文体学整理、

Rhetorical devices: P53 P63 P132 P150 P175

1 the concern of stylistic

Stylistics is a discipline that studies the ways in which language is used；it is a discipline that studies the styles of language in use. Two subdivisions : general stylistics(concentrating solely on unique features of various literary works) , literary stylistic s(on the general features of various types of language use). Partly overlap: variety features, genre features ,literary text style.

Style may refers to a person's distinctive language habits, or the set of individual characteristics of language use.(shakespear's style, hemingway's style); a set of collective characteristics of language use（by a group of people, in a given place, amidst a given occasion, for a literary genre）;the effectiveness of a mode of expression;and so on. We shall regard style as the language habits of a person or group of persons in a given situation. Style may be seen as the various characteristic uses of language that aperson or group of persons make in a social contexts.

2 the need for stylistic study

Deviation : the breaking of normal rules of linguistics structure

Repetition : the overuse of a particular linguistic feature

Both deviation and repetition produce a psychological effect on the mind of the reader_ they make a feature stand out. This highlighting of a linguistic feature against the background of the normal set of rules for the English language is what we call foreground.

Stylistic study helps achieve adaptation in translation. The translator should know the conventional ways of writing these things(notices, rules and regulations , receipts...) in the target language.

3varieties of language

Dialectal varieties, commonly called dialect s , are language variations that are associated with different users of the language. There are individual , temporal, regional , social and standard varieties respectively.

Individual dialect-----Idiolect

A specific person will display his or her own features of speech or writing habits. Each speaker or writer will have his or her own particular voice quality, pitch and stress patterns,favourite lexical items, and even grammatical structures. These traits of speech or writing often points to a person's individuality which leads to a person's style. (Conrad, Hemingway)

Temporal dialect

Language changes over time, and so description of the language at a given point of time is likely to give rise to a historical variety.(old ,E lizabethan). A variety which

correlates with the various periods of the development of language is called temporal dialect.

Regional dialect

Language varies from region to region. Owing to the physical boundaries of oceans and mountains, people who live in different places tend to develop different speech patterns. There are British English and other international varieties. A variety like this we call regional dialect.

Social dialect

A variety associated with certain social group is referred to as social dialect .

1)socioeconomic status varieties Different socioeconomic status groups tend to show different patterns of speech characteristics.

2)Ethnic varieties Ethnic groups tend to develop and maintain distinctive speech ways of their own. (black English)

3)Gender varieties Men and women do not speak identically.

4)Age varieties Language evolves with age.

Standard dialect

There remains another type of dialect distinction, the distinction betweeen a standard and a nonstandard dialect.Standard dialect is the variety of a language based on the speech and writing of educated native speakers of that language which enables speakers of the language throughout the world to communicate intelligibly with each other, irrespective of their social standing or regional background. Diatypic varieties, commonly called register s, are language variations that are associated with the different use to which they are put. Registers may be distinguished according to field of discourse语场, mode of discourse 语式and tenor of discourse语旨.

Field of discourse is the linguistic reflection of the purposive role of the language user,----the type of social activity the language user is engaged in the situation in which the text has occurred. That is to say, the language the user uses will show that his/her language is ' about ' , what experience he/she is verbalizing , what is ' going on ' in the speech event.

Mode of discourse is associated with discourse-forming or is the linguistic reflection of the relationship that the language user has to the medium of communication. Tenor of discourse is the linguistic reflection of the personal relationships between speaker/writer and hearer/reader----called personal tenor, and of what the user is trying to do with language for/to his or her addressee(s)----called functional tenor. The notion of register: as contextual categories, fields, mode, and tenors of discourse are interrelated.

4 linguistic description

Levels of language

1)The level of phonology/graphology/phonetics. Phonology is the study of the rules for the organization of the sound systems of a language. Graphology is the study of the writing system of a language.

