Lecture 3.
STYLISTIC SEMASIOLOGY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.
Expressive Means of Semasiology
Working definitions of principal concepts.
Semasiology is a branch of linguistics which studies semantics, or meaning of linguistic units, belonging to different language levels (morphemes, words, word-combinations, sentences, utterances, texts).
Lexical Semasiology analyses the meaning of words and word-combinations, relations between these meanings and the changes which these meanings undergo. |
Stylistic Semasiology is concerned only with those semantic relations and changes which are used as EM and SD, that is, we shall deal with stylistic semantics. |
The subject of stylistic Semasiology is not the basic meaning of a linguistic unit as such but its additional meaning which appears in two cases:
in case of unusual denotative reference of words, word-combinations, utterances;
in case of unusual combination of the meanings expressed by these units.
In stylistic Semasiology we also distinguish EM and SD.
EM are figures of substitution, that is different means of secondary nomination. The development of human experience leads to creating new notions which are fixed in the language and in the vocabulary. However, if every new notion was given a new name (new word) the vocabulary would have been too big, beyond human memory. The tendency of economy of language means and analytical activity of people leads to the usage of secondary nomination, the usage of the existing words and word-combinations to denotate new notions or to give a new name to the already known objects.
Secondary nomination is not arbitrary, it is carried out according to certain principles or rules. Most often used transfer of the name occurs:
on the basis of similarity or likeness of two objects (real or imaginary) which may be rather subjective and based on individual perception of different objects: flower – girl; rabbit – трус; rat – шпион; шляпа – растяпа, etc.
on the basis of contiguity or some logical relations that are usually objective: chicken (food), шляпа – человек в шляпе; the hall – people inside.
Thus, figures of substitution are units of secondary nomination which exist in the language or are formed on the basis of regular patterns. Secondary nomination units enter into paradigmatic (synonymic) relations or rather homofunctional relations (performing one and the same function) with primary nomination units.
Secondary nomination units are stylistically marked because they have additional stylistic colouring. In this aspect the stylistic and semantic opposition may be between units of different levels:
between two words: man – bear;
between a word and a word-combination: to die – to sleep in the grave; to find out – to bring into the open;
between a word-combination and an utterance (sentence): a skeptical man – I’m from Missouri: You’ve got to show me;
between a sentence and a sentence: everyone can make a mistake – Homer sometimes nods.
SDs of Semasiology are Figures of combination – stylistically relevant means of combination of the units belonging to the same or different language levels, including EM.
Figures of substitution may be presented in the table:
Figures of Substitution
F
igures
of quantity
Figures
of qualification
Hyperbole Meiosis Metonymy Metaphor Irony
Litotes Synecdoche Antonomasia
Periphrasis Personification
Euphemism Allegory
1. Figures of Quantity.
Here we refer figures based on comparison of two different objects (or phenomena) having one common quantitative feature. This common feature characterizes one object in a greater degree – it is the case of hyperbole, and in the least degree – it is the case of meiosis and its structural variety – litotes.
Hyperbole – deliberate overstatement or exaggeration, the aim of which is to intensify one of the features of the object (in question). An overstatement is to be considered hyperbole only in case when the exaggeration is deliberate and both the speaker and the listener are aware of it. Hyperbole is mainly used to intensify physical qualities of objects (or people): size, colour, quantity, etc.
E.g. The girls were dressed to kill.
The use of hyperbole shows the overflow of emotions.
E.g. I loved Ophelia; forty thousands brothers
Could not, with all their quantity of love
Make up my sum. (W. Shakespeare. Hamlet).
Hyperbole is often used in oral speech to intensify the statement. Hyperbole as any other EM through frequent repetition may become trite: E.g. for ages, I beg thousand pardons, etc.
More examples: Mary was scared to death.
Sam would give the world to see Dave again.
Pete knows everybody in the town.
It was so noisy inside that you couldn’t hear yourself think.
Meiosis – is a figure opposite to hyperbole. It is a deliberate underestimating of the features of the object (in question) with the aim of intensifying the expressiveness of speech. The features are usually size, volume, distance, time, etc. Meiosis emphasizes insignificance of the object in question. E.g. Emma’s father died and left his family without a penny.
Meiosis is mainly used in oral speech to give it more expressiveness: a pretty penny, E.g. It cost me a pretty penny; in Russian: влететь в копеечку, в мгновение ока, etc.
More examples: It was a cat-size pony.
August can do the job in a second.
Cary and Jane’s house is one minute from here.
Litotes differs from meiosis not only by its content, but by its structure as well. Litotes presents a statement in a form of a negation. From the point of view of its structure it can as well as rhetorical question, be considered a kind of transposition of the syntactic construction.
Litotes has a specific semantic and syntactic structure (the usage of the particle “not” before a word with a negative prefix): not unkind, not impossible. E.g. Julia was not dissatisfied with herself. (Maugham).
More examples: Martin is not without sense of humour.
The decision was not unreasonable.
John’s behaviour was not disrespectful.
This EM is used in oral speech to weaken the positive characteristics of a thing or phenomenon; to convey doubts of the speaker concerning the exact characteristics of the object.
In scientific prose style litotes underlines carefulness of judgment or uncertainty.