英语文体学教程
Chapterl
1, what is style in your opi nio n accord ing to what we have studied in this chapter?
from the perspective of the content, the events and activities
differe nt ways; and from the perspective of the text ,style is the functions of texts for differe nt purposes.
Anwser2, the definition of style is the concept of style as choice .this definition can have at least too
interpretations .one is that first we have a pre
exist ing thought ,and then we choice the appropriate type of expression to express it in Ianguage. The chosen expression is the style .another is that the choice refers to the choice of meaning. The choice of Ianguage is at the same time a choice of mea ning and a choice of style .
2, what is the sig ni fica nee of study ing the style of Ian guage in lear ning and teach ing
En glish?
Anwser,
the answer is that if we want to use Ianguage appropriately in different situations , we need to study style .as foreign Ianguage learners, if we
disregard the rules of using what variety of Ianguage in what occasion , or fail to obey them through ignorance , la
nguage can become in stead a barrier to successful com muni cati on . Therefore its n ecessary to have a clear aware ness of how Ian guage should be used in differe nt types of situati ons especially in un familiar situati ons.
3, what factors can result i n differe nces in style
An swer , 1, the differe nt types of vocabulary create differe nt images of the events in
the reader ' mind, so they can result in different styles.2,people living in different periods of time in history will also speak differently ,and that will result in a different style.
Chapter2 1, explain the followi ng terms
1) ,foregrounding: the stylistically significant features have to be prominent and
motivated ,that is ,foregro un ded.
2) ,i neon gruity: the lin guistic features depart from the no rmal use of
Ian guage ,break ing the rules grammar ,spell ing ,pronun ciati on.
3) deflection : the linguistic features
don ' t depart from the established grammatical, lexical and logical rules and principles
,but have an unexpected high frequency of
occurre nee.
4) ,field; its concerned with what is happening ,including the subject matter,the events happe nin gs,go ing-ons, the An wser1
described ,style is saying different
things in different ways ;from the perspective of the ways of expression used ,styled is same thing in different ways; from the perspective of the users
of Ianguage ,style is different speakers using Ianguage in
conten t ,etc
5) tenor: its concerned with who is taking part in the exchange of meaning ----the
relati on ship betwee n the speaker and the liste ner ,their relative status,their
attitude,a nd their role relati ons .
6) mode: its concerned with how the in teract ion is con ducted ,that is whether it is
written or spoken ,or whether it is expressed by phonic substanee or graphic
substa nee.
2,questi on for discussi on
2) i n rhetorical series,the nu mber of items can in flue nee the stylistic effect.try to
an alyze the causes on the basis of social culture.
Answer :different numbers of words can produce different stylistic effects in the appropriate con texts. Two items express assert ion ,that is ,it is just this ,not that」n appropriate situatio ns three items can produce ethic ,persuasive, and represe ntative effect. Four or more items in a series stress a large number of the concrete
things ,and these can produce an imagery in the mind of the reader that the large amount of things constitutes a significant situation in which certain aspect are
highlighted. Another funetion of the rhetorical series is to use concrete items to
highlight abstract concepts so that the abstract concept can be expressed in
con crete ,lively and vivid way to enhance the aesthetic value of Ian guage.
3) what factors affect the writer se'etio n of words and style
Answer : five criteria for the selection of words :whether they are familiar or not
familiar, whether they are concrete or abstract, whether they are single or
more ,whether they are short and simple. Or long. Whether they are Anglo -saxon words or lati n words .field ,te
nor ,mode affect the writer ' s selectio n of style.
4) what is the criterion used to classify words
An swer :we can use more systematic way to classify word accord ing to register and
dialect .register:field ,te nor , mode .dialect: regio nal dialect,such as London dialect;social dialect such as dialect of age, race,etc.temporal dialect such as od En glish .
5) through what cha nn els can words be used to achieve tran sferred meaning?
An swer :simile :x is like Y, eg as busy as bee. Metaphor: X is Y ,eg he is a pig.
Syn ecdoche eg many hands represe nt the people who work with their hands .
Metonymy eg purse represe nt mon ey.
Chapter3
1, explain the following terms
1) ,chiasmus:chiasmus is formed by inverting the word order of the second part of a parallel structure,so it forms a kind of antithetical structure. Eg:let us never negotiate out of fear,but let us n ever fear to n egotiate.