2)The level of lexis and grammar : Grammar is the central part part of a linguistic statement. It studies the structure of units called sentences in a language, and the way these function in sequences. G ramma r is divided into morphology词形学which studies the internal structure of words and of rules governing their formation, and syntax句法which studies their external relationships in a sentence. Lexicology 词汇学studies the choice of specific lexical items(units of vocabulary) in a text, their distribution in relation to one another, and their meanings.

3)The level of semantics语义学

Semantics, studies the overall meaning of a text, the meaning derived not from the formal properties of words and structures but from the way sentences/utterances are used and the way they are related to the context in which they are used/uttered. Stylistic features

First level1)Phonological features: Segmental----sounds broken into smallest units, called phonemes, including consonants and vowels;

Onomatopoeia 象声sound symbolism声音象征assimilation同化elision元音省略alliteration押头韵super-segmental(prosodic features)----sounds that extend over longer stretches of spoken text, co-existing with the segmentals that occupy those stretches, such as syllable stress, rhythm, and intonation音调; pitch height and pitch range音速; pause and tempo语速. 2）Graphological features：the graphological level concerns the use of alphabet, the number system, punctuation, capitalization, headlining, italicizing, bracketing, diagramming, paragraphing, spacing, etc. Second level 1)Grammatical features: Sentences type treats various kinds of sentences discussed in traditional terms: declarative陈述, interrogative疑问, imperative祈使or exclamatory感叹; simple, compound, complex or compound-complex,complete or elliptical省略. Dependent clauses preceding the main clause called periodic sentence which is characteristic of writing other than speech and of formal kinds of prose散文, as contrasted with loose sentence----a complex sentence in which the main clause comes first, often found in speech or informal kinds of prose. Parallelism: there is any repetition of the same structural pattern. Antithesis : the best, the worse, the age...love without marriage... Rhetorical question: does not expect an answer. Sentence length: Shorter sentences are often found in speech or in other informal occasions, such as advertising, news headlines, slogans, whereas longer sentences are used in writing or on other formal occasions such as science theses, official documents, formal speeches. Clause type小句deals

with main kinds of clauses: independent clauses, or dependent clauses; non-finite structures; clause elements:S subject, P predicator, O object, C complement, A adverbial. Group type refers to various types of nominal groups and verbal groups. Nominal groups consist of a noun, or pronoun, numeral, some non-finite or nominal structures operating as head with or without modification. There are two types of such groups: premodified nominal groups(head with premodification called modifier , as these six rough men), postmodified nominal groups(head followed by postmodification called qualifier, as scholars from the west who arrived on Sunday). Verbal groups consist of a lexical verb operating as head, with or without one or more auxiliaries preceding it, as in I shall have to go. Word type is concerned with the word formation and is discussable in terms of traditional morphology: root, prefix and suffix. 2)Lexical features: general wording inclination:we would note weather the vocabulary or a text is simple or complex, descriptive or evaluative, general or specific; weather there is any use of rare or specialized or Latinate vocabulary; weather there are any idiomatic expressions associated with certain dialects or registers; weather the nouns are abstract or concrete; weather the verbs are stative or dynamic; weather the adjectives and adverbs are frequent. Connotative meaning refers to all kinds of association words may evoke, particularly in certain emotional, situational contexts, over and above the basic or central referential meaning of words----the latter called denotative meaning. Collocation refers to the habitual or expected co-ocurrence of words. The meaning of a word depends on its immediate context----its nearby words which are its collocates. This context will permit some of the possible denotations and connotations, but rule out others, or make them less probable.

Third level1)text as a semantic unit: A text is a stretch of language which forms a unity by reasons of its linguistic cohesion and semantic coherence. 2)cohesion, there are three types of connectives: the first type refers to transitional words/phrases, showing time, place, and causal relation.; the second type refers to grammatical devices, ellipsis, substitution and co-reference; the third type refers to lexical reiteration(lexical reiteration is a means of cohesion achieved through the repetition of key words, or through the use of synonyms, near-synonyms, hyponyms and general words, so that the theme of the text is highlighted).

3)paragraphing: the division of a text into paragraphs helps bring out a clear picture of the organization of the thematic development. 4)discourse pattern: Discourse, in its broad sense, refers not only to ordinary conversation and its context but also to written communications between writer and reader. In this sense, it is often used synonymously with text. 5)Rhetorical devices：...

