39 Phonographical expressive means and stylistic devices Onomatopoeia

Onomatopoeia is a combination of speech sounds which aims at imitating sounds existing in the surrounding world. There are two types of onomatopoeia: direct and indirect.

Direct onomatopoeia is contained in words that imitate sounds of:

• Natural phenomena: roar, rustle

Example: The leaf rustles in the bush

• Things: ding-dong, burr

Example: The telephone burred several times before I picked up the receiver

• People: murmur, stutter

Example: He attempted to stutter some excuses

• Animals: cuckoo, twitter, buzz

Example: The birds were twittering in the grove on my way to the lake

Onomatopoeic words may have a different degree of imitative quality. Some words immediately bring to mind what or who produces the sound. Other words require a certain amount of imagination or context.

Indirect onomatopoeia is a combination of sounds the aim of which is to make the sound of the utterance an echo of its sense. It is sometimes called "echo writing" and demands some mention of what makes the sound.

Alliteration

Alliteration is a stylistically motivated repetition of similar consonant sounds, in close succession, particularly at the beginning of successive words:

Nowadays alliteration is commonly used in:

• Children’s rhymes:

Baa baa blacksheep

Have you any wool?

Yes sir, no sir.

Three bags full.

• Slogans:

The daily diary of the American dream

• Proverbs and sayings:

Don’t take it to heart

• Titles of writings:

Pride and Prejudice

Assonance

Assonance is a stylistically motivated repetition of stressed vowels.

Assonance is commonly used in:

• Children’s rhymes

• Slogans: Let’s make things better

• Proverbs and sayings: Don’t you be too soon. Draw in your claws

Euphony

Euphony is a pleasant combination of sounds.

Cacophony

Cacophony is an unpleasant combination of sounds:

Nor soul helps flesh now more

Than flesh helps soul.

Graphical expressive devices are represented by graphon, italics, capi­talization, hyphenation and multiplication.

Graphon

Graphon is an intentional violation of the graphical shape of a word or a word combination to reflect its authentic pronunciation.

Graphon is used:

• To supply the information about the speaker’s origin, social and educational background.

• To emphasize the age peculiarities of the speaker.

• To show the physical defects of the speakers or their emotional con­dition.

• To convey the atmosphere of live communication.

• To show dialect speech or phonetic peculiarities of a particular area.

Italics

Italics are used in the text for logical or emotional foregrounding of a word or utterance.

Capitalization

Capitalization signals for the tone rising.

Hyphenation

Hyphenation is the indicator of pausing as a result of some emotional tension (surprise, scorn)

Multiplication

Multiplication designates the intensity of speech (usually in commands)

Rhyme

Rhyme is the accord of syllables in words:

Report-support, adoring-restoring.

Rhyme is one of the chief concepts of versification. Rhyme is the sound organizer. It units lines into stanzas, emphasizes the rhythm of the poem and helps to memorize it. Rhyming words are generally placed at a regular distance from each other mainly at the end of the corresponding lines. Vertically rhymes are divided into:

• Adjacent (rhyme scheme /aa, bb/)

• Cross (rhyme scheme /ab, ab/)

• Reverse (rhyme scheme /ab, ba/)

Rhythm

Rhythm is a recurring stress pattern in poetry. It is an even alternation of stressed and unstressed syllables. The foregrounding and shading caused by rhythm creates the perspective that shows the overall plot and idea of the poem.