Language, Style and Discourse

About the Book ~<
Language, style and discourse is a

collection of papers on different aspects of
language (and linguistics), style (and stylis-
tics), and discourse (and discourse analysis)
contributed by well known scholars from
India and elsewhere. Papers included in this
volume are: ‘Language, style and discourse’
by R.N. Srivastava, ‘Contrastive stylistics’ by
Gerhard Nickle; ‘The bilingual’s creativity:
discoursal and stylistic strategies in contact
literatures in English’ by Braj B. Kachru; ‘Style
repertoire of Hindi poets: Implications for
stylistic analysis by Yamuna Kachru; Text-
reader dynamics’ by R.N. Srivastava and
R.S. Gupta; ‘Sememe, pragmeme & the
threshould’ by V. Prakasam; ‘Sytlistics
and literary criticism’ by Anjani Kumar
Sinha; ‘Stylistics and the teaching of poetry’
by R. P. Bhatnagar and Rajul Bhargava;
‘Stylistic analysis of a poetic text’ by Ravinder
Gargesh; ‘Stylistics-based teaching strategies’
by A.N. Dhar; ‘Role of stylistics in first
language teaching’ by Suresh Kumar, ‘Stylis-
tics and the ELT programme in India by B. N.
Patnaik; ‘Language teaching and discourse’
by Vijay Gambhir; ‘Creativity in popular style’
by Amiya Dev; and ‘Style diffusion: The in-
peeeee of Persian on Kashmiri’ by Omkar N.
oul.
This volume will be quite useful for stu-

dents and teachers of linguistics, literary
Criticism and languages.
ISBN 81-7034-064-0 Rs. 130

LANGUAGE, STYLE AND
DISCOURSE
J
Edited by
OMKAR N. KOoUuL
il 1986
BAHRI PUBLICATIONS PVT. LTD.
NEW DELHI
LANGUAGE, STYLE AND DISCOURSE
Edited by
OMKAR N. Kou.
Principal
Northern Regional Language Centre
Patiala-147002, India
©1986 Bahri Publications Pyt. Ltd.
First Published 1986
ISBN 81—7034-064-0
Rs. 120.00 $ 24.00
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any

form without the written permission of the Publisher,
Published by U.S. Bahri for Bahri Publications (P) Ltd., 57, Sant Nagar,
East of Kailash, New Delhi- 110065 and-Printed by Indira Composing works,
223A/8, Padam Nagar, Delhi- -7, at B.K. Press, Delhi-7.
PREFACE
The interpretation of terms language, style and discourse and

their mutual relationship have attracted considerable attention
of linguists and literary critics in recent years. A wide range of
definitions and interpretations are offered on each term and
their interrelationship is established from different points of
view. Whatever definitions and interpretations are given, their
mutual relationship has emerged very strong lately.
The language teaching in any teaching and _ learning situa-
tion primarily aims at enriching the learners’ experience of
language in all its modes. Linguistic terminology used in the
study of language is systematic. The language itself is considered
as a system of units and processes and is not merely a list of
words or sentences.
The application of a linguistic theory in the study of different
modes and uses of language has to be comprehensive. It is now
used in offering a complete account of language structure at all
levels: phonetics and phonology, syntax, semantics, text gram-
mar and pragmatics. The scientific study of language has thus
managed itself beyond words and sentences to account for the
communicative processes of whole texts and discourse.
Though most of the literary critics consider language as a
‘medium’ alone, some critics have lately been attracted to the
objective structures of language used in literature. They have
been pointing out and explaining the linguistic structures of the
texts, word order, patterns of sound and rhythm, choices of
vocabulary items etc. For a linguist, literature is a creative use
of language. A linguist would, therefore, view literature as
language, and the language in literature cannot merely be
reduced to the concept of ‘medium’.
The study of style or stylistics has remained a controversial
field of enquiry as various views are put forth regarding its
scope, nature and goal. Linguistic stylistics has been distingui-
shed from literary stylistics, and different types of models and
(iv)
methods are adopted in presenting stylistic descriptions of a

given text. Whereas value judgments form part of literary stylis-
tic study, it is absent in linguistic stylistic study, which is essen-
tially analytic in nature. In the papers to follow the references
made to stylistics are essentially those of linguistic stylistics.
The interpretation of the term ‘style’ in linguistic terms must
be broad-based. It is defined in terms of the choice that an
author has to make at different levels: graphology, phonetics
and phonology, lexis, syntax, .semamtics and pragmatics. The
stylistic analysis of a text aims at achieving the maximum degree
of explicitness at different levels.
In recent years there has been an increasing interest in the
study of various types of intra-sentence relationships which
have ultimately led to significant work on discourse analysis.
Different types of models have emerged for the study of dis-
course. The study of pre-suppositions and contextualisation
has helped a great deal in building a theoretical! framework for
the study of discourse analysis. Both stylistics and discourse
analysis fall under applied linguistics and have significant impli-
cations in their use in language teaching in different situations.
The present volume on Language, style and discourse is
-essentially a collection of research papers contributed by various
‘scholars from India and abroad, Most of the papers were
especially written for this volume while some of them were
originally presented in a Seminar on Stylistics and Language
Teaching held at the. Northern Regional Language Centre in
August 1982 and were later revised for this volume.
The choice of the title of the present volume may suggest
the objective of establishing or strengthening of the relationship
of the terms covered under the title, which is not the main aim
though. However, the varied topics discussed by different
scholars actually do contribute towards critical evaluation of
‘current definitions, theoretical beliefs and offer new significant
insights while discussing a number of issues. The papers presen-
‘ted in this volume cover a wide range of topics related to
different areas of language and linguistics, style and stylistics,
and discourse and discourse analysis. Various significant theore-
tical issues regarding language, style and discourse have been
(v)
raised. The papers also present practical analysis and open up
new avenues for future research work. A brief chronological
account of the papers included in this volume is presented
below.
Srivastava (1-10) argues that the term ‘style’ can best be
defined ‘notionally’ and ‘functionally’ (and not structurally).
His discussion of the subject leads to look at language as a
‘Potential’ and also as a ‘Discourse’.
Nickel (11-20) raises a number of issues related to contras-
tive stylistics and the practical use of stylistics in language
teaching. According to him, in a foreign language teaching
situation, ‘contrastive stylistics alongwith error-analysis should
help in re-evaluating teaching and learning objectives in a more
realistic way without having to give up certain required stan-
dards’.
Braj Kachru (21-46) raises certain significant theoretical
issues regarding bilingual’s creativity with special reference to
discoursal and stylistic strategies in contact literatures in English.
He explains the concepts of ‘pluricentricity’ of the English
language, ‘contact literature’, ‘discoursal thought pattern and
language design’ and the ‘bilingual’s grammar: hypotheses’,
supported by rich examples. He concludes that the study of
bilingual’s creativity has serious implications for linguistic
theory and for our understanding of culture-specific communi-
cative competence’.
Yamuna Kachru (47-61) explains the concepts of ‘style
repertoire’ and ‘language variation’ with special reference to
Hindi literature. She discusses the range and _ use of style reper-
toire in general and language variation in particular with
special reference to modern Hindi poetry. She points out that
the linguistic repertoire of creative writers is an exciting field
of research in the context of Hindi and other South Asian
languages.
Srivastava and Gupta (63-76) have defined the literary text
and explained the relationship between the literary text and its
reader. According to them, literary text cannot be viewed as a
commercial transaction and the reader as a mere consumer.
There are basically two types of literary texts—transitive and
(vi)
jntransitive. According to the authors, a transitive text has a
concrete and real form which continues to sustain the feelings
of the reader even after the text has been read. In intransitive
texts, the feelings evoked are restricted to the actual perusal of
the text.
Prakasam (77-82) makes a theoretical distinction between
semantic prime—sememe; and pragmatic prime—pragmeme,
and demonstrates that there is a semantico- pragmatic threshold
where we cannot make absolute distinction between the two
facts of signification—semantics and pragmatics.
Sinha (83-91) critically examines contrasts built between
“stylistics’ and ‘literary criticism’ and explains the role stylistics
can play in the analysis of literature. According to him a theory
of stylistics should not only tell us what the structure of the
text is but also how it is and what it is.
Bhatnagar and Bhargava (93-108) discuss the role of stylistics
in the teaching of poetry. They present a stylistic analysis of an
English poem. According to them, whereas it is difficult to
practise stylistics in relation to a foreign literature, it can play
an important role in the practical application to the study of
indigenous literatures for pedagogical purposes.
Gargesh (109-118) discusses theoretical aspects of stylistic
analysis of a poetic text. Stylistics is characterised as a theory
of literary works as verbal forms, and a method and technique
of the analysis of poetic texts as well. He analyses an English
poem at the levels of ‘linguistic symbol’, ‘symbols in art’, ‘art
symbol’ and ‘aesthetic symbol’.
Dhar (119-131) indicates the problems a student faces in
understanding and appreciation of linguistic or formal features
and structural complexities in English poetry. He presents a
stylistic analysis of a few poems and emphasises the positive
role stylistics can play in teaching poetry.
Suresh Kumar (133-145) explains the requirements for learn-
ing different literary styles of the language use in the first
language teaching and learning situation and the role stylistics
can play in it.
Patnaik (147-160) discusses certain characteristics of Indian
English and emphasises that in the context of English language
(vii)
‘teaching programmes, stylistics can prove helpful in the teaching

of lexis and some stylistic and registral features of the language.
The functions of the target language would determine which
Stylistic and registral features need to be emphasized in the
second/foreign language teaching situation.
Gambhir (161-184) argues that a language course which
treats discourse as the basic unit of language with an appro-
priate syllabus design, and which keeps in view the general
principles of language teaching and language specific needs
should provide better input for acquiring communicative Com-
petence in the target language. She briefly reviews current
language teaching methods, indicates limitations of the sentence
as an operative unit, discusses discourse methodology and
designing of a course (which includes speech situations, alter-
native expressions, variation, structural grading, and review
exercises).
Amiya Dev (185-195) analyses the characteristic formulas
of popular style citing examples from fast selling Bengali novels,
According to him there are two basic kinds of creative writing:
one is subject-minded and the other reader-minded. The reader-
minded kind of writing, which depicts the popular formulas 1s
more ‘effective’ and sells more as compared to subject-minded
kind of writing.
Koul (197-204) discusses the kinds of borrowings of Persian
style in Kashmir. Different kinds of influences of Persian can
be seen in the medieval and modern Kashmiri poetry.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the con-
tributors of the volume who promptly accepted my request and
sent their papers for the volume. I would also like to thank
Mr. U.S. Bahri of Bahri Publications for his keen interest in
the production of this volume. I hope the present volume will
be of interest to linguists, literary critics and language teachers.
July 1986 OMKAR N, KOUL

ae |
aie Senna
* ae
otraswn sof are

ae oe
Gswire, wd, Poglinus & sea aadaeei
hides asco mone 5 josh aaa
ONG TO esl wl Hy te $i ree
tonrommodt> aaty sei!
of fs aru, griacg Pnadesse OOEN DaeAde slsah

yiatecs 2g ie Merast? 09(isumegio (PETPOOTEP OEETE Bie
bithsathget’ Lorbsriso7-eegnoig ottw daru!oy alt
destthect RE tad babibhsdeioy SF Sat
ad Diesen 0o 0 GH IY aa TRaueh Tae? TY ‘are
+ SME aad sont |Comeitiow OPPS
kgm ger ta entree pat
“ee
e
Gir ety let cat we ie LePetiok Pony
a thK acter 4735 gat ‘evrtyl vshe Reaunteraonte fay EY
ch: Ae anne lye “et she ae gwage ate po
Penge go NT Ae tating pica batsacdS36 KOM Sire
Spin ; 1°21 Soeweeek Cotes pv of

tadion,
' « co t é' ; a” vad b om, Come: ‘eat my
mee
‘oe
CONTENTS
Preface J iit
. Language, style and discourse
R.N. Srivastava
. Contrastive stylistics 11
Gerhard Nickel
. The bilingual’s creativity: discoursal and stylistic
strategies in contact literatures in English 21
Braj B. Kachru
. Style repertoire of Hindi poets: Implications for
stylistic analysis 47
Yamuna Kachru
. Text-reader dynamics 63
R.N. Srivastava and R.S. Gupta
. Sememe, pragmeme and the threshold 77
V. Prakasam
. Stylistics and literary criticism $3

Anjani Kumar Sinha
. Stylistics and the teaching of poetry 93
R.P. Bhatnagar and Rajul Bhargava
. Stylistic analysis of a poetic text 109
Ravinder Gargesh
10, Stylistics-based teaching strategies 119
A.N, Dhar
Al. Role of stylistics in first language teaching 133
Suresh Kumar
x
12. Stylistics and the ELT programme in India 147

B.N. Patnaik
13. Language teaching and discourse 161
Vijay Gambhir
14. Creativity in popular style 185.
Amiya Dev
15; Style Diffusion: The influence of Persian on Kashmiri 1%
Omkar N. Koul
Language, style and discourse
R.N. SRIVASTAVA
University of Delhi
1. Style is one of the most controversial and elusive terms of

linguistic and literary studies and yet this term is most com-
monly and generously used by both linguists and critics alike.
It is to be observed that the most rigorous of its definitions
either shows some kind of conceptual looseness or allows some
sort of flexibility in its use and usage. In literature, the techni-.
cal connotation of style either absorbs the concept of ‘tone’ or
gets dissolved in the notion of ‘rhetoric’. Similarly, in linguis-
tics, its significance either gets submerged into the notion of
‘variation’ and ‘variability’ or gets confined to those features of
the discourse which refer to the relations among its participants..
Despite various attempts to define style as an ‘objective entity’—
linguistic or literary—none has uptil now succeeded in establish-
ing a category like ‘styleme’ (at par with linguistic units like
‘phoneme’, ‘morpheme’, etc., or equivalent to figures of speech
like chiasmus, hyperbole, metonymy, synecdoche etc.). It is
precisely for this reason that Gray (1969) characterises it nega-
tively. Style, according to him, exists in the mind of scholars or
in the theory of linguistsand critics as either exists in the field
of physics.
2. Scholars like Gray try to define the term ‘style’ as a ‘sub-
stantive’ one. As a substantive category it should refer to certain
designative functions in a linguistically specified way. If viewed
from this perspective, the term ‘style’ does not hold any ground.
For example, ‘style’ has been defined by linguists as a variant
coming into existence as a result of choice. Thus, Hockett
defines.it in terms of optional structures which language asa
™s
2 Language, Style and Discourse
potential offers, and an individual or a social group makes a

choice in its use for expressing the same thought.
“The utterances in the same Janguage which convey approxi-
mately the same information, but which are different in their
linguistic structure can be said to differ in style’’.
(Hockett 1958:556)
Similarly, according to Ohman (1964), style lies in the process
of selecting one of the many optional transformations which
map the deep structure representation of a linguistic fact onto
its surface representation. Thus, the expression ‘After dinner,
the senator made a‘speech’ can have according to him the follow-
ing three stylistic variants:
(1) When dinner was over, the senator made a speech.
(2) A speech was made by the senator after dinner.
(3) The senator made a postprandial speech.
It should be pointed out that sentences (1) to (3) are said to
be synonymous i.e., same meaning but different in form, The
term ‘synonym’ is used to refer primarily to those lexical items
which have the same sense-relation as in kamla, ‘pankaja’,
niiraja’ all of which refer to the meaning of ‘lotus’. This term
can be extended to other linguistic units like phrase, sentence
etc. provided these units conform to the condition: same mean-
ing; different form. However, it is not necessary that two lin-
guistic units to be synonymous, should be identical in meaning
1.e., be identical in connotations. For example, in totality of its
meaning, pankaja is ‘lotus+born out of mud’ and ‘niiraja’ is
‘lotus +born out of water’ while kamala is merely ‘lotus’. When
a person opts for one in place of the other, he signals this
additional (connotative) meaning along with the meaning which
is broadly referential and conceptual.
It is wrong thus to assume that if two words are synony-
mous, there isno difference between them. Along with the
difference in form, there is a layer of meaning which is also
different. This simply means that there hardly exist cases of
absolute synonymy. This also suggests that meanings are layered
1.€., synonymous expressions on one layer of meaning are the
same, while on other layer of meaning they are different. Let us
call this second layer of meaning as ‘Stylistic’ meaning.
‘Language, Style and Discourse 3
A more vital question in this context is—how does this addi-

‘tional layer of meaning come into being? Can this additional
layer of meaning (which we are broadly referring to as stylistic
‘meaning) exist without the help of referential or conceptual
‘meaning? What is the relation between conceptual and stylistic
meaning? Ifthe additional Jayer of meaning comes into being
‘through the process of selection, who or what controls or condi-
‘tions this choice?
Additional layer of meaning comes into being when linguis-
tic features get associated with non-linguistic variables of dis-
“course context i.e., communicative assumptions, conversational
‘setting, sender, receiver, topic etc. It should be noted that
‘stylistic significance is attributed to linguistic features only
where language offers variation and choice for selection. When
‘the choice between grammatical or lexical alternants is mapp-
cable into the variable of discourse features, the stylistic meaning
and its significance becomes apparent. This also means that
‘style is not merely ‘form’, or ‘manner’ or ‘way of saying some-
‘thing’, but that style is ‘meaning’, and secondly, the very exis-
tence of style, as pointed out by Koch (1963) splits semantics
into two—conceptual or referential meaning which is the area of
meaning common to its variants and stylistic meaning which is
‘a semantic differential that comes into being by the very act of
‘selecting one variant as opposed to others made available by
a language. Thus, stylistic meaning is encoded when the varia-
tion in structure or unit has some conceptual equivalence i.e.
alternates belong to the same class of references. This relation-
ship between conceptual invariant and stylistically conditioned
alternates is like the relationship between phoneme or morpheme
and allophone or allomorph respectively. Totake an exam-
ple, tu, tum and aap of Hindi may be said to be variants refer-
Ting to the invariant ‘second person singular pronoun’, but the
‘selection between these variants is conditioned by institution-
ally governed behavioral norms. As shown by Srivastava (1978),
the very selection of one variant as opposed to the other, signals
‘socially conditioned stylistic meaning.
On the question of relationship between the two kinds of
meaning—conceptual and stylistic, it can be suggested that they
are like two separate layers of sound system—segmental and
“
suprasegmental. These layers are hierarchically organised. The

hierarchy of constituents indicates different depths of levels, as
we findin the hierarchy of constituents in IC analysis. The
Autosegmental Phonology as proposed by Goldsmith (1976)
and the Metrical Phonology as developed by Liberman (1975)
and Liberman and Prince (1977) allow for multilinear and
multilevel phonological analysis. These models place segmental
informations on one tier and tonal informations on a separate
tier. Units of these tiers are.organized by means of association
lines (links). The Well-Formedness Condition states that every
unit of one tier (say, a vowel) is to be associated with atleast
one unit of another tier (say, a toneme).
One can suggest a multilinear anda multilevel model of
stylistics wherein stylistic meaning exists as prosodic features of
language exist on a level different from segmental units. As we
postulate ‘tonemes’ on this level, we can have ‘stylemes’ as well;
and as below word-level phonology, one finds prosodic units
like ‘syllable’ and ‘foot’ (indicating different layers of depth),
a styleme can be said to be constituted of linguistically organi-
zed different stylistic units. For example,
1, abalaa jiivana haaya tumhaarii yahii kahaanii
2. *aaNchala meN hai duudha aur aaNkhoN meN paanii
1. (Oh, life of women-folk, this is your very story.
2. The milk is in *aaNchala and water in eyes)
Let us look at the conceptual (denotative) and stylistic
(connotative) meaning of the second line.
aaNchal meN hai duudh aur aaNkhoN meN_ paanii
L, aaNchal in is milk and eyes in water-
L, mother’s breast milk tears

| |
motherhood suffering
pd |
bast
L, Irony
“aanchala in fact means the extreme part of a sari enveloping the breast
part of a woman. It is used also to cover the body at the time of breast-
feeding.
|
Language, Style and Discourse 5
The separate designative meaning of words ‘milk’ and ‘aanchal’
‘on the one hand and ‘water’ and ‘eyes’ (L,) get linked by copu-
lative construction N, (Loc) —Copula—N, (Sub) and by associa-
tion link get transformed into meaning ensemble mother’s
breast-milk (=motherhood) and tears (=suffering) (L,) res-
pectively. ‘Motherhood’ being the most positive value and
‘suffering’ as the most negative value of humanity are juxtapo-
sed by the coordination ‘and’. When placed in the context of
the prior sentence, these two values get associated to generate a
tonal meaning of ‘irony’ (Ls) i.e. women-section of our society
which has such a noble trait of motherhood has been made to
suffer all along her history.
The expression ‘Style is meaning’ does suggest that a stylis-
tically uttered expression does add something more to the ‘con-
ceptual’ meaning. This additive meaning has some function to
perform. This is not merely an ‘extension’ or ‘intension’ of con-
ceptual meaning, as we do commonly understand by the use of
adjectives. Ellis (1970) thus is baffled by the fact that though
the change of meaning between ‘very big’ and ‘enormous’ is
just as much the change as between ‘big’ and ‘very big’ in
practice one is placed under ‘stylistic’ meaning while for the
other under ‘formal’ meaning.
Where an extra word is used to differentiate two expressions,
we tend in ordinary discourse to say that meaning has been
added, while when an expression is replaced by another,
perhaps more differentiated one, an entirely parallel change
of meaning tends to be called style. The word formal is one
that has a recognizable meaning, but when its area of mean-
ing is absorbed into another word and is used to differentiate
that word from another which is closely related, the differen-
tiation is commonly termed stylistic.
(Ellis 1970:71)
Ellis does not find any theoretical reason for the different des-
criptions of these two cases. This is because he holds the view
that all meanings which are additive in nature can be labelled
as stylistic meanings. It is true that the additional meaning comes
into existence by the choice exercised by the speaker from
amongst available options made by language—lexical or struc-
6 Language, Style and Discourse-
tural, but this alone does not qualify the ‘additive’ meaning as.
‘stylistic’. The ‘additive’ meaning must be absorbed firstly asa
‘discourse’ feature and secondly as an ‘emphasis’. The selection,
of one item rather than the other should indicate a differential
attitude from the axis of the speaker ie., the speaker has taken
a different attitude to the event referred to in the discourse. For
example, if the speaker has selected one to the exclusion of
others out of the three lexical items of Hindi, kamal (lotus),
pankaja (lotus+born in mud) and niiraja (lotus+ born in water),
the additive meaning in itself does not qualify it as stylistic
meaning. Only when the choice signals speaker’s attitude to the
event i.e., niiraja being interpreted as a flower (lotus) which is.
unaffected by its environment or pankaja as a flower (lotus).
which can be born even in adverse circumstances etc , that an
additive meaning gets transformed as stylistic meaning.
Style is a functional construct. It is in this functional context.
that Riffaterre (1959) tried to define style as choice.
‘Style is understood as an emphasis (expressive, affective or

aesthetic) added to the information conveyed by the Jinguis-
tic structure, without alteration of meaning. Which is to say
that language expresses and that style stresses...’ .
(Riffaterre 1959:155).
One may argue that inspite of the fact that kamal, pankaja
and niiraja or tu, tum and aap have a common referential
object i.e. ‘lotus’ or ‘second person singular pronoun’ respec-
tively, they are three closely related but different words and
three closely related but different ideas. Like Ellis (1970) one
may also tend to assert that stylistic-meaning is not a matter of
emphasis, but a conceptual meaning which is designatively dis-
tinct. The functional perspective to the study of stylistics
would claim that the selection that conveys simply this designa-
tively distinct meaning is yet not to be characterized as stylistic
meaning. In order to qualify as style, it has to be absorbed in
the discourse so as to transform itself into something performing
the function of emphasis, keeping intact the common (related)
meaning. Thus, we find two distinct levels of description and
usage of meanings of such related (synonymous) expressions.
Language, Style and Discourse i.
(1) Structurally organizational: this makes the above men-
tioned sets of three words as three closely related but
different words and ideas.
(2) Stylistically functional: This makes the above mentioned
sets of three words as three ways of expressing (i.e ;
signalling different discourses feature) the same designa-
tive object. y
Thus, stylistically functional feature is neither exclusively a
pure form (because style as a form is invariably engaged with
connotative meaning) nor exclusively a code for content (because
style as a differential content involves without any exception a
distinctive form). This inseparability of ‘form’ (signifier) and
‘content’ (signified) leads to what Leech and Short (1981!) refer
to as the monistic view of style. Contrary to this, the dualistic
view of style asserts that a speaker (or writer) necessarily makes
choices of expressing the same content and that it is in these
choices that style resides. It is often suggested that ‘stylistic
monism finds its strongest ground in poetry, where through
such devices as metaphor, irony, and ambiguity, meaning be-
comes multivalued, and sense loses its primacy’ (Leech & Short
1981:25), while dualismis happier with prose; where primacy of
sense is emphasised and connotative meaning is underplayed.
Such a distinction between prose and poetry is based on wrong
notions of language and linguistic processes. It is wrong to
presume, as Ohman (1964) presumes, that optional Transfor-
mational Rules are the ones which determine style and that
such rules change the form of a basic sentence type without
changing its meaning. Similarly, it is also wrong to say that
prose is full of paraphrases, in the sense that one sentence form
is replaceable by another without loss of meaning. As shown by
Burgess (1973), there are novelists for whom connotations are
to be enjoyed rather than to be regretted.
Viewed linguistically, optional transformations like active and
passive transformation, may retain the truth-condition, but it
would be wrong to assert that they are true paraphrases. As
pointed out by Chafe (1971:11):
‘fin part this error stems from a remarkable insensitivity to
meaning differences exhibiting any degree of subtlety. That
1%
linguists would even begin to entertain the possibility that