5 formal vs informal language

Degrees of formality

Formality refers to the way in which the style of language will vary in appropriateness according to the social context: the occasion and the relationship between addresser(soeaker) and addressee(listener). The address forms people use are probably the most direct and obvious means to indicate roles and relationships. The address forms in the English language present three most frequently used patterns: 1)the reciprocal exchange of Title plus Last Name(TLN, difference and distance); 2)the reciprocal exchange of First Name(FN, condescension and intimacy);

3) the non-reciprocal pattern in which one person uses FN and the other TLN. The use of the non-reciprocal pattern indicates that the roles to be played by the participants are not the same: one is higher in status than the other.

Martin Joo's (classification) describes the range of formality as having

five levels: frozen, formal, consultative, casual, and intimate, which is believed that every speaker has access to. The frozen level is used for written legal documents or highly solemn speech which consists of memorized sentences that must be repeated verbatim. The formal level is used for public addresses such as lectures or speeches where the audience is not known to the speaker personally or where person acquaintance is not acknowledged. The consultative level is used at less formal gatherings such as committee meetings where status is still fairly clearly designated, but where participants interact. The casual level is used among friends, or peers who know each other well enough that little elaboration is necessary. The intimate level is used between people who see each other daily and share the majority of their daily life experiences.

Formality and linguistic features

Formal vs informal in terms of vocabulary. Generally speaking, formal style is characterised by the use of formal words, mainly learned words and technical terms. Learned words are mostly loan words of Greek and Latin origin which may find their synonyms in common words. Colloquialisms r\are usually simple words, active phrasal verbs, words of backformation or abbreviation, and also emphatics. Slang expressions and vulgarism. Formal vs informal in terms of phonology. Elisions省音, represented by contractions in writing are another marker of informal speech. Assimilation occurs extremely frequently in informal speech. Formal vs informal in terms of syntax. Varieties of formal English have their own unique use of syntax, such as longer sentences, complex sentence structure, impersonal constructions, nominalization, complex nominal groups with heavy modification. Informal varieties are marked by shorter sentences, simple sentence structure, use of sentence relatives, participial and absolute structures replaced by clauses, elliptical sentences, tag questions, involved construction, etc. Formal vs informal in terms of semantics.

Semantically formal style differs from informal in terms of cohesion. Informal texts are inclined toward the frequent use of anaphora and ellipsis, and the informal kind of transitional words/phrases such as and, so, to start with, for another thing, whereas formal texts rely on frequent lexical reiteration and the formal kind of transitional words/phrases such as however, consequently, firstly, furthermore, in conclusion, etc. Informal texts are loosely organized, showing lack of planning, while formal texts are compact and well-knit.

6 spoken vs written language

Striking differences: 1) difference in hearer/reader involvement Generally most speeches assume the presence of the hearer. This poses great necessity for the speaker to constantly monitor his message to hold the hearers' attention and to invite the hearer's participation by using questions or commands. A written text, in the other hand, normally presumes the absence of the reader, and direct feedback from the reader is not possible. So there is no urgent need on the part of the author to monitor his message. However, sometimes, he may anticipate potential feedback and build it into the text. 2) difference in linguistic explicitness In speech, the participants rely heavily on their common background knowledge and the immediate context for much of their information. Writing, generally, does not rely on the immediate context for understanding. Nor can the writer normally hope that his readers share with him much of the personal background knowledge needed for the understanding of the written text. On the contrary, he must give great explicitness to whatever he is trying to say on paper. 3)difference in preparedness Writing is on the whole more 'careful' than speaking. With skill and planning, written texts are usually compact and self-contained. Speech, on the other hand, especially conversation is often spontaneous. The participants do not concentrate one subject only----there are often random shifts of topic. Such spoken texts often show a general lack of conscious planning.

