Phonetic Expressive Means and Stylistic Devices

The stylistic approach to the utterance is not confined to its structure and sense. The way a word, phrase or sentence sounds is also vitally important. Separately a sound has no or little aesthetic value. It is in combination with other sounds in words only that it produces a desired phonetic effect.

One of the main notions dealing with the interaction of sound and sense is onomatopoeia [onoum toupi(:) ] –ономатопея, звукоподражание (from the Greek ‘onomatopoie’ –производство названий) or sound imitation. Onomatopoeia is a combination of speech sounds which aims at imitating sounds produced in nature (wind, sea, thunder, etc.) by things (machines, tools, etc.), by people (singing, laughter, patter of feet, etc.) and by animals (chattering, singing, etc.)

Combinations of speech sounds of this type will inevitably be associated with whatever produces the natural sound. Therefore the relation between onomatopoeia and the phenomenon it represents is that of metonymy.

There are two varieties of onomatopoeia –direct and indirect.

DIRECT ONOMATOPOEIA occurs in words that imitate natural sounds.

e.g. ding-dong, buzz, bang, cuckoo, mew, ping-pong, roar, purr, gargle, murmur, hiss, etc.

Some of the words resemble the sounds strongly, others require an effort of imagination to be deciphered.

e.g. Words naming sounds of water:

babble- журчать

bubble – бить ключом, пузыриться

plop -бултыхнуться, шлёпнуться в воду

flush - бить струёй

gush - хлынуть / поток /

splash - брызгать / ся /

Things falling into the water produce the following sounds:

smth small (a pebble or a coin) falls into the water softly, it goes “plop” (бултыхнуться, шлёпнуться в воду )

smth larger (a dog chasing a stick) or smth large and heavy (a body ) go “splash” (шлёпнуться, бултыхнуться)

Sounds of explosion:

a small balloon or a champagne bottle go “pop” – (хлопать, выстреливать,

о пробке)

a gun (it’s louder and harder) goes “bang” – (удар, звук выстрела, взрыва)

a cannon or a bomb go “boom”. It is a very powerful sound (гул грома, выстрела).

Things falling and hitting the floor:

-smth heavy and solid (e.g. books) go “thud” –(шлёпнуться, бултыхнуться, ударяться с глухим звуком).

-smth metallic or breakable (a tray with glasses) goes “crash” (падать, рушиться с треском)

-smth heavy and resonant goes “slang” (резкий металлический звук, лязг, звон).

-smth soft but breakable (an egg or tomato) goes “spat” (шлёпнуться).

The same sounds may be represented differently in different languages:

e.g. сock-doodle –do [ ‘kok du:dldu:] –кукареку

coo - ворковать

hoot v ( bump ) – угу (крик совы)

bleat v - блеять

croak v - квакать, каркать

INDIRECT ONOMATOPOEIA is a combination of sounds the aim of which is to make the sound of the utterance an echo [‘ekou] of its sense.

e.g. And the silken, sad, uncertain rustling of each purple curtain (Edgar Poe)

The repetition of the sound [s] actually produces the sound of the rustling of the curtain.

Indirect onomatopoeia (unlike alliteration) demands some mention of what makes the sound – as the rustling of curtains in the e.g. above. The same can be said of the sound [w] if it aims at reproducing, let us say, the sound of wind. The word ‘wind’ must be mentioned.

e.g. Whenever the moon and stars are set,

Whenever the wind is high,

All night long in the dark and wet

A man goes riding by. (Stevenson)

Alliteration

(From the Latin ‘ad’ - к, при + ‘lit(t)era’ - буква)

Alliteration is a phonetic stylistic device, which aims at imparting a melodic effect to the utterance. The essence of this device lies in the repetition of similar sounds, in particular consonants, in close succession, especially at the beginning of successive words.

e.g. Deep into the darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,

Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortals ever dared to dream before.

(Ed. Poe)

Thus, the repetition of the sound [d] in the lines above (from the poem “The Raven”) may prompt the feeling of anxiety, fear, horror, anguish, or all these feelings together, simultaneously.

Alliteration is generally regarded as a musical accompaniment to the author’s idea, supporting it with some vague emotional atmosphere which the reader interprets for himself.

