Stylistic is the part of grammar or linguistics that concerned with the creative, subjective, or expressive elements of a language. She can be:
- phonics (related to sonority),
- syntactic (referring to the disposition of the elements of a sentence),
- morphological (concerning the formation of words) and
- semantics (related to the meaning of words).
See too: What is the difference between connotation and denotation?
Summary about stylistics
- Stylistic studies the expressive elements of a language.
- Phonic stylistics is associated with the sound of words.
- Syntactic stylistics refers to the arrangement of elements in the sentence.
- Morphological stylistics is related to word formation.
- Semantic stylistics has to do with the meaning of terms.
- Figures of speech are the main stylistic resources.
What is stylistics?
And the part of the grammar or linguistics associated with the style, that is, the expressive, creative elements of a language with regard to its phonetic, syntactic, morphological and semantic resources.
That way, the language acquires a connotative aspect, verified, for example, in the figures of speech. And this allows the speaker to use language to express their thoughts in a more subjective way.
stylistic categories
phonic stylistics
It is associated with expressiveness obtained from the sonority of words in figures of speech, such as:
- The alliteration (consonant repetition),
- The assonance (repeat vowels) and
- The onomatopoeia (imitation of the sound produced by certain beings).
But also in linguistic phenomena, such as:
- The paronymy (graphic and phonic similarity) and
- homonymy (same graphic and/or phonic form).
See these examples:
- alliteration: A Bhello Batheist in Barata.
- assonance: A ballThe BTheyour nThe BTherThetThe.
- onomatopoeia: I always agree with the cocorocó of my rooster.
- paronyms: I hear O bone crack between his teeth and I feel a chill.
- homonyms: The man stayed they are after making a promise to They are Camilo.
Check it out on our podcast: 10 words to enrich vocabulary
syntactic stylistics
It is related to expressiveness obtained from the arrangement of elements in the sentence or clause, verified in figures of speech, such as:
- The Ellipse (hiding a term in the utterance),
- The anaphora (repetition of one or more words at the beginning of verses or phrases),
- O pleonasm (intentional and emphatic repetition),
- O anacoluth (lack of cohesion between the beginning and the sequence of the sentence),
- The silepsis (ideological agreement),
- O hyperbate (inversion of the direct order of the clause) and
- O polysyndeton (repetition of the conjunction “and”).
Note these examples:
- Ellipse: [I] I bought a new shaver.
- anaphora: “It is a not to want more than to want;/ It is a walking alone among us;/ É never settle for happy;/ It is a care that you gain in getting lost” (Camões).
- pleonasm: To him anything him interested more than astronomy.
- anacoluth: The addiction no one knows of an efficient way to quit smoking.
- silepsis: we are very Good in what We do.
- hyperbate: I love life despite the regrets.
- polysyndeton: Ugo laughed, It is jumped, It is screamed with happiness.
morphological stylistics
The existence of a morphological stylistic is questioned by some scholars who argue that morphology does not allow language deviations and that morphic elements are only auxiliary in syntactic and semantic stylistics.
In any case, the morphological stylistics are related to the expressiveness obtained through the formation of words. Therefore, the main phenomenon that integrates this stylistic modality is the neologism, which is configured in the creation of a new word. So let's look at some examples:
- Razor: metonymy that, from the name of a brand, refers to any razor blade.
- tintin: onomatopoeia referring to the sound of glasses in a toast.
- untruth: euphemism for “lie”, formed from the prefix “in-” plus the word “truth”.
- internetese: slang used by internet users.
semantic stylistics
Refers to expressiveness obtained from the meaning of words in figures of speech such as:
- The comparison (analogy with the use of conjunction or comparative conjunctive phrase),
- The metaphor (analogy without the use of conjunction or comparative conjunctive phrase),
- The metonymy (replacement of one element by another) and
- The synesthesia (combination of two or more of the five human senses).
But also:
- in diminutives (affective and pejorative),
- in affective augmentations,
- in synonymy (similarity of meanings),
- in paronymy (graphic and phonic similarity, but with different meanings) and
- at polysemy (word with more than one meaning).
Note these examples:
- comparison: Luísa is as a bull.
- metaphor: Luisa it's a bull.
- metonymy: Today I read Caroline Mary of Jesus.
- synesthesia: the slime fetidshone under the Sun.
- affective diminutive: My little son have good feelings.
