I. The subject of stylistics Stylistics is that branch of linguistics, which studies the principles, and effect of choice and usage of different language elements in rendering thought and emotion under different conditions of communication.  The subject of stylistics is a style and style is a system of a particular use of the phonetic, lexical and other capabilities of a language.  Stylistics studies a set of language means which are used in an utterance and also studies types of the texts which differ in a pragmatic aspect of the meaning. (Pragmatics studies relationships between participants of the situation and the situation itself). Therefore it is concerned with such issues as 1) the aesthetic function of language; 2) expressive means in language; 3) synonymous ways of rendering one and the same idea; 4) emotional colouring in language; 5) a system of special devices called stylistic devices; 6) the splitting of the literary language into separate systems called style; 7) the interrelation between language and thought; 8) the individual manner of an author in making use of the language Kinds of stylistics: 1. Stylistics of a language and stylistics of a speech. 2. Linguostylistics and literary stylistics. 3. Stylistics of the author and decoding stylistics.  1. stylistics of language describes and classifies the inherent stylistic colouring of language units. Stylistics of speech studies the composi­tion of the utterance—the arrangement, selection and distribution of different words, and their adherent qualities. 2.Literary and linguistic stylistics. Both study the common ground of: -the literary language from the point of view of its variability; -the idiolect (individual speech) of a writer; -poetic speech that has its own specific laws. The points of difference proceed from the different points of analysis. While linguastylistics studies • Functional styles (in their development and current state). • The linguistic nature of the expressive means of the language, their systematic character and their functions. Literary stylisticsis focused on • The composition of a work of art. • Various literary genres. • The writer’s outlook. Types of Linguastylistics: lexical (phraseological units etc), grammatical (tences, gender, vioce etc), phonetic (phonetic arrangement of the text: alliteration etc), syntactical (change of the word order, types of sentences, reported speech, direct speech etc). 3.Decoding stylistics (L. V. Shcherba, B. A. Larin, M. Riffaterre, R. Jackobson, I.V. Arnold). Each act of speech has the performer, or sender of speech and the recipient. The former does the act of encoding and the latter the act of decoding the information. If we analyse the text from the author’s point of view we should consider the epoch, the historical situation, the personal political, social and aesthetic views of the author. But if we try to treat the same text from the reader’s angle of view we shall have to disregard this background knowledge and get the maximum information from the text itself (its vocabulary, compo­sition, sentence arrangement, etc.). Decoding stylistics is an attempt to harmoniously combine the two methods of stylistic research and enable the scholar to interpret a work of art with a minimum loss of its purport and message.  The importance of stylistics for teaching: -stylistics helps to realize the role of the style in real communication because the speech should be adequate to the situation. -stylistics helps to understand, analyse foreign texts adequately to the situation. Prof. I. R. Galperin suggests 5 styles for the English language. 1) belles-lettres style: poetry, emotive prose, and drama; 2) publicist style: oratory and speeches, essay, articles; 3) newspaper style: brief news items, headlines, advertisements, editorial; 4) scientific prose style; 5) official documents style. ll. The main categories of linguostylistics. The main linguostylistic category is that of variation. Accordingly, we differ the following types of stylistic variation:

• Phonetic ( e.g. often-oft)

• Structural (e.g. stylistic-stylistical, clothed-clad, etc.)

• Diachronic (e.g. you-thou, your- thy, etc.)

• Stylistic variation proper (to die- to kick the bucket- to pass away- to join the majority, etc.)

In the case of neutral and literary styles the category of variation manifests itself in language, whereas in the case of colloquial- both in language and speech. Thus, it becomes clear that the category of variation can be very well interpreted in term of paradigmatics,which is the associative level, and syntagmatics, which is the linear level.

In linguistics there are different terms to denote particular means by which utterances are foregrounded; i.e. made more conspicuous, more effective and therefore imparting some additional information. They are called expressive means, stylistic means, stylistic markers, stylistic devices, tropes, figures of speech and other names. (I.R. Galperin, 1981:25) In the European philological tradition there have always existed phenomena regarded as linguostylistic concepts proper. These are tropes and figures of speech, the distinction between which goes back to ancient philology, to the times of Aristotle, Cicero and others.

