STYLE AND EXPRESSIVITY Exp.ref.prof. Carmen VATAMANU The present paper aims at synthetically analysing the two fundamental notions that belong to stylistics: style and expressivity, along with the relationship between these two concepts. Ion Coteanu states that in making a classification of the expressivity term, J. Zima started from any fact of language can have an expressive nature beside the notions and personal attitudes, the affectivity regarding the speaker, as long as this attitude is generated and still maintains the individual contribution, which is the bases for the expressivity [1]. Analysing the expressivity concept, I. Coteanu sets the following types of expressivity: latent expressivity, virtually exists in the language, as a quantity deposited where the language can extract its necessary terms in order to organise different messages [2], deducted expressivity when a message suggests the confrontation between the linguistic field and the extra linguistic field (such as archaisms) and linguistically deducted expressivity, accomplished by means of linguistic means combined with the extra linguistic ones (such as using the singular form for the plural one, the feminine form instead of the masculine one). The expressivity is directly subjected to the information quantity while the language by means of which the literary art benefits from the best quantity of information as the expressed message are chosen out of the most important number of possibility. But Iorgu Iordan will give a complex understanding to the expressivity concept, overcoming the affective component limit. At the origin of expressivity he sets the fantasy, the one to set the bases of the linguistic notion (the speakers fantasy provides the construction known as isolations : loser, lobbing along). The means providing the expressivity in Romanian language and which are studied by I. Iordan in Romanian Language Stylistics are accent changes, sounds increasing, morphological and derivative processes, syntactical and lexical ones, borrowings (taken from specialised language such as the popular language: vorba aceea (as it is the case for), the economical terms: sută-n sută (it is a deal, and the medical language: a avea /a fi în febră; etc (high fever). The concerns regarding the expressivity concept are also analysed by Tudor Vianu, Dumitru Caracostea, Ştefan Munteanu, Dumitru Irimia, Alexandru Graur, Alexandru Rosetti. Elena Slave.
Tudor Vianu introduces new concepts as transitivity and reflexivity. The transitive message is the one sending the information without reflecting any attitudes or emotion of the sender. When the communication reflects the state of mind of those sending the message, this becomes reflexive: bearing a double intention, one can mention that the linguistic fact is also a reflexive and transitive one. It reflects the human being creating it and it influences all those knowing him. In the language events there is an interior live focusing that benefits from a special warmth, light and human community [3]. Tudor Vianu talks about a stylistically area of the language that is formed of style facts, that impose the studying of a language and the evolution of a language, as style researcher needs to take into account the expressive guiding notes [4]. The expressivity area of a nation which is highly influenced by the field this expressed his activity: the Romanian people with his old traditions and rural and agricol life has created a lot of phrases with an incontestable stylistically value; such as: a bate câmpii, a înţărca bălaia, a nu pricepe o boabă, a nu-i fi boii acasă (to talk nonsense, there is nothing doing, not have a clue, to feel blue). All these language facts bear an expressivity area but not an individual one but the one of a whole nation. They don t express the anonymous author, but the entire people who posses them for the simple reason that they are part of his fantasy and sensitivity [5]. Charles Bally restricted the stylistics field to the means the common language disposes of, in expressing the affective states or in promoting them. Developing this direction, Bally- Iordan s stylistics is an affective one, founded on the expressivity s concept subjected to the speaker s subject. I. Iordan will provide a complex understanding to this expressivity, overcoming the affective component limit. The one increasing the expressivity of some terms is the fact that I order to create them, it takes a special degree of fantasy: almost all of these create images, as it usually designated concrete material objects, which designing is created in our minds once the special concept is conceived [6]. Leo Spitzer the first authentic continuator of the Vossler s concepthas the merit of circularly approaching the expressivity s elements in a literary work, or even in a text category, concept approached in order to define the inner personality of a writer, thus considering the style and the expression as an imminent feature of the work in question. Spitzer studied the language, not only as an esthetical product, but also as an expression means of some spontaneous inflections. The intuition
was a decisive factor of the approaches of the literary text, Spitzer creating the essential feature of the writer art, along with the epoch spirit or the nation one. M. Riffaterre joined this concept, by means of his own beliefs, even if only in terms of derailed concept in the text stylistics structure. The deviation that the reader notices is a consequence of the individual means that the writer he uses language in developing the literary creation, orientated by the specific spiritual etymon. For M. Riffaterre, the deviation is the structure developing concept itself, meant to influence the reader. The deviations from the norm cannot represent criteria and starting point in developing the constant of a stylistics procedure. That is why; the specialist has to choose those features reflecting the most important message intention, namely the features meant to express the essential aspects. This represents the impermissible elements generated by the context. For Riffaterre the intensity is part of the expressivity, of the images, while the esthetical connotation and the affective concept is also part of these processes. For Hagel Hatzfeld, the expressivity is just an element, and not any other esthetical concept, expressing, in any language form, transformed in an artistic statement, meant to connect the language creator spirit to its creation form [7]. On the same level of art and expressivity defining, we find Dumitru Caracostea, who stated [8], that the language is the expressivity and the author s concerns are about to be regarded as an art construction. In his belief, language has special expressivity virtues that he created special terms for; this was known as esteems D. Caracostea explains it all by means of its esthetical nature as this should be its original and specific essence. As language is part of the soul, D. Caracostea will highlight the phonetic values of the sounds while the phoneme represents the sound regarded as the speakers soul creation and will establish different types of expressive words starting from their phonetic organising. His theory is regarded as an exaggeration by most of the researchers. The expressivity or emotion function also known as affectivity or spontaneous expressive function is the verbal manifesting of the corresponding emotion, stated I. Coteanu in Stilistica funcţională a limbii române, while the deliberated expressivity the estetic or poetic function represents the contemplative emotion verbal manifesting. The messages diversity stated Roman Jakobson, consists not of one or another function monopoly but in the hierarchy difference between these two. The verbal structure of a message depends most of all on the predominant function. Therefore, the poetic function is not the only verbal