a passive sentence has the same meaning as its correspond-
ing active sentence certainly betrays an insensitivity of this
kind.”
In sentences like (1) ‘When dinner was over, the senator made
a speech,’ and (2) ‘Aspeech was made by the senator after
dinner’, the distribution of new and old information is signi-
ficantly different. In fact, stylistic function resides in such types
of information —i.e., informations which are less directed to the
truth-condition and more impregnated with the speaker’s attitude
and disposition to the fact.
The concept of style thus defined is neither substantive in
substance as Gray (1968) upholds nor is: it notational as
Enkvist (1973) suggests. It is in fact ‘functional’. Because it is
‘functional’, it is capable of exploiting all dimensions of
language use and levels of verbal organizations. For example,
we can at least identify three distinct dimensions of language
use that give rise to three kinds of meaning:
(1) Structural Meaning: When language as a verbal system
looks internally to itself;
(2) Propositional Meaning: When language as a symbol
stands referentially for something else;
(3) Social Meaning: When language as a social event conveys
the rituals or behavioral norms of a group of speakers,
These three dimensions of language use put their own con-
straints and any motivated violation of these constraints can
produce stylistically functional expressions. Thus, we get struc-
turally deviant expressions, like ‘a grief ago’ (Dylon Thomas),
‘he danced his did’ (Cummings), ‘the widow-making unchilding
unfathering deep’ (Hopkins) etc. Propositionally deviant
expressions often lead to stylistic appreciation, for example, ‘the ~
child is father of the man’ (Wordsworth). It can lead to meta-
phor; ‘Sheila is a block of ice’, or ‘Mohan is a gorilla’. Behavio-
rally deviant usage can generate social meaning reflexive of
certain attitudes. For example, in the following discourse, as
discussed by Ervin-Tripp (1969), by merely violating rules of
address prevalent in American communities, the policeman
insulted Dr. Poussaint three times:
Language, Style and Discourse 9
What’s your name, boy?
Dr. Poussaint. I am a physician.
What’s your first name, boy?
Alvin.
Similarly, different levels of language organization i.e. pho-
nological, graphological, morphological, syntactic etc. can be
“exploited as a resource for generating stylistic meaning. Because
style is a ‘functional’ construct, it is quite possible that all the
three dimensions of language use and structures belonging to
‘the different levels of language organization tend to converge at
one functionally defined stylistic meaning. This simply leads us
to conclude that the term ‘style’ can best be defined ‘notionally’
and ‘functionally’ (and not structurally), though structural tools
-can be employed for its analysis, explication and understanding.
The above discussion also forces us to look at language in a
“dialectical perspective emphasising that:
(1) Language is a Potential i.e. it is a structure which allows
sets of options and that options could be viewed in two
ways:
(a) options within the norm of the paradigm (ie.,
synonymous expressions)
(b) options which lead to the extension of the paradigm
(i,e. linguistic deviance)
(2) Language is a Discourse i.e.the selection from within the
sets of options offered by a language is made with com-
municative intent.
The ‘locus’ of style is neither exclusively in the first nor in
“the second proposition; it is infact in the interplay (dialectics)
‘between the two. It is to be emphasized further that like pro-
sodic units (suprasegmentals), they are in existence non-linear,
and in location diffused all along different levels of language
organization. As we posit in phonology different levels like
“Vowels, Syllables, Foots, Words etc. to understand ‘stress’, ‘tones’
and other prosodic features, there is a need to identify different
‘strands of language organization for revealing stylistic features.
‘Our perspective to the study of stylistics is suggestive of the fact
‘that language is a functional set of categories and relationship
“capable of communicating ideas and attitudes.
.
REFERENCES
Burgess, A., 1973. Joysprick: an introduction to the language of

James Joyce. Deutsch.
Chafe, W.L. 1971. Directionality and paraphrase. Lnnguage 47:
1-26.
Ellis, J.M. 1970. Linguistics, literature, and the concept of style.
Word 26. 1.65-78 :
Enkvist, N.E. 1973. Linguistic stylistics. The Hague: Mouton.
Goldsmith, J. 1976. Autosegmental phonology. Bloomington:
IULC.
Gray, B., 1969. Style: the problem and its solution. The Hague:
Mouton
Hockett, C.F. 1958. A course in modern linguistics, New York:
Macmillan.
Koch, W.A. 1963. On the principles of stylistics. Lingua 12:.
410-418.
Leech, G.N. and M.H., Short. 1981. Style in fiction: A linguistic:
introduction to English fictional prose. London: Longman..
Liberman, M.Y., 1975. The international system of English. MIT-
doct. dissert, Cambridge, Massachussetts.
Liberman, M. and Alan S. Prince, 1977. On stress and linguistic-
rhythm. Linguistic Inquiry, 8. 249-336.
Riffaterre, M. 1959. Criteria for style analysis. Word 15,
154-174.
Srivastava, R.N. 1978. Linguistic perspective to the study of
social meaning. Papers in Linguistic Analysis (University of
Delhi) 2. 1-18.
s
Contrastive stylistics
GERHARD NICKEL
Universitat Stuttgart
Institut fiir Linguistik: Anglistik
Like all other modern linguistic disciplines, contrastive lingui-

stics (CL) is not in essence new. It was preceded by comparative
philology, which was also interested in contrastive aspects of~
languages including contrastive stylistics. Some of the basic
differences between their research and ours today are the follow-
ing: less systematization, naturally the lack of some of our
modern concepts, which, however, need not be in all cases supe-
rior, interest in diachronic and also in evaluative aspects.+
Sometimes a direct relationship between language and
national character was also established, the general style of the
language also somehow reflecting the character of the particular
nation. Thus, O. Jespersen thought that the virility of the English.
language (consonants, wealth of vocabulary and other factors)
reflected the masculinity of the English race.
Then there should also be mention made of ‘la stylistique
comparee’ in France with a great deal of aesthetic elements.
built into these comparisons.
As far as modern CL is concerned, contrastive stylistics is
one of the neglected fields.”
Modern movements like pragma-, socio-, text-linguistics and
others have also given some new ideas to theoretical CL, though
only little research has been done up to now in response to.
these stimuli, partly because the theoretical bases are still not
yet firm enough, partly because research following these lines.
*s
a
‘AZ Language, Style and Discourse

is so difficult even in one language that it tends to discourage
research applying these notions to two.?
In CL a separation, as in general linguistics, into theoretical,
descriptive, and applied branches has proved to be quite useful
in spite of all the problems of delimiting one level against the
other.
Theoretical CL would deal with linguistic problems like
universals, the use of linguistic models in connection with
-contrastive analyses including concepts like rheme, theme, and
“cases, deep structure vs. surface structure and many other ideas.
It becomes quite obvious that attacks against theoretical
linguistics of the type mentioned above will also very often be
automatically directed against CL using these concepts. It must
be made clear here, however, that the usefulness of these fertia
comparationis does not depend upon their indisputable cogency,
~and that even concepts that can no longer be upheld may still
be of some use for comparative purposes, Since they are applied
in the same way to different languages, they do not diminish
‘the value of the analysis as such. It should also be made clear
that linguistic concepts may be used heterogeneously. Since some
“may be of good use for contrastive research and others of less
utility, one may feel forced to usea heterogeneous set-up of
ideas with all the problems that arise from such a heterogeneity.
Descriptive CL is defined as the application of some of the
above-mentioned concepts to /angue (and sometimes also to
parole) levels, describing agreements and differences between
languages in concrete terms. Through systematic contrastive
stylistics on a descriptive level, certain statements of earlier
periods preceding modern linguistics, very often based on
impressionistic views, can be reformulated in a more objective
way. Thus for instance, stylisticians in Germany stated that as
to the choice of the subject in a given sentence the scale of
preference in German was abstract-concrete-personal, while in
English the direction was the opposite one, preference being
given, if possible, to personal subjects. Thus a German sentence
“corresponding to the English words ‘love accompanied him all his
life’ contrasted with the English sentence ‘he was accompanied
by love all his life’. Statistic analysis shows that there are indeed
“contrasting scales of preference on the above lines in each
Cantrastive Stylistics 13:
language, though they are mainly restricted to literary levels..

But the following additional comments must be made:
First of all, this kind of difference is mainly found on,
literary levels. Secondly, modern English uses many such,
slogans as ‘music knows no boundaries’. The third and per-.
haps most important comment is that the latter remark applies.
particularly to situations Where the abstract subject is chosen:
as the rheme of thesentence. If it appears asa theme ina
sequence going beyond sentential level, then English also quite-
often uses abstract subjects asin, for instance, the following:
sequence: ‘He was conquered by love all his life. It conquered.
him again and again in different situations.’
The same applies to concrete vs. personal: ‘He was approa--
ching a forest. It soon swallowed him up.’ This kind of sequence
is quite common, while, it must be admitted again, the rhematic-
use of the ‘concrete’ item in a sentence like ‘A forest swallowed.
him up’ is not found as frequently as in German. Thus the
application of the rheme-theme contrast makes it possible to.
formulate certain findings of the past in a preciser way.
The application of case-ideas also makes it possible to.
reformulate certain rules concerning the differences between
German and English stylistic differences. Thus the instrumental.
and locative are very often given subject position (on the sur-
face) in English, while they are rendered in the form of preposi--
tional phrases in German: ‘This plane seats 100 people’ in
English as opposed to the equivalent German construction ‘100:
people can be seated in this plane’. It must be made clear here
again that thisis notan absolute distinction, but rather a
difference of relative frequency depending upon various.
stylistic levels.
Other phenomena on the descriptive level are the description.
of dialects and registers and their roles in different languages,
factors which are quite important for, for instance, translations
of dramas or novels from one language into another where.
dialects were used in a characterizing function (cf., e.g.,
Pygmalion).
Sociolinguistic research of all kinds shows that the difference.
between spoken and written varieties within European langu-
ages are increasingly on the wane. Spoken registers have an.
“
-enormous influence upon written ones and sentences under the

influence of spoken varieties of the language tend to become
shorter and shorter. A great deal of convergence between, for
instance, German and English seems to take place today due to
‘similar cultural conditions and experiences. The growth of
“special registers (LSP) also following similar lines (e.g. nomina-
lization) is quite a noticeable trend.
Needless to say, all these distinctions are very important in
cultivating the sensitivity to different stylistic levels, something
that should be started first in mother-tongue instruction in
-order then to be applied and transferred to FL and SL teaching,
which brings us to the next level:
Applied CL. One should warn again and again against over-
rating the influence of applying linguistic concepts of the
‘theoretical (in particular) and descriptive kind to language
teaching. There isno doubt that some of the findings of CL,
including contrastive stylistics, are valuable. Also, the neigh-
bouring discipline of error analysis (EA), ideas like ‘inter-
‘language’ and ‘fossilization’ have some bearing upon FL and
‘SL teaching. Thus it is known to all teachers that a certain
‘plateau’ effect can be observed with students once they have
advanced to the communicative level. When it comes to more
‘subtle registers of language use fe.g. the use of synonyms), a
‘great number of students of the less motivated type do not
show great interest in learning all these subtle distinctions of
the stylistic type. Thus the irony of the role of stylistics in
language teaching is that on the one hand its teaching is con-
sidered to be very important in order to make students more
successful in oral and written communication, while at the same
time the teaching of stylistics is quite a difficult task. This may
‘be attributed to the following phenomena:
(1) lack of motivation as mentioned above; (2) the difficulty
of developing sensitivity for stylistic differences if not yet deve-
‘loped in one’s mother tongue; (3) the fact that if developed in
‘the mother tongue, it may very often lead to negative transfer,
since it is a kind of original linguistic sensitivity leading to
negative interference especially to languages with very closely
‘related stylistic similarities; (4) the fact that priority is given by
anodern teaching to oral communication.
“Contrastive Stylistics 15
All statements made at the end of the last paragraph show
up limitations in FL and SL teaching, which have not yet been
‘fully recognized.‘ ‘
One should also be reminded here that all linguistic models
are mainly concerned with mother-tongue problems. Linguistic
and particularly didactic applications have often been only
made upon second thought, which very often did harm to the
original version and intention of the linguistic model. Even if
we dispose of excellent grammars of communicative competence
‘today in different languages, it must be questioned here whether
“communicative competence from the FL learner’s point of view
means the same as communicative competence from a native-
speaker’s point of view. Undoubtedly, roles, language registers
-and, in connection with this, expectations from a native-spea-
‘ker’s point of view are not identical with those a native-speaker
would have in connection with speakers of his own language.
Within his native-speaker group he would make all kinds of
“concessions as to regional and social parameters.
In connection with international communication this pro-
‘blem would have to be analysed in detail. What we need is very
precise and empirical work of the socio- and pragmalinguistic
‘type to inquire into this highly important and subtle field.
‘Thus, for instance, the teaching of the function of cursing and
‘swearing as done in one book on communicative English is
hardly something one would have to teach actively, but rather,
‘if at all, passively to allow for interpretations by foreigners
‘when running into this kind of native-speaker context. Apart
from cultural and ethical problems. there is the problem of
‘international communicative tactfulness’ that automatically
‘arises when communication takes place between native and
non-native speakers. Nor do native speakers expect from non-
native speakers all the subtleties of registers such as the one of
politeness, unless their competence is so perfect that they can
almost be identified with native speakers. Here a clear danger
of ‘perfection’ can be seen, and the positive role of errors as
warning signals to automatically lower expectations would have
to be considered. This applies to all linguistic levels including
the phonetic one®, but certainly particularly to de luxe cate-
-gories within lexis and stylistics.®
‘
While the native speaker with varying degrees of tolerance,

which may even differ from country to country, but is certainly
relatively high in countries like Great Britain, expects foreigners.
to commit errors, there is another only superficially contradic-
tory aspect to be also taken into consideration: RP is still expec-
ted as the unmarked and most neutral form of standard from
non-native speakers, unless they speak a dialect in a most
natural way after having acquired it during a long stay in that:
particular area. Uses of intimacy of the semantic, stylistic or
lexical type including regional dialects and substandards, are
slightly frowned upon and should only very carefully and tact-
fully be used. Thus we have the interesting phenomenon that on
the one hand overcorrect and too-good-to-be-true English has a
slightly freezing effect raising high expectations, but that on the
other hand the use of intimate signals of all kinds (slang, dialect,
four-letter words, cursing, etc.) is also an area to be entered
with extreme care. Needless to say, all this can be demonstrated
only in advanced courses for learners of English at university
level particularly when native informants are around.
It is interesting that the norm question today is attracting.
interest from all quarters. Whether one reads Quirk’s et al,
grammar or knows about his ideas of so-called ‘nuclear
English’’, Kachru’s book The Other Tongue®, or Strevens’s New
Orientations, one can clearly notice the trend towards accepting.
all kinds of ‘Englishes’ all over the world, to say nothing of all
the British varieties of the antipodean and non-antipodean type.
In the first issue of an interesting journal, World Language
English, a series of articles deal with international aspects of
English of all kinds. Thus, for instance, in one article G. Abbott
suggests the use of pidgin beside British English in secondary
schools in Malaysia for intracultural purposes. He makes clear
that very often English is used as a lingua franca among local
people and not for communication between FL learners and
native speakers.® In another one, Nic Underhill suggests on
pp. 16-17 that
“the emphasis should be on effective communication rather

than on accurate English...”
Contrastive Stylistics iy
He also states:
“Some areas of grammar are more important for communi-

cation than others; therefore an EIL syllabus should present
a simplified grammatical system. . ,
/
The functional approach is less relevant to BIL because it
is concerned with small differences of meaning that other
non-native speakers will not notice.’’!°
Still another article by H.V. George asks for simplification made
by native speakers when encoding their messages at congresses
in order to facilitate communication.! This interesting humani-
tarian point of view certainly also deserves close attention with
mother-tongue teaching, but has perhaps less relevance for FL
teaching,
Though contrastive stylistics in connection with EA will not
result in admitting false forms of English, which ‘deviations’ as
defined by B. Kachru, of course, are not, it will make use of
some legitimate simplifications in existence in languages (e.g.
simplification of vocabulary, etc.).}2
Thus, also the distinctions ‘marked’ vs. ‘unmarked’ can help
reduce difficulties in language acquisition, though, of course,
giving up certain stylistic advantages. Very important is also to
make a clear distinction between receptive and productive skills.
This entails, for instance, that the student would on the one
hand be expected to know of subtle stylistic distinctions in
order to be able tounderstand and interpret literature, but
would not necessarily be required to use them in his own essays,
let alone in his oral production. Another legitimate approach is
- to teach threshold level Janguage and special registers where one
should also include clear cues varying according to the objec-
tives and motivations of the learners, which, of course, depend a
great deal upon geographical, cultural, socio-economic and poli-
tical factors.
In conclusion, I should like to point out once more, particu-
larly with reference to the third level of analysis referred to
previously, the relevance of contrastive stylistics, BA, interlan-
guage and problems of language and other cultural norms in
~“
connection with FL teaching, this with particular reference to

stylistics. All these factors should help us in re-evaluating teach-
ing and learning objectives in a more realistic way without
having to give up certain required standards.
NOTES
Based on a special lecture delivered in the Seminar on Stylistics

and Language Teaching held at the Northern Regional Language
Centre at Patiala in August 1982, Since the invitation to give
this Jecture arrived pretty late, I was not able to prepare a
manuscript. Upon the request of the organiser, I wrote the
manuscript during my lecture tour in India without any library
facilities at my disposal moving from one place to the other.
Therefore, quotations will be relatively sparse, which does not
mean that all the statements here are original. The procedure
enforced upon me by the circumstances, however, has the one
great advantage that I cannot quote from books, as many schol-
ars tend to do today before presenting their own data of find-
ings.
1. Cf. Nickel, G. 1970. The interaction between English and
other languages, In: The incorporated linguist 9: pp. 99-106.
2. Cf. Di Pietro, R.J. 1971. Language structures in contrast.
Rowley/Mass.: Newbury House, p. 48:
“Although differences in stylistic use of rules are relevant to
a CA [contrastive analysis], it is difficult to discuss them.
Since style in language, like women’s fashions in the Western
World, can change unpredictably, whatever we say about
preferences for certain rules is subject to revision. We shall
have to content ourselves with general observations.
.... Another reason why it is difficult to treat style is that
any comprehensive study of it would force the analyst to go
beyond the sentence into discourse structure. In fact, it ap-
pears that stylistic variance is more relevant to the combina-
tions of sentence types in lengthy discourses that it is in the
choice of rules operating within the boundaries of the sen-
tence. Unfortunately, however, formal procedures for unco-
vering structures larger than the sentence and discussing
Contrastive Stylistics 19
them unambiguously are still in the experimental stage. One
of the many problems lies in finding empirical justification for
the claims made by some that style somehow reflects either
a culturally conditioned view of reality or certain thought
Patterns which arise from the native speaker’s cultural
orientation. . . . It is regréttable but necessary that we forego
any extensive CA of styles,”’
3. Cf., e.g., Riley, P.H. 1981. Towards a contrastive pragma-
linguistics. In: Fisiak, J., (ed.), Contrastive linguistics and
the language teacher. London: Pergamon Press. pp. 121-
146; and also James, C. 1980. Contrastive analysis, Lon-
don: Longman, especially the chapter Macrolinguistics and
Contrastive Linguistics, pp. 98-140.
4. Cf., e.g, Nickel, G. 1980. Some pedagogical implications
of error analysis and contrastive linguistics. In Tijdschrift
van de Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 19 (21), pp. 60-70; and
also Nickel, G., Contrastive Linguistics (CL), Error Anal-
ysis (EA) and their relevance for language planning inclu-
ding language minimization. In: Proceedings of the XIIIth
Congress of Linguists, Tokyo 1982.
5. For a different opinion on the level of phonetics, cf. Leahy
R.M. 1980. A practical approach for teaching ESL. Pro-
nunciation base on distinctive feature analysis. In: TESOL
Quarterly, 14.2: 217.
6. In this connection it is rather astonishing that D. Crystal
and D. Davy address their book Investigating English style
(London: Longman, 1969, p. 7) to both the native speaker
and the non-native speaker, without making the impor-
tant distinctions necessary here. They demand:
‘He needs to develop a ‘sense of style’, as it is often called

—a semi-instinctive knowledge of linguistic appropriateness
and (more important) taboo, which corresponds as closely
as possible to the fluent native speaker’s.”’
Though they also have to admit:
“But this ability does not come easily, and in many langu-
age teaching institutions there is insufficient training for it
ever to be gained at all’’,
s
they do suggest any concrete simplifications for non-native spea-

kers in, for instance, distinguishing between active and passive
skills.
the con-
7. Quick, R. 1982 International communication and
for
cept of nuclear English.”’ In: Brumfit, C., (ed.), English
International Communication. Oxford/New york: Pergamon
Press pp. 15-28.
oo. Kachru, B. (ed) 1982. ° The other tongue: English across
cultures. Champaign/Ill: University of Illinois Press.
_ Abbot, G. 1981 Understanding one another’s Englishes.
In: World Language English, 1.1:1-4.
Underhill, N, 1981 Your needs are different from my
needs. In: World Language English, 1.1:15-18,
. George, H.V., 1981 Unhappy professionalism. In: World
Language English, 1.1:9-14.
Of course the term ‘simplification’ is only an operational
term and has to be seen here ina developmental dimen-
sion within the language, which does not necessarily mean
simplifications for all foreign language learners,
A 4 ee pat ie
The bilingual’s creativity: discoursal and
stylistic strategies in contact literatures
in English
BRAJ B. KACHRU
University of Illinois, Urbana
The bilingual’s creativity! in English on a global scale, and the

issues concerning nativization of discourse patterns, discourse
strategies and speech acts, are a natural consequence of the
unprecedented world-wide uses of English, mainly since the
early 1920s. The phenomenon of a language with fast increas-
ing diaspora varieties—and significantly more non-native users
than native speakers?—has naturally resulted in the pluricentri-
city? of English. The sociolinguistic import of this pluricentri-
city is that the non-native users of English can choose to acquire
a variety of English which may be distinct from the native vari-
ties. As a result, two types of models of English have develop-
ed: native and _ institutionalized non-native (see Kachru
1982c). Itis with reference to these models that the innova-
tions, creativity and emerging literary traditions in English
must be seen.4 Each model has its own linguistic and literary
norms—or a tendency to develop such norms. This is the
linguistic reality of English in its world context. Attitudinally,
however, the way people react to this situation opens up an
entirely different can of worms, not directly related to this
paper.®
The concept ‘pluricentricity’ of English is a useful beginning
point for this paper: I will address certain issues which, it
seems to me, are related to both Western and non-Western
pluricentricity of the English language. I will first raise a

theoretical question concerning linguists’ common preception
of a speech community, particularly their understanding of the
linguistic behaviour of the members ofa speech community
which alternately uses two, three or more languages depending
on the situation and function. One might ask: How valid is a
theory of grammar which treats monolingualism as the norm
for description and analysis’ of the linguistic interaction of
traditional multilingual societies? Yet in linguistic description—
save a few exceptions—the dominant paradigms have consider-_
ed monolingualism as the norm (i.e., judgments based on the
ideal speaker-hearer).6 My second concern—not unrelated to
the first point—is with description and methodology: Are the
models proposed for discourse and text-analysis of monolin-
guals’ linguistic interaction observationally, descriptively, and
explanatorily adequate for the analysis of bilinguals’ language
use? My third aim is to discuss some underlying processes of
nativization which characterize literariness’ (both formal and
contextual) of selected texts manifesting the bilingual’s creati-
vity. The examples have been taken primarily from what has
earlier been termed ‘contact literature’. Finally, I shall discuss
the relationship between this creativity and underlying
thought-patterns of bilinguals.
I believe that the theoretical and methodological tracks
followed to date in the study of contact literatures in English
fail on several counts®. The foremost limitation one detects in a
majority of studies is that of using almost identical approaches
for the description of the bilingual’s and monolingual’s creati-
vity. Literary creativity in English has until now been studied
within the Western Judaic-Christian heritage and its impli-
cations for understanding English literature. True, the
English language shows typical characteristics of a ‘mixed’
language development in its layer after layer of borrowings,
adaptations, and various levels of language contact.!° But even
there, the earlier main intrusion has been essentially European
and more or less consistent with the Hellenistic and Roman
traditions.
However, the prolonged colonial period substantially
changed that situation in the linguistic fabric of the English
Bilingual’s Creativity 23
language, and extended its use asa medium for ethnic and
regional literatures in the non-Western world (eg., Indian
English, West African English; see Kachru 1980). The results
of this extension can be observed in the ‘Sanskritization’ and
‘Kannadaization’ of Raja Rao’s English,’ and in the
‘Yorubaization and ‘Igboization’ of Amos Tutuola and Chinua
Achebe. The labels indicate that these authors have exploited
two or more linguistic—and cultural—resources which do not
fit into the paradigms of what Kaplan (1966) terms ‘the
Platonic Aristotelian sequence’? and the dominant Anglo-
Saxon thought patterns of the native speakers of English.
Recognition of this mixing of Western and non-Western
resources has implications for our use of terms such as cohesion
or coherence!® and even communicative competence. We should
also be cautious in suggesting typologies of culture-specific
speech acts in various varieties of English (see Chishimba
1983).
In contact literature, the bilingual’s creativity introduces a
nativized thought-process (e.g., Sanskritic, Yoruba, Malay-
sian) which does not conform to the recognized canons of
discourse types, text design, stylistic conventions, and tradi-
tional thematic range of the English language, as viewed from
the major Judaic-Christian traditions of literary and linguistic
creativity.
The linguistic realization of the underlying traditions and
thought processes for a bilingual may then entail a transfer of
discoursal patterns from one’s other (perhaps more dominant)
linguistic code and cultural and literary traditions. That such
organization of discourse strategies—conscious or unconscious
—arises in different ways in different cultures has been shown
in several studies on non- Western languages."
6“CONTACT’’ IN CONTACT LITERATURES
What does the term ‘contact literature’ simply? The term refers
to the literatures in English written by the users of English as
a second language to delineate contexts which generally do not
form part of what may be labeled the traditions of English
literature (African, Malaysian, and Indian and so on). Such
2S
24 Langtage, Style and Discourse
literatures, as I have stated elsewhere, are ‘‘a product of multi-

cultural and multilingual speech communities’ (1982b:330).
Furthermore:
The concept of “contact literature’ is an extension of

