AJc303 Stylistics

Faculty of Education
autumn 2020
Extent and Intensity
0/0/1. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Radek Vogel, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. Mgr. Světlana Hanušová, Ph.D.
Department of English Language and Literature – Faculty of Education
Contact Person: Jana Popelková
Supplier department: Department of English Language and Literature – Faculty of Education
Timetable of Seminar Groups
AJc303/01: Fri 16. 10. 18:00–18:50 učebna 54, Fri 30. 10. 18:00–18:50 učebna 54, Fri 13. 11. 18:00–18:50 učebna 54, Fri 27. 11. 18:00–18:50 učebna 54, Fri 11. 12. 18:00–18:50 učebna 54, Fri 8. 1. 18:00–18:50 učebna 54, R. Vogel
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The course in stylistics presents a review of the distinctive features of the functional styles in English. It focuses on the stylistic means available in English at the phonetic, phonological, graphetic, morphological, syntactic, lexical and semantic levels and introduces the students to the study of the stylistics of a text. The practical part of the course focuses on the identification of the distinctive features of English functional styles on the basis of text analysis of specimens of the administrative style (forms, announcements, legal English), publicism (public speaking, advertising, newspaper writing, headlines), scientific prose style, the language of conversation and stylised dialogue.
• The main objectives of the course is to familiarise students with the characteristic properties of English styles, the linguistic and paralinguistic means applied by writers and speakers, and the basics of stylistic theory. Students will also practice writing and analysing a chosen style.
Learning outcomes
After completing the course, students will be able to:
identify and analyse the characteristic properties of English styles, as well as the variety of linguistic and paralinguistic means applied by writers and speakers;
understand the basics of stylistic theory;
apply devices and procedures typical of selected styles and genres when writing their own texts.
Syllabus
  • T.1. Functional styles (varieties, registers) in English. Stylistic markers, stylistic analysis.
  • • T.2. Cohesion and coherence. Explicitness and redundancy in language. Vagueness.
  • • T.3. Dimensions of situational constraint. Language variation – register, dialect.
  • • T.4. Spoken vs. written medium.
  • • T.5. Formality vs. informality, politeness vs. familiarity, personality vs. impersonality.
  • • T.6. The Cooperative and Politeness principles. Speech acts. The role of context.
  • • T.7. Analysis of spoken language. Features of non-segmental phonology. Paralinguistic features.
  • • P.1. The language of conversation vs. public speaking. Broadcasting.
  • • P.2. Stylised dialogue. Speech and thought presentation in fiction.
  • • P.3. The language of administrative texts, written instructions, forms, law. Business letters.
  • • T.8. English punctuation and abbreviation.
  • • P.4. Scientific prose style. Humanities vs. exact sciences, academic vs. popular science texts.
  • • P.5. The style of journalism and publicity. Newspaper headlines, advertisements.
  • • T.9. Stylistic appropriateness.
  • • Final test.
Literature
    required literature
  • CRYSTAL, David and Derek DAVY. Investigating English style. 1st pub. London: Longmans, 1969, xii, 264. ISBN 0582550114. info
  • URBANOVÁ, Ludmila and Andrew Philip OAKLAND. Úvod do anglické stylistiky (Introduction to English Stylistics). 1st ed. Brno: Barrister & Principal, 2002, 148 pp. Studium. ISBN 80-86598-33-0. info
    recommended literature
  • CRYSTAL, David. The Cambridge encyclopedia of the English language. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003, vii, 499. ISBN 0521530334. info
  • SHORT, Mick. Exploring the language of poems, plays and prose. London: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2013, xvi, 399. ISBN 9780582291300. info
  • VERDONK, Peter. Stylistics. first published. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002, xiii, 124. ISBN 9780194372404. info
Teaching methods
Presentation of theory, analysis of examples of individual styles and genres, seminar discussion, home reading.
Assessment methods
Completion prerequisites:
• 1. To write a text representative of the language of a chosen functional style (variety):(1 page) + stylistic analysis of the text (1/2 to 1 page). Due on January 8, 2021.
• The required structure of the analysis will be presented in the seminars.
• Minimum score to pass: 70%.
• 2. To pass the final test consisting of two parts:
- theoretical part (based on the topics listed in the syllabus and covered in seminars and in the recommended literature);
- practical part (stylistic analysis of a given text).
• Minimum score to pass: 70%.
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
Information on the extent and intensity of the course: 12 hodin.
Teacher's information
http://moodlinka.ics.muni.cz/course/view.php?id=3023
FOR ONLINE SEMESTER: Students are requested to secure good internet connection in order to participate in online lessons as indicated in the schedule. Students must attend these meetings with both the sound and camera on.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2017, Autumn 2018, Autumn 2019, Autumn 2021, Autumn 2022, Autumn 2023.
  • Enrolment Statistics (autumn 2020, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/ped/autumn2020/AJc303