Alliteration is deeply rooted in English ‘folklore [‘fouklo:]. In Old English poetry it was one of the basic principles. The repetition of similar sounds within one line compensated for the absence of rhyme and is therefore sometimes called initial rhyme. Now it is frequently used in emotive prose, newspaper headlines, titles of books, proverbs and sayings.

e.g. tit for tat good as gold

It’s neck or nothing as cool as a cucumber

now or never waste not want not

blind as a bat proud as a peacock

last but not least bag and baggage

Titles:

Pride & Prejudice (Jane Austen)

The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club (Dickens)

Live with Lightning (Wilson)

The School for Scandal (Sheridan)

Sense and Sensibility (Jane Austen)

Assonance (or Vocalic Alliteration)

(From the Latin ‘assonans’ –созвучный)

Assonance is a repetition of stressed vowels within a line or a phrase, or at the end of the line as an incomplete rhyme.

e.g. Tell this soul with sorrow laden if within the distant Aiden I shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels name Lenore-

Clasp a rare and radiant maiden, whom the angels name Lenore.

Assonance often goes together with other means of sound instrumenting: alliteration, rhyme, etc.

e.g. (assonance + alliteration + rhyme):

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,

Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore (Poe)

In this case the effect of ‘ euphony [‘ju:f ni] is achieved – a sense of ease and comfort in pronouncing and hearing.

Cf.: cacophony [k ‘kof ni] is a sense of strain and discomfort in pronouncing and hearing.

Rhyme

Rhyme is the repetition of identical or similar terminal sound combinations of words.

Rhyming words are generally placed at a regular interval from each other. In verse they are usually placed at the end of the corresponding lines.

FULL RHYMES are characterized by identity of both final vowel and the following consonant in a stressed syllable.

e.g. might – right

needless – heedless (невнимательный, небрежный)

INCOMPLETE RHYMES present a greater variety – either vowels or consonants are identical.

In vowel rhymes consonants may be different:

e.g. flesh – fresh – press

Consosnant rhymes show сoncordance (согласие) in consonants and disparity (несоответствие) in vowels:

e.g worth –forth treble -trouble - тройной, дискантовый

tale - tool flung –long - кидаться, бросаться

In COMPOUND (BROKEN) RHYMES – one word rhymes with a combination of words ( and is made to sound alike). The effect is that a colloquial or humorous touch is added to the utterance.

e.g. upon her honour - won her

bottom - forgot’ em - shot him

In EYE- RHYMES letters, not sounds, are identical which means that eye-rhymes can only be perceived in written verse.

e.g. love - prove

have - grave

flood - brood (стая, толпа, куча)

Many of eye–rhymes are the result of historical changes in vowels in certain positions.

Patterns of Rhyming in the Stanza (строфа, станс)

• couplets – when the last words of 2 successive lines are rhymed – aa (рифмованное двустишие)

• triple rhymes - aaa

• cross rhymes - abab

• framing or ring rhymes - abba

Another variety of rhyme is called INTERNAL RHYME. The rhyming words are placed not at the ends of the lines but within the line, as in

e.g. I bring fresh showers for the thirsting flowers. (Shelley)

Internal rhyme breaks the line into two distinct parts, at the same time consolidating the ideas expressed in them.

Rhyme possesses two seemingly contrasting functions: dissevering and consolidating. Both are realized simultaneously depending on the distribution of the rhymes:

e.g. aa - consolidating function is conspicuous ;

aabaab: b-b do not immediately reveal their consolidating function.

Rhythm

Rhythm exists in all spheres of human activity and assumes different forms. It is a mighty weapon of stirring up emotions whatever its origin, whether it is musical, mechanical or symmetrical, as in architecture.

Even an untrained ear can perceive rhythm, i. e. regular recurrence of stress, accent, or quantity of sound. But reception of metre [mi;t ] (размер, метр в стихосложении, ритм) requires training. Rhythm is a wider notion than that can occur in prose, colloquial speech and verse.

Metre appears in classical verse and is characterized by a specific arrangement of feet (foot - стопа) –alternation of a certain number of stressed and unstressed syllables.

(For a more detailed treatment of Rhythm see: The Language of Poetry).

As it is seen from the examples above such specific types of sound-instrumenting as alliteration, assonance, and of course, rhythm, play the leading role in the language of poetry. In prose discourse sound- instrumenting is seldom used to create additional information. In contemporary advertising, mass media and, above all, creative prose sound is foregrounded mainly through the change of its accepted graphical representation.

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