Lecture 9-10. Stylistic sYntax. Syntactic stylistic devices

1. Reduction of the sentence model.

2. Extension of the sentence model.

3. Change of word-order.

4. Transposition of sentence meaning.

1. Reduction of the sentence model. Ellipsis. An elliptical sentence is such a syntactic structure in which there is no subject, or predicate, or both. The main parts of elliptical sentences are omitted by the speaker intentionally in cases when they are semantically re­dundant. For example:

• Where did you go?

• To the disco.

Assigned features. Elliptical sentences can not be viewed as stylistic devices in direct intercourse because they are devoid of suprasegmental information. Ellipsis becomes expressive when used in literature as a means of imitating real speech. Ellipsis makes speech dynamic, informative and unofficial.

Communicative functions. Ellipsis saves the speaker from needless ef­fort, spares his time, and reduces redundancy of speech. Elliptical structures may also reveal such speakers' emotions as excitement, impatience, delight, etc. As a stylistic device, ellipsis is an effective means of protagonists' portrayal.

Examples:

• Hullo! Who are you?

• The staff.

• Where are the others?

• At the front.

Вгорі - темне непривітне небо, долі - холодна мокра земля, і більш нічого.

Скільки тобі вчитися в училищі? - Два роки.

A nominative sentence is a variant of one-member structures: it has neither subject nor predicate. It is called nominative or nominal because its basic (head) component is a noun or a noun-like element (gerund, numeral).

Classification. There are such structural types of nominative sentenc­es as:

1. Unextended nominative sentences consisting of a single element:

Examples: Morning. April. Problems.

2. Extended nominative sentences consisting of the basic component and one or more words modifying it:

Examples: Nice morning. Late April. Horribly great problems.

3. Multicomponent nominative sentences containing two or more basic elements:

Examples: Late April and horribly great problems.

Безмежний простір, безкінечні небеса, виспів птаства, дзюркіт струмочків, пречиста весняна зелень, перші квіти.

Communicative functions. A sequence of nominative sentences makes for dynamic description of events. Sets of nominative sentences are used to expressively depict the time of the action, the place of the action, the atten­dant circumstances of the action, the participants of the action.

Aposiopesis (break-in-the-narrative). Like ellipsis, aposiopesis is also realized through incompleteness of sentence structure, though this incompleteness is of different structural and semantic nature: it appears when the speaker is unwilling to proceed and breaks off his narration abruptly.

Examples:

If you go on like this...

Я ось йому покажу, де раки зимують. Буде він у мене...

Так ви самі їдете? А якже...

Голова правління їх утихомирює, а вони...

Assigned features. The information implied by aposiopesis is usually clear in communicative situation. Break-in-the-narrative expresses such modal meanings as threat, warning, doubt, indecision, excitement, and promise.

Asyndeton is deliberate omission of structurally significant conjunctions and connectives.

Examples: “No warmth - no cheerfulness, no healthful ease,

No comfortable feel in any member;

No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees,

No fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds,

November!” (Th.Hood).

We had heard planes coining, seen them pass overhead, watched them go far to the left, heard them bombing...

Механізм справді був простий, зручний, корисний.

Пан директор сміється, сміється сонце, сміюсь і я.

Communicative functions. Asyndeton makes speech dynamic and ex­pressive. Sometimes it implies the speaker's haste, nervousness and impatience.

Parceling is intentional splitting of sentences into smaller parts sep­arated by full stops.

Examples:

Oswald hates Rolf. Very much.

Sally found Dick. Yesterday. In the pub.

Then the pain began. Slow. Deliberate. Methodical. And professional.

І слухає мій сум природа. Люба. Щира. Крізь плач. Крізь сміх.

Крізь листя дерев і контури хат виднілися далекі обриси поля. Зеленого, соковитого.

Assigned features. Parceling is typical of spontaneous speech, where the function of dots is performed by pauses. In speech parceling may be non-stylistic, when it is just the result of the specific psychological process of forming and verbalizing human thoughts.

Communicative functions. When used in writing, parceling performs the following functions:

1. It reflects the atmosphere of unofficial communication and spontaneous character of speech.

2. It reflects the speaker's inner state of mind, his emotions, such as nervousness, irritation, excitement, confusion etc.

3. It may serve as a means of making information more concrete and more detailed.

2. Extension of the sentence model. Repetition.

Stylistic repetition of language units in speech (separate words, word-combinations or sentences) is one of the most frequent and potent stylistic devices.