Stylistic differences: 1) difference in terms of grammar Grammatically in spontaneous spoken texts, sentences tend to be short, characterised by a large number of loosely connected clauses. Elliptical sentences are frequent and many sentences are incomplete. Clause structure is simple. Nouns are not frequently used as subject. In their place are personal pronouns, especially I and You. Verbal groups are also simple in structure. In written language, sentences are usually complete and tend to be longer than the average spoken sentences. Clauses are closely connected. One of the striking traits of written language is that the subject position is often filled in by a noun. The structure of the nominal group can be complex. Contractions are not so frequent as in spoken texts. 2)difference in terms of vocabulary Speech tends to be:simple words and idioms, a large number of phrasal verbs, vague terms,

a great deal of lexical hyperbole, and slang. In writing, vocabulary tends to be carefully weighed and accurate in meaning. There can be many learnedwords and technical terms occurring in written texts. 3)difference in terms of phonology/graphology In terms of phonology and graphology, speech makes full use of phonological features, while writing of graphological features. In places of these prosodic and paralinguistic features in spoken texts, writing makes use of graphological devices such as punctuation, paragraphing, capitalizing, italics, and so on. Distinctions among speech : Speech can be spontaneous or non-spontaneous. Within spontaneous speech, there is conversing versus monologuing. Non-spontaneous speech can be sub-categorized as reciting and as the speaking of what is written.

Distinctions among writing : Texts written to be spoken as if not written such as the lines in a drama, sound like real speech. Texts written to be spoken with no effort to conceal their written origin such as scrips for sermons, speeches, lectures, commentaries, can be really the reading of an article or essay but the hearer is not in the same situation as the reader where he can turn back a page to check his understanding. T exts written not necessarily to be spoken with no relation to the spoken mode such as a telephone book or a dictionary may be described as written to be read. Texts written not necessarily to be spoken but with a relationship with the spoken mode such as dialogue in a novel, may be categorized as written to be read as speech; and the interior monologue related to such texts may be categorized as written to be read as if thought.

Speaking writing Spontaneously non-spontaneously

Conversing monologuing 'reciting' the speaking of

What is written

To be spoken to be spoken not necessarily

As if not written to be spoken

To be read as if: to be read

(a)heard(to be read as speech)

(b)overheard(to be read as if thought)

7 the English of conversation

General features: First, it shows inexplicitness of language. Second, it shows randomness of subject-matter and lack of planning. Third, there is the phenomenon of normal non-fluency, as hesitation, slips of tongue, overlapping or simultaneous speech.

Stylistic features in terms of levels of language: 1) grammatical features : a. Preference for short and loose sentences. There is a high proportion of parenthetic compound types of sentences such as you know, I mean, that is. b. High incidence of elliptical and incomplete sentences. In order to be brief, and informal/intimate, participants in casual conversation tend to omit parts/elements of an utterance which in formal context are not ellipted. c. Frequency of interrogative sentences. As a verbal transaction between two people conversing, questions and answers are the basic form. d.Simple nominal and verbal group structure. Nominal groups in conversation tend to be the type "Derminer+()Adjective)+Noun; witn not much postmodification or adjective sequence. 2) lexical features: Most noticeable also is the vocabulary of casual conversation, which, in keeping with the need to be simple and direct in expression, tends to be plain and colloquial, rich in vague terms and slangy expressions. a. Preference for short words and vague expressions. b. Frequent use of colloquial items and idioms and a great many phrasal verbs. c. Use of lexical hyperbole and of slang. 3) Phonological features: a.frequent use of some basic prosodic patterns. There is a high proportion of simple falling tones. b. Prosodic variation within the tone-unit c.Frequency of pause and uneven tempo.

d.Free occurrence of paralinguistic effects(body language ). 4) semantic features : Semantically the most important feature of this variety is randomness of subject matter and general lack of planning. Cohesive device is very marked in the sample by frequent use of personal pronoun reference, cross-reference using articles and determines and use of coordinating conjunction.

