Varieties of English and Types of Lexical Meaning (Stylistic Interpretation).

Stylistics is a domain where meaning assumes paramount importance. The linguistic term meaning has been defined in so many ways that there appears an urgent need to clarify it; particularly in view of the fact that in so many lexical, grammatical and phonetic SDs this category is treated differently. In stylistics meaning is also viewed as a category which is able to acquire meanings imposed on the words by the context. That is why such meanings are called contextual meanings. In stylistics it is important to discriminate shades or nuances of meaning, to atomize the meaning, the component parts of which are now called the semes i.e. the smallest units of which meaning of a word consists. It is now common knowledge that lexical meaning differs from grammatical meaning in more than one way. Lexical meaning refers the mind to some concrete concept, phenomenon, or thing of ob-jective reality, whether real or imaginary. Lexical meaning is thus a means by which a word-form is made to express a definite concept. Grammatical meaning refers our mind to relations be-tween words or to some forms of words or constructions bearing upon their structural functions in the language-as-a-system. Grammatical meaning can thus be adequately called "structural meaning". Three types of meaning can be distinguished, which we shall call logical, emotive and nominal respectively. Logical m-ing is the precise naming of a feature of the idea, phenomenon or object, the name by which we recognize the whole of the concept. This meaning is also synonymously called referential meaning or direct meaning. All the meanings fixed by authoritative English and American dic-tionaries comprise what is called the semantic structure of the word. The meanings that are to be found in speech or writing and which are accidental should not be regarded as components of the semantic structure of the word. They may be transitory, inasmuch as they depend on the context. They are contextual meanings. The potentiality of words can also be noted in regard to emotive m-ng. Emotive meaning also materializes a concept in the word, but, unlike logical meaning, emotive meaning has reference not directly to things or phenomena of objective reality, but to the feelings and emo-tions of the speaker towards these things or to his emotions as such. Therefore the emotive meaning bears reference to things, phenomena or ideas through a kind of evaluation of them. Mаnу words acquire an emotive meaning only in a definite context. In that case we say that the word has a contextual emotive meaning. And finally we come to nominal meaning. There are words which, while expressing concepts, indicate a particular object out of a class. In other words, these units of the language serve the purpose of singling out one definite and singular object but of a whole class of similar objects. These words are classified in grammars as proper nouns. The nature of these words can be understood if we have a clear idea of the difference between the two main aspects of a word: "nomination" and "signification". These aspects are also called "reference" and "significa-tion" or "denotation" and "connotation".

6)Stylistic Classification of the English Vocabulary (General Considerations). Neutral Common Literary and Common Colloquial Vocabulary.

In order to get a more or less clear idea of the word-stock of any language, it must be presented as a system, the elements of which are interconnected, interrelated and yet independent. Some linguists, who clearly see the systematic character of language as a whole, deny, however, the possibility of systematically classifying the vocabulary. They say that the word-stock of any l-ge is so large and so heterogeneous that it is impossible to formalize it and therefore present it in any system. The words of a l-ge are thought of as a chaotic body whether viewed from their origin and development or from their present state.

The English l-ge is divided into three main layers: the literary layer, the neutral layer and the colloquial layer. The literary and the colloquial layers contain a number of subgroups each of which has a property it shares with all the subgroups within the layer. This common property may be called its aspect. The aspect of the literary layer is its markedly bookish character. It is this that makes the layer more or less stable. The aspect of the colloquial layer of words is its lively spoken character. It is this that makes it unstable, fleeting. The aspect of the neutral layer is its universal character. That means it is unrestricted in its use. It can be employed in all styles of language and in all spheres of human activity. It is this that makes the layer the most stable of all.

The literary layer of words consists of groups accepted as legitimate members of the English vocabulary. They have no local or dialectal character. The LVoc-ryconsists of the following groups of words: 1. common literary; 2. terms and learned words; 3. poetic words; 4. archaic words; 5. barbarisms and foreign words; 6. literary coinages including nonce-words.