Classification. There are such structural types of repetition as:

1. Consecutive contact repetition of sentence parts and separate sentences:

I am wearv. weary, wean of the whole thing!

Never take the rifle again. Put it back! put it back! Put it back!

Голова на солому хилиться, хилиться, хилиться.

2. Anaphora. The repeated word or word-combination is at the beginning of each consecutive syntactic structure:

Victory is what we need. Victory is what we expect.

Шастя не вміщалося у серці, щастя розривало груди!

Та й залишився в Києві. Та й закінчив школу. Та й зробився фельдшером.

3. Epiphora. The repeated unit is placed at the end of each consecutive syntactic structure:

It is natural to be scared in a case like that. You are sure to be petrified in a case like that.

Вона хотіла жити! Повинна була жити!

Якби це було просто шастя. то це було б просто шастя.

4. Framing. The initial part of a language unit is repeated at the end of this unit:

Poor Mary. How much Jack loved her! What will he do now? I wish it hadn't happened. Poor Mary.

Я так і знав, що ви забудете принести книгу. Я так і знав.

5. Linking or reduplication. The final component of a syntactic structure is repeated at the beginning of a sequential syntactic structure:

It was because of that dreadful occurrence. That dreadful occurrence had changed it all.

Повсюди він відчував на собі тяжкий холодний погляд. Погляд у спину.

Сонце пече! Так пече, ніби воно з квасочниками в долі.

6. Chiasmus (reversed parallel construction). In such syntactic structures there is a cross order of repeated language units:

The jail might have been the infirmary, the infirmary might have been the jail.

Люди існують в часі, а час існує в людях.

Не говори, що знаєш, а знай, що говориш.

Communicative functions. The device of repetition aims at emphasiz­ing a certain component of the utterance. Being repeated, a language unit obtains additional stylistic information. Consecutive contact repetition is ca­pable of rendering scores of modal meanings and human emotions. Such varieties of repetition as anaphora, epiphora, framing, linking are text-forming devices or compositional means.

Enumeration is a syntactic device of naming objects so that there appears a chain of homogeneous parts of the sentence:

There were cows, hens, goats, peacocks and sheep in the village.

Communicative functions. If a chain of enumerating words is long, it creates the effect of great quantity of objects. If the objects being enumerated are heterogeneous, enumeration raises the expressiveness of speech, makes it dynamic and informative.

Examples:

There was a great deal of confusion and laughter and noise, the noise of orders and counter-orders, of knives and forks, of corks and glass-stoppers.

The principal production of these towns appears to be soldiers, sailors, Jews, chalk, shrimps, officers and dock-yard men.

"Мерседеси", "опелі", "сітросни", "олдсмобілі", "фіати", "форди", і навіть "кадилаки" - справжній парад світової автомобільної продукції! Ходжу, дихаю, дивлюсь, слухаю, їм, чхаю, - взагалі все роблю, що роблять усі живі люди.

Tautology is the repetition of the same word, or use of several words conveying the same idea in the same immediate context.

Classification. Tautological repetition may be caused by the following reasons:

1. The speaker's excitement, fright, scare, grief and other deep emotions:

Darling, darling Bundle. Oh, darling Bundle. She's dead; I know she's dead. Oh, my darling. Bundle darling, darling Bundle. I do love you so. Bundle -darling - darling...

2. Slipshod organization of the utterance, low cultural level of the speaker:

No one could do the job more better.

The name of my informant... the name of my informant... the name of... the name. The name escapes me.

3. Peculiar physical condition of the speaker: alcoholic intoxication, drows­iness, unconsciousness, etc.:

"I did... what you said..." Dun gasped, closing his eyes and squeez­ing the words out in painful jerks.

"It was too late... Give me something. Doc... Give me something, quickly.... Got to hold out... get us down... She's on autopilot but... got to get down... Must tell Control... must tell..." His mouth moved silently. With a desperate effort he tried to speak. Then his eyes rolled up and he collapsed.

Мені болить голова... Я хочу трохи спочити... трохи спочити. От іменно... спочити б трохи...

Communicative functions. Generally speaking, involuntary repetition has little to do with stylistics. It becomes stylistically significant when used in writing as a characterization device.

Polysyndeton is stylistically motivated redundant repetition of conjunctions or prepo­sitions: The dog barked and pulled Jack, and growled, and raged.

Communicative functions. Polysyndeton is a means of rhythmical or­ganization of the utterance. Due to this quality it is widely used in poetry. It also makes for underlining the most important part of information.

