PROBLEMS OF STYLISTIC RESEARCH

1. Comment on the notions of style and sublanguages in the national language.

2. What are the interdisciplinary links of stylistics and other lin­guistic subjects such as phonetics, lexicology, grammar, and semasiology? Provide examples.How does stylistics differ from them in its subject-matter and fields of study?

3. Give an outline of the stylistic differentiation of the national English vocabulary: neutral, literary, colloquial layers of words; areas of their overlapping. Describe literary and common collo­quial stratums of vocabulary, their stratification.

4. How does stylistic colouring and stylistic neutrality relate to inherent and adherent stylistic connotation?

5. Can you distinguish neutral, formal and informal among the following groups of words.

1. currency money dough

2. to talk to converse to chat

3. to chow down to eat to dine

4. to start to commence to kick off

5. insane nuts mentally ill

6. spouse hubby husband

7. to leave to withdraw to shoot off

8. geezer senior citizen old man

9. veracious opens sincere

10. mushy emotional sentimental

6. What kind of adherent stylistic meaning appears in the otherwise neutral word feeling?

I've got no feeling paying interest, provided that it's reasonable. (Shute)

I've got no feeling against small town life. I rather like it. (Shute)

7.To what stratum of vocabulary do the words in bold type in the following sentences belong stylistically? Provide neutral or colloquial variants for them:

I expect you've seen my hand often enough coming out with the grub. (Waugh)

She betrayed some embarrassment when she handed Paul the tickets, and a hauteurwhich subsequently made her feel very foolish. (Cather)

I must be off to my digs.(Waugh)

When the old boy popped offhe left Philbrick everything, except a few books to Grade. (Waugh)

He looked her over and decided that she was not appropriately dressed and must be a fool to sit downstairs in such togs.(Cather)

It was broken at length by the arrival of Flossie, splendidly attiredin magenta and green. (Waugh)

8. Consider the following utterances from the point of view of the
grammatical norm. What elements can be labelled as deviations
from standard English? How do they comply with the norms of
colloquial English according to Mims and Skrebnev?

Sita decided that she would lay down in the dark even if Mrs. Waldvogel came in and bit her. (Erdrich)

Always popular with the boys, he was, even when he was so full he couldn't hardly fight. (Waugh)

...he used to earn five pound a night... (Waugh)

/ wouldn't sell it not for a hundred quid, I wouldn't. (Waugh)

There was a rapping at the bedroom door. «I'll learn that Luden Sorrels to tomcat.» (Chappel)

9. How does the choice of words in each case contribute to the
stylistic character of the following passages? How would you
define their functional colouring in terms of technical, poetic,
bookish, commercial, dialectal, religious, elevated, colloquial,
legal or other style?

Make up lists of words that create this tenor in the texts given below.

Whilst humble pilgrims lodged in hospices, a travelling knight would normally stay with a merchant. (Rutherfurd)

Fo' what you go by dem, eh? W'y not keep to yo'self? Dey don' want you, dey don' care fo'you. H' ain'you got no sense? (Dunbar-Nelson)

They sent me down to the aerodrome next morning in a car. I made a check over the machine, cleaned filters, drained sumps, swept out the cabin, and refuelled. Finally I took off at about ten thirty for the short flight down to Batavia across the Sunda straits, and found the aerodrome and came on to the circuit behind the Constellation of K. L. M. (Shute)

We ask Thee, Lord, the old man cried, to look after this childt. Fa­therless he is. But what does the earthly father matter before Tliee? The childt is Thine, he is Thy childt, Lord, what father has a man but Thee? (Lawrence)

-We are the silver band the Lord bless and keep you, said the stationmaster in one breath, the band that no one could beat whatever but two indeed in the Eisteddfod that for all North Wales was look you.

I see, said the Doctor, I see. That's splendid. Well, will you please go into your tent, the little tent over there.

To march about you would not like us? Suggested the stationmaster, we have a fine flaglook you that embroidered for us was in silks. (Waugh)