3. Зображально-виражальні засоби та стилістичні прийоми сучасної англійської мови

The study of the texts in terms of their syntactical organisation is regarded as one of the crucial issues in stylistic analysis, though the peculiarities of syntactical arrangement are not so conspicuous as the lexical and phraseological ones.

Stylistic syntax deals with specific patterns of syntactic usage, i.e. syntactical expressive means (EM) and stylistic devices (SD). In stylistic syntax, EM are recognised by less rule-bound modelling of sentences. All the deviations from the stylistically unmarked sentence pattern (S - P - O - D) are treated as its transforms that may acquire stylistic connotations, in which cases they are regarded as EM. The transformation of the pattern in question info negative and interrogative sentences rarely leads to any stylistic changes. Other transformations might create stylistically marked sentence patterns.

According to the type of transformation of the neutral syntactical pattern, all EM in English fall info three groups:

1. EM based on the reduction of the syntactical pattern that results from the deliberate omission of some obligatory element(s) of the sentence structure. This group includes ellipsis, aposiopesis, nominative sentences, and asyndeton.

2. EM based on the redundancy of the syntactical pattern that results from the addition of some sentence elements or their deliberate repetition. To this group we refer repetition, enumeration, syntactic tautology, polysyndeton, emphatic constructions, parenthetical clauses or sentences.

3. EM based on the violation of the grammatically fixed word order within a sentence or a deliberate isolation of some parts of the sentence. Here belong stylistic inversion, syntactical split, and detachment.

The stylistic effect in syntax may be created not only due to the intrasentential relations (those between the elements of a sentence), but also due to the intersentential (i.e. the relations between several sentences) relations within paragraphs and other supraphrasal unities.

The stylistic effect in supersyntax may be achieved by the use of SD, i.e. stylistically marked means and patterns of combination of sentences within a larger context. SD may also be created due to the transposition of the syntactical meaning of a sentence in context. In this case a sentence acquires an additional meaning which is not typical of the corresponding syntactical structure.

Thus, taking into account the character of the relations between syntactical structures, possible transpositions of meanings in a context, and the means and types of connection within a sentence, we distinguish the following groups of syntactical SD:

• SD based on the peculiar formal and semantic interaction of syntactical constructions within a sentential or suprasentential context: parallelism, chiasmus, anaphora, epiphora.

• SD based on the transposition of the syntactical meaning in context: rhetorical questions.

• SD based on the transformation of the types and means of connection within or between sentences: parcellation, subordination instead of coordination, and coordination instead of subordination.

EXPRESSIVE MEANS OF ENGLISH SYNTAX

1. EM BASED ON THE REDUCTION OF SENTENCE STRUCTURE.

Ellipsis is the omission from a syntactical construction of one or more words which might be clearly understood from context. Elliptical sentences are regularly employed in conversational English. Being used in fiction, they result in achieving some stylistic effect by:

• giving speech characteristics, e.g. Not him, sir. Too pleased with himself. Some gentlemen can't act... Too stiff (A. Christie);

• emphasising some fact(s), e.g. The robbery Long Ago. Very valuable emeralds... The lady's made and the tweeny (A. Christie);

• imitating spontaneity, e.g. "Quick - in here." Poirot led the way into the nearest room..."And you - behind the curtain" (A. Christie).

Aposiopesis is a break in speech, while the thought is not completed, which is caused by the speaker's inability or unwillingness to finish the utterance, e.g. "Are you - are you and Paul..? " she stopped, squeezing my arm (D.Hammett); "It cant be - you don't mean.."(A. Christie).

Nominative sentences are one-member sentences with a noun, a prepositional noun-phrase, or an adverb. These verbless sentences are grammatically independent. In contrast with elliptical sentences, they have only one principal part, with or without words modifying it.

Asyndeton is a deliberate avoidance of conjunctions used to connect sentences, clauses, or words. As far as its stylistic role is concerned, asyndeton creates a certain rhythmical arrangement, usually making the narrative measured, energetic, and tense.

EM BASED ON THE REDUNDANCY OF SENTENCE STRUCTURE

Repetition is a reiteration of the same word or phrase to lay an emphatic stress on certain parts of the sentence.

Various types of repetition can be found in fiction:

• ordinary repetition, i.e. a repetition of a word in close succession, e.g. She talked, in fact, and talked, and talked (A.Berkley);

• framing or ring repetition, i.e. a repetition in which the opening word or phrase is repeated at the end of the sentence or a group of sentences, e.g. / cooled off where Frank was concerned; he didn't notice, but I cooled off (V. Pritchett);

• anadiplosis or catch repetition, i.e. a repetition of the last word in a sentence or clause at the beginning of the next one, e.g. Yes, but I was afraid, afraid I'd go to one who'd tell Paul. I didn't know who to go to, who I could trust (D.Hammett);

• chain repetition, i.e. a combination of catch repetitions, e.g. A smile would come into Mr. Pickwick's face. The smile extended into laugh; the laugh into roar, the roar became genera! (Ch. Dickens).

