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H, , I, , SHIVAJI UNIVERSITY, KOLHAPUR, CENTRE FOR DISTANCE EDUCATION, , M. A. Part-I : English, Semester-I : Paper C-3, , Introduction to Modern Linguistics, Semester-II : Paper C-6, , Sociolinguistics and Stylistics, (Academic Year 2018-19 onwards), , K, , J
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Copyright ©, , Registrar,, Shivaji University,, Kolhapur. (Maharashtra), First Edition 2019, , Prescribed for M. A. Part-I, All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced in any form by mimeography, or any other means without permission in writing from the Shivaji University, Kolhapur, (MS), , Copies : 1,500, , Published by:, Dr. V. D. Nandavadekar, Registrar,, Shivaji University,, Kolhapur-416 004, , Printed by :, Shri. B. P. Patil, Superintendent,, Shivaji University Press,, Kolhapur-416 004, , ISBN- 978-93-89327-15-1, , H, , Further information about the Centre for Distance Education & Shivaji University may be, obtained from the University Office at Vidyanagar, Kolhapur-416 004, India., , H, , This material has been produced out of Developmental Grant from UGC, Distance Education, Bureau, New Delhi., , (ii)
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Preface, Dear Student,, This book contains Self-Instructional Materials on the Core Paper C3, Introduction to Modern Linguistics & C6 Sociolinguistics and Stylistics. You must, have seen the detailed syllabus prescribed for this paper. The syllabus contains, the books from which certain chapters have been prescribed for you for detailed, study of the topics stated in the syllabus. Besides, there is a list of reference, books for additional reading on those topics. In this book, there are 8 Units, dealing with the topics in the syllabus, in a detailed manner, making them simple, for you to understand. Besides, there are one sentence or one word answer, questions interspersed in each unit along with some objective type questions, also. They are meant for making you go back to the unit again and again in search, of the answers so that you become more and more familiar with the topics and, ideas contained in the unit. For self-check, there are answers of these questions, given at the end of each unit. Try to answer the questions in the self-check, exercises and then only see the answers given at the end of the unit. This will help, you to correct your own answers., Even though each unit in this book extensively deals with the topics in the, syllabus, these are only notes for your guidance. You ought to refer to the original, materials in the books prescribed. The units in this book are topics simplified for, your guidance. You should supplement this material from your own additional, reading., There are exercises given at the end of each unit, which contain broadanswer type questions, which you may face in the final examination. Try to write, answers for these questions with the help of this book., In this book the second and fourth unit of C6 give you practical exercises, based on the topics prescribed in the syllabus. You may have to face questions, of the type discussed in this unit. Model answers are also provided for these, practical exercises, which should help you in your final examination. Study each, unit carefully, and whenever possible try to refer to these topics from the books, prescribed., We wish you best luck in your final examination., - Editors, , (v)
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INDEX, Unit No., , Topic, , Page No., , Semester-I : Paper-C3, 1., , Nature, Scope and Branches of Linguistics, , 1, , 2., , Major Concepts in Linguistics, , 19, , 3., , Semantics, , 54, , 4., , Pragmatics, , 76, , Semester-II : Paper-C6, 1., , Sociolinguistics, , 111, , 2., , Analysis of Register, , 163, , 3., , Stylistics, , 192, , 4., , Stylistic Analysis of a Poem, , 225, , (vii)
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Each Unit begins with the section objectives Objectives are directive and indicative of :, 1. what has been presented in the unit and, 2. what is expected from you, 3. what you are expected to know pertaining to the specific unit,, once you have completed working on the unit., The self check exercises with possible answers will help you, understand the unit in the right perspective. Go through the possible, answers only after you write your answers. These exercises are not to, be submitted to us for evaluation. They have been provided to you as, study tools to keep you in the right track as you study the unit., , Dear Students, The SIM is simply a supporting material for the study of this paper., It is also advised to see the new syllabus 2017-18 and study the, reference books & other related material for the detailed study of the, paper., , (viii)
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UNIT - 1, , NATURE, SCOPE AND BRANCHES OF, LINGUISTICS, 1.1, , Introduction, Language is the quickest tool of communication used by human beings. It, , comes to most of the human beings quite naturally and effortlessly though it is not, instinctive. It is not instinctive because it does not come by birth. It is acquired by, humans in the initial stages of their physical and mental development. It can be, acquired at any stage of development but it needs special efforts on the part of the, learner except in case of the language in practice around them., Languages change from place to place. If it is a continuous continental, place, the changes are identifiable but if the locations are totally different, the, languages may be totally disconnected. Linguists all over the world have identified, more than six thousand languages. This makes the study of language more, enigmatic and attracts special attention of the scholars., , 1.2, , Objectives, , After studying this unit, you will be able to, 1), , understand the nature of human language., , 2), , know characteristics of human language., , 3), , understand the branch known as linguistics., , 4), , understand the nature of linguistic enquiry., , 5), , know the areas of linguistic enquiry., , 6), , understand the scope of linguistics., , 7), , know different branches of linguistics., 1
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SUBJECT MATTER - I, 1.3., , What is Linguistics ?, Linguistics has been an area of interest among philosophers and logicians, , since antiquity. The nature of language and variety of its uses by individuals has, always attracted experts from different fields such as education, sociology,, anthropology, language teaching, psychology and philosophy. It is probably because, all these have language as their base. This fascination led some of the interested, souls to undertake the study of language which ultimately became ‘Linguistics’., Let’s begin with some definitions of linguistics., a), , ‘Linguistics observes language in action as a means for determining how, language has developed, how it functions today, and how it is currently, evolving'. (G. Duffy), , b), , Linguistics is concerned with the nature of human language, how it is learned, and what role it plays in the life of the individual and the community.’ (S. Pit, Corder), , c), , ‘Linguistics tries to answer two basic questions: What is Language? How, does language work?’ (Jean Aitchison), , d), , ‘The scientific study of human language is called linguistics’. (Victoria A., Fromkin), Most of the definitions here focus on two issues: the first is language and the, , second is scientific study. There are two words used ‘scientific’ and ‘language’. Both, the words have different contextual connotations. Any study has to be ‘scientific’ i.e., it should have certain methodology for collection and analysis of data apart from, following certain procedures. Secondly, the object of study in linguistics is, ‘language’. If language is the object of study, it is necessary to know some basics of, language. (The word ‘language’ here is used without any article as there are many, languages in the world but the science that studies them remains the same though, languages changes.) Let’s try to understand the nature of language., 2
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The study of linguistics must begin with the understanding of language and, its characteristics. Let’s try to understand the nature of human language., 1.3.1, , Nature of Human Language, There are several ways in which human beings communicate. They, , communicate through pictures, symbols, body movements, facial expressions,, gestures, actions, etc. All these are means of communication. Language is also a, way of communication. It makes use of words. Hence, it is a verbal communication, system. It is a memory-based phenomenon as the speakers of language have to, remember words and use them as and when required., Language is a common human phenomenon. Hence, literary critics,, linguists, philosophers, psychologists and many others have been interested in, language. A few of them have tried to define language in their own ways. Following, are some definitions of language., •, , ‘Speech is the representation of the experience of the mind.’- Aristotle, , •, , ‘Language is a purely human and non-instinctive method of communicating, ideas, emotion and desires by means of a system of voluntarily produced, symbols.’- Edward Sapir: Language., , •, , ‘Language is the expression of ideas by means of speech sounds combined, into words.’- Henry Sweet, , •, , ‘A language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols, by means of which a, social group co-operates.’- Bloch and Trager: Outline of Linguistic Analysis., , •, , ‘The totality of the utterances that can be made in a speech community is the, language of that speech community.’- Edward Bloom: Language., , •, , ‘Language is human… a verbal systematic symbolism… a means of, transmitting information… a form of social behaviour… [with a] high degree, of convention.’ J. Whatmough: Language., , 3
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•, , ‘A language [is a] symbol system… based on pure or arbitrary, convention…infinitely extendable and modifiable according to the changing, needs and conditions of the speakers.’ R. H. Robins: General Linguistics, , •, , ‘Human languages are unlimited… and unlimited set of discrete signals…, have great structural complexity… structure on at least two levels… are, open-ended… allow for the transmission of information.’ R. W. Langacker:, Language and its Structure., , •, , ‘When we study human language, we are approaching what some might call, “human essence”, the distinctive qualities of mind that are, so far as we, know, unique to man.’ Noam Chomsky: Language and Mind., (This list of definitions of language is reproduced. Source: Verma, S.K. & N., , Krishnaswamy, Modern Linguistics: an Introduction, OUP, New Delhi. 27th, impression, 2015. Print.), 1.3.2, , General Features of Human Language, Each definition provides us one or more features of human language., , Following is a list of general features of human language extracted from the above, definitions., a), , Language is a means of communication. Speakers of a particular language, express their ideas, opinions and feelings in the language. they express, themselves precisely in that language., , b), , Basically language is vocal. It makes use of sounds., , c), , It is a non-instinctive phenomenon. It comes to us through conventions. It is, transmitted from one generation to the next and to the next. Thus, some, conventions are added to it and some are removed from it as per the needs, of communication., , d), , It is symbolic as it makes use of symbols that are potentially meaningful., However, it is further realised that meanings are assigned to these symbols, by human mind., 4
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e), , It is a social phenomenon. We learn and use language in society., , f), , Language is specially a human phenomenon. Other animals have different, systems of communication., , g), , It is arbitrary in the sense that we cannot logically answer questions ‘why’, and ‘how’ for every aspect of language., , h), , Language is structurally complex. The length of the sentence may be short, or long as per requirement of data to be communicated., , i), , Language is an open-ended communicative system. Words can be added or, removed from the language. It is modifiable as we see differences in, spellings of the same words in different historical period., , Check your progress - I, I., , Answer the following questions in one word, phrase or sentence each., , 1), , Define linguistics., , 2), , What is the object of study of linguistics?, , 3), , What does ‘monolingual’ mean?, , 4), , What is ‘creole’?, , II., , Fill in the blanks with appropriate words/ expression., , 1), , Milton invented _________ to substitute ‘Hell.’, , 2), , ‘Pidgin’ is a __________ language., , 3), , Language is a __________ phenomenon., , 4), , _________ is an arbitrary system of communication., , 5
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SUBJECT MATTER - II, 1.4, , Nature of Linguistic Enquiry, In the definition of linguistics above we have used the word ‘scientific’. Let’s, , try to understand why linguistics is a science., In a very general sense, we use the term ‘science’ for any knowledge which, is based on some clear, systematic and rational understanding. The process, followed in science is empirical i.e. it is always based on the logically proven data, using certain procedure. In the pure sciences, the process followed includes, different stages such as primary observation, statement of problem, hypothesis,, observation, experimentation, collection of data, analysis of data, hypothesis testing, and conclusion. However, the same procedure is not applicable in human sciences., For example, in political science or philosophy, problems are different but they need, to be addressed. Often they are presented in the form of logical arguments asthe, empirical study is not possible due to multiple dimensions of the issue. Most of the, times, there are possibilities of personal interest of the researcher. Hence, a, scientific study has to be objective as well. Only objectivity in enquiry can lead the, researcher to the root cause of the problem or discovery. It is expected that science, provides explanation after adequate observation of data and it is consistent i.e. there, is no contradiction between different parts of the explanation or statement. All of, them must be logically and empirically connected to each other. All the observations, must be presented in a precise and non-redundant language. Everything must be, stated in a straightforward way and roundabout way should be strictly avoided so as, to make the observations clear to the readers. Let’s see if Linguistics follows these, criteria., The object of study of linguistics is language. Almost all the languages have, similar characteristics. Most of the languages have definite shapes, sets of, classifiable vocabulary and sets of sentence structures. Pictorial languages are, exceptions to them. However, all these languages can be studied using certain, common criteria. Linguists identify those common as well as particular criteria for, 6
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each language while studying it. They identify the components of language the way, physicists and chemists do with materials to determine their nature. Linguists, observe speech-sounds, word formation, arrangement of words into phrases,, clauses and sentences, etc. They use their senses to identify these elements. Our, senses are at work when we listen, speak or read something., After observation comes the stage of classification. In any science,, observable phenomenon must have a precise explanation. The explanation should, elaborate the nature of that phenomenon. For example, chemists classify elements, as metals and non-metals; biologists classify living things as plants and animals. In, the same way linguists observe characteristics of language and classify them as, spoken and written. Further they classify both the forms into sounds, words,, phrases, clauses, sentences, paragraphs and texts. For example, there are 44, sounds in English which are further classified as pure vowels (12), dipthongs (8) and, consonants (24). There are only 26 alphabets but 44 sounds in English. This is, something surprising. But it is not surprising because the linguists have observed, English spoken by thousands of educated and non-educated speakers before, presenting the analysis before us. This analysis is absolutely empirical in its nature, and the methodology used is scientific. It observes the observable phenomenon and, arrives at conclusion after analysis of the data., Let’s try to elaborate steps in Linguistic Analysis, a), , Identification of Area for Linguistic Analysis :, Linguistics analyses a language for discovering its underlying principles. This, , analysis is usually based on some problem. The problem decides the area for, research and vice versa. This also has some scientific background. One has to, move from general to specific while identifying area for research. Identification of, problem may be accidental or calculated. While working, we suddenly come across, something that appears different and this difference when carefully observed leads, us to identify the problem for study., , 7
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For example, one day I was talking to my teacher. We were talking about, English words used by Marathi speakers while talking Marathi. I used the word ‘S.T.’, instead of ‘bus’. He enquired what is S.T. and I replied in Marathi gaadi. He asked, names of other vehicles and I made a list truck, car, jeep, tractor, bike, moped, etc., He asked me to translate these words into Marathi. I said, “Why should I translate, them? These are Marathi words only.” He very politely replied, “No.” He showed me, all these words in the dictionary and I was surprised to find them all in English. This, gave a problem for study: English words used in Marathi. This is accidental., On the other hand, my students of First Year of graduation are quite poor at, English. I tried to find out reasons and I realised that they are afraid of using it, because they are not trained to use it. My research started. I arrived at a conclusion, that all the teachers right from the primary schools need to use English to some, extent so as to reduce fear of English from the minds of students. This is calculated, problem for study., b), , Collection of Data :, Once we have a problem, it is necessary to collect data. For collecting data,, , a student of linguistics needs to prepare a questionnaire. This questionnaire should, be designed taking into account different aspects which you have already come, across., For example: ‘Indian English as a variety of English’ is the problem for our, study. One of the features of Indian English is ‘ample use of continuous tense’. We, need to verify it. For that purpose, we need to collect samples of speeches of some, Indian users of English. There will be differences among speakers; some speakers, use English for official purposes only, some use English for international, communications only, there are some people who use English for day-to-day, communication and so on. There are different reasons for use of English and these, reasons give us aspects for preparing questionnaire., Data can also be collected through personal interviews, books, surveys,, reports, etc. Whatever data we borrow, we need to acknowledge it by giving proper, 8
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references, dates of survey, dates of interviews, etc. Linguists collect data using all, these tools of data collection., c), , Analysis of Data :, Data in linguistic studies is analysed according to the set objectives of the, , study. For example if a linguist has undertaken phonological study, he will attempt to, discover sounds in that language. At the outset, he may go for minimal pairs where, he compares and contrasts monosyllabic words to discover phonemes. If it is a, morphological analysis, the linguist analyses words for different word formation, methods. Sometimes, the analysis leads him to the discovery of methods. Result of, analysis may be anything provided it follows logical sequence of analysis., d), , Determination of the Relationships between Facts :, We know that it is impossible to interact or interview all the speakers of a, , particular language. The linguist selects his samples randomly or as per the, requirements of his problem for study. Hence, the data collected is just, representative and is not all inclusive. Here, the linguist needs to determine, relationship between what he has discovered and what the reality is. Sometimes,, there are relations of one type or the other between the facts. The linguist has to, associate them and elaborate the relationship., e), , Verification of Findings :, A linguist needs to verify his conclusions before making them known to, , public. Verification comes after second cycle of data collection. However, for, verification the linguist need not be as rigorous in his data collection as he was, initially. Sometimes facts can be verified just by observations. Verification is an, essential stage in linguistic analysis as it is in a scientific research. Once verified,, the linguist presents his findings in a systematic way. These findings become, guiding principles or rules., , 9
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f), , Predictions :, Once we know the underlying principles, we can predict situations. We can, , easily tell what can happen in the given situation if we know the rules. These, predictions, in a way, verify the vitality and utility of the research work., g), , Generalization :, This is the last step in the linguistic analysis. From specific rules or principles, , we move towards general rules., Generally speaking, these are the stages followed in any scientific, experiment. However, as we stated above, Linguistics is also a science as it follows, all the steps of scientific research., , Check your progress - II, I., , Answer the following questions in one word, phrase or sentence each., , 1), , Which is the first step in linguistic enquiry?, , 2), , Which are the two forms of expression?, , 3), , State different means of data collection?, , 4), , When do we get rules and principles?, , II., , Fill in the blanks with appropriate words/ expression., , 1), , __________ is the primary source of data collection., , 2), , Linguistics analyses language for discovering __________________., , 3), , Identification of linguistic problem may be _________________., , 4), , _________ is the last stage in linguistic enquiry., , 10
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SUBJECT MATTER - III, 1.5, , Scope of Linguistics, Linguistics is the scientific study of system of language. The major focus of, , linguistics is ‘grammar’ and different aspects of linguistics are phonology,, morphology, words, phrases, clauses, sentences, semantics and pragmatics., ‘Phonetics is the study of articulation, transmission and reception of speech sounds’, (Verma&Krishnaswamy, p.27) while Phonology describes systems and patterns of, sounds.Morphology is the study of words. Semantics is the study of meaning while, pragmatics is the study of meaning in the context. Graphology undertakes study of, system of writing while lexicology studies lexical items., Linguistics has direct connections with many other fields of enquiry such as, anthropology,, , psychology,, , philosophy,, , literary, , criticism,, , sociology,, , history,, , geography and may other branches of knowledge. The modern technological, developments also have made use of concepts from linguistics. Generally speaking,, linguistics encompasses every branch of knowledge in one sense or the other., Linguists have developed different branches of knowledge depending on their area, of interest. Let’s study a few., , 1.5.1, , Branches of Linguistics, The study of linguistics has been further divided into different branches, , according to different aspects one needs to address through one’s studies. Though, there are several branches of linguistics, we will discuss a few widely studied and a, few branches of current importance., 1), , Historical Linguistics :, Historical linguistics is the oldest branch of modern linguistics. It undertakes, , the study of language change over a period of time. Different aspects of study of, historical linguistics are system of sound, orthography, lexicography, language, , 11
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change, morphology, and meaning. It encompasses almost all the aspects of, modern linguistics and analyses historical changes., 2), , Comparative Linguistics :, Comparative Linguistics is the scientific study of language from comparative, , point of view. It involves comparing and classifying languages. There are three, principles to compare languages: genetic, typological and areal. The genetic, classification compares languages to identify language family. The linguists try to, show that certain languages have same origin and they have evolved from a single, language which they call proto-language. The typological classification studies type, of language. It tries to explore typological similarities among languages. The last, principle is areal principle. Here, the classification is based on the language area., The areal classification attempts to show that certain languages show certain, characteristics because of language contacts., 3), , Sociolinguistics :, Sociolinguistics is the branch of linguistics which undertakes study of, , language in relation to society. Different aspects of sociolinguistics are social origin, of language, theories of language change, theories of languages in contact, social, needs of language, dialects, idiolects, varieties of language, etc., 4), , Stylistics :, Every individual is a special being as he differs from all others at least in one, , aspect. Same is true with the use of language by individual as well as group. This, individual or group difference is marked as a style. The branch of linguistics which, undertakes the study of language to explore stylistic elements is called stylistics., Most of the literary writers use language in their own way, as per their, training, and as per their abilities to manipulate the language for their creative, purposes. This certainly distinguishes them from many others. These creative uses, of the language are analysed by the stylisticians., , 12
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5), , Neurolinguistics :, We all know that our mind and our linguistic abilities are closely connected., , However, everything we read or listen is stored somewhere in our brain. It is this, storage which sends adequate words which we need while speaking. Our mind is, never at rest. It constantly draws words from this left hemisphere of our brain. It, means that our mind, language and brain are closely connected to one another., They have certain functions to perform in the given linguistic position. Modern, linguist have undertaken study of this relationship under the branch neurolinguistics., Neurolinguistics is the branch of linguistics that researches the manner in which, language is presented in the brain and the way it is processed by the brain., Neurolinguistics undertakes the study of neurons and their functions during, language processing. The left hemisphere of human brain stores all information, related to language. It stores words, acquires structures and shoots adequate, words. This is a very overt process. In fact, it is simply impossible to understand the, internal working of neurons as most of the researchers have to study brains of dead, or injured people. Neurolinguistics also undertakes study of certain spoken disorders, such, , as, , ‘stutter’,, , ‘aphasia’,, , ‘amnesia’,, , ‘agrammatism’, , and, , so, , on., , Forneurolinguiststhese disorders are the result of non-functioning or malfunctioning, of certain neurons in the brain. However, the research in the area is going on., 6), , Psycholinguistics :, Traditionally we all believed that the language we speak has a direct, , connection with our mind as our mind responds to everything we speak and, everything we do. Psychology is the science of mind and Linguistics is the science, of language. The combination of the two is psycholinguistics. The founders of, modern psycholinguistics like Broca and Wernicke speak about different speech, disorders in their work. The famous linguists like Leonard Bloomfield, Ferdinand de, Saussure, John Mead and Franz Boas were regular students of Wundt’s psychology, lecture as Wundt elaborated the relationship between mind and language. This, enabled these modern linguists to elaborate the complex system of communication, and the simultaneous mental processes., 13
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Many twentieth century psychologists put forth the theories of language, learning. Though the behaviourists and cognitive psychologists differ in their, theories of language learning, they ultimately speak about the language learning, process only. Edward Sapir, J.F. Skinner, Noam Chomsky and other speak about, language learning processes. Chomsky is the only linguist but he speaks about LAD, (Language Acquisition Device) which is an innate ability of a learner which enables, him to process the linguistic data and create his own sentences using it., Study of linguistics is incomplete without taking into account the theoretical, preliminaries in psychology and vice versa. We all are familiar with the psychological, counselling treatment. Here, the patient is allowed or encouraged to express himself, so that his mind acquires normal conditions. The intrinsic relationship between, language and psychology attracts many linguists to psychology and vice versa., 7), , Computational Linguistics :, Ours is the age of information and technology. Every day we get information, , about different issues around through the medium of newspapers, magazines, radio,, television, computers, internet, etc. This information needs processing before it is, fed to the internet through the medium of computers and smartphones. Whatever, we type on the screen get converted into natural human language. This is basically, a miracle. Yet, human beings have made it possible by constantly working on, different technological tools., There are thousands of questions that haunt us. How is it that I press some, keys on the keyboard and the message gets typed in the language in which I want, it? (I type the same keys for Marathi and English but by using only one command, I, can type in Marathi and the very next moment I can switch over to English.) How do, the dictionaries work? How does a computer know that I have made a spelling, mistake? How is it possible for me to get some information on any topic on internet?, And that too in the language I want? How do these ‘google translators’ work?, For all this modern man has invented some tools and he feeds these tools, with some language. This language is artificial language. It is different from the, 14
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natural language we speak. Natural language differs from the artificial language., Artificial languages have digital or analogue encoding system while natural, languages have sounds and scripts. A computer does not understand what we, speak in Marathi or even in English. It understands only digital or analogue codes, designed for them. These codes are language of computers. We try to convert our, language into computer language so as to feed our own information in our own, language., The processing of natural language has become one of the main problems in, information exchange. The rapid development of computers in the last four decades, has made possible the implementation of many ideas to solve the problems that one, could not even imagine being solved automatically. However, this needed some use, of language encoding system. ‘Intelligent natural language processing is based on, the science called computational linguistics’ (Bolshakov & Gelbukh, 2004, p.17)., Computational linguistics attempts to get computers perform some useful, tasks involving human languages such as enabling human-machine communication,, improving human-human communication, language data in the form of emails,, blogs, etc. The field is largely occupied with machine translation, information search,, automatic questions-answers, speech recognition, text-to-speech synthesis, text, understanding, etc., This is a new field of linguistic enquiry having a lot of scope all over the, world., , Check your progress - III, I., , Answer the following questions in one word, phrase or sentence each., , 1), , Define Phonetics., , 2), , What does lexicology study?, , 3), , State two approaches used in the historical linguistics., , 15
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4), , Which are the three principles used in the comparative linguistics?, , 5), , What is neurolinguistics?, , 6), , Who are the founders of modern psycholinguistics?, , II., , Fill in the blanks with appropriate words/ expression., , 1), , The major focus of linguistics is ______________., , 2), , _____________ undertakes study of system of writing., , 3), , The genetic classification compares languages to identify __________., , 4), , The branch of linguistics which studies stylistic elements is called, __________., , 5), , ___________ presented the concept of LAD., , 6), , Machine translation is an aspect of study in _____________., , Exercises, I., , Discuss the following in details., , 1), , ‘Language is a system of abstractions.’ Discuss in details with adequate, examples., , 2), , Is it possible to think without language? Justify your answer with relevant, evidences., , 3), , How is code mixing and code switching possible? Elaborate with the help of, examples., , 4), , Discuss types of ‘language change’ with adequate examples from your, mother tongue., , 5), , ‘Linguistics is a science’. Discuss the statement in the light of nature of, linguistic enquiry., , 6), , Discuss applications of Computational Linguistics in your daily life., 16
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7), , Compare and contrast Historical Linguistics and Comparative Linguistics., , 8), , Discuss neurolinguistics, psycholinguistics and computational linguistics as, developmental linguistics., , Keys to Check your Progress, Check your Progress - I, 1), , Linguistics is the scientific study of language., , 2), , Language is the object of study of language., , 3), , Monolingual is a user of language who knows only one language., , 4), , Creole is a ‘pidgin’ which used by a community of speakers., , Check your Progress - II, 1) pandemonium, , 2) marginal, , 3) social, , 4) Language, , 2. I, 1), , Finding problem for study is the first step in the linguistic enquiry., , 2), , Speaking and writing are the two forms of expression in a language., , 3), , Survey, interviews, questionnaire, etc., , 4), , We can rules and principles after verification., , 2. II-, , 1) Survey/ Interview, , 2) underlying principles, , 3) accidental, , 4) Generalisation, , 17
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Check your Progress - III, 3. I, 1), , Phonetics is the study of the articulation, transmission and reception of, speech sounds., , 2), , Lexicology studies linguistic items., , 3), , Synchronic and diachronic., , 4), , genetic, typological and areal., , 5), , Neurolinguistics is the branch of linguistics that researches the manner in, which language is presented in the brain and the way it is processed by the, brain., , 6), , Broco and Werlike, , 3. II, , 1) grammar, , 2) graphology, , 3) language family, , 4) Stylistics, , 5) Noam Chomsky, , 6) Computational Linguistics, , 18
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Unit No. 2, , MAJOR CONCEPTS IN LINGUISTICS, 1.1, , Objectives, , After studying this unit you will be able to :, 1., , To enhance the awareness of about language., , 2., , To understand how linguists look at language;, , 3., , To understand how perception about language changes in course time., , 4., , To study the development of linguistic notions., , 5., , To know the major linguists and their approaches., , 6., , To strengthen the abilities of the advanced learners of language., , 7., , To explain concepts in linguistics., , 8., , To understand major approaches to study language., , Introduction :, In the earlier unit you have studied nature scope and branches of linguistics., Now we are going to study very significant concepts in linguistics that have changed, the direction / expanded the area of linguistics. Historical approach and contemporary, approach to the study of language are two major approaches in Linguistics. Before, that let us know whether there is any contribution to Linguistics by India scholars., Ancient Indian Scholars studied language / linguistics and there is a long tradition of, Indian Lingusitics which got discontinued, due various reason. However many western, linguists were inspired by these scholarly studies. Therefore it becomes mandatory to, know about our own tradition., Panini (6-4 Cen. BCE) : He is one of the significant linguists of the ancient, Indian tradition. Panim’s work :, Ashtadhyayai : It set the linguistic standards for classical Sanskrit. It is the, total sum of science of phonetics and grammar that had evolved in the Vedic religion., 19
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There are 4000 sutras in which he defines the morphology, syntax and semantics of, Sanskrit language., Ashthadhyayi is the foundational text of Vyakaran branch of Vedang which is, an auxiliary discipline of the Vedic period. His grammar is the first formal system, developed properly before the 19th century. Panini used the method of ‘auxiliary symbols’, in which new affixes are designed to mark syntactic categories and the control of, grammatical derivations., Panini’s analysis of noun compounds still forms the basis of modern linguistic, theories of compounding Indian languages., Ashthadhyayi is the most important surviving work in the tradition of Vyakarana., It contains eight chapters, each chapter is divided into four padas. Abbreviation Rules, grouping the phonemes of Sanskrit are given at the beginning of the text. Panini refers, to ten authoritative scholars of Vyakaran. Unfortunately the works of these ten scholars, are lost., Let us see what is the meaning of a sanskrit word Veda. Veda means knowledge,, wisdom, it is derived from the root vid (to know). The Vedas are a large body of knowledge, texts originating in the ancient Indian subcontinent. There are other meanings attached, to it along with religious meaning. Vedas are also called Sruti (what is heard) literature., They are different from other religious texts which are called Smrti (W hat is, remembered)., There are six Vedangas. Vedangas literally mean limbs or parts of Vedas., They are : Siksha, Kalpa, Vyakarana, Nirukta, Chhanda, Jyothisha. These subjects, were integral part of ancient Indian Education system to develop all round personality, of student with better understanding of Vedas., Siksha deals with the study of pronunciation of words and syllables through, correct accent and intonation conjunction (Sandhi) and disjunction (Vichheda) of, syllables (Vowels and consonants). It aims at training of students in the art and science, of articulation of words and syllables., Kalpa : The second Vedang deals with Rituals and ceremonies., Vyakarana : The third Vedanga deals with grammar analysis and decomposition, of words, word formation, root words and complex sentence structures. It provides, insights into the usage of words and sentences leading to the mastery of the language., , 20
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Nirukta : The fourth Vedanga deals with the explanation, interpretation of difficult, words and provides insight into the hidden content of Vedas., Chhanda : The fifth Vedang deals with analysis of different types of metres, (meters)., Jyotisha : The sixth Vedang deals with astrology., Now let us concentrate on the work of Panini, Vyakarana. From some scholar’s, point of view, it is probably a representative work that summarizes the prevailing, traditions and preserves them for posterity future. Vyakarana is divided into 4 parts :, 1., , Shivsutras : These sutras deal with phonetics / accents and intonation of, , distinctive units of sound that form part of the word and letter sound., 2., , Ashtadhyayi : These sutras deal with the structure of words and sentences, , and their construction., 3., , Datupadas : These sutras deal with the list of root words., , 4., , Ganapathas : These sutras deal with groups of Nominals (nouns and noun, , phrases)., The word Vyakarana is formed by prefixing ‘vi’ and ‘aa’ to the root ‘kri’ (means, to do). Panini’s Vyakarana deals with the linguistic analysis to establish the exact form, of words to properly express ideas and Nirukta focuses on linguistic analysis to establish, the proper meaning of the words in context., In Ashtadhyayi Panini distinguishes between usage in spoken language and, usage proper to language of the sacred religious texts. It aimed at preventing careless, or casual usage and transmission of the Vedic knowledge. Vyakarana ensured that, the explanation of meta-physical truths through words that vedic sages had realized, by their efforts remain available to all in a pristine form., Panini and Yaksa are the two significant ancient scholars of Vyakarana. Their, works refer to the competing schools of grammar of vedic period. One school held, that all nouns have verbal roots whereas the other school held that not all nouns have, verbal roots. But unfortunately these works are lost., Panini mentions earlier ten scholars of Vyakarana : Apisali, Kashyapa, Gargya,, Galav, Chakravarman, Bhardvaja, Sakatayana, Sakalya Senaka and Sphotayana., Yaska’s Nirukta also mentions some of the scholars mentioned by Panini., , 21
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Panini’s Influence on Western Linguistics :, Ferdinand de Saussure was very much influenced by Panini and Bhrathari’s, thoughts on language. Saussure was a professor of Sanskrit. His many ideas were, influenced by Indian grammarians. In his Memoir on the Original System of Vowels in, Indo-European Languages (1979), he mentions Indian grammar influences his ideas, that reduplicated aorists represent imperfects of a verbal class. His ‘On the use of the, Genetive Absolute in Sanskrit’ (1881) mentions Panini as an influence on his work., Leonard Bloomfied an American Linguist wrote a paper : ‘On Some Rules of, Panini’, Panini’s method /technic of using auxiliary symbols was rediscovered by the, logician Emil Post and now it is used as a standard method in designing computer, programming languages. Sanskrit scholars accept Panini’s linguistic apparatus as an, “applied Post” system. It shows the mastery of context-sensitive grammar and a general, ability to solve many complex problems. According to Frits Stall, Panini is the Indian, Euclid., , Post-Panini Schools :, 1), Patanjali in the 2nd cen. BCE wrote Mahabhasya (Commentary). It is a great, commentary on Ashtadhyayi. Patanjali’s this work is regarded as the classical model, for academic texts. It is written in dialogue style. It is didactic and is written in very, simple and clear Sanskrit. It contains many examples., 2), Bhartrhari (5 th Cen.) : Bhartrhari is considered as the most influential, Vyakarana thinker. He wrote about his philosophy of grammar and how language affects, thought. His Vakyapadiya contains his theories an ‘Philosophical problem of meaning’, which are unique. He is considered as a major architect of the Sphota Theory of meaning, in the Hindu tradition. It is related to the problem of speech production, how the mind, orders linguistic units into coherent discourse and meaning. Vakyapadiya is divided, into three books : (1) The Brahma-kanda, (2) The Vakyakanda, (3) The pada-Kanda., According to Bhartrhari the act of speech is made up of three stages :, (1) Conceptualization by the speaker (idea). (2) Performance of speaking (medium),, (3) Comprehension by the interpreter (Vaikhari complete utterance)., Bhartrhari belonged to the monistic school (eãXAÛ¡V) which identifies language, and cognition., , 22
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Bhartrahari’s ‘Sphot Theory’ : The Sanskrit word Sphota is derived from the, root Sphut of (to burst). This word was first used by Patanjali in its linguistic technical, sense. It was referred as ‘bursting forth’ of meaning or idea on the mind as language is, uttered. Patanjali uses Sphota as the invariant quality of speech. According to him, Dhwani (the acoustic element) can be long or short, loud or soft but the Sphota remains, unaffected by individual speaker differences. Thus a single Phoneme (varna) such as, |k|, |p| or |a| is an abstraction, distinct from variants produced in actual utterance., According to Bhartrhari, the Spota is the universal or linguistic type-sentence, type or word type as opposed to their representative symbols (Sounds). For him Sphota, is the language capability of man, revealling his consciousness. The ultimate reality is, also expressible in language, the eãX~«÷ or Eternal Verbum. Earlier it was thought that, Sphota is a mystical notion. The notion of ‘flash’ or ‘insight’ or ‘revealation’ is at the, centre of it. However, nowadays linguists think that it is more psychological., Bhartrhari expands the notion of ‘Sphota’ of Patanjali into three levels : (1) Varna, Sphota (unit of sound), (2) Pada Sphota (word/morpheme level), (3) Vakya Sphota, (sentence level). Bhartrhari thinks ‘Sphota’ as ‘whole’ and indivisible and nada (the, sound) which is sequenced and therefore divisible. The Sphota is the causal root,, intention behind an utterance. Sphota also arises in the listener., It seems that Bhartrhari is of the opinion that thought is not possible without, language. The Western Linguist Whorf have similar position on relationship between, language and thought. According to Bhartrhari there is no independent meaning or, signified, the meaning is inherent in the word or the Sphota itself. Though this theory, was adopted by many scholars of Vyakarana, it was rejected by Mimansa and Nyaya, schools of thought on the grounds of compositionality., Sphota doctrine might have influenced the notion of ‘Sign’ containing signifier, and signified proposed by Ferdinand de Saussure. Saussure thinks of signifier and, signified inseparable and contained in sign. In the later part of this unit we are going to, study Saussure’s basic concepts which led foundation of the modern linguistics. It is, also said that Bloomfield and Roman Jakobson might have been influenced by, Bhartrhari’s Sphota theory., After short review of Indian linguists and their work is now let us get acquainted, with western linguists and their, concepts., After the fall of Greece at the hands of Turks, Greek scholars spread over, Europe and started teaching. This brought Reinassance in the European countries. It, 23
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gave impetues to explore the world. After French, Portugese, Spain, England/Britain, became major explorer. It gave way to colonization of Eastern as well as western, countries. With the development of science and industry it increased curiosity among, scholars to know about the past or distant civilization. To know about them it became, necessary to understand languages used in the past by various speech communities, in various countries. It was necessary to deciher/understand the meaning of the code, for the anthroplogist. From anthropology linguistics came into being as far as western, linguistics is concerned. As you studied in the earlier unit linguistics is a scientific, study of language., Before studying the major concepts from Linguistic, let us know about the most, influential linguist of the 20th century, Ferdinand de Saussure. Understanding of, Saussure’s concepts will help you get an insight into how language is organized and, how it functions., , 2., , (iii) Ferdinand de Saussure (26 Nov. 1857 - 22 Feb. 1913), He was born in Geneva. Saussure’s father was scholar scientist. At the age of, , 14, he showed considerable talent and intellectual abilities. He studied Sanskrit and, comparative linguistics in Geneva and Leipzig. In 1878, he published a paper titled,, “Note on the Primitive System of the Indo-European Vowels”. This paper showed his, insight into the importance of the linguistic system and how it is central to understand, human knowledge and behaviour., Saussure’s ideas were similar to the ideas of Claude Levi-Strauss and Emile, Durkheim in the field of sociology. Saussure’s ideas influenced social sciences in the, first and mid-twentieth century. Then it spread over to literary theory and modern cultural, studies., Saussure’s influence was far reaching, through his students at the University, of Geneva and through his ideas as collected and spread after his death by his two, students Charles Bally and Albert Sechaye. They put together course notes from their, and another student’s notebooks to produce the Course de Linguistique. It was published, immediately after Saussure’s death. This book was widely read in France and other, European countries. In 1959, it was translated into English by Wade Baskin. Another, translation by Roy Harris was published in 1986., , 24
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In 1876 he went to the university of Leipzig. He received a degree of doctorate, in 1880 from that university. His thesis was on morpho syntatic topic, The Genetic, Absolute in Sanskrit., He was an instructor in ‘School of Advanced Studies’ in Paris from 1880 to, 1891. There he was also a lecturer in Gothic and Old High German. He published, many papers in Society of Linguistics in Paris. In 1891, he returned to Geneva where, he was offered a Chair in Sanskrit and comparative Indo-European philology. He studied, various types like legends of the Germanic people settled in the area, anagrams in, Greek and Latin poetry. In 1907 he gave lecture series on general linguistics. Three, times he gave lecture theories, everytime he restructured it. Here he brought in his, sign theory., Saussure’s book revolutionied the approach towards study of language. It gave, way to synchronic study of language. He introduced concepts like sign, signified, signifier,, langue and parole. He laid the foundation of structuralism., , (iv), , Introduction : Major concepts in linguistics., , In this chapter, first we are going to understand the concept of Langue and, Parole., The Swiss-linguist Ferdinand de Saussure (1857-1913) introduced these two, concepts in his lecture series on Language. The complied notes of these lecture series, were published in 1916 which is a major turning point in the study of modern Linguistics, (Course de-Lenguistique Generate). In the 20th century linguistics tried to find ways in, which languages could be described, identified and classified. They were trying to, arrive at general method of analyzing language which can be applied to any language., At this point of time Saussure proposed his famous pairs of concepts : langue vs, parole, signifier vs signified, diachrony vs synchrony, syntagmatic vs paradigmatic, relationship., Saussure first introduced the concept that language is a system of systems. It, means that every element in a system derives its significance from its relationship, with the other elements of the systems., Let us first understand the notion of Langue and Parole. La Langue is indicative, of ability to produce speech, a kind of institutionalized elements of the community’s, collective consciousness. In other words the language system resides in the mind of, the speaker. Every member of the community shares it and therefore they are in position, 25
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to understand each other. Langue comprises of rules and conventions phonology,, morphology, syntax and meaning. Through Langue members of speech community, share the properties of speech. Langue is stable and systematic. It is a storehouse., Speech community / society conveys the regularities of Langue to the child so that he, becomes able to function as a member of the speech community. In other words, langue is a product of social agreement. Langue means a language viewed as an, abstract system used by a speech community in contrast to the actual linguistic, behaviour of individuals. It encompasses the abstract, systematic rules and conventions, of sign system; it is independent and pre-exists of individual users., Langue involves the principles of language without which no meaningful, utteranec (Parole) would be possible. Langue is passive and exists in the brains of the, group of individuals. It exists in collective pattern which is a sum of impressions deposited, in the brain of each individual of the speech community / society. Though it exists in, each individual, it is common to all. It is a set of a conventions, received by us already, made from the community., La Parole : La Parole is opposite of La Langue. Parole is active; it is the actual, speech act of the individual. It is a dynamic social activity. La Parole is unique because, it reflects the unstable, changable relationship between the language; the precise, contextual elements triggering particular utterances and personal factors. Thus each, particular speech act is characterised by the personality, nature and several other, external forces governing both the production and reception of a speech act. In Parole, there is a great deal which is particular, individual, personal and idiosyncratic. On the, contrary langue emphasises speech as the common act of behaviour. Parole is not so, and cannot be stable and systematic. It is not collective, it is individual, momentary, and heterogenious. Parole gives data from which statements about langue can be, made. Parole is concrete and physical. It is individual performance of language in, speech and writing. When we hear parole of another community (speech), we perceive, it as the noises made but not the social fact of language, as we do not have langue of, that language., Summary :, Though Langue and Parole seem to in opposition they are complinentary to, each other as they are part and parcel of entity of a particular language. Langue, maintains the social order and homogeneity of the language, it does not change with, each individual whereas Parole uses the conventions of the langue for its individual, end., 26
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Check Your Progress :, (I), , Fill in the blanks with appropriate words :, , 1., , The linguistic sign consists of ............. and ........., , 2., , ........... is the Swiss linguist who gave the concepts of La Langue and La Parole., , 3., , La Parole .............., , 4., , La Langue is indicative of ..............., , 5., , ............... is shared by all members of the speech community., , (II), , Answer the following questions in one word / phrase / sentence, , 1., , What does it mean when it is said that language is a system of systems., , 2., , What constitutes La Langue ?, , 3., , What is peculiar about Langue ?, , 4., , What is Parole ?, , 5., , What does Langue maintain ?, , (III), , Write Short Notes on., , 1., , Difference between Langue and Parole, , Answers :, (I), , (II), , 1., , Signifier, Signified, , 2., , Ferdinand de Saussure, , 3., , Active, actual speech act, , 4., , Ability to produce speech, , 5., , Langue, , 1., , It means the very element in a system derives its significance from its, relationship with other elements of the systems., , 2., , Rules and conventions of phonology, morphology syntax and meaning., , 3., , Though it exists in each individual, it is common to all., , 4., , Parole is concrete, physical act of speech of an individual., , 5., , Langue maintains the social order and homogeneity of language., 27
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Now let us be familiar with the concept of sign which includes Signifier and, Signified., 2., , Signifier and Signified :, , Ferdinand de Saussure’s thinking about language revolutionized the study of, language and gave rise to structuralism. Earlier linguists of the 19 th century had a, historical approach to the study of language as they were trying to formulate the rules, or laws that govern the linguistic changes that occured through the passage of time., e.g., , How ‘way’ derives from old English ‘weg’, How ‘day’ derives from old English deag or dutch dag., How yard derives from old English gerd (gaard (duch)), How yarn derives from old English gearn (garen dutch)., , But Saussure adopted ahistorical approach to the study of language. His focus, was ‘actual working to formulate valid general insights for all language use and for all, languages’., He saw the language as a system of sign. Signs have specific forms and they, are different from other signs. The ‘signs’ are words that we use. According to Saussure, the origin of the form of words (Linguistic sign) lies in the principle of differentiation. For, him language is system of systems and the whole system is based on minimal, differences e.g. pat bat, cat rat. This principle of differentiation distinguishes words, from each other and simultaneously meanings from each other. To him Lingistic sign, i.e. word is both form and meaning. He uses the term ‘Signifier’ to form i.e. the word as, it is spoken or written e.g. /dog/ and dog, both pronunciation /d g/ or written word dog, are signifier. The meaning which comes out of form, he calls signified (an animal having, four legs, barking sound etc.), Further he explains that sign is not only sound or graphic image, it is also a, concept. Therefore he divides sign into signfier and the signified (concept in language), The word or sign dog signifies the concept that exists in our mind. For Saussure, the signifier and signified are purely psychological associative bonds., , Signifier (sound image), Sign, Signified (meaning), 28
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Both terms signifier and signified are important elements of semantics. Saussure, sees language as a system of signs - these signs are at first arbitrary - then they, become conventions. In all languages signs are arbitrary as there are different words, (signs) for the (same) objects they refer to. The relation between the sign ‘cat’ and, what it refers to is fundamentally arbitrary, because in Hindi the sign ‘Billi’ and in Maratha, , _m§Oa, , (Manjar) are in use. It means there is no inherent logical relationship between, , signifier and signified. The arbitrariness ofcourse only applies to the fundamental, relationship between words and what they refer to. In actual practice those relationships, turn into social convention., In other words Saussure was of the opinion that langauge is a sign system, which is self-referential. Signs create meaning because they are different from each, other. However signified is not an object in the real world. What word rferes does not, directly refer to is not an object in the real world. e.g. ‘tree’. Definition of tree goes like, this : a plant having trunk, branches, leaves, fruits, flowers etc. Here ‘tree’ can refer to, any tree like banyana, mango, peeple, oak, deodar, chestnut, dwarf ashoka, pine etc., It shows that signified (meaning is a concept which is typical of a human category. All, signs refer to concepts i.e. product of generalization and abstraction. Those concepts, refer to concrete referents to the real world. Saussure thinks that our reality is, constituted by our language. In means language we inherit is an autonomous system, that governs our world views. It is linguistic determinism., As language is a system of signs, out of signs the meaning that arises is, signified. Signified are first arbitrary in their relationship to the real world and secondly, the product of difference, in the sense that difference has a crucial, enabling function., Without difference there would be no language and meaning at all. Meaning is impossible, without, the whole system of differences : the structure within which differences, operates. Signs differ from other signs. Though meaning is first produced by difference,, at more basic level it is produced by structure : by the relations between the signs that, make up a language., , Synchromic and Diachronic Linguistics, Diachronic Linguistics studies a ‘language’ from historical perspective. How a, language is developed through the passage of time and what changes have occured, in the language. e.g. we study how French, Italian language have grown from Latin, 29
