Стилистика английского языка

 
 
МИНИСТЕРСТВО НАУКИ И ВЫСШЕГО ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ 
РОССИЙСКОЙ ФЕДЕРАЦИИ 
РОСТОВСКИЙ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННЫЙ ЭКОНОМИЧЕСКИЙ 
УНИВЕРСИТЕТ (РИНХ) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Е.С. Николаева, Е.А. Чередникова  
 
 
СТИЛИСТИКА АНГЛИЙСКОГО ЯЗЫКА  
для бакалавров направления 45.03.02. "Лингвистика",  
профиль 45.03.02.02 "Перевод и переводоведение" 
 
 
 
Учебное пособие 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Ростов-на-Дону 
2019 

 
 
УДК 811.111(075) 
ББК 81.2 
Н 63 
 
 
Николаева, Е.С. 
Н63  Стилистика английского языка для бакалавров : учеб. пособие [Электронный ресурс] / Е.С. Николаева, Е.А. Чередникова – Ростов н/Д : Издательско-полиграфический комплекс РГЭУ (РИНХ), 2019. – Электрон. сетевое изд. – 72 стр. – Режим доступа : http://library.rsue.ru 
ISBN 978-5-7972-2665-9 
 
 
Учебное пособие знакомит обучающихся с базовыми теоретическими положениями, относящимися к проблематике экспрессивной и функциональной 
стилистики. В лекционном разделе описаны различные функциональные стили 
и основные экспрессивные средства; практический материал предназначен для 
семинарских и самостоятельных занятий по изучаемым темам. Настоящее 
учебное пособие предназначено для реализации профессиональных компетенций, для овладения системой лингвистических знаний, включающей в себя знание основных фонетических, лексических, грамматических, словообразовательных явлений и закономерностей функционирования изучаемого иностранного языка, его функциональных разновидностей. 
Учебное пособие предназначено для работы обучающихся очной и заочной 
формы обучения направления "Лингвистика" профиля "Перевод и переводоведение". 
УДК 811.111(075) 
ББК 81.2 
 
Рецензенты: 
Бондаревская А.И., к.п.н.; Барабанова И.Г., к.ф.н. 
 
Утверждено в качестве учебного пособия  
редакционно-издательским советом РГЭУ (РИНХ). 
 
 
 
 
ISBN 978-5-7972-2665-9 
 РГЭУ (РИНХ), 2019 
 Николаева Е.С., Чередникова Е.А., 2019 

Оглавление 
 
Lecture 1. Linguistic basis of stylistics ......................................................................... 4 
Lecture 2. Expressive means (EM) and stylistic devices (SD) ................................... 11 
Lecture 3. Phonetic Expressive Means and Stylistic Devices .................................... 16 
Lecture 4. Lexical expressive means and stylistic devices. Part 1 .............................. 23 
Lecture 5. Lexical expressive means and stylistic devices. Part 2 .............................. 35 
Lecture 6. Syntactical Expressive Means and Stylistic Devices ................................. 40 
Lecture 7. Stylistic classification of the English vocabulary ...................................... 48 
Lecture 8. Functional stylistics .................................................................................... 55 
Lecture 9. Functional styles ......................................................................................... 58 
СПИСОК ЛИТЕРАТУРЫ ......................................................................................... 71 
 
  
 
 

Lecture 1. Linguistic basis of stylistics  
1. The subject of Stylistics. Stylistics of the language. Stylistics of speech 
2. Levels of Stylistics. Stylistics and other linguistic disciplines  
3. Approaches to the analysis of text 
4. Basic notions of stylistics 
 
1. The subject of Stylistics 
Stylistics is a branch of linguistics which examines, analyses and classifies various phenomena of the vocabulary, grammar and phonetics from the point of view of 
their stylistic function. In other words it studies principles and effects of a choice and 
use of phonetic, lexical, grammatical language means for transmission of thought, attitudes and emotions in various situations of communication. Apart from that, some 
linguists apply the term ‘stylistics’ to the study of various stylistic peculiarities of the 
language of works of fiction.  
The distinction between a lofty style and a low style of speech was put forward 
as far back as in the 18" century by Michail Lomonosov. However, stylistics as a 
special branch of linguistics was singled out only towards the middle of the 20" century. Academician V.V. Vinogradov was among the first linguists to describe the different styles of speech in respect to their functions (= aims). He distinguished, in particular; 1) the colloquial style, which has the function of communicating 2) the official and scientific styles, which have the function of informing 3) the publicist and 
belle-lettres styles, which have the function of producing an emotional impact on the 
listeners.  
It’s conventional to distinguish between:  
1) Stylistics of the language or linguistic stylistics 
2) Stylistics of speech or literary stylistics 
One of the fundamental concepts of linguistics is the dichotomy of "language 
and speech"(langue – parole) introduced by F. de Saussure. According to it language 
is a system of elementary and complex signs: phonemes, morphemes, words, word 
combinations, utterances and combinations of utterances. Language as such a system 
exists in human minds only and linguistic forms or units can be systematised into 
paradigms. So language is a mentally organised system of linguistic units. An individual speaker never uses it. When we use these units we mix them in acts of speech. 
As distinct from language speech is not a purely mental phenomenon, not a system 
but a process of combining these linguistic elements into linear linguistic units that 
are called syntagmatic. 
The result of this process is the linear or syntagmatic combination of vowels 
and consonants into words, words into word-combinations and sentences and combi