8 the English of public speech

General features: most persuasive speeches are the speaking of what is written to be spoken to an audience, usually on a formal occasion. But public speaking is also different from daily conversation in that it concentrates on one topic with highly structured format and more formal language, and makes a more effective way of delivery. Public speaking shows the characteristics of the written mode with its highly logical organization of thoughts, closely-knit structure and formal language. Stylistic features: 1) grammatical features: a. variations in sentence length. b. Various sentence type. Most sentences are statements and occasional questions are used. Vocatives of a general type such as 'my fellow citizens','my friends', are used to

add a touch of intimacy to the addresser-addressee relationship. C. more complex-looking group structures. Nominal groups in this variety can sometimes be complex-looking, but more with postmodification than with premodification. What is noteworthy in items of verbal groups in the total lack of contractions in the most persuasive speeches. 2) lexical features:a. Using accurate and clear words. Compared with daily coversation, public speech is careful about its choice of words. Successful speakers tend to choose concrete, familiar words over abstract, unfamiliar ones. b. Adaptation of wording to particular audience. c. Less use of phrasal verbs.

3) phonological features: a. Appropriate volume and pitch variation. b. Varying tempo and rightly timed pause. 92,145. c. Rhythmic effect. Speakers often seek to exploit the rhythm of language by their choice and arrangement of words. d. Distinct articulation. e. Full use of non-verbal communication. Perhaps more than in any other varieties, public speech makes full use of non-verbal communication. 4) semantic features: a. Effective ways of organization. Clear organization is vital to speech-making. Persuasive speeches, especially policy speeches often fall into problem-solution order, sometimes a problem-cause-solution order. Most striking about the connectives in public speaking is: The use of pairs of transitional phrases stating both the idea the speaker is leaving and the one he is coming up. The use of internal previews and summaries. The use of signposts to help the audience keep track of where the speaker is in the speech, or focus their attention on key ideas. b. Effective ways of delivery. The most prominent of the rhetorical devices in speech-making is the use of parallelism. The parallel structure makes the statement clear, consistent and compelling. Antithesis对照contrasts ideas in a formal structure of parallelism. Antithesis lends extra impact to the statement. Repetition helps create a strong emotional effect. Some speakers use alliteration押头韵to catch the attention of the audience and make ideas easier to remember. Alliteration is a marvellous way to spruce up修饰speeches. Figurative比喻use of language is also very marked in public speeches.

9 the English of advertising

The function of advertising: marketing role, helping companies sell their products or services; educational role, helping people learn about new products or services; economic role, encourage competition in product/service improvements and lower price; social role, helping increase productivity and raise the standard of living.

The functional tenor of advertising language is mainly persuasive(as consumer advertising) or mainly informative(as business advertising).

Stylistic features of display advertising: 1) graphological features: Full use of graphologuical contrasts. Prominent use of pictures. Clear identification of the

advertiser. 2)grammatical features: A display advertising tends to be grammatically simple. a.Preference for short sentences. b. Combined use of various types of sentences. c. Use of simple verbal groups. d. Use of heavily modified nominal groups. In order to pack more information into a limited space, many ads have heavily modified nominal groups. 3) lexical features: So far as the lexis is concerned, advertising is characteristic of its richly suggestive and descriptive language. a. Wide use of affirmative and commendatory words and expressions. Comparisons are many in advertising, usually to affirm the improvement made to a product or service. Most prominent is the use of a large number of adjectives. b. Frequent use of personal pronouns. c. Extensive use of neologisms新词. 4) semantic features : Semantically, newspaper or other print advertising is distinctive in its heavy reliance on the overall layout, its adaptation to the target audience and marketing objective(high attention to positioning and theme), its rhetorical devices, etc. Rhetorical devices: Repetition is striking in some ads. Parallel structure is often seen. Various metaphorical uses of language are common. Allusions暗指and puns 双关are thought-provoking and humorous. Sound effects are embodied in alliteration or metrical韵律的rhythm.

Conspicuous features of business-to-business advertising: business-to-business advertising is designed to sell products and service not to general consumers but to other business. First, the target audience in business advertising is much smaller. Second, most of the products or services that are advertised tend to be technical, complicated, and high priced. Third, the buyer will be professionals.