- pejorative diminutive: It was a little movie pretty nasty.
- affective augmentative: Wuberdan is mine Buddy!
- synonymy: how much insanity! How much craziness! How did we get there?
- paronymy: After the advisor rectified the statement, the deputy ratified its ideological position.
- polysemy: Wet the roots of the hose with one hose blue.
stylistic features
The stylistic resource, especially in literary texts, is a procedure associated with the enunciator's expressiveness, affectivity and subjectivity, in order to perform a deviation from the standard norm. And therefore, the main stylistic resources used are figures of speech, such as:
- word pictures: comparison, metaphor, metonymy, synesthesia, etc.
- syntax figures: ellipse, pleonasm, silepsis, hyperbate, polysyndeton etc.
- thinking figures: hyperbole, euphemism, irony, antithesis, paradox, etc.
- sound figures: alliteration, assonance, onomatopoeia, etc.
However, areas other than literature also have their own stylistic resources. Thus, a scientific, journalistic, legal, didactic text, etc. has its own features and resources relevant to each gender.
This highlights the difference between the literary and the non-literary, since, for example, in a scientific text, a more formal style is observed, associated with a denotative language.
Read too: Poem – literary text written in verses
Solved exercises on stylistics
Question 1 - (Enem)
the world is big
The world is big and fits
In this window over the sea.
The sea is big and fits
In bed and on the mattress to love.
Love is big and fits
In the brief span of kissing.
ANDRADE, Carlos Drummond de. poetry and prose. Rio de Janeiro: Nova Aguilar, 1983.
In this poem, the poet made a stylistic option: the reiteration of certain constructions and linguistic expressions, such as the use of the same conjunction to establish the relationship between phrases. This conjunction establishes, among the related ideas, a sense of
A) opposition.
B) comparison.
C) conclusion.
D) alternation.
E) purpose.
Resolution
Alternative A. In the poem, the polysyndeton, characterized by the repetition of the conjunction “and”, is used to establish, between related ideas, a sense of opposition.
Therefore, the conjunction “and”, in this case, has the same value as “but”: “The world is big [but] fits/ In this window over the sea./ The sea is big [but] fits/ In bed and on the mattress of loving./ Love is great [but] fits/ In the brief space of kissing”.
Question 2 - (Enem)
seven faces poem
When I was born, a crooked angel
those who live in the shadow
said: Go, Carlos! to be gauche in life.
Houses spy on men
who run after women.
The afternoon might be blue,
there weren't so many wishes.
[...]
My God, why did you abandon me
if you knew that I wasn't God
if you knew that I was weak.
world world wide world,
If I were called Raimundo
it would be a rhyme, it would not be a solution.
world world wide world
wider is my heart.
Carlos Drummond de Andrade. Complete work. Rio de Janeiro: Aguilar, 1964. P. 53.
In the verse “My God, why have you abandoned me”, Drummond resumes the words of Christ, on the cross, shortly before dying. This resource of repeating someone else's words is equivalent to
A) use of moralizing terms.
B) use of poorly tolerated language addiction.
C) unnecessary repetition of ideas.
D) stylistic use of someone else's speech.
E) use of an unanswered question.
Resolution
Alternative D. By repeating the words of Christ, the I lyrical makes a quote. Therefore, it makes stylistic use of someone else's speech.
Question 3 - (Enem)
Carnival
repeat played
the deaf heard
And my corasamborim
Cuíca moaned, could it be mine, when she passed by me?
[...]
ANTUNES, A.; BROWN, C.; MOUNT, m. Tribalists, 2002 (fragment).
In the third verse, the word “corasamborim”, which is the combination of heart + samba + tambourine, refers, at the same time, to elements that make up a samba school and the emotional situation in which the author of the message finds himself, with his heart in the rhythm of the percussion.
This word corresponds to a
A) foreignness, use of linguistic elements originating in other languages and representative of other cultures.
B) neologism, creation of new linguistic items, through the mechanisms that the language system makes available.
C) slang, which composes a language originated in a certain social group and that may spread in a wider community.
D) regionalism, as it is a word characteristic of a certain geographical area.
E) technical term, as it designates an element of a specific area of activity.
Resolution
Alternative B. The term “corasamborim” is a neologism, that is, a new word, created by the union of the words “heart”, “samba” and “tamborim”.
By Warley Souza
Grammar Teacher
