Linguistic Stylistics - Gabriela Missikova part2

Chapter 9:

EXTRA-LINGUISTIC EXPRESSIVE MEANS

9.1The Notion of Paralanguage

Every process of communication takes place in a certain situation and relies heavily on the exploitation of expressive means. In addition to language expressive means we make use of the so-called paralanguage, that is para-linguistic/ extralinguistic expressive means.

Definitions of paralanguage vary considerably, according to what they include or exclude. Our understanding and usage of these terms reflects mainly the theory introduced by David Crystal and Derek Davy (1969), Jozef Mistrík (1985) and Katie Wales (1990).

It is recognised that communication in the spoken medium involves not only utterances that realise language (i.e. verbal), but also other systems of signs that are non-verbal.

In this respect, paralanguage is often regarded as (1) a non-verbal, but vocal system, with prosodic features such as pitch and loudness. Characteristic paralinguistic features are noises that do not function as phonemes, but nonetheless do communicate a ´meaning´ or attitude in speech: e.g. giggles, snorts, exclamations of disgust, disapproval, boredom, etc. (Crystal, Davy; 1969, pp. 37 – 40). Other definitions include (2) prosodic features and also other non-vocal signs like facial expressions and gestures.

Paralanguage significantly interacts with language in spoken discourse. (It is not easily represented in written discourse, the graphic medium. See the discussion on graphology below.) Speakers rely on paralinguistic feedback from their addressees; the audience watching and listening to a play can catch a whole range of emotional and attitudinal connotations from the vocalisations of the actors. Actors in turn can judge from the laughs, boos, hisses or coughs something of the audience’s reactions to their performances (Wales, ibid., p. 334).

The study of signs in general is called semiotics or semiotic, so linguistics can be seen as that subdepartment of semiotics which is particularly concerned with the nature of the linguistic sign. The process of making and using signs is called semiosis (Malmkjaer, 1995, p. 399).

The term semiotics originated with the American pragmatist philosopher Charles Sanders Peirce (1839–1914), although in Europe Saussure‘s contribution was better known for a considerable time. Peirce defines a sign as something which stands to somebody for something in some respect or capacity and semiosis as an action or influence, which is, or involves, an operation of three subjects, such as a sign, its object, and its interpretant, this trirelative influence not being in any way resolvable

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into an action between pairs. The process is potentionally infinite because the interpretant (the interpreting though) is itself a sign and will therefore stand in its own triadic relation to a further interpretant. In other words, one thought leads to another ad infinitum. This third dimension (preventing closure, an end to interpretation) has made Peirce popular with poststructuralist and deconstructivist thinkers. (Malmkjaer, ibid., p. 399).

As mentioned above, a sign stands for something (its object). Signs may stand for something to somebody (its interpreter). But a sign only functions as such to the interpreter in virtue of the interpreter‘s understanding that it does so function. This understanding is called the interpretant. An example is given in the table below (In: Hookway, 1985, pp. 122-4):

interpreter’s understanding that deer have been present

↑

INTERPRETANT

Table 9. Semiosis.

The signs used in the process of communication can be natural or artificial (everything that is used in communication, every material, object, its quality, etc. becomes a sign in the process of communication). In his theory of signs A. Schaff (1963) distinguishes three kinds of signs: 1. natural (e.g. fever – a sign of illness, flash – a sign of a storm), 2. artificial (e.g. traffic signs, notes, agreed gestures) and 3. conventional (e.g. colour of mourning – black, striking of a clock, gestures of threat or warning).

Semiotics studies also biosemiotic signs (noises and movements of animals, their smells, etc.) and ethnosemiotic signs (signs related to specific rituals and celebrations within certain ethnic groups, e.g. kneeling and standing up, etc.)

The study of language signs is best formulated in the book The Meaning of Meaning (London, 1923) by C. K. Ogden and I. A. Richards. This work is considered the most complex introduction on Semantics (study of meaning) and Semiotics. Ogden and Richards became popular for capturing the nature of a language sign (and the naming process) into the so-called semiotic/ semantic triangle. The triangle can be seen as related to the stylistic study: a thing (phenomenon, fact) is the topic of conversation, a name is the text (written or spoken) and a thought (meaning) is the content of the text as we understand and perceive it when reading it or listening

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to it. So the semiotic triangle, incorporating the notion of text, its topic and meaning, can be presented:

THOUGHT

MEANING

CONTENT

B C

Figure 1. Semiotic Triangle in Stylistics. (Based on Mistrík, ibid., p. 234.)

The relation which A holds between a thing and its name (symbol – referent relation) is an onomasiological one, while the relation which B holds between a name and its meaning (symbol – thought relation) belongs to semasiology. It should be noted here that a complete coherent text can also be regarded as a sign (Mistrík, ibid., p. 234).

