Stylistics

Stylistics is the science which explores how readers interact with the language of
(mainly literary) texts in order to explain how we understand, and are affected by
texts when we read them.It is derived from the two Greek words “style and
linguistic”.

Stylus-laten word meaning a stick made for writing.

Stylistique-is a french material for writing.

Stylistics is the scientific study of style, which can be viewed in several ways.

More technically, stylistics is the study of the linguistic features of a literary text
_ phonological, lexical, syntactical _which directly affects the meaning of an
utterance.

The variety in stylistics is due to the main influences of linguistics & literary

Stylistics, then, is a sub-discipline which grew up in the second half of the

twentieth century: It’s beginnings in Anglo-American criticism are usually traced
back to the publication of the books listed below:

Therefore ,stylistics is concerned with the examination of grammar, lexis,

semantics, as well asphonological propertiesand discursivedevices.It might seem
that the same issues are investigated by sociolinguistics, and indeed that is the
case, however sociolinguistics analyses the above mentioned issues seen as
dependant on the social class, gender ,age ,etc , while stylistics is more interested
in the significance of function that the style fulfills
Stylistics examines oral and written texts in order to determine crucial
characteristic linguistic properties, structures and patterns influencing perception of
the texts. Thus, it can be said that this branch of linguistics is related to discourse
analysis, in particular critical discourse analysis , and pragmatics. Owing to the
fact that at the beginning of the development of this study the major part of the
stylistic investigation was concerned with the analysis of literary texts it is
sometimes called literary linguistics, or literary stylistics.
Nowadays, however, linguists study various kinds of texts, such as manuals,
recipes,

as well as novels and advertisements . It is vital to add here that none of the text
types is discriminated and thought to be more important than others .In addition to
that , in the recent year so called ' media-discourses' such as films, news reports,
song lyrics and political speeches have all been within the scope of interest of
stylistics.
The Development of StylisticsThe development ofStylistics, given that it
combines the use of linguistic analysis with the psychological processes involved
in reading.

In the twentieth centuryStylisticscan be seen as a logical extension of moves

within literary criticism to concentrate on studying texts rather than authors.
While in Nineteenth century literary criticism concentrated on the author, and the
text-based criticism of the two British critics Richards and William Empsonwho
rejected that approach and replaced it with the other approach called
Practical criticism.

In many respects , however , stylistics is close to literary criticism and practical
criticism . by far the most common kind of material studied is literary , and
attention is largely text–centered .

Types of Stylistics:

Stylistics is sometime called confusingly literary stylistics or linguistic

stylistics.

Linguistic stylistics

the purest form of stylistics in that its practitioners attempt to derive from the
study of style and language variation

The most recent studies in linguistic stylistics have tended to focus on

applications of studies in discourse analysisand narrative organizationto literary
text study.
Burton (1980,1982)employs models for spoken discourse analysis based on
Sinclair and Coulthard (1975)for the analysis of drama dialogue
Short (1981) use analysis based on Gricean and speech act theory. Carter and
Simpson (1982) use narrative models based on Labov (1972).

Fowler (1981; 1982) exploits Hallidayan models from within systematic

linguistics

Main Types of Stylistic:

Literary stylistics:
established methods of close reading or practical criticism of texts, the procedures
of literary stylistics remain traditional in character in spite of development in
literary theory (e.g. post -structuralism) which challenge assumptions about the
role of language in depicting literary realities .

Linguistic stylistics:
Linguistic stylistics- it deals with Morphology, Phonology, Syntax, and
Grammatics.

*Phonology- the system of sounds. The process of how word is pronounced.

*Phonetics- the study of unit of sounds. The sound of every character.

*Graphology- the study of handwriting.

*Morphology- study of the origin of words.

*Syntax- the arrangement of words.

*lexicology- meaning of independent word.

*Semantics- study of word combination.

*Pragmatics- the process on how words use in a communication.

Literary Stylistic

It concern with the emotions, style, and technique.The message that the
writter wants to convey.

Types and kinds of Stylistics

Types: As in modern linguistics 3 areas of language are distinguished, namely, language
system (langue), speech activity (performance) and speech material/speech (parole), the notion
of function has certain peculiarities applied to each of these areas. Understanding of style is
different, too, as applied to language, speech activity and speech. Accordingly, 3 types of stylistics
may be distinguished: stylistics of language, stylistics of activity, stylistics of speech.