2) a ntistrophe: i t is the repetitio n of the same items but i n in verted order ,eg:what polly to me,or me to polly?
3) epizeuxis:it is a continuous repetition for high lighting a particular feature.
4) ploce: the repetiti on is not continu ous , but in termitte nt or dispersed in the text.
5) loose sentence: put the major idea first and than the illustration .such a sentence is easy to grasp .
6) periodic senten ce:a periodic sentence can be used to create suspe nse,or expectati on,
thus draw ing the liste ner attend on to the end of the senten ce.it can be used to
produce humorous and emphatic effect .
2, questi on for discussi on
1) ,there are many types of syntactic deflection ,but they have one thing in com mon :recurre nee of structures. How is syn tactic deflect ion classified?
An swer :there are two type of syn tactic deflecti on :the un expected high freque ncy of
occurrenee of a certain type of sentence; and the overregular occurrenee of a
particular patter n .
2) the high frequency of occurrenee of long and short sentence can create stylistic
effect .apart from the differe nee in expressive meanings ,what are other characteristics of the two types of senten ces?
Answer : long sentences are good to provide the detailed descriptions ,and are good to reveal the men tal activities of the speaker .so they are used to produce a vivid, rich, exuberant, luxurious style. Short sentence : can produce direct ,terse ,concise ,clear effect or continu ous ‘compact ,swift effect ,so t hat it creates certa in atmosphere , and leave a deep impressi on on the liste ners.
3) why do writers ofte n violate the rule of grammar? What do we cal this violati on?
Answer: we call this violation syntactic incongruity .the violation of the grammatical rules can be used to produce certain stylistic effects. The so-called ungrammatical sentences are used to represent the different varieties of Ianguage according to
register and dialect. In literary works, dialectical and pers onal features of speech are often used to depict the personality of the characters. In poetry, the poet often uses devia nt grammatical structures to achieve special effects, makes lines terse and con cise, to make it rich in meaning.
4) what is the function of rhetorical questi ons?
Answer: A rhetorical question is to use the form of a question in order to express a
stro ng emoti on or to emphasize a particular aspect. The function of in verted sentence
is to make a declarative sentence more po werful, to attract the listener ' s attention, or
to in duce others ' sympathy. Arran ged in parallelism, rhetorical questi ons can expr ess
stro ng emoti ons and in crease the persuasive power. A rhetorical questi on can also
in troduce the topic of the text.
5) In what ways can we use in verted senten ces to achieve emphatic effect?
Answer: to change the normal word order can be used to produce some emphatic effect. What is put to the initial part of the sentence is usually the focus of in formati on of the clause and also the theme of he clause. So it is highlighted.
Chapter4
1 explain the following terms
1) Syn aesthesia: it refers to the fact that sounds s are attributed with certa in values
or esthetic features. It is very casual, and supported by situational features and
mea ning.
2) Alliterati on: refers to the repetitio n of the in itial sound usually a consonant, or a vowel at first positi on, in two or
more words that occur close together.
3) Assonance: refers to the use of the same or related vowel sounds in successive words. It can create harm onious
effect.
4) Consonance: refers to the repetitio n of the last consonants of the stresses words
at the end of the lin es.
2 questi ons for discussi on
1) What are the characteristic of spoke n Ian guage and writte n Ian guage respectively?
Answer: spoken Ianguage: 1 it can directly be accompanied by other non-linguistic means as the aid; 2 it is gen erally speak ing not as formal as writte n Ian guage; 3 it permits errors in the process of product ion; 4 it uses a particular grammar, a
grammar characteristics of spoke n Ian guage. 5 homoph ones can be used for special stylistic effects, such as pun; 6 some implications are best represented by special
sound features; 7 sound feature can represe nt the feature of regi onal dialect or social dialect.
Written Ianguage:1 as written Ianguage communication is usually not a direct one,
but is delayed in time and at differe nt places, the writer gen erally has time to get well prepared and revise the text before he sends it out to the reader;2 as space is limited, it has special grammatical features so as to put more meaning in it .there are many nominalizations to make sentences into groups;3 written Ianguage is often used in a more formal situati on; 4 as time is eno ugh, it is usually writte n in a more detailed and logical way;5 as written Ianguage is more purposeful, and for a single specific goal, it is usually more con sta nt and developed around a sin gle subject.
