30. Transposition (the pronoun, the adjective).

The pronoun

In the case of the pronoun transposition is connected with the change of the sphere in which pronouns are used. Because of this, the normal links of the pronoun with the object of reference are destroyed and pronouns perform a stylistic function.  Most frequently these changes take place with personal, indefinite, possessive and demonstrative pronouns.

The personal pronoun I when used too often in a certain text testifies to the speaker's complacency, while you, we or one used in reference to the speaker themselves instead of I characterize the speaker as a reserved person.

E.g. One (you, we) cannot know for sure.

On the whole, the use of the personal pronouns you, we, they and indefinite one may show identification of the speaker and the audience, and generalization that attributes a philosophical and abstract sounding to the utterance.

E.g. You couldn’t lie there like that unless you were dead. Lena was dead (J.B.Priestley].

In colloquial style the functions of abstraction and generalization can be carried by such nouns as a man, a chap, a fellow, a baby, a body, a thing.

E.g. Could a man say this?

Personal pronouns we, you, they can be employed in the meaning different from their dictionary meaning.

The pronoun we can also be used with reference to a single person, the speaker. It appears in Royal speech and is called the plural of majesty. 

E.g.  By the grace of Our Lord, We, Elizabeth, the first…

Another  usage of we is known as the plural of modesty (the author's we).In this case we is used with reference to a single person in order to identify oneself with the group, or audience, and to avoid subjectivity.

It is found in the scientific prose style, when the scientist speaks in the name of specialists working in this sphere and aims to sound unbiased. 

E.g.  The literature we criticize and theorize about is never whole…

There can also be the so-called plural of humility.

E.g.  Oh, we are sorry!

The use of we also shows a close relationship with the interlocutor or empathy and creates a more intimate atmosphere.

E.g. What are we having today?

The pronoun you is often used as an intensifier in an imperative sentence.

E.g.  Just you go in and win [E. Waugh].

Various archaic forms of pronouns such as ye (you) and the form of the second person singular thou (thee – objective case, possessive thy and its absolute form thine, reflective – thyself) are either the indicators of dialectal speech, of the style of official documents (law), or of poetic and religious styles.

E.g. Thou art my man and I am thy woman [W.S. Maugham].

The pronouns He/his, she/her suffer transposition when they become formal markers of personification.

E.g. She (about a watch) is four minutes slow – regulator wants pushing up [M. Twain].

The opposite situation, when it is used instead of he or she, refers living beings to the class of inanimate objects. This process is sometimes called depersonification. It can show the speaker`s humorous, ironical or affectionate attitude.

E.g.  I always make a cup of tea last thing. She drinks it in bed after her prayers to warm her up. I put the kettle on when she kneels down and I say to it, ‘Now, you needn’t be in too much of a hurry to say your prayers.’ [C. Mansfield].

The demonstrative pronouns sometimes do not point at an object but signal the speaker`s excitement.

E.g. These lawyers! Don't you know they don't eat often? [Th. Dreiser].

The combination of a demonstrative pronoun with a possessive pronoun (in its absolute form) in postposition has particular expressive and emotional force.

E.g. This girl of mine wrote to say she was coming from Paris today, but of course she didn’t say how and when and what and where, just left it all vague, y’know, as usual, all up in the air [J.B. Priestley].

When stylistically neutral possessive pronouns are combined with epithets, the degree of expressiveness can be reinforced.

E.g.  I am sick and tired of his praised victory.

The adjective

The adjective as a part of speech has only one grammatical category. It is the degree of comparison. It shows the degree of intensity of some feature expressed by the adjective.

The degrees of comparison can be formed only by gradable (showing quality and quantity) adjectives. If ungradable adjectives form a degree of comparison, it leads to transposition. It can also add a humorous colouring.

E.g.  He had never seen a deader cat [P.G. Wodehouse].

E.g. It was the meatiest place Miss Matfield had ever seen [J.B. Priestly].

E.g. He was the most married man I've ever met.

When the rules of forming degrees of comparison are violated, transposition can also be found. Additional expressiveness can be given to the utterance. Sometimes they may also become means of characterization of the personages pointing at their illiteracy or anxiety.

E.g. It is, evidently, a gooder choice.

The double break of the word collocation is often used to attract the reader’s attention. It often takes place in advertising.

E.g. The orangemostest drink in the world.

Sometimes the indefinite article is found before the superlative degree form. It has a different grammatical meaning of an indefinitely high degree of some feature. This phenomenon is called relative. It makes the utterance sound more emotive.