Conspicuous features of classified advertising: classified advertising is compact and brief, and supplies abundant information about help wanted, used furniture and automobile for sale, apartment for rent, instruction offer, film and theatre,etc. Radio advertising is written to be spoken as if not written. Radio advertisements draw their hearers' attention by phonological contrasts and effects, (while newspaper display advertisements draw the readers' attention by graphological contrasts and pictures).

10 the English of news reporting

General features: Owing to the limitation of space, and pressure for time on the part of the reader, reporters have to compress their information while making it clear and interesting. The need to be compact, and clear,and interesting poses particular on the demand on the graphological design of headlines' on the peculiar arrangement of events, and on the clarity, directness and vividness of language.

Stylistic features:1)graphological features:dddddd 2)grammatical features: a. Alternating use of long and short statement-type sentences. Actually in news

reporting, there is often an alternating use of long and short or elliptical, even incomplete sentences, especially in feature articles, so as to give variety to the rhythm of the article. Other types of sentences are possible. Occasional questions are used, especially in feature news items, to direct the reader's attention to what is to fellow and keep the pace of the news from dragging, or to simply assert something that is obviously hard to deny. Commands are few, but they do sometimes occur.

b. Frequent use of inverted sentence structure and expanded simple sentences. What is distinctive of this variety of English is the use of inverted sentence structure, especially when the source of authority is used at the end of the sentence(stress,attention). Simple sentences expanded by subordinating structures following the main clause.

c. Use of heavily modified nominal groups. Highly noteworthy is the presence of much complex pre-and post- modification of the nominal group in this variety of English.

https://www.360docs.net/doc/621220823.html,e of simple verbal groups. The verbal group in the sample is simple in structure, mostly composed of one or two elements. There is an obvious bias toward the use of certain tense form: the dominant simple past tense and some present tense form in the same text. 3) lexical features: a. Preference for journalistic words and set expressions. b. Wide use of neologisms新词. Words with extended meaning, nonce-words临时造词, coinages, words borrowed extensively from sports, military,commerce, science and technology, gambling,etc. c. Extensive use of abbreviation. Govt (government),auto(automobile), coke(coca cola), Jap(Japanese), nukes(nuclear wepon),Viets(Vietnamese), telecast(broadcast on TV), poliburo(political bureau), ABC(American Broadcasting Corporation), BBC(British Broadcasting Corporation), EEC(European Economic Community), UN(United Nations), UPI(United Press International), J.F.K(John F Kennedy), NATO(North Atlantic Treaty Organization), UNESCO(the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), APEC(Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation), OPEC(Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries), ASEAN(Association of Southeast Asian Nations), IMF(International Monetary Fund ). d. Avoidance of superlatives最高级and tarnished晦涩words ornaments. Superlatives are usually inaccurate, and tarnished word ornaments are not vivid. So they are often avoided in news reporting.

e. Aavoidance of unobjective wording. The writer does not use I, me, my, us, or our in a news story except when quoting someone. 4) semantic features: Semantically, newspaper reporting is distinctive for its discourse pattern, its simple way of transition and its headlining skill. Distinctive discourse pattern: In news reporting, the events are arranged in the order of their 'newsworthiness'. This way of writing is often referred to as inverted pyramid, and the order in which newsworthy facts are organized is referred to as 'logical order'. The order of importance is measured by reader appeal.

Simple way of transition. Though the news story is split up into separate units, there is yet unity. This is achieved through the obvious relatedness between sentences, or with the use of such common connectives as also, on the other hand, or meanwhile, etc. Skillful headlining. Headlines play a vital part in drawing the reader's attention to the news story. Grammatically, headlines are most noted for their wide use of ellipsis with frequent omissin of articles, possessives所有格, verb be, even content words, so as to shorten the length and to be more concise and comprehensive. Stylistic features of radio and television news: So far as sentence structure is concerned, newscast news tend to be even simpler compared with newspaper news. Inverted sentence structure is usually not followed in newscast. Familiar words are preferred. Complex words and phrases are avoided lest they should cause any misunderstanding when heard on the air.