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language. If we study how Bengali, Marathi, Hindi have grown out of Sanskrit then it is, diachronic study. It is also called as historical Linguistics. The 19th century Linguistics, is historical in nature/character. It was part of the general historical investigations into, origins and development of cultures and communities especially of West Asia, Egypt, and India. It tries to understand relations among different languages e.g. how French, and Italian developed out of Latin and how English, Dutch and German developed out, of the West-Germanic language that the ancestors of the English, the Dutch and the, Germans shared nearly 1500 years ago. They studied the origin of individual words, and tried to formulate the laws that govern processes of linguistic change. From old, English word ‘weg’ modern English word ‘way’ was developed. (In Dutch and in German, it is still weg or Weg) ‘daeg’ becomes ‘day’ (‘dag’ in Dutch, ‘Tag’ in German) etc. In, comparing new and old forms of a language and using related languages to support, their findings historical linguists were able to discover the rules that govern such, transformations as from ‘g’ to ‘y’ and to construct how the various European languages, had developed over historical time. Language families were discovered and genetic, closeness were identified., In short, this branch of linguistics studies phonological, grammatical and sematic, changes occured through time. Written records clearly show that 15th century. English, is quite different from the 21st century English., , Synchronic Linguistics :, The Synchromic Linguistics studies language at a given period of time., Synchronic means contemporary. The synchronic linguistics studies how a language, works at a given time, regardless of its past history or future blueprint. It can also be, called as descriptive linguistics. If a linguist studies present day Marathi used by villagers, in the West Maharashtra or IT engineers in Pune city, it will be synchronic study of, Marathi at present time. The outcomes and theories of the synchronic studies offer, particularly accurate information about a language in its current usage., Some Linguists do not see the two approaches apart. In fact they are, complementary to each other. A good synchronic study is valid for diachronic, postulations., , 30
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X, D, I, A, C, H, R, O, N, I, C, , B, , A, , Y, SYNCHRONIC, Fig. 1, , Fig. 2, , Synchronic is linear and static whereas Diachronic is vertical and moving., Diachronic study is openededed. Synchronic study of language is closed one. It means, between two points of period in time., Synchronic, Diachronic, These two terms were first coined by Ferdinand de Saussure. He established, this distinctions in the study of language. The discoveries and theories of the synchronic, studies offer particularly accurate information about a language in its current usage., These terms clearly differentiates between descriptions of the language in its, contemporary form and descriptions of its historical development. According to, Saussure, all languages are constantly changing. He gives an example of game of, Chess to explain that historical considerations are irrelevant to study a particular, temporal states of a language. One can describe the state of the Chess board at, some particular time without reference to the past history of game. In the similar way,, one can describe successive states of a language independently of each other., Synchronic study of a language and its descriptions are often thought of as descriptions, of the language as it exists at the present day. Such study help to check the validity of, our statements by studying the ulterances of living speakers. However, one can make, synchronic description of a language as it existed at any point in the past, if a sufficient, written record is there. For example, if we study Marathi as existed during the period of, 31
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Dnyaneshwara, it will be synchronic study. If we study Marathi from its beginning, its, historical development through the passage of time, then it will be diachronic study of, Marathi., However we cannot have clear cut distinction or watertight compartments, between Synchronic and Diachronic study of language. While teaching a second or, foreign language, language which is used at the present time should be used. It is, necessary to observe the distinction between the synchronic and diachronic aspects, of language. Synchronic study of language is complimentary to the diachronic study of, language., , Summary :, Saussure identified these two temporal dimensions of language study in his, book Course in General Linguistics (1916). The term diachrony refers to an evolutionary, (gradual change) phase of language and the term Synchrony refers to a language, state (at certain time, may be in the past or at present time)., , Syntagmatic Paradigmatic Relations :, We have seen that Saussure established distinction between signifier and, signified langue and Parole, Diachronic study of language and Synchronic study of, language. Now let us see how he establishes distinction between Syntagmatic and, Paradigmatic relations., As Saussure sees the linguistic sign static and dynamic, he focuses as two, other dominant properties of a linguistic sign - one linear (horizontal) and other vertical, (arbitrary). He sees Syntagmatic relations as associative relations. It is a combination, of descrete successive units minimum (at the least) two and maximum with no limits., e.g. phonemes to sentence. When there is meaningful combination of phenemes, it is, called as morpheme. When one or more morphemes come together it becomes phrase, and when one or more phrases come together it becomes a clause and when one or, more clauses come together, it becomes a sentence. e.g. the word good is combination, of phonemes /g/, /u/ and /d/. This book is good. This sentence is combination three, units (1) This book, (2) is, (3) good., , 32
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Saussure sees sentence as a combination of linguistic units. These units have, chain relationship. The unit acquires its significance by its preceding or following, elements., e.g. Smita will call tomorrow., The elements occured in a linear order in the above sentence are : proper noun, + auxiliary + main verb + adverb : NP + VP + AVP (SPA)., This construction or order is rigid, and cannot be changed. The associative, relations (syntagmatic) emphasize relational criteria a linguist uses in identifying or, defining Linguistic categories or units. Syntagmatic relations function on horizontal, axis. It underlines the structural potential of any item which is being examined., Linguistic units can also be considered as a vertical axis. Ferdinand de Saussure, postulates the concept of associative relations according to which any link in the chain, of speech will suggest other language units to us because the units either resemble or, differ from each other in form and meaning. When we construct sentence or when we, speak an item is this construction (spoken or written) is capable of triggering other, items. e.g. when we utter / or write the word ‘school’ it triggers other related words like, notebooks, books, teachers, ground, classmate, friend, reward, study, subjects,, punishment, noise, class homework, game function learning etc. These words are, connected with each other by paradigmatic relations. These words are part of inner, reservoir, storehouse (which is in individual brain) that makes up language of each, speaker., These associative relations are also called relations in absentia. we can see a, word as triggering other words, but these relations are unpredictable, because each, speakers association may differ from each other. e.g. for some the word ‘school’, may, trigger the other words like ‘fear’, punishment or for some ‘enjoyment’ curiosity etc. It is, psychological so it varies from individual to individual. It is governed by specific factors, governing the individuals speech behaviour. Therefore paradigmatic relations are, unpredictable, free, dynamic and idiosyncratic., Danish linguist Lois Hjelmslev suggested the term ‘paradigmatic’ for ‘associative, relations’., , 33
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1), , Sunil, , drives, , very fast, , She, , reads, , rather slowly, , He, , writes, , enthusiastically, P, a, , Smita, , will, , will, , tomorrow, , Sunita, , can, , go, , now, , a, , She, , may, , come, , day after tomorrow, , d, , I, , shall, , swim, , today, , g, , They, , must, , work, , fast, , m, , talks, , slowly, , Sunil, , r, , a, t, i, , Syntagmatic Relations, , c, , These relations are complementary. The syntagmatic relations are how linguistic, signs / elements can be sequences in phonology, morphology and syntax., The paradigmatic relations are that linguistic elements trigger other linguistic, elements / signs. e.g. lexicon. Elements from paradigmatic axis can replace the element, on syntagmatic axis, as it is shown in the above diagram., A syntag is an orderly combination of interacting signifiers (words) which forms, a meaningful whole within a text / chain. Such combinations are made within a, framework of syntactic rules and conventions. A sentence is a syntagm of words. Text, is syntagm of sentences. There are always larger units, composed of smaller units,, with a relation of interdependence holding between both : syntagm can contain other, syntagm. A printed advertisement is a syntagm of visual signifiers. Syntagmatic relations, are the various ways in which elements within the same text may be related to each, other. Syntagms are created by the linking of signifiers from paradigm sets which are, chosen on the basis of whether they are conventionally regarded as appropriate or, may be required by grammar. Syntagmatic relations highlight the significance of partwhole relationship., Saussure stressed that the whole depends on the parts and the parts depend, on the whole (Saussure 1974, 128)., 34
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To explain these relations, we can have a example of dress e.g. shoes will not, go with sari. If a girl decides to wear a sari, she will choose blouse, and sandals., Blouse will not go with pant or T-shirts will not go with sari., Another example will explain it is relation to language., e.g. Soldiers were marching in the street., In this sentence instead of ‘marching’ of ‘walking’ is used, it will not be appropriate, though not completely wrong., The Thief was lurking in the dark. Here if we use walking instead of lurking,, again it will not be appropriate. Lurking goes with some hidden intentions., A set of synonyms is a paradigmatic set, Paradigmatic relations operate on the, levels of the signifier, the signified or both. A paradigm is a set of associated signifiers, or signified which are all members of some defining category but in which each is, significantly different. In all languages there are grammatical paradigm set of nouns, and verbs. Paradigmatic relations are those which belong to the same set by virtue, function they share. A sign enters into paradigmatic relations with all the signs which, can also occur in the same context but not at the same time. In a given context one, member of the paradigm set is structurally replacable with another . The use of one, signifier (word) rather than the another from the same paradigm set shapes the preferred, meaning of a text. In a way paradigmatic relations can thus be seen as ‘contrastive’, (Paradigmatic relations are of substitution, syntagmatic relations are of addition or, deletion)., , Sumamry :, Every item of language has a paradigmatic relationship with everyother item, which can be substituted for it and a syntagmatic relationship with items which occurs, within the same construction. Syntagm and paradigm govern how linguistic signs relate, to each other., , Avram Noam Chomsky (Dec. 7, 1928), He is an American linguist, philosopher and cognitive scientist, historian, social, critic and political activist., His family is Jewish immigrants from Ukraine to the U.S. Philadelphia. He studied, linguistics, mathematics and philosophy at the University of Philadlphia. He was a, fellow in Harvard University from 1951 to 1957 where he developed the theory of, 35
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Transformational Grammar. He was awarded Ph.D. for the same work in 1955. Then, he started teaching in MIT in 1957. He published his significant work Syntactic Structure, in 1957. This work changed the scientific study of language drastically., He wrote more than 100 books on various subjects. He has been given credit, of creating universal grammar theory, the generative grammar theory, the Chomsky, hierarchy and the minimalist program. Chomsky criticized behaviourism of B. F. Skinner,, consequently it lost its importance., When in Harvard, he was influenced by Quine and a visiting Professor J. L., Austin (Oxford Scholar). In 1952, Chomsky published his first academic article titled,, “Systems of Syntactic Analysis”. In 1955 he submitted thesis setting his ideas on, Transformational Grammar., In 1959, he published review of B. F. Skinner’s 1957 book ‘Verbal Behaviour in, the Journal Language. He criticized that Skinner’s view of language is as learned, behaviour and Skinner has ignored the role of human creativity. By the 1980’s many of, Chomsky’s students became leading linguistic specialists in their own right. They, expanded, revised, Chomsky’s ideas as Generative Grammar. By 1980 Chomsky, became globally recognized figure., In 90’s he increased political activism to greater degree than before., In 2003 he published Hegemony of Survival in which he wrote about America’s, Imperial Grand Strategy and criticized the Iraq War and other aspects of the ‘War on, Terror’., In 2012 and 2013 publication of Occupy : Reflections on class war Rebellion, and Solidarity showed that Occupy’s growth is due to the abandonment of interests of, white working class by the Democratic Party., In 2017, he wrote Requiem for the American Dream., , Linguistic Theory :, According to McGilvary, Chomsky started Cognitive Revolution and established, the field as formal natural science moving it away from the procedural forms of structural, lingusitics. Therefore he is called as ‘Father of Modern Linguistics’., , 36
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The basis of Chomsky’s linguistic theory is rooted in biolinguistics. According, to it, the principles underlying the structure of language are biologically determined in, the human mind and hence genetically transmitted. According to him, all human beings, share the same underlying linguistic structure, irrespective of socio-cultural differences., Chomsky rejects the theory of tabula Rasu (blank slate) which was advocated by B. F., Skinner in his behaviourist psychology. He rejects the view of language being learned, behaviour., Chomsky argues that language is a unique evolutionary development of human, species, it is species specific. It is not like animal communication mode., Chomsky’s nativist internalist views of language is consistent with the, philosophical school of Rationalism and is opposite to anti-nativist, externalist view of, language which is consistent with the philosophical view school of Empiricism., , Universal Grammar :, Chomsky is of the view that syntactic knolwdge is at least partially inborn, i.e., skeleton is there, there is need to put on flesh. It means that children need to learn, certain parochial (conventional) features of their native languages. Human beings are, capable of producing infinite set of utterances. They have langauge acquisition device, (LAD). It is the task of Linguists to determine what the LAD is and what constraints it, imposes or the range of possible human languages. The universal features which, would result from these constraints (restrictions) constitute the Universal Grammar., Chomsky’s vision of a complex universe within the mind, governed by many, rules and prohibition and yet infinite in its creative potential, opens up views (Vistas), possibly as important as Einstein’s theories in Linguistics. Criticism of Skinner’s theory, established Chomsky as an Intellectual. He published his books as Linguistics : Aspects, of the theory of Syntax (1966), Topics in the theory of Generative Grammar (1966),, Cartesian Linguistics : A chapter in the history of Rationalist Though (1966). With coauthor Halle, he edited the studies in Language series of books for Harper and Row., He extended the theory of generative grammar to phonology in The Sound Pattern of, English. His Beckman lectures were published as Language and Mind in 1968., American Military Officers were interested in Chomsky’s Linguistics. Between, 1963-1965 Chomsky worked for Military project “to establish natural language as an, operational language for command and control”. In the event of Nuclear war, the generals, will go underground with computer’s to manage things. However, these military, scientists found Chomsky’s theories not workable for their computer systems. Then, 37
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started Linguistic War, but Chomsky and his critics debated philosophical issues rather, than linguistics issues., After Vietnam War, Chomsky published many books on politics e.g. The, Responsibility of Intellectuals in 1967. American Power and New Mandarins (in 1969),, At War with Asis (1971), The Backroom Boys (1973), For Reasons of State (1973),, Peace in the Middle East ? (1975). He was anti Vietnam war., In the 70’s he published Studies on Semantics in Generative Grammar (1972),, an enlarged edition of Language and Mind (1972), and Reflections on Language (1975)., With Edwards Herman he wrote a book Counter Revolutionary Violence :, Bloodbaths in fact and Propoganda criticizing U.S. military involvement in the southeast, Asia and highlighted how mainstream media neglected to cover stoires about these, activities. It was published in 1973 but Warner Modular ordered the destruction of all, copied. Afterwards it was published in two volumes 1979 as The Political Economy of, Human Rights., In 1987 On Power and Ideology was published. In 1988 Chomsky and Herman :, manufacturing Consent : The Political Economy of the Mass Media. In this book they, developed propogands model to understand mainstream media, there they argued, that even in countries without official censorship, the news provided was /is sensored, through four filters that had great impact on what stories are reported and how they are, presented (four filters of editorial bias : (1) Size, ownership and profit orientation,, (2) The Advertising License to do Business, (3) Sourcing Mass Media News, (4) Flak, and Enforces, (5) War and Terror., In 1989 Chomsky published Necessary illusions : Thought Control in Democratic, Societies where he shows the pseudodemocratic nature of western capitalist states., He have been conferred numerous honorary degress, numerous awards, including the Kyoto Prize in Basic Sciences, the Helmholtz Medal and the Ben Franklin, Medal in Computer and Cognitive Science., Chomsky’s Hierarchy :, It is hierarchy of classes of formal grammars. It imposes logical structure, across, different language classes and provides a basis for understanding the, relationship between grammars. In order to have increasing expressive power, it, includes regular grammars, context free grammars, context-sensitive grammars and, recursively enumerable grammars. Each class is a strict sub-set of the class above., , 38
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Chomsky’s contribution has influenced the fields of cognitive science,, philosophy, psychology computer science, mathematics, childhood education and, anthropology., Recently he wrote : Requiem for the American Dream : The 10 Principles of, Concentration of Wealth and Power., Chomsky’s Syntactic Structures (1957) is a turning point in the field of linguistics., His generative grammar proved a departure form structuralistic and behaviouristic, approach. He proposed deep structure and surface structure of sentence. By doing, this he wanted to provide a means of analyzing sentences that account for this, underlying level of structure. To achieve this, Chomsky differentiated between a person’s, knowledge of the rules of a language and the actual use of that language in real situation., The first he called competence and the second performance., He argued that linguists should be concerned with the study of competence, and not restrict itself to performance. Chomsky wanted to discover the mental realities, underlying the way people use language. Competence is seen as an aspect of the, human general psychological capacity by him., Competence : In generative Grammar ‘Competence’ is used to refers to person’s, knowledge of his language, the system of rules which a language user has mastered, so that it would be possible for that user to be able to produce and understand an, indefinite number of sentences and recognize grammatical mistakes and ambiguities., e.g., 1), , She swimmed in the river., , 2), , Flying planes can be dangerous., In the first sentence there is an error but what kind of error : is it of competence, , or performance ?, 1), , If you are native speaker of English, you may know how to form past tense of, , irregular verbs but in performance you failed. It is accidental error of you is, but if you, are nonproficient speaker of English you may not know the past tense of swim is, swam and commit error. Unless you are corrected, you will do the same., 2), , The second sentence is ambiguious. If you are native speaker of English you, , can understand the ambiguity of Flying Planes., , 39
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(a) Planes which are flying, (i), , Your flying planes, Chomsky sees ‘Competence’ as an idealized conception of language which is, , opposite of ‘performance’ which refers to the specific utterances of speech. In PreChomskean era focus was on ‘performance’ in forms of corpus of data. Therefore, Chomsky and his team decided to present a description of a language, everything, implied by the linguistic competence of a native speaker. It aimed at forming linguistic, descriptions in terms of rules that embody the creative capacity of a native speaker to, produce and understand an infinite number of sentences that are all and only, grammatical (Robin, 1979 : 228). Chomsky defines competence as what a speaker, intuitively knows about his language. Speech production/speaking and speech, comprehension/listerning are categories of linguistic performance : both involve the, expression of competence, one in encoding speech, the other in decoding speech., Linguistic competence is best described in terms of the grammatical rules of a, language. It is a language description at the sentence level. Chomsky uses the term, ‘Linguistic Competence’ to refer to native speakers linguistic knowledge. For him, competence means grammar rules, lexicon etc. Chomsky gives ‘idealized’ view of, language “Linguistic theory is concerned primarily with an ideal speaker-listener, in a, completely homogeneous speech-community, who knows its language perfectly and, is unaffected by such grammatically irrelevant conditions as memory limitations, distructions, shifts of attention and interest and errors (random or characteristic) in, applying his knowledge of the language in actual performance” ., Chomsky performance refers to language seen as a set of specific utterances, produced by native speakers as encountered in corpus in the linguistic theory of, transformational generative grammar by Chomsky. It is what actually speaker says. It, is the substance, the actual manifestation of his competence. One can understand a, speaker’s competence by studying his performance. In learning a new language, it is, wiser to develop the basic competence than memorise pieces of sentence as it is not, true language behaviour. For Chomsky, Linguistic competence is more important than, performance as performance is imperfect view of language. In short competence, involves knowing the language and performance involves ‘act of speaking / writing’ i.e., doing something with the language., , 40
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However this distinction is criticised as (1) we cannot assess competence, without assessing performance, (2) it is not clear cut. It does not help to decide whether, a particular speech feature e.g. intonation or discourse is a matter of competence or, performance., Dell Hymes criticized Chomsky’s distinction between competence and, performance and creates the term ‘Communicative Competence’. Hymes says that, such distinction is inadequate because it limits itself to linguistic competence only. It, does not account for using grammatically correct utterances at right time appropriately., Communicative competence includes linguistic competence. You will learn, communicative competence in the next chapter., Let us see the difference between Saussure’s Langue/Parole and Chomsky’s, Competence/Performance., Langue. It has a large number of elements whereby meaning is created by the, arrangements between the elements and their consequent relationships. While learning, a language, we master the system of grammar, spelling, syntax and punctuation. All, these elements are part of langue., Langue comes first and makes speech possible. Parole is the actual utterances., It is an external manifestation of langue. It is the usage of the system, but not the, system., Saussure was more interested in Langue than Parole. It was the system by, which meaning could be created that was of interest to him rather than individual, instances of its use., Chomsky : He also distinguishes between the underlying knowledge of language from, the way language is actually used in practice., Chomsky primarily concerned about the theory of competence, because he, thought that performance may be affected by things like attention, stamina, false starts,, interaction features and errors. According to him, these things are not subject to the, study of language, but may be of Neurology or muscle functioning. Competence is a, person’s subconscious linguistic ability to create and understand sentences, never, heard before. It is person’s knowledge of grammatical rules of a language and it is, different from the actual linguistic activities. (Linguistics includes components like, phonolgy, syntax, morphology and semantics), 41
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Competence enables native speaker to recognize ambiguities as well as, meaningless sentences though they are grammatically correct., e.g. colourless green ideas sleep furiously., Native speakers immediately realizes that colouless and green sleep and, furiously cannot go together, and ‘ideas’ cannot sleep as they are not alive. Absurdity in, this sentence will be easily understood by the native speakers., Performance : Performance is the real world linguistic output. It may reflect, competence, but it may include speech errors. It may be flowed/affected because of, memory limitations, distractions, shifts of attention and interest and errors or other, psychological factors., This distinction helps to understand between speech error and not knowing, something about the language., Parole and performance are similar in nature but there is basic difference in, the concept of competence and Langue., Langue is heterogeneous whereas competence is homogeneous. Langue is, outside. It is result of social contract. It resides in the speech community society., Competence is individualized resides in an individuals brain. Langue is somewhat, static though change occurs in it, it is very slow, whereas performance is dynamic as, a mechanism that generates utterances endlessly. Chomsky’s notion of competence, is more psychological. It is too idealistic, according to some linguists. But Chomsky, dismissed criticism of delimiting the study of performance in favour of the study of, underlying competence as unwarranted and completely misdirected. It helped to expand, the original concept to communicative competence. (introduced by Hymes), Communicative competence is defined as the socially appropriate use of language., Rationalist view of language acquisition argues that human beings have an, innate ability to understand the grammar of languages that the general rules of language, are internalized within the human brain. As a consequence people/native speaker is, able to automatically recognize and reject ungrammatical utterances., , Jakobson’s Six Elements Functions of Speech Event, Roman Osipovich Jakobson (1896-1982) : He was a Russian linguist and literary, critic, a founder member of Russian formalist school. Between the two world wars, he, taught in Czechoslovakia along with Trubetzkoy. He was influential member of Prague, 42
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Linguistic Circle. When Czechoslovakia was invaded by Nazis, he was forced to flee, to Scandinavia and then to the United States in 1941. From 1942-1946 he taught in, New york where he collaborated with Claude Levi-Strauss. In 1943 he became one of, the founding members of the Linguistics Circle of New York and acted as its Vice, President untill 1949. He helped to bridge the gap between American and European, linguists. He had a great influence on general linguistics (specially on Noam Chomsky),, semiotics, anthropology, psychoanalysis, ethnology, mythology, communication theory, and literary studies. The model of functions of language is his most important, contribution. Besides it, his three significant notions have played great influence in the, field of Linguistics. These notions are (1) Linguistic typology, (2) markedness, (3), Linguistic Universals., Typology is a classification of languages in terms of shared grammatical, features., Markedness is a study of how certain forms of grammatical organziation are, more optimized than others., Linguistic universals is the study of the general features of languages in the, world., Jakobson has great influence on Dell Hyme’s ethnography of communication, and ethnopoetics, the psychoanalysis of Jacquas Lacan etc. His works are Studies, in Child Language and Aphasia (1941), Preliminaries to Speech Analysis (1952),, Fundamentals of Language, Selected Writings, 6 Vol. (1962-71), The Soundshape, of Language (1979)., Now let us study the six functions model of communication., Jakobson’s model of the functions of language was outlined in 1960. It highlighted, the importance of the code and social contexts involved. Any verbal communication, involves six constituent factors : The addresser sends a message to the addressee., To be operative the message requires a context referred to (referent) seizable by the, addressee and either verbal or capable of being verbalized, a code fully or at lest, partially common to the addresser or addressee (encoder/decoder of the message), and finally, a contact , a physical channel and psychological connection between the, addresser and the addressee enabling both of them to stay in communication., 43
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According to Jakobson each of these six factors determine a different linguistic, function. His model sows that messages and meanings cannot be isolated from, contextual factors., These six functions are as follows :, 1), , Referential Function : It is also called as denotative / cognitive / representative, , or informative function of a language., e.g. (1) There are three types of oil : vegetable oil, animal oil and mineral oil., (2) Water remains in level., In the first sentence information about oil is given : How many types and what, they are., In the second sentence scientific truth about water is told., This function corresponds to the factor of context. It describes a situation, object, or mental state. The descriptive statements of the referential function can consist of, both definitive descriptions and deictic words e.g. “Mango season has started now”., 2), , Expressive Function : It is also called as Emotive or Affective. It relates to the, , addresser. It shows speaker’s internal state. Exclamations are good examples of this, function., e.g. Wo wa ! what a beautiful scene !, Hei Ram, what days have come !, Excellent ! what a six !, It focus on the first person and reflect the speaker’s attitude towards the topic, of his discourse. He does emphatic speech or interjections., e.g. autobiographies, personal writings, Lamb’s Essay, Wordsworth’s poems., 3), , Conative Function : It is also called as Appelative, Imperative, Directive or, , Persuasive. It is directed towards addressee / listener / decoder / receiver. Vocatives, and imperatives are the best examples of it., e.g., , Go, get it !, Salil, come here !, 44
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Buy two, Get one free !, Buy it, Try it., Advertisements make maximum use of conative function. In human life,, language is used to give directions. It is centered around the second person. It includes, orders, prayers, commands., 4), , Phatic Function : It is also called as Relational or Contact. It helps to establish, , contact between two speakers. It maintains relationships. It confirms prolong, communication., e.g., , Hello ! Hi ! Good Morning., What’s up ? How are you ?, Namaskar ! Kay chalalaya ?, , Language is used for interaction. It is related with channel of communication or, contact factor. Greetings, casual discussions about weather exemplify this kind of, function. It provides key to open, maintain, varify or close communication channel. It, helps to maintain relationship in good repair., 5), , Metalinguistic Function : It is also called as Metasemiotic or Reflexive function., , Language is used to discuss about language or describe language. Language is used, to discuss meaning of law. It talks about language with the help of language. It tries to, understand meaning. It establishes mutual agreement in the code e.g. Law, a book, on, language or linguistics is a good example of metalinguistic function. It relates to the, verbal code (language). It aims to clarify the manner in which verbal code is used., 6), , Poetic Function : It is also called as Aesthetic or Rhetorical. It focuses on, , Message for its own sake and how it is created. It is best seen in poetry and slogans., It is achieved by means of rhetorical figures of speech, pitch or loudness. This functions, includes more than poetry. When we use the phrase Hariyana hurricane for Kapil, Deo famous Indian fast bowler captain, we use the poetic function of language. It, draws attention of reader to its own diction, syntax and sound platform., , 45
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Factors of communication and functions of language., Target Factor, , Target, , Source, , Function, , Function, , Factor, , Factor, , 1, , Context, , Message, , Referential, , 2, , Addresser, , Message, , Emotive, , 3, , Addressee, , Message, , Conative, , 4, , Contact, , Message, , Phatic, , 5, , Code, , Message, , Metalinguistic, , 6, , Message, , Message, , Poetic, , This theory of communincative functions was first published in ‘Closing, Statements : Linguistics and Poetics”. Though this theory is widely accepted, the, six functions model is criticized for lacking specific interest in the ‘play function’ of, language. It is not sufficiently studied in general by linguistic researchers., , 1.4, , Terms to Remember, , 1., , Langue, , :, , an abstract system of language., , 2., , Parole, , :, , actual use of language - performance., , 3., , Linguistic competence, , :, , ability of language user to speak and write, grammatically correct., , 4., , Performance, , :, , the actual usage of competence in communication;, subject to physical biological limitations (memory,, breathing), hesitations, errors etc., , 5., , Competence, , :, , the speakers unconscious knowledge of his/her, language enabling him’her to produce and, understand an infinite number of sentences., , 6., , Signifier, , :, , sound image, the word., , 7., , Signified, , :, , idea, concept, meaning, thing indicated by signifier., , 8., , Synchronic, , :, , study of a language at a moment in time without, the consideration of its history., , 46
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9., , Diachromic, , :, , study of the development at a moment in time, without the consideration of its history., , 9., , Diachromic, , ;, , study of the development and evolution of a, language through time. (Historical Lingusitics), , 10., , Syntagmatic Relationship :, , is one where linguistic signs occur in sequence or, parallel and operate together to create meaning, (Syntax) horizontal axis., , 11., , Paradigmatic Relationship : is one where an individual sign may be replaced by, another (lexicon) vertical axis., , 12., , The Referential Function :, , is oriented towards the context (informative)., , 13., , The Emotive Function, , is oriented towards the Addresser. It expresses, , :, , speakers attitude about the topic., 14., , The Conative, , :, , (action-inducing order/command) function is, oriented towards the Addressee or the second, person., , 15., , The Metalingual, , :, , (language speaking about language) function is, oriented toward the code., , 16., , The Poetic Function, , :, , is oriented towards the message for its own sake., , Summary :, Saussure made distinction between two aspects of language i.e. Langue and, Parole. Langue refers to abstract linguistic system which is shared by all the members, of a speech community and it underlies the actual utterances of individuals. It is not, actually spoken by anyone. It is the generalized rules of language. On the other hand, Parole is actualized language. It is the realization of langue in speech which is, idiosyncratic and specific to the situation in which it occurs. If we compare Langue, with Parole, Langue is stable and systematic, whereas Parole is unstable. Each act of, Parole is a unique event and it is subject to a wide range of personal and situational, constraints., Similar kind of distinction is made by Noam Chomsky and his followers :, Competence and performance. Competence is the ideal language user’s knowledge, 47
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of rules of grammar while performance is the actual realization of this knowledge in, utterances and it involves a variety of psychological and physical factors. There is, difference between the concept of Langue and Competence. For Saussure Langue is, a social product ...... a collection of necessary conventions that have been opted by a, social body, whereas for Chomsky competence is a property of the mind of the individual, which is developed as part of his maturation., For both Saussure and Chomsky, the proper objectives of the linguistic study, of language is the characterization of the regular rules of grammar and not a description, of the idiosyncratic utterances produced by the speakers of a language. Saussure, thinks of speech as a heterogenous mass of confused facts and therefore not suitable, for systematic enquiry. So he intended to abstract Langue from the instances of Parole, that have regularity. He made it the subject of Linguistics. But many Linguistic today do, not agree with this. The British linguist J. R. Firth, influenced by Malinowsky’s study of, the relationship between language and social context, rejected the static structural, formalism. Firth believed that such formalism resulted from Saussure’s strict Langue, Parole distinction. Firth says that linguists should study how language is used in social, interaction and how it changes according to its social function., Similarly Chomsky’s notions of competence and performance are face criticism, as his idea is of linguistic competence. It should be supplemented with the concept of, communicative competence. It is a matter of communicative competence to be able, to produce coherent discourse which is situationally relevant, and to use langauge, appropriately for the performance of a variety of ‘Semiotic acts’ (language use) such, as asking questions, giving direction, making promises, predictions, making statements,, giving orders and so on., , Summary :, In this unit first you are made familiar with Indian Linguistic tradition, influential, linguists and their contribution to the field of lingusitics. Then we studied significant, western linguistic concepts on which further study in this field is in progress. Basic, concepts like Langue, Parole, sign, signifier, signified, diachromic study of a language,, synchornic study of a language, syntagmatic and paradigmatic relations in language,, how Chomsky’s linguistic competence is different from Saussurian concepts of, competence and performace, Jakobson’s model of functions of languag. In the next, unit you will study communicative competence, semantics and seven types of meaning., , 48
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Further Reading :, 1., , Verma S.K. (1989), , :, , Modern Linguistics : An Introduction., , 2., , Mecab, Anne (2011), , :, , Introduction to Linguistics and Language, Studies. London : Equinox Publication., , 3., , David Crystal (1971), , :, , Linguistics. London : Penguin., , 4., , Noam Chomsky (1957), , :, , Syntactic Structures., , 5., , Ferdinand De Saussure (1916) : Course in General Linguistics., , 6., , Roman Jakobson (1962-71) :, , Fundamentals of Language, Selected, Writing, 6 Vol. (1962-71)., , (I), , Fill in the blanks by choosing the correct alternative :, , 1., , The Course in General Linguistics was published in ......, (a) 1916, , 2., , (c) 1919, , (d) 1923, , ........... formulated the dichotomies langue-Parole and signified-signifier., (a) Chomsky, , 3., , (b) 1914, , (b) Malinowsky, , (c) Saussure, , (d) Bloom field, , The chief interest of Jakobson’s Prague school was in the ......... features of, language., (a) Universal, , 4., , (b) Signifier, , (c) Langue, , (d) Signified, , (b) Mark, , (c) Symbol, , (d) Trace, , Only .......... knowledge is not enough for effective communication., (a) grammatical, , 7., , (d) Identical, , The union of signifier and signified is called a .............., (a) Sign, , 6., , (c) Distinctive, , ........... is not human speech., (a) Parole, , 5., , (b) General, , (b) phonetic, , (c) semantic, , (d) morphological, , Chomsky ignores ........... factors of communication., (a) grammatical, , (b) semantic, , (c) social, , 49, , (d) psychological
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(II), , Fill in the blanks with appropriate words :, , 1., , Linguistic sign contains .............. and .............. ., , 2., , Saussure’s approach to language study is ................ ., , 3., , According to Saussure, linguistic sign is both ........... and ............ ., , 4., , Meaning is created because of ............. ., , 5., , According to Saussure, origin of Linguistic sign lies in .............. ., , II., , Check Your Progress, , (I), , Answer the following questions in one word / phrase / sentence., , 1., , What is Langue ?, , 2., , What is Parole ?, , 3., , What is sign, according to Saussure ?, , 4., , Which terms Chomsky substituted for Langue and Parole ?, , 5., , Which factor of language is considered by Chomsky ?, , 6., , What is Signifier ?, , 7., , What is Signified ?, , 8., , What is Diachrony ?, , 9., , What is Synchrony ?, , 10., , What is Syntagm ?, , 11., , Which associations are called as relations in absentia ?, , 12., , What do you understand from the term Syntagmatic relations ?, , 13., , What is basic difference between Langue and Competence ?, , 14., , Give the names of importants works of Chomsky., , 15., , Which theory Chomsky criticized ?, , 16., , Define Competence., , 50
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17., , State the difference between competence and performance., , 18., , He taked half an hour for preparation ?, What kind of error is it for native speaker ?, What kind of error is it for second language. Learner of English or non-proficient, speaker of English ?, , 19., , Why does Hymes criticize Chomsky’s distinction between competence and, performance., , 20., , To which linguistic circle or school Jakobson belongs ?, , 21., , State the six functions of language ?, , 22., , To what factor referential function is related ?, , 23., , In which function ‘message’ is target factor ?, , (III), , Write Short Notes on :, , 1., , Difference between Langue and parole, , 2., , Chomsky’s concepts of Competence and Performance, , 3., , Syntagmatic and Paradigmatic relationships, , 4., , Signifier and Signified, , 5., , Synchronic study of language, , 6., , Diachronic study of language, , 7., , Jakobson’s model of functions of language, , (IV), , Answer the following questions in about 300 words., , 1., , Bring out the difference between Saussure’s concept of Langue/Parole and, Chomsky’s concept of competence and performance., , 2., , Explain six functions of language with examples., , 3., , Elaborate Saussure’s notion of Signifier and Signified and their significance., , 51
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Answers :, (I), , Answer the following questions in one word / phrase / sentence., 1. (a),, , 2. (c),, , 3. (a),, , 4. (c),, , 5. (a), 6. (a), 7. (c), , (II), 1., , Signifier and Signified, , 2., , Ahistorical, , 3., , Both form and meaning, , 4., , Difference in signs, , 5., , Principle of differentiation, , (III), 1., , Native speaker’s ability to use language, , 2., , Actual use of language by a native speaker, , 3., , Both form and meaning, , 4., , Competence and Performance, , 5., , Psychological, , 6., , Spoken or written form, , 7., , Meaning, , 8., , Study of a language from historical perspective, , 9., , Study of a language at given point in time., , 10., , An orderly combination of interacting signifiers (words) which forms a, meaningful whole within a text., , 11., , Paradigmatic, , 12., , Are how linguistic elements can be sequenced in phonology, morphology and, syntax., , 13., , Langue is social, competence is psychological, , 14., , Syntactic structure, Aspects of the theory of syntax, Topics in the theory of, Generative Grammar, Language and mind Reflections on language., , 15., , Skinner’s Behaviouristic theory, , 52
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16., , Competence is native speaker’s knowledge of the structure of language., , 17., , Competence is idealized conception of language which is opposite of, performance which refers to specific utterance of speech., , 18., , For native speaker it is accidental error, for the second language lerner it is, due to non proficiency or lack of knowledge about how to make past forms of, irregular verbs in English., , 19., , It excludes social factor and it limits itself to correct grammatical utterances., , 20., , Prague school of Linguistics and Moscow School of Linguistic., , 21., , Referential, Emotive, Conative, Phatic, Metalinguistic and Poetic., , 22., , Poetic., , 53
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Unit - 3, , SEMANTICS, 3.0, , Objectives, , After studying this unit you will be able to, 1., , Understand the meaning of the term 'Semantics', , 2., , Explain different types of meaning that semantics deals with and understand, various approaches to meaning, , 3., , Comprehend the, , relationship between semantics and other levels of, , linguistic analysis, , 3.1, , Introduction, In Unit 1, you have studied that Linguistics is a Scientific study of language., , The different levels of linguistic analysis are Phonology, Morphology, Syntax,, Semantics and Pragmatics. Phonology deals with the study of sound system,, morphology deals with words, syntax focuses on principles of sentence structure, and both semantics and pragmatics study meaning. Language is a system of subsystem, and all these sub-systems have to coordinate well with each other, for a, language to function effectively. Apart from sounds, words and grammar, meaning is, an important aspect of any language. This is because if the words of a particular, language are pronounced correctly, if the words are used appropriately, if the, grammar of a particular sentence is correct, but if the sentence does not carry, meaning, then the process of communication would fail. A well-known linguist Noam, Chomsky asserts that meaning plays a crucial role in a language by giving the, following example :, 'Colourless green ideas sleep furiously'., , 54
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In this example, the words are used in a grammatically correct sequence,, however the sentence has several problems. This is because two contradictory, words , 'colourless' and 'green' are used one after the other, 'ideas' are 'green',, ideas 'sleep' and they sleep 'furiously'. Thus, the sentence does not carry any, meaning. The norms of every day communication suggest that we must try to, maintain clarity in communication, and avoid ambiguity. So if someone utters a, sentence of this kind, it would not be acceptable in every day communication, as it is, incomprehensible. Thus, it is necessary to convey the right kind of meaning through, words when we are involved in the process of communicating with someone. It is, felt that every good communicator must systematically pay attention as to whether, his choice of words convey the right kind of meaning, when he is involved in, speaking or writing the language., Semantics as a level of linguistic analysis studies the way language encodes, meaning. As said earlier, both semantics and pragmatics study meaning. Naturally,, you must have started thinking of the difference between semantics and pragmatics., In the next unit, you will study 'pragmatics' as a level of linguistic analysis in detail,, however let us try to understand the difference in these two levels briefly., Semantics as a level of linguistic organization deals with all those aspects of, meaning that are linguistic. Semantics deals with :, a), , Lexical meaning :, It pays attention to meaning conveyed by individual words. The major part of, , the meaning of what we say or write is located in words. This type of meaning is, termed as lexical meaning. It can be understood as the direct meaning that is, conveyed through words., , For example, the words 'walk', 'stroll', 'wade' and 'tiptoe', , share a common meaning, but each of these words have a different shade of, meaning, and so they are different from each other. Therefore, it is believed that in, any language we have only partial synonyms, and the concept of 'total' or 'absolute', synonyms does not exist. Semantics studies the meaning conveyed by each word., For example in the sentence, 'My mother was upset when she came to know the, 55
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truth', if we understand the meaning of every word in the sentence, then we would, understand the lexical meaning of the sentence., b), , Grammatical meaning :, Semantics also studies meaning conveyed by the grammatical form and, , structure. The choice of grammatical items also contributes to the meaning of the, sentence. Let us take into consideration the following sentences:, 1), , Her friend is a doctor., , 2), , Is her friend a doctor ?, The first sentence is a statement, whereas the second is a question. The, , grammatical meaning of these two sentences is different because of the form or, structure of the sentence itself. The first sentence states the fact that someone is a, doctor, whereas the second one has an element of doubt, or it could be a query in, the sense that someone wishes to know whether her friend is a doctor. Thus, the, change in the grammatical form of a sentence brings about a change in meaning of, the sentence., c), , Intonational meaning :, This type of meaning refers to the meaning conveyed by the choice of the, , intonation pattern. While speaking, participants in the process of communication, raise and lower the pitch of their voice , and change the rhythm. This is technically, termed as 'intonation'. In simple terms, if the same expression or sentence is said, with a different tone, it conveys a different kind of meaning., , For example, if, , someone says 'Thank you' with a falling tone, this indicates sincere thanks, on the, other hand, if someone says it with a rising tone, it indicates mere formality., Unlike Semantics, Pragmatics as a level of linguistic organization deals with, situational or contextual meaning. Compared to 'Semantics', pragmatics emerged, relatively recently. It is only after 1960s that pragmatics as a level of linguistic, analysis developed. It can be said that the study of what is directly said through, words, the coded meaning is the concern of semantics, but the study of what is, 56
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suggested or implied, that is the study of non-coded meaning is the concern of, pragmatics., Richards, Platt and Weber (1985) define Semantics as 'a study of meaning'., Palmer (1976) defines it as 'A technical term used to refer to the study of meaning'., Yule (1985) defines semantics as 'the study of the meaning of words, phrases and, sentences'., , 3.2, a), , Presentation of Subject Matter, Approaches to Study of Meaning :, The study of meaning is an interdisciplinary enterprise and has by no means, , been the sole responsibility of linguists. The present section focuses on different, approaches to the study of meaning:, A), , The Lexicographical Approach :, In the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth, , century, the main concern with the lexical meaning was the ways in which the form, and meaning of individual lexical items in the languages of Western Europe had, been changing. Naturally, detailed etymological studies of individual lexical items, were therefore undertaken. Modern lexicography, since its birth in 1755 with Samuel, Johnson's 'Dictionary of the English Language' has changed dramatically in various, ways. For example, many different types of dictionaries are available today. On a, general level, it could be said that dictionaries have changed from being normative, and prescriptive to being descriptive records of the specific language. The focus of, the dictionaries has shifted from the etymology and pronunciation of words to their, meaning and use. Most lexicographers today believe that usage is the most, significant aspect of the dictionary., The focus of the lexicographical approach is on the lexemes (the, orthographic and/or phonetic word form), the concepts they represent (in the, definition) and the referents in the real world (with examples of a concept). The, 57
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purpose of the lexicographical approach is to record the conventionalised lexical, aspects of a language as an external object. This approach does not make any, contribution to linguistic creativity, except in the recording of productive derivational, word-formation rules., B), , The Referential Approach :, Most people are of the opinion that the meaning of words can be equated, , with the fact that they name, or refer to, objects in the real world. The meaning of the, word is therefore regarded as equivalent to the reference of that word to the external, world. The focus of the referential approach is on the relationship between Word, and World. This approach is sometimes also referred to as the 'Denotational, approach' which emphasizes the link between language and external reality., This approach is also known as the 'analytical' approach. This approach is, presented by Saussure. Saussure's theory of meaning is based on speech word, relationship. He uses the analogy of a sheet of paper whose one side is sound, the, other thought, and therefore thought cannot be divided from sound nor sound from, thought. The sound is the 'signifier', the thought is the 'signified' and the thing that is, signified is the 'significant'. There is no direct relationship between the word and, things they 'stand for', the word 'symbolizes' a 'thought or a reference' which in its, turn 'refers' to the features of event we are talking about., The symbol (name or significant) is the phonetic shape of the word, the, sounds which make it up and also other acoustic features such as accent. The, reference is the information which the name conveys to the hearer, whereas the, 'thing' (significant or referred), is the non-linguistic feature or event we are talking, about. Therefore, according to the referential definitions, meaning is a reciprocal and, reversible relation between name and sense, it can be investigated by starting from, either end, but one can start from the name and look for the sense or senses, attached to it., Thus, according to this theory there is no direct relationship between words, and the things they stand for., 58
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Traditionally several problems have been identified with the notion of, reference as a way of describing word meaning. For example, there are many words, for which reference is not easily established. For example, adjectives like 'beautiful', and 'large'. Compositional meaning, for example, in compound words such as, 'laptop' is problematic, as the meaning of the compound cannot be derived from the, reference of either a lap or a top, or from a straightforward combination of the, references of the two words. The other difficulty is that the same object in the real, world, for example, Venus, can be referred to by different expressions which are, both meaningful, namely the 'Morning Star' and the 'Evening Star'., According to some experts, this approach has its limitations too. It gives an, account of how the word acts on the hearer but it seems to neglect the speaker's, point of view. For the hearer, the sequence of events will be different and reverse., For example, when he hears the word 'dog', he will think of a dog and thus, understand what the speaker was saying, and this will make him pronounce the, word. There is therefore a reciprocal ad reversible relationship between name and, sense., C), , The Structuralist Approach :, In this approach the meaning of a word is equated with the sense of the, , word. In the structuralist approach the analytical method of investigating the, structure of the vocabulary of a language was of prime importance. The analytical, methods used were componential analysis, and diagnostic frames that were, developed for specific semantic phenomena., According to Lyons (1968), the value of the structural approach to semantics, has been demonstrated by investigations into semantic fields or domains such as, kinship terms, colour terms, body parts, the terms of moral and aesthetic evaluation, and various other kinds of knowledge, skill and understanding, which have, confirmed that particular fields of human activity and knowledge are categorized, differently by different languages., , 59
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This approach is also known as the Distributional approach. To facilitate a, scientific study of meaning, some linguists favour the study of meaning as, phenomenon isolated from outside world of human experience, that is to say, the, meaning of words is to be understood as the range of its occurrences in sentences, consisting of other words. Just as there are probably no words exactly same in, meaning in all contexts, so there are probably no two words in any language sharing, exactly the same lexical enviornment (distribution)., The structural approach to meaning studies meaning as syntagmatic, relations, i.e. on a horizontal scale, for example, 'collocations', and paradigmatic, relations, i.e on a vertical scale, for example 'sets'. It uses statistical methods and, computer techniques with considerable precision and exhaustiveness in the study of, semantics., Meaning of words in dictionary entries is derived on the basis of their relation, to the whole of human experience, on the basis of extra linguistic criterion. For this, reason, some linguists have made an attempt to redefine or reconsider meaning in, so far as it is relevant to linguists as equivalent to distribution. That is to say, just as, there are probably no words exactly alike in meaning in all contexts, so there will be, probably no two words in any language sharing exactly the same linguistic, environment (distribution, D), , The Behaviouristic Theory :, In this view of meaning, the meaning of an expression is equated to the, , stimulus created on the side of the speaker and the response that ensues from the, hearer. Many socially prescribed, ready-made responses to typical repetitive events, in the social process are in the form of conditioned response, and according to, Lyons 'quite properly described in behaviourist terms'. The main approach that is, usually attributed to the behaviouristic approach in linguistics is that formulaic, expressions only form a small subpart of our linguistic repertoire. Modern corpus, linguistics however shows that formulaic expressions may in fact not be such a, small part of our linguistic repertoire. The problem with behaviourism in terms of, linguistic creativity lies in the fact that the human agent as the locus of creativity is, 60
