整理文体学答案

文体学课后题1、2单元

1Identify and classify patterns of sound repetition in the following examples.

1）Words and phrases

shilly-shally = pararhyme super-duper = rhyme

high and mighty = assonance fair and square = rhyme

kith and kin = reverse rhyme toil and moil = rhyme

part and parcel = reverse rhyme by hook or by crook = rhyme

2）Pride and Prejudice = alliteration

The Love’s labour Lost = alliteration Of Mice and Man = alliteration Bill Rogers, Marvelous Marathon Man = alliteration

Father in a Fix = alliteration Witch Watch = alliteration

The Wonder of Waterfall = alliteration

3)Advertisements

--Drinka Pinta Milka Day = sound elision

--Extra Pintas Warma Winta = sound elision

--Be different daily. Be dreamy or dramatic. Experiment,

but still economise. Be bold and be beautiful—but don’t break the bank. = (in order) alliteration; alliteration; reverse rhyme; alliteration

2 The underlined word(s) in each of the following examples

1)Nim Chimpsky sounds like Noam Chompsky, who believes that man has a language learning device in the mind, which enables the child to learn the language however badly it is taught. This makes man different from animal, which does not have such a device. That is why chimpanzee (who is considered to be the most intelligent animal) can never learn the language however hard it is taught.

2）Romeow is a word imitating the sound made by a cat and shares the same pronunciation with the main character in Shakespeare’s tragedy Romeo and Juliet. Romeo has deep love for Juliet. It indicates that Romeow the cat has affection for the master.

3) Record shop named Moby Disc, which implies it is a huge shop of its kind, for it reminds one of the Moby Dick, a book which depicts people hunt a huge whole called Moby Dick.

3 1)phonological devices in the following extract.

A creak of hinges...aisle.

In this passage the authors uses alliteration high-heeled, assonance tiled surface of the central aisle. What is more conspicuous is the use of onomatopoeic words such as creak, booming thud, flutter, tiptap, which present the different kinds of noises heard in the church. The use of such words help the reader share the same experience of the writer and make the description vivid and believable.

2）Read the following extract from the novel Adventures of Tom

3）Sawyer and comment on the graphological forms.

“TOM!”

No answer. ...--Mark Twai

This is one episode of the novel Adventures of Tom Sawyer, depicting how Granny is looking for Tom, who is naughty and hiding under the bed. The different form of letters with punctuation marks indicates how Granny speaks. When we read it, we have the feeling of watching Granny on a stage play. For example, “TOM!” is said louder than “Tom!”. “Y-o-u-u, Tom!” indicates Granny drawls her voice and with unusual loudness so as to be heard far away. The exclamation marks “!” show her emotio n, and the dash “—“ implies her sudden stop. The italicized through emphasizes the contrast with “over” and “under”, humorously implying her glasses are intended for ornament rather than practical use. In the whole passage, we see the only character Granny, who is speaking to herself. It is very much like a stage monologue. After reading, we have a vivid image of Granny in our mind. And there is a touch of humour all through.

3单元

1 What are thethree ways of clause classification?

classification according to constituents, verb phrase and functions. By constituents clauses can be grouped into SV(A), SVO(A), SVC, SVOO, SVOC. By verb phrase we have finite clause, non-finite clause and verbless clause. By functions clauses can be categorized either as independent clause or dependent clause.

2 how do we distinguish situation types?

By according to meaning or sense of the verb.

3 Name the participant roles in action types?

The participant roles in action types are: agentive role (doer of the action), external force (causer of the action), intrumental role (tool to do the action with), recipient role (receiver of the action)

and objective role (the affected or the result of the action).

4What is a simple sentence? What is a multiple sentence?

Directly/indirectly

A simple sentence conforms to the basic clause structure SV(O) (C) (A).

A multiple sentence consists of more than one clause. It may be either a

compound sentence,a complex sentence, or a mixed sentence.

D :nominal clauses function as S O C .I:relative clauses function as

modified in NP and comparative c f as m in NP ADJP

5 What is the difference between a minor sentence and an incomplete sentence?

Neither type conforms to the basic clause structure. But a minor sentence is supposed to be “complete” in the s ense that it is finished. An incomplete sentence never comes to its end because of sudden interruption or other reasons. For example,

(1) Attention, please. (2) Help!

(3) Going to the lecture? (4) Why are you late? Because I—Of the four sentences, (1) (2) (3) are minor sentences whereas (4) is an incomplete.

6 What are the major components of a noun phrase?What is the use of pre-modification?

What is the function of post-modification?

A complete noun phrase consists of four constituents: determiner, pre-modifier, head and post-modifier. The determiner can be an article, numerals, numeral pronouns; all the words between the determinative and the head are pre-modifier, whatever part of speech they belong to; the head can be a noun or a pronoun; the post-modifier is usually a prepositional phrase, a noun phrase, a non-finite clause, a relative clause, etc.

Frequent use of pre-modification in newspaper headlines can economize space, and arouse the reader’s interest as well because pre-modification is usually short, thus cannot spell out details. This keeps the reader in suspense and kicks up their eagerness to find out. Pre-modification tends to be informal and appears in less formal style. Post-modification can be very long and complicated. Using post-modification can give enough room for details and for further information. Therefore, it is frequently used in more formal contexts, for instance, written language. Written legal English prefers post-modification in noun phrases, because the composer of a legal document must ensure that it conveys meaning exactly and explicitly, guarding against any possible misinterpretation.

7 What are the three basic factors in the formation of written texts?

For effective presentation of information and language processing on the part of the reader, we usually attach importance to sequence, segmentation and salience in the formation of texts, both spoken and written.

8 Which type of branching is common in informal speech? Which type

of branching is preferred in written styles?

Right-branching is common in speech, in relaxed and informal presentation of ideas.A writer may favor right-branching and use short, simple sentences to represent a narrative style of simplicity, directness and intensity. Left-branching, however, is better

adapted to writing because it is structurally more compact and

logical, and it is usually more formal. Since subordinate ideas are presented first, postponing the main idea, readers often feel in

suspense and try to read on to obtain the main idea towards the

end of the sentence.

9 What is the basic phrase order?What are the stylistic effects of

fronting and postponement?

The basic phrase order in an English declarative clause is more or less fixed: SV(O)(C)(A), with A being mobile in position. The change of the order can make a particular language unit more salient.

Fronting refers the movement of a sentential element from its usual position to the front, and postponement refers the movement of a linguistic unit from its normal place towards the end of the sentence. In both cases the elements moved are highlighted. For example,

(1) Talent Mr. Micawber has, capital Mr. Micawber has not. (fronting talent and capital for emphasis)

(2) A car stopped and out stepped the President of the University. (Postponing President of the University again for emphasis)

10 What is syntactic parallelism and its function?