Functional Styles

of Language

• belles-lettres style

• publicist style

• newspaper style

• scientific prose style

• style of official languages

The Newspaper Style

Purpose:

• to inform & instruct the reader.

• influence public opinion on political and other matters.

The newspaper features:

• brief news items

• advertisements & announcements

• the headline

• the editorial

Brief news items :

• to inform the reader (not giving comment)

Vocabulary features :

a) Special political and economic terms

(constitution, president, General Assembly, gross output)

b) Non-term political vocabulary

(public, nation-wide, unity, peace)

Vocabulary features :c) Newspaper cliches (vital issue,

pressing problem, danger of war, overwhelming ma jority)

d) Abbreviations (UNO -United Nations Organization, NATO -North Atlantic Treaty Organization)

Vocabulary features :e) Neologisms -a splash-down(to land in the sea or ocean ) -

the act of bringing a spacecraft to a water surface;

- a teach-in(an informal lecture and discussion on

a subject of public interest ) -a form of campaigning through heated political discussion

Grammatical peculiarities :a)Complex sentences with a

developed system of clauses

b) Verbal constructions (infinitive, participial, gerundial)

Grammatical peculiarities :

c) Syntactical complexes, esp. Complex Subject +Infinitive

d) Attributive noun groups

e) Specific word-order

Ads & Announcements:

• function - to inform the reader;

• types : classified and non-classified.

• vocabulary of classified ads basically neutral

Headline:

• the title given to a news

item or an article;

• function - to inform the

reader

Headline:• briefly what the text that follows is

about

• but often show the reporter's

attitude to the facts, thus instructing

• the reader

Syntactical peculiarities: short

sent.a)Full declarative sentences

'They Threw Bombs on Gipsy Sites'

b) Interrogative sentences

'Do you love war?'

c) Nominative sentences,

'Gloomy Sunday'

d) Elliptical sentences,

'Initial report not expected until June!'

e) Sentences with articles omitted

'Blaze kills 15 at Party"

f) Phrases with verbals

'Speaking parts'

g) Questions in the form of statements

'The worse the better?'

h) Complex sentences

'Army Says It Gave LSD to Unknown GIs'

i) Headlines including direct speech

'Prince Richard says: "I was not in trouble"

Editorial:

• function - to influence the reader by giving an interpretation of certain facts; comment on the political and other events of the day.

Editorial:

• purpose – to give the editor's opinion and interpretation of the news published & suggest to the reader that it is the correct one.

Editorial:

• editorials appeal both to the reader's mind and his feelings. Hence the use of emotionally coloured language elements, both lexical and structural.

The Belles-Lettres Style

1.The language of poetry, or verse.

2.Emotive prоse, or the language of fiction.

3. The language of the drama.

Function: Aesthetic-Cognitive

• Inform the reader + impresses the reader aesthetically

• Cognitive + receiving pleasure

Purpose

• to suggest a possible interpretation of the phenomena of life by forcing the reader to see the viewpoint of the writer

The language means:• Genuine (not trite) imagery.

• Contextual prevailing over denotation.

• The individual choice of vocabulary which reflects the author’s personal evaluation;

The language means:

• Lexical and syntactical individuality. A peculiar individual selection of syntax and lexis;

• The introduction of elements of other styles.

• Colloquial language (in drama).

The Language of Poetry/Verse

•Rhyme

•Rhythm - (Unites: syllable, line, stanza)

THE SIX-QUART BASKET

The six-quart basket

One side gone

Half the handle torn off

Sits in the centre of the lawn

And slowly fills up

With the white fruits of the snow

Emotive prose

combination of literary & colloquial variants of the language, presented by the characters’ speech which is stylized

Emotive proseelements of other styles (author changes them and fulfils a certain function);

use of different EM and SD (represented speech, detached constructions, gap – sentence link, etc.)

Emotive proseelements of other styles (author changes them and fulfils a certain function);

use of different EM and SD (represented speech, detached constructions, gap – sentence link, etc.)

The language of Drama

dialogues

author’s speech (stage remarks)

Any presentation of a play is an aesthetic procedure.