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negated. The contribution that this approach makes to the study of meaning is that, phatic communication and the social responses that speakers make to meaning and, communication, are not left out of the picture., E), , The Functional-pragmatic approach :, This approach sees language as a social instrument with which we perform, , social communicative functions, such as greeting each other, asking questions,, giving commands, providing information and linguistically acting in the world. In this, approach the meaning of an utterance is equivalent to its use. This view of meaning, has given rise to one of the levels of linguistic analysis namely 'Pragmatics', in which, theories such as speech act theory views utterances as speech acts. The speech, act theory emphasizes the fact that language is action, that is to say the use of, language is simultaneous with the performance of an action. When we produce an, utterance, the three speech acts that are perfomed are:, 1., , The Locutionary Act : It basically means producing a meaninful utterance, which could be understood by the listener. For example, a sentence like 'It is, cold' has the basic meaning., , 2., , The Illocutinary Act : It refers to the implied or suggested meaning of an, utterance. For example, the above sentence may have an illocutinary force., It may suggest that one must not go out as its too cold., , 3., , The Perlocutionary Act : It refers to the effect of the utterance on the, listener. The communication cycle would be complete only when the, Perlocutionary act is fulfilled. For example, when the listener understands the, suggestion made by the speaker in the above sentence, we can say that the, perlocutionary act is fulfilled., , F), , Field Theory of Meaning :, Saussure demonstrated that each word in a language is surrounded by a, , network of associations which connect with still other terms. Some of these, connections arise between the five senses, others between the form or shape of, words, while others involve formal and semantic connections., 61
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This theory visualizes words as a mosaic on a gigantic scale which is built up, of fields and higher units in the same way as fields are built up by words. The, associative field of a word is formed by an intricate network of associations, some, based on similarity, others on continuity, some arising between senses, others, between names, and others again between both. The identification of these, associations by linguistic methods is done by collecting the most obvious synonyms, and antonyms of a word, as well as terms similar in sound or in sense, and those, which enter into the same habitual associations. The number of associations, entered in one word will of course be extremely variable., G), , Componential Analysis Approach :, This approach is an attempt to describe the structure of vocabulary in terms, , of a relatively small set of very general elements of meaning called 'components', and their various possible combinations in different languages. It tries to discover, the ultimate meaning units out of which a particular set of words appears to be, composed in some systematic way. Some segments of vocabulary can better, analysed by this method, for example, kinship systems, pronoun systems, colour, terms, and sometimes words discussing various kinds of flora and fauna. Through, componential analysis, we can find out how speakers use the vocabulary of a, language in order to classify reality by referring to certain parameters of meaning., The term 'componential analysis' in semantics is best explained by means of a, simple example by linguists:, 1), , man, , woman, , child, , 2), , Bull, , cow, , calf, , This equation bears proof to the fact that from the semantic point of view, the, words 'man', 'woman' and 'child' on the one hand, and 'bull', 'cow' and 'calf' on the, other have something in common. What 'man' and 'bull' have in common is not, shared by 'woman' and 'cow', and what 'calf' and 'child' have in common is not, shared by either bull and man or cow and woman. What these different groups of, words have in common is termed as a 'Semantic Component'., 62
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The componential analysis approach is based on certain assumptions. The, first assumption is that the semantic components are language-independent or, universal. The semantic components may be combined in various ways in different, languages yet they would be identifiable as the same components in the analysis of, the vocabularies of all languages. The second assumption is that propositional, equations with respect to the sense of lexical items should be established. These, propositions are cognitively valid, and can be set up on the basis of introspection., Thus, this section reveals that there are different approaches to the study of, meaning, and each of these approaches is a fertile domain of research., H), , The Linguistic Approach :, The linguistic approach to the study of meaning focuses on language. It, , considers words to be the universe and believes in the notion that the entire, meaning is hidden in the words itself. The linguistic approach is concerned with the, relationship between signifiers, like words, phrases, signs and symbols, and what, they stand for in reality, their denotation. The word 'semantics' denotes a range of, ideas- from the popular to the highly technical. The word 'semantics' is often used in, ordinary language for denoting a problem of understanding that comes down to, word selection or connotation. In linguistics, it is the study of interpretation of signs, or symbols used in communities within particular contexts. Within this view, sounds,, facial expressions and body language have semantic content, and each comprises, several branches of study. In written language, aspects like paragraph structure and, punctuation bear semantic content. Thus, the linguistic approach to the study of, meaning is oriented to the examination of the meaning of signs, and the study of, relations between different linguistic units and terms like synonymy, antonymy,, homophony and homonymy., I), , The Naming Theory :, In the philosophy of language, the descriptivist theory of a proper name (also, , descriptivist theory of reference) is the view that the meaning or semantic content of, a proper name is identical to the descriptions associated with it by speakers, while, 63
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their referents are determined to be the objects that satisfy these descriptions. The, naming theory of meaning is also called denotative or referential theory. Thus, in, simple words, this theory of meaning equates the meaning of the word with an, object it stands for. Proper names form the primary class, but general words can, stand for abstract objects, for example, 'dog' for 'doghood'., J), , The Concept Theory :, Conceptual semantics is a framework for semantic analysis developed, , mainly by Ray Jackendoff in 1976. Its aim is to provide a characterization of the, conceptual elements by which a person understands words and sentences, and, thus to provide an explanatory semantic representation. Conceptual semantics is, considered to be not just a linguistic theory, but a theory on human cognition., K), , The Contextual Theory :, Contextual learning is based on a constructivist theory of teaching and, , learning. It believes in the notion that learning takes place when teachers are able to, present information in a way that students are able to construct meaning based on, their own experiences. Contextual learning emphasizes problem solving, it focuses, on the idea that teaching and learning need to occur in multiple contexts. Several, critics have argued that contextual learning can help bring relevance and meaning to, the learning, thereby helping students to relate to the world they live in., , b), , Seven Types of Meaning :, Different linguists have classified the concept of 'meaning' in different ways., , A well-known linguist Geoffrey Leech discussed seven different types of meanings, in his book 'Semantics'. Let us try to understand each of these types in detail along, with examples., 1., , Conceptual Meaning :, This type of meaning deals with the core meaning of expressions. It can also, , be termed as the denotative meaning of an utterance. In other words, it is the 'literal', 64
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or straighforward meaning of an utterance. It is the basic propositional meaning, which corresponds to the primary dictionary definition, and it indicates the idea or, the concept it refers to. The meaning in this case does not change as it is directly, related to the concept it defines. Some linguists have also used the terms 'logical;, and 'cognitive' meaning to refer to this type of meaning. Such a meaning is, stylistically neutral and objective . For example:, a), , Conceptually, a butterfly is 'a type of insect usually with beautiful wings,, which develops from a caterpillar., , b), , Conceptually, a cow can be understood as 'an adult female bovine animal, that gives milk'., , c), , Conceptually, a needle can be understood as 'a thin, sharp, steel, instrument'., Thus, conceptual meaning is an essential part of a language. This meaning, , covers those basic, essential components of meaning that are conveyed by the, literal use of a word. It can be said that a language depends on conceptual meaning, for communication. The aim of this type of meaning is to provide an appropriate, semantic representation to a sentence or a statement. This type of meaning helps, us to distinguish one meaning from the meaning of other sentences. The conceptual, meaning is the base for all the other types of meaning., 2., , Connotative Meaning :, Connotative meaning is the type of meaning which is attributed to a given, , expression by its users. Thus, unlike the conceptual meaning, which is a part of, what is 'conceived', the connotative meaning is a part of what is 'perceived'. It could, be understood as meaning at a deeper level and is thus the 'additional' meaning that, the word or the expression carries. The meaning of the word stems from its, reference to other things in the world. The implied or the suggested meanings are a, part of the connotative meaning. This meaning may even change with a course of, time as it is based on associations made to the concept. The word 'woman' has, certainly undergone a change over a period of time. Connotative meanings vary, 65
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from age to age and society to society. The connotative meanings attached to the, words 'cow' and 'rose' are:, a), , The belief that a 'cow' is a sacred animal is a part of the connotative, meaning., , a), , The fact that 'red rose' stands for love is a part of the connotative meaning., As students of literature, it is necessary to pay attention both to the, , denotative and connotative meaning. In every day communication, we are expected, to maintain as much 'clarity' as possible and avoid 'ambiguities'. However, there is a, significant difference between the language of literature and every day discourse. It, could be said that in literary language ambiguity is a virtue. In literary language we, find several examples of strange and vague expressions, ambiguity and also, obscurity. But because of this aspect, most literature is open to multiple, interpretations. Thus, we as readers, need to read between the lines, and make a, journey from comprehending the denotative meanings to the connotative meanings,, as this exercise can make our study of literature an enjoyable and rewarding, experience. For example:, 1., , Wordsworth in his poem 'Daffodils' says, 'Ten thousands saw I at a glance',, at the conceptual level, it means that the speaker saw ten thousand flowers, at a glance. However, we need to understand the meaning at a deeper level., The connotative meaning of 'Ten thousands' suggest that the speaker saw, several flowers at a glance, and the number of flowers apart from their, beauty is also an important factor to why the speaker was spell bound by, looking at the flowers., , 2., , In the same poem, the speaker uses the expression 'a host of golden, daffodils'. The word 'host' at the literal level suggests 'a group of'. So this is, the conceptual meaning of the word 'host'. However at the connotative level,, we can interpret this sentence in terms of the guest-host relationship. It could, be argued that the daffodils are the host and the speaker is the guest in the, context of the poem., , 66
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3., , In the novel 'Tristam Shandy' written by Henry Fielding, one of the pages is, left black in the novel. The conceptual meaning of the page would be the, colour itself that is depicted in the novel, however at a deeper level, that is to, say if we consider the connotative layer of the meaning, it could be, interpreted as grief over someone's death., , 4., , In the play 'The Birthday Party' by Harold Pinter, the character named, Stanley is tormented a lot by Goldberg and Maccan. For example, one of the, questions they ask Stanley is 'Is the number 846 necessary or possible?'. On, the level of conceptual meaning, the question would actually mean what it, states. But at the connotative level, we would interpret it as a sentence which, is semantically anamolous, that is it does not carry any meaning, and, language is used by the villains in the plan only as an instrument to torture,, confuse and irritate Stanley. Thus, we can understand the negativity in the, characters of Goldberg and Macann at the connotative level with the kind of, questions that they have used., The above examples from poetry, drama and fiction reveal that connotative, , meanings play a very significant role in literary texts. At the same time, it must be, remembered that even in case of non-literary and media texts, it is necessary to, understand the connotative layers of meaning. For example, the advertisement of, Gwalior suitings states 'Nine out of ten well-dressed men use Gwalior Suitings'. The, connotative meaning of the statement is that 'if you wish to consider yourself as a, well-dressed person, use Gwalior suitings'. Even in journalistic writing, political, discourse and legal language, we find underlying layers of meaning, which are a, part of 'connotative' meaning, and we as effective language users need to, understand this meaning well., Thus, the connotative meaning is meaning at the deeper level. It is, something that goes beyond mere referent of a word and hints at its attributes in the, real world., , It can be concluded that unlike the conceptual meaning, which is, , codified in terms of limited symbols, the connotative meanings are open-ended, and, they vary according to the age, culture and individual., 67
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3., , Stylistic meaning :, It refers to the social circumstances in which a piece of language is used. It, , is the meaning conveyed by an expression regarding the sociocultural backdrop of, the users of a language. That is it is the sum total of the social circumstances in, which a piece of language is used. One of the ways in which a good communicator, reveals his mastery of language is that he is familiar with different styles of the, language, and he uses the right style at the right place. 'Style' could be understood, as the distinctive manner in which one handles one's language, with due, consideration given to its appropriateness for the occasion. The decoding of a text is, dependent on our knowledge of stylistics and other variations of language. This type, of meaning is also known as 'social' meaning. Social meaning is related to the, situation in which an utterance is used. The different kinds of styles are 'frozen', which is very formal, 'formal', 'consultative' which has a tone of suggestion,, ''informal' and 'intimate' which is very informal. For example , the informality, associated with the word 'buck' for a dollar or rupee is the stylistic meaning of the, word. The word 'guys' in modern English is used to mean 'girls and boys', which is, an informal use of the language and is thus a part of the stylistic meaning of the, word. If x says to y, 'yaar...', the stylistic meaning that can be interpreted is that it is, uttered by Indian young close friends., 4., , Affective Meaning :, In the process of communication, we need at least two people. One is the, , 'speaker' who is the 'encoder' and the other is the 'listener' who is the 'decoder'. This, type of meaning takes into consideration the personal feelings of the speaker, including his or her attitude to the listener and the topic of conversation. For some, linguists, it refers to emotive association or effects of words evoked in the reader or, the listener. Affective meaning is often conveyed through conceptual and, connotative content of the words used. For example, if speaker A says to speaker B,, 'I hate you', the fact that speaker A has a negative attitude towards speaker B, comes out through the choice of words used by Speaker A. This is called affective, meaning., 68
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5., , Reflected Meaning :, Reflected meaning is the effect of one meaning on another meaning of the, , same word. English has borrowed several words from different languages of the, world and one of the features of this language is that most words in English carry, multiple meanings. Reflected meaning arises when a word has more than one, conceptual meaning or multiple conceptual meanings. In such cases, while, responding to one sense of the word we partly respond to another sense of the, same word. For example, the word 'simple' means 'natural' or 'naive'. If someone, says, 'The Principal's response to the letter was simple', the speaker may be using, the word 'simple' to mean 'natural', but the other meaning, i.e 'naive' may also, reflected on the intended meaning., 6., , Collocative Meaning :, Collocative meaning consists of the meaning acquired by a word under the, , influence of word or words that it co-occurs with. Thus, it is the meaning that a word, acquires in the company of certain words. Collocative meaning refers to, associations of a word because of its usual or habitual co-occurrence with certain, type of words. For example:, 1., , The meaning of the word 'strong' gets specified by the word it co-occurs as, in 'Strong argument', 'strong relationship' and 'strong drink'., , 2., , The meaning of the word 'high' gets specified by the word it co-occurs with, as in 'High aspirations', 'high mountain' and 'high hopes'., , 7., , Thematic Meaning :, It is the meaning conveyed by the structure of the discourse where concepts, , like topic of discourse and focus of discourse are identified. The term 'Topic' refers, to what or who we talk about it. Thus, it could also be understood as the 'theme'. On, the other hand, 'Focus' is the new information that we give to the learner or the, listener. For example, in the sentence 'The boy jumped', 'the boy' is the topic of the, discourse, and 'jumped' is the focus of discourse. This type of meaning refers to, 69
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what is communicated by the way in which a speaker or a writer organizes the, message in terms of ordering, focus and emphasis. Thematic meanings helps us to, understand the message and its implications properly. Look at the following two, sentences:, 1., , He opened the door., , 2., , The door was opened by him., Though the above two sentences apparently appear alike, their meanings, , differ as the active and passive constructions differ in their thematic meanings. In, the first sentence, which makes use of the active voice, the emphasis is on the doer, of the action, whereas in the sentence, which makes use of the passive voice, the, emphasis is on the object, that is the action of opening the door. These examples, demonstrate the fact that the change of focus brings about a change in meaning as, well., It is felt that as language users, when we are the speaker and also when we, are the listener, we must be able to understand all these seven types of meaning, well so as to communicate in an effective manner., , Check your progress 1 :, Do as directed :, 1., , Semantics as a level of linguistic organization deals with those aspects of, meaning that are __________., , 2., , (Fill in the blank), , There is no difference between the terms 'semantics' and 'pragmatics'., (State whether the statement is true or false), , 3., , ________ meaning pays attention to the meaning conveyed by individual, words. (Fill in the blank), , 4., , Give an example to prove that the change in the grammatical form of a, sentence can bring about a change in the meaning., , 5., , Meaning conveyed by the choice of tone, rhythm and pitch is termed as, _________ meaning., 70
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Check your Progress 2 :, Do as directed :, 1., , Semantics as a level of linguistic analysis deals with the study of, _______(Fill in the blank), , 2., , Write the name of a linguist who has discussed seven different types of, meaning., , 3., , The conceptual meaning refers to the implied meaning of the sentence., (State whether the statement is true or false), , 4., , Instead of directly saying 'Please put on the fan', if the speaker says, 'It is, quite hot at the moment', he wants his listener to understand the ________, meaning of whatever he has conveyed. (Fill in the blank), , 5., , The affective meaning refers to the social situation in which a piece of, language is used. (State whether this statement is true or false), , 6., , In the sentence, 'The cat died', ________ is the focus of discourse. (Fill in, the blank), , 7., , Think of at least two nouns that would collocate with the adjective 'cute'., , Check your progress 3 :, 1., , The __________ approach believes that there is no direct connection, between the word and the things they stand for. (Fill in the blank), , 2., , According to the Structuralist approach, the meaning of an expression is, equated to the stimulus created on the side of the speaker and the response, that ensues from the hearer. (State whether the statement is true or false), , 3., , The ________ act refers to the implied or suggested meaning of an, utterance. (Choose the correct answer: illocutionary/perlocutionary), , 4., , The ________ approach sees language as a social instrument with which we, perform social communicative functions. (Fill in the blank)., , 5., , The Componential analysis approach is not based on any assumption. (State, whether the statement is true or false)., 71
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3.3, , Summary, This unit helps us to understand that Semantics as a, , level of linguistic, , analysis refers to the study of meaning. It is the level at which one attempts to, analyse how meanings are expressed and understood. We need to keep in mind, different approaches to the study of meaning namely, the Lexicographical approach,, the Referential approach, the Structuralist approach, the Behaviouristic approach,, the Functional-pragmatic approach, Field theory of Meaning and the Componential, Analysis approach., , The seven types of meaning discussed by Leech are the, , conceptual meaning, the connotative meaning, the stylistic meaning, the affective, meaning, the reflected meaning, the collocative meaning and the thematic meaning., Semantics studies all these different types of meaning. The conceptual meaning, takes into consideration the basic meaning of the utterance, whereas the, connotative meaning focuses on the implied or suggested meanings of the, utterance. The stylistic meaning refers to the social circumstances in which a piece, of language is used, and the affective meaning takes into consideration the personal, feelings of the speaker. The reflected meaning is the effect of one meaning on, another meaning of the same word. The collocative meaning focuses on the, meaning that a particular words acquires in the company of words. The thematic, meaning refers to what is communicated by the way in which the speaker or writer, of a message organizes the message in terms of focus and emphasis., , 3.4, , Terms to Remember, , Semantics, , :, , Study of meaning, , Pragmatics, , :, , Study of meaning in context, , Symbol, , :, , Phonetic shape of the word, , Locutionary Act, , :, , The basic act of producing meaningful utterances, , Illocutionary act, , :, , It refers to the implied or suggested meaning, , Perlocutionary Act, , :, , It refers to the effect of the utterance on the listener, 72
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Conceptual meaning :, , Basic or core meaning, , Connotative meaning :, , Indirect or implied meaning stylistic meaning- social, circumstances in which piece of language is used., , Affective meaning, , :, , It takes into consideration the personal feelings of the, speaker., , Reflected meaning, , :, , It is the effect of one meaning on another meaning of, the same word., , Collocation, , :, , Collocative meaning :, , Words that go together, It consists of the meaning acquired by a word under, the influence of word/words that it co-occurs with., , Focus, , :, , Prominence, , Thematic meaning, , :, , It is the meaning conveyed by the structure of the, discourse., , 3.5, , Answers to Check your Progress, , Check your Progress - 1, 1) linguistic, , 2) false, , 3) lexical, , 4) a) He is tired b)Is he tired?, , 5) Intonational, Check your Progress 2:, 1) meaning, , 2) Geoffrey Leech, , 3) false, , 4) connotative, , 5) false, , 6) 'died', , 7) cute pet, cute baby, , 73
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Check your Progress:3, 1) Referential, , 2) False, , 3) Illocutionary, , 4) Functional-pragmatic Approach, , 5) False, , 3.6, , Exercises, , Q. 1, , Answer the following questions., , a., , Bring out the difference between the terms 'Semantics' and 'Pragmatics'., , b), , Explain the terms 'Lexical meaning', 'Grammatical meaning' and 'Intonational, meaning' by giving suitable examples., , c), , Mention some of the problems that are associated with the notion of, 'reference' as a way of describing word meaning., , d), , What is the main approach that is usually attributed to the behaviouristic, approach ?, , e), , Briefly discuss the seven types of meaning., , f), , How is the 'conceptual' meaning different from the 'connotative' meaning?, , Q. 2, , Write short notes on the following., , 1., , Different levels of linguistic analysis, , 2., , The connotative meaning, , 3., , Stylistic and Affected meaning, , 4., , The Lexicographical Approach, , 5., , The Componential Analysis Approach, , 74
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3.7, , References for further study, , 1., , Hurford, J.R; Heasley, B. and Smith, M.. (1983), SEMANTICS: A, COURSEBOOK, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge., , 2., , Leech, G. (1983), SEMANTICS, Oxford University Press, Oxford., , 3., , Lyons, J. (1981), LANGUAGE AND LINGUISTICS: AN INTRODUCTION,, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge., , 4., , Palmer, F.R. (1976), SEMANTICS, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge., , 5., , Yule, G. (2006), THE STUDY OF LANGUAGE, Cambridge University Press,, Cambridge., , 75
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UNIT - 4, , PRAGMATICS, BASIC CONCEPTS, 1., , 2., , PRAGMATICS, 1.1, , History and Development of Pragmatics, , 1.2, , Meaning and Definitions, , 1.3, , Difference between Pragmatics and Semantics, , 1.4, , Sentence vs. Utterance, , 1.5, , Context, , SPEECH ACT THEORY, 2.1, , Austin’s Contribution to Speech Act Theory, 2.1.1, , Constatives and Performatives, , 2.1.2, , Locutionary, Illocutionary, Perlocutionary Acts, , 2.1.3, , Typology: Verdictives, Exercitives, Commissives, Behabitives, and Expositives, , 2.2, , 2.3, 3., , Searle’s Contribution to the Speech Act Theory, 2.2.1, , Constitutive and Regulative Rules, , 2.2.2, , Searle’s Typology of Speech Acts, , 2.2.3, , Direct and Indirect Speech Acts, , Felicity Conditions, , CONVERSATIONAL IMPLICATURE, , 76
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4., , PRINCIPLES OF CONVERSATION, 4.1, , Difference between Rules and Principle, , 5., , GRICE’S COOPERATIVE PRINCIPLE, , 6., , POLITENESS PRINCIPLE, 6.1, , Face and Face Wants, , 6.2, , Geoffrey Leech’s Politeness Maxims, , 6.3, , Trade-off Relationship between the Politeness and Cooperative, Principle, , 7., , PRESUPPOSITION, 7.1, , Types of Presuppositions, , 8., , ENTAILMENT, , 9., , DEIXIS, 9.1, , 10., , Discourse Deixis and Social Deixis, , DISCOURSE, 10.1, , Distinction between Text and Discourse, , 10.2, , Discourse Analysis, 10.2.1 Cohesion, 10.2.2 Coherence, 10.2.3 Turn Taking, , 4.1, , Pragmatics, Pragmatics is a subfield of linguistics and semiotics that studies the ways in, , which context contributes to meaning. Pragmatics encompasses speech act theory,, conversational implicature, talk in interaction and other approaches to language, behavior in philosophy, sociology, linguistics and anthropology.Pragmatics is, 77
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different than semantics, which concerns just the relations between signs and the, objects they signify. Semantics refers to the specific meaning of language;, pragmatics, by contrast, involves all of the other social cues that accompany, language., , 1.1, , History and Development, Linguistics is “a scientific study of language”. Phonetics, Phonology,, , Morphology, Syntax and Semantics are the different ‘components’ of linguistics., Each of these deals with a specific unit of analysis. Phonetics and Phonology deal, with Speech sounds, Morphology studies word structure, Syntax studies the, structure of sentences and Semantics studies the meaning of linguistic units in, general. All these branches focus on the structure or components of language. The, use of language and its consequences was neglected., The route that led to Pragmatics was variously through the inadequacy of, semantic theory (when confronted with the problem of context of use), or the desire, to argue for functionalist approaches (in M. A. K. Halliday's work, for example) that, took account of linguistic variation. The latter converged, in practice, with, developments in interactional sociolinguistics, anthropological linguistics and the, ethnography of communication (D. Hymes and J. J. Gumperz)., Other narrower or more specific disciplines also paved the way for, Pragmatics., , The, , Enunciation, , theory, , (R., , Jakobson,, , E., , Benveniste),, , and, , psycholinguistic and cognitive theories (L. S. Vygotsky) are examples. The fields of, text linguistics and discourse analysis also come into being, alongside Pragmatics,, and the interrelationships between all these are multiple., Lastly, semiotics (with its interest in the study of signs and communication),, has always been cited as one of the main roads leading to Pragmatics, above all,, thanks to the work of Ch. S. Peirce and Ch. W. Morris, both in the North American, tradition, and of M.M. Bakhtin in the Soviet tradition (more allied to literary criticism)., To Peirce, reformulated by Morris, we owe what is arguably the most usual, 78
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conception and definition of Pragmatics, complementary to syntax and semantics,, which analyses the relationship between signs and uses or users., There were others equally important in the development of Pragmatics as a, branch of linguistic study. In the earlier 1960s, Katz and his collaborators attempted, to include meaning in a formal linguistics theory. Lakoff tried to establish a link of, Syntax with the study of language use. Independent thinkers like Firth, insisted on, the situational study of meaning and Halliday propounded a comprehensive social, Theory of language. Apart from Ross and Lakoff, the more lasting influences on, modern Pragmatics owes to Austin (1962), Searle (1969), Grice (1975) and Leech, (1983). The emergence of the Speech Act Theory, in particular, in the sixties and, seventies played a central role in giving concrete shape to Pragmatics which was, earlier dubbed as a ‘wastepaper basket’ for various reasons., , 1.2, , Meaning and Definitions, Pragmatics as a study of meaning in discourse is an interdisciplinary field., , ‘Pragmatics’ offers a totally different perspective to language. It studies language in, its socio-cultural context; the problems and principles of the use of language in, social interaction.It is a user-oriented view on language.It concerns itself with the, study of language usage, namely what people mean by what they say. Pragmatics, establishes a link between language and human life in general. It describes not so, much a system of symbols (which is the job of syntax and semantics), but what, people do with the system., An utterance is used for communicative purposes. An utterance is not just, the exposition of grammatical rules, but it is the exposition of intended meaning. The, fact is that in every conversation more is communicated than is actually said. The, study of what is said directly through words, the coded meaning, is the concern of, Semantics, but the study of what is implied, non-coded meaning, is the concern of, Pragmatics. Unlike structuralism, the main focus of Pragmatics is the process of, language production and its producers not the end product language., 79
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Jacob Mey describes the emergence of Pragmatics as,, … a shift from the paradigm of theoretical grammar (in particular syntax) to, the paradigm of the language user (2001:04)., Charles Morris, attempted to define Pragmatics as,, …the study of the relation of signs to interpreters (1938:6)., The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary definition of Pragmatics reads as,, “The study of the way in which language is used to express what somebody, really means in particular situations, especially when the actual words used, may appear to mean something different. (2005, P: 1182)., Pragmatics is a part of linguistics, but is not a component of linguistics like, syntax or semantics. We have to distinguish between linguistics of language, resources and linguistics of language use.According to Leech (1983:04) “Grammar, and Pragmatics are complementary domains within linguistics”. Language cannot be, understood without studying these domains and the interaction between them., Pragmatics also can be distinguished from other interdisciplinary fields of, investigation such as neurolinguistics, psycholinguistics, sociolinguistics and, anthropological linguistics. Each of these fields has it’s own limitation. They are, bound to certain aspects of human life, whereas Pragmatics is concerned with the, full complexity of linguistic behaviour., To sum up, we might say that Pragmatics isthe investigation of invisible, meaning. Pragmatics is the study of how more gets communicated than is said, (Yule: 1996)., , 1.3, , The Difference between Pragmatics and Semantics, Semantics assumes two entities – sentence and meaning, i.e., there is a, , sentence and it has some meaning. Whereas Pragmatics assumes three entities utterance, meaning and interpreter/hearer, i.e., an utterance has a meaning as the, hearer sees it. Thus, semantics is dyadic whereas Pragmatics is triadic., 80
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Semantics, being dependent on syntax, is rule-governed whereas for, Pragmatics context is central and, therefore, it is principle-controlled. We can also, say that Semantics is formal whereas Pragmatics is functional., , 1.4, , Sentence vs. Utterance, SENTENCE, , UTTERANCE, , 1., , Is an abstract theoretical entity, , Speech act, , 2., , Rule governed, , Principle controlled, , 3., , structural, , functional, , 4., , rigid, , Dynamic, , 5., , abstract, , concrete, , 6., , universal, , Context bound, , 7., , accurate, , appropriate, , 8., , Semantic entity, , Pragmatic entity, , 9., , Has linguistic properties of syntactic Pragmatic, elements - subject, predicate, etc, , 1.5, , elements, , –, , deixis,, , implicature. Speech acts, etc, , Context, Context is one of the central concepts in Pragmatics. In 1923, Malinowski, , (The Problem of Meaning in Primitive Languages), the well-known sociolinguist,, coined the term ‘context of situation’. This observation can be seen as one of the, necessary pillars of any theory of Pragmatics. Language use is always situated, against a complex background termed as ‘communicative context’ with which it is, related in a variety of ways. The major components of the communicative context, are:, 81
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•, , Language users, i.e., utterer and interpreter, , •, , The mental world (verbal interaction is communication from mind to mind minds are always ‘minds in society’ having cognitive(conceptualizations) and, emotive(affective) elements), , •, , The social world (social settings or institutions and culture with its norms, and values), , •, , The physical world (physical conditions including sex, age, bodily postures,, gestures, gaze, etc. and spatial and temporal references), The interlocutors, utterer and interpreter, are presented as focal points, , because the contextual aspects of the physical, social, and mental worlds do not, usually start to play a role in language use until they have somehow been activated, by the language users’ cognitive processes., Levinsonalso stresses the importance of Context when defining Pragmatics,, … The study of those relations between language and context that, are grammaticalized, or encoded in the structure of a language., (1983:09), In the words of NozarNiazi,, … an utterance is a unit of communication whose significance or value, is established by its contextual situation… (2004:13), According to Bilmes, the context is the social setting in which the Speech, event takes place. Pragmatics operates when the utterance implies something more, or different than what is said. ‘Context’ plays a vital role in determining the, illocutionary force (exact meaning) of the utterance. Any utterance is meaningless if, not placed in its human context. Thus the chief task of Pragmatics is to explain the, illocutionary force of certain utterance and its consequence in the given situation of, context as the interpretation varies in different contexts., , 82
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1., , The Speech Act Theory, While expressing themselves, people not only produce utterances containing, , grammatical structures and words, but also perform actions via those utterances. A, statement by a judge “I sentence you to five years of imprisonment” is not a mere, string of words. It has the effect as if the judge has put the accused person in the, prison and locked him up.Thus, a number of utterances behave somewhat like, actions. It can be said that all utterances are acts of some type.An act can be, defined as something done in order to bring about a desired change in the state., This is the basic tenet of the Speech Act Theory. An act performed via speech is, called ‘Speech Act’. It is an utterance which has an implied intention and an, expected effect/outcome. It was in this context that John Langshaw Austinstated, that ‘speaking is doing’; that speech is deployed to get things done, to achieve, specific communicative goals., 2.1, , Austin’s Contribution to the Speech Act Theory, Austin introduced the Speech Act Theory in his William James lectures at, , Harvard University in 1955. The ideas were later published posthumously in his, book How to Do Things with Words (1962). The Speech Act Theory is developed, against the philosophy of Logical Positivism.The lectures were a protest against the, age-old assumption that the function of a Declarative sentence was merely to, describe, report or state something. It also countered earlier propositions insisting, that a statement made by a Declarative sentence could be proved to be either true, or false. He noted that some ordinary language declarative sentences, contrary to, logical positivist assumptions, are not apparently used with any intention of making, true or false statements, but rather that the uttering of the sentences is, or is part of., For Example :, (a), , “I name this ship Queen Elizabeth”., , (b), , “I bet you six pence it will rain tomorrow”., , (c), , “I declare war on Zanzibar”., , 83
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By uttering such sentences the speaker actually ‘names the ship’ or ‘makes, a bet’ or ‘declares war’., The Speech Act Theory thus proposes that we do things using words i.e., speakers perform actions via utterances; that utterances ‘bring about changes in the, state of affairs’. Austin defines a ‘Speech Act’ as “the act of uttering a certain, sentence in a given context for a determined purpose, i.e. an act of communication”., Thus, a speaker can perform numerous acts such as stating a fact or opinion,, confirming or denying something, making a prediction, a promise, a request, an, offer, thanks or an invitation, issuing an order, giving advice or permission,, christening a child, swearing an oath, etc., According to Austin saying anything consists of:, i., , Performing the act of uttering certain noises (a phonetic act) and the, utterance is a Phone., , ii., , Performing the act of uttering certain vocables or words, that is, noises of, certain types belonging to a certain vocabulary in a certain construction,, conforming to a certain grammar, with a certain intonation. He calls it a, ‘phatic’ act, and the utterance as a ‘Pheme’., , iii., , Performing the act of using that pheme or its constituents with a certain more, or less definite ‘sense’ and ‘reference’ (which both equal to ‘meaning’). He, calls this act a ‘rhetic’ act and the utterance a ‘Rheme’., Some other definitions of Speech Acts are as follows :, a), , Speaking a language is performing speech acts, acts as making statements, giving commands, asking questions, making promises and so on…(Searle, 1969:16), , b), , Speech acts are actions performed via utterances. (Yule G. 1996:47), , c), , Utterances are speech acts.(Thorat A. 2002:25), , d), , Speech Act Theory says that language is used not only to describe things, but to do things as well. (Kempson, 2001-433), 84
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e), , Every utterance performs a Speech Act of some kind although this may not, be obvious from the surface structure of the sentences concerned. (Flower1981:4), , f), , It is a theory of saying as doing within the framework of social institutions, and conversations. (Lyons, 1981:175)., Speech Acts are both culture specific and universal that is some Speech, , Acts differ in their expression in different cultures. However, some are commonly, expressed in the same way. The Speech Act of blessing, greeting, thanking,, complimenting etc. are culture specific, whereas making statements, asking, questions and giving orders are universal. Any study of language is complete only if, it takes into consideration its actual use in communication., 2.1.1, , Constatives and Performatives, Austin observed that some verbs merely describe facts or situations. They, , were used to produce true or false ‘statements’ about certain situations. Austin, called such stating (describing) verbs, , ‘Constatives’. Constatives are evaluated, , along a dimension of truth. The institutionalised Speech Act verbs such as ‘to, baptize’, ‘to sentence’, ‘to dub’ etc. seem to perform some act rather than merely, describing facts or producing true or false statements. Austin referred to such verbs, as “Performatives”. Performatives are not verified for their truth or falsity; they are, evaluated along a dimension of felicity. Thus, performative utterances can be, felicitous and infelicitous., For example, ‘I call him a fool’ is a sentence which is grammatically termed, as a statement, but Austin termed it as ‘Performative’ because the speaker performs, the act of calling the person a fool. He has not simply uttered a sentence in the form, of a declaration or a statement. Performatives can be explicit or implicit. An, utterance like “I call you a fool” is an example of Explicit Performative. The, utterances, which do not contain any obvious marker of a performative verb, are, categorized as Implicit Performatives, but based on the context. For example: He is, a fool., 85
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Austin’s conclusion was simple: all utterances contain both Constative and, Performative elements; they are all saying and doing at the same time., When distinguishing between Performative and Constative utterances,, Austin thought of ‘some grammatical (or lexicographical) criterion. Austin’s examples, of performatives are those of verbs in the first person singular, active such as, ‘I, name,’ ‘I do’, ‘I bet’, ‘I give’ etc. He calls these examples the commonest explicit, performatives. However, he himself was aware that the verb is also used in the, second or third person and even in the passive voice., For example:, 1., , You are hereby authorized to pay., , 2., , Passengers are warned to cross the track by the bridge only, Austin gradually arrives at the solution that, ‘person or voice is not essential’., , The word ‘hereby’ is the tool affecting the act of warning, authorizing etc. According, to him ‘hereby’ is a useful criterion to decide if the utterance is a performative or not., However, not all the performatives apply person or voice. Instead of saying, ‘I order, you to stand up’; a speaker simply says ‘stand up’. Austin realized that even a single, word utterance like “guilty” or “out” also are ‘performatives.’, Thus, Austin points out that:, a), , We may get the performative without the operative words as follows:, i., , In place of ‘dangerous corner’, we may have ‘corner …’, , ii., , In place of ‘you are ordered to…’ we may have ‘you will’, , iii. In place of ‘I promise to …’ we may have ‘I shall’. (1962: 59), Similarly, Austin also states that we may get the operative word without the, utterance being performative for e.g. ‘It was over’ or ‘You were guilty’ etc., , 86
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2.1.2, , Locutionary, Illocutionary and Perlocutionary Acts, Austin discusses three dimensions that constitute a Speech Act -, , Locutionary, Illocutionary and Perlocutionary. The three-fold distinction replaced the, Constative-Performative dichotomy suggested earlier by Austin., i., , Locutionary – It is the act of saying something (the locution) with a certain, meaning in the traditional sense. It has a non-ambiguous meaning and, reference. This is the basic literal, propositional or semantic meaning of the, utterance. According to Austin (1962:121), a locutionary act contains “within, it the phonetic, the phatic and the rhetic acts”. Phonetic acts are acts of, pronouncing sounds, phatic acts are acts of uttering words or sentences in, accordance with the phonological and syntactic rules of the language to, which they belong, and rhetic acts are acts of uttering a sentence with sense, and more or less definite reference., , ii., , Illocutionary – The Illocutionary act is the act in saying against the act of, producing the locution. It represents the speaker’s intent. The illocutionary, force is what an utterance counts for. Illocutionary acts are under the control, of the speaker., , iii., , Perlocutionary – The Perlocutionary act refers to what one does by making, an utterance or saying something.The speakers do not simply create an, utterance with a function without intending it to have an effect. In other, words, they seek to change the external world. Speech Acts have an effect, on the feelings, thoughts or actions of either the speaker or the listener. It, may or may not be what the speaker wants to happen, but it is nevertheless, caused by the locution. Perlocutionary acts are under the control of the, hearer. Unlike locutionary acts, perlocutionary acts are external to the, performance., , 87
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Example 1 :, Shoot her (Austin’s example), A., , Locution :, Use of speech referring to the act of shooting and to the pronoun ‘her’, , B., , Illocution :, He ordered/ urged/advised me to shoot her, , C., , Perlocution :, He got/persuaded me to shoot her), , Example 2 :, The bar will be closed in five minutes, Suppose, for example, that a bartender utters the words, 'The bar will be, closed in five minutes,' reported by means of direct quotation., A, , Locution :, Act of saying that the bar (i.e., the one he is tending) will be closed in five, , minutes (from the time of utterance)., B:, , Illocution :, Informing the patrons of the bar's imminent closing and perhaps also the act, , of urging them to order a last drink., C:, , Perlocution :, The bartender intends to be performing the perlocutionary acts of causing, , the patrons to believe that the bar is about to close and of getting them to want and, to order one last drink., , 88
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Example 3 :, Don’t move, A:, , Locution :, Act of telling the hearer not to move from where he is standing., , B:, , Illocution :, Warning or advising depending on the context of the utterance., , C:, , Perlocution:, In saying the above, the speaker intends to cause the hearer to believe that, , moving could be dangerous to his well being and therefore he should stay still., , Example 4 :, I am thirsty, A:, , Locution :, Act of informing the hearer of his physical state., , B:, , Illocution :, The intention is to make a request for a drink that will quench his thirst., , C:, , Perlocution:, The speaker in saying the above persuades the hearer to give him a drink., , The hearer on his part can agree or refuse to give the speaker a drink., In all the examples above, what the speakers intend to say has to be, inferred. It is not stated directly in the words., , 89
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2.1.3, , Austin’s Typology of Speech Acts, Austin went on to further classify utterances into Verdictives, Exercitives,, , Commissives, Behabitives and Expositives on the basis of their illocutionary force., Each of them makes use of specific Performative verbs., a), , Verdictives, They include utterances that pass a verdict say by a jury, arbitrator or, , umpire., •, , Paradigm cases : Convicting, sentencing, ranking and grading., , •, , Example : “Out” uttered by an umpire or “I sentence you to 5 years in prison”, uttered by a judge., , b), , Exercitives –, They are speech acts that exercise powers, rights or influence., , •, , Paradigm cases : Appointing, voting, ordering, and advising., , •, , Example : I christen this ship the Queen., , c), , Commissives –, They create an obligation to a future course of action., , •, , Paradigm cases: Promising, vowing., , •, , Example: I promise to help you tomorrow., , d), , Behabitives –, They are a miscellaneous group, and have to do with attitudes and ‘social, , behavior’., •, , Paradigm, , cases:Apologizing,, , congratulating,, , challenging, requesting, etc., •, , Example: I congratulate you on your victory., , 90, , cursing,, , commending,
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e), , Expositives –, Expositives are acts related to the expression of views, arguments, and, , references., •, , Paradigm cases: Illustrating, assuming, replying, arguing etc., However, Austin’s classification of Speech Acts according to their, , illocutionary force is not clear-cut or mutually exclusive. They are overlapping., Verdictives may have the dimension of Exercitives as declaring the accused guilty, and also show the exercising of the power or authority of the judge. Exercitives like, declaring war also commits the speaker to future responsibility. Regarding, Behabitives ‘to approve’ may be an exercise of authority or a reaction to behaviour., Expositives such as swearing, accepting, agreeing also may be cited as examples, of commissives., , 2.2, , Searle’s Contribution to the Speech Act Theory, John R. Searle, a disciple of Austin, expanded Austin’s Speech Act Theory, , making certain modifications and improvements. He asserted that, Speaking a language is engaging in a rule governed form of behaviour, (Searle 1969:16), Searle introduced the principle of Expressibility, that is the principle that, whatever can be meant can be said. Asking and responding correspond to each, other generally. However, the principle of Expressibility does not imply the possibility, of finding or inventing the exact form of expression to produce the intended effect/s, in hearer/s. This principle does not imply that whatever can be said will be always, understood or recognized by others. Speech Act, the basic unit of communication,, includes the connection between the notions of Speech Acts, what the speaker, means, what the uttered sentence means, what the speaker intends, what the, hearer understands and what the rules governing the linguistic elements are., , 91
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According to Searle a speaker performs minimum three kinds of acts;, a), , Uttering words (morphemes, sentences ) = performing utterance act, , b), , Referring and predicating = performing propositional acts, , c), , Stating, questioning, commanding, promising etc. = performing illocutionary, acts., , Along with these acts Searle adds Austin’s notion of perlocutionary act that is,, “…the notion of the consequences or effects such acts have on the actions,, thoughts or beliefs etc. of hearers”. (Searle 1969: 25), , 2.2.1, , Constitutive and Regulative Rules, Searle made a distinction between two major types of rules which he calls, , constitutive and regulative rules. Regulative rules, according to Searle, regulate a, pre-existing activity, whereas constitutive rules constitute (and also regulate) an, ‘activity’ which exists due to these rules, for example, the activity of playing football, is constituted by acting in accordance with these (constitutive) rules. Football and, the rules of playing football cannot be separated. Regulative rules can be, ‘paraphrased’ as imperatives, having the form of ‘Do x’ or ‘If Y do X’. Along with this, form the constitutive rule also has the form ‘X counts as Y’., For examplein the case of a ‘chess’ game, constitutive rules constitute or, make up the game of chess that is the existence of the game becomes impossible, without these constitutive rules. “Regulative rules, by contrast regulate the behaviour, of the players in the game” (Mey 2001: 102). Any changes in regulative rule do not, change the nature of the game itself. ‘Chess’ can be played as per the constitutive, rules; however the way the game is played by each player differs than each other., This handling of the game is dealt with regulative rules. Similarly, regarding Speech, Acts, if the example of promise is taken, the constitutive rules deal with the definition, of ‘promise’ that is in the words of Searle, “promise is uttered and accepted as, creating an obligation from the promiser to promisee,” whereas regulative rules deal, 92
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with ‘how are promises dealt with in an actual social context’ (Mey 2001:102)., Promises should not be repeated and made about those things or events that are, surely going to take place in the future. These are regulative rules that regulate the, behaviour of promiser and promisee., 2.2.2, , Searle’s Typology of Speech Acts, Searle emphasized the importance of the Illocutionary Act over the, , Locutionary and Perlocutionary Acts. He categorized utterance into the following five, types:, a), , Representatives:, These utterances commit the speaker to the truth of the expressed, , proposition. They aim to describe a state of affairs in the world. These are the, utterances through which the speaker states what s/he believes., Paradigm cases - Asserting, concluding, hypothesizing stating, suggesting,, , •, , accusing, criticizing, complaining, denying, predicting and concluding., Example:, , •, i., , An apple a day keeps doctor away, , ii., , The Indian team will defeat South Africa in the second test., , iii., , I do not subscribe to the feminist ideology., , b), , Directives:, These utterances are attempts by the speaker to get the addressee to do, , something., •, , Paradigm cases: Requesting, questioning, begging, and commanding., , •, , Example:, i., , Get out of the class., , ii., , Please give me a glass of water., , iii., , What do you consider yourself?, 93
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c), , Commissives:, These utterances commit the speaker to some future course of action., , Commissives are speaker centered., Paradigm cases:Promising, threatening, offering, guaranteeing, warning,, , •, , vowing., Example:, , •, , i., , I will help you in your studies., , ii., , I will not attend the meeting., , iii., , I promise to take you to the movies., , d), , Expressives:, They express a psychological state or feeling of the speaker., , •, , Paradigm cases: Thanking, apologizing, welcoming, sympathizing, praising,, blaming, congratulating, and forgiving., , •, , Example:, i., , I apologise for the delay., , ii., , Wow! That’s beautiful., , e), , Declaratives:, They areutterances that bring about a new external situation which tends to, , rely on elaborate extra linguistic institutions., •, , Paradigm cases: Excommunicating, declaring war, christening, firing from, employment, marrying, resigning, endorsing, nominating, appointing and, sentencing etc., , •, , Example:, i., , I declare that the function is over., , ii., , I now pronounce you husband and wife., 94
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iii., , 2.2.3, , I hereby resign from the post of Chairman of the committee., , Direct and Indirect Speech Acts, J.R. Searle further classified Speech Acts as Direct and Indirect Speech, , Acts. The dichotomy distinguishes Speech Acts on the basis of the relationship, between the form and function of the utterance. There are three major forms of, Speech Acts and their functions in English. They are as follows:, Form, , Function, , Declarative, , Assert, , Imperative, , Order/ request, , Interrogative, , Question, , In the words of George Yule:, (a), , Whenever there is a direct relationship between a structure and a function,, we have a Direct Speech Act (1996: 54-55)., , (b), , Whenever there is an indirect relationship between a structure and function,, we have an Indirect Speech Act. (1996:55)., , Examples :, i., , I feel tired. (Declarative used as an assertion), , ii., , Give me something to eat. (Imperative used to give an order), , iii., , What are you doing? (Interrogative used to ask a question)., , In the examples above, the form of the utterance matches the function they, perform. They are Direct Speech Acts. Direct Speech Acts have only one function, which corresponds to the form or structure., 95
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On the other hand, if the speaker asks, ‘Will you help me?’ he does not, merely expect the answer “Yes” or “No”. He makes a request to the hearer to help, him. Instead of using the Declarative form, ‘Help me’, the speaker prefers the, interrogative form to make his request which is more polite and to achieve the, expected effect on the hearer for obtaining his help. Thus, it is an example of in, Indirect Speech Act., Some definitions :, a), , Indirect Speech Acts are speech acts in which the speaker performs more, than one illocutionary act at the same time. (Haverkate 1984:75), , b), , Utterances which use a surface statement to ask a question or a surface, question to issue a request are called Indirect Speech Acts (Jurasfsky, 2003:732), In Indirect Speech Acts, the speaker communicates to the hearer more than, , he actually says by way of relying on their mutually shared background information,, both linguistic and nonlinguistic, together with the general powers of rationality and, inference on part of the hearer” (John R. Searle, 2001:177)., In connection with Indirect Speech Acts, Searle introduces the notions of, ‘primary’ and ‘secondary’ illocutionary acts. Searle begins by making a distinction, between primary and secondary illocutionary acts. A primary illocutionary act is not, literal,, , rather it is what the speaker means to communicate. The secondary, , illocutionary act is the literal meaning of the utterance. He thus asserts that an, Indirect Speech Act has a literal meaning and an inferred meaning. They can also, have more than one meaning or illocutionary force., For example :, X: We should leave for the show or else we’ll be late., Y: I am not ready yet., The primary illocutionary act is Y’s rejection of X’s suggestion and the, secondary illocutionary act is Y’s statement that she is not ready to leave. By, 96
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dividing the illocutionary act into two sub-parts, Searle is able to explain how we can, understand two meanings from the same utterance while at the same time knowing, which of the correct meaning to respond to., In Indirect Speech Acts the hearer must deduce the illocutionary point from, his or her specific knowledge of the context or circumstances of utterance as, speakers often do not express explicitly their illocutionary point. Thus, Indirect, Speech Acts communicate something more than what they literally say via, implicature, since one act is performed by way of another. Implicitness should be, exploited to fathom indirectness., Levinson, in this connection, remarks that ‘most usages (of requests) are, indirect’ (1983:264). He also points out that ‘imperatives are rarely used to, command or request (275). For example, in a satirical play ‘The Boy ComesHome’, by A.A. Milne, Uncle James repeats the words ‘Ten o’clock’ thrice. The intention, behind this repetition is not telling the exact time of the day but to express his anger, regarding Philips having his breakfast too late. The other examples of the speaker, saying one thing and intending another are, rhetorical questions, circumlocutions,, euphemisms,, , ironical, , statements,, , metonymic, , expressions,, , exaggerations,, , understatements, etc., Indirect Speech Acts are generally associated with greater politeness in, English than Direct Speech Acts. Searle observes: Politeness is the most prominent, motivation for indirectness in request and certain forms naturally tend to become the, conventionally polite ways of making indirect requests., As per the co-operative principle, communication is meaningful and effective, if it’s four maxims namely- maxims of quality, quantity, relevance and manner are, fulfilled satisfactorily. If one or all of them are violated, Indirect Speech Acts are, generated. Indirect Speech Acts are indirectly cooperative. They depend on us, being able to pick up the relevant clues from intonational and thematic force, together with the context of utterance in order to arrive at a correct interpretation of, the speaker’s meaning. (1998:169), 97