nation of sentences into texts. The word "syntagmatic" is a purely linguistic term 
meaning a coherent sequence of words (written, uttered or just remembered). 
Stylistics is a branch of linguistics that deals with texts, not with the system of 
signs or process of speech production as such. But within these texts elements stylistically relevant are studied both syntagmatically and paradigmatically (loosely classifying all stylistic means paradigmatically into tropes and syntagmatically into figures 
of speech). 
Eventually this brings us to the notions of stylistics of language and stylistics 
of speech. Their difference lies in the material studied. The stylistics of language 
analyses permanent or inherent stylistic properties of language elements while the 
stylistics of speech studies stylistic properties, which appear in a context, and they are 
called adherent. 
Stylistics of the language or linguistic stylistics occupies itself with various 
questions of style peculiar to the national language, 1) i.e. it studies expressive, emotional, evaluative potential of various language units on the one hand, 2) on the other 
hand, deals with peculiarities of vocabulary, grammar, syntax of such subsystems of 
the language, which are known as functional styles. 
Stylistics of speech or literary stylistics studies the style of various writers or 
literary movements, or certain stylistic phenomena taken in their chronological developments, it deals with study of real text with the aim of discovering how content is 
expressed not only according to the norm but also due to deviation (отклонение) of 
the norm. 
In the literary language the norm is the invariant of the phonemic, morphological, lexical and syntactical patterns in circulation during a given period in the development of the given language. 
2. Levels of Stylistics. Stylistics and other linguistic disciplines 
Language presents a structure which implies the idea of hierarchy of levels. 
Such well-known disciplines of linguistics as phonetics, morphology, lexicology and syntax can be called level disciplines, i.e. disciplines treating one linguistic 
level each. However, stylistics is not a level discipline, it belongs to all the levels. 
Stylistics must be subdivided into separate, quite independent branches, treating one 
level each. 
We distinguish the following levels of stylistics: phonostylistics; lexical stylistics; grammatical stylistics; stylistic syntax. The basis of such differentiation is the 
hierarchical division of the language. 
We shall now look for the difference between general phonetics, morphology, 
lexicology and syntax on the one hand and their stylistic counterparts. 
General phonetics investigates the whole articulatory system of language. 

Phonostylistics studies how separate sounds and sound combinations, rhythm, intonation patterns can be expressive and convey the author’s idea. The sound shape of the 
utterance becomes meaningful. 
General morphology treats morphemes and grammatical meanings expressed 
by them in language in general, without regard to their stylistic value. 
Stylistic morphology occupies itself with the expressive values of grammatical 
categories, syntactical structures, various types of sentences, paragraphs. 
Lexicology studies words and expressions from the point of view of their 
origin, word-building and semantics.  
Lexical stylistics studies stylistic functions of the vocabulary, analyses interrelation of primary and transferred meanings of words in context. 
3. Approaches to the analysis of text 
The text is a complex linguistic unit. It can be perceived as a chain of linguistic 
signs with a beginning and end, and a meaningful development between them. In order that we can talk about text, we assume that there exists a textual component 
called texture, consisting of the following properties: cohesion, coherence, progressivity. 
We may study and analyse the text in two different ways.  
1) We consider the text as the evidence of the writer’s intention that is what he 
means by the text, its message; it takes into account the biography of the writer, his 
world outlook, literary views, conditions of time, the historical background;  
2) We should study only the effect of the text upon the reader, the author’s intentions are not so significant.  
4. Basic notions of stylistics. 
Any literary work of irrespective of its genre (poem, short story, novel, etc.), or 
its literary trend (realistic, naturalistic, romantic, etc.) is a unique and complete world, 
created by the author in precisely the way his imagination has urged him to create. 
Though it is a product of the author's imagination, it is always based upon objective 
reality. A literary work is thus a fragment of objective reality arranged in accordance 
with the vision of the author and permeated by his idea of the world.  
The Theme of a literary work may be understood to be an interaction of human 
characters under certain circumstances, such as some social or psychological conflict 
(war and peace, clash of ideologies and the like). 
Within a single work the basic theme may alternate with rival themes and their 
relationship may be very complex.  
Thus, for example, the basic theme of "The Forsyte Saga" may be defined as 
the life of the English middle class at the end of and after Victorian epoch. The bythemes in saga are numerous: the Boer and the 1st World War, the first Labour Gov