“contact language”. A language in contact is two-faced;
it has its own face, and the face it acquires from the langu-
age with which it has contact. The degree of contact varies
from lexical borrowing to intensive mixing of units. Contact
literatures (for example, non-native English literatures of
India, Nigeria or Ghana; the francophone literatures; or the
Indian-Persian literature) have certain formal and thematic
characteristics which make the use of the term “‘contact”
appropriate (Kachru 1982b:341).
It has already been shown that contact literatures have both

a national identity and a linguistic distinctiveness (e.g.,
Indianness, Africanness). The ‘linguistic realization’ of such
identities is achieved in several ways: the text may have both a
surface and an underlying identity with the native varieties of
English; it may show only partial identity with the native
norms; or it may entail a culture-specific (e.g., African, Asian)
identity both at the surface and the underlying levels and share
nothing with the native variety. Thus contact literatures have
several linguistic and cultural faces: they reveal a blend of two
or more linguistic textures and literary traditions, and they
provide the English language with extended contexts of situ-
ation within which such literatures may be interpreted and
understood. In such literatures there is a range of discourse
devices and cultural assumptions distinct from the ones associa-
ted with the native varieties of English. One must extend the
scope of the historical dimension and cultural traditions from
that of the Judaic-Christian traditions to the different heritages
of Africa and Asia. This kind of historical and cultural expan-
sion results in a special type of linguistic and literary pheno-
menon: such texts demand a new literary sensibility and exten-
ded cultural awareness froma reader who is outside of the
speech fellowship which identifies with the variety.
It is in this sense that English writing has become, to give
an example, “‘our national literature’, and English ‘our natio-

nal language” in Nigeria as claimed by Nnamdi Azikiwe, the
first President of Nigeria, (quoted in Thumboo 1976:vii). The
same is, of course, true of most of the former British and
American colonies or areas of influence, such as India, Singapore,
and the Philippines.
Thumboo (1976:ix) is making the same point in connection
with Commonwealth writers in English when he says that
“language must serve, not overwhelm, if the Commonwealth
writer is to succeed Mastering it involves holding down and
breaching a body of habitual English associations to secure
that condition of verbal freedom cardinal to energetic, resource-
ful writing. In a sense the language is remade, where necessary,
by adjusting the interior landscape of words in order to explore
and mediate the permutations of another culture and environ-
ment.”
And discussing the problems of such writers, Thumboo adds
(xxxiv):
The experience of peoples crossing over into a second

language is not new, though the formalization of the more
acts as a powerful rider. What amounts to the re-location of
a sensibility nurtured by, and instructed in one culture,
within another significantly different culture, is complicated
in the outcome.
DISCOURSAL THOUGHT PATTERN

AND LANGUAGE DESIGN
The relationship between underlying thought patterns and

language designs has been well illustrated by Achebe in a very
convincing way. In his Arrow of God, Achebe provides two
short texts as an illustration, one nativized (Africanized) and
the other Englishized, and then gives reasons for choosing to
use the former. In explaining his choice, he says that it will
‘| ,give some idea of how I approach the use of English.”’ In
the passage, the Chief Priest is telling one of his sons why it is
necessary to send him to church, Achebe first gives the Africa-
nized version;
.
I want one of my sons to join these people and be my eyes

there. If there is nothing in it you will come back. But
if there is something then you will bring back my share.
The world is like a mask, dancing. If you want to see it
well, you do not stand in one place. My spirit tells me that
those who do not befriend the white man today will be
saying, ‘had we known’, tomorrow.
Achebe, then asks, ‘supposing I had put it another way. Like

this for instance:
I am sending you as my representative among those people—

just to be on the safe side in case the new religion develops.
One has to move with the times or else one is left behind.
I have a hunch that those who fail to come to terms with
the white man may well regret their lack of foresight.
And he rightly concludes: ‘‘The material is the same. But

the form of the one is in character and the other is not. It is
largely a matter of instinct but judgment comes into it too.”
It is thus a combination of creative instinct and formal
judgment which makes a text language-or culture-specific with-
in a context of situation (e.g., Yoruba speech, Chicano English,
Kannada influence, Punjabi English).
Furthermore, if we accept Kaplan’s claim that the preferred
dominant ‘thought patterns’ of English are essentially out of
‘the Anglo-European cultural patterns’ based on ‘a Platonic-
Aristotelian sequence’, the logical next step is to recognize that
in the case of, for example, Raja Rao or Mulk Raj Anand, the
underlying thought patterns reflect the traditions of Sanskrit
and the regional or national oral lore. And in the case of Amos
Tutuola and Chinua Achebe, they stem from Yoruba and Igbo
traditions, respectively.
Raja Rao makes it clear that such transfer of tradition is
part of his creativity.
There is no village in India, however mean, that has not a

rich sthala-purana or legendary history, of its own... The
Puranas ate endless and innumerable. We have neither
punctuation nor the treacherous “ats” and “‘ons”’ to bother
us —we tell one interminable tale. Episode follows episode,

and when our thoughts stop our breath stops, and we move
on to another thought. This was and still is the ordinary
style of our story telling. I have tried to follow it myself in
this story [Kanthapura] (1963 :vii-viii).
Raja Rao’s narration of an/“‘interminable tale’ results in break-

ing the Western norms of punctuation and prose rhythm, and
he shares it with the writers on another continent, West Africa.
Tutuola has a “‘peculiar use of punctuation, resulting in an
unending combination of sentences,” which he “‘owes to his
Yoruba speech”’ (Taiwo 1976:76).
When he tried all his power for several times and failed and
again at that moment the smell of the gun-powder of the
enemies’ guns which were shooting repeatedly was rushing
to our noses by the breeze and this made us fear more, so
my brother lifted me again a very short distance, but when
I saw that he was falling several times, then I told him to
leave me on the road and run away for his life perhaps he
might be safe so that he would be taking care of our mother
as she had no other sons more than both of us and I told
him that if God saves my life too then we should meet again,
but if God does not save my life we should meet in Heaven’’
(Bush of Ghosts, p. 20; quoted in Taiwo 1976:76).
In addition to this characteristic, Taiwo (1976:111) argues that

Tutuola and his compatriot Achebe “‘. . exhibit in their writings
features which may be described as uniquely Nigerian.’ Taiwo
further explains (1976: 75) that Tutuola ‘has carried Yoruba
speech habits into English and writes in English as he would
speak in Yoruba. He is basically speaking Yoruba but using
English words.’’ And, ‘“‘the peculiar rhythms of his English are
the rhythms of Yoruba speech’’ (85). With regard to Achebe,
Taiwo (1976:117) observes that in the following scene which
he quotes from Things Fall Apart, Achebe “has had to rely
heavily on the resources of Igbo language and culture to drama-
tize the interrelation between environment and character’:
“4
“‘ ‘Umuofia kwenu!’ shouted the leading egwugwu, pushing

the air with his raffia arms, The elders of the clan replied,
‘Yaa!’
‘Umuofia kwenu!’
‘Yaa!’
‘Umuofia kwenu!’
‘Yaa!’
Evil Forest then thrust the pointed end of his rattling staff into
the earth. And it began to shake and rattle, like something
agitating with a metallic life. He took the first of the empty
stools and the eight other egwugnuu began to sit in order of
seniority after him.”
THE BILINGUAL’S GRAMMAR : HYPOTHESES
It seems to me that for understanding the bilingual’s creativity

one must begin with a distinct set of hypotheses for what has
been termed ‘the bilingual’s grammar’ (or multilingual’s gram-
mar). I am, of course, not using the term ‘grammar’ in a res-
tricted sense: It refers to the productive linguistic processes at
different linguistic levels (including that of discourse) which a
bilingual uses for various linguistic functions,
The bilingual’s grammar has to be captured in terms of what
sociolinguists term ‘verbal repertoire’ or ‘code repertoire’,
with specific reference to a speech community.’* Such speech
communities have a formally and functionally determined range
of languages and or dialects as part of their competence for
linguistic interaction (see Kachru 1981).
A characteristic of such competence is the faculty and ease
of mixing and switching, and the adoption of stylistic and dis-
coursal strategies from the total verbal repertoire available to a
bilingual.1?7 One has to consider not only the blend of the formal
features, but also the assumptions derived from various cul-
tural norms, and the blending of these norms into a new linguis-
tic configuration with a culture-specific meaning system. There
are several salient characteristics of the creativity of sucha
person. I shall discuss some of these below.
First, the processes used in such creativity are based on
multinorms of styles and strategies. We cannot judge such

devices on the basis of one norm derived from one literary or
cultural tradition (see Parthasarathy 1983). Second, nativization
and acculturation of text presuppose an altered context of
situation for the language. Traditionally accepted literary norms
with reference to a particular code (say, Hindi or English) seem
to fail here. A description based on an approach which empha-
sizes the monolingual ‘speaker-hearer’ is naturally weak in terms
of its descriptive and explanatory power. Third, the bilingual’s
creativity results in the configuration of two or more codes. The
resultant code therefore has to be contextualized in terms of the
new uses of language Finally, such creativity is not to be seen
merely as a formal combination of two or more underlying lan-
guage designs, but also asa creation of cultural, aesthetic, socie-
tal and literary norms. In fact, such creativity has a distinct
context of situation.
It is this distinctive characteristic which one might say on
the one hand formally /imits the text and on the other hand
extends it, depending on how one looks at linguistic innovations.
The creative processes used in such texts have a limiting effect
because the conventional ‘meaning system’ of the code under
use is altered, lexically, grammatically, or in terms of cohe-
sion (see Y. Kachru 1983a and 1983b). A reader-hearer ‘out-
side’ the shared or recreated meaning system has to familiarize
himself or herself with the processes of the design and formal
reorganization, the motivation for innovations, and the formal
and contextual implications of such language use. In other
words, to borrow Hallidayan terms (1973:43) one has to see
what a multilingual ‘can say’ and ‘can mean’. The range in
saying and the levels of meaning are distinct and one has to
establish ‘renewal of connection’ with the context of situation.’®
What is, then, inhibiting (limiting or unintelligible) in one
sense may also be interpreted as an extension of the codes in
terms of the new linguistic innovations, formal experimenta-
tion, cultural nuances, and addition of a new cultural perspec-
tive to the language.’® If the linguistic and cultural ‘extension’
of the code is missed, one also misses the interpretation at the
linguistic, literary, sociolinguistic and cultural levels. One misses
‘“
the relationship between saying and meaning, the core of literary

creativity.
What does it take from a reader to interpret such creativity?
It demands a lot: it almost demands an identification with the
literary sensibility of the bilingual in tune with the ways of
saying and the levels of new meaning.
LINGUISTIC REALIZATION OF DISTINCTIVENESS
This altered ‘meaning system’ of such English texts is the result

of various linguistic processes, including nativization of context,
of cohesion and cohesiveness, and of rhetorical strategies.
Nativization of Context: One first thinks of the most obvious
and most elusive process which might be called contextual
nativization of texts, in which cultural presuppositions overload
atext and demand a serious cultural interpretation. In Raja
Rao’s Kanthapura, to take a not so extreme example, such con-
textualization of the following exemplary passage involves several
levels.
“Today,” he says, “‘it will be the story of Siva and Parvati.”

And Parvati in penance becomes the country and Siva be-
comes heaven knows what! ‘‘Siva is the three-eyed,” he
says, “and Swaraj too is three eyed: Self-purification, Hindu-
Muslem unity, Khaddar.’”? And then he talks of Damayanthi
and Sakunthala and Yasodha and everywhere there is some-
thing about our country and something about Swaraj. Never
had we heard Harikathas like this. And he can sing too, can
Jayaramachar. He can keep us in tears for hours together.
But the Harikatha he did, which I can never forget in this
life and in all lives to come, is about the birth of Gandhiji.
‘‘What a title for a Harikatha!”’ cried out old Venkatalaksh-
amma, the mother of the Postmaster. “‘It is neither about
Rama nor Krishna!’’—‘‘But,’ said her son, who too has
been to the city, “‘but, Mother, the Mahatma isa saint, a
holy man.”—“‘Holy man or lover of a widow, what does it
matter to me? When [ go to the temple I want to hear
about Rama and Krishna and Mahadeva and not all this
city nonsense,”’ said she. And being an obedient son, he was
silent. But the old woman came along that evening. She
could never stay away from a Harikatha. And sitting beside
us, how she wept!. . . (1963:10)
In this passage, it is not so much that the underlying narrative

technique is different or collocational relationships are different,
but the ‘historical’ and ‘cultural’ presuppositions are diffent than
what has been traditionally the ‘expected’ historical and cultural
milieu for English literature. One has to explain Siva and
Parvati with reference to the multitude of the pantheon of
Hindu gods, and in that context then three-eyed (Sanskrit trine-
tra) makes sense: it refers to Lord Siva’s particular manifesta-
tion when he opens his ‘third eye’, located on his forehead,
spitting fire and destroying the creation. Damayanthi [Damay-
anti], Sakunthala [Shakuntala], and Yasodha [Yashoda] bring
forth the epic tradition of Indian classics: Damayanthi, the wife
of Nala; Sakunthala, who was later immortalized in Kalidasa’s
[Kalidasa 5th cent. A.D.?] play of the same name; and
Yasodha, the mother of Krishna, the major character of the epic
Mahabharata. The contemporariness of the passage is in re-
ference to Gandhi (1869-1948), and the political implications of
Hindu-Muslim unity and khaddar (handspun cloth). The
Harikatha man is the traditional religious storyteller, usually in
a temple, who has woven all this in a fabric of story,
Now, this is not unique: this is in fact characteristic of con-
text specific texts in general.*° But that argument does not lessen
the interpretive difficulties of such texts. Here the presupposition
of discourse interpretation is at a level which is not grammati-
cal. It is of a special lexical and contextual nature. It extends
the cultural load of English lexis from conventional Greek and
Roman allusions to Asian and African myths, folklore, and
traditions. It universalizes English, and one might say ‘de-
Englishizes’ it in terms of the accepted literary and cultural
norms of the language.
Nativization of Cohesion and Cohesivcness: The second
process involves the alteration of the native users’ concept
of cohesion and cohesiveness: these concepts are to be redefi-
ned in each institutionalized variety within the appropriate
universe of discourse (see Y. Kachru 1983a and 1983b). This is
particularly true of types of lexicalization, collocational exten-
™
sion and the use or frequency of grammatical forms. A number

of such examples are given in my earlier studies.*4
The lexical shift, if I might use that term, is used for various
stylistic and attitudinal reasons.** The lexicalization involves not
only direct lexical transfer but also entails other devices, too,
such as hybridization and loan translation. Such English lexical
items have more than one interpretive context: they have a sur-
face ‘meaning’ of the second language (English) and an under-
lying ‘meaning’ of the first’ (or dominant) language. The dis-
coursal interpretation of such lexicalization depends on the
meaning of the underlying language, say Yoruba, Kannada,
Punjabi, Malay, etc.
Nativization of Khetorical Strategies: The third process. is
the nativization of rhetorical strategies in close approximation
to the devices a bilingual uses in his or her other code(s). These
include consciously or unconsciously devised strategies accord-
ing to the patterns of interaction in the native culture, which
are transferred to English.
A number of such strategies are enumerated below. First,
one has to choose a style with reference to the stylistic norms
appropriate to the concepts of ‘high culture’ and ‘popular cul-
ture’. In India, traditionally, high culture entails Sanskritiza-
tion, and in certain contexts in the north, Persianization. We
see such transfer in the much discussed and controversial work
of Raja Rao, The Serpent and the Rope. On the other hand, in
Kanthapura, Rao uses what may be called a ‘vernacular style’ of
English. His other work, The Cat and Shakespeare, introduces
an entirely new style.?® In devising these three styles for Indian
English, Rao has certainly demonstrated a delicate sense for
appropriate style, but such experimentation has its limitations,
too. These innovations make his style linguistically ‘deviant’
from a native speaker's perspective, and culturally it introduces
into English a dimension alien to the canons of English litera-
ture.*4
In the expansion of the style range, the African situation is
not different from the South Asian, In Achebe, we find that ‘he
has developed not one prose style but several, and in each novel
he is careful to select the style or styles that will best suit his
subjects” (Lindfors 1973:74). It is for this reason that, as
Lindfors says, “Achebe has devised an African vernacular
style’’(74).75
Once the choice of the style is made, the next step is to pro-
vide authenticity (e.g., Africanness, Indianness) to the speech
acts, or to the discourse types. How is this accomplished? It
is achieved by ‘linguistic realization’ of the following types:
1. The use of native similes and metaphors (e.g., Yoruba,

Kannada, Malay) which linguistically result in collocational
deviation;
2. The transfer of rhetorical devices for ‘personalizing’
speech interaction;
’ 3. The translation (‘transcreation’) of proverbs, idioms, etc.;
4. The use of culturally-dependent speech styles, and
5. The use of syntactic devices.
Let me now illustrate these five points one by one. First, the
use of native similes and metaphors: It is through ‘such similes
that Achebe, for example, is able to evoke the cultural milieu in
which the action takes place (Lindfors 1973:75). Examples of
such similes are: like a@ bush-fire in the harmattan, like a yam
tendril in the rainy season, like a lizard fallen from an iroko tree,
like pouring grains of corn into a bag full of holes (also see
Kachru 1965 [1 83:131ff]).
Second, the transfer of rhetorical devices for contextualizing
and authenticating speech interaction. Such devices provide, as
it were, the ‘ancestral sanction’ to the interaction, a very impor-
tant strategy in some African and Asian societies. It is one way
of giving ‘cultural roots’ to English in African and Asian con-
texts, particularly to its ‘vernacular style’. One might say it is
a device to link the past with the present. Onuora Nzekwu
(Wand of Noble Wood) accomplishes this by the use of what
may be called ‘speech initiators’ which appear ‘empty’ to one
who does not share the cultural and linguistic presuppositions.
But for contextualizing the text, these are essential. Consider
among others the following: our people have a saying; as our
people say; it was our fathers who said; the elders have said.
Stylistically this also preserves the ‘orality’ of the discourse.
A third strategy is that of ‘transcreating’ proverbs and idioms

from an African or Asian language into English. The culture-
embeddedness of such linguistic items is well recognized and as
Achebe says, they are “‘the palm-oil with which words are
eaten” (1964:viii). The function of such expressions is to uni-
versalize a specific incident and to reduce the harshness of an
utterance. Achebe’s use of proverbs, in Lindfors’ view (1973:77),
sharpens characterization, clarifies conflict, and focuses on the
values of the society. In other words, to use Herskovits’ term,
(1958) the use of such a device provides a ‘grammar of values’.
Consider, for example, the use of the following proverbs by
Achebe: I cannot live on the bank of the river and wash my hand
with the spittle: if a child washed his hands he could eat with kings,
and a person who chased two rats at a time would lose one. It is
through the proverbs and word play that the wit and wisdom
of the ancestors is passed on to new generations, I have shown
earlier (1965 and 1966) how this device is used to nativize speech
functions such as abuses, curses, blessings, and flattery.
A fourth characteristic is to give the narrative and the dis-
course a ‘naive tall-tale style’ typical of the earthy folk style
(Lindfors 1973:57). This is typical of Tutuola, or of Raja Rao’s
Kanthapura. This, as Jolaoso says (quoted by Lindfors 1973:57),
“reminds one very forcibly of the rambling old grandmother
telling her tale of spirits in the ghostly light of the moon.” (See
also Afolayan 1971 and Abrahams 1953:21-39)}.
The fifth strategy is the use of particular syntactic devices.
An example is the enhancement of the above folk style by using
the device of a traditional native village storyteller and occa-
sionally putting questions to the audience for participation: This
assures a reader’s involvement. Tutuola makes frequent use of
asking direct questions, or asking rhetorical questions in the
narration. In Raja Rao’s case, the Harikathaman or the grand-
mother uses the same devices, very effective indeed for passing
on the cultural tradition to new generations and for entertaining
other age groups.
One might ask here: Is there evidence that the discoures of
Indians reflects features which according to Lannoy represent a
‘culture of sound’ (1971:275)? Would one agree with him that
one consequence of belonging to such aculture is “the wide-
spread tendency of Indians to use language as a form of incan-
tation and exuberant rhetorical flourish on public occasions?
Orators rend the air with verbose declamations more for the
pleasure of the sound than for the ideas and facts they may
more vaguely desire to express’’(176). One wonders, is Babu
English (see Widdowson, 1979:202-211) a manifestation of such
‘culture of sound’ in the written mode?
The above discussed characteristics are essentially related to
what may be called the texture of discourse or the nativized
cohesive characteristics of various Englishes The question of
linguistic realization of the underlying thought pattern in the
bilingual’s creativity still remains. I shall now return to that
aspect and briefly explore it with reference to South Asia.
Let me begin with two recent studies, both on Indo-Aryan
languages of South Asia: Hindi, and Marathi. In Hindi dis-
course, according to Y. Kachru (1983b:58', there is a ‘spiral-like
structure’, and there is a greater degree of tolerance for digres-
sions in an orthographic paragraph in Hindi as compared with
English, provided the digressions link various episodes in
discourse paragraphs in a spiral-like structure.
The paragraph structure of Marathi has been labelled ‘cir-
cular’ (from the point of view of an English speaker) by Pan-
dharipande (1983:128). Contrasting what Kaplan calls the ‘linear’
paragraph structure of English with the ‘circular’ structure of
Marathi, Pandharipande further points out that (a) ‘‘. . .a para-
graph in English begins with a general statement of its content,
and then carefully develops that statement by specific illustra-
tions; (b) while it is discursive, a paragraph is never digressive;
(c) the flow of ideas occurs in English in a straight line from the
opening sentence to the last sentence. In contrast to this, the
paragraph structure in Marathi is full of digressions. The
paragraph opens witha hypothesis and proceeds with argu-
ments to either support or to oppose the hypothesis. Finally,
the validity of the hypothesis is confirmed. Thus a paragraph
in an expository discourse in Marathi begins and ends roughly
at the same point.”
We find an identical position in Heimann, who believes that
an Indian “thinks” in ‘‘a circle or a spiral of continuously
~
36 Lanuguage, Style and Discourse
developing potentialities, and not on the straight line of pro-

gressive stages” (1964, quoted in Lannoy 1971:278). In Lannoys
view, a characteristic trait of Indian minds is “‘. . . indifference
to the logical procedure defined in Aristotle’s law of the exclud-
ed middle” (277). The Indian preference then is for “non-
sequential logic” (279). However, Lannoy assures us that “this
is not to suggest that India is unconcerned with logic, but that
it employs a different system of logic from the West” (277; also
see Nakamura 1964).
Here the difference between the two systems, the Aristotelian
and Indian, should interest us. This important difference bet-
ween the two has clearly been brought out by Basham
(1954:501-2); I cannot resist the temptation to quote tbe relevant
passage here.
“A correct inference was established by syllogism, of which

the Indian form was somewhat more cumbrous than the
Aristotelian. Its five members were known as proposition,
reason, example, application, and conclusion. The classical
Indian example may be paraphrased as follows:
1. There is fire on the mountain,

