1. Stylistics and its objectives. The definition of style. Subdivisions of stylistics.

The scope of problems and the object of stylistic study go as far back as ancient schools of rhetoric and poetics. STY is a branch of linguistics, which studies the principles, and the effect of choice and usage of different language elements in rendering thought and emotion under different conditions of communication.

I.R.Galperin asserts that stуlistiсs, sometimes called linguastylistics, is a branch of general linguistics that mainly deals with two interdependent objectives:

- the investigation of the special language media(SD’s and EM’s); which secure the desirable effect of the utterance, and

- the investigation of certain types of texts (FS’s) which are distinguished by the pragmatic aspect of communication.

Subdivisions: Literary & linguastylistics. Stylistic analyses includes all lang. levels: phonetic, lexical, gram.

The subdivision of linguostylistics is based on the level-forming approach: sounds, words, phrases and sentences, paragraphs and texts are studied from the point of view of their expressive capacities, or stylistic function. Нere belong:

• Lexical stylistics (stylistic lexicology).

• Phonostylistics (stylistic phonetics).

• Grammatical stylistics. (Morphological stylistics, Syntactical stylistics)

• Functional stylistics (the theory of functional styles).

• Text stylistics is one more branch of stylistic research.

2. The notion of style.

Stylistics, as the term implies, deals with styles.

The word style is derived from the Latin word ‘stilus’ (‘stylus’) or Greek ‘stylos’ which meant a short stick used by the Romans for writing on wax tablets. Later it was associated with the manner of writing. Today it can be applied in any activity which can be performed in more than one way (manner), verbal communication including.

Style is frequently regarded as something that belongs exclusively to the plane of expression and not to the plane of content because one and the same idea can be expressed in different ways.

T.A. Znamenskaya believes that the existent definitions of the notion ‘style’ intersect with 3 meanings: 1. A variety of the national language traditionally used in diff. spheres of life that is characterized by particular linguistic features (vocab, gram and pronunc., the degree of formality - social, occupational and regional varieties). 2. A generally accepted linguistic identity of oral and written units of speech.

3. An individual manner of expression

Style is also understood as a technique of expression, i.e. the ability to write clearly, correctly and in a manner calculated to interest the reader. Style in this sense deals with the normalized forms of the language.

The generic term ‘style’ is often identified with the individual style of an author, or the authorial style.I.R. Galperin believes that this is only one of the applications of the term ‘style’.

Style is frequently treated as the embellishment of language when the style is imposed on language for artistic effect.