Examples:

He no longer dreamed of storms, nor of women, nor of great occurrenc­es, nor of great fish, nor fights, nor contests of strength, nor of his wife.

Запальна штука - спорт. Вона захоплює і малого, і старого, і немічного.

Parallelism (parallel constructions) is a stylistic device of producing two or more syntactic structures according to the same syntactic pattern: Mary cooked dinner, John watched TV, Pete played tennis.

Assigned features. Parallel constructions is a means of enumerating facts, comparing them or confronting them. Parallel confrontation of facts may result in another stylistic device - antithesis: Married men have wives, and don't seem to want them. Single fellows have no wives, and do itch to obtain them.

Communicative functions. Syntactic parallelism is polyfunctional. It creates rhythm and is typical of poetry. It makes speech persuasive and is a feature of the publicistic and oratory styles. It underlines important informa­tion and is widely used in everyday speech.

Examples:

The cock is crowing,

The stream is flowing,

The small birds twitter,

The lake doth glitter.

Сядеш собі: вітер віє, сонце гріє, картоплиння навіває думки.

Гуде ярмарок... Бігають коні, кричать крамарі, регочуться дівчата, крутиться карусель...

3. Change of word-order. Inversion is the syntactic phenomenon of intentional changing word-order of the initial sentence model.

Classification. There are two basically different types of inversion: gram­matical and stylistic. Grammatical inversion is devoid of stylistic information. It is just a technical means of forming different types of questions. Stylistic inversion is such a change of word-order which gives logical stress or emo­tional colouring to the language units placed in an unusual syntactic position.

Stylistic inversion is typical of the predicate, predicative and all the sec­ondary parts of the sentence:

Examples:

In came Jack, (predicate)

Insolent Connor's conduct was. (predicative)

Little chances Benny had. (direct object)

To her family Martha gives all her time. (indirect object)

A horrible death Douglas died. (cognate object)

This is a letter congratulatory. (attribute)

In the Russian and Ukrainian languages the word order of a sentence is flexible, and inversion as an expressive means is supported with a specifying intonation:

- Очевидно, Федір ніде не працює.

- Працює він. Тільки вдома ложкою.

4. Transposition of sentence meaning. Detachment.

When placed in a certain syntactic position, a sentence component may seem formally independent of the word it refers to. Such components of sentence structure are called "detached":

There was a nice girl there, I liked her name, Linda.

Brian came into the room, very much flushed and rather unsteady in his gait. Classification. Any secondary part of the sentence may become detached:

Examples:

Smither should choose it for her at the stores — nice and dappled (attribute)

Talent, Mr. Micawber has, capital, Fr. Micawber has not. (direct objcect)

It was indeed, to Forsyte eyes, an odd house. (indirect object)

Communicative function. Detachment results in logical emphasis of the components of sentence structure.

Compare:

Вже почалось, мабуть, майбутнє. Оце, либонь, вже почалось… (parenthetic modal words)

Поміж: людьми, як кажуть, добре й нам. (parenthetic clause)

А у натовпі був і він, Пили. (apposition)

Сади, омиті музикою згадок, ковтають пил міжселищних доріг (attribute)

Rhetoric Questions and other cases of syntactic transposition.

Contextual environment of a language unit may change its initial mean­ing. A typical case of contextual transposition of meaning is rhetoric questions. In fact, rhetoric questions are not questions but affirmative or neg­ative statements put into the interrogative shape. A rhetoric question needs no answer, because the answer to it is quite obvious:

Why should I do it? means I shouldn 't do it.

What could I do in a case like that? means I could do nothing in a case like that. Compare:

Ax, кримська ніч! І хто тебе вигадав?! І навіщо ти така синя?! І навіщо ж ти така прозора?!

Життя цілого не досить, а що є в людині, окрім життя?

Communicative functions. A rhetoric question enhances the expressiveness of speech. Used in oratory style, rhetoric questions aim at catching the attention of the audience, making the sequential sentences sound persuasive and significant.

There are some more varieties of contextual transposition of meaning:

1. Exclamatory sentences with inversion:

Much he knew about it! = He did not know much about it.

Дуже ти багато розумієшся на мистецтві! Натюрморт від пейзажу відрізнити не можеш.

2. Negative sentences implying emphatic affirmation:

I'll hang myself if it isn 't Barney Woods who did it! = It is Barney Woods who did it.

3. Syntactic structures of the type "Me a liar?" (I am not a liar).

4. Syntactic structures with Subjunctive mood forms:

I wish I had not done it = I had done it.