E.g. She is a loveliest little girl.

Metaphorical epithets are also cases of transposition. Among them there are personifying epithets which normally characterize people. Here they are used with inanimate objects or abstract notions. They add negative or ironical connotations.

E.g. He saw the world before him with no happiness in it, only foolish work and weariness….[J.B. Priestley].

31. Transposition  (the verb,  affixation and its stylistic potential). 

The verb

Verb categories can also suffer transposition. In this case they can add stylistically coloured expressiveness to the utterance.

The present tense forms are often used instead of the past tense forms to express past actions. One of the brightest examples is what is generally known as dramatic or historical present.

E.g. And there opens the door and he enters.

This use makes the description more vivid and creates a certain artistic illusion of reality. The past events are described as if they were taking place in the present. The reader becomes an on-looker or a witness and perceives time synchronously with the narration.

The present tenses are also used to denote future actions.

The Present Simple referred to the future often shows determination.

E.g. Edward, let there be an end of this. I go home [Ch. Dickens].

Continuous tense forms are frequently used instead of simple (indefinite) forms to convey the speaker's state of mind, his mood, his intentions or feelings. It may be conviction, determination, impatience, surprise, indignation, disapproval, and so on.

E.g. Well, she's never coming here again, I tell you that straight. [W.S. Maugham].

State verbs are not normally used in continuous forms. When they are, highly emphatic constructions appear.

E.g. I am wanting to tell you about our team`s success.

From the point of view of stylistics, it is possible to say that the passive voice demonstrates such functions as generalization and depersonalization. The doer of an action is not mentioned and the action itself loses direction.

With the help of this the author lifts the responsibility. Besides, it is a common trait of scientific prose that accepts no subjectivity.

E.g. He is not to be trusted.

E.g. It is believed that ….

As the sentences containing the infinitive or participles have no explicit agent, these sentences acquire an impersonal or generalized universal character. As a result, the world of the character and the reader blend into one whole and empathy is created.

E.g. The whole thing is preposterous – preposterous! Slinging accusations like this! [A. Christie].

Modal verbs are particularly interesting to stylistics as they can render a wide range of emotions.

E.g. The prizes shall stand among the bank of flowers [E. Waugh] (the speaker's determination is shown)

E.g. If you would stand by me I should have another try. (the speaker’s consent)

The use of the auxiliary verb do in affirmative sentences can be also considered as a notable emphatic device.

E.g. I don't want to look at Sita. I sip my coffee as long as possible. Then I do look at her and see that all the colour has left her face, she is fearfully pale. [L. Erdrich].

Archaic verb forms such as dost, hast (the second person singular), and doth, knoweth (the third person singular), or hadst, didst ( the past tense), either underline peculiarities of dialectal speech or lend an elevated, bookish flavor to the character’s speech.

E.g. If thou leavest me I shall hang myself on the tree that is behind the house. I swear it by God [W.S. Maugham].

There are several cases of violation of grammar which show through the speech the speaker ‘low’ social status:

1)   the use of the singular instead of the plural and vice versa, e.g. we (you, they) was, he don't,  says I, I (we, you, they) comes;

2)   the attempts to use irregular verbs like regular, e.g. he comed, he seed.

  3) the omission of an auxiliary verb in perfect forms, e.g. come often stands for came or for has come.

E.g. Laws bless you, sah, I knowed you in a minute. …. Laws! I knowed you de minute I sot eyes on you [M. Twain].

  Affixation and its stylistic potential

Sometimes root and affixational morphemes can be emphasized through repetition.

In V.A. Kukharenko`s opinion their repetition draws attention and stresses either their logical meaning (e.g. contrast, negation, absence of a quality as in such prefixes like a-, anti-, mis-; or of smallness as in suffixes -ling and -ette) or their emotive and evaluative meaning, as in suffixes forming degrees of comparison [Kukharenko].

It can also increase the rhythmical effect and text unity.

E.g. She unchained, unbolted and unlocked the door [A. Benett].

E.g. We were sitting in the cheapest of all the cheap restaurants that cheapen that very cheap and noisy street [E. Hemingway].

Additional information and stylistic effect can also be created through the extension of the valency of morphemes that results in the formation of new words.

They are not neologisms, they are the words used for the occasion (nonce words). They add freshness and originality to the utterance. Occasional words are often the result of morphemic repetition.

E.g. New scum, of course, has risen to take the place of the old, but the oldest scum, the thickest scum, and the scummiest scum has come from across the ocean [E. Hemingway].