Introduction to stylisticis the subject and main objectives of stylitics

Stylistic devices

• Stylistic device is a conscious and intentional intensification of some typical structural and/or semantic property of a language unit (neutral or expressive) promoted to a generalized status thus becoming a generative model.
• SDs display an application of 2 meanings: the ordinary one (already established in language-as-a-system) and a special – imposed on the unit by the author (or content), a meaning, which appears in language-in-action
• Stylistic devices (tropes, figures of speech) unlike expressive means are not language phenomena. They are formed in speech and most of them do not exist out of context. According to principles of their formation, stylistic devices are grouped into phonetic, lexico-semantic and syntactic types. Stylistic devices are the result of revaluation of neutral words, word-combinations and syntactic structures. Stylistic devices are studied by stylistic semasiology.

Types of context

• Linguistic context is the encirclement of a language unit by other language units in speech. Such encirclement makes the meaning of the unit clear and unambiguous. It is especially important in case with polysemantic words. Microcontext is the context of a single utterance (sentence). Macrocontext is the context of a paragraph in a text. Megacontext is the context of a book chapter, a story or the whole book.
• An extralingual (situational) context is formed by extralingual conditions in which communication takes place : physical context and abstract context. Temporal or chronological context , psychological context

Linguistic micro context

Extralinguistic context

Speech and writing (oral and written language varieties)

• Speech is normally a continuous stream of sound. Conversations are often accompanied by other sign systems which aid understanding. These might be physical gestures, facial expressions, even bodily posture. Meaning in speech is commonly conveyed by tone and other non-verbal means such as irony. Speech quite commonly includes false starts, repetition, hesitation

• Writing is the use of visual symbols which act as a code for communication between individuals or groups. The code of written language consists of letter-forms (the alphabet) used to form a visual image of spoken words. Words are formed in accordance with the conventions of spelling, then combined according to the rules of syntax to form meaningful statements.