The notion of functional style, individual style and idiolect

Fun style (by Galperin) is a system of coordinated, interrelated & interconditioned language means intended to fulfill a specific function of com-n & aiming at a definite effect.

Classification: 1 official style, represented in all kinds of of documents. 2 scientific, found in articles, brochures, monographs & other academic publications 3 publicist, covering such genres as essay, public speeches. 4 newspaper style, observed in the majority of materials printed in newspapers 5 belles-lettres style, embracing numerous genres of creative writing.

It fulfils the aesthetic function , which fact singles this style out of others & gives grounds to recognize its systematic uniqueness. Each of the style has 2 forms: written & oral. Only recently, most style class included: Poetic style- deals with verbal forms specific for poetry. Oratoric style- in ancient Greece was an instrument in the creation of “Rhetoric”. All the mentioned styles are specified within the literary type of the language. Their functioning is characterized by the international approach of the speaker towards the choice of lang-e meanssuitable for a particular com-ve situation & the official, formal nature of the latter.

One should not confuse the notion of functional style (FS) with the notion of individual style (IS). The term IS presupposes a deliberate, though often intuitional, choice of language means. It is normally applied to the writer's peculiar manner of using these language means to achieve the effects she/he desires. If the writer does possess IS, it is easily recognizable and marked by its uniqueness. By the language community, IS is linked to a concrete proper name. But IS is not the speech of an individual that is often called idiolect. IS is based on justifiable deviations from the norm, therefore, it presupposes a perfect knowledge of the variants of language norms. The analysis of the author's language preferences seems to be the most important procedure in estimating his/her creative individuality.

The style of oratory

According to I.R. Galperin, oratory and speeches make an oral subdivision of the publicist style. Persuasion,or thebrain washing function, is the most obvious purpose of oratory. For this the most powerful instrument of persuasion, the human voice, is brought into play.

Not infrequently the speaker uses gestures.

Its major traits are:

-direct address to the audience (special obligatory forms open up and end an oration, e.g. My Lords; Mr. President; Mr. Chairman; Your Worship; Ladies and Gentlemen, etc.; at the end of his speech the speaker usually thanks the audience for their attention);

-the use of the 1st person pronouns I, we;

-the use of the 2nd and 3rd person pronouns you and they in the generalizing function;

-contractions;

-elevated and bookish words;

-colloquial words (to make the speech less formal);

-ready-made phrases or clichés;

-the use of repetitions (to keep in focus the object of thought);

-the change of intonation (it breaks the monotony of the intonation pattern, revives the attention of the listeners, conveys the shades of meaning),

-frequent use of rhetorical questions and interrogatives (which promote a closer contact with the audience ),

- frequent use of such stylistic devices as metaphor, allusion, irony, climax, alliteration, etc.

The choice of the mentioned means depends on the speaker’s intent – to keep the public in suspense or to rouse it.

Modern oratory tends to lower its key more and more, confining itself to a quiet business-like exposition of ideas.

Another effective device is the direct address to the audience which softens the impersonality of formal speeches. (you-device). Some oratories are real masterpieces of eloquent emptiness and verbosity.