Intro to Stylistics

• “The problem of meaning.. is one of fitting

together the partially (but never firmly)
fixed semantic entities that we carry in our
heads, tied to the words and forms of
sentences, to approximate the way reality
is fitted together as it comes to us from
moment to moment.” (Bolinger, 1968)
• In language, there should be meaning in
everything, or at least, there should be
meaning in a semantic structure,
otherwise it's pointless. Language serves
to communicate meaning, and the study of
stylistics deals with the different ways
meaning can be interpreted from a
linguistic point of view.
Phonetic Incentives
in Stylistics
• Phonetics as a branch of linguistics
investigates acoustic & articulatory properties
of speech sounds and informs us of various
types of pronunciation of the same word or
sentence.

• Stylistic phonetics tells us which variant suits

the given type of speech. The stylistic
approach to the utterance is not confined to
its structure and sense; it also includes the
way a word, a phrase or a sentence sounds.
• Sound taken separately will have little or
no aesthetic value. It is in combination with
other words that a word may acquire a
desired phonetic effect.
 PHONETIC VARIATION

1. Reduction of vowels
is not = isn’t
fellow = fella
give me = gimme
2. Omission of consonants
could have = could 'of / could've
old = ole
3. Substitution of sounds
darling = dahlin'
miss = mith (lisp)
 GRAPHONS

• The three examples from the previous slide

can be considered graphons.

• They are unusual, non-standard spelling of

the word, showing authenticity and peculiarity
in pronunciation.

• There are also graphons for emphasis:

1. use of doubled letters (as in, “N-no!”)
2. capitalized letters (as in, “She'll NEVER fall
for that!”)
• The deviations in the pronunciation
indicate one or more of the ff:
– informal/colloquial speech
– educational status
– social status
– age/maturity level
– emotional level
 PROSODIC MEANS

• Prosodic means serve to transfer

emotions.

1. emphatic stress
2. intonation
3. rhythm
4. rhyme
5. pause
 EXPRESSIVE PHONETIC MEANS

1. Alliteration - the repetition of similar

consonant in close succession, particularly
at the beginning of successive words
e.g. Doubting, dreaming dreams
2. Onomatopoeia - the acoustic picture of
reality by phonetic means
e.g. ding-dong, buzz, cuckoo
3. Assonance - repetition of similar vowel
sounds usually in stressed syllables
e.g. Sainted maiden, radiant maiden
• Expressive phonetic means are used for
several purposes:

• to produce a certain acoustic effect;

• to give emphasis to the utterance;
• to arouse emotions in the reader or the
listener.
 PHONAESTHETICS

• The study of euphony and cacophony

together is called phonaesthetics, which
describes the inherent pleasantness and
unpleasantness of specific words.
 CACOPHONY

It’s descriptive of loud, obnoxious, aggressive

noise that assaults the ears and is generally
unpleasant.

If a word is made up of harsh sounds or hard

consonants, it’s an example of cacophony.
Words like “scratch” or “oozing” are good
examples of cacophony in word form, because
they’re not pleasant words to hear.
 EUPHONY

• In contrast, words that have an appealing

sound to them are examples of euphony,
which is the opposite of cacophony.

• The sounds flow with soft consonant

sounds, like “floral” or “euphoria”, and
what is apparently the most pleasant
combination of words in the English
language, “cellar door”.
 CACOPHONY AND EUPHONY

• The use of euphony and cacophony can

contribute to writing by adding tone to the
prose, especially in short stories or in
poetry. Onomatopoeia, euphony, and
cacophony often go hand in hand as well.
• Euphonious sounds include all the
vowels, as well as the consonants m, n, l,
and r, while cacophonous sounds include
sharp consonants such as p, b, t, k, d, and
g.
• Phonetic incentives are, literally, a means
of encouraging the study of language and
stylistics. Studying the basic sound
properties of the language can help us
understand it better.

• “Without phonetics we can neither observe

nor record the simplest phenomena of
language.” (Henry Sweet, 1899)
Registers in Stylistics
• The term register was first used by the
linguist Thomas Bertram Reid in 1956, and
brought into general currency in the 1960s by
a group of linguists who wanted to distinguish
between variations in language according to
the user and variations according to use, "in
the sense that each speaker has a range of
varieties and choices between them at
different times" (Halliday et al., 1964).
• In linguistics, one's register is a style or
variety of language determined by such
factors as social occasion, context,
purpose, and audience, also called stylistic
variation.

