Lecture 2 - abridged

Stylistics as a branch of general linguistics is based on the following principal notions: language, speech and speech behaviour, the spoken and written varieties of language, not, variant/invariant, language and speech synonyms, EM and SD.

One of the fundamental concepts of linguistics is the dichotomy of «language and speech» (langue—parole) introduced by F. de Saussure.

Language / Language-as-a-system

- a tool of human communication (code)

- well-structured and systematised

- a system of elementary and complex signs: phonemes, morphemes, words, word combinations, utterances and combinations of utterances

- relations between the signs

- rules of these signs usage

- linguistic forms or units are systematised into paradigms e.g.: man – guy.

The relations between words are synonymous and interchangeable

Paradigmatics - relations between the language units of one class (association)

Speech / language-in-action

- the actual result of language usage

- materialisation of language in communication

- a process of combining linguistic elements into linear linguistic units that are called syntagmatic

Syntagmatics means co-occurrence of language units in one context. E.g.:

Brandon liked me as much as Hiroshima liked the atomic bomb. (McBain)

Speech activity/behaviour

- the transition from the language elements to the speech units;

- the process of converting the language system into speech

Stylistics is a branch of linguistics that deals with texts, not with the system of signs or process of speech production as such. But within these texts elements stylistically relevant are studied both syntagmatically and paradigmatically (loosely classifying all stylistic means paradigmatically into tropes and syntagmatically into figures of speech).

Thus the basic notions which refer to language and speech may be presented in the following table:

Language Code Paradigmatic relations Invariant Selection Language synonyms EM Stylistics of language

Speech Text Syntagmatic relations Variant Combination Speech synonyms SD Stylistics of speech

Eventually this brings us to the notions of stylistics of language and stylistics of speech. Their difference lies in the material studied.

Stylistics of language

Yu. Skrebnev - inherent stylistic properties of language elements

commence, rejoinder, spouse = bookish; drifter, tummy, pussy = colloquial; dearie, auntie, streamlet,

Stylistics of speech

- adherent stylistic properties, which appear in a context as a result of combination with other units: I ask you, I pray, I beseech you! loving hate; heavy lightness

The problem of language and speech differentiation explains the difference between language and speech synonyms.

The notion “synonyms “ is generally defined as words which are close in their meaning but with different implications and associations. Language synonyms exist in the language as a system in a ready-made form: enemy – foe; house – abode – hole. Speech or occasional synonyms appear in a certain speech context: to raise prices – to jack up prices; big profits – juicy profits (in the newspaper articles); надзвичайний = шалений: Шалена мода для дівчат шаленої краси (реклама)