The process of naming is more complex in stylistics; it requires a whole variety of linguistic expressive means and a complex set of extra-linguistic expressive means. Extra-linguistic expressive means are classified into several specific subgroups. U. Eco (1975) distinguishes three groups, excluding the notion of proximity as a separate group of specific extra-linguistic expressive means. Thus he discusses: 1. kinesics (gestures, mimetic movements, body language), 2. para-linguistic expressive means (intonation in general) and 3. proximity (a ‘distance’ between the speaker and recipient). J. Mistrík (ibid., p. 235) considers proximity within kinesics and thus differentiates only two major groups of extra-linguistic expressive means: 1. visual expressive means (graphology and kinesics) and 2. phonetic expressive means

(phonematic means: articulation and pronunciation of particular sounds, specific grouping of particular sounds - paranomasia, aliteration, asonance, etc.; phonetic qualities used intentionally in speech and written texts: rhyme, rhythm, intonation, melody, pitch, emphasis, pauses in speech - physiological and meaningful, etc.).

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9.2Visual Expressive Means

They function in written texts/utterances as an extremely important semantic component (like intonation in the spoken utterances).

9.2.1 Graphetics and Graphology

Crystal and Davy (ibid.) use the term graphetics to name the study of written or printed shapes (like phonetics is the study of sounds and the potential utility of the human voice). Graphetics is thus a visual analogue of phonetics. An examination of sounds and shapes in themselves will not provide a great deal of stylistic information, but certain facts are of relevance for a complete understanding of stylistic effect. For example isolated sounds and shapes may have a definite aesthetic appeal, they may be interpreted as reflecting aspects of reality (e.g. onomatopoeia) or conveying a meaning (e.g. sound symbolism). Such matters as the choice of type-size or colour in a text are essentially non-linguistic, but they too may have clear linguistic implications, perhaps relating to the semantic structure of an utterance (e.g. advertising or newspaper articles) or even to its grammatical structure (there are nonrandom correlations between type-size and grammar in posters, for instance). For further illustration of extra-linguistic visual expressive means the graphetic flexibility of informal letters can be compared with the regularity of formal letters, invitations, etc. (e.g. irregular spacing, line direction). The organisation of an utterance into symbolic visual shapes (a kind of graphic onomatopoeia) is another interesting example.

The term graphetics is also used for the study of typographical and visual devices in art (a less confusing alternative is graphicology, see Wales, ibid., pp. 212- 3) .

Graphology is the study of a language’s writing system, or orthography, as seen in various kinds of handwriting and typography. Again, it is analogous to phonology which studies the sound system of a given language. In this area stylistics describes patterns of sounds and writing that distinguish varieties of English. Within graphology we examine distinctive usage of punctuation, capitalisation, spacing, etc. (Phonetic expressive means are discussed in a separate chapter.)

Some other typical examples of visual expressive means are

•synonymic graphic expressive means (e.g. decorated letters, initials, etc.);

•organisation and segmentation of a text;

•capital & printed letters, size and shape of printed letters;

•specific segmentation into paragraphs, placement of a title and secondary components (e.g. notes or comments in scientific style);

•use of various models, diagrams, tables, charts, graphs, etc.;

•specific use of pictures, illustrations, drawings, etc.;

•choice of colours (considering the semantic message of colours);

•exploitation of geometrical shapes;

•use of diacritics: fullstop, comma, semi-colon, brackets, etc.

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9.3Kinesics

The term kinesics (Gr. kineo = move) is used to describe the communication system of gestures and motion, i.e. ‘body language’. The word is also used to describe the study of this. Recently, the study of non-verbalised (even non-vocalised) aspects of face-to-face interaction has become very popular and studied as an integral part of communication. Facial expressions and body movements not only act as important reinforcements to speech, indicating attitudinal or emotive meanings in smiles or frowns, fist-clenching or feet-tapping, for example, but provide significant clues to participants about speaking and turn-taking rights, and also feedback about how information is being received. Eye contact, length of gaze, eyebrow movements, body position are all-important signals, for instance. This information can be sometimes found in writing, as in a novel, providing clues to attitudes (Wales, ibid. pp.271-2).

J. Mistrík (ibid. pp. 235-250) suggests to study within kinesics: 1. mimetic movements (facial expressions), 2. gestures (hand movements: syn-semantic and autosemantic gestures) and 3. body language (all body movements: system of proximity and system of changing positions).

Proximity – The Silent Language

Proximity (in Slovak proxemika) is classified as the distance between the emitent and recipient (Mistrík, ibid., p. 235). The term was introduced by E. T. Hall (1959) who defines proximity as the distance between the speaker and the adresee. Hall uses the term silent language to express that we can vary the degree of intimity, familiarity or formality in the utterance: the smaller the distance between the participants of communication, the stronger the intimicy of their conversation. A bigger distance weakens personal and familiar tones, and speech is getting more formal and impersonal. Proximity reflects conventions and regional habits, particular situations and the relationship between the speakers. A clash between proximity and verbal text is sometimes used stylistically as an oxymoron. As a stylistic means, proximity is often used in (spoken) dialogues, public speeches, in stage performances, didactics, etc. (Mistrík, ibid., p. 249).

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