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2.3, , Felicity Conditions, Performatives cannot be true or false, but they can ‘go wrong’ or be, , ‘unhappy’ or ‘infelicitous’. Austin states that there must be some conditions in place, for an utterance to be performed successfully. They have to be fulfilled if the, utterance must have the intended effect. He called these conditions as felicity, conditions and explained them in the following principles., 1., , ‘There must exist an accepted conventional procedure having a certain, conventional effect …’(P:26), , 2., , The procedure must be executed by all participants both i) correctly and ii), completely (P:15), , 3., , Having certain thoughts or feelings or intentions ( P:15), If the feelings, thoughts and intentions do not conform to the utterance, , (performative) or no accepted procedure is followed, or the procedure was falsely or, incompletely executed, the utterance becomes infelicitous. For example, praising or, sympathizing with others only superficially and not whole heartedly or saying, something exactly opposite to what one does not believe or think, like flattering, somebody and even the utterance of promising, betting or declaring something,, when one does not intend to do so. Saying “I name this ship Queen Elizabeth” will, not name the ship if the speaker has no authority to do so., For instance, if any ordinary person reads the ‘will’ of a person (either alive, or dead) in the presence of his relatives, the act of reading the ‘will’ will not be, considered felicitous due to the fact that only an entrusted lawyer should read the, ‘will’ of a person either dead or alive in the presence of related persons, say,, relatives or friends. In this case,the first condition will not be fulfilled, as there is no, authorized speaker. Similarly, if an entrusted lawyer reads a will but there is no, hearer/s to listen the will, it will be infelicitous, as the act will not fulfill the second, condition due to only one sided communication (without all participants)., In the same manner if a Mother tells her child, “I promise to give you a, chocolate if you drink a cup of milk” and if she does not have a chocolate or has no, 98
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similar thoughts or intentions of giving chocolate, as her only purpose is to get the, child drink the milk, the act will be infelicitous, as it violates the third condition., In a Hindu community, the traditional marriage takes place in the presence of, a priest (Pujari) and other relatives. The marriage takes place only when the pujari, chants holymangalashatakat the end of which a bridegroom puts garland around the, neck of a bride and, in response, she does the same. The marriage cannot be, considered authorised in the absence of (any of) the above mentioned participants, or procedure. In the same manner, the Speech Act that does not observe the felicity, conditions is considered as infelicitous., Searle further expanded on the concept of felicity conditions in the following, four conditions., i., , Propositional Content condition, This condition specifies the restrictions on the content of the complement, , sentence. Searle explains it with the help of a Speech Act of promising. It states that, promise should be uttered only in the context of a sentence. The content of the, utterance must predicate some future act of the speaker., ii., , Preparatory Conditions, Preparatory conditions include background circumstances and knowledge of, , the speaker and hearer prior to the performance of actual act (say promising). The, hearer should get benefit out of the speaker’s act of promising and both the speaker, and hearer should believe it be so. If the speaker says “I promise, you won’t see, tomorrow’s sunrise,” then such type of an utterance cannot be considered as a, promise, but, on the other hand it is a threat. In short, the promise should be to the, interest of the promisee. Similarly, the promise will be considered invalid if the, promiser is going to do the proposed act anyhow or if it is already scheduled, self, justifying or natural happening., , 99
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iii., , Sincerity Conditions, Sincerity conditions state the requisite beliefs, feelings and intentions of the, , speaker. It is an expression of the psychological state of the speaker. It deals with, the speaker’s belief, that it is possible for him to do the act. While promising, the, speaker should be committed towards fulfilling it (promise)., iv., , Essential conditions, The essential conditions relate to the way the speaker is committed to a, , certain kind of belief of behavior, having performed a speech act. Promising is the, undertaking of an obligation to perform a certain act. The promiser should consider, his responsibility to keep his word in future., Searle suggests that Felicity Conditions are not merely dimensions on which, utterances can go wrong, but are actually jointly constitutive of the various, illocutionary forces., 3., , ConversationalImplicature, Implicature is a technical term in Pragmatics coined by the British, , philosopher Herbert Paul Grice. It was introduced in a series of lectures delivered at, Harvard University in 1967. It refers to what is suggested in an utterance, even, though not expressed nor strictly implied (that is, entailed) by the utterance. It, signifies what a speaker implicates (as opposed to what he actually says). The, Implicature is arrived at by making use of some inferencing mechanism. Grice, introduced the notion of ‘implicature’ primarily for the purpose of explaining the, phenomenon of how in a conversational interaction speakers mean more than what, they actually say. An implicature may be said to be the extra meaning attached to,, but distinct from the sense of the utterance., For example, the sentence "Mary had a baby and got married" strongly, suggests that Mary had the baby before the wedding, but the sentence would still be, strictly true if Mary had her baby after she got married. Further, if we add the, qualification "— not necessarily in that order" to the original sentence, then the, 100
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implicature is cancelled even though the meaning of the original sentence is not, altered., In order to distinguish Implicatures, Grice proposed a distinction between, three categories of meaning viz., (i) What is said, (ii) What is conventionally implicated and, (iii) What is non-conventionally implicated, Grice divided Implicatures into two distinct categories –, i., , Conventional Implicatures, , ii., , Conversational Implicatures., In a Conventional Implicature, what is implicated derives from the, , conventional meaning of the words used’ (Grice, 1967, rpt. 1989: 25). When a, speaker says, ‘he is an Englishman; he is therefore, brave for example he implicated, that his being brave follows from his being an Englishman’. This Implicature seems, to result from the conventional meaning attached to the use of the word ‘therefore’., Conventional Implicatures however are not a very interesting category. In fact, the, main focus of Grice’s analysis is to identify and explain Conversational Implicatures’, which belong to the category of non-conventional implicatures., In the Gricean framework, ‘Implicature’ is conceived as a species of, inference- distinct and different from entailment and presupposition. Entailments, as, we have seen is a purely semantic relation known as logical consequence, whereas, the very notion of implicature was conceived in order to account for the extra, meaning attached to utterances in interactional situations. Implicatures share some, of the properties of presuppositions but they differ from them in many respects., Presuppositions, for example, are inferences regarding background assumptions, against which the main point of an utterance is assessed. Implicatures on the other, hand are inferences arrived at by relating the contextual assumptions to the, principles and maxims of standard conversational practice. Another difference, 101
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between Implicatures and presuppositions is that Implicatures are attached to the, semantic content of an utterance (and are therefore detachable), whereas, presuppositions seem to be built into the linguistic structure of sentences that give, rise to them (and are therefore detachable)., Grice classified Implicatures into three categories on the basis of the, speaker’s attitude toward the maxims as follows:, (i), , Implicatures arising from the observance of the maxims, , (ii) Implicatures arising from violation of a maxim, and, (iii) Implicatures arising from the flouting or exploiting of a maxim., , 5., , Grice’s Cooperative Principle, The chief purpose of using language is to communicate one’s feelings,, , views, attitudes, information etc. Communication is the base of all linguistic, transaction. This is what Jacob Mey calls ‘the communicative principle’. It is,, however, the speaker who decides how much is to be communicated and in what, way the communication should take place. H.P.Grice introduced the Cooperative, Principle in 1975. The Cooperative Principle assumes that interlocutors will, cooperate when communicating. The principle reads as:, Make your conversational contribution such as is required, at the stage at, which it occurs, by the accepted purpose or direction of the talk exchange in, which you are engaged. (1975:47)., Grice outlines ‘the Cooperative Principle’ under four sub principles or maxims’., 1., , Quantity :, , a., , Make your contribution as informative as required., , b., , Do not make your contribution more informative than required., , 102
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2., , Quality :, , a., , Do not say what you believe to be false;, , b., , Do not say that for which you lack adequate evidence., , 3., , Relation :, , a., , Make your contribution relevant., , 4., , Manner :, Be perspicuous and, , a., , Avoid obscurity,, , b., , Avoid ambiguity,, , c., , Be brief, , d., , Be orderly, The maxims suggested by Grice are ideal and to some extent formal. They, , are unstated assumptions that prescribe how people are normally expected to, behave in a conversation. Interlocutors try to follow these maxims as far as possible., However, it is not always possible to follow all these maxims and be cooperative in, interaction. Had it been so the conversation would be static, formal and, straightforward. Maxims can be violated, flouted, opted out of or infringed. The, flouting or violation of a maxim can be voluntary or may happen unconsciously. The, violation of a maxim gives rise to an Implicature., For example :, A (an interviewer) asks B (an interviewee), “What is your expectation of, salary?” The latter answers, “Sir, I was getting 25,000 rupees in the previous, organisation for the same post.” Superficially, the answer is not relevant or clear., However, if considered carefully B’s answer can be easily understood by the, interviewer (that the expectation may be 25,000 rupees or more than that). Had the, interviewee responded by saying just 25,000 or more than that, it would be directly, cooperative. He does not state his expectation directly and to avoid rudeness or, 103
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impolite behaviour, flouts the maxim of quantity, quality, relevance and even, manner. He expects the listener to identify his expectation implicitly., 6., , Politeness Principle, The Politeness Theory was formulated by Penelope Brown and Stephen, , Levinson. In everyday life, we design our messages based on who the hearer is, and what communicative goals we want to fulfill. There are some speech acts that, threaten the face or the public self image of the hearer. Politeness is the expression, of the speakers’ intention to mitigate face threats carried by certain face threatening, acts toward another. Being polite therefore consists of attempting to the save the, face of the other interlocutors in a conversation., 6.1, , Face and Face Wants, Face is one of the central concepts in the discussion on Politeness. Brown, , and Levinson begin with the idea of ‘model persons’, rational agents who think, strategically and are conscious of their language choices. The two linguists were, influenced by Goffman’s idea of Face. According to Goffman, Face is a mask that, changes depending on the audience and the social interaction (1967). Face is, maintained by the audience, not by the speaker. We strive to maintain the face we, have created in social situations. Face is broken down by Goffman into two different, categories. Positive face is the desire to be seen as a good human being, the need, to feel wanted, protected and appreciated. Positive politeness is designed to meet, the face needs by performing an action like complimenting or showing concern for, another person. Negative face is the desire to remain autonomous., “Face” refers to a speaker's sense of linguistic and social identity. It is the, public self image. Every human being develops such an identity and would like, others to recognize it. Brown and Levinson agreed that rational agents have a, positive and negative face. Politeness is employed to show awareness of another, person’s face. People generally expect that their public self image should be, respected. This expectation is termed as their Face Wants., , 104
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Lakoff (1974), a sociolinguist, proposes three principles of politeness, they are:, 1., , don’t impose, , 2., , make the addressee feel comfortable and, , 3., , give options, Positive politeness means being complimentary and gracious to the, , addressee (but if this is overdone, the speaker may alienate the other party)., Negative politeness is found in ways of mitigating the imposition:, •, , Hedging: Er, could you, er, perhaps, close the, um , window?, , •, , Pessimism: I don't suppose you could close the window, could you?, , •, , Indicating deference: Excuse me, sir, would you mind if I asked you to close, the window?, , •, , Apologizing: I'm terribly sorry to put you out, but could you close the window?, , •, , Impersonalizing: The management requires all windows to be closed., Brown and Levinson outline four main types of politeness strategies:, , bald on record, negative politeness, positive politeness, and off-record or the indirect, strategy., First, bald on record strategies do not attempt to minimize the threat to the, hearer’s face. This strategy is most often utilized by speakers who closely know their, audience. With bald on record strategies there is a direct possibility that the, audience will be shocked or embarrassed by the utterance. For example, a bald on, record strategy might be to tell your sister to “do the dishes. It’s your turn.”, The second strategy is positive politeness and this strategy attempts to, minimize the threat to the hearer's positive face. This strategy is most commonly, used in situations where the audience knows each other fairly well. Quite often, hedging and attempts to avoid conflict are used. For example, a positive politeness, strategy might be the request “It would be great if you could do the dishes for me.”, , 105
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The third strategy is negative politeness which presumes that the speaker, will be imposing on the listener. The potential for awkwardness or embarrassment is, greater than in bald on record strategies and positive politeness strategies. Negative, face is the desire to remain autonomous. Thus, a request without consideration of, the listener’s negative face might be uncomfortable: “I need $5” is awkward if five, dollars is outside the listener’s financial capabilities. But if the speaker, knowing that, the listener wants to maintain their autonomy, adds an out for the listener like “I, know you’ve been kinda strapped for cash, but could I borrow $5?” the listener is, more likely to give them that money because the request showed a respect for their, ability to maintain autonomy., The final politeness strategy outlined by Brown and Levinson is the indirect, strategy. This strategy uses indirect language and removes the speaker from the, potential to being imposing. For example, a speaker using the indirect strategy might, merely say “wow, it’s getting cold in here” insinuating that it would be nice if the, listener would get up and turn up the thermostat without directly asking the listener, to do so., Brown and Levinson state that speakers always try to preserve or maintain, one another’s face. Such speech acts are known as face saving acts (FSA). The, rational actions people take to preserve both kinds of face, for themselves and the, people they interact with, add up to politeness. However, there are situations where, they might be forced to perform Face Threatening Acts. Any Speech Act that, imposes on a person’s face is said to be face threatening and is called a face, threatening act (FTA)., Politeness strategies are developed in order to formulate messages in order, to save the hearer’s face when face threatening acts are inevitable or desired. This, means that the speaker avoids embarrassing the listener or making him feel, uncomfortable., , 106
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6.2, , Geoffrey Leech’s Politeness Maxims, Geoffrey Leech further expanded the idea of Politeness with the help of six, , sub maxims. The six maxims are studied as pairs along a cost-benefit scale. These, maxims vary from culture to culture: what may be considered polite in one culture, may be strange or downright rude in another., 1., , The Tact Maxim, The tact maxim states: 'Minimize the expression of beliefs which imply cost, , to other; maximize the expression of beliefs which imply benefit to other.' The first, part of this maxim fits in with Brown and Levinson's negative politeness strategy of, minimising the imposition, and the second part reflects the positive politeness, strategy of attending to the hearer's interests, wants, and needs:, a), , Could I interrupt you for a second?, , b), , If I could just clarify this., , 2., , The Generosity Maxim, Leech's Generosity maxim states: 'Minimize the expression of benefit to self;, , maximize the expression of cost to self.' Unlike the tact maxim, the maxim of, generosity focuses on the speaker, and says that others should be put first instead, of the self., a), , You relax and let me do the dishes., , b), , You must come and have dinner with us., , 3., , The Approbation Maxim, The Approbation maxim states: 'Minimize the expression of beliefs which, , express dispraise of other; maximize the expression of beliefs which express, approval of other.' The operation of this maxim is fairly obvious: all things being, equal, we prefer to praise others and if we cannot do so, to sidestep the issue, to, give some sort of minimal response (possibly through the use of euphemisms), or to, , 107
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remain silent. The first part of the maxim avoids disagreement; the second part, intends to make other people feel good by showing solidarity., a), , I heard you singing at the karaoke last night. It was, um... different., , b), , John, I know you're a genius - would you know how to solve this math, problem here?, , 4., , The Modesty Maxim, The Modesty maxim states: 'Minimize the expression of praise of self;, , maximize the expression of dispraise of self.', a), , Oh, I'm so stupid - I didn't make a note of our lecture! Did you?, , 5., , The Agreement maxim, The Agreement maxim runs as follows: 'Minimize the expression of, , disagreement between self and other; maximize the expression of agreement, between self and other.' It is in line with Brown and Levinson's positive politeness, strategies of 'seeking agreement' and 'avoiding disagreement,' to which they attach, great importance. However, it is not being claimed that people totally avoid, disagreement. It is simply observed that they are much more direct in expressing, agreement, rather than disagreement., a), , A: I don't want my daughter to do this, I want her to do that., , b), , B: Yes, but ma'am, I thought we resolved this already on your last visit., , 6., , The Sympathy maxim, The sympathy maxim states: 'minimize antipathy between self and other;, , maximize sympathy between self and other.' This includes a small group of speech, acts such as congratulation, commiseration, and expressing condolences - all of, which is in accordance with Brown and Levinson's positive politeness strategy of, attending to the hearer's interests, wants, and needs., , 108
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a), , I was sorry to hear about your father., Sperber and Wilson (1986) replaced Grice’s Cooperative principle and, , maxims by a single Principle of Relevance., , QUESTIONS :, 1., , How would you define Pragmatics?, , 2., , How would you distinguish between pragmatics and semantics?, , 3., , Can you explain the term Speech Act?, , 4., , How does Austin distinguish between ‘constatives’ and ‘performatives’?, , 5., , How would you distinguish the locutionary, illocutionary and perlocutionary, acts?, , 6., , What is the contribution of Austin and Searle to the speech act theory?, , 7., , Context is one of the central concepts in Pragmatics. What do you mean by, context?, , References, Austin, J.L. How to Do Things with Words. Ed. J.O. Urmson and Marina Sbis`a., Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. 1975. Print., Bignell, Jonathan. Media Semiotics – An Introduction. 2nd ed. UK: Manchester, University Press, 2002. Print., Brown, Penelope and Levinson, Stephen. Politeness: Some Universals in, Language Use. UK: Cambridge University Press, 1987. Print., Geoffrey, Leech. Principles of Pragmatics. New York: Longman, 1983. Print., , 109
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Grundy, Peter. Doing Pragmatics. London: Edward Arnold: New Delhi, 1995., Print., Levinson, Stephen. Pragmatics. UK: Cambridge University Press, 1983. Print., Mey, Jacob. Pragmatics: An Introduction, 2nd ed. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing,, 2001., Noth, Winfried. Handbook of Semiotics. Bloomington: Indiana University Press,, 1995. Google Book. Web. 15 May 2017., Searle, John. Speech Acts: An Essay in the Philosophy of Language. United, Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. 1969. Print., Verschueren, Jef. Understanding Pragmatics. London: Arnold, 1999. Print., Yule, George. Pragmatics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996. Print., , 110
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UNIT 1, , SOCIOLINGUISTICS, CONTENTS, 1.0, , Objectives, , 1.1, , Introduction, , 1.2, , Subject Matter, 1.2.1, , Language and society, , 1.2.2, , Speech community, , 1.2.3, , Language Varieties1.2.3.1 Language, 1.2.3.2 Dialect, 1.2.3.3 Register, 1.2.3.4 Style, , 1.2.4, , Language contact1.2.4.1 Pidgin, 1.2.4.2 Creole, 1.2.4.3 Diglossia, 1.2.4.4 Code mixing, 1.2.4.5 Code switching, 1.2.4.6 Borrowing, , 1.3, , Summary, , 1.4, , Answers to check your progress, , 1.5, , Exercises, , 1.6, , Books for further reading, , 111
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1.0, , Objectives, , This unit aims to –, 1., , acquaint students with various concepts in Sociolinguistics., , 2., , familiarize students with the relationship between language and society., , 3., , make them learn about the concept of speech community., , 4., , let students know about the concepts like language, dialect, register and, style., , 5., , inform students about the various notions such as pidgin, creole, diglossia,, code mixing, code switching and borrowing., , 1.1, , Introduction, In Semester I of this course you have learnt the nature, scope and branches, , of linguistics. You were introduced to the concepts such as langue/parole, signifier /, signified, synchronic / diachronic, syntagmatic / paradigmatic, competence /, performance and speech event. In addition, you were made familiar with the, branches of linguistics like semantics and pragmatics. It means you know about, linguistics and the concepts connected with it. The present Unit attempts to acquaint, you with the branch of linguistics called sociolinguistics., The first section of the this unit discusses the relationship between language, and society and how they influence each other. The second section elaborates the, concept of speech community, its definition by various scholars, and Hudson’s, argument about it. Language varieties like language, dialect, register, and style are, discussed in the third section and the forth section of the unit throws light upon the, linguistic phenomena like pidgin, creole, diglossia, code-mixing, code-switching and, borrowing., , 112
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1.2, , Subject Matter, , 1.2.1, , Language and society, Language is a social phenomenon. People use language, i.e. talk with one, , another even though they are not familiar. They find it embarrassing to be quiet i.e., alone in the company of someone with whom they are not acquainted. A company, without conversation makes the atmosphere strained. Hence, naturally when, unfamiliar people come together they talk about neutral topics like weather. In fact,, they do not talk to communicate any relevant or significant information but to, establish relationships. Furthermore, the urge to talk with the unfamiliar other might, occur as per physical and /or social appearance of the other.That is why Peter, Trudgil (1974) observes, ‘Language is not simply a means of communicating, information --- about weather or any other subject. It is also a very important means, of establishing and maintaining relationships with other people’., Likewise, such abrupt conversations allow the people to understand one, anothers’ origins and temperaments which are reflected through their accent and, speech which help them in formulating opinions about one another., This means, from a social point of view, language behavior has two very, important aspects: first, the function of language in establishing social relationships, and second; the clue-bearing role , i.e. the role played by language in conveying, information about the speaker. And these two aspects clearly show how closely, language and society are inter-related., The clue-bearing role of language suggests how people belonging to, different social and geographical backgrounds use different kinds of language. For, instance, if a person speaking Marathi comes from Pune, and if that person is a, professor of Marathi, he/she will use the kind of language related to such a type of, people. Such kinds of language are called ‘dialects’. Marathi used by the person, from Pune is a regional dialect of Marathi and Marathi used by a professor of, Marathi is a social dialect of Marathi. The same is applicable to all languages., However, there is not watertight compartment in dialects of language. Trudgil, observes that in England it is possible to speak of ‘the Norfolk dialect’ or ‘the Suffolk, 113
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dialect’, even though there are more than one ‘Norfolk dialects’: ‘East Norfolk’ or, ‘South Norfolk’. However, there is no straight forward distinction between these, dialects. If one travels from Norfolk into Suffolk, he/she would find that the linguistic, features of these dialects change gradually from place to place and there does not, exist a clear linguistic difference in Norfolk and Suffolk dialects. This aspect is, referred to as ‘a geographical dialect continuum’ in which no dialect is noticeable, different from its adjacent one, though the extreme ends of it are different from each, other., It is the same case with language Trudigil exemplifies it by Dutch and, German spoken along the Dutch-German frontier. It is pointed out that the dialects, spoken on either side of the border are similar to a great extent. However, if it is, considered that people on one side of the border speak German and those on the, other Dutch, the factors of the considerations are social and political and not, linguistic. This fact also points out that the ability of speakers from either side of the, border, according to Trudgil (1974), to understand each other will frequently be, significantly greater than that of German speakers from this area to understand, speakers of other German dialects from distant parts of Austria or Switzerland. In, this context, language and dialect can be differentiated. If two speakers cannot, understand what they speak to each other, they are not speaking dialects of the, same language., However, the above distinction between language and dialect cannot be, applicable in every situation. The political and cultural factors such as autonomy, (independence) and heteronomy (dependence) are more important than the purely, linguistic criteria like ‘mutual intelligibility’ in the use of terms like language and, dialect. Trudgil cites the example of Dutch and German. On the one hand, they are, autonomous as both are independent standard varieties of language having a life of, their own, on the other hand, the nonstandard dialects of Germany, Austria and, German speaking Switzerland are heteronomous in relation to standard German., Actually, these dialects are very different from each other and some of them may be, very similar to Dutch dialects. However, for the speakers of German dialects, German is the standard language and same is the case with Dutch., 114
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Furthermore, an extreme example of the sociopolitical nature of language, and dialect is Scandinavia which is ethnoculturally North Germanic and has mutually, intelligible languages like Norwegian, Danish and Swedish. These languages are, autonomous and standard. They are languages of different nations namely Norway,, Denmark and Sweden respectively. Still the educated speakers of all the three can, communicate freely with each other, that is, they are mutually intelligible but they, cannot be considered the same language and this fact proves how contradictory the, political and cultural factors are., The problem of ‘discreteness’ and ‘continuity’ creates the difficulty of using, purely linguistic criteria to divide up varieties of language into different languages or, dialects. As the dialects like ‘Cockney’, ‘Brooklynese’, ‘Yorkshire’, ‘Black dialect’,, according to Trudgil (1974), have no self-evident, self-contained, discrete, welldefined and obvious features, still they are considered so. This means that the, division of language into dialects is so complex that it is dubious to consider the, dialects as reality or a convenient fiction. Accordingly, it is supposed that English, has varieties like ‘Canadian English’, ‘American English’, ‘Indian English’, and, others, but actually each of such varieties bear their own varieties and it is very, difficult to find any single linguistic feature which is common to all varieties of Indian, English and not present in any variety of American English or Canadian English., Distinction can be made between different dialects. According to Trudgil, (1974), ‘The term dialect refers to differences between kinds of language which are, differences of vocabulary, and grammar as well as pronunciation.’ It means the, term, dialect refers to all varieties – standard as well as nonstandard – of language., For instance, standard English is a dialect of English because it differs from other, dialects of English from the points of view of lexis, grammar and pronunciation. Still, many people, it can be seen, believe that standard English is not a dialect at all., Standard English is used in print; normally taught in schools; spoken by educated, people; used in news broadcasts and other situations of similar kind. It should not be, mistaken that Standard English is always formal and the nonstandard dialects of, English are colloquial. However, it can be observed that Standard English has, colloquial and formal variants and even swear words. Hence, the nonstandard, 115
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dialects should not be considered ‘bad’ or ‘ugly’ and that is how the sociopolitical, and cultural factors influence language. Therefore, it would not be logical to consider, one’s language nonstandard, if he/she uses slang or informal expression., A standard dialect of a language evolves in the course of time. For instance,, standard English has developed out of the English dialects used in and around, London through modifications over the centuries by speakers at the courts,, university scholars, writers and public schools. In the course of time, English used, by the upper classes of society in London became markedly different from English, used by other classes in the society. In this way, standard English was considered, as the model for speaking and writing well. With the emergence of printing standard, English has undergone several changes. Still it has maintained its status as the, variety with the highest profile., In fact, standard English has a number of varieties like British English,, American English, Scottish English, and others. They are not exactly the same and, differ largely at the level of lexis as standard English has generally accepted and, codified grammar., Educated people, especially those who have powerful and influential, positions, decide what standard English is. In this way, it is imposed on the regional, dialects and hence, according to Trudgil (1974), standard English can be called a, superposed variety of language. This can be applicable to writing. As far as, pronunciation is concerned, there is no universally acknowledged standard accent, for English. Standard English can be spoken with any regional or social accent., However, RP, that is, Received Pronunciation, occurs with standard English,, British English accent, English English accent, Oxford English or B.B.C. RP is, largely restricted to England, though it has status and importance in the rest of the, British Isles. Moreover, in England RP is a non-localized accent and to speak, standard English, it is not necessary to speak RP. Standard English is normally and, can be spoken with any regional accent, according to Trudgil., , 116
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Language is a social phenomenon. It is closely connected with the social, structure and value systems of society. Subsequently, different dialects and accents, are evaluated differently. For instance, standard English and RP accent have so, much status and prestige that those who write and speak this variety are supposed, to get certain economic, social and political advantages. Furthermore, standard, English and prestige accents are widely supposed to be ‘correct’, ‘beautiful’, ‘nice’,, ‘pure’, and so on. On the contrary, the non-standard and non-prestige varieties are, often considered to be ‘wrong’, ‘ugly’, ‘corrupt’ or ‘lazy’. Moreover, it is often, supposed that standard English is the English language. It means that the other, varieties of English have some kind of deviation from the norm which is standard, English. Perhaps, the deviation may be the result of laziness or ignorance. This is, how a large number of people using English as their mother tongue are convinced, that they ‘cannot speak English’. (Trudgil, 1974), In fact, though standard English is an important variety, linguistically it, cannot, even legitimately, be considered better than other varieties. Language is a, system and all languages and the related dialects are equally good. No dialect is, ‘nice’ or ‘ugly’, ‘pure’ or ‘corrupt’, as all varieties perform the same function. Further,, the non-standard dialects of English have nothing inherent that makes them inferior, to the standard dialect. In fact, the correctness and purity of dialects are social and, not linguistic. The non-standard dialects of English are supposed inferior because, they are associated with the speakers from under-privileged and low-status groups., This shows that the social structure of society and societal values have influence in, forming attitudes towards non-standard varieties of a language. For instance, as, Trudgil points out, in Britan rural accents like Devonshire, Northumberland or the, Scottish Highlands are considered pleasant, amusing and fresh. On the other hand,, the urban accents such as Birmingham, Newcastle or London are supposed to be, ugly or unpleasant., The judgment related to the correctness and purity of linguistic varieties and, features are social rather than linguistic. For example, in England the accents in, which non-vocalic /r/ (i.e. /r/ in words like war and ward) is not pronounced have, more status and are supposed more correct. On the other hand, in New York City, 117
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accents with non-prevocalic /r/ are considered more prestigious and correct. In fact,, in England in towns like Bristol and Reading both the accents i.e. accents with and, without pre-vocalic /r/ can be heard. This shows that linguistically value judgments, about language are completely arbitrary and such judgments are social judgments, which are based on the social connotations as there is nothing inherent in nonprevocalic /r/ that is good or bad, right or wrong, sophisticated or cultural., Actually, linguists acknowledge that society evaluates, , different linguistic, , varieties in different ways. The criteria of ‘correctness’ and ‘purity’ are not logical, rather the appropriateness of varieties should be considered as per different, contexts., Similarly, subjective attitudes are important in the study of language change., Linguists study subjective attitudes, as such a study can often help to explain why,, when and how a dialect changes. The change in subjective attitudes has brought, about a change in speech patterns. Trudgil exemplifies this with the speech of New, York City after Second World War. He shows how the upper middle class people in, the city increased the use of non-prevocalic /r/ in their speech in order to show their, different social and cultural identity. This means that linguistic change does not, always occur as per the criterion of prestige or standard. On the other hand, all, kinds of other attitudes towards language should be taken into account. Language, changes under social influence. Language can be a very significant factor in group, identification, group solidarity and signaling differences. Society uses language as, its identity and as a bond that keeps the social group united., Language and society are interrelated. They influence each other. According, to Trudgil, the ‘Sapir-Whorf hypothesis’ is useful in understanding the influence of, society on language, or vice versa. The hypothesis is roughly that speakers’ native, languages create a series of categories which function as a kind of grid through, which they perceive the world and which constrain the way in which they categorize, and conceptualize different phenomena. In this way a language influences or, controls the speakers’ world view and thus it can affect society. The Sapir-Whorf, hypothesis suggests that thought is actually constrained by language. This cannot, be accepted. In the initial stage speakers of one language may find it difficult to, 118
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understand another language having different lexical and syntactic systems. For, instance, English speakers may find Hopi, the American Indian language, difficult to, understand but is necessary the English speakers can overcome the constraints., Furthermore, the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis indicates that language reflects the, physical, social and moral environments in a society. First, the physical environment, in which a society lives is reflected in its language through the structure of its, lexicon. In this context distinctions are made by means of single words. For, instance, English has just one word reindeer, whereas the Sami languages of, northern Scandinavia have many. Of course, English can make distinctions like, immature reindeer, two-year-old reindeer. However the Sami languages have, individual words to refer to different types of reindeer. The physical environment, enables the Sami languages to distinguish efficiently between various types of, reindeer., Secondly, as it is pointed out earlier, language can reflect the social, environment which can affect the structure of the vocabulary of language. For, instance, the kinship system of a society is generally reflected in its kinship, vocabulary. English language has vocabulary items signifying the important kin, relationships, such as son, daughter, grandson, granddaughter, brother, sister,, father, cousin and others. On the contrary Njamal, the Australian aboriginal, language, uses terms like mama for father, uncle, male cousin of parents. This, shows how social environment is reflected in the language., Language reflects society and social change can bring about a, corresponding linguistic change. For example, if there is a radical change in Njamal, society so as to be similar with English speaking Australians, then it is expected that, the linguistic system would change correspondingly. Such a change took place in, the case of Russian. After the Second World War with the rise of the small family, households of Russians, there emerged a corresponding change in the language. In, kin relationship they started using bratzheny (brother of wife) instead of shurin, (wife’s brother) and zenabrata (wife of brother) in the place of nevestka (brother’s, wife) and the term like yatrov (husband’s brother’s wife) is no more used now as it, has lost significance in the new social system. This is how society affects language., 119
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Thirdly, language can be affected by the values of its society. This happens, through the phenomenon known as taboo which is a behavior considered immoral, or improper. In language, taboo means words and expressions which are not used, or said, as they are not permitted due to the system of values and beliefs of the, society. Generally taboo words include terms for the left hand, female relations or, certain game animals. In English-speaking world, the taboo words are the words, which are connected with sex, excretion, and the Christian religion. Words like ‘fuck’, and ‘cunt’ are tabooed in social contexts like TV as their use provokes violent, reactions., Taboo-words are used as swear words. Words like nigger, cripple, poof are, tabooed, as they discriminate people on the grounds of their social or physical, characteristics. The speakers are morally, culturally or socially so sensitive that they, are found to be strongly unwilling to use taboo words and words similar to them., Consequently, words which are phonetically similar to taboo words can be lost from, a language. For example, in American English ‘rooster’ replaces ‘cock’ as the latter, also signifies the male sex organ., In this way, society and language are interrelated. We discussed some ways, in which society acts upon language and language influences the society. This, shows that social context is inevitable in a study of language. The branch of, linguistics that studies the relationship between language and society is called, sociolinguistics which is concerned with language as a social and cultural, phenomenon. It examines the field of language and society. Sociolinguistics is, closely connected with the social sciences, like social psychology, anthropology,, human geography, and sociology., , Check your progress - I, 1., , Why is language important to Peter Trudgil ?, , 2., , Give Trudgil’s definition of language., , 3., , What are two important aspects of language behaviour, according to, Trudgil ?, 120
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4., , What is ‘a geographical dialect continuum’ ?, , 5., , What are the important political and cultural factors that affect language ?, , 6., , Which problems create difficulty in dividing varieties of language into, different languages and dialects ?, , 7., , What is taboo ?, , 8., , What is sociolinguistics ?, , 1.2.2, , Speech community :, Community is defined on the basis of geographical area, social interaction,, , and common ties which are territorial, sociological and/or psycho-cultural factors., Since the inception of sociolinguistics the concept of speech community has been at, its centre as the study of speech communities plays a significant role in the, understanding of human language and meaning. Speech communities are groups, that share values and attitudes about language use, varieties and practices. These, communities develop through prolonged interaction among those who operate within, these shared and recognized beliefs and value systems regarding forms and styles, of communication. While we are born with the ability to learn language, we do so, within cultures and societies that frame the process of learning how to talk to others., Earlier, this framing once exclusively occurred as face-to-face interactions within, communities of speakers. Constant relocation, mass migration, transmigration, everevolving technology and globalization have transformed many societies and, increased the need to provide more detailed descriptions and theories regarding the, nature of speech communities. Those who are interested in language, discourse, and interaction find speech communities vey significant., According to Marcyliena Morgan (2014), the concept of speech community, does not simply focus on groups that speak the same language. Rather, the concept, takes as fact that language represents, embodies, constructs and constitutes, meaningful participation in society and culture. It also assumes that a mutually, intelligible symbolic and ideological communicative system must be at play among, those who share knowledge and practices about how one is meaningful across, 121
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social contexts. Thus, (to Bucholts, Hall, Duranti and Kroskrity, 2004) as peoples, move away from their families and home communities, relationships and interactions, continue and change, and are sustained through the use of evolving technology and, media that enhances, recognizes and re-creates communities. These interactions, constitute the substance of human contact and the importance of language,, discourse and verbal styles in the representation and negotiation of the relationships, that ensue, identity, ideology and agency are actualized in society within speech, communities., The concept of speech, it can be seen, was first discussed in the Prague, School. It considered the notions such as Sperechbund and Sprachabund., Sperechbund means ‘speech bond’ which highlighted ‘shared ways of speaking, which go beyond language boundaries’. On the other hand, Sprachabund means, ‘language bond’ which means ‘relatedness at the level of linguistic form’. These, concepts give more importance to the production of speech than to its, understanding or attitudes to it. Leonard Bloomfield in his book, ‘Language’ (1933), devoted a chapter on ‘Speech Communities’, which increased interest of, researchers in this area. Bloomfield defines speech community as ‘a group of, people who interact by means of speech’ and according Duranti all the later efforts, are commonly concerned with ‘a definition of speech community as a real group of, people who share something about the way in which they use language’, (1997:72), nevertheless as far as details are concerned there is variation to a great extent. This, clearly indicates that the notion of speech community is difficult to define precisely., The speech community is a core concept in empirical linguistics. It is the, intersection of many principal problems in sociolinguistic theory and method. While, studying language change and variation reference to speech community is, inevitable. Speech community has often been defined but it is not discussed, theoretically in sociolinguistics. Linguistic scholars have used the term speech, community for different populations. Labov (1982,1989) uses it for large, geographically bounded urban community like Philadelphia and Anglo-Saxon, England.Feagin (1996) refers to small geographically bounded urban community like, Anniston in Alabama as a speech community. To Patrick (1999), speech, 122
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communities are urban neighbourhood like ‘Veeton’ in Kingston, Jamaic and, Romaine (1982) and Coates (1993) go to the extent of using speech community to, groups of children and women respectively. This clearly shows that the term speech, community has been used by different scholars to refer to different assemblages of, people., However, the concept of speech community is neglected by linguists like, Trudgil (2000), Chambers (1995), and others. Furthermore, to Fasold (1984, 1990),, it is very difficult to investigate and sometimes study limitedly just from ethnographic, point of view. Hudson (1980) has considered speech community seriously but, without resolving difficulties positively. He compares many major definitions of, speech community but his treatment is subjective and concludes by completely, rejecting the utility of the concept. Wardhaugh (1998), on the other hand, prefers a, vague, one-size-fits all approach. To him speech community is ‘some kind of social, group whose speech characteristics are of interest and can be described in a, coherent manner’ (116). Further, Duranti (1997) suggests to give up speech, community as it is ‘an already constituted object of enquiry’ and ‘the product of the, communicative activities engaged in by a given group of people’., In spite of all these controversies speech community is supposed to be, unproblematic or necessary by most researchers. It means that the concept of, speech community has not been analysed sufficiently and synthesized properly. It is, discussed and defined by many researchers. Let us see some definitions of speech, community :, 1., , Leonard Bloomfield (1933): ‘A speech community is a group of people who, interact by means of speech’., Bloomfield’s is the classic position. He explains both internal variation and, , external boundaries by interactional networks. By a group of people he implies, social classes, age-groups, and occupations., , 123
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2., , John Lyons (1970): ‘All the people who use a given language (or dialect).’, This is one more classic definition. It restricts speech community to people, , using a specific language. The definitions by Bloomfield and Lyons probably reflect, one nation one language view which prevailed earlier in the world., 3., , John Gumperz (1962): ‘We will define [linguistic community] as a social, group which may be either monolingual or multilingual, held together by, frequency of social interaction patterns and set off from the surrounding, areas by weaknesses in the lines of communiction’, Gumperz revised the definitions of speech community several times. In this, , definition he refers to a monolingual or multilingual social group as a speech, community. It is suggested that social contacts can be extended across the, boundaries, , not only of individual language, but of language families. Here, , Gumperz’s views closely follow those of Bloomfield with respect to the frequency of, social reaction., 4., , John Gumperz (1968): ‘Any human aggregate characterized by regular and, frequent interaction by means of a shared body of verbal signs and set off, from similar aggregates by significant differences in language usage’., Gumperz in this definition emphasizes communication and interaction. He, , does not restrict speech community to only one language., 5., , John Gumperz (1982): ‘A speech community is defined in functionalist terms, as a system of organized diversity held together by common norms and, aspirations … Members of such a community typically vary with respect to, certain beliefs and other aspects of behaviour. Such variation, which seems, irregular when observed at the level of the individual, nonetheless shows, systematic regularities at the statistical level of social facts’., This definition clearly shows that Gumperz is more interested in exploring, , how interaction, including language, constitutes social reality. Here, he seriously, questions the applicability of speech community concept. The definition focuses on, social meaning and it is not speaker-based., 124
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6., , William Labov (1972): ‘The speech community is not defined by any marked, agreement in the use of language elements, so much as by participation in a, set of shared norms; these norms may be observed in overt types of, evaluative behaviour, and by the uniformity of abstract patterns of variation in, respect to particular levels of usage.’, This definition is the first to accept shared norms and linguistic uniformity as, , criteria for identifying speech community. It matches the emphasis on linguistic, production with a focus on perception and social evaluation., 7., , Dell Hymes (1974): ‘Speech community is a necessary, primary concept … It, postulates the unit of description as a social, rather than linguistic, entity., One starts with a social group and considers the entire organization of, linguistic means within it.’, To Hymes, speech community is social rather than linguistic. His focus is not, , on the variety of a language used but relations among speakers. He discards, monolingual situations; promotes social taxonomy and insists on both shared, grammar and norms., The above definitions reflect the concerns of each researcher. For instance,, Gumperz is concerned with multilingualism; Labov with linguistic evaluation and, style-shifting; and Hymes with ways of speaking and communicative competence., However, there occurred convergences in the view of these scholars, especially, between Hymes and Gumperz. Still, when each new conception is introduced, there, is little or no reference to existing ones. Accordingly, Gumperz is not concerned with, stratification, or Labov with shared communicative patterns across language areas,, and while discusses interactional criteria only with reference to Bloomfield, and not, Gumperz. This clearly suggests that these definitions were not developed on the, basis of any taxonomy of case studies or survey of existing work., As far as general linguists are concerned the definitions of speech, community include the uniformity of speech by different speakers on distinct, occasions, the possibility of identifying a group of speakers who share a single, language, and the notions of competence, nativeness and language boundaries., 125
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Still there are basic problems with the definitions of speech community, as, this concept is full of difficulties, such as if the speech community is basically social, or linguistic phenomenon; if it is suitable to form a model using linguistic matter and, use it with purely social notions like social group, network, community of practice in, the definition of which language has no role., According to Bucholtz speech community is a language-based unit of social, analysis. He further points out that the centrality of language marginalizes or all nonlinguistic aspects of social activity are ignored. However, Hymes puts society at, centre of the speech community concept which is used for making linguistic inquiry., However, as it is mentioned earlier, Hudson finds the concept of speech, community useless. His argument cannot be ignored. He argues that language is, located in the individual rather than at the community level and finally rejects the, whole concept claiming that “our sociolinguistic world is not organized in terms of, objective ‘speech communities’”. He further argues, following LePage and TabouretKeller (1985) to a logical extreme, that as each speaker is likely to differ from many, or all others, there can be no objective basis to any delimitation of a speech, community. Subsequently, sociolinguistic research ought not to take such an entity, as a legitimate object of analysis, and should instead stick to “the micro level of the, individual person and the individual linguistic item” (1996:229)., Hudson surveys the definitions of speech community by seven scholars and, concludes that there is only considerable confusion and disagreement over exactly, what a speech community means and observes that it is even doubtful if the concept, is helpful at all. The following table presents the definitions of speech community by, the scholars and Hudson’s comments on them., Sr. No., , Definition, , Hudson’s comments, , 1., , John Lyons (1970):, , In, , case, , of, , bilingual, , speakers,, , ‘All the people who use a given Speech Communities may overlap., language (or dialect).’, , The definition doesn’t demand any, social or cultural unity, and so there, is, 126, , almost, , no, , reference, , to
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community., A lot of overlapping of Speech, Communities is possible., 2., , Charles Hockett (1958):, , In this definition, the criterion of, , ‘Each language defines a speech communication is added. So, if two, community: the whole set of communities, , speak, , the, , same, , people who communicate with language yet do not communicate, each other, directly or indirectly, with each other, then they are two, via the common language.’, , separate communities., Demands one language per speech, community. A lot of overlapping of, Speech Communities possible., , 3., , Leonard Bloomfield (1933):, , In this, , definition, the emphasis, , ‘A speech community is a group completely, , shifts, , from, , ‘shared, , of people who interact by means language’ to ‘communication’., of speech’., , Lesser, , overlapping, , of, , Speech, , Communities., It leaves out the question of the, number of languages that are used, for interaction., 4a., , John Gumperz (1962):, ‘We, , will, , define, , This, , definition, , recognizes, , [linguistic possibility of difference in languages, , community] as a social group used for interaction., which may be either monolingual A purely social concept., or multilingual, held together by, frequency of social interaction, patterns and set of from the, surrounding, weaknesses, , areas, in, , the, , the, , by, lines, , of, , communication’., , 127
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4b., , John, , Gumperz, , (1968):, , ‘Any Introduces, , the, , requirement, , that, , human aggregate characterized there should be some specifically, by, , regular, , and, , frequent linguistic differences between the, , interaction by means of a shared members of a Speech Community, body of verbal signs and set off and those outside it., from, , similar, , aggregates, , by Doesn’t require like Definition 2 that, , significant differences in language there should be only one language., Rather, , usage’., , than, , an, , outsider/linguist, , calling a group of people a speech, community, this definition stresses, that the group itself should FEEL to, be a community in some sense., More emphasis on communication, and interaction (as in 4a)., A lesser overlapping of Speech, Communities possible., 5., , William, , Labov, , (1972):, , ‘The Emphasis is on shared attitudes and, , speech community is not defined knowledge rather than on shared, by any marked agreement in the linguistic behaviour., use of language elements, so More emphasis on communication, much as by participation in a set and interaction., of shared norms; these norms A, , more, , may be observed in overt types of assuming, evaluative behaviour, and by the grammatical, , restrictive, a, , concept,, , shared, rules;, , set, , of, , emphasizes, , uniformity of abstract patterns of linguistic contrast with outsiders., variation in respect to particular Gumperz also argues for regular, levels of usage.’, , relationships between language use, and social structure. May overlap, language boundaries., , 128
