Theory of Translation 1 Introduction

(III) Aesthetic Properties of Text
It can be assumed that stylistics originated in attempting to describe the aesthetic 
properties of the text that appeal to the senses, particularly in poetry. This kind of 
approach may generally form the stylistic analysis of the formal properties of the text, 
particularly poetic texts. As the range of texts is extended, this approach no longer 
forms such an essential part of all analysis. 
2.13.4.7 Stylistics and Pragmatics: Language in Use 
The traditional notion of stylistics revolved around the individual styles of the writers. 
The reading experience in the past was largely ‘text bound’. It followed an 
interpretation of Whorf’s hypothesis that our world view is conditioned by language. 
However, the recent researches in the field of pragmatics show that ‘meaning’ is the 
result of ‘interpretation’. Therefore, a text cannot have a single, invariant meaning for 
all readers in view of the fact that pragmatics is the study of language in ‘use’, i.e., 
other elements than grammar. Elizabeth Black explains the various elements which 
are crucial to the interpretation of literary discourse. They are: context, deictic 
expressions, pronouns and articles, and tense (Black, 3-6). 
(I) Context
Context is a situation. In a literary text, the beginning provides the necessary 
orientation into the discourse. The title, appearance, author or even a publisher may 
provide many hints to the reader and ‘contextualize’ it to some extent. Afterward, the 
listener or the participants enrich and give meaning to the discourse. 
(II) Deictic Expressions
Deictics are ‘pointing ‘words. They include tensed verbs, personal pronouns, 
demonstratives (these, those), and time and place expressions such as now, then, here, 

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there etc. These words relate our linguistic expressions to the current situation. In 
novels, the deictic expressions play a different role than in ordinary language.