11 the English of science and technology

EST includes in its category many fields of discourse: the English of mathematic, the English of physics, the English of chemistry, the English of biology, the English of linguistic, etc. On the whole, the language of all the scientific fields have such features in common that we can take them all as a single variety of English which comprises two subvarieties: the English of specialized science and technology(ESST) and the English of common science and technology(ECST).

Stylistic features of EST: 1)grammatical features: a.More use of longer and statement-type sentences. b. Preference for impersonal sentences patterns. Most highly distinctive is the frequent use of impersonal sentences, as it is important to stress the fact that experimental results will be the same as long as the experiment are replicated exactly, no matter who performs them. This is shown: ○a in the use of sentences introduced by an anticipatory It○b in the use of passive

structure(to keep objective) in narrating. The person agent is normally not mentioned, though occurrence of other agents are possible in EST(by). c. Wide use of non-finite structure and prepositional phrases. d. Use of expanded premodification. e. Tendency to nominalization. Nominalization(chiefly of predicate transitive verbs) is another way of making sentences compact, impersonal and formal.

f. Wide use of the simple present tense.

g. Incidence of subjunctive mood. In EST, scientists and engineers are often engaged in supposition and inference when explaining a problem or phenomenon. Hence the high incidenceof the subjunctive mood in this variety: ○a to indicate the results of a possible or imagined course of action, or○b to refer to the possible results of something which did not happen but might have happened. 2) lexical features: Most EST texts are distinctive in their unique vocabulary and use of common words with accurate and dispassioned meaning. a. Specific use of highly-technical words. This is clearly typical of the

English of specialized science and technology, which is meant for professionals. b. Wide use of semi-technical words. c. Unique use of non-technical words and expressions. d. Frequent use of abbreviations,symbols, formulae, and charts. (sq, square; ltd, limited; cf, compare; ff, following) 3) semantic features: Semantically, EST is distinctive in its wide use logical-grammatical connectives and scarcity of rhetorical devices. a. Wide use of connectives(cohesion ties). EST aims at close and logical reasoning. Hence its dependence on strong meaning relations in content and clear explicit connectivity显性连接性. Most noticeable is the frequent use of the formal kind of transitional words/phrases and lexical repetition. ○a Backward reference with use of pronoun it, the definite article the and the demonstrative this.

○b Noun repetition.○c Summarizing nouns or this. ○d Transitional words/phrases. b. Scarcity of rhetorical devices. EST writings aim at an impersonal, objective way of exposition. So clarity and accuracy(highlighting) is most important of their quality, and avoidance of ornamental or ambiguous expressions is a must.

Features of spoken EST: spoken EST refers to a conversation, a lecture, a radio or television programme, or a film, concerning a scientific or technical subject. What is most striking about spoken EST is its similarity with its corresponding written form. Comparatively, the spoken form is less formal and it is often endowed with features common to spoken varieties of all fields.

12 the English of legal documents

As a variety: The field of legal documents covers a wide range: statutes, decrees, legal provisions, economic contracts, commodity warranty, deeds of trust, insurance policies, wills and testaments, leases and instalment plans, etc. All of these are concerned with imposing of obligations and conferring of rights. And their personal tenor is the same----very formal, even dignified. In terms of mode, all of them are recorded in a written form meant to be scrutinized in silence.

Stylistic features of legal English:1)graphological features: a. Use of different types. A first glance at the legal document reveals that it is printed in different shapes of type. b. Particular arrangement of blocks. c. Limited range of punctuation.

