VSUE

Lectures on
STYLISTICS OF THE ENGLISH
LANGUAGE
Presented by Tamara Ivanovna
Leontieva
Foreign Languages Center, Department of
Intercultural Communication and
Translation
2008
NEWSPAPER STYLE

The structure of headings

and texts
 What is style?

A functional style is a
system of coordinated language
means intended to fulfil a
specific function of
communication and aiming at a
definite effect.
English newspaper style

English newspaper style can be

defined as a system of interrelated
lexical, phraseological and
grammatical means which serve
the purpose of informing and
instructing the reader.
 Newspaper Genres
1. Brief news items and communiques;
2. press reports (parliamentary, of court
proceedings, etc.);
3. articles purely informational in
character;
4. advertisements and announcements.
Functions:
a) to inform,
b) to influence public opinion.
 HEADLINE
Headline is the most concise form of
giving information, it also carries
evaluation:
- the subject-matter (characteristic
words),
- emotionally colored words,
- elements of emotive syntax.
E.g.: Royal Family bows to public
pressure to show its grief.
 English Newspaper Headings,
grammar features
1. Verbal phrases: FRANCO PLANS TRIAL
2. The verb «be» is often omitted:
255 RELEASED
3. Past events are denoted with present tense
verbs: DIANA FINDS DEATH IN PARIS
4. Future actions may be expressed with
infinitives: PHONE REPAIRERS TO
STRIKE
 HEADINGS (continued)

5. Full declarative sentences: The World

Mourns Diana the Princess of Wales
6. Interrogative sentences: What’s the
difference? (The Sunday Telegraph)
7. Nominative sentences: Christmas in
Lapland
8. Elliptical sentences: Lessons brought to
life
 HEADINGS (continued)

9. Phrases with verbals: Not enough to

laugh about.
10. Questions (statements): The worse the
better?
11. Complex sentences: Plan to teach
runners who no longer race.
12. Direct speech: «Do the English blame
the French for killing her?»
English Newspaper Headings,
lexical and stylistic features
1. Colloquial words: MINISTRY OF
FINANCE LIKES TO SAY «NO»
2. Alliteration: TEAMING IS TOPS FOR
TRAINING
3. The English rule for writing headings:
«Headlines should tell the story…». E.g.:
ПРИЕЗД ДЕЛЕГАЦИИ --> UGANDA
DELEGATION VISITS MOSCOW
 ADVERTISEMENTS
Not to be a failure, an advertisement must:
1) bring the advertised produce into
attention;
2) stress its qualities in the most attractive
way;
3) clearly outline the reason for buying it
and
4) leave a memorable echo of what has
been said about the product ringing in
the reader’s or listener’s mind.
 Linguistic Features of ADs
Grammatical Traits
a) basically simple grammatical structure;
b) constructions which usually occur as a
subordinate part of a sentence;
c) a large number of imperative verbs (to
urge the likely customer to “see” the
product, “try” it and eventually “buy” it).
 Vocabulary is linked to
a) particular type of product (tour, car, etc.);
b) effects being sought;
c) tendency to become stereotyped: food is
always “tender” and “juicy”; cars are full of
“subdued power” and “sleek speed”.
The vocabulary refers to basically desirable
attributes, such as “new”, “fresh”, “clean”,
“wonderful”, “crisp”; verbs: “come”, “look”,
“choose”, etc.
 The Style of Official Documents

1. The language of business documents.

2. The language of legal documents.
3. The language of diplomacy.
4. The language of military documents.
SOD has a definite communicative
aim, its own system of interrelated
language and stylistic means
(I.R.Galperin).
 The Language of Business
I.R.Galperin calls the language of business
documents a substyle of “SOD”.
The purport: to reach agreement between two
contracting parties.
Terminology: economic terms (tax, revenue,
non-sufficient funds, unlimited liability)
Contractions: EU, L/C, A/R - account
receivable, CF - cash flow, NB, Ltd., MV -
market value, P/S - preferred stock, P/P.
The Language of Business
A special system of cliche and set
expressions: Dear Mr (Mrs, Miss);
Mesdames, LADIES; Hope to hear from you
soon; We remain your servants; Terms and
conditions; Private and confidential;
Prospective customer, Thank you for Your
offer of 9 January; We regret to inform you
that we cannot make use of your quotation;
We regret to cancel our order…- Please
confirm the above cancellation.Yours
faithfully, XYZ.
 Business style documents
1. Economic treaties on a high level
2. Between firms, concerns, companies,
enterprises:
a) contracts;
b) letters.
3. Within firms, companies:
a) minutes;
b) memos.
 Business style documents
4. Outside the firm:
a) information inquiry;
b) advertisement.
5. Personal business documents:
a) references,
b) resume,
c) CV (curriculum vitae),
d) a letter of resignation, etc.
 Analyse the Text
SOFT BUDGETS A soft budget refers to a
situation in which an enterpriser’s excess of
expenditures over earnings is compensated for by
some other institution, typically the state, a state-
controlled financial institution. The HPEs all have
soft-budget legacies from the period when it was
unthinkable that an enterprise would not survive.
Even within an environment of transformation,
there are pressures to continue soft-budget practices.
To begin with, new managers may claim that their
operating inefficiencies are due to excesses created
before they took their posts … (J.Daniels, p.357).
 Home assignment
1. Ивашкин М.П. Практикум по
стилистике английского языка. - М.:
Восток-Запад, 2005. - С.65-67.
2. Арнольд И.В. Стилистика…, 2002. -
С.342-351.
3. Lectures on Newspaper Style, Business
Style (the blue file in the Resource Center).
4. Analyse the text SOFT BUDGETS from
the previous slide in writing.