because there is smoke above it.
3. and where there is smoke there is fire, as, for instance,
in a kitchen,
such is the case with the mountain,
5. and therefore there is fire on it.
The third term of the Indian syllogism corresponds to the

major premise of that of Aristotle, the second to Aristotle’s
minor premise, and the first to his conclusion. Thus the
Indian syllogism reversed the order of that of classical logic,
the argument being stated in the first and second clauses,
established by the general rule and the example in the third,
and finally clinched by the virtual repetition of the first two
clauses.”6
On the basis of the above illustrations one can argue that

distinct African, Indian, Chinese, or Thai thought-processes
manifest themselves in distinct English types.?” Before one

comes to that conclusion, a word of warning is in order here:
Iam not claiming that such ‘transfer in contact’ is limited to
literary texts or that such ‘creativity’ appears in literature only.
Rather, these apply to all Jinguistic interactions in which
multilinguals participate.?® It is in fact part of being an Indian,
an African, or a Singaporean.”
It is, of course, evident that for understanding such texts,
the barriers to intelligibility have to be broken at a minimum
of two levels: (1) at the surface level of structural relationships
which provide culture-specifc text-design or cohesion to the text,
e.g., collocational, lexical, or grammatical, and (2) in the
reinterpretation of a text within the extended (or altered)
sociosemantic and pragmatic system. The structural relation-
ships are just the visible part of such a discoursal iceberg.
There is more to it which is beyond the monolingual inter-
preter’s ken—especially for a monolingual who has made no
effort tocross the barriers created by monoculturalism and
monolingualism.
This then takes us to a related research area, that of contras-
tive discourse (or contrastive stylistics): But this research must
venture beyond its present concerns into contrastive pragmatics,
relating linguistic realization to the cultural norms and the
‘meaning system’ of a society which uses English.“° The
discourse strategies in contact literatures should be seen as
linguistic realizations of a new sociosemiotic and linguistic
phenomenon which is being added to the canons of literatures
in English.
CONCLUSION
The study of the bilingual’s creativity has serious implications

for linguistic theory, and for our understanding of culture-
specific communicative competence. It is of special interest for
the study and analysis of the expanding body of the non-native
literatures in English and of the uses of Englisb in different
cultures.
The universalization of English may be a blessing in that it
provides a tool for cross-cultural communication. But it is a
*
double-edged tool and makes several types of demands: a new

theoretical perspective is essential for describing the functions
of English across cultures. In other words, the use of English is
to be seen as an integral part of the socio-cultural reality of
those societies which have begun using it during the colonial
period, and more important, have retained it and increased its
use in various functions in the post-colonial era.
In recent years many such proposals for a theoretical reorien-
tation have been made, not. necessarily with reference to inter-
national uses of English, by Gumperz, Halliday, Hymes and
Labov, among others. And in 1956, when Firth suggested
(Palmer 1968:96-97) that ‘‘in view of the almost universal use
of English, an Englishman must de-anglicize himself” he was, of
course, referring to the implications of such universalization of
the language. In his view, this de-anglicization was much more
than a matter of the readjustment of linguistic attitudes by the
Englishmen; it entailed linguistic pragmatism in the use of
English across cultures.
The diaspora varieties of English are initiating various types
of changes in the English language. More important is the
decanonization of the traditionally recognized literary conven-
tions and genres of English. This change further extends to the
introduction of new Asian and African cultural dimensions to
the underlying cultural assumptions traditionally associated
with the social, cultural, and literary history of English. The
shared conventions and literary milieu between the creator of
the text and the reader of English can no more be taken for
granted. A text thus has a unique context. English is unique in
another sense too: it has developed both national English litera-
tures, which are specific and context-bound, and certain types
of context-free international varieties. The national varieties
show more localized organizational schemes in their texture,
which may be ‘alien’ for those who do not share the canons of
literary creativity and the traditions of underlying culture which
are manifest in such varieties.
The national English literatures are excellent resources for
culture learning through literature, a topic which has attracted
considerable attention in recent years.2° However, for such use
of these texts one has to acquire the appropriate interpretive
methodology and framework for identifying and contextualiz-

ing the literary creativity in English, especially that of its non-
native bilingual users. It is only by incorporating such prag-
matic contexts, as has been recently shown, for example in
Chishimba (1983)*!, that the functional meaning and communi-
cative appropriateness of the new discourse strategies and dis-
course patterns will be understood and appreciated.”
NOTES
1. In this paper, I have used the term “bilingualism” to

include “‘trilingualism’’, ‘‘multilingualism’’, and ‘‘plurilin-
gualism.” The “‘bilingual’s creativity’ refers to linguistic
creativity exhibited by non-monolinguals in all these situa-
tions.
2 Strevens (1982:419) claims that English has 400 million
non-native speakers and 300 million native speakers.
3. This term was suggested to me by Michael G. Clyne. It
was, however, first used by Heinz Kloss. I have earlier used
the term ‘‘polymodel’’ in roughly the same sense. See
Kacbru, 1977 and 1981.
4. The issues related to the models and norms of English and
the implications of these issues have been discussed in
Kachru, 1982b and 1983.
5. For discussion of this topic see, e.g., Prator 1968, and my
response to Prator in Kachru, 1976. Also see relevant
studies in Smith, ed., 1983.
6. Ferguson, 1978 raises several interesting questions concern-
ing “multilingual grammars,’’ and summarizes several
attempts for describing multilinguals’ linguistic interaction.
Also see Hymes, 1967.
7. See, eg., Jakobson (quoted in Erlich, 1965:172) ‘The
subject of literary scholarship is not literature in its tota-
lity, but literariness (/iteraturnost’) ie., that which makes
of a given work a work of literature.” For the relationship
of context and text see also Seung, 1982.
S See Kachru, 1982c:330 and 341.

However, there are some exceptions to this, An excellent
study is Chishimba, 1983. See also Lowenberg, 1984 and
Magura, 1984 regarding contact literatures in Southeast
Asia and Africa, respectively. For further references see
Kachru, 1983, Pride, 1982 and 1983, and Sridhar, 1982.
10. For lexical evidence see Serjeantsen, 1961.
1; For further discussion see Parthasarathy, 1983.
te. Tam greateful to Wimal Dissanayake for pointing out to
me that the Platonic and Aristotelian sequences are not
identical and that Kaplan’s coupling of these two together
is misleading.
13. A discussion of the bilingual’s discourse strategies in educa-
ted English and specific illustrations of some cohesive
characteristics of educated Indian English are given in Y.
Kachru, 1983a and 1983b.
14. See the following for discussion and illustrations of contras-
tive discourse: for Hindi, Y. Kachru, 1983a and 1983b; for
Japanese, Hinds 1983; for Korean, Chang, 1983; for
Mandarin, Tsao, 1983; and for Marathi, Pandharipande,
1983.
15; See Kachru, 1983, Pride, 1983, and Sanchez, 1983.
16, In this context one might mention the insightful work of
John Gumperz; Dell Hymes and several other scholars.
For references and further discussion see Chishimba, 1983
and Kachru, 1982c.
17. See Kachru, 1978 for references, illustrations, and further
discussion. Also see Sridhar and Sridhar, 1980.
18. The relationship of sociolinguistic context and the “‘mean-
ing potential’ of non-native Englishes, with specific refe-
rence to African varieties of English, has been discussed
extremely well by Chishimba, 1983. Also see Kachru,
1982b and 1983 and Lowenberg, 1984,
19. Nelson, 1982 and 1983 discusses several issues related to
intelligibility of non-native Englishes. Also see Smith,
1983,
20. One also finds this in James Joyce, Walter Scott or Thomas
Hardy, to give just three examples. But all these were stil]
experimenting within the Western cultural and literary

traditions.
2: See Kachru, 1965; later reproduced with an extensive
bibliography in Kachru, 1983.
pES For example, consider Yorubaization in Amos Tutuola,
Sanskritization in Raja Rao and Hindiization and Punjabii-
zation in Mulk Raj Amand.
For references and discussion, see Kachru, 1983.
23. See Parthasarathy, 1983.
24. A recent example of such stylistic experimentation is provi-
ded by another acclaimed South Asian writer, Salman
Rushdie, in his novels Midnight’s Children, which won the
Booker Prize, and Shame.
25% Also see Chinweizu, Jemie and Madubuiku, 1983; Lindfors,
1973; Moore, 1965; Mphahlele, 1964; and Sridhar, 1982.
26. For discussion on this topic see also a very insightful
discussion in Nakamura, 1964.
ae: For Chinese see Cheng, 1982, and for Thai see studies by
Mayuri Sukwiwat, especially 1983.
28. See, e.g., Gumperz, 1964 and later; Kachru, 198la and
1981b; Sridhar and Sridhar, 1981; Pandharipande, 1982
and later.
29 The term ‘‘meaning system’’ is used here in a wider sense,
more or less as used by Halliday.
30. See, e.g., Amirthanayagam, 1976, and Sharrad, 1982.
Sharrad provides a useful list of relevant references.
st See also Kachru, 1982b, Lowenberg, 1984, Magura, 1984,
and Pride, 1983.
32: As an important afterword, I should point out that the
issues raised here have several parallels in situations of bi-
or multidialectism (for example, Scottish, Welsh, and Irish
literatures, or what are termed ‘‘dialect” literatures in
other languages). A reader who does not share the linguis-
tic and cultural norms of such writers is therefore ata
disadvantage. True, a text does provide its own context,
but it does not necessarily provide its culture-specific or
language-specific interpretive context,
~
REFERENCES
Abrahams, Roger D. 1983, The man-of-words in the West

Indies: Performance and the emergence of creole culture.
Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Achebe, Chinua. 1964. Foreword. In W. H. Whitley, A selection
of African prose. Vol 1. Traditional Oral Texts.
Afolayan, A. 1971. Language and sources of Amos Tutuola.
In Christopher Heywood, (ed.), Perspectives on African
literature: selections from the proceedings of the Conference
on African Literature held at the University of Ife, 1968.
London: Heineman.
Amirthanayagam, Guy. 1976. Culture learning through literature.
Honolulu: East-West Center.
Basham, A.L. 1954. The wonder that was India. London:
Sidgwick and Jackson.
Chang, Suk-Jan. 1983. Linguistics and written discourse in
English and Korean. In Robert B. Kaplan, et. al., 1983.
Cheng, Chin-Chuan. 1982. Chinese varieties of English. In Braj
B. Kachru, (ed.) 1982b.
Chinweizu, Onwuchekwa Jemie, and Ihechukwu Madubuike.
1983. Toward the decolonization of African literature.
Washington D. C.: Howard University Press.
Chishimba, Maurice. 1983. African varieties of English: text
in context. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University
of Illinois
Erlich, Victor. 1965. Russian formalism: history- doctrine. The
Hague: Mouton.
Ferguson, Charles, A. 1978. Multilingualism as object oflin-
guistic description. In Braj B. Kachru, (ed.) Linguistics in the
seventies: directions and prospects. Special issue of Studies
in the Linguistic Sciences 8. 2:97-105.
Gumperz, John J. 1964. Linguistic and social interaction in two
communities. In John J. Gumperz and Dell Hymes, (eds.),
The ethnography of communication. Special publication,
American Anthoropologist 66.2:137-153. Washington, D.C.:
American Anthropological Association.
Halliday, M. A. K. 1973. Explorations in the functions of langu-
age. London: Edward Arnold,
Herskovits, M.J. 1958. Dahomean narrative. Evanston: North-
western University Press.
Hinds, John. 1983. Linguistics and written discourse in
English and Japanese. In Robert B. Kaplan, et., al., (eds.)
1983.
Hymes, Dell. 1967. Models of the interaction of language and
social setting. Journal of Social Issues 23.2:8-28.
Kachru, Braj B. 1965. The Indianness in Indian English. Word
21:391-410. Also in Braj B. Kachru, 1983.
———, 1966. Indian English: a study in contextualization. In
C. E. Bazell, et. al. (eds.), In memory of J.R. Firth. London:
Longmans. Also in Braj B. Kachru, 1983.
———, 1976. Models of English for the Third world: White
man’s linguistic burden or language pragmatics? TESOL
Quarterly 10,2:221-239.
——--, 1977. “‘The new Englishes and old models”. English
Language Forum (July) 29-35.
——-~, 1978. Code-mixing asa verbal strategy in India. In
James E. Alatis (ed.), International dimensions of bilingual
education. Georgetown Monograph on Languages and
Linguistics. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press.
———, 1980. The new Englishes and old dictionaries: directions
in Jexicographical research on non-native varieties of English.
In L. Zgusta (ed), Theory and method in lexicography: a
Western and non-Western perspective. Also in Braj B. Kachru,
1983. .
———,198la. The pragmatics of non-native varieties of
English. In Larry E. Smith, (ed.), 1981.
———, 1981b. Socially-realistic linguistics: the Firthian tradi-
tion. International Journal of the Sociology of Language
31:65-89.
———, 1982a. The bilingual’s linguistic repertoire. In B. Hard-
ford, A. Valdman, and C. Foster (eds), Issues in international
bilingual education: the role of the vernacular, New York and
London: Plenum Press.
—— —, (ed.) 1982b. The other tongue: English across cultures,
Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press.
———, 1982c. Models for non-native Englishes. In Braj B.
Kachru (ed.), 1982b,
+
——-—, 1982d. Meaning in deviation: toward understanding

non-native English texts. In Braj B. Kachru (ed.), 1982b.
———, 1983. The Indianization of English: the English language
in India. New Delhi and New York: Oxford University
Press.
Kachru, Yamunu, 1983a. Cross-cultural texts, discourse
strategies and discourse interpretation. Paper presented at
the Conference on English as an International Language:
Discourse Patterns Across Cultures, East-West Center,
Honolulu. June 1-7. Manuscript.
———, 1983b. Linguistics and written discourse in particular
languages: contrastive studies: English and Hindi In Kap-
lan, et. al. (eds.), Annual review of applied linguistics. Rowley:
Newbury House. pp. 50-77.
Kaplan, Robert B., 1966. Cultural thought patterns in inter-
cultural education. Language Learning 16:1-20.
———, et. al, (eds.), 1983. Annual review of applied linguistics.
Rowley, MA: Newbury House.
Lannoy, Richard, 1971. The speaking tree: a study of Indian
culture and society. New York: Oxford University Press.
Lindfors, Bernth, 1973. ‘olklore in Nigerian literature. New
York: Africana,
Lowenberg, Peter. 1984. English in the Malay Archipelago:
Nativization and its functions in a sociolinguistic area.
Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Illinois.
Magura, Benjamin. 1984. Style and meaning in African
English: a sociolinguistic study. Unpublished doctoral disser-
tation, University of Illinois.
Moore, Gerald, 1962. Seven African writers. London:
Mphahlele, Ezekiel. 1964. The language of African literature.
Harvard Educational Review (Spring) 34:90-101.
Nakamura, Hajime, 1964. Ways of thinking of Eastern peoples.
Edited by Philip P. Wiener. Honolulu: The University Press
of Hawaii.
Nelson, Cecil, 1982. Intelligibility and non-native varieties of
English. In Braj B. Kachru, (ed.), 1982b.
———, 1983. Syntactic creativity and intelligibility, manus-
cript.
Noss, R.B., (ed.), 1983. Varieties of English in Southeast Asia.
Anthology Series 11. Singapore: SEAMEO Regional Langu-

age Center.
Pandharipande, Rajeshwari, 1982. Dimensions of multilingua-
lism: language pluralism in India, manuscript.
———., 1983. Linguistics and written discourse in English and
Marathi. In Robert B. Kaplan, et. al. (eds.), 1983.
Parthasarathy, R., 1983 South Asian literature in English: cul-
ture and discourse. Paper presented at the Conference oa
English as an International Language: Discourse Patterns
Across Cultures. East-West Center, Honolulu June 1-7.
manuscript.
Prator, Clifford H., 1968. The British heresy in TESOL. In
Joshua A. Fishman, C.A. Ferguson and J. Das Gupta (eds.),
Language problems of developing nations. New York: Wiley.
Pride, John B., 1982. New Englishes. Rowley, MA: Newbury
House.
1983. Linguistic competence and the expression of
——~—,
cultural identity. In R.B. Noss (ed.), 1983.
Rao, Raja., 1963, Kanthapura, New York: New Dimensions (first
published in 1938, London: Allen and Unwin.).
pers-
Sanchez, Rosaura, 1983. Chicano discourse: socio-historical
pective. Rowley, MA: Newbury House.
,
Serjeantsen, M.S., 1961. A history of foreign words in English
New York: Barnes and Noble.
. New
Seung, T.K. 1982. Semiotics and thematics in Hermeneutics
York: Columbia University Press.
East-
Sharrad, Paul, 1982. Culture learning. through literature,
West Culture Learning Institute Reporter 8:1.1-11.
communi-
Smith, Larry E, (ed.) 1981. English for cross-cultural
cation. London: Macmillan.
ge.
_-—-, 1983. Readings in English as an international langua
London: Pergamon Institute of English.
context and
Sridhar, S.N , 1982. Non-native English literatures:
relevance. In Braj B. Kachru (ed.), 1982.
Sridhar S.N. and K. Sridhar. 1980. The syntax and psycholin-
guistics of bilingual code- mixing. Canadian Journal of Psycho-
logy| Revue Canadienne de Psychologie 34:407-416.
Strevens, Peter, 1982. World English and the world’s English:
a

or, whose language is it anyway? Journal of the Royal Society
of the Arts, London, March 8, 1982.
Sukwiwat, Mayuri, 1983. Interpreting the Thai variety of
English: a functional approach. In R.B. Noss (ed.), 1983.
Taiwo, Oladele, 1976. Culture and the Nigerian novel. New York:
St. Martin’s Press.
Thumboo, Edwin. 1976. The second tongue: an anthology of
poetry from Malaysia and Singapore. Singapore: Heinemann
Educational Books. :
Tsao, Fenj-Fu. 1983. Linguistics and written discourse in
English and Mandarin. In Robert B. Kaplan, et. al (eds.),
1983.
Widdowson, Henry, 1979. Pidgin and babu. Explorations in
applied linguistics. London: Oxford University Press.
Style repertoire of Hindi poets:
Implications for stylistic analysis
YAMUNA KACHRU
University of Illinois
Urbana-Champaign
‘Features of other languages that are campatible with the

characteristics of our own language augment its beauty.
They increase the stock of our words, and also our expres-
sive power. Such influence is not only forgivable, it is
praiseworthy.”? (Verma 1966:215)
INTRODUCTION
In this paper I shall discuss the range and use of Hindi style
repertoire in general, and language variation in particular with
reference to the Hindi poetry of the last three decades. But be-
fore taking up the topic let “me start with a brief digression to
explain what is meant by ‘style repertoire’ and ‘language varia-
tion.’
STYLE REPERTOIRE
The term ‘style repertoire’ is interpreted ina narrow and a

broad sense. In a narrow sense, ‘style’ refers to the notion of
‘literary style’ with special reference to the use of typical
literary stylistic devices. These devices may be of a general
nature, e.g., sound symbolism, foregrounding, choice of certain
type of lexicalization or other cohesive features.1 Or, they may
be genre or form-specific, e.g., metrical patterns or end-rhymes
in poetry, structure of the text in novels, short stories, plays,
etc. Ina broad sense, ‘style’ refers to all these and to the
notion ‘linguistic repertoire’ in the sense of Gumperz (1972) or
‘code repertoire’ in the sense of Kachru (1979 and in press). In
this sense, ‘style repertoire’ includes all the codes used by a
society within its ‘communication matrix’ which is defined as
‘the totality of communication roles within a society’ (Gumperz
1968). An example may clarify this broad sense of style reper-
toire. An educated Hindi speaker in the Hindi area has some
competence in all of the following codes, depending upon
specific societal roles of the individual, or the social setting in
which linguistic interaction takes place: ‘dialect’ of the region
(e. g., Awadhi, Bhojpuri, Braj, etc.) regional standard (Eastern,
Western, Dakhini varieties of Hindi), standard Hindi (ie , langu-
age of the All India Radio, Hindi newspapers and magazines,
creative literature), Sanskrit (religious and ritualistic contexts),
Urdu (at least in legal contexts), and English (administrative,
journalistic, and professional contexts). In addition, he uses and
understands code-mixed varieties such as Englishized Hindi (in
administrative and professional contexts), Sanskritized Hindi
and Persianized Hindi.
In the broad sense then ‘style repertoire’ subsumes language
or code variation, The term language or code variation has also
been used in more than one sense. First, it refers to the situa-
tions described in studies inspired by Labov (1969) The notion
of ‘variable rule’ has led to a great interest in language variation
and attempts have been made to perfect models and methods
for the study of such variation (see, e.g., Sankoff (1978)). These
essentially describe a situation where the speech ofa single
individual or a group reflects different language systems in
different social contexts. The systems may be definable in terms
of styles in the sense of Joos (1968), (e.g., ‘intimate’, ‘casual’,
‘consultative’. ‘formal’, and ‘frozen’) or regional or social dial-
ects, or registral features such as journalese, legalese, etc.
Second, in an extended sense, it includes situations that occur
typically in bi- or multilingual societies. In such communities,
an individual or group uses different styles, dialects, register-
specific elements, (i.e. intra-code styles) just as in monolingual
societies. In addition, the individual or group ‘switches’ or
‘mixes’ different codes (i.e., languages) for specific communicative
Style of Hindi Poets 49
needs (inter-code styles). The ‘style repertoire’ of a ‘speech
community’ may then include ‘code-switching’ and ‘code-mix-
ing’ with languages and/or dialects of its own region as well as
foreign and/or second languages.? This is particularly relevant
in the case of South Asia since in that linguistically and cultu-
rally pluralistic region there is no one-to-one correspondence
between intra-code styles ‘and sociocultural contexts. For inst-
ance, the stylistic, registral, or religious contexts do not deter-
mine choices from within the code itself. In some cases, inter-
code choices, or code-switching or mixing uniquely characterize
certain styles, registers, or religious contexts (Kachru 1978, in
press).
STYLE REPERTOIRE AND HINDI LITERATURE
In view of such not-so-unique sociolinguistic contexts of bi- or

multilingual societies, it is interesting to investigate how creative
writers exploit the style repertoire, in their works. Before, how-
ever, discussing particular examples, it may be useful to state
precisely what is meant by ‘style repertoire’ in the context of
South Asia.
In the South Asian context it is appropriate to use ‘style
repertoire’ and ‘language variation’ in their broadest sense. The
South Asian writer seems to have the following range of ‘style
repertoire.’
2
Style Repertoire
inter-code intra-code
| | | | |
(a) internal (b) externally (c) dialectal (d) stylistic (e) registral (f) religious:
to the imposed
area
(a) = other South Asian Janguages including Sanskrit
(b) = Persian (essentially via Urdu) and English
(c) = for Hindi, ‘dialects’ such as Awadhi, Braj, etc.
«
‘
(d) = e.g., ‘intimate’, ‘casual’, ‘consultative’, ‘formal’, ‘fro-

zen’ (following Joos (1968)
(e) = e.g., journalese, administrative, legalese
(f) = e.g., Sanskrit for Hinduism, Arabic for Islam, Pali
for Buddhism.
In addition, the writer also has a choice of writing in one
code, or using the devices of ‘switching’ and ‘mixing’ with one
or more of the dialects/languages listed in 1 (a-c) above.
The choices represented in 1 are utilized for various
purposes in Hindi creative writing, e.g., for providing ‘local
color’, identifying a character, presenting a character-type,
providing clues for a specific sociocultural or religious context,
ranking characters or contexts of events on the scales of, say,
traditional-modern, rural-urban, unsophisticated-sophisticated.
Let us consider the following examples from Hindi prose to
illustrate the point.
2. muNDaa strii aur purush puurii tanmayataa se naac rahe
hai aur gaa rahe hai:
‘aay DinDaa aamu DinDaa, kitaa cirem gaalaang
taanaa kitaa gaalaang baage-tam, susun aalaang’
(Badiuzzaman 1978, p 106).
The song quoted in the original Munda language is obviously

for providing ‘local color’. Consider the mixing with English in
the following:
3, Diwanchand: haa haa, bas jaa hii rahaa hid. mujhe pataa
hat ki aise kapR6 se mehmaan6d mé buraa
lagtaa hai.
(caay saasar mé Daal kar piine lagtaa hai)
Madhuri: (Mira se) /t’s horrible. |
Mira: jiijaajii, is tarah caay pii jaatii hai, saasar mé Daal
kar. . .? (Diwanchand phiitik maar kar jaldii-jaldii
ghttiT bhartaa hai)
Diwanchand: is tarah jaldii pii jaatii hai, Miraa biibii.
nahii to ThaNDii hone mé der lagtii hai.
Style of Hindi Poets Sh
Madhuri: (Mira se) Suppose they come just now.

Mira: Only God can help.
(Rakesh 1973, pp. 84-85.)