art function, but is regarded as its dominant function. The linguistic criterion of this function is developed by the American linguist, as two setting means considered the main parts of the verbal behaviour, namely the selection and combination. The selection, states Jakobson is accomplished by means of the equivalence principle, synonymy or antinomy while the combination is based on the contiguity. The poetic function projects the equivalence principle on the combination axe and on the selection axe [9]. I. Coteanu concluded that, the utility of this classification of the expressivity, seems limited in the present because it implies that it is important to establish the means to chose the news in an ambiguous message, as we do not dispose of a method meant to limit the quantity and the poetic message especially the hermetic one, is often part of the multiple and disputed symbols [10]. The expressivity concluded I. Coteanu is not part of the significance sign or of the sounds, but belongs to the solidarity relation. It is a value accomplished by means of a special context meant to create a plan developing in the field of linguistic signs [11]. Tudor Vianu s opinion on an unique stylistics that is based on the idea that the language facts contain a communication nucleus and an individual expressivity surrounding area [12], the style being the specific means that a text expressivity is created and developed. The stylistics research object is highly represented by the expression opposition as parts of the individual expressivity area, but also as part of the individual expressivity area and communication nucleus relationship. Tudor Vianu distinguishes the language transitive intention, by means of which the sender ends the message, by means of which he communicates his attitudes towards the transitive aspects of the communication. In Dubla intenţie a limbajului şi problema stilului he draws the attention on these two dangers that could affect the literary expression out of the language nature itself. Therefore, the language expression is the reflective intention to co adapt the product and the transitive one, while the style of a writer is represented by the entire connotations that he gives to his transitive expression, by means of which his communications develops a subjective manner along with its interest in the artistic field. The stylistics field is that of an individual attitude reaction transpiring of a subjective one added to the general and objective communication. For Şt. Munteanu the poetic expressivity represents a fundamental quality of the artistic language subjected to the language estetic function and developed in a context meant to develop an agreement perceived by
the reader as being a dominating one, between the individual linguistic means and the artistic communication sense.[13]. After revealing the different facts according to their nature, Iorgu Iordan [14] associates the expressivity with the affective notion that for Elena Slave and other specialists represents the expressivity means meant to be implemented in the content, affective, emotional or intentional concept. For other linguists the expressivity is a means to suggest the means things should be understood compared to the way they are transmitted. The expressivity concept is synonym with the esthetical one, as the stylistics specialists mention, the language expressivity possibilities being the total expression means of the poetic language. For other specialists the expressivity is a complex phenomenon while its specific is developed out of the double dependence relationship: on the one hand it is a relationship between two forms of the linguistic sign element (expression and content), while on the other hand and concomitantly it is the relationship between this unity and the reality it designates. Şt. Munteanu analyses the relationships between norm, choicer and poetic expressivity, concluding that the deviation principle developed ever since Aristotle studies, stated by Charles Bruneau and taken by Paul Valery), the one of the norm deviation (Jean Cohen), as the thesis defining the style as the result of an intentional choice are true. Unfortunately these aspects diminish the style significance make it depend on a single criterion, the outsider, namely the preference for a special communication variant. Therefore the expressivity is not to be regarded as the option for special general forms, but as their adapting to a special concept or to a special concept form [15]. References [1] Coteanu, Ion, Consideraţii asupra structurii stilistice a limbii. In Probleme de lingvistică generală, 4 th volume, Bucharest, Academy Publishing House, 1962, p. 76 [2] Ibidem, p. 73 [3] Vianu, Tudor, Dubla intenţie a limbajului şi problema stilului. In Studii de stilistică. Edition processed by Sorin Alexandrescu, Bucharest, Didactical and Pedagogical Publishing House, 1968, p. 32 [4] Vianu, Tudor, Cited Works, p. 42 [5] Ibidem, p. 46 [6] Iordan, Iorgu, Stilistica funcţională a limbii române 1 st volume, Bucharest, Academy Publishing House, 1973, p. 12
[7] Hatzfeld, Hagels, Saggi di stilistica romana, 1 st volume, Bucharest, Academy Publishing House, 1973, p. 77 [8] Caracostea, Dumitru, Expresivitatea limbii române, Polirom Publishing House, Iaşi, 2000, p. 35 [9] *** Lingvistică şi poetică. In Probleme de stilistică. Article Book. Scientific Publishing House, Bucharest, 1964, p. 33 [10] Coteanu, Ion, Consideraţii asupra structurii stilistice a limbii. In Probleme de lingvistică generală, 4 th volume, Academy Publishing House, Bucharest, 1962, p. 91 [11] Ibidem [12] Vianu, Tudor, op.cit., p. 12 [13] Munteanu, Ştefan, Stil şi expresivitate poetică, Bucharest, Scientific Publishing House, 1972, p. 19 [14] Iordan, Iorgu, Stilistica limbii române, Scientific Publishing House,Bucharest,1975, p. 77 [15] Munteanu, Ştefan, Cited Works, Bucharest, Scientific Publishing House, 1972, p. 19