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6., , LePage, , Tabouret-Keller This approach avoids the term, , and, , speech community altogether., , (1985):, ‘Each, , individual, , creates, , the It only refers to groups of people, , systems for his verbal behaviour who, , have, , distinctive, , so that they resemble those of the characteristics, , speech, , and, , social, , group or groups with which from characteristics., time he may wish to be identified, Emphasizes that individual speakers, to the extent that, , should perceive a group to exist (not, , a. he can identify the groups,, , necessarily, , b. he has both opportunity and sociolinguist, , be, , found, using, , by, , a, , objective, , ability to observe and analyse methods)., The groups identified by a person, , their behavioural systems,, , c. his motivation is sufficiently can be treated as dimensions, and, strong to impel him to choose, hence, we can say that individuals, and, , 7., , to, , adopt, , his, , behaviour locate, , themselves, , in, , multi-, , accordingly,, , dimensional space., , d. he is still adapt his behaviour., , [These groups certainly overlap.], , Bolinger (1975):, , This view stresses the possibilities, , There is no limit to the ways in of huge degree of complexity., which, , human, , themselves, identification,, , beings, , together, , league Any city/village may have a very, for, , security,, , self- large, , number, , of, , speech, , gain, communities., , amusement, worship, or any of These speech communities may, the other purposes that are held have overlapping memberships and, in common; consequently, there overlapping language systems., is no limit to the number and, variety of speech communities, that are to be found in society’., , 129
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Hudson considers the definitions from the simple one to the difficult. To him,, all the definitions are ‘correct’, as each of them allows to define a set of people who, have something in common linguistically. But it is pointed out that the sets of people, referred to by each scholar differ to a great extent and every definitions is just an, attempt to reflect a different phenomenon. According to Hudson, the definition by Le, Page and Tabouret-Keller is the most comprehensive. However, as presented in, such a way, the concept becomes less useful for making generalization about, language and speech than the earlier definitions. There is a need of some kind of, natural speech community with reference to which it would be possible to make all, relevant generalizations. Hudson points out that most of the studies, , in, , sociolinguistics are made on the assumption that this is possible., It is observed that the notion of speech community is misleading. Hudson, believes that language is located in the individual rather that at the community level,, and so, eventually rejects the whole concept of speech community. And for this the, following reasons are given:, 1., , Mismatch between subjective and objective reality, Hudson points out that as per the definition by Le Page and Tabouret-, , Keller, communities exist only to the extent that we are aware of them. Hence, their, reality is only subjective, not objective, and may be very loosely based on objective, reality. We have hazy notions of the way people speak in distant places of which we, have little direct experience. This makes the reality subjective, but if objective, communities exist, they are different from the communities we recognize, subjectively., 2., , Evidence against community grammars, Hudson observes that all the definitions except that by Le Page and, , Tabouret-Keller assume that members of the community are linguistically ‘the same’, in their use or knowledge of and views about language. However, it is pointed out,, as per Tudgil’s research in Norwich, people do not even know the linguistic details of, other people who live in the same city and even the members of the same family, , 130
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especially belonging to earlier generation. This means the assumptions made in, these definitions cannot be proved., 3., , Evidence of networks, According to Hudson, people’s linguistic behaviour is a great evidence for, , the importance of social networks which are smaller in size in comparison to a, community. A social network has a small cluster of people close to the centre and, some others near it. Though hazy, a community has a boundary, but social networks, have no boundaries., 4., , Small size of the most important communities, Hudson points out that a person’s language is influenced by very small, , social groups like –family, friends, neighbours, colleagues, clubs, and local, organizations, he/she belongs to. But these groups are too smaller than the ‘speech, communities’ considered in the definitions by the linguists., In the conclusion, Hudson points out that our sociolinguistic world is not, organized in terms of objective speech communities, though the communities like, ‘Londoner’ or 'American’ may be considered subjectively. Hence, looking for true, definition of or real boundaries is foolish and hopeless. And in this way he rejects, the whole concept of speech community., , Check your progress - II :, 1., , Where was the concept of speech community first discussed ?, , 2., , What is speech community to Labov ?, , 3., , What is speech community to Feagic ?, , 4., , What is speech community to Patrick ?, , 5., , What is Gumperz’s definition of speech community concerned with ?, , 6., , What is speech community according to Bucholtz ?, , 7., , What is at the centre of speech community concept according to Hymes ?, , 8., , What is the use of society in speech community ?, , 131
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9., , According to Hudson, whose definition avoids the term speech community, altogether ?, , 10., , To Hudson, in which definitions of speech community there is no demand on, social or cultural unity, and so there is almost no reference to community ?, , 11., , Whose definition, according to Hudson, demands that there should be only, one language used by the speech community ?, , 12., , Where is language located, according to Hudson ?, , 1.2.3, , Language Varieties, Language and society have an inseparable relationship. Language is a, , social, cultural, and geographical factor. Man acquires and uses language in society., Language is a system of systems. In fact, it is an abstraction of abstractions like, dialects, sociolects, idiolects, etc. That is why while studying language, apart from, the linguistic components that make it, we have to keep in mind the geographical, area in which the language is spoken, the culture and the society in which it is used,, the context and situation in which it is used, the speakers who use it, the listeners, for whom it is used, and the purpose for which it is used. It means language has, varieties as per the use to which it is put. The terms ‘language’, ‘dialect’, ‘register’,, ‘style’ raise many problems as there are neither satisfactory definitions to distinguish, them from one another nor criteria to delimit these varieties., 1.2.3.1 Language and Dialect, A language is a code which is ‘an arbitrary, pre-arranged set of signals’, (Gleason, 1968:374). It is merely one special variety of code. The total organization, of various linguistic components in a language is the code of that language. It is an, abstract system which happens to be accepted arbitrarily in the community which, uses it., A regional, temporal or social variety within a single language is a dialect. It, differs in pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary from the standard language, which, is in itself a socially favoured dialect. Hence, a dialect is a variation of language, sufficiently different to be considered a separate entity within a language but not, 132
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different enough to be classed as a separate language. As discussed earlier in 1.2.1, sometimes it is difficult to decide whether a variety constitutes dialect or a different, language, as it may be blurred by political boundaries, as it is exemplified Dutch and, some Low German dialects. Dialects are dialects not because of linguistic reasons, but because of political or cultural reasons. It is customary to describe them as, varieties of a language according to users. For example, Puneri, Kolhapuri,, Khandeshi, Ahirani, Kokani, etc. are some of the dialects of Marathi., Sapir makes no real difference between a dialect and a language. Grierson, also finds it difficult to decide whether a given form of speech is an independent, language or a dialect of some other definite form of speech. Hudson too points out, that even in England no distinction was made between ‘language’ and ‘dialect’ till, the term ‘dialect’ was borrowed from Greek. In Greece the terms, ‘language’ and, ‘dialect’ emerged due to the existence of clearly distinct written varieties of Classical, Greece. These varieties were associated with different areas and used for different, kinds of literature. There are two different terms, dialecte and patois in French., Dialecte is used only to refer to regional varieties which are written and have a, literature and patois is used only to refer to regional varieties which are not written., English, on the other hand, distinguishes ‘language’ and ‘dialect’ as per the, difference of size and difference of prestige which leads to lot of confusion. Hudson, discusses the criteria of size, prestige and mutual intelligibility for delimiting, languages., Difference of Size: It is supposed that a language contains more items than, a dialect does and hence a language is considered to be larger than a dialect., Accordingly, English as a language is supposed to consist of all the items of all the, dialects of English as well as of Standard English., Difference of Prestige: It is supposed that language has a prestige which a, dialect does not have. As discussed earlier in 1.2.1 standard English, in this sense,, is not considered a dialect at all, but a language. Hence, most people believe that, the variety which is written is a language and the one which is not written is a, dialect., 133
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However, the criteria of size and prestige are reliable, sufficient, and useful in, deciding whether a particular variety is a language. Size is a relative term. A chosen, variety may be larger than one variety and smaller than another variety. For, instance, the variety used by English speaking Britain appears larger than Standard, English, but smaller than the variety used in any other English-speaking country like, India. As far as prestige is concerned, language, to be specific Standard language, gets more prestige than a dialect does. Prestige is equal to the saying: a language is, a standard language. It means a dialect is not supposed to be as prestigious as a, language., Mutual Intelligibility: The criterion of mutual intelligibility has a significant, role in delimiting languages. It is used widely by common people. If two speakers, using two different varieties are intelligible to each other, then the two varieties are, considered instances of the same language, otherwise they are not. Mutual, intelligibility has many problems, some of which are discussed by Hudson in the, following manner:, a., , Sometimes, what common people think of as different ‘languages’ are in fact, mutually intelligible and therefore they should be considered dialects of same, language. For example, some Scandinavian languages appear separate but, they are dialects of same language. On the contrary, there are some, varieties which are mutually unintelligible, but are called ‘dialects’ of one, language in popular usage, for example, dialects of Chinese. In such cases,, the criterion of prestige seems to be useful: if two varieties are both standard, languages or are subordinate to different standards, then they must be, different languages and they must be the same language if they are, subordinate to the same standard., , b., , Mutual intelligibility includes a matter of degree, a scale, with total, intelligibility at one end and total unintelligibility at its other end. For example,, a person from India who speaks a dialect of, , Indian English, may not, , understand a person from Africa who speaks a dialect of African English, but, they can understand each other when they write. However, Chittagong and, Calcutta varieties of spoken Bengali are mutually unintelligible. It cannot be, 134
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decided, it can be observed, what should be the actual degree of difference, permissible to make two varieties to be considered as members of the same, language or two varieties of different languages., c., , The relationship of mutual intelligibility is intransitive. It means, if A and B are, mutually intelligible, and B and C are mutually intelligible, then C and A are, not necessarily mutually intelligible., , d., , In fact, mutual intelligibility is, , a relation between the speakers of two, , varieties rather than between the varieties, as it is people who understand, one another. Therefore the degree of mutual intelligibility relies upon the, amount of overlap between the items of the two varieties and the qualities of, the people engaged in the use of language. In such contexts, the factors like, motivation and experience are important. To understand what a speaker of A, speaks, the efforts are required on the part of the listener who is the speaker, B. Consequently mutual intelligibility depends on the amount of the items of, the two varieties, that is A and B. This requires motivation on the part of the, listener. Similarly, ability to understand another variety also depends on how, much a person has been exposed to the new variety. The greater the earlier, experience/exposure, the greater the possibility of intelligibility., Under the influence of the motivation and experience factors, mutual, intelligibility remains not necessarily reciprocal. Speakers A and B need not have the, same degree of motivation for understanding each other. Likewise, , the same, , amount of earlier experience of each other’s varieties may show different degrees of, understanding each other., Partly because of greater motivation and partly because of greater of, exposure to the standard variety on the part of the non-standard speakers, it is, easier for them to understand the standard speakers, than the other way round., It can be observed that no real distinction can be drawn between ‘language’, and ‘dialects’, as all the three criteria do not delimit languages satisfactorily. It is, useless, according to Hudson, to draw language boundaries except with reference, , 135
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to prestige. To conclude, it can be seen that language has varieties which can be, relatively similar to and different from one another., Idiolect, ‘Idio’ means individual and ‘lect’ means variety of language. Idiolect is a, variety of language used by one individual speaker covering peculiarities of his/her, pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, etc. A dialect is made of idiolects of a group of, speakers in a social or regional subdivision of a speech community. The idiolect is, an identifiable pattern of speech characteristic of an individual or the individual’s, personal variety of the community language system., Isoglosses/ Regional dialects, The variety differences based on geography are the most straight forward., Dialectology and dialect geography are very old branches of linguistics and since, 19th century much research has been done on geographical distribution of linguistic, items. Such variety differences are termed as isoglosses. An isogloss is ‘a line, indicating the degree of linguistic change’ (Gleason 1963: 398). On linguistic maps, an isogloss area is a line separating the areas in which the language differs with, respect to a given feature or features. It means isogloss is a line making the, boundaries within which a given linguistic feature or phenomenon can be observed., It is a representation of statistical probabilities, a graphic way of portraying a, transition in speech characteristics from one area to another. A set of isoglosses, may be interpreted as marking a zone of relatively great change in speech. Hence,, we may consider of isoglosses as indicating dialect boundary. In fact, isogloss is a, term based of geographical terms like isotherm which means a line joining areas of, equal temperature and isobar meaning a line connecting areas of equal atmospheric, pressure, An isogloss contrasts with another linguistic term, isograph which means any, line on a linguistic map which indicates uniformity in the use of sounds, vocabulary,, syntax, inflection, and other factors. Even though, , it is an appropriate way of, , description, an isogloss may be misleading if the apparent sharpness of distinction, between the areas is not carefully discounted. According to Gleason, ‘The drawing, 136
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of isoglosses is one of many places where it is easy to be over-precise. The reading, of them is even more dangerous, since the reader has not seen the intricate mass of, data upon which they are based’ (1963:400). To Hudson isoglosses are regional, dialects and he points out that they delimit varieties very insignificantly., , Check your Progress - III :, 1., , What is a dialect?, , 2., , Where was the term dialect borrowed from?, , 3., , What does ‘dialecte’ in Greek mean?, , 4., , What does ‘patois’ in Greek mean?, , 5., , What is idiolect?, , 6., , What is an isogloss?, , 7., , What is isotherm?, , 8., , What is isobar?, , 9., , What is isograph?, , Sociolects :, A dialect is a variety. Dialect differences are not just because of the, geographical factor. Geographical mobility, i.e. people moving from one place to, another and other factors like social class, sex, age make the matter of dialect, differences more complicated. Sociolects are also called social dialects or class, dialects. They are spoken by the members of a particular group or stratum of a, speech community. They are related to speakers’ social background rather than, their geographical background., There are three levels in social dialect continuum – acrolect, mesolects, and, basilects. Acrolect means a variety which is socially the highest, most prestigious, variety in the social dialect continuum. The remaining two are lower down the, continuum as far as social status is concerned. Basilect is the lowest variety. It is, connected to the acrolect through a succession of mesolects, the middle varieties., 137
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These terms are used in the study of creole languages but the continuum is found in, all human languages., According to Hudson (1980), it is difficult to draw isoglosses for sociolects,, as we shall need to plot them on a multi-dimensional map. And even though such, multi-dimensional plots are formed, we may find that each isogloss has its unique, features. Hence, the word ‘sociolect’ may not be used as a technical term but as a, rough and ready way to refer to the phenomena., 1.2.3.2 Register, Whereas dialects are the varieties of language according to users, registers, are the varieties of language according to use. Registers are stylistic functional, varieties of a dialect or language. A person may use different linguistic items to, express more or the same meaning on different occasions. Each time a person, speaks or writes something, he/she locates himself/herself in relation to the rest of, the society as well as the act of communication to a complex classificatory scheme, of communicative behaviour which takes the form of a multi-dimensional matrix., According Michael Halliday (1978: 33), there are three general types of dimension:, Field, Mode, and Tenor., Field is also called domain. It is concerned with the subject matter of the, communication. The registral varieties according to the field of discourse can be, scientific, religious, legal, commercial writings and also the language of newspaper,, of buying and selling, of agriculture, of airport announcers, of commentators, of, telephone operators, radio jockeys, etc., Mode is the medium of discourse. A register is also determined by the, medium of discourse. The main distinction is between speech and writing. But within, speech one may have such distinctions as conversation, discussion, debate, talk, and lecture. And in writing there may be distinctions like a personal letter, a memoir,, a biography, and so on., Tenor refers to the relationships between the participants in the act of, communication. According to the role of the speaker, a young professor, for, 138
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instance, will speak in different ways when communicating with his wife, his children,, his father, his colleagues, his students, or when shopping, and so on., Accordingly, to R. M. W. Dixon, registers are varieties of language which, correspond to different situations, different speakers and listeners, or readers and, writers, and so on. However, to Hudson as dialects do not exist as distinct varieties,, so ‘register’ is one kind of variety parallel to ‘dialect’. Different linguistic items are, sensitive to different aspects of acts of communication. So Hudson sees register as, a variety only in the rather weak sense of sets of different linguistic items which all, have the same social distribution., 1.2.3.4 Style, According to Hudson, dialect, register and style are the ways of naming, varieties of language. They appear similar but function differently. Moreover they, overlap to a great extent. For instance, one person’s dialect may be another, person’s register and sometimes it may differ by the style of transferring the, message. It is further pointed out that the person’s dialect tells who he/she is;, his/her register shows what he/she is doing. Style is the dress of thought., Register may be classified on the basis of style. We may talk, for instance, of, religion in a temple with the old folk or at a seminar with scholars, or in a restaurant, with friends. The tone and words vary as per the nature of the participants in the, discourse. In a religious gathering or temple we may be serous and respectful in our, speech; in a seminar we may be analytical; in a restaurant casual. The topic is, serious but the treatment we give to it may be highly formal or casual. The degree of, formality may change according to the style or manner of discourse. In restaurant, we may say that water is ‘dirty’, but in a laboratory we may have to say it is ‘impure’, or ‘polluted’., Style can be, as it has been listed in The Advanced Learner’s Dictionary,, archaic, colloquial, dated, derogatory, dialect, emphatic, emotive, euphemistic,, facetious, figurative, formal, historical, humorous, ironical, jocular, laudatory, literary,, literal, modern, old use, pejorative, poetic, proverb, rare, slang, taboo, vulgar and so, , 139
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on. Still it is, it can be seen, difficult to draw a sharp dividing line between register, and style., The concept of style was first introduced in the context of sociolinguistics by, William Labov in the 1960s. He primarily studied individual linguistic variables and, the way they were associated with various social groups. Labov (1972, 1982), presents five principles about style:, a., , There are no single style speakers., This is the principle of style shifting. It means all speakers employ style, , shifting to a different degree. Speakers regularly and consistently change their, linguistic forms as per the context., b., , Styles can be ranged along a single dimension, measured by the, amount of attention paid., The principle of formality points out that style shifting is strongly related with, , the amount of attention paid to speech and this is one of the single most important, factors that determine whether or not a speaker would make a style shift., c., , The vernacular in which the minimum attention is paid to speech,, provides the most systematic data for linguistic analysis., This is vernacular principle. To Labov, the vernacular is the original base, , made of speech which is learned at a very young age. And more complex styles are, formed on this base in later life. This basic style has the least variation. It offers the, most common details about the style of a specific group., d., , Any systematic observation of a speaker defines a formal context, where more than minimum attention is paid to speech., This is the principle of attention which means even formal face-to-face, , interviews strictly limit speakers’ use of their vernacular style. Speakers’ vernacular, style is most likely displayed if they do not perceive outside observers and are not, paying immediate attention to their own speech., , 140
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e., , Face-to-face interviews are the only means of obtaining the volume and, quality of recorded speech that is needed for quantitative analysis, This is the principle of subordinate shift. It refers to the fact that quantitative, , analysis requires the kind of data that must be obtained very clearly and formally., , Check your Progress - IV, 1., , What is a social dialect ?, , 2., , What are the three levels in social dialect continuum ?, , 3., , What is acrolect ?, , 4., , What is basilect ?, , 5., , What is mesolect ?, , 6., , What is register ?, , 7., , What is tenor ?, , 8., , Who introduced the concept of style first in the context of sociolinguistics ?, , 1.2.4 Languages in Contact, In the earlier sections we discussed how language influences society and, vice versa. We also discussed the concept of speech community and language, varieties such as dialect, idiolect, isogloss, sociolect, register, and style. The, varieties are, it can be seen, considered at the intralanguage level. No doubt,, sometimes they are found at interlanguage level too. However, in bilingual or, multilingual situation the varieties which can be clearly distinguished as different, languages such as Marathi, Hindi, English, Kannada, come in close contact which, occurs at interlanguage level. The speakers are exposed to more than one, language. Subsequently, they know more than one language. And in this section we, are going to discuss the extent to which the speakers in such situation can keep the, languages separate., It is but natural that when two systems- whether languages, dialects or, registers - come in close contact, they begin to affect each other. They are mixed up, 141
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in many ways in different situations. This phenomenon is referred to as language, contact in sociolinguistics. The term language contact is applied to situation in which, two or more groups of speakers with different native languages are in social contact., This contact influences the languages of the groups in the long term because of the, bilingualism on the part of the speakers involved. The phenomena like pidgin,, creole, diglossia, code-mixing, code-switching, and borrowing emerge through, Language contact. The present section is devoted to the detailed discussion of, these phenomena., 1.2.4.1 Pidgin :, A pidgin is a contract language. It is a mixture of elements from different, natural languages. Pidgins are created through the process called, ‘variety, synthesis’ in which varieties may get mixed up with each other in one or more ways., In this process a new variety is generated out of two or more existing varieties, for, example, artificial auxiliary languages such as Esperanto and Basic English., Pidginisation, a process creating pidgins, is the most significant demonstration of, process of variety synthesis., A pidgin is a system of communication which has been developed among, the people who do not share a common language, but who wish to communicate, with each other, for trading or other purposes. An alternative term used for pidgin is, 'contact vernacular'. Pidgins have a limited vocabulary, a reduced grammatical, structure, and a much narrower range of functions. It is used in a limited way and its, structure is very simplistic., , As pidgins serve a single simplistic purpose, they, , generally extinct. But if a pidgin is used for a long duration, it starts to evolve into a, more rich language with a more complex structure and richer vocabulary. Once the, pidgin has evolved and acquired native speakers, then it is called a Creole. That is, when the children acquire the pidgin as their first language, it becomes a creole, e.g., Creole TokPisin, a national language of Papua New Guinea., A pidgin does not have native speakers as it is not the native language of, any speech community. It is learned as a second language which is developed out, , 142
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of words and sounds of many other languages. With respect to other languages,, pidgins usually have low status and they last for shorter duration., Reasons of Pidgin Development, As it is pointed out earlier, pidgins are contract languages. They are, sometimes developed as trade languages, for instance, Neo-Melanesian Pidgin or, TokPisin (i.e. ‘pidgin talk) which came into being during the twentieth century for, communication between English speaking rulers of Papua New Guinea and the, local population. During the era of colonization, people of European countries like, France, Spain, Portugal, England, Netherlands and others ruled the other parts of, the world. Subsequently, the languages like French, Portuguese, English, and Dutch, became the prominent languages of the colonies as they were the languages of the, colonizers. When these languages came in contact with the local languages of the, colonized, pidgins were evolved. Similarly, in the nineteenth century, when slaves, were brought from Africa over to North America to work on the plantations, they, were separated from the people of their community and mixed with people of, various other communities, so that they should not communicate with each other, and make a plan to escape back to their homeland. As a result, in order to, communicate with their companions on the plantations, and with their chiefs and, masters, the slaves required to develop a language with which they could, communicate. This very need gave rise to pidgins. This resulted into the following, two consequences:, a., , Pidgins got connected with slaves and were subsequently offered poor, reputation. The slaves were considered stupid because they could not speak, a proper language., , b., , Pidgins were used in increasingly wide range of situations and they gradually, acquired the status of creole languages., A prolonged, regular contact between the different language communities, a, , need to communicate between them, and an absence of accessible common, language for communication are some of the usual requirements for the creation of, a pidgin., 143
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A pidgin is made of two or more languages. The language which contributes, most of the vocabulary of the pidgin is the dominant language which is called the, superstrate language and the other languages whose contribution is less in the, development of the pidgin are minority languages. They are call the substrate, languages. The superstrate language from the Papua New Guinea Creole example, given below is English:, “Saposyukaikaiplantipinat, baiyukamap strong olsem phantom.”, (‘If you eat plenty of peanuts, you will come up strong like the phantom.’), Features of Pidgins :, Basically a pidgin language is a simpler form of communication. Naturally, it, has features like simple grammar and phonology, uncomplicated clausal structure,, reduction of syllable codas, reduction of consonant clusters, use of basic vowels,, like /a, e, i, o, u/, no tones, use of separate words to indicate tense, usually coming, before the verb, use of reduplication to represent plurals and superlatives, lack of, morphophonemic variation, etc., For example :, TokPisin, , Translation, , 1. “Baiemi no lukim mi”, , “He will not see me”, , TokPisin is a English-based pidgin spoken in Paupa New Guinea, but the, English origins are not easily clear in the spellings which show the current, pronunciation of the words and not that of the original one., Bai:, , From by and by, an adverb used instead of the auxiliary verb will to indicate, future time., , em:, , From him, meaning ‘he’., , i:, , From he, but compulsorily added to a verb whose subject is third person (like, the English suffix -s), , no:, , From no or not, used instead of the verb doesn’t., 144
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luk-:, , From look, but means ‘see’., , -im:, , From him, but added obligatorily whenever the verb has an object, in, addition to this object., , mi:, , From me., , 2., , “Saposyukaikaiplantipinat, baiyukamap strong olsem phantom.”, , Translation: ‘If you eat plenty of peanuts, you will come up strong like the phantom.’, Theories about the origin of pidgins:, There are various theories about the origin of pidgins. They are:, 1., , The baby-talk theory focuses the similarities with speech of children., , 2., , Independent parallel development theory holds that the clear similarities, between the pidgins and creoles of the world were developed on, independent but parallel lines because of the fact that they all are derived, from languages of Indo-European stock and, in the case of the Atlantic, varieties, due to their sharing a common West African substratum., , 3., , Nautical jargon theory maintains that the pidgins and creoles of the world are, similar because of the possible influence of nautical jargon on pidgins., , 4., , Monogenetic/relexification theory is of the view that all pidgins can be traced, back to a single proto-pidgin, a 15th century Portuguese pidgin which was, itself probably a relic of the medieval lingua franca (also known as sabir from, the Portuguese word for ‘know’) which was the common means of, communication among the Crusaders and traders in the Mediterranean area., , 5., , Universalist theory proposes that there are similarities as there are universal, tendencies among humans to create languages of a similar type, i. e. an, analytic language with a simple phonology, an SVO syntax with little or no, subordination or other sentence complexities, and with a lexicon which, makes maximum use of polysemy (and devices such as reduplication), operating from a limited core vocabulary., , 145
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Still it can be observed that pidgins are different from other types of varieties, and variety-mixtures due to the following reasons:, a., , A pidgin is not just a result of heavy borrowing from one variety into another,, as there is no pre-existing variety into which items can be borrowed., , b., , A pidgin does not have, like ordinary languages, native speakers, it is used, only for communication between members of different communities. As far, as the development of pidgins in slavery situations is concerned, the whole, community uses the pidgin for communication but each member has learned, it as an example of ‘bad X’ second language. Therefore, there is no clearly, defined group of native speakers. This places pidgins at the ‘diffuse’ end (as, against highly focused languages like French and English) of scale, comparing ‘focusing’ and ‘diffusion’ in languages., , c., , A pidgin too has its own history because it is a language with a community of, speakers who pass it on from one generation to the next. That why a pidgin, is not just an example of ‘bad X’., , 1.2.4.2 Creoles:, When a pidgin acquires native speakers, it is called a creole language or a, creole. Thus a pidgin may extend beyond its limited function and permeate through, various other activities. Then it may acquire a standardized grammar, vocabulary, and sound-system and it may then be spoken by an increasing number of people as, their first language. And this is how a pidgin becomes a creole. The process by, which a pidgin turns into a creole is called ‘creolization'. All this shows that pidgins, and creoles are two stages in a single process of linguistic development., Creolization begins within a community, when increasing numbers of people, begin to use pidgin as their principal means of communication. Consequently, their, children hear it more than any other language, and gradually it achieves the status, of mother tongue for these children. It takes a generation or two to consolidate and, spread widely use of native language. In this way a pidgin turns into a creole or, ‘creolized’ language. This happened to a great extent among the African slaves, taken to America and is happening to a small extent in urban communities in places, 146
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like Papua New Guinea. The change from pidgin to creole involves a major, expansion in the structural linguistic resources available – especially in vocabulary,, grammar, and style, which have to cope with the everyday demands made upon a, mother tongue by its speakers. Sranan of Surinam (English-based), Haitian creole, (French-based) and creole the Cape Verde Islands (Portuguese-based) are some, well-known creoles., Reasons for Development of Creoles:, There are two basic situations in which creoles may arise. In the first, situation, speakers of pidgin are put in a situation in which they cannot use their, respective mother tongues. This happened in the course of the slave trade in the, Caribbean and the Southern United States where speakers were deliberately kept in, separate groups to prohibit them planning revolt. They were compelled to use the, pidgin they had developed up to then and pass it on to future generation as their, mother tongue. This caused the shift from a pidgin to a creole., In the second situation a pidgin is considered by a social group as a higher, language variety and deliberately cultivated it. This happened in Cameroon and, Papua New Guinea. The result of this kind of situation is that the children of such, speakers who use pidgin for prestige reasons may end up using the pidgin as a first, language. Thus developed a creole whereby the speakers cannot use the native, language of their parents and all linguistic levels for the new creole are expanded to, such an extent so as to enable it to act as a full-grown language., Many of the creoles known today are result of the European expansion, during colonization. They evolved in the last five hundred years. However, many of, them have been extinct because creoles have generally been considered, degenerate variants or dialects of their parent languages. Recently political and, intellectual changes have increased interest of sociolinguists and non-social, linguists in creoles as object of linguistic study. Some creoles have been granted the, status of official or semi-official languages. And now creole formation is recognized, as a universal phenomenon and a significant aspect of language evolution. It is no, more restricted to the European colonial period., 147
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Developmental stages of pidgins/creoles:, Pidgins are either restricted or extended as per their characteristics. They, generally start off as restricted language varieties which are used in marginal, contact situations for minimal trading purposes. Afterwards they may develop into an, extended type. It is possible that a pidgin survives, if the situation which gave rise to, pidgin continues to exist. Very few languages undergo the process of creolization,, that is they evolve from restricted to extended pidgins and further develop into, creoles., The processes such as reduction, simplification, and admixture were, involved in the original pidginization which led to the development of the pidgin, precursor of the creole. During creolization, the reductions associated with, pidginizations are ‘repaired’ by a process of ‘expansion’ or ‘creolization’, as a result, of its having acquired a community of native speakers and of being employed for an, increasingly wide range of purposes. If a creole language remains or comes back in, contact with its original source language, and if it is linguistically influenced by the, source language, the speakers of the creole will accommodate to the source, language and the creole will become more and more like the source language. The, process is called decreolization which involves two processes namely complication, and purification. Complication counteracts the simplification in pidginization process, and purification counteracts admixture., , Decreolization often leads to the, , development of a ‘post-creole continuum. The following table presents the, developmental stages in simple way:, Stage, , Social situation, , Linguistic, , Processes involved, , correlate, 1., , Marginal contact, , Restricted pidgin, , Reduction,, simplification, admixture, , 2., , Nativization, , 3., , Mother, , Extended pidgin, tongue Creole, , development, , Expansion, Expansion,, , acquisition, , of native speakers, 148
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4., , Movement, standard, , towards Decreolization, language often, , leads, , Complication,, to purification, , (not necessarily input post-creole, language), , continuum., , When the speakers of a creole begin to shift towards the original source, language as it has a lot of prestige, they generate a range of intermediate varieties., The creole forms the ‘basilect’ and the prestige language forms the ‘acrolect’ with, the intermediate varieties which can be grouped together as ‘mesolects’. This range, of varieties spanning the gap between the basilect and acrolect is called a ‘postcreole continuum’. For example, post-creole continuum of Nigeria allows a series of, alternative ways of saying ‘I came and carried it away’:, 1., , A bin kam, kariam go., , 2., , A kom, kariam go., , 3., , A kom, kariam awe., , 4., , A kem and kari it awe, , Lowest basilect, , Highest mesolect, , However, creoles are less important if considered from the point of view of, what they tell about language. They are just like ordinary language, except that they, originate in the process of creolization and they may gradually lose their identity by, decreolization. Creoles are ordinary languages in between the processes of, creolization and decreolization, Presently social historians and linguists have been pursuing the study of, pidgin and creole languages with considerable interest. The social historians study, them because the development of pidgin and creole languages shows the process, of exploration, trade, and conquest over the past few centuries. And the linguists are, attracted to their study as they offer an interesting evidence of the nature of, language change through the cycle of linguistic reduction and expansion which they, exhibit during a short time scale. Similarly, these languages show certain basic, preferences in human language like fixed word order or the avoidance of inflections, 149
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and they provide evidence in the search for linguistic universals. These factors make, pidgin and creole languages significant from the point of view of social historian and, linguists., Many of the creoles are spoken by the children or present generations of, African slaves. Hence, they are useful in providing the information on the origin and, identity of these people. Furthermore, educational linguists study creoles to know if, a particular creole is a different language or a dialect of it., 1.2.4.3 Diglossia :, The term ‘diglossia’ is used by Charles A. Fergusson. It refers to a situation, in which two varieties of a language or two languages are used under different, conditions within a community by the same speakers. Diglossia occurs where there, are two or more dialects or languages in regular use in a community. Diglossic, communities have a strong tendency to give one of the dialects or languages a, higher status or prestige. Such a prestige variety is reserved for certain functions in, society, such as government, education, the law, religion, literature, press, radio and, television. This prestige dialect is often called the standard dialect or language., To be simple, the use of two widely different varieties of the same language, by all members of the community under different conditions is called diglossia. In, such a situation, the prestigious standard or ‘High’ (H) variety is used for formal, occasions and in written texts and the vernacular or ‘Low’ (L) variety is used in, colloquial conversation. It is important to note that the H variety has no native, speakers. All members of the speech community are the native speakers of one of, the L varieties. Thus within the same speech community, one variety of language, (i.e. H variety) is used for specialized activities like official work, religion, education,, law, press, radio, television, literature, etc. The other variety (i.e. L variety) is used, for non-specialized daily activities. For example, in the Arab world, classical Arabic, (H) is used for specialized purposes by speakers of all dialects of Arabic. This is the, case with standard German too. In the context of Italian or Persian, many speakers, speak their local dialect at home or among family or friends of the same dialect area, , 150
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but use the standard language in communicating with speakers of other dialects or, on public occasions. ‘High’ and ‘Low’ Tamil is an example from India., Joshua Fishman, an American sociolinguist later extended the term diglossia, and used it to refer to sociolinguistic situations in which High and Low varieties are, not the varieties of the same language but two different languages. From Fishman’s, point of view the multilingual countries like India and Nigeria can be described as, being diglossic. Accordingly, when Latin was the language of education and, religious service in England, English and Latin were in diglossic relation in which, Latin was High and English was Low., However, Hudson does not approve Fishman’s extension of the term, diglossia as this will make almost all societies diglossic because every society uses, different ‘registers’ or ‘dialects’ for different purposes. ‘Social dialectia’ is a more, appropriate term for such kind of societies., 1.2.4.4 Code mixing :, This linguistic phenomenon occurs in bilingual or multilingual communities., ‘Code’ means language. Code-mixing occurs when a bilingual changes code with or, without any change in situation. It involves the change of languages within a simple, utterance without any change in the related topic. Code-mixing takes place when the, speakers incorporate small linguistic units like words or short phrases from one, language into another. To be simple, it is mixing of two or more languages on the, part of interlocutors while communicating. According to Numan and Carter, code, mixing is a phenomenon of switching from one language to another in the same, discourse., Code-mixing intends to symbolize an ambiguous situation where neither of, the two languages seems to be right. Hence the speaker uses a linguistic cocktail, and tries to balance each language against the other. The changes do not seem to, be linked with the subject matter, but are linked by sentence structure., Krishnaswamy, Verma and Nagarajan observe that the English-using, bilinguals in India use different varieties of their mother tongue in various situations,, but usually switch to English when they have to use technical register. They refer to, 151
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this as ‘register bilingualism’. Indian English-using bilinguals use English in highly, formal situations to talk about technical topics and they use Hindi or their mother, tongue for intimate, informal, personalized situations. These bilinguals are found, frequently using English words and phrases while communicating in their mother, tongue which results into code-mixing., Code-mixing in multilingual settings is governed by the topic of discourse, and stylistic considerations which specially belong to the tenor of discourse which, can be formal or informal. In fact, it is often unintentional and used at the, intrasentential level. It refers to linguistic behaviour of bilingual speakers who import, words or phrases from one of their languages into the other one. However, to, Krishnaswamy, Verma and Nagarajan code-mixing between English and Marathi or, Hindi is a verbal strategy, because the ability to switch codes controls the ability to, switch roles. English code-mixing is very prevalent in India. This may have many, reasons. Some speakers feel English expressions come naturally to them even if, there are mother tongue expressions. The educated Indian speakers are found, using entire English sentences, clauses, phrases while speaking their native, language. According Halliday, they do so because the foreign language (English) is, ‘a mark of social distinction and sole medium of language activity in certain, registers’., Code-mixing has become very common among Indians. With MarathiEnglish bilinguals expressions like ‘driving kar’, ‘brush kar’, ‘Turn ghe’, ‘Time kayzal’,, ‘zaraa help karaa’ and others are commonly used., , 1.2.4.5 Code-switching:, Like code-mixing, code-switching is the result of language contact which, occurs inevitably in bilingual or multilingual societies. Code-switching was regarded, as a sub-standard usage till the 1950s. But now it is considered a normal result of, bilingual and multilingual language use. Today code-switching can be considered as, a means of structuring talk in interaction. It does not simply reflect social situations,, but it is used as a means to create social situations. S. Romaine defines code152
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switching as ‘the use of more than one language , variety, or style by speaker within, an utterance or discourse, or between different interlocutors’. (1992:110), In the bilingual or multilingual communities the choice of language is, determined by social rules. Accordingly, different languages are used in different, circumstances. Switching between languages, i.e. codes, governed by a complex, network of situationally and culturally determined choices. A change in situation, requires a change in language. The choice is determined by the three components:, who are the participants (their socio-psychological behaviour, their mood and their, relative position); the socio-cultural setting (its distinguishing features); and the topic, of the discourse. For instance, a professor teaching English in a rural college in, Maharashtra will use Marathi and English while teaching or talking with the students, and colleagues and may use Hindi and English when speaking with a professor from, North India or may use Marathi, Hindi and English while communicating with a friend, from Mumbai., It must be noted that the members of social networks sharing a linguistic, repertoire must and do know when to switch from one variety to another., Krishnaswamy, Verma and Nagarajan in the following diagram present one such, situational shift:, , A shift in situation, , A shift in language variety, , A shift in relationship between, co-members of a social network, , A shift in situation may require a shift in language variety. A shift in language, variety may signal a shift in the relationship between co-members of a social, networked, or a shift in the topic and purpose of the interaction, or a shift in the, privacy and locale of their interaction., , 153
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Types of switching:, There are four major types of switching1., , Intersentential switching takes place outside the sentence or clause level,, that is at the boundaries of sentences and clauses. The speaker speaks a, sentence in one language and switches the code and utters the next, sentence in other language. For example, what a pleasant surprise!, Tumhiaaniithekase ?, , 2., , Intra-sentential switching occurs within a sentence or clause. It is, exemplified when a Yoruba-English bilingual says: Won o arrest a single, person. (Won o means ‘They did not’), , 3., , Tag-switching: It is self explanatory. It involves tagging of a word or phrase, from another language. It is found, when a Hindi-English bilingual says: It’s a, nice day,hainaa ? (hainaa means ‘isn’t it’), , 4., , Intra-word switching occurs within a word boundary, as in: busi (English, ‘bus’ with the Marathi plural ending) or kuenjoy (Swahili prefix ku meaning, ‘to’ occurs with English ‘enjoy’), Code-switching is not purely random and idiosyncratic as it appears. It, , shows certain patterns and regularities. Krishnaswamy, Verma and Nagarajan offer, the following table for Hindi-English code-switching:, Topic, , Manner, , Speaker’s choice, , Sermon or prayer, , Formal/Informal, , Hindi, , Instruction to servants, , Informal, , Hindi, , Personal letters, , Informal, , Hindi/English/Hindi-English, , Speech on technical subjects, , Formal, , English, , University lecture (technical), , Formal, , English/Hindi-English, , Conversation, , Informal, , Hindi-English, , 154
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News broadcast, , Formal, , Hindi, , Buying and selling, , Informal, , Hindi, , Formal, , Hindi/English, , Attempts have been made to explain the cognitive reasons for codeswitching and other changes in speech, as a person seeks either to emphasize or to, minimize the social differences between himself/herself and the other person(s) in, conversation. According to Giles, when speakers seek approval in a social situation, they are likely to converge their speech with that of the other person speaking but, may emphasize linguistic features of his/her group., 1.2.4.6 Borrowing:, Language contact refers to the phenomena in which different varieties get, mixed up with each other. Borrowing is one of them. It takes place when a linguistic, item from one variety is taken into another and such loan items, in the course time,, become accepted as an integral part of the second variety. In fact, borrowing is a, consequence of cultural contact between two language communities. It involves two, languages: a source or donor language and a borrowing or recipient language., Borrowing of words can go in both direction between the two languages in contact,, but often there is an asymmetry, such that more words go from one side to the, other. In this case the source language community has some advantage of power,, prestige and/or wealth that makes the object and ideas it brings desirable and useful, to the borrowing language community., The actual process of borrowing is complex. It involves many stages., Generally, some speakers of the borrowing language know the source language, also, or they know at least enough of it to use its relevant words. The speakers, adopt the words while speaking the borrowing language. If they are bilingual in the, source language, which is often the case, they might pronounce the word similarly to, the way they are pronounced in the source language. For instance, English, speakers adopted the word garage from French at first with a pronunciation closer to, 155
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the French pronunciation than is now usually found. Probably the very first speakers, who used the word in English knew at least some French and heard the word used, by French speakers., Those who first use the new word might use it at first only with speakers of, the source language who know the word, but at some point they come to use the, word with those to whom the word was not previously known. To such speakers the, word may sound ‘foreign’. At this stage, when most speakers do not know the word, and if they hear it and think it is from another language, the word can be called a, foreign word. There are many foreign words and phrases used in English like, bonvivant(French), mutatis mutandis (Latin), and Fahrvergnügen (German)., However, in the course of time more speakers can become familiar with a, new foreign word. The community of users can grow to the point where even people, who know little or nothing of the source language understand and even use the, novel word themselves. The new word becomes conventionalized. At this point we, call it a borrowing or loanword. Only a few, not all foreign words reach the loanword, stage., There are a great number of loan words in English. They are borrowed into, English from different languages in different periods. For example, fromGreek (many of these via Latin): anonymous, catastrophe, data, ecstasy, history,, skeleton, tonic, and many others., Arabicvia Spanish: alcove, algebra, algorithm, almanac, azimuth, alchemy, and, others, Arabic via other Romance languages: amber, cipher, orange, sugar, zero, and, others, Sanskrit: avatar, karma, mahatma, swastika, yoga, and others, Hindi: bangle, chutney, dungaree, jungle, loot, maharaja, pundit, shampoo, and, others, , 156
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Dravidian: curry, teak, pariah, Persian: check, checkmate, chess, Japanese: hara-kiri, judo, karaoke, samurai, tsunami, and others, In the course of time the loan words are assimilated into the borrowing or, recipient language. The assimilation may be total or partial. For instance, words like, ‘apple’, ‘bat’, ‘cup’, ‘doctor’, etc. have become a part of the vocabulary of Indian, languages. The word ‘hospital’ has become ‘aaspaatri’ in Tamil, which is total, assimilation, whereas the word ‘peon’ has become ‘pyuunu’ in Telugu, which is, partial assimilation., These loan words form a continuum, with totally assimilated words at one, end and totally unassimilated words at the other end. For example, in the case of, Indian loan words in English, we have words like ‘guru’ which are not yet assimilated, at one end and at the other end there are words like ‘juggernaut’ (from Sanskrit, Jagganaatha), ‘mulligatawny’ (from Tamil milagutannir) which haved very little, resemblance to the words borrowed from Indian languages. The totally assimilated, words are called ‘loan translations’ or ‘calques’., Check your Progress V :, 1. What is Language Contact ?, 2. What is pidgin ?, 3. What is creole ?, 4. What are the processes involved in decreolization ?, 5. Who used the term ‘diglossia’ ?, 6. Give an example of intersentential switching., 7. What are ‘calques’ ?, , 157
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1.3, , Summary, We have discussed some basic concepts in linguistics. In the first section an, , attempt is made to understand the relationship between language and society and, how they influence each other. The difference between the standard language and, dialect has been discussed here., In the the second section the concept of speech community, its definition by, various scholars, similarities and differences in their views have been expounded., Further we have discussed Hudson’s argument about speech community, its, definitions by the scholars, and his reasons for rejection of the concept . Language, varieties like language, dialect, register, and style have been expounded in the third, section and the linguistic phenomena like pidgin, creole, diglossia, code-mixing,, code-switching and borrowing are discussed in the forth section of the unit., , 1.4, , Answers to check your progress, , Check your progress - I, 1., , It establishes and maintains relationships among people., , 2., , ‘Language is not simply a means of communicating information … It is also a, very important means of establishing and maintaining relationships with, other people., , 3., , i. function of language in establishing social relationships, b. Clue bearing, role, , 4., , The aspect of no existence of clear difference in adjacent dialects of, language, , 5., , Autonomy and heteronymy, , 6., , Discreteness and continuity, , 7., , Means words and expressions which are not used or said, as they are not, permitted due to the system of values and beliefs of the society., , 158
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8., , The branch of linguistics that studies the relationship between language and, society is called sociolinguistics which is concerned with language as a, social and cultural phenomenon., , Check your progress - II, 1., , Prague school,, , 2., , a large geographically bounded urban community,, , 3., , a small geographically bounded urban community,, , 4., , an urban neighbourhood,, , 5., , Multilingualism,, , 6., , a language-based unit of social analysis,, , 7., , a society,, , 8., , for making linguistic analysis,, , 9., , Le Page and Tabouret-Keller’s (1985) definition,, , 10., , John Lyon’s (1970) definition,, , 11., , Charles Hockett’s (1958) definition,, , 12., , in the individual rather than at the community level., , Check your progress - III, 1., , a regional, temporal/social variety within a single language,, , 2., , Greek,, , 3., , Written regional varieties having literature,, , 4., , Regional varieties which are not written,, , 5., , A variety of language used by one individual speaker,, , 6., , A line indicating the degree of linguistic change/ dialect boundary,, , 7., , A line joining areas of equal temperature,, , 8., , A line connecting areas of equal atmospheric pressure,, 159
