STYLISTIC LEXICOLOGY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
1. Every notional word of a natural language carries some definite information. This (information may be basic or denotative and additional or connotative.
The majority of words of the English language posses denotative information only. So, they are stylistically neutral: man, house, to run, red etc. This does not mean that they cannot be used for stylistic purposes. A word in fiction acquires new qualities depending on its position, distribution, etc. Practically any word, depending on its context, may acquire certain connotations (honey-bum, sugar-plum).
In the English language, there are many words which possess not only basic information but additional information as well.
The additional information or connotative meaningmay be of four types:
a) functional stylistic meaning which is the result of the constant usage of the word in definite speech spheres or situations: foe, maiden, realm are mostly used in poetry; terms and nomenclature words are used in scientific prose style and in official documents;
b) evaluative meaning which bears reference to things, phenomena, or ideas through the evaluation of the denotatum: out-of-date-method - time-tested method, firm - obstinate - pig-headed:
c) emotive meaning which expresses the speaker's emotional attitude to the denotatum (chii, puppet, jade). Neutral words that name emotions like anger, pleasure, and pain should be distinguished from the above mentioned emotionally coloured words;
d) expressive meaning which does not refer directly to things or phenomena of the objective reality, but to the feelings and emotions of the speaker. It is based on the metaphorical transfer (speaking of a man - cockerel, bully, buck).
There are no strict rules for distinguishing between functional-stylistic and other connotative meanings. Moreover, the functional-stylistic meaning which is connected with a certain sphere of communication may serve as a starting point for the word acquiring other connotative meanings.
2. Stylistic classification of the vocabularyof any language is a very complicated problem. The existing classifications are based on different criteria, which take into account common semantic and stylistic characteristics of words in the given period of time (synchronic approach). The two criteria used for our classification are as follows:
1) paradigmatic criterion, i.e. the absence or presence in the word semantics of the additional information (evaluative, emotive or expressive meaning);
2) syntagmatic criterion, i.e. the character of syntagmatic relations between the lexical or lexical-stylistic meaning of the word and its context.
Both criteria are interconnected. Proceeding from them and using N.D.Arutyunova's ideas of the word semantics, we may divide all words of the English vocabulary into two major groups:
1. words having a lexico-stylistic paradigmwhich are characterised by:
a) an indirect reference to the object: fat cat (coll.) => a provider of money for political uses (neutral) => denotatum;
b) subjective evaluative connotations;
c) referential borders which are not strict: these words are of a qualifying character so they may be used to characterise different referents; d) synonyms; e) possible antonyms.
To this group we refer poetic diction; archaisms (archaic words); barbarisms and foreign words; stylistic neologisms; slang; colloquialisms; jargonisms (social and professional); dialectal words; vulgarisms.
2 words having no iexico-stylistic paradigm are characterised by:
a) a direct reference to the object;
b) the absence of subjective evaluative connotations;
c) strict referential borders;
d) the lack of synonyms. Synonyms that they may have are purely denotative;
e) the lack of antonyms.
Here we refer stylistically neutral words; terms; nomenclature words; historical words: lexical neologisms; and exotic words.
Words having a lexico-stylistic paradigm are not homogeneous; they may enter the following oppositions:
colloquial vocabulary — bookish vocabulary
non-literary words — literary words
general literary vocabulary — social or dialectal elements special vocabulary-contemporary vocabulary — archaic vocabulary.
However, the mentioned groups of words are not closed; they are intersecting - one and the same word may belong to two or more groups.
3. STYLISTIC FUNCTIONS OF THE WORDS HAVING A LEXICO-STYLISTIC PARADIGM.
Lexical expressive means of the English language are words which do not only have denotative meaning but connotative as well. Depending on their connotative meaning such words fall into two major groups: literary (high-flown) words which are traditionally linked with poetic, bookish, or written speech and conversational (low-flown) words that are most often used in oral, colloquial speech. Literary words are more stable due to the traditions of the written type of speech. Conversational words are constantly changing. Within a period of time they can become high-flown or neutral, e.g bet, mob, trip, fun. chap.