-4,. Gurprit: mujhe aaj miiTing hotii nahii lagtii.
Santosh: abhi to koram hii puuraa nahii.
Kapur: ky6 na miiTing kainsil karke sab log kainTiin
mé cal kar caay piyé?
Sharma: miiTing kainsil nahii hogii. aaj kii chuTTii to
barbaad huii hii hai, phir ek aur chuTTi barbaad
karnii paRegii.
Manorama: sekreTarii ke mth se aisii baat acchii nahii
lagtii.
orceeee
(Rakesh 1973, p. 100)
‘Note that in 3, Mira speaks in Hindi with Diwanchand, but

-switches to English in replying to Madhuri. In the play, both
‘Mira and Madhuri, who represent the modern, educated, sophis-
ticated women, switch back and forth between English and
Hindi, whereas Diwanchand, who is a traditional! merchant lack-
ing an English education, speaks only Hindi. In addition to the
characterization as modern vs. traditional, the mixed code also
is exploited to express certain attitudes. The Westernized wo-
men are ‘shallow’, they are more interested in ‘showing off’ than
helping those members of their extended family who are truly
in need. They thus exhibit a lack of family loyalty which is
the corner stone of Indian society. In contrast, the non-Wester-
nized Hindi-speaking Diwanchand represents the raditional
values of family loyalty, self-sacrifice and generosity. In 4, all
the characters, who are Office workers and used to English in
their job situations, mix English words and phrases (italicised
in the quotes) freely in their Hindi speech. Notice aiso the use
_of ‘dialectal’ and ‘vulgar’ forms to delineate a character-type in
the following example:
5. Ramdhan: dekh liyaa tumhaaraa matlab!. . .hamne kahaa

ghar ke apNe hii hai, puuch lo... .
%
Doctor: meraa matlab yah nahii hai. maito kah rahaa.

hia ki tel kii kacauRii rog paidaa kartii hai.
isse Jiivar kharaab hotaa hai. yah inTesTaain
mé jaa kar jam jaatii hai aur...
(aage baRhtaa hai)
Ramdhan: rahne do, aage kahaa juute pahne baRhe.
cale aao ho? bhishT kar doge kyaa...
(Rakesh, 1973):
In the above example, the doctor, obviously well-educated and
‘modernized’, uses English words freely in his standard Hindi.
speech. Ramdhan, a bookkeeper in a traditional merchant’s.
shop, on the other hand, uses a regional variety of Hindi with
typical phonological (apNe for apne and grammatical (aao ho)
for (aa rahe ho) markers. Also, notice the ‘vulgar’ form bhishT for
Sanskrit bhraST. It is clear that the mixing with English versus.
regional dialectal and ‘vulgar’ forms serves to identify different
character-types. Attitudinally-speaking, the doctor represents a
competent professional man. On the contrary, Ramdhan isa
slightly comic, pedantic character. Thus, the mixed-code [i.e.,
mixed with English] expresses the ambivalence of Hindi-spea--
king region toward English. On the one hand, it represents
modernization, Westernization, efficiency, professionalism, etc.
On the other hand, it represents the undermining of certain
traditional values and the emergence ofa selfish concern with
the progress of an individual or nuclear family with no regard.
for the welfare of the extended family.
STYLE REPERTOIRE IN HINDI POETRY
Let us now turn to Hindi poetry. Contemporary Hindi poetry

is not epic, or narrative poetry, it is predominantly lyrical.
It is concerned with self-expression, even when it is episodic,
as it sometimes is. Obviously, there are neither characters, nor
events, which require specific choices from within the repertoire
as in prose. And yet, language or code variation is exploited in
poetry just as much as in prose. I would like to tentatively
suggest the following factors as determining stylistic choices in
Hindi poetry of the last three decades.®
‘Style of Hindi Poets 53
The intra-code mixing. specifically with ‘tadbhava’ (histori-

‘cally derived) forms or dialectal variants, is used to express
intimacy and emotional attachment both in poetry and prose.
‘Compare 6a and 6b with 7.
6a. haa bahut din ho gaye
ghar choRe.
Ss
yo
acchaa thaa
man kaa awasani‘ia rahnaa
bhiitar-bhiitar jalnaa
kisii se na kahnaa
par ab bahut Thukraa liye

paraayii galiy6 ke
anjaan roRe. ...
(Agyeya 1970, p. 24)
'b. gagan mé megh ghir aaye.

tumhaarii yaad
smriti ke piijRe mé baadh kar mai ne nahii rakkhii,
tumhaare sneh ko bharnaa
puraanii kuppiyd mé swatwa kii
mai ne nahii caahaa.
bhigo do, aah!

o re megh, kyaa tum jaante ho
tumhaare saath kitne hiyd me kitaii asiisé
umaR aayii hai?
(Agyeya 1965, pp. 242-243)
‘Both the above pieces could be characterized as being ‘intimate’.
6a
Note the number of Sanskritic borrowings, only one in
also
4avasanna) and three in 6b (smritt, sneh, and syatva). Note
“tad-
the two ‘tadbhava’ forms in 6b (hiyd and asiisé). That
‘bhava’ forms are preferred in ‘intimate’ style is suppor ted by the
following example from prose, especially in the last line.
7. ...biic mé kahii mis suurii ne apnaa daahnaa haath
piiche le jaa kar mere baaé kandhe par dhar diyaa thaa
54 ‘> Language, Style and Discourse-
.. .uskaa swasti waacan thaa, ‘maa bhain,’ naarii kaa.

paras kitnaa-kuch abhiwyakt kartaa hai!
(Baccan 1971, p. 235)»
Similarly, for evoking a rural scene and appropriate sensibilities,.
consider the lexical features in 8.
8. dhaan ugenge ki praan ugenge
ugenge hamaare khet mé,
aanaa jii baadal zaruur.
Chandaa ko badadhenge kaccii kalagiy6
suuraj ko suukhii ret mé,
aanaa jii baadal zaruur!
(Agyeye, dhaano kaa git in 1967, p. 127):
In the above passage, the tadbhava-like form praan is preferred
to the tatsama or borrowed ‘pure’ form prazN. Also, the metri-
cal pattern and rhythm evoke ‘folk’ songs of North India.
In contrast, in satirical writing, code-mixing with items from
externally-imposed languages (i.e., Perso-Arabic and English) is.
preferred.
9. jii giit janam kaa likhiii, maran kaa likhiit;

jii, giit jiit kaa likhiii, sharan kaa likhat;
kuch aur Dizaain bhii hai, ye ilmii-

yah liije caltii ciiz naii, filmii.
yah soc-soc kar mar jaane kaa giit,
yah dukaan se ghar jaane kaa gilit,
jii nahit, dillagii kii ismé kyaa baat?
mai likhtaa hii to rahtaa hit din-raat
jii bahut Dher lag gayaa haTaataa hid,

gaahak kii marzii—acchaa, jaataa hid,
jii haa, huzuur, mai giit bectaa hii.

(Bhavani Prasad Mishra: ‘Giit-farosh’ in:
Agyeya (ed.) 1970, pp. 24-25.)
10. naye duulhe-saa suuraj, naw-wadhu-saa piiche-piiche yah

shukrataaraa jaa rahaa hai.
injan ke heDlaaiT-saa, shor-gul ke biic

suuraj nikal gayaa.
gaarD kii roshnii-saa piiche-piiche gumsum ab

Z shukrataaraa jaa rahaa hai.
hamaarii bastii mé diye-se, balb-se (pe Tromaiks-saa caad),
caaro or bal uThe taare.
duurii mé bailgaaRii ki laalTen-saa yah
shahar ko andheraa kar, hawaaii jahaaz se
minisTar cale gaye.
‘jantaa’ se em. el. e.-saa piiche-piiche yah

(Madan Vatsyay an: ‘Shukra-taaraa’ in
Agyeya (ed.) 1967, p. 81)
Sanskrit or Urdu is common in sensual,
Code-mixing with
erotic poetry, as in 11 below.
11. in fiirozii hoTh6 par barbaad
merii zindagii!
naaii?
gunaahé se kabhii mailii huii bedaaGh taru
aayil/
sitaard kii jalan se baad]6 par 44c kab
ghor kajraaii!
na chandaa ko kabhi wyaapii amaa kii
samarpan bhii!
baRaa maasuum hotaa hai gunaaid kaa
aataa hai
hameshaa aadmii majbuur ho kar lauT
hoaa ke baad!
jahaa har mukti ke, har tyaag ke, hat saad
(Dharmvir Bharati in ‘gunaah kaa giit”

in Agyeya (ed.) 1970, pp. 172-173)
ixing with Sanskrit and
As opposed to the above three, code-m
ry. The following passages.
English is evident in ‘intellectual’ poet 12, and.
of Sanskrit in
support this. Note the predominance
13:
mixing with English in
bi
12. waam waam disha

samay —saamyawaadii.
PpriSThabhuumi kaa wirodh
andhakaaar-liin. wyakti
kuhaaspaST hriday-bhaar aaj, hiin
hiin bhaaw, hiin bhaaw, hiin bhaaw. . .
madhya warg kaa samaaj, diin.
(Shamsher Bahadur Singh: ‘Samay Saamyawaadii’

in Agyeya fed.) 1970, p. 102).
13. ...sindhuraaj yah mahaa paisifik
dhruw se dhruw tak niil bichd hai, gagan mitra hai kewal
inkaa.
naaiTingel baiThii paain par,

kisii kiiTs kii aashaa se hii apne choTe rang kaNTh se
maauth aargan
cheR rahii hai.
rang ghaNTiy6 kii wah sargam,
nayii wadhuu-sii shwet skarT-sii him par bichne-bichne
ko hai.
(Naresh Kumar Mehta: ‘Samay. Devtaa’ in

Agyeya (ed.) 1970, 126-129}
In fact, in 13, which is a long poem of approximately four
thousand words, there are hardly four or five words which will
be considered non-standard, ‘tadbhava’, dialectal, or uneduca-
ted, e.g, parbat for parwat ‘mountain’; pdrawati for parwatt
‘name of a goddess’. The choices are not always motivated by
the demands of the meter or any other technical consideration
{compare the sets in 6b and 7). The choices are determined by
the connotations that lexical items from different languages or
phonological variants from within the same language carry.
Given megh ‘cloud’ in 6b, hiyaa ‘heart’, and asiis ‘blessing’ are
appropriate, they belong to the same set. Similarly, in the con-
text of 7, paras ‘touch’ captures the tenderness, sparsh ‘touch’
would be diametrically opposite. In sound symbolical terms,
sprash is harsh, paras is soft. Also consider the lines in 11, 12,
13. The textual cohesion is such that no lexical item can be
replaced with any native or vernacular source item without des-
troying the entire poem. For instance, bulbul for ‘nightingale’
or dewdaaru for ‘pine’ in 13 would destory the literary allusion
to Keats and his poem completely.
Further support for this can be found in the poetry of Mukti-
bodh (Muktibodh 1964). In his long reflective poem andhere mé
(‘in the darkness’), Muktibodh uses mixing with English in
special contexts. These contexts are for instance, the suppres-
sion of workers by the police, the military marching to quell
communal or politically or economically motivated riots, the
bureaucrats interrogating revolutionaries. One quote may
illustrate this.
14, dekhaa jaa rahaa
mastak-yantra mé kaun vicaar6 kii kaun-sii uurjaa.
kaun-sii shiraa mé kaun-sii dhak-dhak,
kahaa hai pashyat-kaimraa jismé

tathy6 ke jiivan- drishya utarte,
bhiitar kahii par gaRe hue gahre

talghar andar
chipe hue prinTing pres ko khojo.
skriining karo misTar guptaa,

krass egjaamin him thaarolit!!
(Muktibodh 1964, pp. 301-302.)
poem is quite
“The mixing of ‘pure’ Sanskrit and English in this
of intellectual
‘startling, but is in keeping with our two sources
‘tradition.
‘CONCLUSION
cations of
In conclusion, it is important to consider the impli
language
this view of Hindi style repertoire. It is obvious that
poetry.
variation plays a significant stylistic role in Hindi
58 Language, Style and Discou-se-
Naturally this role is based upon the role language variation.

plays in every day life of the Hindi speaking community. Given
the complex picture of how the dialects, standard Hindi,.
Sanskrit, Urdu, and English are all involved in the total commu--
nication matrix of the Hindi speaking community, any descrip-
tion of the ‘competence in Hindi’, has to deal with the entire
repertoire represented in 1. Ferguson (1978) suggests precisely
such an approach for writing grammars to represent the linguis=
tic competence of multilingual communities. Just as linguistics,.
poetics too has to come to grips with the ‘poetic competence’
represented by the case of Hindi discussed here. Bierwisch:
(1970) suggests a poetic grammar, paralicl to a linguistic
grammar, operating on the output ofa grammar of ordinary
language that would assign a ‘scale of poeticality’ to a text.
according to its exploitation of certain stylistic devices.
Obviously, any such poetic grammar will have to assigns
stylistic values to the types of language or code variation dis-
cussed in this paper. Notice that it is not enough to charac-
terize the examples cited in this paper as containing ‘borrow-
ings’ from English, Persian, Sanskrit, or Urdu. The items
borrowed do not fill any gaps in the language, they are there
for their special stylistic effects. In other words, if the exam-
ples in 6-7, 9-10, 11, and 12-14, are felt to be ‘intimate,’
‘satirical’, ‘sensual’, and ‘intellectual’, respectively, the explana--
tion has to come from the linguistic bases of these poetic effects.
The Sanskrit tradition in. poetics was sensitive to the style
repertoire of a Sanskrit dramatist. For instance, it was a well-
recognized fact that certain characters spoke Sanskrit whereas.
others spoke various Prakrits. Hindi literary criticism so far has.
not dealt with the linguistic repertoire of creative writers. Most
critical works are limited to a mention of ‘borrowings’, no.
attempt is made to study the effect of even these ‘borrowings’.
The linguistic repertoire of creative writers is an exciting field of”
research not only in the context of Hindi but also in the context.
of other South Asian languages.
Style of Hindi Poets 59»
NOTES
1. For a discussion of the devices of sound symbolism, fore-

grounding, and cohesion, see Kachru and Stahlke (eds.).
(1973), Fried (1972), and Halliday (1970).
2. For a discussion of code-switching and code-mixing in the-
context of South Asia, see Gumperz (1964) and Kachru
(1978).
3. The statements made here are about tendencies and are
based upon the data I have examined. There is, of course,
no absolute requirement that a Hindi poet use the device
of code-variation. However, in some genres, e.g, plays,
novels, and short stories, it may be more difticult to avoid
code-variation. A partial list of Hindi works consulted for
this paper follows: Agyeya, S.H. Vatsyayan, 1972, Bavra
Aheri, Delhi: Bhartiya Gyanpith Prakashan; Agyeya, S.H..
Vatsyayan, 1967, Kitni ndvom mem kitai bar, Delhi: Bhar-
tiya Gyanpith Prakashan; Agyeya, S.H. Vatsyayan, 1969...
Kyomki maim use janta him, Delhi: Bhartiya Gyanpith
Prakashan; Agyeya, S.H. Vatsyayan, 1970, Sagar-Mudra,.
Delhi: Rajpal and Sons; Agyeya, S.H. Vatsyayan, 1977,
MahavrkSa ke nice, Delhi: Rajpal and Sons; Agyeya, S.H.
Vatsyayan, ed., 1951. Disra Saptak, Delhi: Bhartiya Gyan--
pith Prakashan (2nd ed. [1970]; Agyeya, S.H. Vatsyayan,
ed., 1959. Tisra saptak, Delhi: Bhartiya Gyanpith Praka--
shan, (3rd ed. [1967]): Agyeya, S.H. Vatsyayan, 1965,
Purva, Delhi: Rajpal and Sons; Agyeya, S.H. Vatsyayan, .
1974, Pahle maim sannata bunta him, Deihi: Rajpal and:
Sons; Ashk, Upendranath, 1958. Sattar shresta kahaniyam,
Allahabad: Nilabh Prakashan; Baccan, Harivamsh Rai, .
1969, Kya bhultim kya yad karim, Delhi: Rajpal and Sons;
Baccan, Harivamsh Rai, 1970, Nir ka nirman phir, Delhi:
Rajpal and Sons; Badiuzzaman, 1978, Cautha Brahman, .
Delhi: Pravin Prakashan; Lalla, Yogendra Kumar and
Shrikrishna, 1975, Hindi lekhikdom ki shresta kahaniyam,
Delhi: Parag Prakashan; Muktibodh, Gajanan Madhav,
1964, Ca:d ka minh TeRha hai, Delhi: Bhartiya Gyanpith
Prakashan; Nilabh, ed., 1974, Manto ki tis kahaniyam, _
Allahabad: Nilabh Prakasban; Rakesh, Mohan, 1973, Ande~
» 60 Language, Style and Discourse
ke chilke, anya ekamki tatha bij nadtak, Delhi: Radha-

krishna Prakashan; Verma, Ramchandra, 1966, Acchi
Hindi, Allahabad: Lokbharti Prakashan, (12th enlarged
edition); Verma, Shrikant, 1967, Dinarambh, Delhi: Sushma
Pustakalay; Verma, Shrikant, 1967, Maya Darpan, Delhi:
Bhartiya Gyanpith Prakashan.
REFERENCES
*Bierwisch, Manfred. 1970. Poetics and linguistics. Translated

by Peter H. Salus. In Donald C. Freeman, (ed), Linguistics
and literary style. Holt. pp. 96-115.
‘Ferguson, Charles A. 1978. Multilingualism as object of linguis-
tic description. In Braj B. Kachru, (ed.), Linguistics in the
seventies: directions and prospects. Special issue of Studies
in the linguistic Sciences. 8.2.97-106.
Fried, V. 1972. The Prague school of linguistics and language
teaching. Oxford University Press.
~Gumperz, John J. 1964. Hindi-Punjabi code-switching in Delhi.
In Horace G. Lunt (ed.), Proceedings of the ninth inter-
national congress of linguists. pp. 1115-1124. The Hague.
———. 1968. Types of linguistic communities. In Fishman,
(ed.), Readings in the sociology of language. Mouton: The
Hague. pp, 460-472.
Halliday, M.A.K. 1970. Descriptive linguistics in literary
studies. In Freeman (ed.), Linguistics and literary style.
Holt. pp. 96-115.
- Joos, Martin. 1968. The isolation of styles. In Fishman (ed.),
Readings in the sociology of language. Mouton: The Hague.
pp. 181-191.
Kachru, Braj B. 1978. Code-mixing as a communicative strategy
in India. In Georgetown University Roundtable on language
and linguistics: international dimensions of bilingual education.
Washington, D.C., Georgetown University Press. pp. 107-
124.
~———. In press. The bilingual’s linguistic repertoire. In
Beverley Hartford and A. Valdinan, (eds.) Issues in interna-
tional bilingual education: the role of the vernacular. New
York: Plenum.
Style of Hindi Poets 61:
——w— and Herbert Stahlke, (eds.) 1973. Current trends in-

stylistics. Edmonton, Canada: Linguistic Research Inc.
Labov, William. 1969. Contraction, deletion and inherent varia-
bility of the English copula. Language 45.71 5-762.
——-—, Paul Cohen, Clarence Robins, and John Lewis. 1968._
A study of non-standard English used by Negro and Puerto-
Rican speakers in New York City. Final Report, Coopera--
tive Research Project 3288. Vols. I and II. Washington D.C..
Office of Education.
Sankoff, David, (ed.) 1978. Linguistic variation: models and’
methods. New York: Academic Press.
aaya. Me ae t Sel wteepans ian
PLE Ith gad Rathew, ‘Gah.
St Bonk ahi. pate ayeco
- re‘
354%: TRE shgiteag a nae WA

= oe ae ae ae £,r
_ ee = |
4
= "Pes
5 gad ah = ae
I weCen a eS
:
sale =. 414
be
ee
iA
“Text-Reader Dynamics
‘R.N. SRIVASTAVA
Delhi University, Delhi
and
-R.S. GUPTA
- Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
Literature has been viewed as a commercial transaction, at one

~end of which we have the producer (the creative writer) and at
the other end the consumer (the reader).. The two ends are
joined by the product or commodity (the literary text). The
_relationship between the text and its creator has received consi-
-derable critical comment. in the context of the creativity of the
literary artist. However, the relationship between the literary
‘text and its reader has not been dealt with as fully as one would
-have wished it to be. This is all the more important since the
study of ‘text production’ inevitably involves the problem of
“text reception.’
In his book on the theory of literary production, Macherey
(1978) has intenionally suppressed the use of the word
‘creation’, and has tried to replace it by the term ‘production’.
The study of literary production entails the problem of trans-
‘mission of texts. It invites its consumers (readers) to enter into
the whole transaction. The theory of literary production also
‘presuposes a theory of communication. The ethnographic
observations of Lévi-Strauss (1963) were, first and foremost,
intended to explain social reality (kinship system) within the
-framework of a general theory of communication. According
to him kinship system is based onthe principle and mode of

‘exchange’ of women between social groups, similar to the
circulation of ‘goods’ or transmission of messages in a society.
In any society communication operates on three different

levels; communication of women, communication of goods.
and services, communication of messages. Therefore, kinship
studies, economics and linguistics approach the same kinds.
of problems on different strategic levels and really pertain
to the same field.
(Lévi-Strauss 1963:296).
We think that the view of literature as a commercial transac-

tion is, to say the least, partial in that it wholly negates the
creative role of the reader. Such a view raises several questions.
such as: Does the reader as consumer merely receive the work
of literature like any other commodity? ‘Is it appropriate to
view the literary text as some kind of a well from which the rea-
der draws pails of meaning for his aesthetic gratification?’.
‘Doesn’t each reading ofa literary text add a new dimension
to its meaning?’ If it were not so, literature would end up being
a closed-ended activity like any other commercial transaction,
and the literary text would bea ‘finished product’ like any
commodity-item. However, we do know that every genuine
work of literature transends time and lives amidst us as a poten-
tial—a potential that is realized or ‘written’ by each age, genera-
tion and by each individual reader. This is precisely the reason
why every genuine work of literature is permanent, and yet ever
new. A literary text is construed in such a way that it is with-
drawn from all finality, since a text read is a text teproduced.
A literary text is read again and again but its potential is never
exhausted. Perhaps this also explains the fact that a habits text
has no final interpretation.
It would be proper at this juncture to comment on certain
aspects of literary activity. We wish to stress that the ‘art-object’
which is before us in the form of a literary text and the ‘aesthe-
tic object’ which is realized by the reader in his experiential
(sentient) world are one, and at the same time, not one. The
former may be referred to as the potential artistic form of the
Text-Reader Dynamics 65
art-object and to latter as its experienced, actualized and articu-
lated form. In linguistic terms one can liken this relationship to
the one that obtains between a phoneme and its allophones,
Just as a phoneme may be viewed as acluster of meaningful
features, similarly the literary text (art-object) may be viewed as
a cluster of meaningful poetic features. At the level of art-object
all the features of this unitare neither specified nor actualized.
When this art-object (potential) is experienced as an aesthetic
object the unspecified and suspended features have to be resol-
ved and actualized by the reader in his own way. That is why
the ‘reading’ of a literary text follows the logic of ‘supplement’
and is at the same time a process of reconstruction of the text.
When we talk ofa literary object, viz.,a poem, we do not
refer to the physical manifestation of the literary artefact. By
physical aspect we mean that a poem, which is held in langu-
age, may get manifested in phonic or graphic material. If we
consider phonic material, we find that a poem may be realized
in the form of different recitations by different persons and yet
remains the ‘same’ poem. Similarly, the ‘same’ poem may be
hand written or typed or printed. The poem transcends its
physical aspect, its material, and exists beyond it. In the present
paper we are not going to deal with the poem’s physical aspect,
nor with the constraints that the material imposes on it. We
would like to focus onthe existence of the poem beyond its
material. This existence of the poem has at least two aspects:
The ‘potential’ which is invariant, and the ‘actualized’ which
involves variant realizations of the potential. We would like to.
label the invariant potential as worK, and the actualized
variant as TEXT.
Literary text, as distinct from work, is a concertization of
the literary object in the reader’s cognition. The cognition of
the reader plays an active part with respect to all aspects of the
work—the sound-word stratum, as well as, the meaning units.
Above all, the process of concretization involves removing or-
filling the indeterminacies referred to by Ingarden. Filling in.
indeterminate places requires skill, perspicuity and creativity on
the part of the reader. Ingarden (1973:50) refers to this process:
of concretization as ‘complementing determination’. The process.
of concretization adds a dimension of variability to the text, as
*
opposed to the invariant nature of the work. Through this pro”

cess the art-object is concerted into an aesthetic-object. Thus,
a text, comes into existence after the art-object has been articu-
lated by the reader. The process of articulation is not only
a complex one in itself, it is also determined by several condi-
tioning factors such as inter-textuality, ideology and intentiona-
lity. It is under these conditioning factors that a work grows as
text and achieves plurality (Srivastava 1985:22).
“TI
In the light of the foregoing remarks on text and work, it