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9., , A line on linguistic map indicating uniformity in the use of sound, vocabulary,, syntax, etc., , Check your progress - IV, 1., , a dialect spoken by the members of a particular group of a speech, community,, , 2., , Acrolect, mesolects, and basilects,, , 3., , The most prestigious variety in the social continuum,, , 4., , The lowest variety in the social dialect continuum,, , 5., , the middle varieties in the social dialect continuum,, , 6., , A variety of language as per its use,, , 7., , Relationship between participants in the act of communication,, , 8., , William Labov., , Check your progress - V, 1., , a situation in which two or more groups of speakers with different native, languages are in social contact,, , 2., , A trade language,, , 3., , A pidgin acquiring native speakers,, , 4., , Complication and purification,, , 5., , Charles A. Fergusson,, , 6., , Come in. bar zalaalat.’, , 7., , Loan translations or totally assimilated words., , 160
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1.5, , Exercises, , Q.1, , Answer the following questions in detail:, , 1., , Discuss the relationship between society and language., , 2., , What is the nature of relationship between standard variety and dialect ?, , 3., , How, according to Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, doeslanguage reflect the, physical, social and moral environments in a society., , 4., , 4.How does society influence language in the context of taboo words ?, Exemplify., , 5., , Why is it doubtful consider dialect as reality., , 6., , What is the difference between ‘language’ and ‘dialect’ from Hudson’s point, of view ?, , 7., , Explain the criteria of size and prestige for delimiting languages ?, , 8., , What are the problems is using the criteria of size and prestige to delimit, ‘language’ and ‘dialect’ ?, , 9., , Why is the criteria of ‘mutual intelligibility’ found problematic by Hudson to, define ‘languages’ and ‘dialects’ ?, , 10., , Explain the difference in ‘register’ and ‘style’ and discuss labov’s principles, about style ?, , 11., , Write a note on features of ‘pidgins’ and reasons of pidgin development., , 12., , Discuss the concept of ‘Creole’ and how it develops., , 13., , Describe ‘situational shift’ explained by Krishnaswamy, Verma and Nagrajan., , 14., , Why do speakers use code-mixing ? Discuss., , 15., , What is difference between code-mixing and code-switching ?, , 16., , Why does Hudson think the concept of ‘speech community’ is misleading ?, , 17., , Why does Hudson rejects the concept of ‘speech community’ ?, , Q.2, , Write short notes on:, , 1., , Register, , 2., , Diglossa, , 3., , Borrowing, , 4., , Idiolect, 161
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5., , Sociolects, , 6., , Register, , 1.6, , Books for further reading, , 1., , Trudgill, P. (1974). Sociolinguistics: An Introduction. Penguin., , 2., , Hudson, R. A. (1980). Sociolinguistics. Cambridge University Press., , 3., , Pride, J. B., and Holmes, J. (1972). Sociolinguistics. Penguin., , 4., , Krishnaswamy, N., Verma, S. K., and Nagarajan, K. (1992). Modern Applied, Linguistics. Macmillan., , 162
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Unit No. 2, , ANALYSIS OF REGISTER, 2.0, , Objectives, , 2.1, , Introduction, , 2.2, , Language Variation and Register, 2.2.1, , Historical Development, , 2.2.2, , What is Register Analysis?, , 2.2.3, , Analysing the Register of a text, , 2.2.4, , Features of the Register, , 2.2.5, , Analysis of some sample passages, , 2.2.6, , Check your progress, , 2.3, , Summary, , 2.4, , Answers to Check Your Progress, , 2.5, , Terms to Remember, , 2.6, , Exercises: Passages for practice, , 2.7, , References for Further Study, , 2.0, , Objective :, , After studying this unit, you will be able to:, 1., , Understand variability of language and Register,, , 2., , Analyse a given prose text to find the Register,, , 3., , Identify the field, the mode, the tenor and to point out the most important features, of the register of the given text., , 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, , 163
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2.1, , Introduction, , We encounter a variety of texts on a daily bases. These could be both spoken, and written. For example, we listen to the news on radio and television, we listen to our, classmates chatting away animatedly, we hear songs, sermons, political speeches,, we listen to advertisement jingles and salesmen at the bus stand selling away their, goods, and so on. Similarly we read a variety of written texts - newspapers, textbooks,, classroom notes, magazines, research papers, answer sheets, assignments,, matrimonial ads and advertisement hoardings or billboards, text messages, emails,, and so on. If you reflect on these texts that you encounter, you will realise that each text, has its own characteristic linguistic features. In this Unit we are going to analyse the, language used in different kinds of spoken and written texts to identify the register of, the text., Here 'Register' is taken to mean a language variety related to particular situational, contexts or purposes. Situational contexts and purposes are non-linguistic factors, none the less, they have important linguistic implications. For example, think of the, way people normally talk to a baby. This speech has words like "itsy-bitsy", "froggie",, "moo-moo", etc. On the other hand, we have also seen that newspapers regularly, drop the articles from their headlines : "Government for excise cut as fuel prices hit, new peak" , "Malaysian suspected in Jakarta blasts", etc. Similarly, the use of, 'instantaneous present simple' is typical in sports commentaries: "It comes to Mike, Catt, he kicks it high into the stand." All three are different registers of English and the, differences between them are due to the difference of subject matter, the relation, between the speaker and the listener and the discursive function, that is, the reason, the speaker is using the text for, the conditions in which is the text is produced. As, Biber says,, "In many cases, registers are named varieties within a culture, such as, novels, letters, editorials, sermons, and debates. Registers can be defined, at any level of generality: for example, academic prose is a very general, register, while methodology sections in psychology articles are a much, more highly specified register." (Biber, 1995: 1), To analyse the features of register, we shall adopt for the most part Halliday's, register analysis based on field, tenor and mode, while making occasional use of Hymes', variables., , 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, , 164
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2.2, , Language Variation and Register, , 2.2.1, , Historical Development :, , The concept of register comes under the larger concept of language variation, in applied linguistics. According to some applied linguists there are two main types of, variation in language, i.e. variation based on the user of language, and variation based, on the use of language., Variation based on the user of language : Dialects, idiolects, sociolects,, and genderlects are examples of variation based on the user of language., Variation based on the use of language : The language of science and, technology, legal English, the language of buying and selling, and the language of, classroom interaction belong to variation based on the use of language., The term 'register' has been used to refer to variation according to the use of language,, i.e. functional varieties., According to Leckie-Tarry (1993:28), the term "register" first came into general, currency in the 1960s. It was used initially by Reid in 1956, and Ure developed it in the, 1960s. In works of linguists such as Pike and Firth, there are some other terms, comparable to the term 'register', however, Halliday made the term 'register' popular., Halliday, McIntosh and Strevens (1964:77) describe it thus:, "a variety according to use, in the sense that each speaker has a range of, varieties and chooses between them at different times.", So, Halliday, et al, opt a framework that is related to the 'use' made of language, and not related to the 'user'. In a later work Halliday gives the reason behind this:, "[to] uncover the general principles which govern [the variation in situation, types], so that we can begin to understand what situational factors, determine what linguistic features" (Halliday, 1978:32)., Halliday defines 'register' in the following way:, Types of linguistic situation differ from one another, broadly speaking, in, three respects: first, as regards what actually is taking place; secondly, as, regards what part the language is playing; and thirdly, as regards who is, taking part. These three variables, taken together, determine the range, within which meanings are selected and the forms which are used for their, expression. In other words, they determine the 'register'. (Halliday 1978:31), 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, , 165
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The three dimensions of register mentioned above have been referred to by, Halliday and others as the field, the mode, and the tenor of discourse. Thus, the, fundamental purpose of register analysis is to uncover the general principles which, govern the range of variation, i.e. to find out 'what situational factors determine what, linguistic features' (Halliday 1978)., , 2.2.2, , What is Register Analysis ?, , Following Biber (1995) and earlier sociolinguists such as Ure, Ferguson, and, Hymes, the term register is used in this Unit as a general cover term for situationally, defined varieties. Register distinctions are defined in non-linguistic terms, by differences, in purpose, interactiveness, production circumstances, relations among participants,, etc. Registers can be defined by situational characteristics at any level of generality,, that is there can be major differences among registers specified at different levels of, generality. For example, at one end, we can have very general registers such as speech, and writing where we are using only their physical mode to define them; and at the, other end, we can have highly specified registers such as methodology sections in, science research papersin addition to their physical mode, we may use production, circumstances, intended audience, micro-purpose, topic, etc., to define them., A register is related to social context. Register analysis is derived from Halliday's, systemic functional grammar which is "geared to the study of language as, communication, seeing meaning in the writer's linguistic choice and systematically, relating these choices to a wider sociocultural framework". And hence, there are, numerous registers such as legal register, religious register, meeting register, school, register, military register, sports announcer talk and cookbook recipes., For Halliday, register is "the clustering of semantic features according to situation, type," and "can be defined as a configuration of semantic resources that the member, of a culture typically associates with a situation type" (Halliday, 1978:111). Seen this, way, it can provide a way to investigate the general principles which govern" how "the, language we speak or write varies according to the type of situation"; how "the 'register', concept can take account of the processes which link the features of the text" "to the, abstract categories of the speech situation". According to Halliday, there is a strong, interrelation between the "surface-level realizations of the linguistic functions and the, sociocultural framework". The interrelation can be seen in the following figure., , 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, , 166
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Sociocultural Environment, , Genre, , Register, (field, tenor, mode), , Discourse Semantics, (ideational, interpersonal, textual), , Lexicogrammar, (transitivity, modality, theme-rheme/cohesion), Figure 2.1: The Interrelation between Register and Sociocultural Environment, The meaning configuration in register is determined by three variables, they, are field, tenor, and mode., Field refers to what happens and what the participants do. Field is also, concerned with questions like when, where, how, and why., Tenor refers to participants in the happening, including their characteristics, and social status., Mode is related to the language role, what the participants hope to get by using, the language in that particular situation and the channel utilized to convey meaning., These three variables can be used to reconstruct the context in which a language, is used. This happens because the language used by people is context dependent., Every expression will have a different meaning when used in a different context of, situation., , 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, , 167
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2.2.3, , How to analyse Register :, , We can understand register as a general cover term for all language varieties, associated with different situations and purposes, while analysing the register and its, features, we need to include both linguistic and non-linguistic factors. The nonlinguistic features help us to identify the field, the mode and the tenor. The linguistic, features point out the typical features of a particular register and also reveal the, impact of the non-linguistic features., In your answer, you need to follow the following steps:, a., , Identify the register:__________, , b., , Identify the Field:_________, , c., , Identify the Mode: ________, , d., , Identify the Tenor: ________, , e., , Identify the most important features of the Register at different linguistic levels, (Graphological, phonological, morphological, lexical, syntactic, semantic,, compositional, etc.), , 1., , It is essential to take into consideration the communicative characteristics of, participants involved in the situation taking place: beginning with the, addressor(s), which can be the writer or speaker. This will be a singular person;, several people, as in a co-authored work; or institutional, as in departmental or, government document. The addressee(s) will be singular, as in a dyadic, conversation or a letter; plural, as in a classroom; or unenumerated, such, as in a novel or a magazine., , 2., , To understand the tenor, the relations between the addressor and addressee, must be analysed, taking into account the social role each participant maintains., Age, occupation, and shared knowledge, whether on the topic and/or personal, background, all play important parts in determining this relationship. Also the, relative status and power of each must be determined (that is, which one has, the most power or if they share an equal status). The amount of interchange, involved can be extensive (example, everyday typical conversation); extensive, to moderate (as in classroom lectures); or nonexistent (as in published materials, or formal speeches). Furthermore, it should be established whether or not the, participants share personal knowledge of each other's background., , 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, , 168
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3., , When and where the communication takes place is referred to as setting., Biber identifies settings with a particular context of use or domain. He, distinguishes six primary domains:, (a) Business and workplace,, (b) Education and academic,, (c) Government and legal,, (d) Religious,, (e) Art and entertainment, and, (f) Domestic/personal, Within each of these areas, there exists a public and a private setting., , 4., , Technology such as TV, radio, or any type of mass media can be used to, represent or present these domains. It must be taken into account that a, difference among registers may arise when the time of communication and, place are shared, as in direct conversation in the presence of each other., Participants can share time and be familiar with, but not actually share place,, as in a telephone conversation. Also, participants "can be familiar with, but not, share, both time and place of communication (as in many letters), or be, completely unaware of each other's place and time (as in most kinds of, expository writing)", , 5., , Pay attention to the primary channel, or mode, of communication--usually writing, or speech. Sometimes, both channels may be used together, thereby becoming, a mixed mode such as a written lecture. Another characteristic of mode to be, considered is its permanence factor. For speech--such as telephone, conversations, face-to-face conversations, and television and radio, broadcasts--the mode can be classified as recorded or transient. Because, writing, published or unpublished, is a form of recording, it is thereby nearly, always permanent, classified as transcribed, printed, taped, handwritten, email, or other., , 6., , How the addressor presents the information and how the addressee receives, it should also be considered. Unlike writers, speakers lack the opportunity, "to, plan, revise, and edit their texts as much as they wish" (43). In addition to this,, the addressee is affected by comprehension circumstances such as selfimposed time constraints., , 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, , 169
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7., , Another factor important in differentiating among registers is the different, purposes, intents, and goals of the addressor. At one extreme are registers, that attempt to explain or describe facts. At the other end of the spectrum are, registers that are completely fictional or overtly imaginative. Between these, two extremes are a variety of registers such as position papers, historical fiction,, editorials, philosophical arguments, and theoretical position papers. The, purpose can be characterized along four parameters: 'persuade' (or sell),, 'transfer information', 'entertain' (or edify), and 'reveal self"., , 8., , To understand the field, the topic or subject being discussed--whether popular,, generalized, or specialized--needs to be considered. If the subject is, specialized, it must be noted accordingly, for example, as science, finances,, politics, sports, law, etc., , Through these parameters, a thorough study of register and all of its affecting, circumstances can be accomplished., , 2.2.4, , Features of the Register :, , The spoken/written language varies according to the type of situation. That is,, the abstract categories of the speech situation are linked to the features of the text., Each of the factors discussed above influences the writer's/speaker's choice of, Linguistic Elements. For example, the nature of medium has a strong effect on the, proceedings of communication. The choice of LINGUISTIC ELEMENTS is influenced, by:, (i), , Medium, , (ii), , Writer's intentions (inform/persuade / threaten / provide / direct / etc.), , (iii), , Writer’s attitude to the reader (e.g. judgements about reader's education etc.), , (iv), , Writer's presuppositions about the reader., , (v), , Reader's expectations, attitudes and presuppositions about the subject matter, , (vi), , The subject matter, , (vii), , Writer's socio-economic context., , While analysing the choice of Linguistic Elements, all the linguistic levels have, to be kept in mind. The analyser must ask what features of the situation are revealed, by each of the selected linguistic elements. The following checklist can be of help in, finding the features of the register:, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 170, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456
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Graphological level :, 1., , Spelling, , 2., , Punctuation, , 3., , Capitalization, , 4., , Typographical layout, , 5., , Length of the lines, , 6., , Spacing, , 7., , Paragraphing, , Phonological level :, Phonological rhetorical devices (rhyme, rhythm, alliteration, etc.)., Morphological level :, 1., , Word-classes and their respective distribution, , 2., , Distribution of active and passive voice, , 3., , Tense and Aspect, , 4., , Word formation, , Syntactic level :, 1., , Word order, , 2., , Types of sentences, , 3., , Length of sentences, , 4., , Linking of sentences, , 5., , Syntactic rhetorical devices - parallelism repetition, etc., , Semantic level :, 1., , Choice of vocabulary, , 2., , Denotative and connotative meaning, , 3., , Personal pronouns, , 4., , Semantic figures of speech e.g. similes, metaphor, etc., , As I mentioned earlier, ask yourself what information can be gathered about, the situation in which this text/discourse took place from the linguistic elements chosen, in the text. For example, what does the graphological layout tell me about the subject,, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, , 171
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about the writer/speaker and his intentions, about the reader/listener and his, expectations; what does the complexity/simplicity of the words chosen or the sentence, types selected tell me about the expected reader, and so on. You will find that a lot can, be grasped about who the participants must have been, where the communication, took place and for what purpose, etc., just from the choices made in the text., Let's take some examples., Sample Text 1 :, A system of equations that provides an accurate and physically satisfactory, representation of an experimental system can be cumbersome, and even complicated, and of high order, so solutions may often only be obtained as numerical approximations, to solutions. Thus the numerical solutions themselves may be considered to be, approaching an equilibrium or periodic solution., This text, taken from a science textbook, has some typical features, such as, technical vocabulary (e.g., numerical approximations, equilibrium, periodic solution),, complex noun phrase constructions (e.g., A system of equations that provides an, accurate and physically satisfactory representation of an experimental system), and, passive constructions (e.g.,solutions may often only be obtained, solutions . .. may, be considered), etc., Now let's compare this text with an advertisement:, Sample Text 2 :, WELCOME TO THE, WORLD OF INFINIA LED, Introducing, JAZZ LED, The new LG Jazz range of LEDs breathes life into every picture with its in-built, woofers., 460W PMPO, , Woofer IN Stand, , TruMotion 100Hz, , 320GB Hard Disc, , Come alive to the real sound., LG, Life's Good., Stunning offers on LED, LCD and Plasma TVs, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, , 172
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Some of you may have already recognised the text as the very recent, advertisement of LG LED Television set, even if the graphics are missing. But even for, those who have not seen the ad, the text tells enough things to understand it as an ad., What is most striking about the text? The layout of the text and the word, "Jazzled". There are also other features which you must have encountered in other, ads, especially, those that are talking of new products. For example, "Introducing…",, "Welcome to the world of….". Choice of expressions like "come alive to the real sound",, "Stunning offers on…" tell us that the purpose of the writer is to attract us to the product, and ultimately to persuade us to buy the product. But the text does not just reveal a, few things about the writer; it also reveals a few things about the reader. It is clear that, the writer has some particular readers in mind: readers who know a few things about, the new gadgets; the consumers who are familiar with technical jargon like PMPO,, woofer, LCD, Hz., etc. Secondly, it also tells that the writer relies on a very few chosen, expressions to persuade the reader and avoids any long descriptions, explanations, and persuasions. This is done to hammer home the point that the product doesn't, need much urging and that the reader is well-informed and able to decide what is good, for him/her. That is, the ad is not targeted at people who need a lot of persuasion, but, at those who have the money, knowledge and independence to take a quick, informed, decision., The linguistic element that is most striking here is the poetic use of language, and neologism which is more common in literary language than in ordinary language., Some choices becoming striking and are sure to be remembered. The obvious one is, the use of word "jazzled" which works on its similarity with "dazzled" and combines, "jazz" and "LED". As this particular TV is an LED, and as the focus is more on sound, than on the picture quality (which the ad seems to suggest is already there and hence, needs no more harping on), it is very appropriate for the advertiser to focus on the, sound element by coining a new word like "jazzled" ., There is only one complete (grammatical) sentence which makes use of a, figure of speech to draw attention to the sound quality of the product: "…breathes life, into every picture with its in-built woofers". That is, it makes use of two senses by, suggesting that the picture is improved due to the sound., Sample Text 3 :, The correctness of the decisions in M P Sharma and Kharak Singh, is to be, evaluated during the course of the reference. Besides, the jurisprudential correctness, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, , 173
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of subsequent decisions holding the right to privacy to be a constitutionally protected, right is to be determined. The basic question whether privacy is a right protected under, our Constitution requires an understanding of what privacy means. For it is when we, understand what interests or entitlements privacy safeguards, that we can determine, whether the Constitution protects privacy. The contents of privacy need to be analysed,, not by providing an exhaustive enunciation or catalogue of what it includes but by, indicating its broad contours. The Court has been addressed on various aspects of, privacy including : (i) Whether there is a constitutionally protected right to privacy; (ii) If, there is a constitutionally protected right, whether this has the character of an, independent fundamental right or whether it arises from within the existing guarantees, of protected rights such as life and personal liberty; (iii) the doctrinal foundations of the, claim to privacy; (iv) the content of privacy; and (v) the nature of the regulatory power, of the state., This is clearly written form of legal English (often called legalese) which is, characterized by verbosity, Latin expressions, nominalizations, embedded clauses,, passive verbs, and lengthy sentences., The main characteristics of Legal English are as follows:, 1., , Sentences often have apparently peculiar structures, for example, the, provisions for termination hereinafter appearing or will at the cost of the borrower, forthwith comply with the same. The influence of French grammatical structures, is a contributory reason for this factor., , 2., , Punctuation is used insufficiently. Particularly in conveyances and deeds we, can observe the conspicuous absence of punctuation. Historically there was a, widespread idea among lawyers that the meaning of legal documents was, contained only in the words used and their context. In modern legal drafting, punctuation is used to clarify their meaning., , 3., , Foreign phrases are sometimes used instead of English phrases (e.g. inter, alia instead of among others)., , 4., , Older words like hereof, thereof, and whereof (and further derivatives, including, -at, -in, -after, -before, -with, -by, -above, -on, -upon) are used in legal English, primarily to avoid repeating names or phrases. For example: the parties hereto, instead of the parties to this contract., , 5., , Use of modifiers such as the same, the said, the aforementioned etc., in legal, texts is interesting, because very frequently they are used as adjectives to, determine the noun, but not replace them. For example: the said John Smith., , 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, , 174
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6., , Legal English contains some words and titles, such as employer and employee;, lessor and lessee, in which the reciprocal and opposite nature of the relationship, is indicated by the use of alternative endings: -er, -or, and -ee., , 7., , Phrasal verbs are often used in a quasi-technical sense. For example, parties, enter into contracts, put down deposits, serve [documents] upon other parties,, write off debts, and so on., , Biber and Conrad (2009) compare the linguistic features of three kinds of texts:, Newspapers, Academic prose and Conversation., Linguistic feature, , Newspapers, , Academic prose, , Conversation, , very common,, , very common, , less common, , extremely, , rare, , 1. Nominal Features, Nouns, , even more, common, than in academic, prose, Nominalizations, , common, , common,, especially -tion, Prepositional phrases, , common, , extremely, , after nouns, Attributive adjectives, , less common, , common, common, , extremely, , less common, , common, Nouns as premodifiers extremely, of nouns, , common, , Personal pronouns, , slightly more, than in academic, , common, , rare, , rare, , extremely, common, , prose, still, uncommon, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, , 175
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2. Verb, Characteristics, Present tense, , less common, , more common, , very common, , than in academic than in news;, prose; slightly, , far more common, , more common, , than past tense, , than past tense, Past tense, , much more, , rare, , uncommon, , uncommon;, , uncommon;, , more common, , slightly less, , slightly more, , than in news, , common than in, , common than in, , or academic, , academic prose;, , news can and, , prose (about, , will and would, , may most, , 15% of all finite, , most common, , common, , verb phrases), , about 15% of all, , more common, , rare, , finite verbs, , than in news;, , frequent than in, academic prose;, slightly more, common than in, conversation, Modals, , Passives, , about 25% of all, finite verbs, 3. Circumstance, Adverbials of time, , Time adverbials, , Time and place, , Time and place, , and place, , by far most, , adverbials rare, , adverbials both, , common; place, , common, , also common, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, , 176
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4. Linking adverbials rare, , very common, , so and then are, very common, , 5. Other features, Sentence structure, , standard syntax, , standard syntax, , many fractured, clauses,, incomplete, utterances, etc., , Questions, , rare, , rare, , very common, , Table 2.1 Distribution of selected linguistic features in two general written, registers and Conversation (adapted from Biber and Conrad, 2009:116-17), , 2.2.5, , Analysis of Some Sample Passages :, , Now let's take some more examples, especially longer and more complex text, passages and see how the checklist can be useful to analyse them. Each register has, some typical features of its own and hence, some linguistic levels become more, important than the others in the analysis. It will never happen that each level and each, point in the checklist has to be used for each and every text. It is enough to find the, striking or the exceptional elements. Let's take some examples. The first passage has, been analysed for you. For the rest of the passages, only hints are provided to help you, analyse the texts on your own., Passage 1 :, TERMS AND CONDITIONS, Lessor identified on page 2 hereby rents to the Customer(s) undersigned on, page 2 (herein called "Customer") the motor vehicle described on page 2 (herein called, "Vehicle") subject to all terms and provisions on Page 1 and page 2 of this Rental, Agreement, in consideration whereof Customer acknowledgesand agrees :, i., , Vehicle is the property of Lessor and is in good mechanical condition…, , ii., , Customer or the driver of Vehicle shall in no event be or deemed the agent,, servant or employee of Lessor in any manner or for any purpose whatsoever., , 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, , 177
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iii., , Lessor shall not be liable for loss of or damage to any property left, stored, or, transported by Customer or any other person in or upon Vehicle either before, or after the return thereof to Lessor, wheter or not said loss or damage was, caused by or related to the negligence of Lessor, its agents, servants, or, employees. Customer hereby agrees to hold Lessor harmless from and, indemnify Lessor against all claims based upon or arising out of such loss or, damage., , viii., , (a) Vehicle is covered against Third Party liabilities (including Road traffic Act, liability) by a third party insurance policy, a copy of which is available for, inspection in the Head office of Lessor upon request…, , In this example, some features stand out, for example, the use of legal jargon,, long and complex sentence structures, use of present tense, highly impersonal style,, typical use of 'shall ', detailed definitions of terms, etc., which help us to identify the, register., , Register : Legal English, Field : Contract of agreement, Mode : Written, Tenor : Formal, Features of the Register :, 1., , Graphological level :, , Even at the first sight, the text appears difficult; it is broken only by numbers, and indentions; long lines; small print., 2., , Morphological level :, , Use of present tense group in legal register to give the statements a timeless, validity; the peculiar use of 'will' and 'shall' (not to indicate future time but to indicate the, strong insistence on the part of the writer);, 3., , Syntactic level :, , Use of contracted clauses (for example, 'Lessor identified on Page 2…'); words, which are not absolutely necessary are dropped (for example, definite article); average, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, , 178
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length of sentences is long- difficulty level is high. The concern is more with legal, implications of the matter than with the ease of reading;, Instructions are given not through direct imperatives but through the illocutionary force, of the utterances and use of modals-will, shall, must., 4., , Semantic level :, , Choice of vocabulary- information presented in a way governed by norms,, impersonal manner; absence of words with connotative meaning; use of near-synonyms, to cover a variety of situations, clusters of words from the same field to widen the, reference of regulations (e.g. loss or damage); pronouns avoided where their, antecedents can cause dispute; lexical equivalence; suffixed prepositions: hereby,, herein, said, etc., , Passage 2 :, 1.1, , Trigonometry, , The common trigonometric functions are familiar to you, but do you know some, of the tricks to remember (or to derive quickly) the common identities among them?, Given the sine of an angle, what is its tangent? Given its tangent, what is its cosine? All, of these simple but occasionally useful relations can be derived in about two seconds, if you understand the idea behind one picture. Suppose for example that you know the, tangent of θ, what is sin θ ? Draw a right triangle and designate the tangent of θ as x, so, you can draw a triangle with tan θ = x=1., , Hints : Notice the use of headings and numerals; the Field is easy to guess from the, heading, the technical jargon used and the formulae. Why do you think the writer has, used second person pronoun? What is the effect? What does this tell you about the, expected reader of the text? Notice the effect of direct questions and directions given., Even if the mode is written, what techniques does the writer employ to develop a, closer, informal relation with the reader? How?, , Passage 3 :, Buddhists do not share most of the core beliefs of historical Christianity and, many of the less critical beliefs accepted by some Christians. Buddhism does not, teach: An original golden era in the Garden of Eden, and a subsequent fall of humanity;, , 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, , 179
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Original sin shared by all present-day humans, derived from Adam and Eve; A worldwide flood in the time of Noah, causing the greatest human genocide in history; The, need for a sinless personal savior whose execution enabled individual salvation through, atonement., Life after death : Almost all religions teach that a person's personality continues, after death. In fact, many religious historians believe that this belief was the prime, reason that originally motivated people to create religions. Christianity and Buddhism, conceive of life after death in very different forms:, Buddhism teaches that humans are trapped in a repetitive cycle of birth, life,, death and rebirth. Each successive rebirth may be into a better, a worse life, or a, similar life, depending upon the person's Karma -- the sins and merits that have, accumulated during their present and previous lives. One's goal is to escape from this, cycle and reach Nirvana. Once this is attained, the mind experiences complete freedom,, liberation and non-attachment. Suffering ends because desire and craving -- the causes, of suffering -- are no more., Christianity has historically taught that everyone has only a single life on earth., After death, one's beliefs and/or actions are evaluated in the Final Judgment. An eternal, life awaits everyone. Depending on the judgment, it will be either in Heaven or Hell., There is no suffering in Heaven; only joy. Torture is eternal without any hope of cessation, for the inhabitants of Hell., , Hints : Religious English, field- philosophy/ Buddhism and Christianity comparison;, religious terms from both the religions; notice the way argument is developed and the, way differences are pointed out. Style is formal, yet written for those who are new to, Buddhism and know the beliefs of Christianity; pay more attention to the Semantic and, lexical level., , 2.2.6 Check your progress, Q. 1, , Answer in a word/phrase/sentence each., , 1., , Who brought the term 'register' in currency over other similar terms?, , 2., , What is the term used to refer to the channel utilized to convey meaning?, , 3., , What is the term used to refer to what happens and what the participants do in, the communicative act?, , 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, , 180
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4., , Give an example of variety where 'instantaneous simple present' is regularly, used., , 5., , Give an example of Variation based on the use of language., , 6., , Give an example of Variation based on the user of language., , 7., , What are the six primary domains distinguished by Biber?, , Q. 2, , Match the items in column A with their proper counterparts in column B:, A, , Q. 3, , B, , a) Sports commentaries, , i) Nominalizations, , b) Conversation, , ii) Articles dropped, , c) Newspaper headlines, , iii) Instantaneous simple present, , d) Academic prose, , iv) Incomplete utterances, , (A), , Identify the Register of the following passage and point out its, important linguistic features., , The most powerful atom resolving microscope in the U.K. has been unveiled at, the University of Cambridge., The new electron microscope, which will enable scientists to view individual, atoms in any material, was officially unveiled by the Minister for Universities and Science,, David Willetts., The unique machine, the FEI Titan 3 Electron Microscope, enables scientists, to view and analyse structures at a resolution of 0.7 Angstrom - less than one-half the, size of a carbon atom and over a million times smaller than the width of a human hair,, a university release said., The microscope's impressive power will facilitate pioneering research previously, restricted by scientists' inability to view and analyse structures at such a small scale., One of the research projects which will be using the new microscope is an, investigation into diseases which can be characterised by the deposition of plaques,, including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's., These plaques consist of rods as strong as steel called 'nanowires'. As they, are only a few nanometres in diameter, they are exceptionally difficult to study and are, too small to be seen using MRI scans or X-rays., , 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, , 181
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Q. 3, , (B) Identify the Register of the following passage and point out its, important linguistic features., , There has been a long-drawn controversy in legal circles as to whether, Company being a juristic/artificial person and incapable of being sent to prison may, still be prosecuted and punished for an offence where imprisonment is mandatory part, of sentence. There is no controversy when fine is the only punishment prescribed, under any statute. There is also no controversy when statute entrusts the court with, discretion to inflict fine or imprisonment, as in this case court shall inflict only fine on, Company. Judicial controversy arises in the situation when statute prescribes mandatory, imprisonment as punishment for an offence., Penal law basically aims at punishing persons found guilty of commission of, offence. In the statutes defining crimes, the prohibition is frequently directed against, any person who commits the prohibited act. Term "person" as defined in Section 11 of, the Penal Code and Section 2(42) of the General Clauses Act, 1872 includes clearly, within its fold a Company, which is juristic person. Various enactments like the, Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954 (Section 17), the Essential Commodities, Act, 1955 (Section 10), the NDPS Act, 1985 (Section 38), the Trade Marks Act, 1999, (Section 114), the Income Tax Act, 1961 (Sections 276-C and 278-B) and the Cable, Television Networks (Registration) Act, 1955 (Section 17) provide for penal liability of a, Company in relation to the offences prescribed in these Acts. This liability is apart from, the liability attached to the persons who at the time of commission of the offence were, in charge of, or responsible for the conduct of business of the Company including the, Director, Manager, Secretary or other officers of the Company with whose consent or, connivance, the offence was committed., , 2.3, , Summary, , There is a huge variety in the kind of texts encountered daily. There are two, main types of variation in language, i.e. variation based on the user of language, and, variation based on the use of language. The term 'Register' is taken to mean a language, variety related to particular situational contexts or purposes; it is a functional variety., The three dimensions of register are referred to as the field, the mode, and the tenor of, discourse. Field refers to what happens and what the participants do. Field is also, concerned with questions like when, where, how, and why. Tenor refers to participants, in what is happening, including their characteristics and social status. Mode is related, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, , 182
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to the language role - what the participants hope to get by using the language in that, particular situation and the channel utilized to convey meaning. These three variables, can be used to reconstruct the context in which a language is used. This happens, because the language used by people is context dependent. Every expression will, have a different meaning when used in a different context of situation. While analysing, the register and its features, we need to include both linguistic and non-linguistic, factors. The non-linguistic features help us to identify the field, the mode and the, tenor. The linguistic features point out the typical features of a particular register., The choice of Linguistic Elements is influenced by:, i), , Medium, , ii), , Writer's intentions (inform/persuade / threaten / provide / direct / etc.), , iii), , Writers attitude to the reader (e.g. judgements about reader's education etc.), , iv), , Writer's presuppositions about the reader., , v), , Reader's expectations, attitudes and presuppositions about the subject matter, , vi), , The subject matter, , vii), , Writer's socio-economic context., , The communicative characteristics of participants (their social roles, age,, occupation, relative status and power, the amount of interchange involved and their, shared knowledge); the setting (when and where the communication takes place;, Biber's six primary domains); the primary channel, or mode of communication; the, different purposes, intents, and goals of the addressor; the field (the topic or, subject being discussed--whether popular, generalized, or specialized) need to be, taken into account when studying the register of a text., , 2.4, , Answers to Check Your Progress, , Q. 1, , Answer in a word/phrase/sentence each., 1., , Halliday, , 2., , Mode, , 3., , Field, , 4., , sports commentary, , 5., , Dialects, idiolects, sociolects, and genderlects, , 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, , 183
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Q. 2, , 6., , The language of science and technology, legal English, etc., , 7., , Business and workplace, education and academic, government and, legal, religious, art and entertainment, and domestic/personal, , Match the items in column A with their proper counterparts in column B:, a- iii; b - iv; c- ii; d- i., , Q. 3, , (A), , Identify the Register of the following passage and point out its, important linguistic features., , Register : Academic/scientific English, Field : Science news, Mode : Written, Tenor : Formal/ impersonal, Features of the Register :, 1., , Graphological Level:, , ♦, , standard spellings and punctuations;, , ♦, , typological layout suitable to a news on new scientific/technological development, (expected reader is a well-educated person probably with scientific, background);, , ♦, , but the length of the lines is fairly easy and paragraphs are of very moderate, length(hence the text is not from scientific journal but probably from a newspaper, - special issue on science and technology) - result easiness in reading., , 2., , Syntactic and Morphological level :, , ♦, , Nouns and adjectives are the most used word-classes. Effect - drawing attention, to the new invention., , ♦, , Use of compound nouns., , ♦, , Impersonality achieved through use of passive voice (e.g. , has been unveiled);, and sentences like '…will enable scientists to…', '…will facilitate…', etc., , ♦, , More use of devices to indicate future time and developments., , ♦, , Word formation: extensive use of abbreviations - typical of scientific register., , 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, , 184
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3., , Lexical and semantic level :, , ♦, , Choice of vocabulary- concrete, scientific, high percentage of technical jargon, , ♦, , Focus on denotative meaning of the words., , ♦, , No use of personal pronouns-typical of objective style of scientific register., , ♦, , Composition: starts with the new machine, describes its power and its future, application, then goes to what problem scientists had in its absence and ends, with how the machine will help fight diseases and why so., , Q. 3, , (B) Identify the Register of the following passage and point out its, important linguistic features., , Register : Legal English, Field : Penal Code, Mode : Written, Tenor : Very Formal, Degree of impersonality : High, Features of the Register :, 1., , Graphological Level :, , ♦, , standard spellings and punctuations;, , ♦, , typological layout - big paragraphs - difficult to read- seems meant for an expert, in the field;, , ♦, , the length of the lines is fairly difficult (hence the text is from a textbook/reference, book meant for law students/experts)- result - no easiness in reading ;, , ♦, , expected reader not a common man but for a law expert/student., , 2., , Syntactic and Morphological level :, , ♦, , High degree of formality and impersonality achieved through use of typical, sentence structure like 'There is no controversy when …', 'Judicial controversy, arises in the situation when…', , ♦, , Word classes prominent: For high degree of impersonality, use of expressions, like ' a person', 'any person', 'an offence', 'juristic person', 'a Company',, 'mandatory imprisonment', etc., , 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, , 185
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♦, , More use of devices to indicate what may happen in a particular situation, for, example, last three sentences in the first paragraph: 'in the situation when…', , ♦, , High use of proper names (of various Acts, Sections of penal code, etc.)- typical, legal register., , ♦, , Typical use of 'present tense group' and simple present tense in particular--how it is suitable for discussing legal matters., , 3., , Lexical and semantic level :, , ♦, , Choice of vocabulary- abstract nouns extensively used: guilty, discretion,, offence, controversy, connivance, consent, etc., , ♦, , High percentage of legal jargon. NDPS Act, Prevention of Food Adulteration, Act, Penal Code, Section 2(42), penal liability, legal circles, a juristic/artificial, person, prosecuted and punished for an offence, sentence, fine, statute, inflict, fine or imprisonment, etc., , ♦, , Focus on connotative meaning of the words., , ♦, , No use of personal pronouns-typical of impersonal style of legal register., , ♦, , Semantic Composition: starts with the legal controversy, uncontroversial, situations, then the provisions under the penal code and the reasons for the, controversy., , 2.4, , Terms to Remember, , ♦, , Jargon : Words peculiar to a professional realm, science, trade, or occupation., Words such as "ROM," "RAM," "morf," "modem," "bit," and "byte" were once, computer jargon and only understood by computer technicians, but they are, now understood by a large segment of the population., , ♦, , Slang : An informal style of speech. Combining old words to elicit a more, current meaning often creates slang terms. "Spaced out," "right on," "hangups," and "rip off" have all gained acceptances as slang terms. Slang terms, may also introduce an entirely new word to the language; examples include, "barf" and "poop." Finally, slang often ascribes totally new meanings to old, words. Some examples: grass/pot = marijuana, pig = police officer, sticks =, legs. Words such as "rap," "cool," "dig," "stoned," and "split" have extended, their semantic domain as well., , 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, , 186
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♦, , Style : The level of formality used when speaking and writing. Most speakers, of a language know how to use many dialects, using one with friends, another, when on a job interview or presenting a report in class, and another with talking, with family. These are situational dialects, also called registers or styles., , ♦, , Situational Switching : the act of changing one's register to match the setting,, situation, addressee, or topic., , 2.5, , Exercises: Passages for practice, , Passage for Practice 1 :, Human blood type is determined by co-dominant alleles. An allele is one of, several different forms of genetic information that is present in our DNA at a specific, location on a specific chromosome., Blood Types, There are three different alleles for human blood type:, Blood types, , For simplicity we call these, , IA, , A, , IB, , B, , i, , O, , Genotypes :, Each one of us has two ABO blood type alleles, because we each inherit one, blood type allele from our biological mother and one from our biological father. A, description of the pair of alleles in our DNA is called the genotype., Since there are three different alleles, there are a total of six different genotypes, at the human ABO genetic locus., , Passage for Practice 2 :, An example of the importance of technological advance for economic growth, is the manufacture of pins. Pins are the subject of Adam Smith's classic analysis of, the value of division of labor in his book The Wealth of Nations. Yet for reducing the, cost of pins, technological advance, not division of labor, has been critical for the modern, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, , 187
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manufacturing industry. In the 1770s, the average worker produced 4,800 pins per, day, but by the 1970s the output per worker per day had risen to 800,000 (despite a, decreased number of hours worked). This implies a 2.6% annual growth in productivity,, a rate often matched or exceeded by other industries (Pratten, 1980)., Robert Solow won the Nobel prize in large part for showing how important, technology is to economic growth. Most economists in past had thought of growth as, driven by the accumulation of capital, and by other changes besides technological, improvements (e.g. increased division of labor). But, Solow (1957) found that only, 12.5% (later corrected to 19%) of measured growth in output per hour worked (in the, US economy excluding farms during 1909-1949) could be attributed to increased use, of capital equipment. The rest of the productivity gain was attributed to improved, production practices and equipment (technological advance in the strict sense) and to, increased ability of the labor force (technological advance via the skills of workers).1, , Passage for Practice 3 :, Once there was a boy who had a big aquarium in his room, and in the aquarium, he had every kind of fish you can imagine. All the fish got along with one another just, fine until one day the boy put a new fish into the aquarium. The new fish was very, beautiful. Her silvery fins sparkled with many different colors, and her body was an, amazing vivid scarlet. The very moment she splashed into the aquarium the new fish, called out loudly:, "Hey, you, everyone who lives in this old box, come out and meet your queen!", At first all the fish just peeked wide-eyed at the strange newcomer and did not, come out from their hiding places among the water-plants. Finally, one little crab crawled, out and asked timidly:, "Excuse me, why did you call yourself our queen? We've never had a queen, before.", "Now that I have come everything must change, and there will be new rules., Call everyone to come out at once," the new fish ordered, and she lashed her silvery, tail angrily…, , 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, , 188
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Passage for Practice 4 :, So far we've looked at how the meanings of words can be extended, both by, adult speakers and by babies learning the language, in ways that make them more or, less general. In this section we'll consider two other general kinds of conceptual relations, that permit word meanings to be extended: similarity and various kinds of close, association., First consider the situation that arose when computers were first outfitted with, pointing devices to be manipulated in one hand by moving them across a pad and, pushing one of their buttons. The noun that came to be used for these devices, mouse,, was based on the resemblance of the devices to the animal: the general size and, shape and the tail-like cable. Thus the meaning of the word mouse was extended on, the basis of the physical similarity between one category (the animal) and another (the, pointing device). Extension of a word's meaning on the basis of similarity is known as, metaphoric extension., , Passage for Practice 5 :, Mental disorders are common in the United States and internationally. An, estimated 26.2 % of Americans ages 18 and older (approx. one in four adults) suffer, from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year. When applied to the 2004 U.S., Census residential population estimate for ages 18 and older, this figure translates to, 57.7 million people., Even though mental disorders are widespread in the population, the main burden, of illness is concentrated in a much smaller proportion; about 6 %, or 1 in 17 who, suffer from a serious mental illness. In addition, mental disorders are the leading cause, of disability in the U.S. and Canada for ages 15-44. Many people suffer from more than, one mental disorder at a given time. Nearly half (45 percent) of those with any mental, disorder meet criteria for 2 or more disorders, with severity strongly related to, comorbidity., The burden of mental illness on health and productivity in the United States and, throughout the world has long been underestimated. Data developed by the Global, Burden of Disease study conducted by the World Health Organization, the World Bank,, and Harvard University, reveal that mental illness, including suicide, accounts for over, 15 percent of the burden of disease in established market economies, such as the, United States. This is more than the disease burden caused by all cancers., 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, , 189
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Passage for Practice 6 :, "Fay, have you decided to stay in Beijing?", "Yes, Jerry, I have. Shanghai is exciting, but Beijing is still home.", "That's a good idea. You'll be happier here. I think I'll stay here for a while myself,, at least until the Summer Olympics in 2008.", "Oh really? Do you plan to go see the games while you're here?", "Sure, the Olympics are very exciting. It's like one big party! I had fun when I, went to previous Olympics." "What? You mean you've been to the Olympics before?", "Yes, I spent a few days in Atlanta in '96, and I saw the Winter Olympics in, Nagano, Japan in '98 too. You can see so many different people, hear different languages,, do all kinds of things. You can even see some sports if you really want to!", "Ha ha ha. You're really funny, Jerry. So did you see many events?", "Actually, I didn't see so many. Believe it or not, it's better to watch the sports, events at home. It's more comfortable, you can see the games up close, and you get, different camera angles. Unless you can get good seats, watching in person isn't, nearly as good.", "That sounds very disappointing! Why should anyone go to see the Olympics?", "It's not disappointing at all. The atmosphere is what makes it all worthwhile., Also, I got into collecting and trading Olympic pins when I was there. You can trade, pins with people from all over the world. I now have pins from more than 20 different, countries. It's a fun way to meet all kinds of people.", "Did you meet any athletes?", "Yes, as a matter of fact, I met some of the Chinese women ice hockey players, when I was in Japan. They gave me this China pin in exchange for an American pin.", , Passage for Practice 7 :, Take potatoes in a bowl. Add salt, half the crushed black peppercorns, red chilli, flakes, green capsicum and cheese spread and mix well. Take one slice of white bread, and two slices of brown bread per sandwich. Butter them on one side lightly. Spread, the potato mixture evenly on one slice of brown bread. Place some onion rings, sprinkle, a little salt and a little crushed black peppercorns and cover with a slice of white bread., Place a few cucumber and tomato slices over this. Sprinkle salt. Place a few gherkin, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, , 190
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slices and cover with the second slice of brown bread. Press lightly. Heat a sandwich, grill. Apply butter over the top slice and place on a hot grill and cover the grill. Once the, grill marks are seen, remove and cut into triangles and serve hot., , Passage for Practice 8 :, WELL Qualified, H'some Boy from cultured & Established Professional family, desired for Pretty, Fair, Sweet natured Daughter, 25/5'7'' of established Cultured Hindu, Business family settled in Australia. Girl presently working in UK. respond with full, details& photo., , 2.6, , References for Further Study, , Biber, Douglas and Conrad, Susan. 2009. Register, Genre, and Style. Cambridge, University press., Biber, Douglas. 1994. 'An Analytical Framework for Register Studies'. In Biber, D. and, Finegan, E. (Eds.) Sociolinguistic Perspectives on Register. New York : OUP., 31-56., Biber, Douglas. 1995. Dimensions of Register Variation: A Cross-Linguistic Comparison., Cambridge University Press., Ghadessy, Mohsen. 1993. Register Analysis: Theory and Practice. Pinter Publishers., Halliday, M.A.K. 1964. 'Comparison and translation.' In M.A.K. Halliday, M. McIntosh, and P. Strevens. The linguistic sciences and language teaching. London:, Longman., Halliday, M.A.K. 1978. Language as Social Semiotic: The Social Interpretation of, Language and Meaning. London: Edward Arnold., Hasan, Ruqaiya and M.A.K. Halliday. 1985. Language, Context, and Text: Aspects of, Language in a Social-semiotic Perspective. Geelong, Vic: Deakin University, Press. 2nd edition, 1989, Oxford: OUP., Leckie-Tarry, Helen. 1993. 'The specification of a text: Register, genre and language, teaching.' In Ghadesy, Mohsen. Ed. 1993. Register Analysis : Theory and, Practice. London: Pinter Publishers. pp.26-42., , 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, , 191
