Stylistic use of synonyms
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STYLISTIC USE OF SYNONYMS Synonyms in one synonymic group may differ from each other in their stylistic colouring (compare to steal and to pinch) and in emotional evaluative nuances (compare timid and coward). Those synonyms which differ not so much in meaning or in their emotional colouring and which belong to different stylistic types are called stylistic synonyms. Of greatest stylistic value are contextual synonyms which has not been registered as synonyms in any dictionary, which are born as such in a context only. Context saturates a word with such emotional and evaluative nuances and to such a degree that a word loses its logical or dictionary meaning thus becoming a contextual (temporary) synonym. Contextual synonyms help avoid repetition and monotony of speech. They give some additional information thus adding to the preciseness and expressiveness of the utterance. At the same time they reflect a deeply subjective author’s attitude of what he depicts. Synonyms are realised in the context in different ways. Especially peculiar to the English language are pairs of synonyms whose stylistic function is to intensify the impression. To run and rule. To mask and muffle. To meek and humble. Such pairs may be rhythmically organised and alliterated. The stylistic use of synonyms may not be restricted to synonymical pairs only but can extend to synonymical groups. This device may be regarded as a semantical repetition and is named semantical amplification. He closed, locked and bolted all the doors and windows. Synonyms may also be realised through synonimical variations. These variations show their meaning which is rather close in different manifestations within one context or text. This way they help avoid repetition and define a notion from different sides or supplies it with definite colouring of emotions. The words intelligence and mind and intellect may be used substituting each other. The same as the words stories, legends, narrations, sagas, tales, etc. Being non synonyms, if regarded as literary terms, turn into such in a special text. The use of synonyms is recommended to create a better style of writing but only within those functional styles which show a definite imaginative character of the author. Fiction, publicistic style, partially newspaper style, but not scientific or style of the official documents. The English language is especially rich in synonyms. The ability of the writer or speaker to pick out the appropriate word from a series of synonyms gives him a possibility to express his ideas with the utmost precision and emotionally adequately. Literature Galperin I.R. Stylistics. – Moscow, 1991. Skrebnev Yu.M. Fundamentals of English Stylistics. – Moscow, 1994. Enkvist, N.E. Linguistic Stylistics. – The Hague, 1973. Esser, J. English Linguistic Stylistics. – Tübingen, 1993. Wales, K. A Dictionary of Stylistics. – London, 1990. Арнольд И.В. Стилистика современного английского языка (Стилистика декодирования). – М., 1990. Балли Ш. Французская стилистика. – М., 1961. Стилистический энциклопедический словарь русского языка / Под ред. М.Н. Кожиной. – М., 2003. Москвин В.П. Выразительные средства современной русской речи: тропы и фигуры. Терминологический словарь-справочник. М., 2004. Progress Check on Module II. To pass this progress check, the student has to give answers to 10 questions. Each correct answer shall be evaluated in 10 points. The total of all correct answers shall then make 100 points. Questions: What is the principal difference between metaphor and metonymy? Can you give examples of metaphorical and metonymical transfer of meaning within one utterance? What is the difference between a case of metaphor and a metaphorical epithet, a case of metonymy and a metonymical epithet? Can you name at least 4 types of antonomasia? What types of epithets can be distinguished? What is the principal difference between litotes and hyperbole? What is the principle bringing together oxymoron, zeugma and pun? What is the inner and outer difference between simile and metaphor? How can set expressions be used for stylistic purposes? How can synonyms be used for stylistic purposes? Topics for Essays The Theory Of Trope in Modern Semiotics Trope, Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication Re-nomination and the Language Sign Re-nomination As A Deliberate Device In Human Verbal Communication Terminology Naming Tropes: Its Genesis and Modern State Topics for Independent Individual Work Metaphor, metonymy, irony, epithet in everyday communication Simile as a device and way of thought Euphemism and its varieties in speech Decomposition of set expressions: the stylistic potentialities of the device Syntax is not so showy a means of expression as the lexicon. In spite of this, syntax is known to be rather a powerful element of style which fact is especially important if we speak about written speech. Stylistically marked syntactical patterns, as I.R. Galperin defines them, are making a special system presented by the peculiarities of the structural design of utterances which bear some emotional colouring. This means that such utterances are stylistic in the organization of their relevance and therefore non-neutral. Stylistic syntactical patterns may be viewed as the variants of general syntactical models characterizing the language. Syntactical stylistic devices are based on the syntactical arrangement of the elements of a sentence or a larger unit like one text, on the particular use of the lexical meanings of stylistic patterns and on the particular ways of combining separate parts of the utterance. Inversion. The most evident stylistic device in English is inversion (from Latin inversio meaning displacement). It is common knowledge that the word order of the English sentence is strictly fixed for the sake of showing the syntactical function of each word in a sentence. The most general pattern is Subject + Predicate + Object. Any violation of this pattern which doesn’t alter the meaning of the sentence but only adds logical stress and emotional colouring is known to be stylistic inversion. The most typical patterns of inversion in English are as follows: the predicate placed before the subject Indolent, willful and pretty was her aspect. (Sh. Bronte) both the adverbial modifier and the predicate precede the subject Against the wall stood a broken oar. the object placed at the head of the sentence Little change had they undergone in those years. the attribute following the word it modifies And a fighting machine with its legs contracted, crumple and abbreviated stood across the corner of the pit. (H. G. Wells) the adverbial modifier placed at the beginning of a sentence Slowly I thrust myself out through the red weed. (H. G. Wells) All the above structures are known as emphatic, which means that they place a definite emphasis on the element of the sentence which is marked by its inverted position. Detachment. This is separating a secondary part of the sentence with the main aim of emphasizing it. This separation usually leads to a logical break between the main and a secondary parts of the sentence. As a result, the detached element acquires an unexpected degree of independence. Detachment may also be regarded as a kind of inversion as the same is its aim to make some word or words more prominent. Yet evident also is the difference between detachment and inversion. Yüklə 161,22 Kb. Dostları ilə paylaş:
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