2) How many sound patter ns do we have? What special stylistic effects can be achieved by them?
An swer: these sound patter ns in clude alliterati on which can create harm ony, conn ecti on and achieve special stylistic effects, ass onance which can create harm onious effect, and consonance
3) What factors can in flue nee graphological prominence?.
An swer: there are three disti nctive factors that can produce graphological prominence:
marking, spacing and sequenee. Marking refers to the use of written symbols to convey in formati on; space is spaci ng arran geme nt depart ing from this no rmal way of
spaci ng can be used to achieve stylistic effects.
4 In moder n En glish, pun ctuati on marks are patter ned and sta ndardized. How can we
use pun ctuati on marks for special stylistic purpose?
Answer: period typically occurs at the end of a declarative sentence. If period occurs
in unexpected high frequency of occurrenee, it often means that the text mainly
functions to provide information; comma is used to mark the unit larger than a word,
however, i n Charles Dicke ns ' Dombey and Son, comma is used to in dicate syllables;
exclamation marks can be used to carry emotional coloring, a mark of expressing special feeli ngs; pare ntheses are used for further expla nati on; the ellipsis of pun ctuatio n marks produces an illogical and non-seque ntial image.
Chapter7
1 explain the following terms
1) Guide: guide is the further explanation of the headline, it consists of six elements;
location, character, event, mode, time, and cause.
2) Nominalization: refers to a grammatical phenomenon in which the meaning which
is normally expressed by a clause is here expressed by a phrase, so clause nomin alizati on is no rmal. It is con tracted.
3) The highlighting method: from the productive point of view, the columnist can publish the whole story, or he can cut off some parts from the end. He can eve n cut
off the main body.
4) Meaning con tract ion: using the smallest form to get the most meaning.
5) Journalese words: as new report requires the speaker to use the least form to get
the most meaning, and it has to be fresh and attractive, so the words in n ews report
is short and n ew.
2 questi ons for discussi on
1) What are sema ntic features of news report?
Answer:1 In terms of ideational meaning, apart from the semantic field of news report,
it covers virtually all areas of meaning systems ;2 in terms of in terpers onal meaning,
it stresses objectivity;3 in terms of textual meaning, it has the feature of meaning con tract ion.
3) Most of the headlines are elliptical sentences. Tell in what way ellipsis is best achieve in n ews report.
Answer: most of the headlines are elliptical sentences. What is omitted is: (a) subjectpredicate (b) predicate (c) link verb or auxiliary verb
4) How is meaning con tract ion of n ews report embodied in grammar?
An swer: one feature of n ews report is meaning con tracti on, that is using the smallest
form to get the most meaning .its grammatical feature are as follows:(1) the nomin alizati on of the processes (2)big noun phrases and complex modificati ons (3)as some of the pre-modifiers come from a separate clause, it is highly con tracted .
5)
The con crete ness con tract ion of n ews report
is in con tradicti on to meaning con tract ion. Tell how this con tradicti on is revolved in n ews report.
Answer: besides its authenticity and objectivity, news report should also emphasize con crete ness and detailed ness. Therefore, the writer often gives backgro und information and details by using parenthesis. By doing so, the writer can provide con crete and detailed in formatio n and save space as well.
6) What graphological means are used in news report? Analyze what effects are achieved by graphological mea ns. Answer: grphological means are made in the typesetting, for example, headlines can be arran ged in such ways: 1 flush-left(it is made into a square) 2dropped-li ne(the length of the line is the same, but dropped in a bit each time) 3 short line
followed by a long tome 4 along line followed by a short line 5 con cave form
6 convex form . They can in crease esthetic value and become more attractive.
n ews report?
3nonce words, ofte n ble nds such as Euromarket=Europea n
market.
8) Why is there so much use of direct speech in news report?
Answer: the use of direct speech can enhance the credibility of news report. The directly quoted speech can be regarded as basis of facts.
9) What prominent devices are used in headlines in news report?
An swer: alliterati on allusi on suspe nse etc.
7) What are lexical features of news report?
Why are many nonce words used in Answer: lexical feature: 1 short and new- fashioned such a crisis in ” theUN faces crisis of credibility ”um Slelaerphrase such as
tesye ” in "jobless will be the key issue in 1993