Styles of speech. Phonetic styles

Module 4

Theory sheet 1

The basic assumption when we speak about style in its linguistic sense is that language is not a homogeneous or monolithic phenomenon. As a means of communication, it changes depending on various and numerous social, or in other words extralinguistic, situations in which speakers find themselves. In these situations they have to select from their linguistic repertoires those linguistic means which match the needs of a particular situation and which provide effective communication in this or that field of human interaction. Much of what people say depends on the situation they are in. And the type of language they are using, changes with the situation in which communication is carried on. The speaker uses one variety of language at work or university, another at home, a third with a friend or relative, and so on.

Varieties of language correlating with certain extralinguistic, i.e. social situations are generally known as styles. Each style is distinguished by a set of linguistic means – lexical, grammatical and phonetic ones – that are specifically used in particular spheres of human communication and under particular circumstances. There is no doubt about the fact that among the distinctive features of style the leading role in oral speech belongs to phonetic features, and to prosodic features, in particular. Pitch, melody, stress, pausation, drawling out certain sounds or syllables, whispering and other ways of using voice are more effective than any other means in showing logical or emotional meaning of an utterance. Different ways of pronunciation caused by extralinguistic factors and characterized by definite phonetic features are called phonetic styles. The term ‘pronunciation’ is used here in its broad meaning including both the ways of pronouncing sounds and intonational/prosodic characteristics of an utterance.

The phonetic stylistics (or phonostylistics) studies variation in the use of sounds of a language as well as typical prosodic features of different types of discourse. As the term suggests, phonostylistics is concerned with the study of phonetic phenomena from the stylistic point of view. Some scholars consider it a branch of phonetics while others grant it an independent status. Phonostylistics is interconnected with many linguistic and non-linguistic disciplines such as paralinguistics, psychology and psycholinguistics, sociology and sociolinguistics, dialectology, aesthetics, information theory, etc. A wide range of issues are integral to phonostylistics: the phonetic norm and deviations from norms, phonetic synonyms, euphony, sound symbolism, stylistic devices coded or carried by phonetic expressive means, phonetic functional styles.

The theory sheets below focus on phonetic styles, with the main emphasis on intonation.

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