ernment, the postwar generation, the arts and artists, etc. 
The idea of a literary work can be defined as the underlying thought and emotional 
attitude transmitted to the reader by the whole poetic structure of the literary text. 
Plot is a sequence of events in which the characters are involved, the theme and 
idea revealed. Each event that represents a conflict (the gist of the plot) has a beginning, a development and an end. 
The plot accordingly consists of exposition, story, climax and denouement. 
In the exposition the time, the place and the subject of the action are laid out. 
Some light may be shed on the circumstances that will influence the development of 
the action. 
Story is that part of the plot which represents the beginning of the collision and 
the collision itself. 
Climax is the highest point of the action. 
Denouement is the event or events that bring the action to an end. 
There is no uniformity as far as the above mentioned components of the plot 
and their sequence in the text are concerned. Some short stories may begin straight 
with the conflict without any exposition, while others have no denouement in the 
conventional sense of the word (E. Hemingway’s stories). 
A work of narrative prose that has all the components mentioned above (exposition, story, climax and denouement) is said to have a closed plot structure.  
A literary work in which the action is represented without an obvious culmination, which does not contain all the above mentioned components, is said to have an 
open plot structure. 
Literary image is one of the fundamental notions both in literary and linguostylistics. It may refer a) to the way of reflecting the objective reality (text serves as the 
image of reality); b) to characters; c) to any meaningful unit (word, phrase, detail). 
We should distinguish: 1) macroimage – the literary work itself understood as 
an image of life, visioned and depicted by the author; 2) character image; 3) event 
image; 4) landscape; 5) microimages – words within the poetic structure – which 
serve to build images of a higher level. 
Literature is a medium for transmitting aesthetic information. To be operative, it 
must, like any other kind of communication, involve not only the addresser (the author) 
but also the addressee (the reader). Indeed, a literary work is always written for an audience. Whether the author admits it or not, he is urged on by a desire to impart his vision of 
the world, his attitude towards it, to someone, i.e. to an addressee. His attitude may be 
quite obviously expressed, or, on the contrary, be presented in a non-committal, impersonal way. Thus, the literary work is an act of communication of the author with the reader.  
Language is the medium of literature, it is capable of transmitting practically 

any kind of information. It has names for all things, phenomena and relations of objective reality. It is so close to life that an illusion of their almost complete identity is 
created, for man lives, works and thinks in the medium of language; his behaviour 
finds an important means of expression primarily in language. 
Language is closely connected with nationality. And even when a person 
speaks a language foreign to him, his own nationality can be clearly identified. Language is constantly changing. Changes in language are brought about by external, i.e. 
social causes (for language develops simultaneously with the culture of the people 
that speaks it) as well as by internal causes. The results of all these changes remain in 
the language.  
The most peculiar features of the language are: expressive means (EM) and 
stylistic devices (SD). 
 
Assignments for self-control 
1. What is the subject of Stylistics? 
2. Is there a difference between Stylistics of the language and Stylistics of 
speech? 
3. Enumerate and give a brief characteristics of levels of Stylistics.  
4. What is the link between Stylistics and other linguistic disciplines? 
5. What are the main approaches to the analysis of text? 
6. What are the basic notions of stylistics? 
Exercise 1. After reading the text below, identify the following: the genre, 
the literary trend, the theme, the idea, the plot, the climax, and the denouement 
of the story. 
"The Bogey Beast" by Flora Annie Steel 
There was once a woman who was very, very cheerful, though she had little to 
make her so; for she was old, and poor, and lonely. She lived in a little bit of a cottage and earned a scant living by running errands for her neighbours, getting a bite 
here, a sup there, as reward for her services. So she made shift to get on, and always 
looked as spry and cheery as if she had not a want in the world. 
Now one summer evening, as she was trotting, full of smiles as ever, along the 
high road to her hovel, what should she see but a big black pot lying in the ditch! 
"Goodness me!" she cried, "that would be just the very thing for me if I only 
had something to put in it! But I haven't! Now who could have left it in the ditch?" 
And she looked about her expecting the owner would not be far off; but she 
could see nobody. 
"Maybe there is a hole in it," she went on, "and that's why it has been cast