Kinds: (but I'm not sure!!!)

- phonographical stylistics

-morphological stylistics

- lexical stylistics

- syntactical (stylistic syntax).

7. Basic notions of stylistics: language, speech activity, and speech;

syntagmatics and paradigmatics; marked and unmarked members of
stylistic opposition.
Language is the system of signs, the relations between them and the rules of their usage.

Speech activity is the process of converting the language system into speech in accordance with
fixed rules and patterns. Speech is the materialization of language in communication.

Paradigmatics is a set of relations between the language units of one class which are based on
association. Syntagmatics is a set of linear relations between the speech units of one level within a
unit of a higher language level.

8. Basic notions of stylistics: style, individual style; norm; variant,

context.
Style is a distinctive way of using language for some purpose and to some effect (P. Verdonk)
Individual style – a writer’s individual manner of using language means to achieve the effect he
desires. Can be recognized by peculiar combination of language means and SD.

Deliberate choice must be distinguished from habitual idiosyncrasy.

Idiolect – the speech of an individual, characterized by peculiarities typical of that particular

individual.

It is next to impossible to work out universal language norms because each functional style has its
own regulations: “I ain’t got no news” is considered normal in colloquial style.

Norm – set of language rules which are considered to be the most standard and correct in a certain
epoch and a certain society.

Types of norm: language norm

stylistic norm

ethic/ecological norm

9. Linguistic vs stylistic context, other types of context.

A linguistic context is the encirclement of a language unit by other language units in speech. Such
encirclement makes the meaning of the unit clear and unambiguous. It is especially important in
case with polysemantic words.

Types of linguistic context:

Microcontext is the context of a single utterance (sentence).

Macrocontext is the context of a paragraph in a text.

Megacontext is the context of a book chapter, a story or the whole book.

Stylistic context – unity of stylistic element and its surroundings.

Micropoetic – the context limited by a complete sentence.

Macropoetic – the context of paragraph or the whole text.

An extralingual (situational) context is formed by extralingual con-ditions in which communication

takes place. Besides making the meaning of words well-defined, a situational context allows the
speaker to economize on speech efforts and to avoid situationally redundant language signs. The
com-mands of a surgeon in an operating room, such as "scalpel", "pincers" or "tampon", are
understood by his assistants correctly and without any addi-tional explanations about what kind of
tampon is needed.

Extralingual context can be physical or abstract and can significantly affect the communication Such
surroundings form a physical context. A dialogue between colleagues can be affected by the nature
of their relationship. That is, one may be of higher status than the other. Such nature forms an
abstract context. Historical accounts are more easily understood when evoked in the context of their
own time. Such context is called temporal or chronological. There would be a psychologi-cally
advantageous context within which to tell one's spouse about that dent-ed bumper on the new car.
Such context may be called psychological.

The Writing PROCESS

1. Identify purpose, audience, topic

2. Generate ideas. What kind of argument can you make about this
topic or
with this evidence? What themes emerge from your readings or
observations?
3. Develop a thesis statement to organize your evidence and present
the
argument you plan to make.
4. Gather information and organize your ideas to address all the points
brought
up in your thesis statement.
5. Write your initial draft
6. Revise
6a. Revise
6b. Revise
6c. Revise
[Repeat steps 2-6 as necessary, in any order desired, until you attain a
satisfying result.]
7. Edit and proofread

Step 1: Identify purpose, audience, topic

Purpose: to explain, entertain, express, persuade, inform, describe,

analyze,
recommend, summarize, instruct, hypothesize, . . .

Audience: Consider age, gender, interests, values, education.

How much does your audience know about your topic? How interested
will
they be? What kind of vocabulary should you use? What terms must
you
define? How much background info must you give? Will your audience
be
sympathetic or adversarial to your argument?

Topic: Consider your own knowledge about, interest in, feelings for,
and
thoughts on a topic as you decide whether / how to write about it.
Consider paper length—Make sure your topic is sufficiently narrow to
allow you to develop a paper fully within the assigned page limit.