• Practically, the term refers to the degrees

of formality with which populations use
language.
 KINDS OF REGISTERS

1. Static Register
This style of communications rarely or never
changes. It is “frozen” in time and content.

e.g. the Lord’s Prayer, the Preamble to the

Philippine Constitution, the Alma Mater, a
bibliographic reference, laws.
 KINDS OF REGISTERS
2. Formal Register
This language is used in formal settings and
is one-way in nature. This use of language
usually follows a commonly accepted
format. It is usually impersonal and
formal.The use of complete sentences and
technical vocabulary is observed.

e.g. sermons, rhetorical statements and

questions, speeches, pronouncements made
by judges, announcements.
 KINDS OF REGISTERS
3. Consultative Register
This is a standard form of communication.
Users engage in a mutually accepted
structure of communication. It is formal and
societal expectations accompany the users
of this speech. It is professional discourse.

e.g. when strangers meet, communications

between a superior and a subordinate, doctor &
patient, lawyer & client, lawyer & judge, teacher
& student, counselor & client
 KINDS OF REGISTERS

4. Casual Register
This is informal language used by peers and
friends. Slang, vulgarities and colloquialisms
are normal. This is “group” language. One
must be a member to engage in this
register.

e.g. buddies, teammates, chats and emails,

and blogs, and letters to friends.
 KINDS OF REGISTERS

5. Intimate Register
This communication is private. It is reserved
for close family members or intimate people.

e.g. husband & wife, boyfriend & girlfriend,

siblings, parent & children.
• Registers go with the environment/context that a
particular communicative situation is in. A
speaker may move from one register to another
with ease.
• However, if one register is expected and another
is presented, the result can be either that
offense is taken (or intended) or a comic
response. This is why there is a need to study
registers and/or pragmatics and social context
for that matter to avoid misunderstandings.
 DIALECT AND DIATYPE

• The linguist Michael Gregory was the first

to describe the types of language
variation.

• In his formulation, language variation can

be divided into two categories: dialect
(variation according to user) and diatype
(variation according to use).
 DIALECT

• A dialect is a particular form of a language

that is peculiar to a specific region or
social group.
There are three variables of dialect:
Geographical: Where the speech
community is based.
Social: What social group/s the speech
community belong to.
Temporal: In what time (present or
historical) the speech community exists.
 DIATYPE

• Diatype is used to describe language

variation which is determined by its social
purpose.

• It is sometimes used in place of register.

Diatype is usually analysed in terms of:

Field: The subject matter or setting.

Tenor: The participants and their
relationships.
Mode: The channel of communication,
such as spoken, written or signed.
 DIALECT AND DIATYPE

Diatype, which means “language

distinguished by the professional or social
purpose,” is often distinct from Dialect,
which means “language spoken by an
individual or a group.”
Denotation, Connotation, and
Implication
 DENOTATION

• Denotation is generally defined as literal or

dictionary meanings of a word in contrast to its
connotative or associated meanings.
 DENOTATION

• Readers are familiar with denotations of words

but denotations are generally restricted
meanings. Writers, therefore, deviate from the
denotative meanings of words to create fresh
ideas and images that add deeper levels of
meanings to common and ordinary words.
Readers find it convenient to grasp the
connotative meanings of words because of the
fact that they are familiar to their literal
meanings.
 CONNOTATION

• Connotation refers to a meaning that is

implied by a word apart from the thing
which it describes explicitly. Words carry
cultural and emotional associations or
meanings in addition to their literal
meanings or denotations.
• Words may have positive or negative
connotations that depend upon the social,
cultural and personal experiences of
individuals.
• For example, the words childish, childlike
and youthful have the same denotative but
different connotative meanings. Childish
and childlike have a negative connotation
as they refer to immature behavior of a
person, whereas youthful implies that a
person is lively and energetic.
• In literature, connotation paves way for
creativity by using figures of speech which
allow writers to add to their works and
dimensions which are then made broader,
more vivid and fresher.
 IMPLICATION

• Implication is meaning which a speaker or

writer intends but does not communicate
directly.

• Where a listener is able to deduce or infer

the intended meaning from what has been
uttered, this is known as (conversational)
implicature.
• Denotation, connotation, and implication all deal
with meaning in the study of language. We can
say that denotation is the official meaning,
connotation is what we make of a word, and
implication is what we read between the lines.
• It is important to distinguish the three, and
although both connotation and implication is
subjective on the part of both the speaker and
listener, it is important that both parties
understand them in order for the communication
to be successul, and the interpretation to be as
accurate as possible.
• It is usually these three that either
confuses or clarifies the speaker's
intended meaning.
Foregrounding Theory
Stylistic devices in literary texts “emphasize
the emotional effect of an expression.”
(Shklovsky, 1965)

“When used poetically, words and groups of

words evoke a greater richness of images
and feeling than if they were to occur in a
communicative utterance.” (Mukarovsky,
1977)
• Foregrounding is the basic principle of
aesthetic communication. It is a creative
method of highlighting a linguistic feature,
which the artist wants to make noticeable.

• This concept was first introduced by the

Prague School (1926) as the feature of
stylistics.
“By foregrounding, we mean the use of
devices in language in such a way that this
use itself attracts attention.” (Prague School)
 FOREGROUNDING THEORY

• Among the various stylistic theories,

foregrounding theory is the most common and
powerful one in the literature.