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Unit No. 3, , STYLISTICS, 3.0., , Objectives, , 3.1., , Introduction, , 3.2., , Presentation of Subject Matter, 3.2.1, , Section - 1 : Ordinary Language and Language of Literature, , Check your Progress - I, 3.2.2, , Section - 2 : Foregrounding: Deviations and Parallelism, , Check your Progress - II, 3.2.3, , Section - 3 : Analysing Metaphor, , Check your Progress - III, 3.3., , Summary, , 3.4., , Terms to Remember, , 3.5., , Answers to Check your Progress, , 3.6., , Exercises, , 3.7., , References for further study, , 3.0, , Objectives, , After studying this unit you will be able to :, 1., , Understand the stylistic approach to literature, , 2., , Explain the difference between ordinary language and language of literature, , 3., , Know the relationship between linguistics and stylistics, , 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, , 192
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3.1, , Introduction, , In the previous unit, you have studied the concept of register and how to do, register analysis. A register is known as a variety of language defined according to the, situation. Some linguists consider the term 'register' as a stylistic variety, while others, differentiate between register and style. However, register and style are closely related, to each other since the choice of registers by the users gives rise to different styles., In this unit, we are going to study the concept of style and the method of studying, the style of literary works. Style refers to a particular person's use of language in speech, or writing. We talk of someone speaking in an informal style or writing in a formal style., Different styles can be used in speech and writing depending on the situation or the, persons involved. So style can be seen as variation in language use. In writing, for, instance, it varies according to whether the text is literary or non-literary. The term, 'register' is commonly used for those systematic variations in linguistic features, common to particular non-literary situations such as advertising, legal language, sports, commentary and cookery. Literary language may vary from one genre to another,, from one period to another, from one author to another or it may vary in the same, author's works written at different times or genres., The concept of style is an old one. It originated in the ancient art of rhetoric., Etymologically, the term 'style' is derived from the Latin word 'stylus' which meant 'a, pointed object', 'a writing implement'. In Classical Latin, the word was extended to, mean, first, 'a way of writing', then, more generally 'a way of expressing oneself' in, speech as well as in writing. In due course, the term 'style' evoked innumerable, definitions as can be seen below. Still it evades exact definition and remains a notional, term., Traditional Notions of Style, Classical rhetoric distinguished between content and form of expression. Form, was supposed to be the 'appearance' or 'dress' of content and content as the, 'substance' of form. Aristotle believed in 'embellishment' of thought. Cicero thought of, style as 'ornament', an outward decoration of thought. These rhetorical notions of style, prevailed through many centuries. Puttenham, a Renaissance scholar, compares style, to flowers, jewels and embroidery. Pope describes stylistic excellence as an equivalent, of true 'wit' which consists in 'what oft was thought, but never so well expressed'., Another approach to style is 'Style as the Man' approach. It equates style with the, personality of the writer. Socrates is credited with the saying: 'As is the man, so is his, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, , 193
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speech'. Longinus observed, 'Height of style is the echo of a great personality'. Buffon,, the French academician, popularized the aphorism 'Style is the Man' in 1753., Linguistic Notions of Style, The linguistic notions of style developed when stylistics as a branch of study, emerged in 20th century. The two most prominent of these definitions are: 'Style as, choice' and 'Style as deviation'. Stylistic features are basically features of language., Each author draws upon the general stock of the language in any given period. In each, case, style is seen as distinctive. 'Style as choice' believes that the choice of linguistic, elements, their distribution and patterning in literary works makes it distinctive. The, writer's selection of linguistic features is partly determined by the demands of genre,, form, theme, etc. The selection may be at phonemic, lexical or syntactic levels of, language. Ohmann (1970: 262), who is a staunch supporter of this view, defines style, as 'the characteristic use of language'. 'Style as deviation' approach believes that the, language used by the author 'breaks' the rules of language or conventions associated, with writing. It consists in deviant use of language. However, it is deviant in relation to, standard or normal use of language. It could also be deviant against the linguistic, norms of the genre of a literary work or its period. We are going to study deviant use of, language in literature in the sub-unit below., The traditional notions of style such as 'style as dress of thought', 'style as, ornament' and 'Style is the Man' depend on separation of linguistic form and its content,, and therefore, are called dualistic in approach. On the contrary, the notions of 'style as, choice' and 'style as deviation from the norm' are monistic in approach as they rest on, the assumption that both the form of expression and content are inseparable., Emergence of Stylistics, The concept of style and the study of style go back to the very beginnings of, literary thought in Europe. It was associated with Rhetoric and was regarded as part of, the techniques of persuasion in oratory. Later, the field of style became a part of the, discipline of literary criticism. In the early 20th century, a new discipline called 'stylistics', emerged for the sole objective of the study of style. Following the publication of a, treatise on French stylistics (stylistique) by Charles Bally (1909), a pupil of Ferdinand, de Saussure, interest in stylistics gradually spread across Europe. Around the 1950s,, modern linguists developed deep interest in the language of literature. Their conviction, was that literature is an example of language use where the creativity of language is, fully exploited. Jakobson, Chomsky, Firth, Halliday and others, in their attempt to study, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, , 194
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the creativity of language, inevitably turned to literature. Since the publication of, Chomsky's Syntactic Structures (1957), linguists tried to apply linguistic methodologies, to literary analysis. Thus, the language of literature became the focal point of linguistic, inquiry into literature. A close relationship was discovered to exist between the two, disciplines of literary criticism and linguistic science. The new approach of 'linguistic, investigation of literature', which lies between the two disciplines of linguistics and, literary criticism, came to be known as Stylistics., Definition and Scope of Stylistics, The term 'Stylistics', which means 'the science of literary style', was first attested, in 1882-83 in the Oxford English Dictionary. The derivation of the term 'stylistics' (style, + istics) reflects its preoccupation with the study of style, and the suffix '-istics' means, that stylistics is a scientific study of style. Linguistics serves as the basis of stylistic, analysis by making use of linguistic categories and methods in the study of literature., It provides an objective tool for analyzing literature and for providing linguistic evidence, to the intuitive judgments of literary critics. Thus, stylistics emerged as a valuable, complement to literary studies., Traditional stylistics studied expressive features of language. Prague School, considered the description of structures of language as a system at the phonemic,, lexical and syntactic levels of language. Then, the Transformational Grammar and the, Functionalist theory firmly placed stylistics within the traditions of linguistics. Some, linguists like Harold Whitehall who said- 'No science can go beyond mathematics, no, criticism can go beyond its linguistics'- put limitations on early stylistics by limiting its, scope of interpretation and evaluation. Subsequently, stylistics became more liberal in, its aims and procedures. As a result of Roger Fowler's interest from 1980s onwards in, critical linguistics, stylistics began to lay emphasis on language and texts located and, functioning in particular social, ideological and political practices. During the 1980s,, interest began to grow in the role of the reader in interpreting texts (Fish, 1973). Recently,, there has been a surge of interest in the cognitive aspects of text comprehension, (Stockwell, 2002 and many others). In recent years, stylistics has developed and is, engaged in criticism. Hence, new alternative terms for stylistics like literary stylistics,, critical linguistics, literary pragmatics, practical stylistics and poetics have come in, circulation. These terms are an attempt to find an appropriate term for the full range of, activities practiced by modern stylisticians. Jeffries and McIntyre (2010:3) observe,, 'Stylistics has no settled view of the relation between author, text and reader, but, constantly evolves new theories and models of this dynamic relationship, in order to, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, , 195
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elucidate ever more clearly the processes by which meaning comes about'. In due, course of time, it has drawn upon theories and models from other disciplines such as, literary studies, psychology, philosophy and sociology. Leech (2008:2) calls stylistics, an interdisciplinary subject, i.e. a discipline in its own right but one which is informed, by the insights of other disciplines: 'Placing linguistics in a broad humanistic and social, science perspective,…we can also study its interrelations with those things….the text, in its cultural and historical context'., Stylistics, right from its origins, has tended to concentrate on the analysis of, literary works. But gradually, it embraced non-literary discourse, both spoken as well, as written, within its scope such as media discourses- film, news reporting, advertising,, and oral discourses such as story-telling. Nowadays, stylistics concerns itself with the, full range of linguistic usage., Stylistics and Literary Criticism, In many respects, stylistics is close to certain schools of literary criticism- Practical, Criticism and Formalism. These, like the stylistic approach, are based on the primacy, of text and linguistic analysis of literary works. Widdowson (1975:3) tried to bridge the, gap between literary criticism and linguistics by asserting that stylistics lies between, the two disciplines. 'By ''Stylistics'' I mean the study of literary discourse from a linguistic, orientation and I shall take the view that what distinguishes stylistics from literary, criticism on the one hand and linguistics on the other is that it is a means of linking the, two'. According to him, stylistics integrates not only the two disciplines of linguistics, and literary criticism, but also the two subjects of language and literature. The, relationship is diagrammatically presented as follows :, , Disciplines-, , Linguistics, , Literary Criticism, Stylistics, , Subjects-, , Language, , Literature, , Stylistics as a branch of study establishes multi-directional relationship between, subjects and disciplines, between the two subjects and between disciplines., , 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, , 196
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3.2, , Presentation of Subject Matter, , 3.2.1, , Ordinary Language and Language of Literature, , Language is the medium of literature. It is the substance of which literature is, made. Literature cannot be created except by using language, through its mediums of, speech and writing. Therefore, a student of literature needs to pay close attention to, the use of language in literary texts., All of us have experienced that reading and enjoying literature is a fascinating, experience. Literature attracts us due to many of its features. An important feature of, literature is its uncommon use of language. Ezra Pound once famously remarked that, great literature is simply language charged with meaning to the utmost possible degree., It is often experienced that the language used in literary texts is different from, the kind of language we use in our day to day lives. It attracts us by being different. It is, an extraordinary use of language. The literary writer enjoys the freedom to use language, creatively. He/she can break the norms of language or create new norms as in, G.M.Hopkins' expression 'A just man justices'. In ordinary language, the sentence is, ungrammatical. The noun 'justice' is never used as a verb. But in poetry, such violations, are acceptable as they perform aesthetic function in the contexts of their use. Ordinary, language exhibits rule-governed behavior. It follows the conventions of language in, order to achieve communicative purposes in real life. The language of literature strives, to achieve artistic purposes. In order to achieve this end, the language is used creatively., However, the creative use of the language of literature can be understood only with, reference to a norm. In this case, the norm is ordinary language. We can understand, and appreciate the language of literature only with reference to the norm of ordinary, language. Therefore, it is important for a student of literature to have a satisfactory, command of ordinary language., Stylistics as a discipline originated in the field of the study of literature. In the, stylistic discussion, it is quite normal to consider literary language as distinct from, ordinary language. This assumption goes back to the ancient distinction between, rhetorical language and ordinary language. However, the classical Rhetoric analyzed, the language of literature at a general level to understand its persuasive effects. With, the emergence of linguistics in 20th century, it became possible to explain in more, detail the nature of the language of literature more accurately and objectively. Initially,, the linguists were particularly interested in poetry, since the language of poetry is most, distinct from everyday language., 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, , 197
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The Russian Formalists (Shklovsky, Jakobson) and later Prague School linguists, (Havranek, Mukarovsky, Jakobson) formulated a theory of literature based on the, distinctive use of the language of literature. They attempted to isolate properties of, literary language in contrast with everyday language. According to them, everyday, language is automatized. It is familiar to the speakers of a speech community. It is, used for day to day communicative purposes. There is no element of surprise in it. It, does not attract the attention of the reader towards the use of language. Literature,, particularly poetry, makes use of de-automatized language. This language is unfamiliar, to common people. The language is deliberately made unfamiliar by the writers in, order to draw attention to the linguistic medium itself. They use certain techniques to, defamiliarize language. Formalists called these techniques devices. Some of these, devices are metaphors, unusual patterns of syntax or repetitions., Let us study some of the assumptions of the Formalist theorists. Viktor, Shklovsky (1917) believed that the function of literature is to make people aware of the, world in an unusual way. He called this process defamiliarization or making strange, (the Russian word 'Ostranenie'). According to him, the purpose of poetry is to impart, the sensation of things not as they are known, but as they are freshly perceived by the, poet. This technique consists in making objects 'unfamiliar' with a view to serve an, artistic purpose. The task of the poet is to challenge the routine of the reader's familiarity, to clichés and stock responses to experiences. This effect is called density ('fakura')., Shklovsky focuses on the devices which activate these processes when readers are, confronted with literary works of art. This led him to study literature mainly in its formal, aspects. He conceives literature in terms of deviance from the norm. The norm is, ordinary language. For example, in 'Sailing to Byzantium', W. B. Yeats describes an, old man as 'a tattered coat upon a stick'. This is not a normal expression which we use, to describe an aged man. The poet creates a striking vision of an old man with the help, of a metaphor. In the ageing process, the old man's body looks like a worn-out coat, which is kept for drying upon a stick. The sense of dryness of the body is related with, the dryness of the soul in the context of the poem. The visual imagery reveals something, spiritual in Man. Thus, the description creates unexpected patterns of meaning. It forces, a fresh realization of the ageing process in the minds of readers. In this way, the poet, defamiliarizes the poetic experience by using deviant language. The language attracts, attention towards itself., Another linguist, Havranek (1932) developed his argument about the difference, between literary and non-literary language based on the concept of foregrounding., 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, , 198
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He identifies three linguistic processes- intellectualization, automatization and, foregrounding. On the basis of these, he proposes differentiation of language into three, modes., 1., , The mode of scientific language where the function is accuracy (Ex. 'The, common name for H2O is water'.), , 2., , The mode of everyday language where the function is communication (Ex., 'There is shortage of water. Please use it carefully'.), , 3., , The mode of poetic language where the function is to attract the attention of, readers to itself by virtue of foregrounding devices it contains (Ex.'Water, water, everywhere/Not a drop to drink'). It may be noted here that the repetition of the, word 'water' and the alliteration makes the expression out of the ordinary., , The most influential figure in shaping the concept of foregrounding as the, fundamental characteristic of literary language is the Prague scholar, Jan Mukarovsky, (1932). He extends Havernek's inference that foregrounded expressions attract attention, to themselves by arguing that this special 'poetic' language does not communicate in, a way which is comparable to normal or standard language. In fact, its main function is, primarily to communicate about itself. Mukarovsky (1971:53) observes, 'In poetic, language foregrounding achieves maximum intensity to the extent of pushing, communication into the background as the objective of expression, and of being used, for its own sake;… in order to place in the foreground the act of expression, the act of, speech itself'., However, according to Mukarovsky (1971), the relationship between standard, language and poetic language is not a static one. There is mutual interpretation. Standard, language provides the background against which foregrounding takes place, thereby, constraining the kind of language used in poetry. On the other hand, poetic language, itself shapes standard language as when poetic neologisms (ex. 'pandemonium') pass, into standard language, or when syntactic patterns are borrowed from poetic language, and introduced into standard language. Furthermore, the norm of standard language, changes continually over a period of time. As this is the background on which, foregrounding is projected, the structure of the literary work itself and its interpretation, may change considerably as time goes by., Roman Jakobson (1960) approaches the problem of language of literature from, another angle on foregrounding. He puts forth the theory of speech events. The, elementary factors that constitute any speech event are context, addresser, addressee,, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, , 199
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contact, code and message. The focus on any of these will give rise to a different, function. Jakobson distinguishes six functions of language depending on their orientation, in these six elements- the referential function is oriented in the context (information, about persons, situation or the world), the emotive or expressive function in the, addresser (typically the first person as in 'I request you to come' and sometimes the, third person as in 'The man requested her to help'), the conative function in the, addressee (typically in the use of the second person as in 'Are you happy?'), the phatic, function in the contact (establishes and maintains contact like 'Good morning, how are, you?') and the metalinguistic function in the code (the language used to talk about, language- words like nouns, verbs) and the poetic function in the message. The focus, on the message for its own sake becomes the poetic function. It is characterized by its, concentration on the message per se, drawing attention to itself and to its own properties., In this sense, the poetic function of language is self-conscious and auto-referential, (1960). For Jakobson, patterns of repetition on all levels of sound, lexis, syntax and, meaning are the most important features of poetic language., Jakobson (1966) schematizes the constituents of the 'speech event' as, Context Message, Addresser ---------------------------- Addressee, Contact Code, Jakobson declares that poetic language is used exclusively for the sake of the, work of literature itself, rather than for any communicative or informational purpose., The 'foregrounding' principle of Mukarovsky takes the form of 'equivalence' in Jakobson's, theory. Jakobson (1960:358) says, 'The poetic function projects the principle of, equivalence from the axis of selection into the axis of combination'. What he means is, that basic to all language use are the principles of choice/selection (paradigmatic axis), and combination (syntagmatic axis). We choose words from equivalent expressions, (ex. nouns- man rather than tree, for instance) and combine them with other words, contiguously in a sentence ('A man walks'). But in poetic language, the principle of, equivalence is extended to syntagmatic dimension ('A tree walks'). As a result, patterns, of contrast or of similarity in sound, form and meaning are created. The example, 'A, tree walks', disrupts the equivalent relation between language and the real world: 'Trees, do not walk'. This unusual and unexpected use of the selective axis, according to, Jakobson, is the basic principle of metaphor., , 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, , 200
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The two axes of selection and combination are represented by Jakobson as, follows:, Selection, Paradigmatic, Combination, Syntagmatic, man/woman/ tree, , walks, , Ex. A tree walks., Leech and Short (1981) make use of the terms 'functional significance' and, 'stylistic significance' in the analysis of the style of texts. The former is associated with, non-literary, and the latter with literary language. If we speak of the functional values of, a non-literary text, then, we are interested in the way in which linguistic choices are, adapted to communicative function, i.e., to such functions as newspaper reporting,, advertising and scientific exposition. The stylistic values of the language of literature, cannot be adequately explained in terms of such a need-oriented view of language., The function of literature being primarily aesthetic, we search for explanations of stylistic, value- of why this linguistic choice is made rather than that in terms of considerations, internal to the literary work itself., Various criticisms of distinctions between literary language and everyday, language have been proposed. Pratt (1977) and Fowler (1981) both discuss the 'poetic, language fallacy'. Both opine that the Formalists never verified their assumptions about, the ordinary language with reference to the facts. According to them, ordinary language, also exhibits features of literary language. Pratt (1977) asserts that the language of, literature must be studied in the context of the whole range of language use and suggests, that the so-called grammar of communicating language can exist apart from the socalled grammar of poetry, but the reverse is not so, the latter exists only by contrast to, the former. However, Carter and Nash (1990:111) suggest that 'language should be, seen in terms of a gradation or cline which makes it possible to find elements of, literariness in language which would usually be defined as ordinary or non-literary'., Towards the end of the 20th century, the distinction between the language of, literature and ordinary language became untenable to sustain. It was recognized that, there is not, or perhaps no longer, a language of literature which is inherently or, exclusively 'literary' in all contexts, because the same kinds of stylistic phenomena, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, , 201
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turn up in all sorts of texts. While literature might indeed be the area where much of the, most daring linguistic deviation, that is, foregrounding takes place, there are a great, many other domains where linguistic deviation is wide-spread. On the contrary, many, regular forms of ordinary language, which are stylistically typical of other genres (for, example, legal, medical and religious registers, regional dialect forms, conversational, features), occur within the boundaries of literary works. The 21st century stylisticians, believe that literary language is in no way qualitatively different from other uses of, language. The resistance of contemporary stylistics to a distinct form of 'literary, language' is reflected in Paul Simpson's (2004:98) opinion that 'stylistics is interested, in what writers do 'with' and 'through' language'., If it is understood that the language of literature is the language used in a literary, work - a poem, novel or drama-, then we need to define the literary work. How do we, define literature and literary qualities? How do we understand the special use of language, in literature? There are no easy answers to these questions., Conventionally, literature meant imaginative writing in the genres of prose,, poetry and drama. Since it is derived from Latin litera, which means 'letter', literature, has always been associated with the written medium, although it does exist in the oral, form in many societies. The question of what makes a piece of writing literary leads to, the form of expression which distinguishes it from other writings or to the fact that it, has a different effect on readers than other types of writings . Literature is often discussed, in terms of aesthetic value and is admired for its formal 'beauty' arising from particular, patterning or expressive qualities of language. In various ways, literature is seen as an, art-form like music or painting. One of the qualities that contributes to the 'literariness', of literary works is language., To conclude, critical discussion around the relationship between literary, language and non-literary uses of language continues, and this shows that the issue is, still very much alive, and to some extent, unresolved. This does not prevent us from, identifying the noteworthy features of the literary use of language. Such features will, inevitably belong to the common repository of linguistic features and will be shared by, some other varieties. Moreover, the writing of literature is often highly self-conscious,, and this self-reflexivity may reach a point where there can be said to be a focus on the, message for its own sake (Jakobson, 1960). But such self reflexivity is a potential, rather than a necessary condition., , 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, , 202
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Check Your Progress- I, I., , Answer the following questions in one word/phrase/sentence., , 1., , Which are the two prominent linguistic notions of style?, , 2., , Between which two disciplines does stylistics lie, according to Widdowson?, , 3., , Which Schools formulated a theory of literature based on the distinctive use of, the language of literature?, , 4., , On which constituent of the speech event does the poetic function rest,, according to Jakobson?, , 5., , Which process does Shklovsky advocate to make things strange in poetry?, , II., , Fill in the blanks and complete the following sentences., , 1., , Etymologically, the term 'style' is derived from the Latin word ..........., , 2., , Classical rhetoric distinguished between ............ and ................. in the study, of style., , 3., , ..................... with its objective methods and procedures serves as the basis, of stylistic analysis., , 4., , According to Prague School theorists, every day language is ................., , 5., , According to Mukarovsky, .............. is the fundamental characteristic of literary, language., , 3.2.2. Foregrounding- Deviations and Parallelism, 'Foregrounding' is a popular term in stylistics which is used particularly in the, analysis of poetry. It is the key feature of poetic style. It is introduced by Garvin (1964), to translate the Prague School term, aktualisace, literally meaning 'actualization'. The, concept of foregrounding has its roots in Russian Formalism. Mukarovsky, the Prague, School theorist, is a major proponent of this feature in poetry. Foregrounding is related, with the concept of defamiliarization, the process which is thought to be at the heart of, literary language. As discussed in the unit above, Mukarovsky and Havernek (1932), believed that it is the function of poetic language to surprise the reader with a fresh, awareness of the linguistic medium. This means deautomatization of ordinary language., This is done to exploit language for aesthetic purposes. The Prague School theorists, studied visual arts also. They used the analogy of visual arts- the foreground and, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, , 203
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background- to illustrate their theory of foregrounding in poetry. Foregrounding is seen, as the 'highlighting' or 'throwing into relief' of certain linguistic features against the, background of the norms of ordinary language., Havernek (1932: 81) opines, 'By foregrounding…we mean the use of the devices, of the language in such a way that this use itself attracts attention and is perceived as, uncommon,…as deautomatized'. Thus 'foregrounding' is seen as the deviant use as, against the automatized or normal use of language. However, as literary language is, organically dependent on everyday language, he emphasized the need to appreciate, ordinary language as the starting point for consideration of poetic language. In his, opinion, poetic language needs for its very existence the presence of automatized or, standard language., According to Mukarovsky, the essence of poetic language lies in the violations, of the norms of standard language to make poetic language 'stand out' in some way., He remarks, 'Its systematic violation is what makes possible the poetic utilization of, language; without this possibility there would be no poetry' (Mukarovsky, 1971:51). For, example, the opening lines in William Blake's poem, 'Tiger' are:, 'Tiger, tiger burning bright, In the forest of the night', The language of the lines 'stands out' in contrast with ordinary language. The, lines do not make use of regular patterns of lexis, syntax and meaning. The repetition, of the word 'tiger', the unusual collocation of meaning established between the words, 'tiger' and 'burning', the rigid rhythmic structure and rhyme (bright, night) are, foregrounded and made prominent in the lines for specific effects., Thus, poetic language is not defined in terms of its properties, but in terms of, its function, that is, its aesthetic effect. This aesthetic effect results from the fact that, attention is concentrated on the linguistic sign itself and not on the communicative, effect of the expression as in ordinary language. Ordinary language is largely, automatized and any aesthetic effect that may occur is subordinate to the flow of, ideas. He notices that foregrounding devices occur in ordinary speech as well as in, the language games children play, advertising, etc. However, in all these cases,, foregrounding devices are employed to attract attention to the subject matter of the, communicative situation, while in poetry they draw attention to themselves., Within the literary text itself, linguistic features can be foregrounded or made to, 'stand out' for specific effects against the background of the rest of the text. This is, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, , 204
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regarded as the 'new' norm in competition with the non-literary norm. This is called, internal foregrounding as against external foregrounding where the norm is located, outside the text. For example, in T.S.Eliot's The Wasteland, everyday conversational, language is deliberately foregrounded., HURRY UP PLEASE IT'S TIME, HURRY UP PLEASE IT'S TIME, Goonight Bill, Goonight Lou, Goonight May, Goodnight., In the context of the poetic language of the poem, this piece of language appears, incongruous. It attracts attention towards itself, like an unsettling piece of painting., Readers look at it with more attention- even if it is every day language- and this forces, us to understand and appreciate its artistic significance., Needless to say that foregrounding is artistically motivated. The linguistic, abnormalities are not errors. They are deliberately foregrounded. We need to ask such, questions as what the point of their use is or what their relevance is in the context of, the poem. We can understand the artistic intentions of the poet by using the stylistic, approach to literature. It helps us to avoid subjectivity of critical interpretation. Thus,, stylistics becomes a meeting point between the two disciplines of linguistics and literary, criticism., Foregrounding is achieved by a variety of means. They are grouped under two, main types- Deviation and Parallelism., , 3.2.2.1 Deviations, Foregrounding, following the Prague School, is commonly defined in terms, deviation. Deviant language is a characteristic feature of poetry. Strictly speaking,, deviation refers to divergence from the norm. Such divergence depends on the breaking, of normal rules of language. The significance of deviations in literary language is, reflected in one of the most popular definitions of style- 'style as deviation'. Often the, deviations are marked, that is, they 'stand out' in relation to the normal use of language., In the discussions of literary style, 'normal' has the meaning of most frequent or most, expected expressions. Against this, literary language is supposed to have unexpected, or abnormal elements. Leech (1969) calls deviations 'foregrounded irregularities'., Geoffrey Leech (1969), following Russian Formalists, talks about the creative, use of language. He says that two kinds of linguistic usage the literary writer must, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, , 205
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avoid- the familiar poetic conventions of the past since they have lost the element of, defamiliarization and the everyday usage of the present. In order to be creative, the, poet either makes original use of the established possibilities of language or he actually, goes beyond those possibilities which are already in language. Either way, the originality, or inventiveness of the poet requires violation of the rules of language. The poet does, this by choice in order to create intended effects on readers., The study of linguistics brings home the fact that language is organized at, different levels- pronunciation (phonology), words (lexis), word-formation (morphology),, sentence construction (syntax), meaning (semantics) and conventions of writing, (orthography).There are deviations possible at one or more of these levels of linguistic, organization. Therefore, it may be said that literary language is characterized by, phonological, lexical, morphological, syntactic, semantic and graphological deviations., Let us study how deviations occur at all levels of linguistic organization., Phonological Deviation, Sound is a very important aspect of language. Patterns of phonology are visible, on the surface. In English, the phonological deviations or irregularities of pronunciation, are conventional licenses of verse composition. These licenses are elision or shortening, of expressions, special pronunciation for the convenience of rhyme as when the noun, wind is pronounced as verb wind and placing of stress in unusual places as in the, word bastard on second syllable (Browning)., Of the types of elision, the omission of initial part of a word or phrase is called, aphesis, the middle part is called syncope and the final part is called apocope., i), , Examples of aphesis are reft for bereft as in Milton's 'Lycidas'- 'Oh! Who hath, reft, quoth he…', plain for complain as in Sidney's 'Ye Goatherd Gods', 'Vouchsafe your silent ears to plaining music'., , ii), , Examples of syncope are o'er for over in Wordsworth's 'Daffodils'- '…o'er hills, and vales', and use of exec'tor for executor 'His sole exec'tor, blame' in Philip, Sidney's 'Ring out the Bell'., , iii), , An example of apocope is oft for often., , Generally, phonological deviations are used for the purposes of rhyme and, rhythm, though other motives could also be present., 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, , 206
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Lexical Deviation, Choice of words is an important aspect of literary texts. Often literary writers, create new words which are not found in dictionary. They are called 'neologisms'. For, example, John Milton created the word 'pandemonium' in his Paradise Lost. He created, this word using prefixes and suffixes already in use in English. In Shakespeare's Romeo, and Juliet, Juliet says to Romeo 'Doff thy name'. Doff was a new word coined by, Shakespeare and is a blend of do and off. Sometimes, poets use uncommon, combinations of affixes and words. G.M.Hopkins in The Wreck of the Deutschland, describes the ocean by using three adjectives- unchilding, unfathering and widowmaking. The prefix 'un-' cannot be normally attached to the base 'child' and 'child' is, not an English verb. Therefore, the suffix '-ing' cannot be attached to it. The two words, unchilding and unfathering can be viewed as morphological deviation. Widow-making, is a different deviation. There are words like basket-making in English, but the, compounding of widow and making is an unusual combination. Literature sometimes, shocks us through such words and this is an important aspect of the magic of literary, language., Syntactic Deviation, Literature is also characterized by syntactic deviations. Such deviations are, not errors committed by literary writers. There is often an artistic motivation behind, them. For example, in the following line from Wordsworth's 'Daffodils', there is a, deviation from normal English word order:, 'Ten thousand saw I at a glance', The word order of this sentence is object-verb-subject. The normal word order, in English is subject-verb-object. A normal sentence in English is 'I saw ten thousand, at a glance'. By shifting the object 'ten thousand' to the beginning of the sentence,, Wordsworth makes it the theme of the sentence and the result is greater focus on it., In one of his poems, Dylan Thomas uses the expression 'a grief ago'. This is, ungrammatical in English, because 'ago' must be preceded by an expression of time,, as in 'a week ago' or 'a year ago'. This deviation expresses the intended meaning in a, striking way., 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, , 207
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Semantic Deviation, Many a times there are semantic deviations in literary texts. Meanings are often, expressed in apparently illogical and shocking ways. For example, Wordsworth has, made a statement in 'Intimations of Immortality':, 'The Child is the Father of Man', In normal life, this is unacceptable- 'father' is older than 'child'. Therefore, the, statement appears illogical. However, the poet conveys a suggested philosophical, meaning through this deviation. In the context of the poem, it is totally acceptable., Figures of speech like metaphor and personification are also be seen as semantic, deviations. For example, the following lines from Wordsworth's 'The Solitary Reaper', exemplify a metaphor., 'O listen! For the vale profound, Is overflowing with the sound', In these lines, 'the sound' has been identified with 'water' and the verb 'overflow', brings this out. The identification of the sound and water is a semantic deviation., Graphological Deviation, Literature is sometimes characterized by orthographic deviations. There are, normal conventions of writing which may be violated in literature. For example, the, lines in a poem are usually of the same length in terms of the number of syllables and, the poem has a visual shape. However, sometimes we find that some lines of a poem, are either longer or shorter. This is an example of orthographic deviation. As it is wellknown, a sonnet is a poem consisting of 14 lines. W.B.Yeats' poem 'Leda and the, Swan' apparently consists of 15 lines. There are two half-lines. If the two lines are, connected as one line, it is a sonnet. Therefore, it may be said that the poem is a, deviant sonnet and this deviation is visible even in its shape. Obviously, the poet could, have easily written a normal sonnet, but he certainly communicates his meaning of, violation of Leda by the swan effectively through orthographic deviation., E.E.Cummings' poetry is known for a different type of orthographic deviationthe use of lower case letters, absence of punctuation marks and eccentric use of, parentheses, etc. However, these are a norm in his poetry. Whenever, he uses, capitalization, it becomes internal deviation. In his poem '63', 'sing) for it's Spring', the, first word with initial capitalization is 'Spring'. It is abnormal in his poetry., , 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, , 208
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As it is clear from the discussion above, norm is a relative concept. It is important, to know what kind of norm a deviation is taken to diverge from. It can be the standard, language or the internal structures of the given text and it can also be in terms of the, genre, period, place or the dialect the literary work belongs to., , 3.2.2.2 Parallelism, Parallelism is another important device of foregrounding. G.M.Hopkins claimed, that the art of poetry reduces itself to the principle of parallelism. It is another important, characteristic feature of poetic language. It is different from deviation. It does not violate, rules or conventions of language. On the contrary, it introduces extra-regularities, not, irregularities, into literary language. Words or certain parts of a sentence are repeated, in parallel positions. Therefore, parallelism is partial repetition. For example, democracy, is defined as 'government by the people, of the people and for the people'. There is, parallelism in the repetition of the prepositional phrases- by the people, of the people, and for the people., Parallelism is seen abundantly in everyday language also. Quite often we hear, expressions such as 'No news is bad news', 'A penny saved is a penny earned', 'Like, father, like son' and 'Out of sight, out of mind'. These parallelistic statements attract, attention to the utterances, and when read or heard, give pleasure. They create, rhetorical effect and help remember the utterances easily., Leech (1969) defines parallelism as 'forgrounded regularity' which contrasts, with his definition of deviation as 'forgrounded irregularity'. Jakobson (1960) argues, that in literature, parallelism acquires the highest status in the organization of the work, of literature. According to him, parallelism is a device which depends on the principle, of 'equivalence'. According to him, it consists typically in repeated combinations of the, same kinds of elements in the syntagmatic chain. This gives rise to identical, phonological/morphological/syntactic patterns. When the language allows for a choice, from a variety of structures, the poet uses exact repetition of one particular kind of, pattern. The term 'parallelism' is associated with this sort of repetition. In using, deviations, the writer goes beyond the wide range of linguistic choices available in, English. With parallelism, the poet consistently and deliberately works within limited, options. This phenomenon is known as parallelism., Parallelism consists in the repetition of linguistic elements in equivalent positions., It is not a mechanical repetition. Any form of parallelism consists variable elements as, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, , 209
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well as invariable ones. For example, in the third line of a stanza in Alexander Pope's, poem 'Universal Prayer', parallelism is used., Father of all! in every age,, In every clime adored,, By saint, by savage, and by sage,, Jehovah, Jove, or Lord!, In the third line, the invariable pattern of the prepositional clause beginning with, 'by' is repeated three times in equivalent positions. Within the prepositional phrase the, variables of three noun phrases- saint, savage, and sage introduce the element of, contrast between saint, sage, on the one hand and savage on the other. The words, saint and sage mean wise men and the word savage means an ignorant person in the, context of the poem. All- both wise and unwise- adore God in every age and place., Thus, the patterning of variable and invariable elements gives rise to parallelism., Identical structures are the hallmark of parallelism. Elements of contrast are, not always necessary in parallelistic expressions as may be seen in the sentence'Government by the people, of the people and for the people'. The variables here are, not opposites, but different prepositions. However, if both the elements of identity and, of contrast are present in parallelism, it expresses meaning/s more dramatically. One, of the popular examples of parallelism where the elements of identity and contrast are, used is - 'Wealth accumulates and men decay' (William Goldsmith's 'The Deserted, Village'). The syntactic patterns in both the clauses- subject+ verb- are similar whereas, the contrast is achieved at the level of meaning. It reinforces the philosophical meaning, of the line that material prosperity causes decay of moral values. The device of, parallelism helps the poet achieve brevity and intensity of meaning in a few words., Parallelism, like deviation, may be used simultaneously on multiple levels of, linguistic organization- phonological, morphological and grammatical levels. Leech, (1969) gives an example from Shakespeare's Othello: 'I kissed thee ere I killed thee'., 1., , There are two clauses- I kissed thee and I killed thee- with identical structures, (subject+verb+object)., , 2., , There are exact repetitions of I and thee in both the clauses., , 3., , There are corresponding past tense suffixes (-ed) in both the clauses., , 4., , There is alliteration in the initial position between kissed and killed., , 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, , 210
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The expression shows a strong connection between kissed and killed which, combines contrast with similarity. Kissing and killing have opposite connotations. The, former is associated with love and the latter with hatred. Parallelism brings them, together. In the context of the play, the parallelism sums up, with great concentration,, the irony of Othello's love for Desdemona and his hatred of her which result in their, tragedy. It is an example of parallelism which extends to phonological, lexical and, grammatical choices involving elements of identity and contrast., Let us study parallelism at various levels of linguistic organization., Phonological Parallelism, There are certain sound patterns which are conventionally parallelistic elements., They are alliteration, assonance and consonance. In these, sounds are repeated in, equivalent positions. Alliteration is a common device used in poetry. It consists in the, repetition of sounds at the beginning of words. For example, 'My love's like a red red, rose' (Robert Burns) and 'And not a drop to drink' (S.T.Coleridge). In the examples, /r/, sound and /dr/ sounds are repeated respectively. Generally, alliteration makes literary, language more musical. Sometimes it serves a more vital function as can be seen in, the example from Shakespeare's Macbeth: 'So foul and fair a day I have not seen'., Here, alliteration draws our attention to the words 'foul' and 'fair', which constitute the, theme of the play. Assonance is a sound effect produced by identical vowels in two, words as in man and sat. Consonance is end-alliteration in which final consonants are, repeated as in sin, run. Moreover, rhyme is a common device used in traditional poetry., When two words rhyme with each other, the accented vowel and the following, consonants are identical., But at my back I always hear, Time's winged chariot hurrying near (Andrew Marvel, 'To His Coy Mistress'), Phonological deviation can be seen in rhythmic patterns of metre also. It depends on, regular alternation of accented and unaccented syllables as in Blake's poem 'Tiger'., , Ti ger! Ti ger! burn ing bright, , (/ X, / X, / X, X), , There is regularity even in the rhythm of speech. It can follow a natural pace, also. But the rhythm in poetry is more regular., 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, , 211
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Morphological Parallelism, Parallelism at the morphological level includes the recurrence of bound, morphemes or affixes at parallel positions. Writers make use of plurals, adverbials,, compounds, participles and genitives, etc. in equivalent positions which add to the, dramatic effect of the utterances. A few examples are given below., 1., , 'The down-dugged ground-hugged grey' (Parallelism of compound words in, G.M.Hopkins in The Wreck of the Deutschland ), , 2., , 'Jesu, heart's light, Jesu, maid's son' (Parallelism of apostrophe's' in G.M.Hopkins in The Wreck, of the Deutschland ), , 3., , '…kicking and rolling about, For Fair Grounds, swinging their butts,…, Rollicking measures, prance as they dance' (Parallelism of present participles, in Wiliam Carlos Williams' 'The Dance'), , Syntactic Parallelism, Syntactic parallelism occurs at the level of phrases and clauses. Here is an, example of parallelism at the level of phrases from Shakespeare's Richard III:, 'This royal throne of kings, this scepter'd isle,, This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,, This other Eden, this demi-paradise,, This fortress built by nature herself…, This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England', The entire extract consists of eleven noun phrases beginning with the repetitive, 'this' which give the impression of ideas skidding towards the climax- 'this England'., Shakespeare builds up the climax- to sing the glory of England- by deliberately using, parallelism as a poetic device., Parallelism also acts as a persuasive technique in literary works as in Charles, Dickens' passionate opening sentences in his novel, The Tale of Two Cities:, 'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness,, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, , 212
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it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity,, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness,, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair'., The passage consists of five pairs of clauses which are arranged on the principle, of identity and contrast. The first clause makes a positive statement on the times prior, to the French Revolution followed by a negative statement asserting an opposite truth., The effect is rhetorical one with an added emotional appeal., Thus, parallelism is a type of foregrounding commonly used in poetry. It consists, in the repetition of the same structural pattern. There is an obvious connection between, the repeated units which reinforces the equivalence of either identity or of contrast or, of both., , Check Your Progress II, I., , Answer the following questions in one word/phrase/sentence., , 1., , Who is the major proponent of foregrounding as a poetic device?, , 2., , What is deviation?, , 3., , How does Geoffrey Leech describe deviation?, , 4., , What is parallelism?, , 5., , How does Geoffrey Leech describe parallelism?, , II., , Identify whether the following expressions are examples of deviation or, parallelism., , 1., , A just man justices., , 2., , He came, he saw and he conquered., , 3., , A dew of devotions, , 4., , To err is human, to forgive divine, , 5., , The body dies; the body's beauty lives., , 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, , 213
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3.2.3, , Analysing Metaphor, , Literary language is characterized by figurative use of language. In literature, meaning is not conveyed in a literal straightforward manner. But it is expressed in an, indirect manner, giving a lot of scope to the reader's imagination. This often leads to, multiple interpretations. This is the richness of literature. Simile and metaphor are two, figures of speech frequently used in literature, though many other figures of speech, are also found to be used in literary texts. It needs to be pointed out that figures of, speech are used not only in literary language. They are very much a part of ordinary, language and we use them consciously or unconsciously. A few examples are- 'the, mouth of the river', 'the foot of the hill'. Metaphors are also found in semi-literary language, such as in the language of advertising (Ex. 'Cool as a mountain breeze')., There is a thin dividing line between a simile and a metaphor. The meaning of, 'My friend is as brave as a lion' can be conveyed through a simile- 'My friend is like a, lion', or a metaphor- 'My friend is a lion'. However, these two figures of speech draw, our attention to the fact that the two dissimilar objects are, in fact, similar in one or, more respects- in this case in terms of bravery. According to Richards, Platt and, Webber, 'A simile is an expression in which something is compared to something else, by the use of a Function Word such as like or as. Such function words are typically, absent in a metaphor. This indicates that a simile can be transformed into a metaphor, easily by the omission of like or as. Geoffrey Leech remarks, 'Simile is an overt and, metaphor a covert comparison'., An example of simile is the following opening lines of a poem by Robert burns., 'My love's like a red red rose, That's newly sprung in June', In these lines the speaker's beloved is compared to a red rose. Obviously,, there are many points of dissimilarity between the beloved and a rose, but the poet, makes us think about the points of similarity- beauty, luster, freshness, etc. The reader, is free to discover more points of similarity between them, but they must be appropriate, to the general context. For example, while reading these lines it is irrelevant to think of, the facts that a rose has thorns or that it has a very short life. Obviously, the poet does, not want to convey any similarities related to these features. As pointed out earlier, if, the poet had said 'My love's a red red rose', it would be an example of metaphor., A metaphor is more effective and dramatic than a simile, because it establishes, an identity between two dissimilar objects. Instead of saying, 'X is like Y', a metaphor, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, , 214
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says, 'X is Y'. In his Dictionary, Johnson considers a metaphor to be 'a simile, compressed in a word'. Hamlet considers the world to be 'an unweeded garden' and, the identity established between the world and unweeded garden brings home the, point that the world is chaotic, unsystematic and uncared for., Ordinary language is also full of metaphors which people do not easily notice., For example, expressions like 'the foot of the bed' and 'the Head of the Department', are metaphors. Both these are also examples of the figure of speech- personification., Literally speaking, a bed cannot have a foot. Only animate beings can have a foot. The, bed is identified with an animate being and the foot is the lowest part of its body., Therefore, the lowest part of the bed is identified with the foot of an animate being. In, the same way, a department cannot literally have a head. Only an animate being can, have a head. Just as the head is the topmost part of an animal's body, the topmost, person in a department is equated with the head. It may be noted that all examples of, personification are necessarily examples of metaphor, though not all metaphors are, examples of personification., In some metaphors, the two objects being identified are stated clearly. For, example,, 'The news was a bolt from the blue'., The two objects being identified are 'the news' and 'lightening from the sky'., Both are unexpected and destructive. The reader may be able to think of more points, of similarity between the two., However, sometimes the two objects being identified are not stated explicitly., For example, 'Her words stabbed him'. In this example of metaphor, it is not clearly, stated what 'her words' are identified with. But the use of the verb 'stab' is associated, with a sharp, pointed weapon or instrument that causes harm. This makes us realize, that in this case 'her words' are compared to 'a knife' or some such weapon. The, following is an example from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet., 'Night's candles are burnt out, and jocund day, Stands tiptoe on the misty mountain tops', These two lines contain two examples of metaphor. The first involves 'night's, candles'. The context of the references to 'night' and 'day' make us think about what, 'night's candles' are. It is obvious that they are the stars in the sky. The other example, is the personification of 'day'. The expression 'stands tiptoe' and the adjective 'jocund', normally co-occur with animate or human nouns., 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, , 215
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Sometimes the same metaphor spreads itself across whole poems or stanzas, to provide a common frame of reference or thematic coherence. Such metaphors are, called extended metaphors. For example, in Matthew Arnold's poem 'Dover beach',, the metaphor of the 'sea' of faith is used extensively throughout the poem and there, are many other related metaphors. For example, the world is identical with the beach., I.A. Richards, in his analysis of metaphor, uses three terms- tenor, vehicle and, ground. The tenor refers to the literal subject or topic, the vehicle is the object to which, the subject is compared or with which it is identified. The ground refers to semantic, features of comparison in respect of which the two objects are identified. For example,, in the metaphor from Romeo and Juliet given above, 'stars' are the tenor, 'candles' are, the vehicle. The ground is that both stars and candles are sources of light and that, both are visible only for a short time. It is important that tenor and vehicle have some, similarity between them so that comparison seems appropriate, but at the same time, there must be differences between them. This makes their identification a striking one., It is not necessary that all the three elements- tenor, vehicle and ground- are, stated explicitly. In the example from Romeo and Juliet, only the vehicle (candles) is, stated, the tenor (stars) and the ground of comparison are left to our imagination and, sensitivity. In the example, 'Her words stabbed him', only the tenor ('words') is given,, the vehicle ('knife') can be inferred from the verb 'stab' and the ground of comparison, is not stated at all. This leads to indeterminacy or multiplicity of meanings and, sometimes even to ambiguity. Different readers may respond by thinking in their own, way about whichever element is not explicitly stated. Wales states, 'Metaphor, in its, expression of the familiar by the unfamiliar, is a good example of the process of, defamiliarization and is particularly significant, therefore, in poetic language'. Metaphor, causes deautomatization of language, because meaning is expressed in an unexpected, and novel manner., Geoffrey Leech distinguishes among four notional types of metaphor. They are, based on differences in semantic connection between the tenor and the vehicle., 1., , The Concretive Metaphor: In this type, the abstract tenor is identified with a, concrete or physically existent vehicle. For example, 'the light of wisdom'. In, this example, 'wisdom', which is abstract, is identified with light, which is, concrete., , 2., , The Animistic Metaphor: In this type, the inanimate tenor is presented as having, some characteristics of animate beings. For example, 'the angry storm'. A, storm is inanimate, but it is assigned the quality of 'being angry', which is a, characteristic of animate beings., , 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, , 216