Generating ideas (Prewriting)

Freewriting: Focusing on an idea or piece of evidence,
Set a time limit and write whatever comes to mind without pausing at
all.
Don’t worry about grammar, spelling, organization, etc.
Harvest promising ideas from your freewriting and develop and/or
narrow
them with more freewriting, or other prewriting techniques.
Brainstorming:
Proceed as when freewriting, but using phrases rather than sentences.
Try it individually or with a group.
Clustering:
Create a visual arrangement of ideas and logical connections.
Use it to narrow topics, locate ideas that need development, and
identify
the logical and hierarchical relationships among ideas.
Keeping a journal Answering questions (ask who? what? when? where?
why? of
your topic)

Formulating your thesis statement

broad area of interest children’s games
topic rules and structure of the game
question to answer How are the Dani people’s values and
interpersonal relationship styles reflected in
the rules and structure of the stick game?

thesis statement Children’s distraction and fluid partnering

during
the stick game, as well as their acceptance of
other children’s interference, suggest that
Dani culture is minimally competitive and
values the independence of the individual.
Your thesis statement should
Narrow your topic to a single main idea;
Assert a position;
Express your opinion and attitude about the topic;
Stimulate curiosity in your readers;
Fit your purpose.

Organizing ideas—OUTLINING
The difference between a well organized paper and a holy mess
generally lies in the outline.
An outline does NOT have to be sophisticated; it only needs to show
levels of
ideas and the order in which you will write about them.
BEFORE writing: 1. List all the points you want to make.
2. Group them according to relationships.
3. Decide which ideas are major and minor / main topics and
subtopics.
4. Decide the order in which you want to cover the topics.
5. Indicate logical connections/transitions between them.
DURING writing: outline what you have written so far when you are
stuck, or to
make sure you are staying on topic.

Writing your first DRAFT—some helpful and unorthodox tips

Don’t begin at the beginning: start with the section/point that seems
easiest to you, work to the end, then write your intro.
Write quickly. Get your ideas down as quickly as possible, without
worrying too much about grammar, perfect word choice, spelling, etc.
Write strongly. Capture your initial passion and excitement about
the ideas, or else you’ll lose them. You can tone down your writing
later.
Save all drafts and notes. Save both hard and electronic copies,
betting on the worst (it happens). Save multiple versions of your drafts,
as you
may decide to revisit ideas you’ve already deleted.
When you take breaks—finish a section or try to exhaust your
current thoughts; if not, make notes about what you want to say next.
Write where you are free from distractions. You’ll get more done in
two intense hours of work than in six hours of interruptions by friends,
phone,
TV, email, etc. Don’t waste your time.
Set deadlines, plan breaks, break up your work hours. Setting
aside a whole day to write a paper usually results in getting little done
—the idea
of spending an entire day writing a paper is just too awful. Plan shorter
work
periods with rewards at the ends of them. (Start early.)
When all else, fails, take a shower—or do whatever makes your
brain juices flow. Run. Sing. Sniff a rotten apple.

Stages of REVISION
I. BIG STUFF: Thesis statement (clarity, location, effectiveness), logical
fallacies, assignment parameters
II. Overall organization
A. Unity
--Does each paragraph have a clear topic sentence?
--Does each sentence relate to that topic sentence?
--Does each topic sentence relate to the thesis statement?
B. Development
--Is each topic sentence sufficiently developed?
--Does the essay provide enough evidence and supporting detail for
the thesis statement? too much?
C. Coherence
--Does each paragraph lead logically into the next? Are there any
gaps in logic within or between paragraphs?
III. Introduction, conclusion, and title
IV. Style—sentence variety, word choice, conciseness, action,
parallelism, etc.
Is the essay lively, engaging, and original?
Stages of EDITING
I. Sentence faults (comma splices, fused sentences, fragments)
II. Pronoun use (vague PNs, PN shifts, PN agreement)
III. Punctuation (especially apostrophes and commas)
IV. Subject-verb agreement; other grammatical problems
PROOFREADING
Check for format (spacing, font, margins, page numbers, etc.), spelling,
typographical errors, homonym mistakes, etc.
Tips to help you catch your errors:
1. Read your paper aloud.
2. Use a ruler to help you focus on one line at a time.
3. Read the paper backwards, sentence by sentence.
**4. PUT YOUR PAPER AWAY FOR A WHILE before you
proofread
Stages of the Writing Process:

Prewriting:
Prewriting is everything you do before you begin to draft the paper. Look
over an
assignment handout, choose and narrow your topic, and assess your
audience and
purpose. Research is also an important aspect of prewriting.
You can use certain prewriting strategies to help you to choose and develop
a topic:
 Make lists of ideas on a topic
 Read and take notes on a topic
 Make a cluster, which is a visual map of ideas and concepts related to
your topic
 Ask questions about a topic
 Discuss ideas about a topic with others and take notes
 Make an outline of your paper
You may also need to consider your audience before you begin to write. To
make sure
that your writing will fit the audience you are addressing, you need to
consider who they
are. To do that you might want to assess your audience by considering the
following:
 How much does my audience know about my topic?
 How do they feel about my topic: enthusiastic, neutral or hostile?
 What are their personal characteristics that might affect their views on
my paper:
age, gender, culture, socioeconomic background, values, politics, etc.?
Your audience, typically, will be the professor who assigned the paper, but
occasionally
classmates may read it. Once you have thought about your topic, developed
your ideas on
the topic, and taken into account your purpose and audience, you are ready
to draft the
paper.
Drafting:
Drafting is the stage when you begin to put the paper in paragraph form.
When you begin
to draft your writing, you need to keep in mind five separate writing
techniques that will
help your reader to understand your paper:
1. Thesis statement: At the end of your introduction, write a one-sentence
statement
that is the basis for your entire paper. A good thesis statement lets the
reader
know what your paper will cover. For example, you might write this thesis
statement: “There are four possible causes for alcoholism, yet not all
alcoholics
drink for these reasons.” The paragraphs that follow should support this
statement, and each paragraph should focus on one of the possible causes.
2. Topic sentences: Each paragraph should begin with a topic sentence
that states
the main idea of that paragraph. Just like the thesis statement, the topic
sentence
lets you know what the paragraph contains. For the first paragraph on the
causes
of alcoholism, you might write a topic sentence that states, ‘The most
compelling
cause of alcoholism is genetics.’ From this, the reader will know that you will
cover the concept of heredity and alcoholism within this paragraph.
3. Sufficient support: While your opinions thoughts are important, they
cannot be
the legs your paper stands on. You need to support you topic ideas by
developing
the paragraphs with evidence from credible sources. Support comes in many
different forms: statistics, researched information, observations,
descriptions, case
studies, interviews, personal experience, hypothetical situations, definitions,
etc.
The more specific the information, the more interesting the paragraph. So
instead
of writing about all alcoholics, you might want to write about one particular
alcoholic—someone you know, someone you observed, someone you
interviewed, someone you researched.
4. Coherence: This means it all comes together. If an essay is coherent, all
the
paragraphs relate to the one before it and all the sentences relate to the one
before
it. Transitional words and phrases help to create bridges between
sentences,
words such as: however, for example, in other words, in contrast,
nevertheless,
etc. You set up the key words to an essay and a paragraph within the thesis
statement and the topic sentences.
5. Unity: The idea here is not to veer off into the woods. Stay on the path.
Make
sure all sentences relate to the topic sentence and all paragraphs relate to
the
thesis.
As you draft your paragraphs, you want to try to include all these effective
writing
techniques.
SEE METHOD:
S- STATEMENT
E- EXTENSION
E- ELABORATE

Allows the reader to shed light on a subject by providing a more

complete analysis
Revising:
1. Check to see if the essay fits the thesis.
2. Make sure each paragraph has a topic sentence.
3. Make sure there are smooth transitions between paragraphs.
4. Check for digressions.
5. Do you have sufficient support in all paragraphs?
6. Is your paper logical in order?
7. Do you have an introduction and a conclusion?
Editing and Proofreading:
Here is where you check on your spelling and grammar and mechanics. Spell
check is
your friend! In a research paper, you would also check to see if your
documentation is
done properly. Most students skip this step, but most teachers take off points
for papers
that are not proofread. It might be in your best interest to take a look, and
sometimes four
eyes are better than two. Have a friend look over it, or take it to the writing
center for
extra help.

Publishing
-Finish prouduct
-polish or refine
-to print out

Summary:
STAGES OF WRITTING
1. PREEWRITING
*TOPIC GENERATING TECHNIQUES
-Freewriting
-Brainstorming
-Clustering or Mapping
-Journal Writing

2.WRITING A DRAFT

3. REVISING

4. PROOF READING

5. PUBLISHING