Both tropes and figures of speech are regarded as manifestations of the category of variation on the paradigmatic and syntagmatic levels respectively. And their study is based on their numerous realizations in speech, such as, e. g. , through metaphor, simile, alliteration, pun, repetition, etc..

The term trope was widely used in Russian philological school. Tropes are based on the transfer of meaning, when a word or a word-combination is used to denote an object which is not normally correlated with this word.(Ахманова О.С., 1966:481) The aim of tropes is to give expressiveness and emotional character to the utterance. Tropes are paradigmatic phenomena as they are based on association or analogy.

The stylistic effect of a figure of speech is achieved due to the unusual arrangement of words and syntactic constructions the aim of which is to enhance the expressiveness of the utterance.(Ahmanova) Since devices of figures of speech are concerned with the arrangement of words, they mostly function on syntagmatic level, that is the liner level of a particular speech event.

Both tropes and figures of speech are widely used both in fiction and poetry being recognized as effective means of figurative language.

Tropes: metaphor, metonymy, irony, antonomasia, epithet etc. Figures: parallelism, rhetorical question, apothoipises, aposiopesis etc.

III. Stylistic stratification of the English vocabulary (general consideration)

The word-stock of any given language can be roughly divided into three uneven groups, differing from each other by the sphere of its possible use.

The biggest division is made up of neutral words, possessing no stylistic connotation and suitable for any communicative situation, two smaller ones are literary and colloquial strata respectively. In accordance with the already mentioned division of language into literary and colloquial, we may represent the whole of the word-stock of the English language as being divided into three main layers: the literary layer, the neutral layer and the colloquial layer. The literary and the colloquial layers contain number of subgroups each of which has a property it shares with all the subgroups within the layer. This common property, which unites the different groups of words within the layer, may be called its aspect. The aspect of the literary layer is its markedly bookish character. It is this that makes the layer more or less stable. The aspect of the colloquial layer of words is its lively spoken character. It is this that makes it unstable, fleeting.

The aspect of the neutral layer is its universal character. That means it is unrestricted in its use. It can be employed in all styles of language and in all spheres of human activity. It is this that makes the layer the most stable of all.

The literary layer of words consists of groups accepted as legitimate members of the English vocabulary they have no local or dialectal character.

The colloquial layer of words as qualified in most English or American dictionaries is not infrequently limited to a definite language community or confined to a special locality where it circulates.

The literary vocabulary consist of the following groups of words:1. common literary: 2. terms 3. poetic words: 4. archaic words; 5. barbarisms and foreign words: 6. nonce-words.

The colloquial vocabulary falls into the following groups: 1. common colloquial words: 2. slang: 3. jargons: 4. professional words: 5. dialectal words: 6. vulgarisms: 7. Nonce words

The common literary, neutral and common colloquial words are grouped under the term standard English vocabulary. Other groups in the literary layer are regarded as special literary vocabulary and those in the colloquial layer are regarded as special colloquial (non-literary) vocabulary.

Neutral words, which form the bulk of the English vocabulary, are used in both literary and colloquial language. Neutral words are the main source of synonymy and polysemy. It is the neutral stock of words that is so prolific in the production of new meanings new words by means of conversion, word compounding, word derivation.

Unlike all other groups, the neutral group of words cannot be considered as having a special stylistic colouring, whereas both literary and colloquial words have a definite stylistic colouring.

IV. Stylistic stratification of the English vocabulary (special literary vocabulary)

Literary words, both general (also called learned, bookish, high-flown) and special, contribute to the message the tone of solemnity, sophistication, seriousness, gravity, learnedness. They are used in official papers and documents, in scientific communication, in high poetry, in authorial speech of creative prose.

a) Archaic Words

The word-stock of a language is in an increasing state of change. Words change their meaning and sometimes drop out of the language altogether. New words spring up and replace the old ones. Some words stay in the language a very long time and do not lose their faculty of gaining new meanings and becoming richer and richer polysemantically. Other words live but a short time and are like bubbles on the surface of water — they disappear leaving no trace of their existence.

