are coarse words with a strong emotive meaning, mostly derogatory, normally avoided in polite conversation E. g. : n bloody, damned, cursed, hell n son of a bitch n the four-letter words

Vulgarisms are subdivided into n Expletives/swear words (damn, bloody, to hell etc) which are used as general exclamations n Obscene words, the use of which is banned in any form of communication as being indecent Function: to express strong emotions (annoyance, anger, vexation etc) Vulgarisms are found in emotive prose in the direct speech of the characters.

Dialectal words are normative and devoid of any stylistic meaning in regional dialects, but when used outside of them, they carry a strong flavour of the locality where they belong. n In Great Britain four major dialects are distinguished: Lowland Scotch, Northern, Midland (Central) Southern. n In the USA three major dialectal varieties are distinguished: New England, Southern, Midwestern (Central, Midland). n These classifications do not include many minor local variations

Dialectal Words n Dialects differ at the phonemic level: one and the same phoneme is differently pronounced in each of them. n They also differ at the lexical level, having their own names for locally existing phenomena and also supplying locally circulating synonyms for the words, accepted by the language in general. n Some of them have entered the general vocabulary and lost their dialectal status: "lad", “tartan”/"plaid“(шотландка - материя), car, trolley, tram, glamour, lass, slogan, kilt

Cockney (a Southern dialect) n ‘Well, Sam, ’ said Mr. Pickwick, ‘all alive to-day, I suppose? ’ n ‘Reg’lar game, sir, ’ replied Mr. Weller; ‘our people’s a-collecting down at the Town Arms, and they’re a-hollering themselves hoarse already. ’ n ‘Ah, ’ said Mr. Pickwick, ‘do they seem devoted to their party, Sam? ’ n ‘Never see such dewotion in my life, Sir. ’ n ‘Energetic, eh? ’ said Mr. Pickwick. n ‘Uncommon, ’ replied Sam; ‘I never see men eat and drink so much afore. I wonder they ain’t afeer’d o’ bustin’. ’ n ‘That’s the mistaken kindness of the gentry here, ’ said Mr. Pickwick. n ‘Wery likely, ’ replied Sam briefly. n ‘Fine, fresh, hearty fellows they seem, ’ said Mr. Pickwick, glancing from the window. n ‘Wery fresh, ’ replied Sam [Ch. Dickens “The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club”]

R. Burns “To A Mouse” The Original The Standard English Translation The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men Gang aft agley, An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain, For promis'd joy! The best laid schemes of mice and men Often go askew, And leave us nothing but grief and pain, For promised joy! AULD LANG SYNE For The Sake O' Somebody Should acquaintance be forgot, And never brought to min'? Should acquaintance be forgot, And auld lang syne? For auld lang syne, my dear, For auld lang syne, We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet For auld lang syne! My heart is sair-I dare na tell, My heart is sair for Somebody; I could wake a winter night For the sake o' Somebody. O-hon! for Somebody! O-hey! for Somebody! I could range the world around, For the sake o' Somebody.

Stylistic functions of the informal vocabulary: n To create a true-to-life atmosphere; n To add informality, intimacy; n To create a sense of immediate communication with the reader; n To create a satirical or ironic effect.

1. Semantic structure of a word consists of: a), b), c), d), e) …. meanings. 2. Literary layer includes: a), b), c), d) … 3. The standard English includes…

1. Semantic structure of a word consists of: a), 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. b), c), d), e) …. meanings. The standard English language includes… Literary layer includes: a), b), c), d) … Non-literary layer includes: a), b), c) … Archaisms are subdivided into: a), b), c) … Jargon can be…………… Vulgarisms are subdivided into…. What are dialectal words and when do they become stylistically relevant?