UNIT XI. Functional Styles.

“Le style, c’est l’homme même” (Buffon), everybody knows, but we won’t discuss its aesthetic side. Even in linguistics the word “style” may be applied to several fields of investigation. The English language has developed a number of distinguishable styles. In this meaning the word “style” can be defined as A SYSTEM OF INTERRELATED LINGUISTIC MEANS USED TO SERVE A DEFINITE AIM IN COMMUNICATION.

The majority of linguists distinguish the following styles:

· the belles-lettres style

· the newspaper style

· the publicistic style

· the style of official documents

· the scientific prose style

According to I. Arnold there are:

· bookish style (scientific, business or official documents, publicistic, oratory, poetical, fiction);

· colloquial style (literary colloquial, familiar colloquial, slang).

In English stylistics: non-casual (formal) and casual (non-formal) styles.

Most of styles belong exclusively to writing and, as such, possess some features of written intercourse. Each style has features which serve as formal criteria or markers of the style in question (e. g. terms in scientific prose or attributive groups in newspapers…)

“Do not forget that style is not something that one assumes on special occasions (like dress clothes), but that which one IS when one writes or speaks; so far from being compelled to seek it, one cannot avoid it.

In writing, hence in style, the primary consideration is comprehensibility – therefore, clarity; one’s first duty is to make oneself understood.

The second is to be adequate to one’s theme: the style should be thoroughly suitable to the subject.

The third is to write well: forcibly when force is required; beautifully when loveliness is to be described or conveyed; concisely when concision is necessary.” (Eric Partridge)

The above classifications can be furthered on (e. g. the publicistic style comprises oratory, speeches, essays…)

Let’s reduce all the styles to three and consider each of them in its most characteristic features from the point of view of translation:

§ scientific prose

§ fiction

§ newspaper

1. Scientific prose style (read the beginning of the lecture on “Technical English”)

2. Fiction (or belles-lettres style)

It is considered to be a general term for three substyles which possess some common features (emotive prose, or the language of fiction, the language of drama, the language of poetry or simply verse).

The main function of this style is aesthetico-cognitive, i.e. it is a double function which aims at the cognitive process, which secures the gradual unfolding of the idea to the reader and at the same time calls forth a feeling of pleasure derived from the form in which the content is wrought.

Imagery is one of the most idiosyncratic features of the fiction style. It is differently correlated in emotive prose or poetry; there may be a greater or lesser volume of it, but not an absence of imagery.

The style is abundant with language expressive means and stylistic devices which make the works of literature.

(книжный) (разговорный)

Fiction is the most difficult to translate because it represents the highest degree of literary activities and the most versatile and complex use of language.

Formal style occurs in books, magazines, academic discourse, public speeches, radio, TV, formal official talks, etc. It is reduced to monologues addressed by one person to many and often prepared in advance. It is used in discoursing on complicated subjects and in addressing people with whom you are less intimately acquainted.

Its vocabulary is precise, elaborate, not limited socially or geographically. It contains words used in written speech, special terminology, learned words; official vocabulary used in documentation or transactions; (quality fiction) poetic diction, including lofty words and archaisms: (e.g. array:: clothes, lone:: lonely, naught:: nothing, behold:: see, albeit:: although, bear:: carry).

Informal (colloquial) style: personal two - way communication; vocabulary can be determined socially or regionally (dialect).

§ literary colloquial (cultivated speech)

§ familiar colloquial (oral and written speech of a younger generation)

§ low colloquial (illiterate speech of uncultivated persons)

§ folk speech (dialect)

§ slang (extremely informal language)

Literary colloquial – oral and written speech of educated people.

Familiar colloquial - more emotional, much more free, characterized by jocular or ironical expressions and nonce-words (occasionalisms): e.g. Clintonomics, Monicagate, How-d’you-doer.

The distinction between literary colloquial and familiar colloquial and low colloquial is purely social.

Slang:

• general (craddle-snatcher, window-shopping, cheerio, gate crasher, whassup, webhead, be the (da) bomb, 404 (four on four);
• special ® argot + (used by a particular social or age group, e.g. in criminal circles – the thieves’ argot: to rap:: kill, book:: life sentence); nark:: informer;

rhyming slang: e.g. Lady Godiva – fever, a loaf of bread – lead, storm and strife – wife;

computer jargon: dweeb, nerd, geek, flamewar, netigen.

Its lexical peculiarities: the use of vulgar, cynical or harsh words.

e.g. money:: beans, dibs, dough, brass, chink, wads, loot, hucks.

The wolves are sated and Grandma keeps the dough.

head:: attic, brain-pan, hat peg, nut, upper storey.

Colloquial English is very rich in figures of speech and emotional lexical intensifiers: e.g. awfully sorry, divine, fab (ulous), terrific, dead (sure), a scrap of (evidence), why on Earth, where in God’s name.

Syntax of colloquial English is so flexible that at times it becomes ungrammatical: sentences with a single verb, omission of “I” in the beginning of the sentences, etc.

Slang helps to make speech vivid, colourful and interesting, but it can easily be used inappropriately. Firstly, because some slang expressions may cause offence. Secondly, slang words date very quickly. You may find it very interesting to learn about slang and you may come across such expressions (particularly when translating films or popular newspapers) but you might be well advised to avoid using slang yourself.

“Dignity can be compromised if the person who thinks in slang writes also in slang!”(Fowler).

You should be able to distinguish/differentiate idioms that belong to literature and those that are peculiar to Spoken English. Comments are given in good dictionaries, always read them before doing any translation. Don’t mix styles!

Further reading and exercises:

1. Козакова Т.А. Р.IV

2. Koralova A.L. pp 112-120

3. Myers pp 24-35

4. Голденков М. «Hot Dog. Современный активный English» Минск, 1997

5. Study the vocabulary classification chart made by I.R. Galperin in the New English-Russian Dictionary:

P – poetical words B – foreign words

A –archaic and (barbarisms)

historical words AC – authors’ coinage

T – terms

Дата добавления: 2015-07-10