We shall distinguish three stages in the aging process of words:

The beginning of the aging process when the word becomes rarely used. Such words are called obsolescent, i.e. they are in the stage of gradually passing out of general use. To this category first of all belong morphological forms belonging to the earlier stages in the development of the language. In the English language these are the pronouns thou and its forms thee, thy – ‘your’ and thine - 'yours'; the corresponding verbal ending -est and the verb-forms art, wilt (thou makest, thou wilt); the ending -(e)th instead of -(e)s (he maketh) and the pronoun ye - 'you', used especially when you are speaking to more than one person

The second group of archaic words are those that have already gone completely out of use but are still recognized by the English-speaking community: e. g. methinks (=it seems to me); nay (—no). These words are called obsolete.

The third group, which may be called archaic proper, are words which are no longer recognizable in modern English, words that were in use in Old English and which have either dropped out of the language entirely or have changed in their appearance so much that they have become unrecognizable, e. g. troth (=faith); a losel (=a worthless, lazy fellow).

Poetic and Highly Literary Words

Poetic words are mostly archaic or very rarely used highly literary words which aim at producing an elevated effect. Poetic words and expressions are called upon to sustain the special elevated atmosphere of poetry. This may be said to be the main function of poetic words. Poetic words are archaic words with the fixed sphere of usage in poetry and elevate prose (f.ex: woe- sorrow, hapless – unlucky, harken – hear).

V. V. Vinogradov gives the following properties of poetic words: poetic words and images veil the reality, stylizing it according to the established literary norms and canons. A word is torn away from its referent.

Poetical words in an ordinary environment may also have a satirical function, showing them as conventional metaphors and stereotyped poetical expressions. The main stylistic function of archaisms is to recreate the atmosphere of antiquity.

B) Terms i.e. words denoting objects, processes, phenomena of science, humanities, technique.

The most essential characteristics of a term are

1) its highly conventional character. A term is generally very easily coined and easily accepted; and new coinages as easily replace out-dated ones.

2) its direct relevance to the system or set of terms used in a particular science, discipline or art, i. e. to its nomenclature. A term is directly connected with the concept it denotes. 

Terms are mostly and predominantly used in special works dealing with the notions of some branch of science. They may as well appear in other styles—in newspaper style, in publicistic and practically in all other existing styles of language. But their function in this case changes. The function of terms, if encountered in other styles, is either to indicate the technical peculiarities of the subject dealt with, or to make some reference to the occupation of a character whose language would naturally contain special words and expressions, to create the environment of a special atmosphere.

C) Barbarisms and Foreignisms:

Barbarisms are words of foreign origin which have not entirely been assimilated into the English language. They bear the appearance of a borrowing and are felt as something alien to the native tongue. Most of them have corresponding English synonyms; e. g. chic (=stylish); Weltanschauung (=world-view); en passant (= in passing); ad infinitum (= to infinity) and many other words and phrases.

It is very important for purely stylistic purposes to distinguish between barbarisms and foreign words proper. Barbarisms are words which have already become facts of the English language. They are, part and parcel of the English word-stock, though they remain on the outskirts of the literary vocabulary. Foreign words though used for certain stylistic purposes, do not belong to the EngVoc. They are not registered in dictionaries, whereas barbarisms are.

Foreign words are often italicized , barbarisms on the contrary, are not made conspicuous in the text.

Their functions: to express a concept non-existant in English reality, to supply local colour as a background to the narrative, reproduce actual manner of speech and environment of the hero, to elevate the language (words which we don’t quite understand have a peculiar charm), “exactifying” function – to express some exact meaning (au revoir vs. good-bye).

e) Literary Coinages (Including Nonce-Words)

Neologism - 'a new word or a new meaning for an established word.'

Every period in the development of a language produces an enormous number of new words or new meanings of established words. Most of them do not live long. They are not meant to live long. They are coined for use at the moment of speech, and therefore possess a peculiar property —that of temporariness. The given word or meaning holds only in the given context and is meant only to "serve the occasion."

However, such is the power of the written language that a word or a meaning used only to serve the occasion, when once fixed in writing, may become part and parcel of the general vocabulary.

Another type of neologism is the nonce-word – a word coined to suit one particular occasion. They rarely pass into the standard language and remind us of the writers who coined them.