2) grammatical features: a. Tendency to long sentences. Legal English tends to put all sequences into the form of very complex sentences capable of standing alone, by means of an array of subordinating devices. b. Wide use of statement-type sentences. As is the nature of legal documents, most of the sentences are statements with no questions and only an occasional command as is used at the end of a document. A large number of sentences are of the structure S P O (C)A or A S P O C. Within each of the two infinitive structures, there is an adverbial introduced by because of and even if respectively. Conditional clause introduced by if, provided that, in the event of, etc are many in this variety. In legal English adverbials

often come before the object. c. Preference for complex postmodification in the nominal group. Legal English is highly nominal. There is a marked preference for heavy postmodification. Participial 分词phrases are frequently used as postmodification. Heavy use of postmodification is an effort to suit the need for exactness of expression so as to rule out any possible misinterpretation. d. Use of simpler verbal groups. Compared with nominal groups, verbal groups in legal documents are structurally simple. In insurance policies and contracts quite a number of verbs are of the type ' modal auxiliary(often shall or may)+be or do '.

3)lexical features: a. Frequent employment of archaic words and phrases. In order to render the legal documents highly formal and dignified, lawyers often employ words and phrases that are unique to this variety. Words like herein, hereof, hereinafter, thereunder, whereby; phrases like forever in fee simple, in witness whereof, legally seized and possessed of, of sound and disposing mind, upon his official bond, etc. They are either unique to legal English or are endowed with a strong legal flavour. b. More use of Romance than Germanic words. Owing to the extensive borrowing of French legal terminology after the Conquest, the French element in legal vocabulary is extremely large. What is particularly distinctive is the use of French and Latin legal terms. The large proportion of Romance words help raise the formality of the text. c. Special use of common words. Lawyers also have a set of technical terms at their own disposal. And a number of common words have been inverted into technical terms with only one of their meaning kept in the legal text. Common words used in such a special way in legal documents, helps mark out a text as belonging to the field of legal English. 4) semantic features: a. Preference for lexical repetition to pronoun reference. In order to achieve exactness of reference, leaving no loopholes whatsoever, legal documents tend to use lexical repetition as the formal device to link their long and self-contained sentences. Repetition of the same exact word or words not only occurs between sentences, but also between different parts within the same sentence. As a result, pronoun reference is scarce. Repetition within the same sentence is remarkably unique in this variety. Verbal groups are also repeated. b.Wide use of conjunctional phrases and parallel structure. Coordinating of words and phrases are another remarkable feature of legal texts. The most frequently seen are: last will and testament遗嘱, children and issue子女或后嗣, heirs and devisees继承人, provisions and stipulations条款, full force and effect效力,and so on. Parallel structure is prominent in enumerating concrete terms and conditions of a policy or contract.

c.Tendency to meticulous way of expression. Another way to achieve exactness of reference and to evade any possible misinterpretation is to be extremely detailed in expression lest there should arise anything disputable concerning the stipulations on

rights or obligations.

13 the English of literature----general remarks

Literature is the art of language. It uses language to create images to reflect social life and the mind and feelings of the author. It can mimic all aspects of human experience----both linguistic and non-linguistic experience. Thus in a literary text, pieces of different varieties such as daily conversation, political speech, news reporting, legal procedure

14 the English of literature----the language of fiction

Manipulation of semantic roles:The concept of semantic roles(such as Agent, Patient, Instrument etc) is of interest and value in the analysis of narratives. Narrators and characters can be seen to be active instigators as ' Agent ', or passive receivers of an action as ' Patients '. One of the ways writers present a particular view of the world is by consistently choosing particular kinds of role structures over others. So examination of these role structures can reveal a lot about how narrators/characters perceive the world.

Creation of and symbols:

Employment of various points of view: In the basic aesthetic sense, point of view refers to angle of vision----the point from which the people, events and other details in a story are viewed and told in the novel. Traditionally, there have been two kinds of variations in point of view: first person, and third person. The third-person point of view has a narrator outside the story who refers to all characters in the story proper by name, or as ' he ', ' she ', ' they '. Such a point of view may be extremely broad----called the omniscient全知point of view as when the author decides to reveal the inner world of his/her characters. The third-person point of view can be limited, called the limited point of view. The narrator tells the story in the third person but confines him-/herself to what is experienced, thought and felt by a single character, or at most by a very limited number of characters, within the story.

The subtle workings of authorial tone:Authorial tone is the implied stance or attitude of the author----light or serious, bitter or enthusiastic, straightforward or ironic, towards the characters and events.