- •1. Stylistics as a branch of general linguistics. The subject, object and tasks of stylistics
- •The individual manner of an author in making use of a language.
- •2. Branches of stylistics
- •3. Basic notions of stylistics (the notion of context, the concept of the norm)
- •4. The notion and types of foregrounding
- •5. Meaning from a stylistic point of view (lexical meaning, grammatical meaning)
- •6. Denotative and connotative meanings from a stylistic point of view
- •7. The notion of the stylistic opposition in the English vocabulary
- •9. Words of non-literary stylistic layer
- •10. The notion of stylistic devices and expressive means Grammatical Expressive Means and Stylistic Devices
- •11. Different classifications of stylistic devices and expressive means
- •12. Phonetic stylistic devices and expressive means
- •13. Stylistic use of graphical means. Graphon
- •14. Lexical stylistic devices and expressive means. Metaphor, metonymy, irony
- •15. Simile. Epithet
- •16. Hyperbole. Oxymoron. Allusion
- •17. Zeugma and the pun. Periphrasis
- •18. Syntactical stylistic devices and expressive means. Inversion. Detached constructions Syntactical Stylistic Devices
- •19. Climax. Anticlimax. Suspense
- •20. Antithesis. Rhetorical question. Litotes
- •21. Parallel constructions. Chiasmus. Types of repetition
- •22. Asyndeton. Polysyndeton. Ellipsis. Break-in-the-narration
- •23. Represented speech
- •24. Parts of speech and their stylistic potential Parts of Speech and Their Stylistic Potential
- •25. Functional styles systems
- •26. Characteristic linguistic features of major functional styles
- •27. Stylistics of the author and the reader. Types of narration
- •28. Stylistics and discourse
- •29. Set expressions. Proverbs and sayings Peculiar Use of Set Expressions
- •30. Stylistics and dictemic analysis
6. Denotative and connotative meanings from a stylistic point of view
The denotative meaning of the word expresses the conceptual content of a word. An act of verbal communication is possible due to the fact that words possess denotative meanings. Due to the denotative meaning we refer words to some concrete objects, concepts or phenomena. Thus, denotative meaning is the notional one.
As for connotative meaning, it turns out optional. This meaning is a pragmatic value of the word, received by virtue of where, when, how, to whom, for what purpose and in what contexts it is used or may be used.
The connotative meaning has several types:
Stylistic reference. Human activity takes place in different spheres. To such spheres we refer everyday life, business, science, education, etc. Each sphere of communication is characterized by certain conditions and aims which determine the choice of lingual means. Such spheres are referred to as functional styles. Each functional style is characterized by certain words which are preferably used in this or that style. Such words are said to have stylistic reference. This stylistic connotation depends on the social circumstances, relations between interlocutors and the purpose of communication. Stylistic connotations may be inherent and adherent. Stylistically neutral words have only adherent stylistic connotations. These connotations are acquired in a certain context.
Emotive connotation. This kind of connotation is acquired by a word as a result of its frequent use in contexts concerning emotional situations or because the referent, named in the denotative meaning, is emotionally colored. The emotive connotation may have some specific linguistic form, but be contained in the concept of a given word.
Evaluative connotation. It expresses approval or disapproval, conveying the speaker’s attitude to the object of speech. This connotation may be a part of the denotative meaning. It stands out in specific contexts. Words of the same root may or may not possess an evaluative component in their inner form. For example, the verb to sneak means to move secretively with a bad purpose. So, the adjective sneaky has the same (negative) connotation. But if we take the noun sneakers, it has no negative connotation.
Expressive (intensifying) connotation. This type of connotation either increases or decreases the expressiveness of the message. For example, some words may be used colloquially for the purpose of exaggeration. The emotive connotation always entails expressiveness, but not vice versa. For example, the word thing in the sentence She was a sweet little thing with an emotive adjective sweet also becomes emotive, but in the sentence She was a small thing with spectacles the word thing is expressive, but not emotive.
We may come across words which have two, three or even all four types of connotation at once. For example, the word beastly in the phrase beastly weather possesses emotional coloring, stylistic reference to the colloquial sphere, expresses intensity and censure.
There are also words which possess purely emotive meaning. They even don’t have the denotative referent, they just express emotions. For example, the words Oh!, Alas!, Bloody!. There are adjectives whose emotive meaning is so strong that it suppresses the denotative meaning. For example, the word fantastic has a denotative meaning, but is more frequently used in its emotive meaning.