18. The idea of expressive means and stylistic devices

There are different terms, which are used by various scholars to denote particular means by which utterances are made more conspicuous, more effective and capable of imparting additional information. Such notions are expressive means, stylistic means, stylistic markers, stylistic devices, tropes and figures of speech. These words are close in their meaning. They can be considered synonyms, though some linguists give reasons why one is more correct than another. In the tradition of English Stylistics the most widely used designations are: expressive means and stylistic devices.   

According to I. Galperin, «the expressive means of a language are those phonetic, morphological, word-building, phraseological and syntactical forms, which exist in language-as-a-system for the purpose of logical and emotional intensification of the utterance» 

 A stylistic device, on the other hand, «is a conscious and intentional intensification of some typical structural or semantic property of a language unit promoted to a generalized status and thus becoming a generative model» 

T. Znamenskaya writes that «expressive means are linguistic forms and properties which have the potential to make the utterance emphatic or expressive». Stylistic devices, in her opinion, are «literary models in which semantic and structural features are blended» 

Y. Skrebnev speaks about paradigmatic stylistics (stylistics of units) and syntagmatic stylistics (stylistics of sequences). In addition to phonological, morphological, lexicological and syntactical levels, which were singled out before, he mentions the semasiological level. The relationship between these five levels is bilateral. The same linguistic material provides stylistic features studied both by paradigmatic and syntagmatic levels. The difference is in the organization of the material.

Paradigmatic phonetics describes stylistic features of a written text and syntagmatic phonetics deals with the interaction of speech sounds and intonation. In the first case we can see these devices, in the second we can «hear» alliteration, assonance etc.

Paradigmatic morphology observes the stylistic potentials of grammar forms and explains why the author chose this or that form. E.g. he speaks about the peculiarity of the use of historical present in a sentence within the past context. Syntagmatic morphology deals more with the effect produced by the use of forms in a concrete paragraph or text.

Paradigmatic lexicology deals with the stylistic classification of the vocabulary and syntagmatic lexicology studies the use of words of different layers in the text.

Paradigmatic syntax studies communicative types of sentences, word order etc. Syntagmatic syntax, on the other hand, studies the use of sentences in the text and the effect produced by the peculiarities, e.g. parallel constructions, repetition etc.

Paradigmatic semasiology deals with the transference of meaning or tropes proper. He distinguishes figures of quantity, to which belong hyperbole, litotes (understatement) and figures of quality, which include: metonymy, metaphors of all kinds, allusion, personification, anonomasia, irony etc. 

Syntagmatic semasiology deals with semantic relationships within a text. It studies figures of identity (simile, synonymous replacement), figures of inequality(synonymous repetition), climax(gradation), zeugma, pun), figures of contrast(oxymoron, antithesis) [33].

I. Galperin`s classification is the most traditional and wide-spread one.

He classified the devices according to the levels of the language and distinguished: phonetic, lexical, lexical-syntactical and syntactical stylistic devices.

In contrast to Professor Skrebnev he did not differentiate language and speech, paradigmatic and syntagmatic levels. He dealt with literature and analyzed devices from the point of view of their usage in a literary text. Galperin`s classification has been criticized because of the mixture of principles. Some devices, such as antithesis, irony etc. lie in the sphere of both lexical and syntactical stylistics. Some of his criteria are considered to be vague. But at the same time his classification was the most detailed one. In spite of different approaches to classification taken by various scholars, there is a more or less stable list of expressive means and stylistic devices which all the linguists agree on.

19. Phonetic expressive means and stylistic devices

Onomatopoeia (sound imitation) (ономатопея) is a combination of speech-sounds which aims at imitating sounds produced in nature, by things, by people or by animals. The sound is suggestive of the object or actions it designates. There are two types of onomatopoeia: direct and indirect.

Direct onomatopoeia is contained in words that imitate natural sounds, e.g. ding-dong (the sound of bells), bang-bang (shooting). There are words that appear as a result of sound imitation, they are supposed to be phonetically motivated, e.g.  rustle, jingle, bubble, splash, tick, click etc.

Indirect onomatopoeia is a combination of sounds the aim of which is to make the sound of the utterance an echo of its sense. Indirect onomatopoeia demands some mention of what makes the sound, which differentiates it from alliteration.

E.g. And the silken, sad, uncertain rustling of each purple curtain [E.A. Poe].

E.g. Cars were whizzing past.

Alliteration (аллитерация) is a phonetic stylistic device, which aims at giving a melodic effect to the utterance. The essence of this device consists in the repetition of similar consonants, in close succession, particularly at the beginning of successive words.

E.g. ..Till the fair and gentle Eulalie became my blushing bride [E.A. Poe].

E.g. welling water`s winsome word (A. Swinburne).

Assonance (ассонанс) or vowel alliteration is the repetition of vowels at the beginning or in the middle of successive words.

E.g. … Tell this soul, with sorrow laden, if within the distant Aiden,

         I hall clasp a sainted maiden, whom the angels name Lenore –

        Clasp a rare and radiant maiden, whom the angels name Lenore? [E.A. Poe]

Rhyme  (рифма) is the repetition of identical  sound combinations. In verse they are usually placed at the end of the corresponding lines.

E.g. …  Break, break, break,

               On thy cold gray stones, O Sea!

               And I would that my tongue could utter

               The thoughts that arise in me. [A. Tennyson]

Rhymes can be full and partial, exact and approximate. The latter are subdivided into assonance and consonance and dissonance. In assonance rhymes vowels are the same but the consonants are different (e.g. advice-compromise), in consonance – consonants are the same but the vowels are different (e.g. wind-land), dissonance – stressed vowels are different, but unstressed and consonants are the same (e.g. devil-evil). In English more than in other languages consonance rhymes are popular, which is explained by the traditional Anglo-Saxon alliteration. Rhymes can be rich and poor. In rich rhymes many sounds coincide (e.g. brevity-longevity) and in poor few sounds are the same (e.g. by-cry).

Rhythm (ритм) is a combination of stressed and unstressed syllables repeated in equal periods of time. It is a complicated phenomenon which is typical not only of poetry, but also of prose. Some linguists studying literary texts also speak about the rhythm of thought.