Graphical and phonetic expressive means

(1) Graphical expressive means serve to convey in the written form those emotions which in the oral type of speech are expressed by intonation and stress. We refer here to emphatic use of punctuation and deliberate change of the spelling of a word.

All types of punctuation can be used to reflect the emphatic intonation of the speaker. Emphatic punctuation is used in many syntactical SD—aposiopesis, rhetorical question, suspense, and may be not connected with any other SD (And there, drinking at the bar was—Finney! (R.Ch.) )

The changed type (italics, bold type, etc.) or spelling (multiplication—'laaarge', 'rrruin'; hyphenation—'des-pise', 'g-irl', etc.) are used to indicate the additional stress on the emphasized word or part of the word.

There is no correlation between the type of graphical means and the type of intonation they reflect, for their choice is too inadequate for the variety and quality of emotions inherent in intonation

(2) Phonetic expressive means — alliteration, onomatopoeia and others—deal with the sound instrumenting of the utterance and are mainly found in poetry.

Graphical fixation of phonetic peculiarities of pronunciation with the ensuing violation of the accepted spelling — graphon—is characteristic of prose only and is used to indicate blurred, incoherent or careless pronunciation, caused by temporary (tender age, intoxication, ignorance of the discussed theme, etc.) or by permanent factors (social, territorial, educational status, etc.).

Permanent graphon is vastly used by some modern writers in England (A. Sillitoe, S. Chaplin, D. Storey, and others) and by Afro-American and military-novel writers in America (R. Wright, J. Baldwin, J. Jones, J. Hersey, and others).

Exercises

EX. 1. Indicate what graphical expressive means are used in the following extracts:

1. "...I ref-use his money altogezzer." (D.)

2. ...on pain of being called a g-irl, I spent most of the remaining twilights that summer with Miss Maudie Atkinson on her front porch. (H.L.)

3. "...Adieu you, old man, grey. I pity you, and I despise you." (D.)

4. He misses our father very much. He was s-l-a-i-n in North Africa. (S.)

5. We'll teach the children to look at things...I shall make it into a sort of game for them. Teach them to take notice. Don't let the world pass you by, I shall tell them... For the sun, I shall say, open your eyes for that laaaarge sun... (A. W.)

6. "...I r-r-r-ruin my character by remaining with a Ladyship so infame!" (D.)

7. You have no conception no conception of what we are fighting over here. (H. L.)

8. "Oh, what's the difference, Mother?" "Muriel, I want to know." (S.)

9. "And it's my bounden duty as a producer to resist every attack on the integrity of American industry to the last ditch. Yes — SIR!" (S. L.)

10. "Now listen, Ed, stop that, now! I am desperate. I am desperate, Ed, do you hear? Can't you see?" (Dr.)

11.When Will's ma was down here keeping house for him — she used to run in to see me, real often! (S. L.)

EX. 2. Indicate the causes and effects of the following cases of alliteration:

1. Both were flushed, fluttered and rumpled, by the late scuffle. (D.)

2. The moan of doves in immemorial elms,

And murmuring of innumerable bees... (T.)

3. His wife was shrill, languid, handsome and horrible. (Sc.F.)

4. ...he swallowed the hint with a gulp and a gasp and a grin. (R.K.)

5. You lean, long, lanky lath of a lousy bastard... (O'C.)

6. "Luscious, languid and lustful, isn't she?" "Those are not the correct epithets. She is—or rather was—surly, lustrous and sadistic." (E.W.)

EX. 3. State the part of speech, through which onomatopoeia is expressed, and its function:

1. Then with an enormous, shattering rumble, sludgepuff...puff, the train came into the station. (A.S.)

2. I hope it comes and zzzzzzz everything before it. (Th.W.)

3. I had only this one year of working without shhh! (D.C.)

4. Cecil was immediately shushed. (H.L.)

5. Streaked by a quarter moon, the Mediterranian shushed gently into the beach. (I. Sh.)

6. The Italian trio...tut-tutted their tongues at me. (T.C.)

EX. 4. Substitute the given graphons by their normative graphical interpretation:

1. "You remember him at all?"

"Just, sort of. Little ole private? Terribly unattractive" (S.)

2. "You're one that ruint it." (J.)

3. "You ast me a question. I answered it for you." (J.)

4. "You'll probly be sick as a dog tomorra, Tills." (J.)

5. Marrow said: "Chawming climate out heah in the tropics, old chap." (J.H.)

6. What this place needs is a woman's touch, as they say in the pitchers. (I. Sh.)

7. "You ain't invited," Doll drawled. "Whada you mean I ain't invited?" (J.)

8. "I've never seen you around much with the rest of the girls. Too bad! Otherwise we mighta met. I've met all the rest of 'em so far." (Dr.)

9. You're French Canadian aintcha? I bet all the girls go for you, I bet you're gonna be a great success. (J.K.)

10. "You look awful—whatsamatter with your face?"(J.K.)

11. "Veronica," he thought. "Why isn't she here? Godamnit, why isn't she here?" (I. Sh.)

12. "Wuddaya think she's doing out there?" (S.)

13."...for a helluva intelligent guy you're about as tactless as it's humanly possible to be." (S.)

14. "Ah you guys whattaya doin?" (J.K.)

15. How many cupsacoffee you have in Choy’s this morning? (J.)