• According to van Peer and Hakemulder (2006),

the term refers to specific linguistic devices, i.e.,
deviation and parallelism, that are used in
literary texts in a functional and condensed way.
Such devices can help to add a specific meaning
to the text and provide the reader with aesthetic
experience.
• Martindale (2007) points out that there are
two types of foregrounding. The first type
is parallelism which involves repetition
while the second type of foregrounding is
deviation which is related to the use of
specific devices in unusual ways.
• Foregrounding means to bring something
to light, and to make a work eye-
catching/forceful.

• It is the backbone of literature and, in

stylistics, is achieved through the use of
figures of speech.
 Deviation in Foregrounding

• A phenomenon when a set of rules or

expectations are broken in some way.
Such as when this font has just changed.
This deviation from expectation produces
the effect of foregrounding, which attracts
attention and aids memorability.
• e.g.
ungrammatical sentences - he sang his didn't he
danced his did
- Cumming’s anyone lived in a pretty how town)

oxymoron - “Beautiful tyrant”

“Honourable villain”
- Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet)
 Kinds of Deviation

• lexical deviation
• phonological deviation
• graphological deviation
• grammatical deviation
• semantic deviation
• dialectal deviation
• deviation of register
• deviation of historical period
 Lexical Deviation

• refers to a new word or expression or a new

meaning for an old word used only on a
particular occasion or by a particular author

• coining of new words or neologism

• e.g. T.S. Elliot's “And I Tiresias foresuffered it

all”
Macaulay's “I'll Golden Bull you!”
 Phonological Deviation
• Phonological irregularities such as ommission,
mispronunciation, and special
pronunciations.

i.Aphesis – the omission of an initial part (unstressed

vowel)
‘mid amid; ‘lone  alone
ii.Syncope – the omission of a medial part of a word.
ne’er  never; o’er  over
iii.Apocope – the omission of a final part of a word
a’ all; wi’ with; o’  of; oft  often
• Mispronunciation examples:
“You bloody murthering thafe!” - Dreiser

This usually indicates a person's educational,

social, and/or cultural background.
• Special pronunciation
– usually done for the convenience of rhyming

The trumpet of a prophecy! O, Wind,

If winter comes, can spring be far behind?
(Shelley)
 Graphological Deviation

• Related to type of print, punctuation,

indentation, etc.

• eg
still who alive
is asking What
have i done that
You wouldn’t have (Cummings)
 Grammatical Deviation
• Syntactic
refers to departures from normal (surface)
grammar. These include a number of features
such as unsual clauses and phrasing.
eg. “the achieve of, the mastery of the
things” (Hopkins); I doesn't like him; He me saw

• Morphological
Involves adding affixes to words which they
would not usually have, or removing their ‘usual’
affixes
eg. literalishness; unblondedness
 Semantic Deviation

• phrase containing a word whose meaning

violates the expectations created by the
surrounding words

• Meaning relations which are logically

inconsistent or paradoxical in some way;
metaphorical in nature

• eg. “in the room so loud to my own”

(expect a spatial adjective)
 Parallelism in Foregrounding

• A rhetorical device characterised by

overregularity or repetitive structures
• e.g: rhyme, assonance, alliteration, meter,
semantic symmetry, or antistrophe.

• Parallelism is more than just a repetitions.

The thoughts expressed by the repeating
pattern are also repeated. When we talk of
things being in parallel, then the things are
of equal force and have the same tone.
Parallelism aims at basically two things:

1. Reinforcing ideas of importance

2. Making the text more pleasurable to the
reader
• e.g.

• Because I do not hope to turn again

Because I do not hope
Because I do not hope to turn....
T. S. Eliot's Ash Wednesday

• He was a tender young man, he was a gentle

young man, he was an affectionate young
man. He was the man everyone wanted.
 END

thank you!
 References
• https://www.slideshare.net/RiwatyPutriIntanSium/denotatio
n-connotation-and-implication
• http://realitiesandrealizations.blogspot.com/2012/07/registe
r-in-stylistics-language.html
• e-learning.sfedu.ru/mod/resource/view.php?id=7647
• http://saundz.com/what-is-phonetics-and-why-does-it-
matter/
• https://drsaraheaton.wordpress.com/2012/05/22/language-
register-and-why-it-matters-or-why-you-cant-write-an-
academic-paper-in-gangsta-slang/
• Bolinger, D. 1968. Aspects of Language. USA: Harcourt,
Brace & World, Inc.
• http://thewritepractice.com/euphony-and-cacophony/
• http://t3ckcommlectures.blogspot.com/2011/01/diatype.html
• https://www.ukessays.com/essays/english-language/study-
of-the-foregrounding-theory-english-language-
essay.php
• http://literarism.blogspot.com/2011/03/foregrounding-
halliday.html