The colloquial layer of words as qualified in most English or American dictionaries is not infrequently limited to a definite language community or confined to a special locality where it circulates. The CVoc-ry falls into the following groups: 1. common "colloquial words; 2. slang; 3. jargonisms; 4. professional words; 5. dialectal words; 6. vulgar words; 7. colloquial coinages.

The common literary, neutral and common colloquial words are grouped under the term standard English vocabulary.

Neutral words, which form the bulk of the English vocabulary, are used in both literary and colloquial language. Neutral words are the main source of synonymy and polysemy. It is the neutral stock of words that is so prolific in the production of new meanings.

Unlike all other groups, the neutral group of words cannot be considered as having a special stylistic colouring, whereas both literary and colloquial words have a definite stylistic colouring.

Common literary words are chiefly used in writing and in polished speech. One can always tell a literary word from a colloquial word. The reason for this lies in certain objective features of the literary layer of words. What these objective features are, is difficult to say because as yet no objective criteria have been worked out. But one of them undoubtedly is that literary units stand in opposition to colloquial units. This is especially apparent when pairs of synonyms, literary and colloquial, can be formed which stand in contrasting relation.

The following synonyms illustrate the relations that exist between the neutral, literary and colloquial words in the English language.

Kid (col) - child (n) - infant (lit)

The main distinction between synonyms remains stylistic. But stylistic difference may be of various kinds: it may lie in the emotional tension connoted in a word, or in the sphere of application, or in the degree of the quality denoted. Colloquial words are always more emotionally coloured than literary ones. The neutral stratum of words, as the term itself implies, has no degree of emotiveness, nor have they any distinctions in the sphere of usage.

Both literary and colloquial words have their upper and lower ranges. The lower range of literary words approaches the neutral layer and has a markedly obvious tendency to pass into that layer. The same may be said of the upper range of the colloquial layer: it can very easily pass into the neutral layer. The lines of demarcation between common colloquial and neutral, on the one hand, and common literary and neutral, on the other, are blurred. It is here that the process of inter-penetration of the stylistic strata becomes most apparent.

Still the extremes remain antagonistic and therefore are often used to bring about a collision of manners of speech for special stylistic purposes.

Common colloquial vocabulary overlaps into the standard English vocabulary and is therefore to be considered part of it. It borders both on the neutral vocabulary and on the special colloquial vocabulary, which falls out of the standard English altogether. Some words are on the borderline common colloquial vocabulary and non-standard vocabulary; others approach the neutral bulk of the vocabulary, for example, the colloquial word “teenager” passes into neutral vocabulary.

The stylistic function of the different strata of the English vocabulary depends not so much on the inner qualities of each of the groups, as on their interaction when they are opposed to one another. However, the qualities themselves are not unaffected by the function of the words, inasmuch as these qualities have been acquired in certain environments.

7)Stylistic Classification of the English Vocabulary (Terms, Poetic and Highly Literary Words).

In order to get a more or less clear idea of the word-stock of any language, it must be presented as a system, the elements of which are interconnected, interrelated and yet independent. Some linguists, who clearly see the systematic character of language as a whole, deny, however, the possibility of systematically classifying the vocabulary. They say that the word-stock of any l-ge is so large and so heterogeneous that it is impossible to formalize it and therefore present it in any system. The words of a l-ge are thought of as a chaotic body whether viewed from their origin and development or from their present state.

Terms are of highly conventional character. A term is generally easily coined and easily accepted.

One of the most characteristic features is its direct relevance to the system or set of terms used in a particular science, discipline of art etc. When a term is used, our mind immediately associates it with a particular nomenclature. A term is directly connected with the concept it denotes. It directs the mind to the essential quality of the thing, phenomenon or action as seen by the scientist.

Terms are used in special works dealing with the notions of some branch of science. They belong to the style of language of science. They may as well appear in other styles – in newspaper style, in publicistic style etc. their function in this case changes: when used in the belles-lettres style, a term may acquire a stylistic function and become a SD. When the term is used in their normal function in the belle-lettres style it is to be easily understood from the context.

The function of terms in other styles is also to indicate the technical peculiarities of the subject or to make some references to the occupation of the character (e.g. Cronin “Citadel”). Moreover it often shows the erudition of the author. The terms must not be overused.