Peculiarities:• stylized (retains the modus of

literary English);

• variety of spoken language;

• redundancy of information caused by necessity to amplify the utterance;

Peculiarities:

• monologues are never interrupted;

• characters’ utterances are much longer than in ordinary conversation.

The Scientific Prose Style

Aim:• to prove a theory

• to create new concepts

• to disclose the laws of existence, development, relations between different phenomena, etc.

Features:• use of terms

• impersonality

• logical sequence of utterances

• quotations, references footnotes

• sentence patterns

Use of terms: • ESP (English for Specific

Purposes)

• needs analysis

• needs assessment (evaluation of needs)

Impersonality :

This analysis is designed to enable corporations to establish a clear picture of their own particular training needs as seen by employees…

Impersonality : The general manner of writing is DISCOURSE - verbs of mental perception: assume, infer, point out and conclude:

It can be inferred; it should be noted; it must be emphasized…

Logical sequence of utterances : • Key –words;

• Pronoun substitutes;

• Logical connectives (cause and result);

• Opposition and contrast;

Logical sequence of utterances : • Logical sequence of ideas;

• Subdivision of the thoughts into logical blocks;

• Introducing IT-constructions:

It follows that; it has often been stated that;

Logical sequence of utterances :

Introductory there sentences:

There can be no doubt that; there appears to be no reason for assuming that.

The structure of sentences & paragraphs:

Semi-composite sentences (non-finite verbs, gerundial, infinitive, participial constructions):

I would like to discuss the current state of affairs regarding the teaching of written English.

The structure of sentences & paragraphs:

• Demonstrative and personal pronouns as substitutes of the notional words.

• Postulatory pronouncements, references to the facts, compound and complex sentences.

Postulator Paragraphs :

• introduce the hypothesis

• put forward the main objectives

• stating what has been investigated by other scientists:

It is common knowledge that; it is fully established that.

The Body (argumentative) :• Logical argumentation, listing of facts,

comparison, enlargement on the theme, the development of the main thesis, pros and cons of the hypothesis; it abounds in clichés.

Analysis A deals with target language needs, the addressee/addressor relationship and the frequency of communication.

The Body (argumentative) :

This analysis is designed to enable corporations to establish a clear picture of their own particular training needs as seen by employees…

The Body (argumentative) :

Topic sentences introduce the key-idea; developing sentences are logically connected with the main idea.

Formulative paragraphs (conclusion):

Research has indicated a perception gap between teachers and learners as to what constitute “valuable” teaching and learning activities.

The peculiarities:

•objectiveness

• logical coherence

•Impersonality

•unemotional character

•exactness

The Styleof

Official Documents

1) Language of business letters;

2) Language of legal documents;

3) Language of diplomacy;

4) Language of military documents;

1. To reach an agreement between two contracting parties;

2. To state the conditions binding two parties in an understanding.

Aim:

• special system of cliches,

• terms and set ex pressions,

I beg to inform you, provisional agenda, the above-mentioned, hereinafter named, on behalf of, private advisory, Dear Sir, We remain, your obedient servants.

Pecularities:

• special system of cliches,

• terms and set ex pressions,

I beg to inform you, provisional agenda, the above-mentioned, hereinafter named, on behalf of, private advisory, Dear Sir, We remain, your obedient servants.

Peculiarities:

Peculiarities:• the use of abbreviations,

conventional symbols and contractions:

M. P. (Member of Parliament),

Gvt (governmen),

H.M.S. (His Majesty's Steamship),

$ (dollar), £ (pound), Ltd (Limited

Military:• adv. (advance);

• atk (attack);

• obj. (object);

• A/T (anti-tank);

• ATAS (Air Transport Auxiliary Service).

The Style of Official Documents:• Conventionality & Unemotiveness;

• Encoded character (symbols & abbreviat.)

• A general syntactical mode of combining several pronouncements into one sentence.

• Formulas of greeting, parting, politeness, gratitude.

Thank You

Natalia Nachoglo,Comrat State University,Foreign Languages Department, 2011