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3., , The Humanizing Metaphor: This is similar to the second type, but in this, the, inanimate tenor is presented as having human qualities. For example, 'The, breeze welcomed us to the mountain'. In this example, the inanimate 'breeze', is treated as a person, because 'welcoming' is a typically human activity., , 4., , The Synaesthetic Metaphor: In this type, meaning is transferred from one field, of sense perception to another. For example, 'bright music'. Normally, the, adjective 'bright' cannot be used to describe the noun 'music'. It usually refers, to light, but it is used here to describe 'music'., , Leech suggests a useful procedure for analyzing metaphors. It involves three, distinct stages. They are as follows., 1., , Separation of literal from figurative use: In the initial stage, we should distinguish, between parts of an expression which can be literally interpreted from those, which need to be figuratively interpreted. He gives an example from William, Wordsworth's poem 'Resolution and Independence'., 'The sky rejoices in the morning's birth'., In this example, some words can be literally interpreted and others need to be, figuratively interpreted., Literal, , :, , Figurative :, , The sky -------------- the morning-----, , ---------- rejoices in ----------------- 's birth, , The blanks indicate the gaps in the literal and figurative interpretations., 2., , Construction of tenor and vehicle by postulating semantic elements to fill in the, gaps between literal and figurative interpretations: In this type, we should fill in, the blanks in literal and figurative interpretations by using the words that can, reasonably fill in those blanks., Literal: 'The sky {looks bright at} the morning's {beginning}, Figurative: {animate} rejoices in {animate}'s birth, Leech warns that while filling in the blanks, we should avoid more figurative, expressions., , 3., , Statement of the ground of the metaphor: In this stage, we should ask ourselves, what similarity or similarities can be detected between the two lines of analysis., The answer depends to a large extent on the reader's personal intuition. This, , 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, , 217
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indicates that different readers may identify different similarities between the, tenor and the vehicle. In the example given above, there are two comparisons., One is between the brightness of the sky and a person's rejoicing. Brightness, is often associated with cheerfulness and happiness. The other is between, dawn and birth. The dawn is the beginning of the day and birth is the beginning, of life., It may be said that metaphor is a vital element of literary language. As readers, of literature, it is necessary to develop our sensitivity to metaphorical language to gain, some insight into literary texts., , Check Your Progress III, I., , Answer the following questions in one word/phrase/sentence., , 1., , How does Geoffrey Leech define simile and metaphor?, , 2., , Why does a metaphor considered more effective than a simile?, , 3., , Which three terms are used by I.A.Richards in the analysis of metaphors?, , 4., , What are extended metaphors?, , 5., , Name the four types of metaphors., , II., , 1. Identify the type of metaphor, as given by Leech, in the following, examples., , i), , A slice of life, , ii), , Drinker of horizon's fluid wine, , iii), , How sweet the moonlight sleeps upon the bank!, , iv), , Green thought in a green shade, , 2., , Identify the tenor, vehicle and ground of comparison in the metaphors, used in the sentences below., i), , He succeeded in life on a few twigs of knowledge., , ii), , She was a hyacinth., , 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, , 218
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3.3, , Summary, , The concept of style and style study go back to Classical times. Traditional, notions of style were dualistic in approach as they differentiated between content and, form of expression. Modern notions of style believe in the unity of form and content,, and therefore, are monistic in approach. Stylistics, as the scientific study of style,, emerged in early 20th century. It is based on linguistic procedures and methods which, are said to be objective. According to Widdowson, stylistics lies between the two, disciplines of literary criticism and linguistics. Initially stylistics took interest in the, language of poetry. Gradually, it extended its scope to include non-literary use of, language in both spoken and written mode., Stylistics as a discipline originated in the study of the language of literature., The language of literature is regarded as different from ordinary language. The Russian, Formalists and Prague School theorists studied the characteristic features of the, language of literature systematically. They discovered that ordinary language is, automatized and the language of literature is deautomatized. Literary writers make, use of defamiliarization techniques such as the use of imagery. Mukarovsky formulated, the concept of foregrounding and regarded it as the fundamental principle of poetic, language. Roman Jakobson isolated 'poetic function' as against other functions of, language. Many scholars formulated theories on the language of literature from various, points of view. However, it is now understood that there is not necessarily any difference, between the language of literature and ordinary language. Aspects of literary language, are present in ordinary language and vice versa., Foregrounding is an important feature of the language of poetry. On the analogy, of visual arts, it is seen as 'highlighting' of certain linguistic features against the, background of ordinary language. Foregrounding is artistically motivated. It is achieved, by two ways- deviation and parallelism. Deviation refers to divergence from norm. And, the norm is, by and large, the ordinary language. Deviations can occur at phonological,, lexical, syntactic, semantic and orthographic levels. Parallelism consists in repetition, of linguistic elements in parallel positions. There are variable and invariable elements, in parallelism. In it the element of identity is necessary where as the element of contrast, is optional. Parallelism can occur simultaneously at multiple levels of linguistic, organization., Literary language is characterized by figurative language. Metaphors are the, most commonly used figures of speech. They are more effective and dramatic than, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, , 219
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simile. I.A.Richards uses three terms- tenor, vehicle and ground- in the linguistic analysis, of metaphors. Leech distinguishes between four notional types of metaphorsconcretive, animistic, humanizing and synaesthetic metaphors. Leech also suggests, a procedure for analyzing metaphors. Thus, stylistics studies the language of literature, systematically and objectively., , 3.4, , Terms to Remember, , Aphorism, , -, , A statement expressing general truth about human nature, , Dualistic, , -, , A popular term in stylistics based on the idea that form and, content can be distinguished, and thus, it is possible for the, same content or meaning to be expressed in different ways., , Monistic, , -, , A popular term in stylistics based on the idea that form and, content are inseparable, and therefore, every change of form, is a change of meaning., , Rhetoric, , -, , Originally a discipline concerned with the skills of public, speaking as a means of persuasion., , Transformational, , -, , An influential theory of grammar proposed by Noam, , Grammar, , Chomsky in 1950s which aims to describe and generate all, and only grammatical sentences of a language., , Functionalist Theory -, , Developed by Halliday in 1970s which lays stress on the, pragmatic function of language in its communicative context., , Automatization, , -, , Refers to the process of over-familiarity of linguistic, expressions in everyday communication so that the users, are not aware of their aesthetic value., , Standard Language -, , In a speech community, it is a variety of language which, has a special social status and serves as a model with its, consistent syntax and lexis., , Neologism, , -, , A newly invented word, , Metalanguage, , -, , It is communication about communication, whether as a, sign-system or in ordinary use, , Self-reflexivity, , -, , An awareness of language created by the medium itself, rather than referring to external world, , 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, , 220
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3.5, I), , Answers to Check Your Progress - I, 1. 'Style as choice' and 'Style as deviation', 2. Literary criticism and linguistics, 3. Russian Formalism and the Prague School, 4. Message, 5. Defamiliarization, , II), , 1. Stylus, 2. Content and form, 3. Linguistics, 4. Automatized, 5. Foregrounding, , Answers to Check Progress - II, I), , 1. Mukarovsky, 2. Divergence from norm, 3. Foregrounded irregularities, 4. Repetition of linguistic elements in equivalent/parallel positions, 5. Foregrounded regularities, , II), , 1. Deviation, 2. Parallelism, 3. Deviation, 4. Parallelism, 5. Parallelism, , Answers to Check Your Progress - III, I), , 1. 'Simile is an overt and metaphor a covert comparison'., 2. Because it establishes an identity between two dissimilar objects- instead, of saying, 'X is like Y', metaphor says, 'X is Y'., , 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, , 221
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3.Tenor, vehicle and ground, 4. Sometimes the same metaphor when it spreads itself across a whole poem, or a stanza to provide a common frame of reference or thematic coherence, is called extended metaphor., 5. Concretive metaphor, animistic metaphor, humanizing metaphor and, synaesthetic metaphor, II), , 1., , i) Concretive metaphor, ii) Animistic metaphor, iii) Humanizing metaphor, iv) Synaesthetic metaphor, , 2., , i) Tenor- knowledge, Vehicle- twigs, Ground- Knowledge as a vast tree, with branches, but a few pieces of it would be enough to get through, life, ii) Tenor-she, Vehicle- hyacinth, Ground- Both beautiful, fresh, delicate, , 3.6, , Exercises, , I., , Write short notes on the following., , i), , Traditional definitions of style, , ii), , Stylistics as an interdisciplinary subject, , iii), , Mukarovsky's views on foregrounding, , iv), , Roman Jakobson's views on the poetic function, , v), , The concepts of tenor, vehicle and ground in the analysis of metaphors, , II., , Write long answers to the following questions., , i), , Distinguish between ordinary language and the language of poetry., , ii), , Discuss the concept of foregrounding., , iii), , Explain the notion that poetry is characterized by deviations., , iv), , Explain, with examples, the features of parallelism., , v), , Discuss Leech's method of analyzing metaphors., , 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, , 222
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3.7., , References for further study, , Bally, Charles (1909) Traite de Stylistique Francaise, Carl Winters: Heidelberg., Carter and Nash, (1990), Seeing Through Language, Basil Blackwell, Cambridge,, Massachusetts., Chomsky, N. (1957), Syntactic Structures, Mouton, The Hague., Fowler, G. (1981), Literature as Social Discourse: the Practice of Linguistic Criticism,, Batsford, London., Havranek, B. (1964 [1932]), 'Functional Differentiation of Standard Language', in Prague, School Reader in Esthetics, Literary Structure and Style, Garvin, P. (ed.),, Georgetown University Press, Georgetown., Jakobson, R. (1960), 'Linguistics and Poetics', in Style in Language, Sebeok, T. (ed.),, MIT Press, Cambridge, pp. 350-77., Jeffries, L. and McIntyre, D. (2010), Stylistics, Cambridge University Press., Leech, G. (1969), A linguistic Guide to English Poetry, Longman, London., Leech, G. and Short, M. (1981), Style in Fiction, Longman, London and New York., Leech,G. (1970), ''This Bread I Break' - Language and Interpretation', in Linguistics and, Literary Style, Freeman, D. (ed.), Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., New York., Mukarovsky, J. (1964 b), 'The Esthetics of Language', in A Prague School Reader on, Eesthetics, Literary Structure and Style, Garvin, P. (ed.), Georgetown University, Press, Washington, pp. 31-39., Ohmann, P.(1970), 'Generative Grammars and the Concept of Literary Style', in, Linguistics and Literary Style, Freeman,D. (ed.), Holt, Rinehart and Winston,, New York, pp. 258-78., Pratt, M.(1977), Toward a Speech Act Theory of Literary Discourse, Indiana University, Press, Ind., Bloomington., Shklovksy, V. (1965 [1917]), 'Art as Technique', in Russian Formalist Criticism, Lemon, L., Reis M.J. (eds.), (trans), University of Nabraska Press, Lincoln., , 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456, , 223
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Unit No. 4, , STYLISTIC ANALYSIS OF A POEM, 4.0, , Objectives, , 4.1, , Introduction, , 4.2, , Subject Matter, , 4.3, , Summary, , 4.4, , Check Your Progress, , 4.5, , Answers to Check Your Progress, , 4.6, , Exercises, , 4.7, , Books for further reading, , 4.0, , Objectives, , After studying this unit, you will be able to, •, , Understand Stylistic Analysis, , •, , Explain different devices employed for such analyses, , •, , Find relationship between Stylistic analysis and practical criticism, etc., , 225
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4.1, , Introduction, At your undergraduate level, particularly at TYBA, you have studied the ways, , in which a poem can be critically appreciated. That is, you know what is meant by, the ‘critical appreciation’ of a poem. Similarly, you have also written critical, appreciation of a poem in your examination. Remember for sometime what you, have done in it. Stylistic analysis of a poem is both similar to and different from the, critical appreciation. The phrase critical appreciation means your appreciation of the, poem. The meaning of the word ‘appreciation’ is ‘understanding the nature, meaning, and qualities of something’. As such, you have written your understanding of the, meaning and qualities of the poem. Such appreciation includes what the individual, thinks about the poem. It is the subjective appreciation of the individual. Such, appreciation generally does not require precision of judgements. On the contrary, in, stylistic analysis of a poem, the individual has to analyze the poem with the help of, different devices present in the poem. However, it will be wrong to say that it is, simply the analysis of the poem. It also requires that the individual should appreciate, the poem on the basis of the identified elements and their analysis. Thus stylistic, analysis involves the following three steps:, 1., , Identifying the stylistic devices in the poem,, , 2., , Analyzing the identified stylistic devices, and, , 3., , The interpretation of the devices., Thus, stylistic analysis consists of three activities: identification, analysis and, , interpretation of the stylistic devices., After you read this information, the first few questions you may ask are: ‘what, is meant by the stylistic devices?’, ‘what are the different types of stylistic devices?’,, etc. In the present context, the answer will be given with reference to the syllabus, prescribed for your course. In Unit 3, dealing with Stylistics, you have studied the, stylistic devices in literature. They include different types of deviations and, 226
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foregrounding devices consisting of Schemes and Tropes. (For your ready, reference, a list of stylistic devices, their meaning and some examples are given in, Section II of the present unit also.) At this stage, you are requested to go through all, the important terms discussed in the relevant unit. The following discussion of, stylistic analysis assumes that you have gone through this book and know the basic, terminology in Linguistics and Stylistics. In the remaining part of this section, a poem, is considered and the ways in which it can be stylistically analyzed are elaborated., , 4.2, , Subject Matter, , 4.2.1, , Stylistic Analysis of a Poem, , The Dead, These hearts were woven of human joys and cares,, Washed marvellously with sorrow, swift to mirth., The years had given them kindness. Dawn was theirs,, And sunset, and the colours of the earth., These had seen movements, and heard music; known, , 5, , Slumber and waking; loved; gone proudly friended;, Felt the quick stir of wonder; sat alone;, Touched furs and flowers and cheeks. All this is ended., There are waters blown by changing winds to laughter, And lit by the rich skies, all day. And after,, , 10, , Frost, with a gesture, says the waves that dance, And wandering loveliness. He leaves a white, Unbroken glory, a gathered radiance,, A width, a shining peace, under the night., , 227, , Rupert Brooke
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Preliminary Information about the poet and the poem :, The above poem is written by Rupert Brooke. The title of the poem is ‘The, Dead’. Rupert Brooke is a modern poet. He is a war poet. His concerns are with the, war and its consequences. Therefore, he might be talking about the soldiers who, died in the War. In fact, as a student of literature, you are expected to know this, much information about the poet and the poem. However, if you do not know, anything about the poet and the period to which he belong, it does not make much, difference. Stylistics is basically an independent study of literature without any, reference to the life and times of the poet. Therefore, even though you do not know, anything about the poet, do not worry. Let us now try to analyze the poem, stylistically:, General Meaning of the poem :, Look at the title of the poem. It is ‘The Dead’. It means that the poet is talking, about the dead. But he has not specifically pointed out whether he is talking about, the dead people or dead animals or dead soldiers. The poem is expected to, determine who the dead are. Thus the first step you can follow is to try to, understand the meaning of the poem. Now look at the poem carefully. This is your, first reading of the poem. The general meaning of the poem could be something like, the following :, The poem is the account of the unidentified heroes. In the very first line of, the poem they are referred to as ‘these hearts’. The poet has narrated how these, hearts have experienced the joys and cares of the world and how they have learnt, the kindness through the years. These hearts were down to earth people, which, make the poet say that the dawn, the sunset and the colours of the earth are theirs., The second stanza refers to the experiences that ‘these hearts’ have received in the, world. This stanza ends with the sentence: ‘All this is ended.’ It means that ‘these, hearts’ described above are not present now. However, while going away from this, , 228
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world, the hearts have left behind the unbroken glory which has been achieved in, the world., Form of the poem :, On the basis of the meaning and the title of the poem, we can say that the, poet is talking about the soldiers who died in the War. And the qualities the poet, narrated refer to the soldiers. Bearing in mind this discussion, we can now try to, identify the stylistic devices in the poem. After we identify and analyze the stylistic, devices, we need to elaborate the difference in the meaning of the poem caused by, the use of the devices. Let’s now look at the formal properties of the poem. The, poem consists of 14 lines divided into two groups: 8 + 6. It means that the poem is a, sonnet written in the Italian style. You might know that there are two types of, sonnets. One has the structure of 8 lines + 6 lines. This structure is Italian structure, of sonnet. Another type of sonnet is English sonnet or Shakespearean sonnet. It has, the structure 4 + 4 + 4 + 2 lines. Thus the present sonnet is an Italian one., Diction :, After considering the form of the poem, we shall investigate the language, used in the poem. The term used to refer to the language in poetry is ‘diction’., Diction means both the choice and arrangement of words. Let us first discuss the, choice of words: In earlier units, you have studied syntagmatic and paradigmatic, axis of language. They are also referred to as the selectional and combinatory, modes of language. The selection of words relates to the poet’s selection of specific, words rather than the other words. In stylistics, it is believed that the selection of, words in literary work of art is deliberate. That is to say, when the poet selects, words, he selects them with a purpose. It is therefore essential in stylistic analysis to, discover the possible intention of the poet in selecting a linguistic element. The, selection of words can be investigated on the basis of many criteria. We can talk of, word in terms of number of syllables, like monosyllabic words, disyllabic words or, multi-syllabic words, etc.; or in terms of grammatical category – like nouns,, 229
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adjectives, adverbs, verbs, etc.; or in terms of register, like words belonging to a, particular register; or any special grammatical ending of the words., Thus in the first stanza of the poem, there are words like ‘joys’, ‘cares’,, ‘sorrow’, ‘mirth’ and ‘kindness’. All these are human emotions and feelings. The, stanza thus considers the life of the soldiers with reference to these qualities of, everyday lives. As human beings, the soldiers were also subject to such ups and, downs in human life. The second stanza specifically elaborates the everyday lives of, common people and of a soldier as well. The similarity of a soldier’s life and the life, of common people is put in the background in order that the heroic activity of these, soldiers can be foregrounded. The heroic activity is presented in the phrase ‘gone, proudly friended’. It refers to their going into the battle with proud of their country. In, the first stanza, most of the words are nouns and adjectives that describe the lives, of these people. In the second stanza, on the other hand, most of the words are, verbs. Thus, as opposed to the description of their lives, the second stanza is, concerned with their actions. The different activities in which the soldiers were, involved are catalogued. By the end of the second stanza, however, the poet does, not forget to point out that all these things are over now and are ended., Most of the words employed in the third stanza refer to the natural, phenomenon. The words like ‘water’, ‘blown’, ‘winds’, ‘skies’, ‘frost’ and ‘waves’ are, used. Thus, this stanza points to the transcendence of these soldiers from the, human feelings and emotions like sorrows, mirth, joys, and cares and also the trivial, activities of the world into the world of natural elements. The three important words, in the three stanzas are ‘woven’ in the first, ‘goes’, in the second; and ‘leaves’ in the, last stanza. The first stanza, thus, describes how the soldier was ‘woven’ into the, world of emotions and feelings; the second refers to his ‘going proudly’ into the, battle and the third stanza points to his ‘leaving’ behind the glory he achieved. The, cycle is complete. The poem contains one lexical deviation. The deviation is present, in the selection of word. The poet has used the word ‘friended’ in the second stanza., The poet has used the word ‘friend’ as a verb of the past tense. We need to ask the, 230
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question, what might have made the poet select an ungrammatical word? In fact, it, is used here as a foregrounding device. The word is coined with the help of the word, ‘friend’. It means a companion. But the soldier has gone proudly into the battle: his, own death. As we know, no friend can accompany the dying man. Still the poet has, used the phrase ‘gone proudly friended’. Who might have friended the poet? The, answer needs to be searched for in the light of the poem itself. In the last part of the, poem, the poet reports that the soldier has left behind ‘unbroken glory, a gathered, radiance’. A common man cannot achieve such a status. But the soldier can achieve, this because he has sacrificed his life for the friendship of his motherland. The word,, therefore, requires to be interpreted with reference to the sacrifice. The going away, of the soldier from this world is equated with his getting the everlasting friendship of, his motherland. Therefore, the poet might have foregrounded this expression., After considering the selection of the words, we should now examine the, arrangement of the words. Here we need to stress a point. Generally it is believed, by students that there is no sentence structure in poetry. The sentence pattern is, present only in prose. But this is not true. As there is sentence pattern in prose, so, also it is there in a poem. Another important thing that needs to be referred to here, is that students are seen confusing the line in a poem with a sentence. Thus they, read a poem from the beginning of the line to the end of the line. They think that the, meaning of one line is independent from the meaning of the other lines. In fact, a, sentence in a poem can extend up to many lines. Or in other cases a single line may, consist of more than one sentence. Keeping in mind the discussion, let us see the, number of sentences present in the above poem. The sentences in the poem are, numbered below:, 1., , These hearts were woven of human joys and cares, washed marvellously, with sorrows, swift to mirth., , 2., , The years had given them kindness., , 3., , Dawn was theirs, and sunset, and the colours of the earth., 231
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4., , These had seen movement, and heard music; known slumber and waking;, loved; gone proudly friended; felt the quick stir of wonder; sat alone; touched, furs and flowers and checks., , 5., , All this is ended., , 6., , There are waters blown by changing winds to laughter and lit by the rich, skies, all day., , 7., , And after, frost, with a gesture, stays the waves that dance and wandering, loveliness., , 8., , He leaves a white unbroken glory, a gathered radiance, a width, a shining, peace, under the night., , Now, look at the visual representation of the representative sentences from each, stanza (sentence no. 1, 4, and 8):, Sentence 1: These hearts were, , woven of human joys and cares, washed marvellously with sorrows, swift to mirth, , Sentence 4: These had, , seen movement, and, heard music, known slumber and waking, loved, gone proudly friended, felt the quick stir of wonder, sat alone, touched furs and flowers and checks, , Sentence 8:, He leaves, , a white unbroken glory, a gathered radiance, a width, a shining peace, 232, , under the night
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As the analysis suggests, the basic sentence pattern in the poem is of either, simple or compound sentences. The poet has not used any complex sentence. The, two representative sentences of the first two stanzas (sentence 1 and 4) are, compound sentences consisting of three clauses. The poet has not used the, coordinate conjunction to connect all these clauses. Similarly, in the sentence no 4,, eight clauses are employed. This is the largest sentence in the poem. Here again,, the poet used coordinate conjunction ‘and’ after the first clause only. What might, such predominant use of compound sentences and the lack thereof of the complex, sentence suggest? For one thing, the poet might be intending to suggest that there, is no complexity in the life of a soldier. One phase follows the other. And each phase, is well connected to the other phases. It also suggests that what the soldier leaves, behind is tightly connected with the simple life. In fact, the poet seems to be, asserting that leaving behind the ‘unbroken glory’ ‘radiance’, etc. is as simple as, leading the life. Thus poet seems to praise the war whereby the soldier will be able, to get such a status., Such type of analysis of the sentences is also helpful for identifying, parallelism, if any, present in the poem. In the present case all the above three, sentences contain the cases of parallelism. The very analysis of the sentences is, made on the basis of the parallelism present in them. For example, the first, sentence can be elaborated in the following way:, These hearts: were woven of, (were) washed with, (were) swift to, All the three clauses present in the first sentence, thus, have common, syntactic structure. The similar type of parallelism is present in the remaining two, analyzed sentences as well. Thus the poem abounds in parallelism. Parallelism, as, a foregrounding device, is concerned with the similarity in the linguistic elements. It, means that the poet has equated different activities present in each of these, 233
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sentences. All these activities are similar both for the poet and for the subject of the, sentences (these hearts). Another interesting fact about the first two stanzas is that, in the first stanza the subject of the first sentence is ‘these hearts’. But in the second, stanza, that is sentence 4, the subject is ‘these’. As a referring device, the, demonstrative ‘these’ refers back here to the ‘these hearts’ of the first sentence., Thus the subject of the first two stanzas is ‘these hearts’. The second stanza,, however, closes with a simple assertion ‘All this is ended’. By ‘all this’ the poet, means both the subject and the predicate. That is both the ‘these hearts’ and the, activities in which they were involved are ended., Another interesting thing about the poem is its subject matter in the third, stanza. Since just before the opening of this stanza, the poet has made the, assertion of ending everything that he narrated in the first two stanzas. But instead, of bemoaning or lamenting the ending of the things, the poet is involved in the, description of nature. And only the last sentence of the poem assures us that the, last part is not unconnected to the earlier subject matter ‘these hearts’. It is only in, the last sentence that the poet refers to the glory left behind. The reader has to, guess that the ‘leaving’ in the last part is related to the ‘ending’ and ‘going’ of the, second stanza. Only then it is possible for us to interpret the poem. Most, importantly, the poet seems to have broken the rules of the use of pronoun. In the, first two stanzas, as seen earlier, the subject is ‘these hearts’, a plural subject. But in, the last sentence, the poet uses the pronoun ‘he’. Does it mean that the poet has, forgotten the subject of the earlier part of the poem? No. Rather with the help of the, third person indefinite pronoun ‘he’ the poet is universalizing the facts of the poem., This conclusion is supported by another device as well. If you look at the tense, present in all the three stanzas of the poem, you will find that the poet has used, ‘past tense’ in the first two stanzas, but has used ‘present tense’ in the last part., Why did the poet use such variation in tense? The simple answer that can be given, to the question is that the activities described in the first two stanzas are the, phenomenon of the past having no relation with the present. What is ‘present’ and, 234
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will remain so is the leaving behind of a glory. Thus, for the poet, it seems, the third, part is more important than the earlier parts. It also presents a contrast between the, life and death of a soldier and a common man. The life of a common man will be, ‘past’ for everybody. But both the life and death of a soldier is and will be ‘present’, ever., Tropes or Figures of Speech :, In Unit 7 you have studied the terms ‘schemes’ and ‘tropes’. Leech defines, them in the following way:, Schemes: the fore grounded extra-regularities of expression, Tropes: the fore grounded irregularities of content., Thus, schemes are concerned with structure of the language of the poem;, whereas, tropes are concerned with the meaning of the language. The discussion of, ‘Parallelism’ in the last section, thus, is the consideration of schemes. In this part we, shall examine the tropes or what you generally say ‘figures of speech’. You know, that there are different figures of speech like – Metaphor, Simile, Personification,, Metonymy, etc. In stylistic analysis of a poem, you have to identify, analyze and, elaborate them. However, all the three steps are difficult to certain extent. For, example, students are generally seen complaining that they cannot identify the, figures of speech. And even if they identify, they simply assert that a figure of, speech like ‘metaphor’ is present in the poem. In fact, in stylistic analysis, as is said, earlier, the students are expected to follow all the three steps. But the students can, overcome this difficulty by practicing the stylistic analysis. The easiest way to, identify the figures of speech has been provided by Leech. He asserts that you look, for what is not literal. In all the figures of speech, there are two meanings of the, words: literal and figurative. The word or the phrase that contain the figure of speech, is not acceptable on its literal level. With the help of this discussion, let us now try to, identify and analyze the figures of speech present in the poem., , 235
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In the very first sentence itself, you can find such violation of literal meaning., What has the poet narrated in the first sentence is not acceptable on its literal plane., Look at the first sentence. The subject of the sentence is ‘these hearts’ followed by, three different verbs: ‘woven’, ‘washed’ and ‘swift’. In order to analyze these, devices, we need to ask the following questions:, Who can ‘weave’ (it is the bare form of the verb ‘woven’)?, What can be ‘woven’?, Who can wash?, What can be washed with?, Who is swift?, etc., Let’s now answer the questions. The answer to the first question is that only, humans or sometimes machine can weave. But here ‘hearts’ are seen as weaving., Similarly, only those objects which have holes can be woven. In the present case, the objects are ‘joys’ and ‘cares’. Both of them are abstract nouns and even do not, have holes. It means that the clause cannot be accepted on its literal meaning. In, order to find out the reason of using this literally unacceptable clause, we need to, analyze the phrase. We shall analyze it with the help of the method that Leech, provides in his book A Linguistic Guide to English Poetry. In the book he has given, three stages of analysis of figurative language. The first stage is to separate literal, meaning from the figurative meaning:, The sentence we have taken for analysis is ‘These hearts were woven of, human joys and cares’, Literal Meaning:, , These __(1)_ were woven of____(2)____________., , Figurative Meaning:, , These hearts ____(3)_______ human joys and cares., , With the help of these two lines we have separated the literal and the, figurative meaning. The next stage is preparing alternatives to fill in the gaps. The, 236
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filling in the gaps is dependent on our knowledge of the words and also the real, world. While preparing the alternatives, we must be sure that the new alternatives, should not be figurative. That means, both the levels should be meaningful on literal, level. In the above sentence, we have four blanks. We have used numbers so that, the particular gap can be referred to easily. Let us use the word ‘garlands’ at the, place of gap (1), use ‘flowers’ at (2) and use ‘contain’ at the place of (3). Now we will, get the following sentences:, These garlands were woven of flowers., These hearts contain human joys and cares., After filling in the gaps, we get two separate sentences of literal meaning. On, the basis of these sentences, we can now try to see the tropes present in the, example and their relation to each other. We may now guess as to how the two, sentences are compared to each other: As the garland contain flowers, so also the, hearts contain human joys and cares. Moreover, each flower is connected to other, flowers by a thread, so also all the joys and cares are connected to each other in the, heart., Rhyme and Rhythm of the Poem :, The last quality that you are expected to analyze of a poem is its rhyming, scheme and its metre. There are different types of rhymes, for example, the ‘end, rhyme’, ‘internal rhyme’ and ‘eye rhyme’. The internal rhyme in a poem is the rhyme, present within a single line of a poem. For example, a line contains two words which, rhyme with one another; it is called ‘internal rhyme’. On the other hand, ‘eye rhyme’, is the case where two words seem to rhyme with one other but when they are, uttered they do not rhyme together. For example, the words like ‘eight and ‘sight’, seem to rhyme but in reality they do not. The last type ‘end rhyme’ is available in the, present poem. All the lines of the first stanza end with: ‘cares’, ‘mirth’, ‘theirs’, and, ‘earth’. As soon as we utter these words we realize that the word ‘cares’ rhymes with, , 237
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the word ‘theirs’; and the word ‘mirth’ with ‘earth’. Thus these words are said to, rhyme with each other. The rhyme scheme of the poem is something like:, a-b-a-b c-d-c-d e-e f-g-f-f, The rhythm of a poem is the metre employed by the poet in the poem. At, your undergraduate level you have studied different types of metres and the way, they are analyzed and identified. Here as well you are expected to give an analysis, of the metre present in the poem and to identify the type of the metre. Let us, analyze one of the lines from the poem to see how such metrical analysis is made:, These hearts were woven of human joys and cares, The metrical analysis requires that you have some preliminary knowledge of, phonology of the language including the syllables, stress, intonation, etc. At your, undergraduate level in phonology, you have already studied syllable. Let us now, divide the above line in syllables:, These hearts were wo ven of hu man joys and cares, As the division indicates, the line consists of eleven syllables. The common, rule in phonology is that only the open class words are stressed whereas, the closed, class words generally do not receive stress except under certain conditions. Let us, now try to provide stress and unstress patterns to each of the syllables:, ×, , /, , These hearts, , ×, were, , ×, , /, , ×, , /, , wo, , ven, , of, , hu, , ×, man, , /, , ×, , joys, , and, , /, cares, , As the analysis proves, most of the time, the ‘unstress-stress pattern’ (×, , /), , has been employed, except one variation. There are four such feet. Thus we may, say that the poem consists of Iambic metre. Though there are variations, we may, say that the poet has in general used Iambic pentameter line. The Iambic, Pentameter line is referred to as Blank Verse. Thus, the poem is written in blank, verse., 238
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The use of such rhymes and rhythms in poetry provides special quality to, poetry. They specifically provide musical touch to the poem. Such musicality helps, readers to remember the poem by heart., , 4.2.2, , Stylistic Devices, As has been mentioned many times during the analysis of the poem in the, , earlier section, it is very difficult to identify stylistic devices in the given poem. It is, more so because English is not our mother tongue. It is only with practice that you, can develop your ability of identifying the stylistic devices. However, it is easier said, than done. The only way out is to practice the identification and analysis of the, stylistic devices in literary texts. Careful observation and reading of the poem can, only help you in this regard. With this view in mind, in this section, a list of stylistic, devices (provided by Leech in his book A Linguistic Guide to English Poetry) with, their meanings and some examples are discussed. Students should read them,, internalize them and practice them with the poems given by the end of the unit. In, fact, some of these devices are already discussed in the earlier unit., 1:, , Routine Licenses of Verse Composition :, , 1., , Omission of the initial, middle or final part of a word. There are three types:, Aphesis: omission of the initial part of a word: ’its for it is, Syncope: omission of the middle part of a word: ne’er for never, Apocope: omission of the final part of a word: oft for often, , 2., , Hyperbation: It is irregular word order. Have a look at the following example:, John Gilpin was a citizen, Of credit and renown, A train-band captain eke was he, Of famous London town., , 239
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Here the third line provides the example of hyperbation, where the regular, word order – ‘He was eke a train-band captain’ – is changed to ‘A train-band captain, eke was he’., 3., , Omission of article: In fact this is generally a very serious kind of freedom a, poet can take. However, in order to match the rhythm of the line, a poet may, sometimes (in very exceptional cases) omit the article altogether, as Spenser, has done in the following lines:, Let all that live hereby be counseled, To shunne Rocke of Reproch, and it as death to dred!, , II :, , Foregrounded Deviations:, , 1., , Lexical Deviation, It includes two types of cases. One of them is neologism. It means ‘the, , invention or formation of new words’. This can be done with two techniques. One of, them is invention of a new word. In this case a poet or a creative writer uses a totally, new word which was not in the language. There are many examples of this type, as, shown below:, Spenser – blatant, Shakespeare – assassination, Milton – Pandemonium, Before Shakespeare, the word ‘assassination’ was not the part of English, language. However, such words are created for a single purpose. Therefore, they, are called ‘nonce-formations’., The second technique used for forming neologism is called affixation. In this, technique, the existing rules of word-formation are used with greater generality. For, example, the prefix ‘fore’ is already in use in English. Therefore, using this we can, form words like ‘foretell’, ‘forewarn’, etc. But T. S. Eliot uses this prefixes with, greater generality and uses the word ‘foresuffer’, i.e. ‘suffer in advance’. Similar, technique is also used by G. M. Hopkins in his poem The Wreck of the Deutschland:, 240
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the widow-making unchilding unfathering deeps., Here the words ‘unchilding’ and ‘unfathering’ are the result of the extended, use of the rules of affixes., The second type of lexical deviation is Functional Conversion. It includes the, use of an item for another grammatical function. Look at, for example, the following, line:, Police cars cockroach through the tunnel streets., Basically the word ‘cockroach’ is a noun. However, in the above line the, South African poet Dennis Brutus uses it as a verb. This is Functional Conversion., 2., , Grammatical Deviation, As you know, we generally make a distinction between surface structure and, , deep structure of language. Whereas the surface structure refers to the syntax, the, deep structure is related to the meaning communicated by the syntactic element., We can find the grammatical deviation at the level of both the structures. The, example of surface structure grammatical deviation is:, Our hearts’ charity’s hearth’s fire, our thoughts’ chivalry’s throng’s Lord., In this line, grammatical deviation is related to the use of possessive markers. In, fact, there are no clear grammatical rules for the number of possessives one can, use in a phrase. But generally we extend it up to two, like:, A’s B, A’s B’s C, But in the above line, the rule has been extended to extreme and three, possessive markers are introduced in each phrase., The grammatical deviation on the level of deep structure is evident in the, following phrase:, a grief ago, In fact, this is the title of a poem that Dylan Thomas has written. What is, wrong in this phrase? Look at the word ‘grief’. The phrase ‘a … ago’ requires a time, measuring word. But the writer has used the word ‘grief’, which is not conventionally, 241
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used to measure time. This is deviation. Such a deviation is also called ‘mistaken, selection’. Another example of grammatical deviation is from The Wreck of the, Deutschland:, Thou hast bound bones and veins in me, fastened me flesh, In this line the grammatical deviation is present in the second half. The verb, ‘fasten’ does not take an indirect object. But in the present line the indirect object, ‘me’ is used. Instead it should have been ‘fastened flesh for me’., 3., , Phonological Deviation, In phonological deviation, we consider the conventional freedom given to, , poets that we have discussed earlier; i.e. the omission of the initial, the middle and, the final part of the word., 4., , Graphological Deviation, Phonology studies the realization of language in speech, whereas, , graphology studies the realization of language in writing. Thus in graphological, deviation, we consider:, - the line-by-line arrangement of poetry on a printed page, - capitalization, spacing and punctuation marks used in the poem., 5., , Semantic Deviation, While analyzing semantic deviation, the logical view of meaning is accepted, , and whatever that is not acceptable from the logical view of meaning is considered, as semantic deviation. For example, look at the following two sentences:, The child is father of the man., Beauty is truth; truth beauty., Both these are the actual lines from poems. The first one is written by, Wordsworth and the second is used by John Keats. On the logical level, we cannot, accept the proposition of Wordsworth that ‘child’ is the ‘father’ of ‘man’. It is logically, impossible, though the poem communicates some other meaning. The same is the, case of the second line of Keats. Logically we cannot equate ‘truth’ and ‘beauty’., This is semantic deviation., 242
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In addition to this, all the tropes (the figures of speech, that are called by, Leech as ‘foregrounded irregularities of content’) are the examples of semantic, deviation. Some of these tropes are considered below., 6., , Dialectal Deviation, A creative writer is expected to write in the standard dialect. However, in, , order to achieve a special effect, the writer can use dialect belonging to a particular, region or a particular social group. This is called dialectal deviation. Of course, in, order to identify this deviation, you should know the dialectal differences in English., 7., , Deviation of Register, As there are different dialects of a language so also there different registers, , in which the language is used. In fact, the literary use of language is a special, register. The poet is, therefore, expected to follow the literary register while, composing the poems. However, in order to achieve special effects, language, belonging to some other registers is also employed. Look, for example, at the, following lines:, The nymphs have departed., ..., Departed, have left no address., In fact, the ‘nymphs’ are supernatural beings, we cannot talk for their, address. But by adding the second line, the poet has introduced the colloquial touch, to the poem., 8., , Deviation of Historical Period, As language changes from one region to another, so also it changes from, , one historical period to another. For example, the Marathi of Dnyaneshwari of the, 12th century is different from the 21st century Marathi., The poet is expected to use the language of the present period. But for some, reasons, the language belonging to the earlier periods is used. This is technically, called ‘archaism’ – the survival of the language of the past into the language of the, present. Archaism can be seen on lexical and grammatical level. The pronouns, ‘thou’, ‘thee’; lexis like ‘behold’, ‘damsel’, ‘eftsoon’, ‘betimes’, etc and some, 243
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grammatical variants like verb ending (e)st and (e)th, ’gainst, ’twas, etc are the, special feature of archaism. Sometime older spellings of the words are also, introduced. For example, S. T. Coleridge has written the poem named The Rhyme, of the Ancient Marinere where the spellings of two words ‘rhyme’ and ‘marinere’ are, archaic. By introducing such devices the poet achieves special effect. This, in fact, is, one of the routine licenses of verse composition., III : Foregrounded Repetitions:, In this category we consider parallelism and its different types. Leech defines, parallelism as ‘foregrounded repetition of expression’. With the help of this device, also, the poet can communicate something more. The foregrounded repetition can, be seen on phonological level – syllable structure, rhythmic pattern and alliterative, pattern – and on grammatical level. The parallelism on grammatical level is present, in the similar structure of phrases and clauses. Look at the following example:, The fair breeze blew; the white foam flew, In this line there are two clauses and the structure of both of them is S + P., The subject (S) is a noun phrase consisting of three words and a verb (P) consisting, of only one word., S, , (the fair breeze) + VP(blew), , S, , (the white foam) + VP(flew), , NP, NP, , Similar parallelism is also present in the following line:, Where wealth accumulates and men decay., The classic example of parallelism is from Shakespeare’s Othello:, I kiss’d thee; ere I kill’d thee., IV : Tropes (Foregrounded irregularities of content):, 1., , Pleonasm – It is a semantically redundant expression, for example:, ‘my female grandmother’, , 2., , Oxymoron – it is a semantically incompatible expression, for example:, ‘my male grandmother’, 244
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3., , Tautology – It is semantically vacuous statement. For example:, ‘my grandmother is female’, , 4., , Paradox – It is a semantically absurd, false statement. For example:, ‘my grandmother is male.’, , 5., , Periphrases (Circumlocution) – It is an expression of unnecessary length, a, kind of verbosity. For example:, ‘my female grandparent’, , 6., , Mistaken Selection – an inappropriate word is used. For example,, ‘Water has eaten kindness’., It is mistaken selection, because ‘water’ cannot ‘eat’; similarly ‘kindness’ is, an abstract noun which cannot be ‘eaten’., , 7., , Synecdoch – This device is based on ‘part to whole’ relationship. Instead of, using the whole, part is used to indicate the whole. For example,, Many hands make light work., In this sentence, the word ‘hands’ is used for ‘the labourers, persons’. Since, ‘hand’ is but the part of the body of the labourer, it is used to indicate the, labourer., , 8., , Simile – This device is based on comparison. In this case the comparison is, explicit and can be identified with the help of such words as – ‘as’, ‘like’, ‘as, … as’, ‘like .. . as’, etc. The general formula to identify this device is ‘A is, like B’., , 9., , Metaphor – Like simile, this device is also based on comparison. However,, here the comparison is implicit. That is, it cannot be identified with any, special word. The general formula here is ‘A is B’., , Notional Classes of Metaphor :, •, , The concretive metaphor – here concrete properties are given to abstract, things. For example, ‘the pain of separation’, ‘the light of learning’, ‘the room, for negotiation’., 245
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•, , The Animistic metaphor – Properties of animals are bestowed upon inanimate, things. For example, ‘an angry sky’, ‘killing half-an-hour’, ‘the shoulder of the, hill’, etc., , •, , The Humanizing Metaphor – Properties typical of human beings are given to, non-humans. For example, ‘the friendly river’, ‘laughing valley’, etc., , •, , The synaesthetic metaphor – Here the sensory perception is changed. For, example, ‘warm colour’, ‘laud perfume’, ‘dull sound’. Whereas we sense, ‘warmness’ with skin, the colour is sensed through eyes. Change of sensory, perception is thus synaesthetic metaphor., , 4.3, , Summary, The present unit is divided into two sections. The first provides the actual, , stylistic analysis of a poem. And the second section consists of a detailed list of, stylistic devices that are to be used while analyzing a poem. The first section, provides a detailed discussion of different parts of a poem, its diction, rhyme,, rhythm, etc. and shows the way a poem unfolds its meaning when analyzed, stylistically. The second section considers stylistic devices under four headings. The, first is the routine licences of verse composition, the second is foregrounded, deviations, the third is foregrounded regularities: parallelism and the last is tropes., Almost all the stylistic devices are included here with ample discussion. If the, students practice the devices with the poems given in the exercise, it is expected, that they will master the skill of carrying out stylistic analysis., , 4.4, , Check Your Progress, , 1., , Name the three steps involved in stylistic analysis of poem., , 2., , How many types of sonnets are distinguished ?, , 246
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3., , What do you mean by 'diction' ?, , 4., , How do we refer to the foregrounded extra-regularity of form ?, , 5., , How do we refer to the foregrounded irregularity of content ?, , 6., , What do you understand by 'internal rhyme' ?, , 7., , What kind of deviation is present in 'a grief ago' ?, , 8., , What type of deviation is present in the following ?, 'the widow-making unchilding unfathering deeps', , 9., , Which deviation is present in the following line ?, 'Child is the father of man.', , 10., , How many notional classes of metaphor are specified ?, , 4.5, , Answers to Check Your Progress, , 1., , (1) Identifying the stylistic devices; (2) analyzing the devices and, (3) interpretation of the stylistic devices., , 2., , Two, , 3., , Choice and arrangement of words., , 4., , Schemes, , 5., , Tropes, , 6., , Rhyme present in a single line of the poem., , 7., , Grammatical deviation, , 8., , Lexical deviation, , 9., , Semantic deviation, , 10., , Four, 247
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4.6, , Exercise, In the examination, only one question will be asked on this topic. It is Q. 3 A., , The question will be asked in the following way:, Give stylistic analysis of the following poem. or Analyze the following poem, stylistically., The question will follow a poem which you are expected to analyze. You can, use the points discussed in the above analysis while providing your answer to the, question., , Q., , Analyze the following poems stylistically., , 1., , Lines Written in Early Spring, I heard a thousand blended notes,, While in a grove I sate reclined,, In that sweet mood when pleasant thoughts, Bring sad thoughts to the mind., To her fair works did Nature link, The human soul that through me ran;, And much it grieved my heart to think, What man has made of man., , Through primrose tufts, in that green bower,, The periwinkle trailed its wreaths;, And ’its my faith that every flower, Enjoys the air it breathes., , 248
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The birds around me hopped and played,, Their thoughts I cannot measure—, But the least motion which they made,, It seemed a thrill of pleasure., The budding twigs spread out their fan,, To catch the breezy air;, And I must think, do all I can,, That there was pleasure there., If this belief from heaven be sent,, If such be Nature’s holy plan,, Have I not reason to lament, What man has made of man?, - Wordsworth, 2., , Sweet and Low, Sweet and low, sweet and low,, Wind of the western sea!, Low, low, breath and blow,, Wind of the western sea!, Over the rolling waters go,, Come from the dying moon, and blow,, Blow him again to me;, While my little one, while my pretty one sleeps., , Sleep and rest, sleep and rest,, Father will come to thee soon, Rest, rest, on mother’s breast,, Father will come to thee soon;, 249
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Father will come to his babe in the nest,, Silver sails all out of the west, Under the silver moon:, Sleep, my little one, sleep, my pretty one, sleep., -Tennyson, 3., , The Rainy Summer, There’s much afoot in heaven and earth this year;, The wines hunt up the sun, hunt up the moon,, Trouble the dubious dawn, hasten the drear, Height of a threatening noon., No breath of boughs, no breath of leaves, of fronds, May linger or grow warm; the trees are loud;, The forest, rooted, tosses in her bonds,, And strains against the cloud., , No scents may pause within the garden-fold;, The rifled fowlers are cold as ocean-shells;, Bees, humming in the storm, carry their cold, Wild honey to cold cells., - Alice Meynell, 4., , THE PULLEY, When God at first made man,, Having a glass of blessings standing by,, 'Let us', said he, pour on him all we can., Let the world's riches, which dispersed lie,, Contract into a span.', , 250
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So strength first made a way;, Then beauty flowed, then wisdom, honour, pleasure., When almost all was out, God made a stay,, Perceiving that, alone of all his treasure,, Rest in the bottom lay., , 'For if I should,' said he,, 'Bestow this jewel also on my creature,, He would adore my gifts instead of me,, And rest in Nature, not the God of Nature;, So both should losers be., ‘Yet let him keep the rest,, But keep them with repining restlessness., Let him be rich and weary, that at least,, If goodness lead him not, yet weariness, May toss him to my breast.', - George Herbert, 5., , Sonnet No. 75, One day I wrote her name upon the strand,, But came the waves and washed it away:, Agayne I wrote it with a second hand,, But came the tyde, and made my paynes his prey., “Vayne Man,” sayd she, “that doest in vaine assay,, A mortall thing so to immortalize,, For I may selve shall lyke to this decay,, And eek my name bee wiped out lykewize.”, “Not so,” quod I, “let baser things devize, To dy in dust, but you shall like by fame:, 251
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My verse your vertues rare shall eternize,, And in the hevens wryte your glorious name., Where whenas death shall all the world subdew,, Our love shall like, and later life renew.”, - Edmund Spenser, , 6., , Break, Break, Break, Break, Break, Break,, On thy cold gray stones, O sea!, And I would that my tongue could utter, The thoughts that arise in me., O, well for the fisherman’s boy., That he shouts with his sister at play!, O, well for the sailor lad,, That he signs in his boat on the bay!, And the stately ships go on, To their haven under the hill;, But O for the touch of a vanished hand,, And the sound of a voice that is still!, Break, Break, Break,, At the foot of thy crags, O sea!, But the tender grace of a day that is dead, Will never come back to me., - Lord Tennyson, , 7., , Venice, White swan of cities, slumbering in thy nest, So wonderfully built among the reeds, Of the lagoon, that fences thee and feeds,, 252
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As sayeth thy old historian and thy guest!, White water-lily, cradled and caressed, By ocean stream, and from the silt and weeds, Lifting thy golden filaments and seeds,, Thy sun-illuminated spires, thy crown and crest!, White phantom city, whose untrodden streets, Are rivers, and shoes pavements are the shifting, Shadows of palaces and strips of sky;, I wait to see the vanish like the fleets, Seen in mirage, or towers of cloud uplifting, In air their unsubstantial masonry., - H. W. Longfellow, 8., , Shakespeare, Others abide our question. Thou are free., We ask and ask – Thou smilest and art still,, Out-tropping knowledge. For the loftiest hill,, Who to the stars uncrowns his majesty,, Planting his steadfast footsteps in the sea,, Making the heaven of heavens his dwelling place,, Spares but he cloudy border of his base, To the foiled searching of mortality;, And thou, who didst the stars and sunbeams know,, Self-schooled, self-scanned, self-honoured, self-secure,, Didst tread on earth unguessed at. – better So!, All pains the immortal spirit must endure,, All weakness which impairs, all griefs which bow,, Find their sole speech in that victorious brow., - Matthew Arnold, , 253
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4.7, , BOOKS FOR REFERENCE, , 1., , Leech, Geoffrey: A Linguistic Guide to English Poetry., , 2., , Leech, Geoffrey: Language in Literature: Style and Foregrounding., , 3., , Leech, Geoffrey and Short, Michael: Style in Fiction., , 4., , Krishnaswami, Verma and Nagrajan: Modern Applied Linguistics., , 254