With the increase of general education many words that used to be terms have gradually lost their quality as terms. It have passed into the common literary or even neutral vocabulary. It is called de-terminization (e.g. radio, television).

Poetic and Highly Literary Words form rather a significant layer of the special literary vocabulary. They are mostly archaic or very rarely used highly literary words which aim at producing an elevated effect. They have a marked tendency to detach themselves from the common literary word-stock and gradually assume the quality of terms denoting certain definite notions and calling forth poetic diction. They are called to sustain the special elevated atmosphere of poetry.

It must be remembered that not all English poetry makes use of poeticisms, as they might be named. There were periods characterized by protest against the use of such conventional symbols. Poetical words may also have a satiric function. Poetical words don’t easily yield to polysemy. They are said to evoke emotive meanings. They colour the utterance with a certain air of loftiness. But they are often too hackneyed and fail to produce genuine feelings.

Poetic words are not freely built in contrast to neutral, colloquial and common words. The commonest means is by compounding: young-eyed, rosy-lingered. Poetic words and set expressions make the utterance understandable only to a limited number of readers. It is mainly due to poeticisms that poetical language is sometimes called poetical jargon.

8)Stylistic Devices Based on Peculiar Use of Set Expressions (Quotations. Allusions. Decomposition of Set Phrases).  

In language studies there are two very clearly-marked tendencies that the student should never lose sight of, particularly when dealing with the problem of word-combination. They are 1) the analytical tendency, which seeks to dissever one component from another and 2) the synthetic tendency which seeks to integrate the parts of the combination into a stable unit. These two tendencies are treated in different ways in lexicology and stylistics. In lexicology the parts of a stable lexical unit may be separated in order to make a scientific investigation of the character of the combination and to analyse the components. In stylistics we analyse the component parts in order to get at some communicative effect sought by the writer.

A QUOTATION is a repetition of a phrase or statement from a book, speech and the like used by way of authority, illustration, proof or as a basis for further speculation on the matter in hand.

By repeating a passage in a new environment, we attach to the utterance an importance it might not have had in the context whence it was taken. Moreover, we give it the status, temporary though it maybe, of a stable language unit. What is quoted must be worth quoting, since a quotation will inevitably acquire some degree of generalization. Quotations are usually marked off in the text by inverted commas (“ ”), dashes ( – ), italics or other graphical means.

They are mostly used accompanied by a reference to the author of the quotation, unless he is well known to the reader or audience. The reference is made either in the text or in a foot-note and assumes various forms. Quotations are used as a stylistic device as is seen from these examples, with the aim of expanding the meaning of the sentence quoted and setting two meanings one against the other, thus modifying the original meaning. In this quality they are used mostly in the belles-lettres style. Quotations used in other styles of speech allow no modifications of meaning, unless actual distortion of form and meaning is the aim of the quoter.

Quotations are also used in epigraphs. The quotation in this case possesses great associative power and calls forth much connotative meaning.

An ALLUSION is an indirect reference, by word or phrase, to a historical literary, mythological, biblical fact or to a fact of everyday life made in the course of speaking or writing. The use of allusion presupposes knowledge of the fact, thing or person alluded to on the part of the reader or listener. As a rule no indication of the source is given. This is one of the notable differences between quotation and allusion. Another difference is of a structural nature: a quotation must repeat the exact wording of the original even though the meaning may be modified by the new context; an allusion is only a mention of a word or phrase which may be regarded as the key-word of the utterance. An allusion has certain important semantic peculiarities, in that the meaning of the word (the allusion) should be regarded as a form for the new meaning. In other words, the primary meaning of the word or phrase which is assumed to be known (i.e. the allusion) serves as a vessel into which new meaning, is poured. So here there is also a kind of interplay between two meanings. Allusions are based on the accumulated experience and the knowledge of the writer who presupposes a similar experience and knowledge in the reader. But the knowledge stored in our minds is called forth by an allusion in a peculiar manner. All kinds of associations we may not yet have realized cluster round the facts alluded to.