Expressive Resources of the Language: Expressive means and stylistic devices.

Expressive means of a language are those linguistic forms and properties that have the potential to make the utterance emphatic or expressive. These can be found on all levels— phonetic, graphical, morphological, lexical or syntactical.

All stylistic devices belong to expressive means but not all expressive means are stylistic devices: 1) phonetic phenomena such as vocal pitch, pauses, logical stress, and drawling, or staccato pronunciation are all expressive without being stylistic devices; 2) m orphological forms like diminutive suffixes may have an expres­sive effect: girlie, piggy, doggy, etc.3) lexical expressive means may be illustrated by a special group of intensifiers— awfully, terribly, absolutely, etc. or words that retain their logical meaning while being used emphatically: It was a very special evening/event/gift; 4) there are also special grammatical forms and syntactical patterns attributing expressiveness, such as: I do know you! I’m really angry with that dog of yours! That you should deceive me! If only I could help you!

A stylistic device is a literary model in which semantic and structural features are blended so that it represents a generalized pattern.

Prof. I. R. Galperin calls a stylistic device a generative model when through frequent use a language fact is transformed into a stylistic device. Thus we may say that some expressive means have evolved into stylistic devices which represent a more abstract form or set of forms.

It is like an algorithm employed for an expressive purpose. For example, the interplay, in­teraction, or clash of the dictionary and contextual meanings of words will bring about such stylistic devices as metaphor, metonymy or irony.

The nature of the interaction may be affinity (likeness by nature), proximity (nearness in place, time, order, occurrence, relation) or contrast (opposition). Respectively, metaphor is based on the principle of affinity, metonymy isbased on proximity and irony is based on opposition:

1. My new dress is as pink as this flower: comparison (ground for comparison—the colour of the flower).

2. Her cheeks were as red as a tulip: simile (ground for simile— colour/beauty/health/freshness)

3. She is a real flower: metaphor (ground for metaphor—frail/ fragrant/tender/beautiful/helpless...).

My love is a red, red rose: metaphor (ground for metaphor - passionate/beautiful/strong...).

4. Ruby lips, hair of gold, snow-white skin: trite metaphors so frequently employed that they hardly have any stylistic power left because metaphor dies of overuse. Such metaphors are also called hackneyed or even dead.

A famous literary example of an author’s defiance against immoderate use of trite metaphors is W. Shakespeare’s Sonnet 130

My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun;

‘Coral is far more red than her lips’ red;

If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun

If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.

I have seen roses ‘damasked, red and white,

But no such roses see I in her cheeks;

And in some perfumes is there more delight

Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks (дурной запах, вонь).

I love to hear her speak, yet well I know

That music hath a far more pleasing sound;

I grant I never saw a goddess go;

My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground!

And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare

As any she belied with false compare.

The more unexpected, the less predictable is the ground for comparison the more expressive is the metaphor.

Rhetoric is the initial source of information about metaphor, metonymy, epithet, antithesis, chi­asmus, anaphora and many more. The classical rhetoric gave us still widely used terms of tropes and figures of speech.

The first linguistic theory called ‘sophistry’ appeared in the fifth century B C. Oration played a paramount role in the social and political life of Greece so the art of rhetoric developed into a school: the Greek philosopher Gorgius (483-375 B. C.). Togeth­er with another scholar named Trasimachus they created the first school of rhetoric whose principles were later developed by Aristotle (384-322 B. C.) in his books “Rhetoric” and “Poetics”.

Aristotle differentiated literary language and colloquial language. This first theory of style included 3 subdivisions:

• the choice of words;

• word combinations;

• figures.

1. The choice of words included lexical expressive means such as foreign words, archaisms, neologisms, poetic words, nonce words and metaphor.

2. Word combinations involved 3 things:

a) order of words;

b) word-combinations;

c) rhythm and period (in rhetoric, a complete sentence),

3. Figures of speech.:

a) antithesis;

b) assonance of ‘colons;

c) equality of colons.

* A colon in rhetoric means one of the sections of a rhythmical period in Greek chorus consisting of a sequence of 2 to 6 feet.

Later contributions by other authors were made into the art of speaking and writing well developed antique system, and is called the Hellenistic Roman rhetoric system. It divided all expressive means into 3 large groups: Tropes, Rhythm (Figures of Speech) and Types of Speech.

Tropes:

1. Metaphor -the application of a word (phrase) to an object (concept) it doesn’t literally denote to suggest comparison with another object or concept: A mighty Fortress is our God.

1. Puzzle (Riddle) -a statement that requires thinking over a con­fusing or difficult problem that needs to be solved.

3. Synecdoche -the mention of a part for the whole: A fleet of 50sails (ships)

4. Metonymy -substitution of one word for another on the basis of real connection: Crown for sovereign; Homer for Homer’s poems, wealth for rich people.

5. Catachresis -misuse of a word due to the false folk etymology or wrong application of a term in a sense that does not belong to the word: Alibi for excuse; mental for weak-minded; mutual for common; disinterested for uninterested.

A later term for it is ‘ malapropism’ that became current due to Mrs. Malaprop, a character from R. Sheridan’s The Rivals (1775). This sort of misuse is mostly based on similarity in sound.: That young violinist is certainly a child progeny (потомок, потомство) (instead of prodigy (чудо)).

6. Epithet - a word or phrase used to describe someone or some­thing with a purpose to praise or blame: It was a lovely, summery evening.

7. Periphrasis -putting things in a round about wiry in order to bring out some important feature or explain more clearly the idea or situation described: I got an Arab boy … and paid him twenty rupees a month, about thirty bob (шиллинг), at which he was highly delighted. (Shute)

8. Hyperbole - use of exaggerated terms for emphasis: A 1000 apologies; to wait an eternity; he is stronger than a lion.

9. Antonomasia -use of a proper name to express a general idea or conversely a common name for a proper one: The Iron Lady; a Solomon; Don Juan.