Enumeration is a repetition of homogeneous parts of the sentence, aimed at emphasising the whole utterance, e.g. / found battlers, secondmen, chauffeurs, cooks, maids, upstairs girls, downstairs girls, and a raft of miscellaneous flunkies - he had enough servants to run a hotel (D.Hammett).

Syntactical tautology is a superfluous repetition of semantically identical words or phrases to Say stress on a. certain part of the sentence e.g. She's always one for a change, Gladdie is... (A.Christie).

Polysyndeton is a repetition of conjunctions in close succession which are used to connect sentences, clauses, or words and make the utterance more rhythmical, e.g. She had herself a rich ruby look, for what with eating and drinking, and shouting and laughing and singing her face was crimson and almost steaming.

Emphatic constructions may intensify or contrast any part of the sentence, giving it an emotive charge.

Parenthetical clauses are sentences or phrases inserted into a syntactical structure without being grammatically connected with it. The functions of parenthesis are those of exemplification, deliberation, or reference. Parenthetical clauses may produce various stylistic effects:

• creating two layers of the narrative

• emphasising this or that fact

• exemplifying certain points.

EM BASED ON THE VIOLATION OF THE WORD-ORDER

Inversion is the violation of the fixed word order within an English sentence.

Inversion may be of two types:

• complete, i.e. comprising the principal parts of the sentence, e.g. From behind me came Andrews voice (S. Chaplin);

• partial, i.e. influencing the secondary parts of the sentence, e.g. Straight into the arms of the police they will go (A.Christie).

Separation or syntactical split is the splitting of a noun phrase by the attribute adjunct which is removed from the word it modifies. Stylistically, syntactical split is used to emphasise the phrase which was separated, e.g. He had never seen the truth before, about anything (R. Warren).

Detachment is a separation of a secondary part of the sentence with the aim of emphasising it, e.g. Formidable and ponderous, counsel for the defence arose (A.Christie).

SYNTACTIC STYLISTIC DEVICES

SD BASED ON FORMAL AND SEMANTIC INTERACTION OF SYNTACTICAL CONSTRUCTIONS

Parallelism is a repetition in close succession of the constructions formed by a similar syntactical pattern. Like inversion, parallelism may be complete and partial. Complete parallelism is observed when the syntactical pattern of the sentence that follows is completely similar to the proceeding one, e.g. He door-bell didn't ring. His telephonebell didn't ring (D. Hammett). Parallelism is considered to be partial when either the beginning or the end of several neighbouring sentences are structurally similar, e.g. / want to see the Gorgensens together at home, I want to see Macawlay, and I want to see Studsy Burke (D.Hammett)

Chiasmus (reversed parallelism) is a kind of parallelism where the word order of the sentence or clause that follows becomes inverted, e.g. He sat and watched me, I sat and watched him (D.Hammett).

The main stylistic function of chiasmus is to emphasise this or that part of the utterance , to break the rhythm and monotony of parallelism, e.g. Guild waited for me to say something, I waited for him (D. Hammett).

Anaphora is a repetition of words or phrases at the beginning of successive clauses or sentences

Epiphora is the repetition of the final words or word-groups in succeeding sentences or clauses.

SD BASED ON THE TRANSPOSITION OF SYNTACTICAL MEANING

Rhetorical questions are negative or affirmative statements rather than questions, possible answers being implied by the question itself, e.g. Is the day of the supernatural over? (A.Christie).

SD BASED ON THE TRANSFORMATION OF TYPES AND MEANS OF SYNTACTIC CONNECTION

Parcellation is a deliberate break of the sentence structure into two or more isolated parts, separated by a pause and a period. Parcellation is typical of colloquial speech. The main stylistic functions of parcellation are as follows:

• specification of some concepts or facts, e.g. His wife had told him only the night before that he was getting a habit of it. Curious things, habits (A. Christie);

• characterisation of the personages' emotional state, e.g. It angered him finally. With a curious sort of anger. Detached, somehow, separate from himself (C.B.Gilford);

• description of the events or giving the personages' portrayal, e.g. I'd say he was thirty-five or -six. Sallow, dark hair and eyes, with the eyes set pretty close together, big mouth, long limp nose, bat-wing ears - shifty-looking (D. Hammett); A touring car, large, black, powerfully engined and with lowered curtains, came from the rear... Possibly a scout (D. Hammett).

The usage of coordination instead of subordination helps the author to show different planes of narration, in this case the connection itself is more important stylistically than the contents of the sentence, e.g. He was more enthusiastic about America than ever, and he was not so simple, and he was not so nice (E. Hemingway).