Practical Assignments in stylistics

Ex. 1. Phonetic Expressive Means ans Stylistic Devices

A. Indicate the causes and effects of the following cases of alliteration and assonance, define their function in the text under analysis:

1. I was shown to a tiny waiting-room furnished with hard chairs, a wooden table, and windows that wouldn’t open, like the condemned cell.

2. “One doesn’t fail exams,” said Grimsdyke firmly. “ One comes down, one muffs, one is ploughed, plucked, or piped…”

3. The room had suddenly come to a frightening, unexpected silence and stillness like an unexploded bomb.

4. With slow scraping feet that could be heard before they appeared the Secretary and the porters came solemnly down the stairs.

5. The world stood still.

Note:

Alliteration – is a specific type of sound-instrumenting which aims at

imparting a melody effect to the utterance. The essence of it lies

in the repetition of similar consonants in close succession, particularly at the beginning of successive words. Its functions may be expressive, emotive, pictorial (creating an acoustic image), aesthetic, consolidating (making an utterance better committable to memory). Alliteration may emerge both as Expressive Means and Stylistic Device, the latter being more typical than the former. As EM it emerges only in certain set phrases, mostly in such “coupled synonyms” as ‘first and foremost”, “part and parcel”; the function here is primarily consolidating. It may be employed by different functional styles with the only exception of Official Documents.

Assonance is the repetition of similar vowels, usually in stressed syllables.

Read more:

1. Арнольд И.В. – Гл. V

2. Мороховский А.Н. и др. – Гл. II, разд. І

3. Galperin I.R. – pp. 123-135

4. Kukharenko V.A. – pp. 10-11

5. Єфімов Л.П. – с. 34-36, 115

Useful Phrases and Clichés

• The tone of the piece of literature is formal/ serious/ excited/ agitated/ dramatic/ humorous/ ironical, etc. It becomes obvious owing to the following phonetic stylistic phenomenon/ -na: …

• To stimulate/ stir imagination (to arouse compassion/ dislike/ disgust/ aversion/ antipathy, etc., to increase the immediacy and freshness of the impression) the author makes use of…

• Thanks to … we may get the feel of the atmosphere/ the feel of…

• The author’s language is designed to appeal to all the senses (sight, touch, smell, taste, hearing). Acoustic images help to create the necessary atmosphere/ mood, to convey the atmosphere of…

• some cases of (alliteration) add to the melodical sounding of this part;

• The tragic/ dramatic/ etc. impression is enhanced by the phonetic device of alliteration, which is especially foregrounded in the utterance.

B. Analyze the given cases of onomatopoeia and point out whether the onomatopoetic words imitate sounds produced by a) nature; b) people; c) things; d) animals. Why in your opinion does the author resort to onomatopoeia mostly in the climax of the text?

1. We arrived in the examination building to find the same candidates there, but they were a subdued, muttering crowd, like the supporters of a home team who had just been beaten in a cup tie.

2. A clock tingled twelve in the distance.

3. Someone coughed, and I expected the windows to rattle.

4. With slow scraping feet that could be heard before they appeared the Secretary and the porters came solemnly down the stairs.

5. “Go on“, he hissed “It’s you!”

6. “Number three oh six?” the Secretary whispered, without looking up from the book.

7. “Yes”, I croaked.

8. “Pass”, he muttered.

Note:

Onomatopoeia – is a combination of speech sounds which aims at imitating sounds produced in nature (wind, sea, thunder, etc.), by things (machines or tools), by people and by animals. It supplies the vivid portrayal of the situation described.

There are two types: direct and indirect. Direct onomatopoeia is contained in sound imitational words (ding-dong, buzz, cuckoo); indirect onomatopoeia is a combination of sounds the aim of which is to make the sound of the utterance an echo of its sense (either by repeating a certain sound or by repeating words which themselves are not onomatopoetic).