STYLISTICS

Prepared by: MBL

is the description and analysis of
the variability of linguistic forms
in actual language use

What is Stylistics
 Stylistics is a branch of applied
linguistics concerned with the study
of style in texts, especially but not
exclusively in literary works. Also
called literary linguistics, stylistics focuses
on the figures, tropes and other rhetorical
devices to provide variety and a unique
voice to writing
Stylistics is the study of linguistic style, whereas
(theoretical) Linguistics is the study of linguistic form.

The term 'style' is used in linguistics to describe

the choices which language makes available to a
user, above and beyond the choices necessary for
the simple expression of a meaning.
 Linguistic form can be interpreted as a set of possibilities
for the production of texts, and thereby linguistic form makes
possible linguistic style.

 Linguistic form is generated from the components of

language (sounds, parts of words, and words) and consists of
the representations - phonetic, phonological, morphological,
syntactic, semantic etc. - which together form a code by which
what we say or write has a specific meaning
Within the language system, the same
content can be encoded in more than one
linguistic form. Operating at all linguistic
levels (e.g. lexicology, syntax, text linguistics,
intonation)

‘STYLE’ AND ‘STYLISTIC

VARIATION’
"as an empirical or forensic discourse critique,
wherein the stylistician is "a person who with his/her
detailed knowledge of the workings
of morphology, phonology, lexis, syntax, semantics,
and various discourse and pragmatic models, goes in
search of language-based evidence in order to
support or indeed challenge the subjective
interpretations and evaluations of various critics and
cultural commentators.“ - Michael Burke
Analyze both the style of the specific texts and stylistic
variation across texts

" the goal of "most stylistics is not simply to describe the

formal features of texts for their own sake, but in order to
show their functional significance for the interpretation of
the text; or in order to relate literary effects to linguistic
'causes' where these are felt to be relevant.“- Katie Wales

MISSION
 choice of
linguistic
means

Deviation
comparison style from a
norm

Recurrence
of linguistic
forms
 Deviation from a norm Recurrence of
As a choice linguistic forms comparison

User-bound factors
(age, gender,
idiosyncratic
preferences, regional
and social
background)
situation-bound factors
(depend on communication
such as spoken/written,
participation in discourse
(monologue vs dialogue),
attitude (level of formality),
field of discourse
(technical field vs non)
Literary language, more
deviant than non literary
language use. (allowed by
poetic license)
Ex. Dylan Thomas’s poetry
(semantically incompatible at first
sight)
grief ago
once below a time
A case of authorship identification
Swedish lingusist Elleguard
Anonymous Junius 1770s
- Counting specific lexical features
in the political letters
-- comparing with a large
collection of texts from the same
period
-- samples from other
contemporary authors
Closely related to a
probabilistic and statistical
understanding of style.
(deviation-from-a-norm
perspective)
Stylistic features do not
follow rigid rules
Style, a matter of
appropriateness not
grammar.
What is appropriate can be
deduced from the frequency
of linguistic devices (corpus
linguistic methods)
linguistic patterns
(probability, large scale
statistical analyses)
Ex. Text types ‘genre’
Stylistic analysis always
requires an implicit or
explicit comparison of
linguistic features (text,
collection, norm)
Ex. Style markers
May either convey
local stylistic effect
(isolated technical
term)
Recurrence or co-
occurrence, a global
stylistic pattern
(specialized vocabulary
and passive voice in
scientific texts)
Two paradigms
1. Language must be noticed to be learned. Language learning involves a
generalization from particulars (ex. Analysis of linguistic forms out of
particular contexts. Therefore, there must be recurrent focus on form.
(ex. Audio lingual method, repetitive drills)

2. Language has to have some point for those learning it. Learners have to
experience language as meaningful in relation to some context. Thus
there has to be focus on meaning. (communicative language teaching

LITERATURE AND LANGUAGE TEACHING

(IN THEORY)
H. WIDDOWSON
 LITERARY TEXT
- Draws attention to form
-- ex. Trains --- Do we ponder on it?
In everyday use, we derive meaning from context not on form
Ex.
1. A note: I have eaten all the berries in the ice box.
2. So sweet and so cold. Forgive me.

** regardless of the interpretation, the study of literary text

satisfies two conditions of language learning – achieving meaning
by means of a focus on form.
 Close Stylistics by contrast,
reading emphasizes connections between literary
emphasizes differences b language and everyday language
etween literary language
and that of the general
speech community
makes greater claims to scientific
objectivity than does close reading,
stressing that its methods and procedures
can be learned and applied by all. Hence,
its aim is partly the 'demystification' of
both literature and criticism.

uses specialized technical terms and

concepts which derive from the
science of linguistics, terms like
'transitivity,' 'under-lexicalisation,'
'collocation,' and 'cohesion'