F. Affixation and Its expressiveness

Unlike Russian the English language does not possess a great variety of word-forming resources. In Russian we have a very developed system of affixes, with eval­uative and expressive meanings: diminutive, derogatory, endearing, exaggerating, etc,

Consider such a variety of adjectives малый – маленький – махонький – малюсенький; большой – большеватый – большущий - преогромнейший; плохой – плоховатенький – плохонький. There are no morphological equivalents for these in English.

We can find some evaluative affixes as a remnant of the former morphological system or as a result of borrowing from other languages, such as: weakling, piglet, rivulel, girlie, lambkin, kitchenette.

Diminutive suffixes make up words denoting small dimensions, but also giving them a caressing, jocular or pejorative ring.

These suffixes enable the speaker to communicate his positive or negative evaluation of a person or thing.

The suffix -ian/-ean means 'like someone or something, especially connected with a particular thing, place or person, e. g. the pre-Tolstoyan novel. It also denotes someone skilled in or studying a particular subject: a historian.

The connotations this suffix may convey are positive and it is frequently used with proper names, especially famous in art, literature, music, etc. Such adjectives as Mozartean, Skakespearean, Wagnerian mean like Mozart, Shakespeare, Wagner or in that style.

However some of these adjectives may possess connotations connected with common associations with the work and life of famous people that may have either positive or negative colouring. For instance The Longman Dictionary of the English Language and Culture gives such definitions of the adjective Dickensian: suggesting Charles Dickens or his writing, e. g. a the old-fashioned, unpleasant dirtiness of Victorian England: Most deputies work two to an office in a space of Dickensian grimness, b the cheerfulness of Victorian amusements and customs: a real Dickensian Christmas.

The suffix -ish is not merely a neutral morpheme meaning a small degree of quality like blue—bluish, but it serves to create ‘delicate or tactful’ occasional evaluative adjectives— baldish, dullish, biggish. Anothermeaning is 'belonging or having characteristics of somebody

Most dictionaries also point out that -ish may show disapproval (self­ish, snobbish, raffish) and often has a derogatory meaning indicating the bad qualities of something or qualities which are not suitable to what it describes (e.g. mannish in relation to a woman).

Another suffix used similarly is -esque, indicating style or manner, or distinctive character: arabesque, Romanesque. When used with the names of famous people it means 'in the manner or style of this particular person'. Due to its French origin it is considered bookish and associated with exquisite elevated style. Such connotations are implied in adjectives like Dantesque, Turneresque, Kafkaesque.

Most frequently used suffixes of the negative evaluation are: -ard, -ster, -aster, eer or half-affix -monger: drunkard, scandal-monger, black-marketeer, mobster.

Considering the problem of expressive affixes differentiation should be made between negative affixes such as in-, un-, ir-, non-, etc. (unbending, irregular, non-profit) and evaluative derogatory affixes. Evaluative affixes with derogatory connotations demonstrate the speaker's attitude to the phenomenon while negative affixes normally represent objects and phenomena that are either devoid of some quality or do not exist at all (e. g. a non-profit organization has mostly positive connotations).

All these examples show that stylistic potentials of grammatical forms are great enough. Stylistic analysis of a work of art among other things should include the analysis of the grammatical level that enables a student to capture the subtle shades of mood or rhythmical arrangement or the dynamics of the composition.

Stylistic syntax

Syntactical categories have long been the object of stylistic research. There are different syntactical means and different classifications. The classifications discussed earlier in this book demonstrate different categorization of expressive means connected with syntax. However there are a few general principles on which most of the syntactical expressive means are built.

The major principles- at work on the sentence level are