would be appropriate, at this juncture, to say a few words about
Reception Theory which, according to Holub, refers ‘‘to a gene-
ral shift in concern from the author and the work to the reader
and the text’’ (Holub 1984: xii). Reception theory, like reader-
response criticism, accommodates such diverse systems as trans-
active criticism, structuralist poetics and affective stylistics. At
the same time it signals, as does reader response criticism, a
shift from the ‘author-work’ pole to the ‘reacer-text’ pole.
However, there is one significant way in which reception theory
differs from the earlier reader-response criticism in that it first
cognizes the reality of the work which is a potential held in
language, and then its concretization as text by the reader. This
is an important relationship and distinction that is not to be
found in reader-response criticism. Reception theory also differs
from Stanley Fish’s affective stylistics in that here we have an
account of text-reader interaction and dynamics, whereas in
Fish’s approach, despite minute analysis of the text, ‘““The text
contributes nothing to interpretation: every thing is dependent
on what the reader brings to it’’ (Holub) 1984:151). In effective
stylistics the text disappears at the metacritical level because
Fish considers any statement about text to be informed by prior
conventions of interpretation.
Reception theory had its first precursor in Russian forma-
lism which emphasized work-reader relationship by talking of
verbal devices directed at defamiliarizing the literary object for
deautomatized perception. This view found its best expression
in the work of Shklovskii, according to whom the function of
art is to dehabitualize our perception in order to make the liter-

ary object come alive again. This made the ‘device’ a central
tool for literary criticism, for it was the device which bridged
the gap between the text and the reader. Connected with the
‘device’ is Shklovskii’s concept of defamiliarization. According
to him, “the device of art is the device of ‘defamiliarization’
of objects and the device of the form made difficult, a device
that increases the difficulty and length of perception; for the
process of perception is in art anend in iteself, and must be
prolonged” (as quoted by Holub 1984:18).
Prague functionalism may be considered as another precur-
‘sor of Reception theory. One of its leading proponents, Muka-
tovsky talked about aesthetic ‘self-orientation’ aspect of langu-
‘age used in poetry. According to him poetic language is more
‘suited than other functional languages for constantly reviving
man’s attitudes towards language. However, the domination of
aesthetic function in poetic language was not considered exclu-
sive by this school.
There is a constant struggle, a constant tension between self-

orientation and communication, so that poetic language,
though it stands in opposition to the other functional langu-
ages in its self-orientation, is not cut off from them by an
insurmountable boundary.
(Mukarovsky 1976:11)
One of the leading literary critics who influenced the Recep-
tion theory most as its precursor, was Ingarden. Like the
American New-critics he first insisted on analysing the literary
artefact intrinsically; for him the work itself was the focal
point ofall analysis and discussion. However, he related his
intrinsic approach to the reading process via his theory of inde-
terminacy and his analysis of cognition. According to Ingarden
the literary objects represented in a given work invariably exhi-
bit spots of indeterminacy. For him each literary work is a
heteronomous object dependent on an act of consciousness with
which the reader approaches it. In the process of reading the
reader fills out the indeterminacies (structural gaps). Ingarden
calls this activity ‘concretization’. Since the sensibility of am
age, experiences of personal life and variable moods of the

individual reader can affect each concretization, no two readings
can ever be identical; and thus the process of concretization
makes the role of the reader imperative. According to him,
“what is indubitable is the fact that for the constitution of an
aesthetic object the co-creative activity of an observer is necess~
ary and therefore several aesthetic objects may emerge on the
basis of one and the same work of art and that these may differ
among themselves in their aesthetic value” (Ingarden 1972:46).
Reception theory found its major theorists in Jauss and Iser.
Jauss emphasized the ‘aesthetics of reception’ in the context of
his notion of ‘horizon of expectation’. Two important points
emerge in this context: Jauss’s emphasis on the text, and the
fact that he goes beyond the responses of the individual readers,
For Jauss the guidelines for its concretization are built in the
work itself. This being so, textual linguistics becomes important
as an operational tool. Thus
The psychic process inthe reception of a text is, in the

primary horizon of aesthetic experience, by no means only
an arbitrary series of merely subjective impressions, but
rather the carrying out of specific instructions in a process
of directed perception, which can be comprehended accord-
ing to its constitutive motivations and triggering signals, and
which also can be described by textual linguistics.
(Jauss 1982:23).
Similarly, for Iser the meaning of a literary artefact comes

into being through a process of interaction which takes place
between the work and the reader. For Iser the meaning of a
work is not ‘an object to be defined’ but ‘an effect to be experi-
enced’. Like Ingarden, Iser holds the view that the aesthetic
object comes into existence only through an act of cognition on
the part of the reader. Thus, for him the literary artefact is
neither exclusively work, nor is it exclusively the subjectivity of
the reader; it is rather a resultant of text-reader dynamics. For
this he invokes the term ‘implied reader’ which ‘“‘incorporates
both the prestructuring of the potential meaning by the text
(what we have called work), and the reader’s actualization of

this potential through the reading process (what we refer to
as text)’. (Iser 1974:xii).
Ill
The communication pefspective of literary studies, implicat-

ing text-production and text-reception, involves different dimen-
sions of the activity of the reader. We can identify at least five
such dimensions: Implied reader, pragmatic reader, implicit
reader, interlocutor reader and the fictional receiver (reader).
These dimensions correspond to five different levels of the liter-
ary artefact: idealized level, pragmatic level, implicational level,
rhetoric level and fictional level (poesis). For explication of
these five dimensions and levels of organization we have selected
Tulsi Das’s R@mcharit Manas.
At the idealized level literature isa generic term and is
considered as a message addressed by creative writers as such,
to the ideal reader. The term ‘ideal reader’ does not refer to
any particular individual reader. The term ideal reader is an
equivalent of what is referred to as ‘sahridayd’ in the Indian
theory of poetics. The pragmatic level is typical of: the concrete
level of the literary artefact. For example, in the case of Ram-
charit Manas, Tulsi Das as the ‘poet-I’ is the addressor; the
work Ramcharit Manas is the message and the pragmatic reader
is the addressee i.e. the actual individual who enters into the
actual process of reading. It is to be noted that while the ideal
reader (sahriday@) is a ‘you’ functioning as signifiers without con-
ventional signifieds, the pragmatic reader is one who has to be defi-
ned in spatio-temporal terms. The implicational level accepts
Ramcharit Manas as literary message which is addressed by the
poet Tulsi Dasas a ‘poetic-I’ (implied author) to an implicit
reader (i.e. a reader drawn within the work). This implied reader
is a textual construct with which the pragmatic reader tends
to identify himself. The next level, i.e. the rhetoric level centres
round the thematic message (of Rdmcharit Mdnas) wherein
Tulsi Das, as the narrator, identifies himself with rhetoric
characters like Yagyavalkya, Shiva and Kakbhushundi, and
addresses the message to the interlocutor-reader who may be
identified with Bharadwaj, Parvati and Garuda respectively. It

is worth noting that the rhetoric level is a manifestation of the
implicational level which is latent. This is in line with Ben-
veniste’s (1971) suggestion that a discourse unfolds simultaneously
along more than one axis, and that it has its origin in a split
subject; that a discourse contains a latent, as well as, a mani-
fest level, and that it issues from an unconscious, as well as,
conscious speaking subject. At the fifth level (ie. the fictiozal
level) Ramcharit Manas is considered as a fictional message
where literary personae enter both as addressor and addressee.
For example, we have in Ramcharit Manas exchange of mess-
ages between Kaikeyi—Manthara, Kevat—Rama and Angad—
Ravana etc.
It is obvious from the foregoing that when we talk of
actualization or concretization of a work as text in the process
of reading, the reader that we have in mind is the pragmatic
reader. This pragmatic reader combines in himself all the
other dimensions: the ideal reader, the implied reader, the
interlocutor reader and the fictional reader.
IV
If the reading of the literary text depends on the reader’s co-

creative activity, it may be claimed that the reading of a text is,
a mannar of speaking and in a special sense, the ‘writing’ of it
also. From this point of view then, the reader of a work of
literature is not only a passive consumer but also its active re-
creator. Since there is a qualitative difference between the nature
and function of the writer who writes and creates the art-object
and the reader who reads and actualizes that art-object as an
aethetic object, it becomes important for us to examine the
creative role of the writer as well as that of the reader.
There are several aspects of the reader’s creativity which
need to be examined thoroughly. However, the present dis-
cussion is restricted to only one aspect, viz. the relationship
between the nature and form of literary texts and the nature
and function of the reader’s co-creative activity. Other variables.
are taken as constants as far as the present discussion is con-
cerned. It is interesting co note that while the reader has comp!l-
ete freedom to read a literary text in his own idiosyncratic way,

there is a limit to this freedom. When the limit is over-reached
the meaning that the reader arrives at is often referred to as
‘wrong’ or ‘exaggerated’. Not reading all the expressed or
determiuant features of a text leads to partial or ‘half reading’;
and the addition of features contrary to those expressed or
determined by the art-object leads to faulty interpretations.
Thus the reader’s freedom to read anew or re-create the art-
object is not only restricted to the unspecified and suspended
features of the given art-object but also has the added restriction
that such a reading and actualization as aesthetic object be
compatible with the given meaning of the art-object.
The crux of the matter is: ‘Do different kinds of literary
texts require different kinds of reading?’ If the answer to this
question is in the affirmative, then the further question that
comes up is, ‘Is it possible to classify the processes of writing
and reading on the basis of this relationship?’
' We maintain that in spite of surface similarities there are
differences between one reading and another. These differences
are based on the distinctive features/texture of the given literary
text. We do not read classical! literature in the same way as we
read modern poetry or the new short-story. It may be mentio-
ned here that this is not at all related with literary genre.
Classical literature may be an epic like Paradise Lost or Ram-
charit Ménas or a novel like Godan or War and Peace. The
reading required for these two genres is similar rather than
dissimilar.
We would like to suggest that literary texts may be distingui-
shed because the activity of writing can be differentiated.
According to Barthes ‘“‘the theory of text can coincide with the
activity of writing”. For instance, some writings are transitive
while others are intransitive. In the transitive type the writing
(verb) anticipates the presence of something else (an object).
Here language is employed instrumentally to attain some extra-
linguistic end. Contrary to this, in intransitive writing, the
writer does not have some extra-linguistic object to achieve.
Here writing is an end in itself. Transitive writing creates its
text from the determinate aspect of its meaning. The process of
s
a Language, Style and Discourse
signification thus moves from the signified to the signifier. In

intransitive writing the text is based on the indeterminacy of
Meaning i.e. it moves toward meaning. This corresponds to the
two acts of reading suggested by Derrida i.e. ‘retrospective read-
ing’ based on determinate original meaning, and ‘prospective
reading’ which proceeds on the indeterminacy of meaning.
Both transitive and intransitive types of writing may be either
normal or deviant i.e. natural or emphatic. In emphatic transi-
tive writing not only does the verb (writing) anticipate an object,
but the focus is comparatively greater on the object rather than
the verb, so much so-that the object rather than the actor and
activity (writing) becomes the true focus. The question is not
whether there is only writing (verb) or something else too (the
object) ‘if it is a literary text there is bound to be writing—the
question really is that of giving or not giving added emphasis to
the object. For example, the normal form ofa transitive writ-
ing may be passivized giving us a form wherein the actor (writer)
is relegated or deleted and primary emphasis is given to the
object. The form thus obtained may be said to be marked for
extra-literary features. Propogandist writings would thus come
under this category of emphatic transitive writing. Transitive
writing, by itself, does not give birth to cheap or inferior
literature. Classical literature, or all writings labelled as
‘classics’ are the result of normal transitive writing because the
object implied in them is the natural determinant of the verb
(writing).
Many critics have commented on emphatic transitive writ-
ing. Commenting on Prem Chand’s short stories Rajendra
Yadav has this to say: “It is true that Prem Chand knows more
about the problems of his class than we do; but then he only
writes problems and their solutions and not stories. ‘‘ Abhiruchi,
Feb. 1981:72). Here Yadav is not merely calling Prem Chand’s
short stories transitive writing, but going a step further and
calling them emphatic transitive writing.
Emphatic intransitive writing would include those works in
which the objectivity of the basic traits of literature is emphasi-
zed out of all proportions, thus overlaying the act of writing.
Such works are created on the principle of ‘art for art’s sake.’
“Text-Reader Dynamics 73
In brief then, just as basic sentences have two general struc-

“tures—transitive and intransive—similarly literary texts have
two basic writing styles—transitive style and intransitive style of
“writing, and just asthe basic sentence types can be transfor-
med into two derived ‘voices’—passive in the case of transitive
sentences and impersonal in the case of intransitive—similarly
these two basic styles of writing can lead to ‘thematized’
propoganda literature or the impersonalized ‘artistic’ literature.
“These two derived styles of writing show a broken relationship
between the two dimensions of the text-content (signified) and
form (signifier). In propoganda literature the content is detacha-
ble while in writings attesting ‘art for art’s sake,’ the form is
disengageable.
We began by asking whether different kinds of writing
-demanded different kinds of reading. In order to answer this
‘question a brief comment is needed on emphatic writing. The
reading of emphatic literary texts evokes commendatory excla-
~mations, be they due to the overflow of ideas or due to the artis-
tic skills employed in a given work. Contrary to this, natural
writings, whether transitive or intransitive, have an effect that
is directly connected with the sensibilities of the reader, There
is yet another difference between natural writing and emphatic
‘writing, both transitive and intransitve. Natural writing gives
birth to works in which the focus is on the text. The text crea-
ted by such writing is an ‘empathic goal’; its existence continues
in the form of art-object and art-persona. It is this empathic
goal that inspires and directs the writing. Such works are not
‘made’ or ‘sculpted’ by the author; he rather becomes a medium
-of expression for his goal. Contrary to this, emphatic writings,
both transitive and intransitive, are created by the author and
the surface ideas or external craftsmanship emerge as thematic
“substance. Such writings do not give rise to a literary persona
i.e. the poem’s ‘I’; what in fact emerges is the author’s extra-
literary personlity i.e. the poet ‘I’. Itis this difference that
‘makes for different relationship between the reader and the
literary text. Literary or poetic persona draws the reader within
its own orbit. Here the reader experiences the poetic world as
<a participant-observer. The reading of such natural texts is, in
»
reality, experiencing the poetic world. As opposed to this,.

emphatic writing gives rise to texts dominated by the poet’s
personality which pushes the reader out of the world it has.
created; the reader operates as an observer only and notasa
participant-observer in the poetic world. The reader reads such:
texts keeping himself outside the poetic world. Reading thus.
becomes detached ‘seeing’ or uninvolved marvelling.
Coming to the distinction between transitive and intransitive
writing, we find that the kind of reading process required for-
transitive writing has little of co-creative activity in it. It
demands of the reader an ‘inner eye’. The literary text becomes
a sort of window through which the reader views the poetic
world that the literary artist wishes him to see. No doubt, such
writings begin with the creation of a poetic world, but as they
grow and spread they include the reader within their orbit.
Some such works are: Prem Chand’s short stories Poos ki raat-
and Kafan or his novel Godan or Hemingway’s novel A Farewell*
to Arms, Tulsidas’s Radmcharitmanas also belongs to this class.
In such writings unless the reader enters the poetic world, he-
cannot fully understand its meaning or significance. However, .
the creator of transitive writings is the author himself and not
the reader. In other words, each transitive writing is the mani-
festo ofits own creation. As the reader peruses the text he-
becomes increasingly familiar with this manifesto. Here reading
is understanding the work and glimpsing through the poetic.
world into which the author has introduced the reader.
As against this, the process of reading intransitive works.
makes the reader not just an observer or partner. He has
to add something to the meaning originally conceived and
trapped in the text by the writer. Reading thus, demands co-
creation or reconstruction of the text. The writer invites.
the reader to ‘write’ the work as he goes along. A reader
who is unwilling for such ‘writing’ cannot concretize the poetic.
world and the text becomes unreadable. Certain works of Muk-
tibodh, Nirmal Verma and Govind Mishra belong to this cate-
gory, as does Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea. As far as.
the creative activity of the reader is concerned, the pleasure he
derives from the reading ofa transitive text is akin to the satis-.
Te«t-Reader Dynamics 75:
faction born out of self-adulation that one gets after participat-

ing in a major cultural event or some ‘mahayagya’. The perusal
of intransitive texts gives a satiate joy such as two partners feel
when they have with their combined efforts made a ‘home’ for
themselves.
There is yet another difference. The feeling evoked by the
perusal of a transitive text may continue to exist even after the
actual reading is over. Transitive texts like Godan or Paradise-
Lost create a world in which the reader can wander at will even
after the perusal of the text is over. This is so because the
poetic world of a transitive text has a concrete and real form
which continues to sustain the feelings of the reader even after
the text has been read. In intransitive texts, on the other hand,
the feelings evoked are restricted to the actual perusal of the
text. As long asthe text is being actually read the reader’s
whole consciousness is touched by poetic sensibility and empa-
thy. Once the activity of reading is over, the sensibility
and empathy disappear. The will of the matter is that the poetic:
world of intransitive texts, like the object of the verb, is unspe-
cified and abstract. As such, apart from the actual text there is.
no ‘world’ which can be seen or lived in and comprehended.
REFERENCES
Barthes, R. 1970. To write: An intransitive verb. In Macksey

and Donato. (ed.) The structuralist controversy, Baltimore:
Johns Hopkins University Press.
Benveniste, E. 1971. Problems in general linguistics. (Tr.)-
Mary Elizabeth Meek. Coral Gables: University of Miami
Press.
Derrida, Jaques. 1967. Of grammatology. (Tr.) Gayatri
Chakravorty. Spivak, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University
Press.
Holub, Robert C. 1984. Reception theory: A critical introduc-
tion. London and New York: Methuen.
Ingarden, R. 1972. Artistic and aesthetic values. Jn Herold:
Osborne (ed.) Aesthetics, London: Oxford University Press.
»
Iser, Wolfgang. 1974. The implied reader: Patterns of communi-

cation in prose fiction from Bunyan and Beckett. Baltimore:
Johns Hopkins University Press.
-Jauss, Hans Robert. 1982. Towards an aesthetic of reception.
(Tr.) Timothy Bahti, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota
Press.
Lévi-Strauss, C. 1963. Structural anthropology (Tr.) Jacobson
and Schoepf. New York: Basic Books.
Macheray, P. 1978. A theory of literary production, (Tr.)
Geoffery Wall. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
Mukarovsky, Jan. 1976. On poetic language. (Tr.) Burbank
and Steiner. Lisse:The Peter De Ridder Press.
‘Saussure, Ferdinand de. 1960. Course in general linguistics. (Tr.)
Wade Baskin. London: Peter Owen.
‘Srivastava, R.N. 1985. Stylistics and the teaching of poetry,
Indian Journal of Applied Linguistics. 11. 1. 17-31
Sememe, pragmeme and the threshold
V. PRAKASAM
Punjabi University Patiala
Let us first arrive at a working definition of the two branches

of the linguistic study. Pragmatics has had different identifica-
tory profiles. Morris says that pragmatics deals with all the
psychological, biological, and sociological phenomena which
occur in the functioning of signs (1938:108). Wilson equates.
pragmatics with those aspects of meaning that are arrived at by
general principles of preferred interpretation (1975). For Gazdar
(1979) Pragmatics, in line with Morris, is assigned by Cherry to
include all personal, psychological factors which distinguish
one communication event from another, all questions of purpose,
practical results, and value to sign users (1966:223).
Pragmatics is one of the three facts of semiotics. Since
linguistics is ‘semiotics of language’ here we are interested in
linguistic pragmatics (in line with linguistic phonetics and lingu-
istic semantics). Keeping language as the object of interpreta-
tion we shall try to have a clearer and definitive image of prag-
matics. Since any identification presupposes differentation
(Prakasam 1982), we will bring in the Apoha technique of
differentiating semantics and pragmatics.
Let us start with a general view of linguistics:
(i) Language has sound—the study of it is phonics.

(ii) Language has form—the study of it is grammar.
_ Gii) Language has meaning—the study of it is semics.
78 , Language, Style and Discourse
Semics we use to refer the study of the signification of the

‘sign-system—here the language system. Semics itself can be
conveniently, if not absolutely, divided into two:
Semics
Semantics Pragmatics
‘This should not be considered parallel to
_ Phonics
|
Phonetics Phonology
‘The parallel will be in Firth’s words
Semics
Histo tabledveer
| |
Semantics Semasiology
(Firth 1957:27)
‘We shall define semantics and pragmatics as follow:
Semantics: the study of code-based signification.

Pragmatics the study of code-based signification.
‘We shall show in the ccurse of the paper that there is what can
‘be called semantico-pragmatic threshold where we cannot make
an absolute distinction between the two facts of signification.
Semics is the study of signification or ‘content’, The content
‘expounded by the lexicogrammar and phonology of language is
the semantic content. The content derived from the background
(of the interlocutors and the situation in which they are placed)
is the pragmatic content. When we look at language from the
functional viewpoint of systemic grammar the following picture
emerges. The experiential function of language with its partici-
pants, processes and circumstantials comes under the rubric of
‘semantic content. The logical function with its hypotactic and
Paratactic relations also comes under semantic content. But
‘once we take the help of our knowledge of the external world to
talk of an implicit relation we are drawing on what we can
-Semeiie, Pragmeme and the Threshold 719
-eall ‘pragmatic pool’ (after Vennemann’s ‘Presuppositional

pool’). That part of content is pragmatic content. There are
‘two aspects that deserve our attention here. One is, what is
semantic in one context is pragmatic in another context and
vice versa, and the other is the semantico-pragmatico threshold.
Let us talk of the semantic primes and pragmatic primes.
Together, I think, they constitute what Wilks (1975) lists as
semantic primes. The semantic primes are ‘sememes’ and
the pragmatic primes are ‘pragmemes’. Whatever is denoted by
a lexical item directly will be a bundle of sememes and whatever
is ‘counoted’ will be a cluster of pragmemes. Here inferences
and suggestions are included. Let us take two pairs of lexical
items:
Master x slave
Senior x Junior
The lexeme ‘slave’ will have as one of its sememes the seme
SUBSERVIENCE. On the other hand the lexeme ‘junior’ will
not have it as its sememe. However in certain contexts, say
ragging, we might find a junior being expected to be subser-
vient. In this case our information is from pragmeme
SUBSERVIENCE., In other words the same seme can be seme-
mic in one place and pragmemic in another.
Let us look at the following set of lexemes:
Master, husband, father and friend.
From the standpoint of the seme AUTHORITY, this feature
will be certainly a sememe in case of ‘Master’ and a pragmeme
in the case of ‘friend’. Only -some one like Darcy can have
some kind of friendly authority over someone like Bingely (the
‘two famous friends in Jane Austin’s Pride and Prejudice). Between
these two clear points we have ‘father’ and ‘husband’ where
AUTHORITY seems to be onthe semantico-pragmatic thres-
Ajold: it is partly sememic and partly pragmemic—the whole dis-
tinction is fuzzy. One should of course keep in mind the problem
of iodividual and societal variation regarding sememic and
pragmemic values.
SA
It is quite possible to state that one of the important ‘mean-

ing changes’ will be in terms of the interchange of sememes.
and pragmemes.
A pragmeme may operate at the rank of a lexeme or at the:
rank of a proposition (hence lexical pragmatics, propositional
pragmatics). In the case of the lexeme ‘friend’ we said the
pragememe of AUTHORITY might be operative. Then it is
a lexical pragmeme. On the other hand the feature ADULT is.
a propositional pragmeme used while comprehending the
following sentence:
John voted for the liberals.
Let us now bring back the functional grid. The rhetorical

function of language which takes care of ‘mood’ distinctions
like interrogative and declarative, is semantic in nature because
the relevant distinctions are ‘worded’ as it were —here ‘wording’
is used to include ‘non-segmental phonologization (prosodiza-
tion). The attitutional function which gets reflected in the choice
of lexemes and intonational features is also part of the semantic
content—the textual function however seems to go in for both
the ‘pragmatic’ and the ‘semantic’ rubrics. Wherever an extra
sentential or extra linguistic (psychological, cultural and con-
textual) reasons are to be brought in to explain certain choice
we are within the pragmatic orchard. But on the other hand
there are cases where certain lexicogrammatical and phonologi-
cal features explain the thematic and informational choice—here
we are within the semantic mansion. Here too one might be
again on the threshold in certain cases. One thing is clear
though some of the informational choices are overtly realized,
but the triggering mechanism is not available in the immediate
experience and is embedded inthe sociocultural milieu. Here
pragmatics certainly stakes its claim.
We shall now try to look at three important concepts from
the semantic and pragmatic angles:
Presupposition
Entailment
Implication
Sememe, Pragmeme and the Threshold 81
Study the following sentence from these three viewpoints:
Moban is a bachelor
This sentence may be said to have the following meanings

attendent on it:
(a) Mohan is of marfiageable age

(b) Mohan is an adult
(c) Mohan is yet to get married
(d) Mohan can get married
(e) Mohan may get married
(f) Mohan may be trying to get married.
(a) is a presupposition triggered by the lexicogrammatical struc-

ture of the sentence itself, because the word ‘bechelor’ refers to
someone who is not married but could have been married —hence
it is semantic presuposition. But the word does not tell us any-
thing of the age at which someone in a given society gets marri-
ed: that only an ‘adult’ gets married is part of sociocultural
information, So, (b) derives its existence from the pragmatic
poo!—hence it is pragmatic presupposition. (c) more or less is
like the assertion part of content. It is semantic entailment.
The fact that he can get married, (d) can be considered pragma-
tic entailment. That Mohan may get married isa legitimate
aspect of futurology—hence it can be termed as semantic impli-
cation. The ‘trying’ part is not warranted by any part of the
sentence —hence it is to be considered pragmatic implication.
From (a) to (e) there seems to bea kind of sliding from the
semantic point to the pragmatic point. The least semantic and
the most pragmatic is (e).
The expression, Six Wives of Henry VIII—will have interest-
ing problems for coders of different cultural communities. For
an Englishman he married them one after the other. For an
Asian it need not be the case. The semic fact that he married
six women one after the other but never had more than one
wife at a given time (Monogamous or Nonbigamous) may appear
perfectly sememic to a European but for an Asian it is certainly
pragmemic.
“
82 ; Language, Style and Discourse
REFERENCES
Cherry, C 1966. On human communication. Cambridge, Mass:

MIT
Firth, J.R. 1957, Paver in linguistics 1 34-1951, London: Ox-
ford University Press.
Gazdar, G. 19°9. Pragmatics. New York: Academic Press.
Morris, C. 1938. Foundations of the theory of signs. In O.
Neurath (1938) International encyclopedia of unified science.
Chicago: University of Chicago. pp. 77-138.
Prakasam, V. 1982. Levels of meaning: Their linguistic and
pedagogic relevance (MS).
Wilks, Y. 1975. Preference semantics. Jn E.L. Keenan, (ed.)
Formal semantics of natural language. London: Oxford
University Press.
Wilson, 1975. Presuppsoition and non-truth—conditional seman-
tics. New York: Academic Press.
f
Stylistics and literary criticism

-ANJANI KUMAR SINHA
University of Delhi
‘The proceedings of the 1958 Indiana Conference on Stylistics,

which are published in Sebeok (1960), include closing state-
‘ments by two of its most distinguished participants, Roman
Jakobson, representing linguistics and René’ Wellek, represent-
ing literary criticism. According to Jakobson, the poetic func-
tion is one of the several functions of language. One, therefore,
cannot study it apart from the study of language itself, and
one cannot study language in its totality without considering its
poetic functions (Jakobson 1960:353), Unlike Jakobson, Wellek
‘regards the role of linguistics in the study of literature as limi-
ted. He sees the problem of literary style as only one of the
problems with which a theory of literature must deal. Even in
accounting for literary style, Wellek does not consider linguis-
tic analysis to be adequate; “‘it (i.e., literary style) needs analysis
in terms of the aesthetic effect towards which it is aiming”, he
claims (Wellek 1960:417). The sharp contrast between these two
points of view makes it difficult for us to define precisely the role
that stylistics can play to enrich literary criticism. The problem
becomes even more acute when we realise that most of the con-
‘cerned practioners are not clear about the goals of either literary
criticism or stylistics. This is in spite of the fact that most of the
modern critics of English literature are dead against “‘impress-
ionistic”’ criticism and the focus of criticism has shifted from the
-author to the work itself. As Wimsatt and Beardly (1954) have
pointed out, there is no excuse for inquiring what is intended
-or meant’; one must concentrate on what is there in the poem,
>
In the words of Archibald Macheish:
A poem should not mean

But be.?
The shift in emphasis in literary criticism—from the analysis.
of a poem within “‘a frame of reference’ to the analysis of the
words on the page—only was brought about by I.A. Richards,
Empson and the whole school of New Criticism. Some other
critics viewed this developnmient as mere aestheticism; in their
eyes it approached dangerously near to the doctrine of art-for-.
art’s sake. Douglas Bush condemned New Criticism for “‘its.
preoccupation with technique, its aloof intellectuality, its fear of
emotion and action, its avoidance of moral values... ,” (quo-
ted by Brooks 1970:393). Such a stricture led critics like Wilson
Knight make a distinction between ‘criticism’ and ‘interpreta-
tion’. It made the Chicago School of literary criticism pursue
‘the question of how a rationally verifiable critical judgement
could be established. Even I.A. Richards hesitated calling his.
endeavour ‘literary criticism’; he called it ‘literary analysis’.
It may be conjectured that quite a few critics have reserva-
tion against stylistics because they have been disappointed by
the achievements of new criticism especially by what they consi-
‘der as its neglect of literary “‘values’’, This is obvious from the
remarks of René Wellek (1960): “‘A work of literature is, by-
its very nature, a totality of values which do not merely adhere
‘to the structure but constitute its very nature. Thus criticism,
a study of values, cannot be expelled from a meaningful concept.
of literary scholorship.” Wellek does not minimise the signific-
ance of systematic inquiry into structures of a literary text; what
he emphasises is that functions and norms, “‘which contain and.
are values”, should also be looked into in an equally
systematic
manner. Perhaps this point can be elucidated with referenc
e to
Wayne Booth’s (1974:117-18) analysis of the opening
lines of
Pride and Prejudice, a novel by Jane Austen.
(1) “It is a truth universally acknowledged, thata single
man in possession ofa good fortune must be in want of
a wife.”
Stylistics and Literary Criticism 85
As Booth aptly observes, it is a complex sentence that makes a

very special kind of indirect and intricate point, a point that
is not conveyed by the surface meaning of the sentence at all.
The point is, she does not think all wealthy bachelors are seek-
ing wives; asa matter of fact, she knows that it is not a truth
universally acknowledged but a belief held by a special kind of
‘social group—by needy and greedy mothers of unmarried daugh-
ters, who are eager to find wealthy sons-in-law. Booth notes
that the sentence presupposes a complex notion, namely, such
people are proper objects of ridiclue. What is more, it indicates
Jane Austen’s inference about us, her conception of our power
to reconstruct these subtleties. It is this inference of hers on
which her irony is based. Allthe remarks noted above are,
however, based on what we think Jane Austen intends to say in
this sentence. In other words, these are our inference about her
intention. Are we indulging, then, in what Wimsatt and Bread-
ley call “intentional fallacy’? Booth may argue that we are not.
First of all, the reader has his strength of conviction about his
inference. Secondly, he may consult other readers to find out
whether their intuition agrees with his. And finally, there is
only one possible interpretation of this sentence if we look at it
in the context of the rest of the novel. It is true that most of
Booth’s observations are based on his intuition (what he calls
“strength of conviction’’) but we may also underline the point
that the intuitive judgement is triggered by the syntactic devices
that Jane Austen uses here, by the remark contained in the
main clause (i.e., it isa truth universally acknowledged). The
factive clause it isa truth is underlyingly contrasted with a
defining non-factive clause which involves a value-judgement:
it is universally acknowledged. We know that value judgements
are one thing and knowledge of fact another thing. It is the
inextricable mixture of the two that rules out the literal mean-
ing of the sentence. Booth failsto make this point, but whatI
have done here goes well with what he could have done. “‘In
place of analyses of poetic forms... .”’ says Booth (1974:163) “I
look at effects, at techniques for producing them, and at readers
‘and their inferences.’ The analysis of the technique for produc-
ing the effect that is there in a work of art (for it is more diffi-
.
“
cult to know what effect the author felt and valued than to
know what she intended us to feel and value) belongs to the
realm of stylistics, and a literary critic cannot view the complex-
ity of the work comprehensively if he ignores it.
A critic such as Stanley Fish (1973, 1981) is not convinced by
this type of argument. Fish examines Louis Milic’s analysis of
Jonathan Swift (1967), Richard Ohmann’s analysis of Faulkner
(1964), James Thorne’s analysis of ““A Nocturnal upon St.
Lucie’s Day” by John Donne (1969) and Michael Halliday’s.
analysis of The Inheritors by William Golding and arrives at.
the conclusion that they all do something arbitrary with their
apparatus. He argues that the machinery of categorization and
classification that those stylisticians use merely provides momen--
tary pegionholes for the constituents of a text, the constituents
which are then retrieved and reassembled into exactly the form
they previously had.” (p. 55). This is how works the process of
scrutinising that a stylistician adopts in order to discern “‘struc-
tural property” in a literary work. Fish does not claim that the.
pattern that the stylistician discovers has no meaning; he simply
asserts that the explanation for that meaning does not lie in its.
syntactic property but in “‘the ability of the reader to confer it”
(p. 64). The main argument of Fish is that “in their rush to
establish an inventory of fixed significances, they bypass the
activity in course of which significances are ... fixed... Asa
result they are left with patterns and statistics that have been
cut off from their animate source, banks of data that are unatta-
ched to anything but their own formal categories. . .”’ (p. 65).
While Fish’s evaluation of a lot of stylistic literature done
from quantitive and descriptive points of view is correct, he is
not justified in condemning all of it. There are stylisticians who
have analysed literary works from structural as well as transfor-
mational-generative points of view in such a way that the contri-
bution of these approaches to literary criticism cannot be igno-
red. It is one thing to frown at the claim that all criticism is
stylistics, it is another to give a verdict—as Fish does—that the
goal of stylistics is not only “impossible” but also “unworthy”
(p. 66). We may note that quite a few problems that Fish talks
about so aggressively are the inevitable outcome of the reliance
of stylisticians of the older generation of descriptive linguistics.
The theory that had only taxonomic goals cannot help us in
showing the significance of interrelation between sentences, let
alone explaining why the choice of one transformation was
better than another in a certain context. With its apparatus of
underlying and surface structures and of transformations relat-
ing the two, the theory has given a new dimension to the ques-
tion of syntagmatic and parardigmatic relations —the chain and
choice relations—that lie at the root of any literary work. The
New Critics could previously talk about the aptness in the choice
of words, the new stylisticians talk about the aptness in the
choice of a syntactic pattern in preference to other competing
patterns. A comparison between the stylistic analysis of the
language of Wallace Stevens done by George Steiner (1974) in
a traditional way and by Samuel Keyser (1976, 1981) from a
transformational point of view makes the difference between the
two modes of analysis clear. Likewise, the analyses of Gerard
Hopkin’s “Windhover” by Hill Scott (1974) and by Milroy
(1977) illustrate what various theories have achieved. While
Cleanth Brook’s analysis of “‘The Grasshopper’, a poem by
Richard Lovelace (1962), isa beautiful example of what the
New Critic did with the apparatus available to him, Haj Ross’s
analysis of Robert Frost’s ‘‘Out, out. . .”’ (1981) illustrates how
the new theory has contributed to the complexity and richness
of stylistics.
The basic principles of transformational-generative grammar
have helped modern stylisticians in refining their theories in
several ways. For instance, Kiparsky (1973) has brought in the
question of the choice of a derivational stage to explain his
concept of “‘the sameness of pattern.’’ He differentiates between
strict parallelism in which even constituents on the lower levels
of the tree diagram are parallel and a Joose parallelism in which
only the highest syntactic constitutents of the tree diagram are
the same. His concept of parallelism is so flexible that a side
from actual repetition (as in refrains) no syntactice parallelism
is ever required to be complete on the level of surface structure.
Even the strictest parallelism allows divergence of surface
structure according to certain types of transformational rules
that delete and re-order constituents. While analysing verses,
Kiparsky (1968, 1972) uses the apparatus of morphophonemic

rules to peel off layers of phonological forms and to arrive ata
schema which underlies a given meter in the Finnish Kalevala or
the Rigveda. The theoretical concepts used by Halle and Keyser
(1972) for the analysis of iambic pentameter has revolutionali-
zed the study of poetic meter as such.
While all these are positive. developments in stylistics, the
stylistician has not won over the literary critic yet. Fish is
against the stylistician because he thinks he tries to locate the
meaning in the inventory of relationships he seeks to specify.
Fish is upset because he thinks the stylistician claims that the
inventory exists independently of the author and the reader,
ie., it consists of linguistic facts alone. While such a point of
view may help the critic in keeping impressionistic criticism
away from him, he is not ready to buy it wholesale. The reason
is he finds it faltering even in the hands of highly skilled sty lis-
ticians. For instance, we may refer to the analysis of Baudelaire’s
“Les Chats’ done by Jakobson and Lévi-Strauss (1962,
1972) and compare it with its analysis by Riffaterre (1956).
While Jakobson and Lévi-Strauss give an extraordinarily thoro-
ugh structural analysis of the phonological, grammatical and
semantic aspects of the poem, Riffaterre concentrates on dist-
inguishing “stylistic facts’, the whole range of unpredictible
elements, from “linguistic facts” which merely convey informa-
tion. Riffaterre criticises Jakobson and Lévi-Strauss essentially
on the ground that some of the structures on which they build
their reading are merely linguistic facts of the text; they are not
determinant stylistic facts. He argues that not all the interpreta-
tions given by Jakobson and Lévi-Strauss are correct. For inst-
ance, they fail to note the symbolism that is there in the struct-
ure but is not actualised by the code. Fish attributes the relative
failure of Jakobson and Lévi-Strauss in explaining all the possi-
ble meanings to their reliance on the linguistic data at the cost
of the “interpretive act”. What he advocates, then, is not the
mixing of the descriptive and interpretive acts, but a complete
merger of the two.
We are in full agreement with the view that the analysis of the
poem should not be confined to the understanding of the linguis-
tic inventory alone; it must be aimed at the whole creative pro-
“cess. Critical inquiry is not a process of stock-checking; it is not

a process of consulting the oracle either. As Stankiewicz (1974:
‘650) observes, “The poetic text, is the most dynamic and
“open-ended type of message, and not a hermetically closed and
self-referential structure.’’ A theory of stylistics should not only
tell us what the structure of the text is but also how it is, what
itis. Only then it will indicate what makes a text dynamic and
“open-ended; only then it will be net only acceptable to but an
‘essential apparatus for literary critics.
NOTES
1. The authors call the critic’s tendency to base his judge-

ment on a creative writer’s intuition ‘“‘the intentional
fallacy” and give strong arguments against it.
2. These are the concluding lines of ‘“‘Ars Poetica’’.
3. According to Wilson Knight: “Criticism is a judgement
of vision, interpretation and reconstruction of vision.”’ He
views cach Shakespearian play as a visionary unit bound
to obey none but its own self-imposed law.
4, Wellek (1971:68) remarks that he would be the first
critic to defend the enormous importance of linguistics to
the study of literature. Still he is not convinced that
linguistic procedures can cope with the many features of
a literary work which are not dependent on particular
verbal formulations.
5. As Sartre (1968:87) observes: “In irony a man annihila-
tes what he posits within one and the same act; he leads
us to believe in order not to be believed; he affirms to
deny and denies to affirm...”
REFERENCES
Booth, Wayne. 1970. Now don’t try to reason with me Chicago:

University of Chicago Press.
———, 1974 Dogmas and the rhetoric of accent. University of
Chicago Press.
o *%
90 Language, Style and Discourse:
Brame, Michael, 1972. Contributions to generative phonology..

Austin: University of Texas Press.
Brook, Cleanth. 1962, 1970. Literary criticism, poet, poem and.
reader. Included in Trilling (ed.) 1970: 392-405.
Chatman, Seymour (ed). 1971. Literary style: a symposium.
Oxford University Press.
De George Richard and F. De George (eds.) 1972. The struc--
turalists: from Marx to Levi-Strauss. New York: Doubleday,
Ehrmann, Jacques (ed.) 1966. Structuralism. New York:
Doubleday.
Fish, Stanley. 1973. (1981). What is stylistics and why are they
saying such terrible things about it. Jn Freeman (ed.) 1981:
53:78.
Freeman, Donald (ed.). 1970. Linguistics and literary style. New
York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
———1981. Essays in modern stylistics. London: Methuen.
Halliday, Michael. 1971. Linguistic function and literary style.
In Chatman (ed.) 1971: 330-365.
Jakobson, Roman. 1960. Closing statement: Linguistics and,
poetics. In Sebeok (ed.) 1960: 350-372:
Jakobson, R, and Claude Lévi-Strauss 1962 (1972). “Les Chats’’.
In Degeorge and Degeorge (eds.) 1972: 124-146.
Kiparsky, Paul. 1968. Metrics and Morphophonemics in
Kalevala. In freeman (ed-) 1970, pp. 165-181.
———, 1971. Metrics and morphophonemics is the Rigveda-
In Brame, M, (ed-) 1971.
———, 1973. The role of linguistics in a theory of poetry.
Daedelus 102; 231-247.
Klein. W. and W. Levelt (eds.). 1981. Crossing the boundaries in») ae,
linguistics. Dordrecht: D. Reidel,

Knight, G. Wilson. 1930. The wheel of fire. London: Methuen,
Milic, Louis T. 1967. A quantitative approach to the style of
Jonathan Swift. The Hague: Mouton.
Ohmann, Richard. 1964. Generative grammar and the concept
of literary style. Word XX. 423-439.
Riffaterre, M. 1966. Describing poetic structures: two approa--
ches to Baudelaira’s ‘“‘Les Chats’, Jn Ehramann (ed.) 1966:.
188-229.
Stylistics and Literary Criticism 91.
Sartre, Jean-Paul. 1968. Being and nothingness (tr. by H.

Barnes) New York: Washington Square Press.
Sebeok, Thomas. (ed) 1960. Style in language. Cambridge,
Mass: MIT Press.
Thorne, James P. 1965. Poetry, stylistics and imaginary gram-
mars. Journal of Linguistics 5:147-150.
Trilling, Lionel (ed.) 1970/Literary criticism: an inter-discipli-
nary reader. New York: Aolt, Rinehart and Winston.
|Wellek, René, 1960. Closing statement. In Sebeok (ed.). 1960:
408-419,
———, 1971. Stylistics, poetics and criticism. Jn Chatman
(ed) 1971:65-76.
{ Wimsatt, W.K. and Monroe Beardley. 1954. The verbal icon...
Lexington: The University of Kentucky Press.
AS ‘
eo sf
oe
ent
+ 3feo:Seen
eh:
ae
oa at
= ts a.
Stylistics and the teaching of poetry
R.P. BHATNAGAR
University of Rajasthan, Jaipur
and
RAJUL BHARGAVA
Kanoria College, Jaipur
Teaching English literature to speakers of other languages:

can give rise to several problems. Some of them are: what to.
teach—fiction, drama, poetry or all of them; which portion or:
portions to teach—e.g. if one were to teach poetry, would it
include Langland, Chaucer, Ben Jonson, Milton all the way to
Yeats, Auden and Philip Larkin (we are essentially thinking of-
college level teaching); how to teach it—use the Richardsian
method and all that it involves, treating a literary text as an.
autonomous entity, close reading and examination of the four
constitutive factors of sense, feeling, tone and purpose, or the. _
traditional way, the typical lit-crit method, annotating, explain-
ing and evaluating the given poem not in any particular sequence.
but all together, or the more recent stylistics way, bringing
to bear on the given poem some of the insights which modern
linguistics has made available. Underlying all the three approa-
ches is the assumption that somehow attempts should be made
to bring out the peculiar effect a literary piece, especially a
poem, has on the reader through an interplay of such factors.
as diction, figures of speech, imagery, and special sound patterns.
More often than not the teacher opts fora course of action
based more on expediency than on any critical ideology. The
more gifted teacher has in fact an ecclectic approach directly
geared to the satisfaction of the examination needs and only
~~
“94 Language, Style and Discourse
incidentally catering to the aesthetic taste. The usual euphoria

associated with a poetry lesson is more an uncritical though
exaggerated expression of the supposed or real excellence and
literary merit of the given text. This is not surprising at all,
given the kind of examination system which obtains in a country
like India. Here are a few questions from some of the university
examination papers selected at random:
1. Spencer has been called the ‘Poets’ Poet’, Ellucidate

the remark with your comments.
2. Comment on the documentary value of Chaucer’s
General Prologue to the Canterbury Tales or consider
Chaucer as the Father of English Poetry.
3. Briefly analyse Donne’s views on death and soul on
the basis of the poems that you have read.
4. Give a critical appreciation of Hopkins’ ‘The Windho-
ver’.
5. Discuss Whitman as a poet of democracy.
It would be clear that questions like the above require an

-effective system for the transmission of received opinions. All
that the teacher has to do is to pass on the definitive views of
the established literary critics and occasionally go rapturous
over some of those views and depending upon his forcefulness
of presentation and the ‘negative capability’ of his students,
infect them also with the artfully contrived feeling of happiness
and admiration.
It is thus clear that what goes on in most Indian classrooms
‘in the name of teaching English literature is extremely counter-
productive, even harmful, because if literature has to bea
source of real joy, and a means of refining one’s sensibilities
it must be so taught as to make the students experience and
enjoy it on their own. This could be possible only if they had
‘the necessary skills of analysing and interpreting it. But analysis
and interpretation presuppose a certain level of understanding
based on the requisite degree of linguistic competence. It is here
that the so-called English literature class in an average Indian
college becomes either a pathetic exercise in make-believe
where everything and everyone is imagined to be ‘okey’ or else
‘Tecching of Poetry 95
an exercise in sheer farcicality. For, how can one ‘appreciate’

‘something without understanding it? When the comprehension
level of a majority of college students is not even half of the
“O’ level school certificate examination how can any meaningful
learning or teaching of literature take place.
It is our contention, then, that doing literary stylistics in
an averege Indian classroom by an average literature teacher
is an impossible proposition. This is an extreme but very
realistic position to take. Depending upon what kind of stylis-
tics one is doing—and there is no one, the stylistic method of
doing literature—the task becomes more and more formidable
as increasingly intricate analytical and conceptual techniques
are applied to the study of a literary text. The point is worth
making that a student of foreign literature faces problems both
at the textual-analytical and cognitive-conceptual levels. What
we now propose to do in this paper is not take up a poem—
one that we know has not been done by any critic or literary
stylistician—with a view to asking ourselves and our listeners
at the end how possible or impossible stylistics is in the
Indian context and how tenuous therefore is the relationship
between Stylistics and the teaching of English Literature in
our country.
Here is the poem.
TODAY
by
Irene Comben
Today’s my enemy; uncertain entity,

A tricky and tortuous antagonist,
An unresolved enigma;
An unmapped country I must cross—
5 Land under shifting mist, riddled with quagmire.
Alert, as the cat crouched for his kill,
As the bird wing-wary for instant flight,
As the Angel of Death who is always busy
Here and there and forever—
10 Still I know that today will bring
Repetition of failure, opportunity once more missed,
96 Language, St) le and Discourse-
People and words and moments delectable and delicate,

Which I shall mishandle. Today is my enemy.
Yesterday is my companion.
15 All my life it will follow me;
Time will tinge it, harsh lines blur and soften,
Wounds, grown over, show only small scars,
Mistakes, accepted, will be glazed over
By my will to efface them. Even these,
20 Beneath the patina their passing provides,
May acquire a not unpleasing comlexion.
Tomorrow is my friend.
Tomorrow I shall see and seize the proffered good,
Reject the enticing evil. Tomorrow I shall grow-
greater,
25 Think more percipiently and speak more wisely.
Tomorrow holds riches I cannot even name today.
Yet, today is my lover. Entwined and enchanted
We will compose our living song,
Our inimitable song of sweet sounding.
30 Minute by minute, and hour by hour,
We shall give lift to our present,
Which is our eternity.
Today is my lover.
The very first problem one encounters is to understand the-

sound patterns, the musical beat of the poem. One possible-
way toestablishing the metrical patterns isto go along with
Jesperson when he says, “‘Verse rhythm is based on the same:
alternation between stronger and weaker syllables as that found
in natural everday speech,’’ and to adopt Morris Halle and
Samuel Jay Keyser’s extension of the Jespersonian view in their
concept of the stress maximum (A stress maximum isa syllable.
which has an unstressed syllable flanking it on either side). Of”
course, it would be anatural characterization of the iambic
pentameter. But even if one were to stick to the traditional
method of scansion, it would not be easy to mark the metrical
patterns. A sample scansion of the first few lines of the poem is..
given below:
Téaching of Poetry — 97
. we ! u
yestadl az: “mat Rem paewTI™ .
ol “aat larg ‘Tt “wil polay ms,
‘blaan Sof,
ee “wr } tr nd.foto. ‘haf laInz
Wwund 2, graun auy3 5 fav ourlt ‘Smal Skaz,
PmTsterks , ‘ase Epd. ‘we t “br iglerzd @uva
baa mM al wil ita * rfeis ‘Sam. ivan | 2,
20 ‘bri @ oa" px,fI'ma ‘Sea pe si) ‘pravatda ,.
“mel akwalora not ‘Aw'pliziy ‘Kamplexten
The feet and their division can be shown as follows:

Stanza 1
. xix / Ixx /; xx / Ixx

x / Ixx / Ixx / 1xx
xx /xl /xl /x
Ex PH Fax
=.
wWwnd
Ah Ix|Ix) / Ix /xIxx
Stanza 2
. xl {xx /It/x/ xl
—-3% Die t al
ispele
. xvi / xx /]xxi /xix
Ix / Ix /xl /x
/ ix /xl /xl
. xxl / xxl /x /, xxl / xxl /xl
. Ixx / Ix / Ixx / Ixx / x / 1xx
ON. xxx /xix / x / 1xx / Ixx
NNnN
PWN
Stanza 3
xx 3x| xix
x
. I/xxl/Ixl
_ Ix / ix / 1 / 1x /1x
Ix / xl / Ix / Il/
_ xl /xi /xi /xi / Ix
. xxi / xxl / x /; Ixl
. xix / Ixx / x1x /zl
WN xxl / xxl / xlx / xlx
ONDNA
98 : Language, Style an® Discourse
Stanza 4
Le xt feel
2. xl /xx /xl/xl/xl/ xl
3. xIx / xIx / Ix. xIx / xxl / Ix
4. Ixx / Ixx / xl / xIx
5. x1 / xt /1x / xl /xl/xl/ xl
Stanza 5
1. 1/ xIx / xix /. xIx / xIx
2. xxx / IIx / Ixl
3. xx / Ixx / xIx / IIx
4. Ix/x/ Ix/, xIx /xlx
5. xxl / Ix] / xIx
6. xl /Ixx / Ixx
7. xi /x:x / Ix
It is not being suggested that this is a perfectly accurate or
the only patterning possible. Scansion is always a tricky busi-
ness. Moreover, different conditions will bring about corres-
ponding variations. It is not fortuitous that both graphologi-
cally and phonologically the poem is irregular, a characteristic
of vers fibre or free verse.
Having analysed the metrical arrangement of the poem, it
is necessary to show how different effects intuitively felt by the
trained ears of native or near-native speakers can be accounted
for. The very first line of the poem presents a good exampl
e,
for it embodies complete phonological symmetry.
x x x *x Ry ee x
teaderz mat niml > Ansatnentret,
‘ oe 3
@O-
= S 6 hor BtLSicte, GSES
The phonological weight of the two halves of the line could
not have been more evenly divided. Each half contains six
syllables and two feet, an amphibrach followed by a dacty
l.
The last two syllables of each rhyme with each other,
The
graphological feature, presence of a semi-colon, supports
the
Phonological equivalence. It is for the above reasons thata
proper rendering of the line is an aesthetically highly satisfying
experience. Properties like assonance (/ni/, /mlIj, /tI
)and
/
Teaching of Poetry ~~ 99
alliteration (in the 2nd and 4th lines, for exam

ple) are easier
to point out. One feature, however, what
the French critic
Andre Spire calls the ‘buccal dance’ (as cited
by E.S. Enstein
in Language and Style, Methuen) deserves special
attention and
we will now try to examinejthe poem Today in
the light of the
above feature, though in a slightly modified form.
We will like to expand the principle of ‘buccal
dance’ to
‘apply to all the vowels in the poem, stressed as well as unstres-
sed. For reasons of convenience the expanded view
may be
called ‘unrestricted’ and the original view confined
to stressed
‘vowels may be called ‘restricted’.
The pattern that emerges according to the unrestricted view
is as follows:*
Stanza 1
Comin cect iF
cffcbbffcf
ccfbffce
cerert co
fectiifctt{te
[The consolidated pattern is cf c]
Stanza 2
CCCCiDert
Ceocre tele rt
Ccrcerp1rorLttt
eceecctiec
1fbpcertt
fffcocfcbcbffcbf
ferecbecticecfif
fRiticettrt{f
[The consolidated pattern is c f ]
Stanza 3
fceffficte
BLT PORE
rrricrecbe
bbbcbbfbe
fferfff{f be
* c=central vowels; f=front vowels; b=back vowels:

»
fffcficficf
fficffcccfcf
fefccbcffcfe
[The consolidated pattern is fc f]
Stanza4
cbbfff
cbhcfcfcfcebcb
ffefffffcebbfcbfe
fhof£f cibftf
cbhbbffffcfcfcf
[The consolidated pattern is c Fi
Stanza 5,
fecfffccffcfcf
ffcobbcffb
befffecbcfbf
fffffcebcfbc
ffffcbhecfe
ffbcfcff
efitcc
[The consolidated pattern is fc]
The pattern according to the restricted principle is as
follows:
Stanza 1
ice
fbf
bf
Pec
Pere t?
[The consolidated pattern is fc f ]
Stanza 2
oft
eeff
ffof
eof
f bff
Teaching of Poetry 101
ffbcf
Pott
fff
{The consolidated pattern is c f ]
Stanza3
fit ¢
bfbf
ficfeb
bbbbbc
ffffb
fiis
hicf
foff
[The consolidated pattern is fc f]
Stanza 4
bf
bfbb
fffbbf
ffff
bibf £££f
{The consolidated pattern is bf}
Stanza 5
Tree
bbfb
bfbfb
ff bb
ffbf
fbec
fe
[The consolidated pattern is fc ]
Since thematically the first two stanzas are related (in both
‘today’ is held as enémy), the consolidated patterns of these
can be combined, which gives us c f, c being the contrel vowel
je! and f being /1/. Movement from the former to the latter
represents aclimb upwards denoting an uphill task or some-
thing difficult and unpleasant, i.e. something + negative:
Again, the third and the fourth stanzas are in a way related
as they mark the reversal Of the. poet’s negative thinking and
project ‘time’ first as companion and then as friend. The time
chosen is, of course, past (yesterday) and future (tomorrow). By
combining the consolidated patterns of these two stanzas we get
Jcf, the firstf being the front vowel je/ and the / being
second
formally /1/ but in terms of tongue height something equivalent
to that of /e/ as the tongue glides from /e/ to /1/. This too is
quite congruent with the thematic content of the two stanzas,
of which the third marks a delicate act of balancing and
hesitation and the fourth a sudden swell of good feeling
in contradistinction to the feeling contained in the first two
stanzas.
Finally, the fifth stanza represents the other polarity wherein
the pattern fc (from /e/ to /2/ ) represents the movement from
tension to restfulness and joyous serenity.
[We have ignored b, i.e. back vowels, since the dominant

vowel movements are from mid or central vowels to front
vowels and vice versa.]
The above characterization of the modified principle of
‘buccal dance’ has been done according to what we called the-
unrestricted view which takes into account both the stressed and
the unstressed vowels in a poem. If we do it on the basis of
the restricted view, the picture that emerges is not different
from the one given above. The only adjustment necessary is
to take stanzas 1 and 2 separately. In that case the movement
in stanza 1 is from /el to /ai/, from less to greater difficulty; and
the movement in stanza 2 is from /a/ to /e/, again an upward
movement denoting difficulty and negativity.
At the grammatical level several facts can be taken note of.
In the very first stanza the use of the modal ‘must? in line 4 is
striking. What is being presented in the stanza is an assertion
(note the use of the copula ‘is’, the only verb in the first nine
lines of the poem) that the present (today) is most unhappy
and troublesome, something bordering on the tragic. The
tragedy lies in the poet’s belief (true or untrue) that she is
trapped past all escape. The predicament facing her cannot be
wished away. ‘Must’ shows absolute compulsiveness which robs
the poet of all choice. Its use therefore is a grammatical device
aimed at reinforcing the semantic content of the first stanza,
The use of ‘still’ in line 10 in the second stanza is again
semantically very significant. Having painted the present in as
lurid colours as possible, having brought the theme, as it were,
to its crescendo, some kind of turning or second movement was
called for. The predicament presented in the first nine lines,
being morea psychological than a physical condition, had
resulted in a total paralysis of the poet’s will. It meant complete
cessation of the thinking faculty. (With the ‘Angel of Death’
being ‘busy here and there and forever’). Any turning involving
change in the above condition would first require resuscitation
of the paralysed faculty of thinking. This is precisely what
‘still’ signals, for what follows it is the phrase ‘I know’. The
content. of knowing may be coloured, but the process of
exercising the faculty of knowing has once again been turned
on. This is clear from the express mention of the operation of
volition in the next stanza in the phrase ‘by my will to efface
them’.
Another interesting grammatical feature is the use of ‘shall’
in the last line of the second stanza. By denoting lack of
willingness or volition—two modalities generally associated with
»
‘will’ in conjunction with the first person pronoun—the poet has

indirectly suggested through the use of ‘shall’ some sort of
inevitability and helplessness born out of it, which is much more
than pure futurity. For fully appreciating this special use of
‘shall’, one may like to compare it with the use of ‘will’ in lines
16 and 18, of ‘shall’ in line 24, and again that of ‘will’ and
‘shall’ in lines 28 and 31.
Another three grammatical cecsinn can be taken up tegether
‘even’ in line 19 and ‘may’ and ‘not unpleasing’ in line 21. In
the background of what is depicted in stanzas 1 and 2, what
is stated in stanza 3 is nothing short of a brave effort at getting
out of the earlier predicament—a bold search for an escape
route (this search takes place with the aid of memory in the
third stanza and with the aid of hope in the fourth). But how-
soever brave the effort mounted by the poet, it cannot at one
go undo the grave psychological harm she has done herself by
fancying the present to be her enemy. Memory can relieve the
gloom but only seemingly. The awareness of this grows as the
‘stanza draws to a close and the need for increased tentativeness
is felt and is best expressed through the congregation of these
three wonderful grammatical devices: even, may and not unpleas-
ing. The poet’s commitment to the veracity of the thoughts
expressed in the immediately preceding lines could not have
been negatived more artfully.
The last grammatical feature worthy of our notice is the use
of the starter ‘yet’ in the last stanza. A rather uncommon
starter. For, its sweep is really wide. It completes the circle
(the wheel has come full circle), and for that reason covers the
poem in its entirety. One might not wrongly suggest that ‘yet’
here means in spite of whatever has been said earlier, i.e. in the
first four stanzas. It would perhaps be a mistake to take ‘yet’ to
imply a restricted modification of the position taken by the
poet in the immediately preceding stanza.
At the syntactic level the most prominent feature is what
we would like to call multiple predication. f oday is the subject
of the first two stanzas and as many as ten things are predicated
of it. This may be shown in the form of a chart:
my enemy
uncertain entity
a tricky antagonist
a tortuous antagonist
Today is A an unresolved enigma
ee an unmapped country ... cross
oy
Foe,
Land ... quagmire
alert, as the ... kill
alert, as the bird ... flight
. alert,
co OANIDAMNEWN—
HHoS as the Angel ... forever
-Again in line 10 we are told:
f 1. repetition of failure
today will bring 4 2. opportunities once more missed
| 3. People and words ... mishandle
The third stanza displays the same phenomenon, though its
‘grammatical transformations have to be properly worked out:
f 1. is my companion
| 2. will follow me all my life (trans-
Yesterday | position)
| 3. will be tinged by time (passive)
( 1. (that) harsh lines (will) blur and
| soften
| 2. wounds, grown over, (will) show
(What will happen is) | only small scars
| 3. mistakes, accepted, will be glaz-
t ed over ... them
-Again, take the fourth stanza:
f 1. is my friend
Tomorrow 2 holds riches ... name today
1. tomorrow I shall see ... good
2. (tomorrow I shall) reject ... evil
3
——-- (tomorrow I shall) grow greater
‘(What will happen is) 14 (tomorrow Ishall) think more
percipiently
{ 5. (tomorrow I shall) speak more
wisely
In the fifth stanza also there is a sort of multiple predica-
‘tion:
( 1. compose our living song

What we will do is) | 2. (compose) our inimitable
sounding
e 3. give life to our present
»
Taken as a whole the poem is brimful of repeated acts of

predication. This makes it a very special poem in as much as it
gives the reader a very pronounced feeling of strong insistence
on the part of the poet that what she feels about ‘today’ in the
first and the second stanzas and about ‘yesterday’ and ‘to-
morrow’ inthe third and the fourth respectively is true, very
true, or so at least she thinks. As we remarked earlier, the
statements made by the poet represent more a psychological
condition than a physical reality, _The intensity of her convic-
tion —expressed powerfully through repeated predications—gets.
more and more accentuated with every repetition and thus.
thickens the atmosphere of gloom (stanzas 1 and 2) or fancied
euphoria (stanza 4). In the background of such strongly felt
beliefs the total reversal contained in stanza 5 generates.
highly exaggerated feeling of contrast.
Another conspicuous syntactic feature of the poem is the
preponderance of post-modification or what Halliday would call
‘qualifiers’:
country J must cross

land under shifting mist
(land) riddled with quagmire
cat crouched for his kill
bird wing-wary for instant flight
Angel of Death who is always ... forever
repetition of failure
opportunity once more missed
wordt and moments delectable and delicate
words and moments which I shall mishandle
wounds, grown over

mistakes, accepted
patina their passing provides
riches I cannot even name today
song of sweet sounding
present, which is our eternity
That some sixteen instances of post-modification should:
occur in nearly twice as many lines, apart from being a sharp.
Teaching of Poetry
107°
Stylistic feature, bespeaks a peculiar frame of mind plagued with.
uncertainty and a lack of clarity.
On the semantic level a content analysis of the poem in
terms of its lexis and images provides a significant reinforce-
ment to the poem’s theme and the purpose behind it. To use-
Geoffrey Leech’s term we can say there is remarkable lexical
cohesion in the poem. Letais take up the related adjectives and.
nouns used in the first and the last stanzas:
Adjective Nouns
| uncertain | ememy
| tricky | antagonist
| tortuous | enigma
Stanza 1 | unresolved { quagmire
| unmapped
|. riddled
| entwined | lower
| enchanted | song
Stanza 5 | living | life
| inimitable | eternity
| sweet
It will be seen that the negative feeling conveyed in the first.
stanza and the pleasant thoughts expressed in the last stanza
are fully reflectedin their nouns and adjectives. Similarly, the
images presented throughout the poem are completely congru-
ent with the theme. Today is first visualized as enemy, antago-
nist, enigma, unmapped country, land under shifting mist, cat
crouched for his kill, hawk and Angel of Death and in the final:
stanza as lover. Whereas the first two and last stanzas have
positive and negative vocabulary respectively, the third and
fourth stanzas have a mixed bag of vocabulary, quite in keeping
with the tone of these stanzas.
One last point we would like to make is that a literary piece
is, from the point of view of the student of literature, as much
an artifact to be enjoyed as an object to be assigned a value.
Evaluation cannot be kept out of the purview of the literary
stylistician unless we want to create two exclusive departments
of literary criticism and linguistic stylistics. A literary stylistics
has to be an amalgam of the best insights of a highly refined
literary sensitivity and the sharpest analytical reaches of linguis~-
tic scholarship. Between the two there is a grey area which it is.
~
“108 Language, Style and Discourse
“not easy to give alabel to. For example, will it be literary

“sensitivity or linguistic scholarship that will enable a reader to
perceive asemi-religious tone in stanza 4 (seize the proferred
_good; reject the enticing evil)? Perhaps, it is futile to raise walls
-between literary criticism and stylistics. Roman Jakobson and
“George Steiner among others have made this point most force-
fully. F
We would like to recall what we said in the beginning of
this paper. Its draft was that. it is most difficult to practise
stylistics in relation to a foreign literature. Here we would like
‘to make two further submissions, one partly modifying our
-above stand and the other putting forward a positive recom-
mendation. It is only the gifted teachers of English literature
who can do stylistics witha group of students representing the
“Other culture—the culture of elite education and urbanized,
‘westernized family background. Such oases will be few and far
between. In the case of an overwhelming majority of Indian
‘students stylistics has great relevance in respect of their own
“mother-tongue literatures. In fact it is a great pity that most
Indian literature departments are content to perpetuate a kind
of critical obscurantism unworthy of the land of Panini. It is
‘time those teachers in our colleges and universities who are
teaching Indian literatures took to a serious study of modern
Stylistics and tried to adapt it for its practical application to the
~study of our indigenous literatures. Stylistics in this context
-has manifold potentialities and therefore a very constructive role
“to play.
Z
Stylistic analysis of a poetic text
RAVINDER GARGESH
University of Delhi
Stylistics as a sociolinguistic-cum-lingua-aesthetic approach:

to verbal art attempts to solve philosophical problems related:
to aesthetics by analyzing the meaning of words in context
and by scrutinizing a multi-levelled relationship between words.
that characterize a text. .On. the one hand its concern lies.
in the study of the verbal configuration of a work and on,
the other to evolve out a composite outlook about the nature.
of literary works. Stylistics at present should not restrict
itself to the methods and techniques of analysis of the over-
semanticized structures but should also be involved with the-
analysis and description of poetic texts. Stylistics, is thus,
simultaneously a theory of literary works as verbal forms, and.
a method and technique of the analysis of poetic texts as well.
All poetic texts, since are realized in and through language
and exhibit aesthetic import, have two distinct dimensions of”
their existence—viz. a verbal dimension and an aesthetic dimen~
sion. The two dimensions make a poetic text at once a verbal
symbol as well as an aesthetic object. Because of this dualistic
nature, a schism is often created between the two dimensions.
of a poetic text. It is either viewed as pure language form, thus.
leading to a purely linguistic analysis (Saporta 1960), or, it is.
viewed only in aesthetic terms, with language serving as an
accidental function, thus leading to an analysis of aesthetic:
impulses and congruencies in the work (Collingwood 1938;.
Croce 1958). Stylistics as a theory does not aim at creating
such a schism between the verbal and the aesthetic dimensions of*
’
‘110 Language, Siyle and Discourse
“a poetic text. It in fact considers the domain of literature to be

‘an area of convergence where aesthetic life and language merge
‘to give a verbally qualified art form. In convergence these
two dimensions exist in a form of reciprocal comprehensiveness.
Since all literature finds its expression in and through language
one cannot help but agree with Jakobson’s characterization of
the domain as ‘‘verbal art’’.
Another characteristic feature of ‘verbal art’ is its fictiveness.
‘Scholars such as Smith (1978), Prince (1983), Scholes (1982),
Martinez-Bonati (1981, 1983), and Walton (1983) have
“emphasized the need for building a literary theory based on a
theory of fictivity. Smith (1978: 3-40) distinguishes between
“natural discourse’ and ‘fictive discourse’. Natural discourses
are“... .the verbal act of real persons on particular occassions
in response to particular sets of circumstances” (p. 15). That is,
‘it occurs in particular, ‘historical’ contexts which occassion the
occurrence. The fictive discourse, i.e. the discourse in literature,
‘is distinct from a natural discourse for it isa repersentation of
“one (p. 24). In literature the speaking, addressing, expressing,
alluding etc. are all fictive verbal acts. The fictive contexts
‘created by the use of deictics, personal pronouns, adverbials,
“demonstratives etc., over-semanticize the linguistic structures
and not merely make them carry extra-ordinary burden. For
‘Smith, fictiveness is identifiable only through a set of shared
conventions, i.e. the “literary competence’, Scholes (1982: 26)
‘views the same phenomenon from the perspective of the “semiotic
generation of an absent context, or the distortion from
a pre-
‘sent one.” The two views need to be synthesized. The ‘literary
‘competence’, in semiotic terms, must evince rules
of the com-
municative processes depending upon the codes that
govern
‘the production (and interpretation by the readers too)
of the
message or the text. What is needed isa semiolinguistics
which
views language in terms of its communication functions
and
‘helps in the study of literary style as an essential aspect
of that
‘communication. Semiolinguistics would help in the study of
the encoding (and the subsequent decoding) of
the style effects
tin the communication act ofa text.
A literary text is partly a finite/close-ended and partly an
Stylistic Analysis-of a Poetic Text 111
open-ended entity. Asa finite entity it is regarded asa self-
‘contained whole comprising of verbal sequences having a global
coherence where different sentences as verbal symbols get
transformed into one composite sign—an art symbol. The
verbal art form asa sign has a‘function of signification. By
signification is meant the subtle and hidden implications as
distinct from the referential neaning. As a self-contained entity
teferences extrinsic to the text are (via the ‘codes’) either
absorbed as context internal to its specification or made inward
‘to create a world of its own. In the work all meaning is trans-
formed into ‘being’.
The literary work is open-ended in the sense that not all its
‘components are in a state of actuality. The indeterminacies need
‘to be concretized by the reception-aesthetic activity of the
reader as has been emphasized by Jauss (1982) and Iser (1978).
Ingarden (1973) ‘speaks of the reader undertaking the activity of
removing or filling the indeterminacies, or gaps in the text by
exercising his imagination, skill and perspicuity. Of course, the
reader’s perception too is conditioned by the ‘codes’ that he
brings to use. It is the activity of ‘co-creation’ that transforms
an art object into an aesthetic object.
Srivastava (1980) has developed upon Langer’s (1.57) hierar-
chical model. Langer distinguished between the ‘art symbol’
and the ‘symbols in art’. For her the art symbol refers toa
‘complete work, it encapsulates sentences and has an aesthetic
import, it is emotive and is beyond the scope of a linguistic
analysis. The symbols in art (i.e. metaphors, imageries etc.) are
denotative and referential and hence can be analyzed linguisti-
cally. Srivastava has countered this claim from a semi-linguis-.
tic perspective, and is of the opinion that the art symbol has a
second level function as in the Barthian model. His three-
levelled approach to the art symbol is as given on page 112.
‘A poem, like a sentence, is a constitute which shows a
hierarchical set-up of inter-penetrating levels or layers. The
‘above three levels are distinct but organically integrated levels.
All the levels and their units are verbal in nature. Sentence
symbols are denotative in nature and referential in function.
Symbols in Art are connotators, made up of the signs of the
‘denotated system which are constructed so as to reveal the ‘tone’
es
Unit (in
Symbols operational | Competence | Function
terms)
L,b= Aesthetic Art object Aesthetie Sentience

Symbol concretized
L;a=Art Symbo }| Total Text/ | Artistic Expressive

Discourse* Form
construction
L, = Symbols Limited Text/| Communi-| Suggestive

in Art Discourse cation
(metaphors
etc.)
L, = Sentence |Grammatical Linguistic Discursive/

Symbol sentence Logical
pri serpy 1 “wan hus Dds neetige ot eases
of the text. The denotators are conventional, abitrary, and
monosemic in nature, whereas the connotators are iconic,
motivated and polysemic in nature. The art symbol is the total
as.
whole meant to express the poem’s signification. The poem
an art symbol exists in two contexts. In the first context it
exists in the ‘text’ itself as a verbal ‘potential’—a functional
entity. Like a ‘phoneme’ or ‘morpheme’ it is a unit definable-
as a bundle of functionally relevant features, the difference
being that it is an abstraction in relational structure, not of the:
type of many-member token but of a specific class comprising
of one-member unit. In the second context the poem exists as
a verbal symbol concretized by the reader’s co-creative activity
i.e. it exists as an actualized variant of the art symbol. And
is.
once it is concretized it becomes an aesthetic object, and
like an allovariant unit of the art symbol, articulated, and is.
experientially concrete and subjectively charged,
It is in the light of these given key-concepts that the poem.
The Main Deep by James Stephens is being analyzed. The text.
is as follows:
Stylistic Analysis of a Poetic Tex
t 113
The Main Deep
The long, rolling,
Steady-pouring,
Deep-trenched,
Green billow:
The wide-topped,
Unbroken, f
Green-glacid,
Slow-sliding,
Cold- flushing,
On-on-on-
Chill-rushing,
Hush-hushing
Hush-hushing: . .
I. ANALYSIS AT THE LEVEL OF THE LINGUISTIC SYMB
OL (L,)
The poem, as can be visually seen, comprises
four stanza
units. The first three stanzas are of 4 lines each
and the last
stanza is of a single line. Graphology plays an important
role in
the structure of the poem. At the end of the first stanza there
occurs a colon which directs attention to the
matter that
follows in the remaining three stanzas; and finall
y the poem
does not end with a full stop but with three dots indic
ating the
unending process described in the poem.
At the syntactic level this poem exhibits unique syntactic
patterns. In stanza I, line1 comprises a definite article, an
adjective, and a derived adjective; lines 2 and 3 respectively
,
comprise a compound expression formed by combining
an
adverb by a hyphen to a derived adjectives the fourth line is an
adjective and anoun. It is clear that all the items in the
stanza serve the function of qualifying the noun ‘billow’. The
definite article and other adjectives are lexical qualifiers [e.g.
one
could have the expression, parallel to the “‘green-billow’, expres-
sion suchas ‘the billow’ ‘the long billow’, and ‘the rollin
g
billow’.] The compound expressions are derived by a reduction of
sentence qualifiers e.g. steady-pouring means the billow which
is pouring steadily, and also trenched is derived from the
expression ‘the billow which is trenched deeply’.
In stanza II a similar pattern is carried forward, though

with a difference. Line 1 begins with a definite article, and then
in line 1, 3, and 4 occur compound expressions of adverbs and
derived adjectives. In line 2 occurs a lexical adjective. There 1S
no nounin this stanza. All the qualifiers hark back to the
noun ‘billow’.
Stanza III is different for here there is some kind of shift.
In lines 1, 3, 4, and in the only line of stanza IV occur compound
expressions comprising a noun and a derived adjective. In
stanza III, line 2, exists a repretition of an adverb ‘on’. Here
too the compounding, or the repeated adverb is a reduced
form of the sentential qualifier harking back to the noun ‘billow’
(the noun item is missing in this stanza too).
The syntactic pattern of the title is: Def. article Adjective
Noun (DAN). The entire poem also attests this syntactic pattern.
Stanza I has essentially the pattern of the type: Def article
Adjectives Noun. Stanza II, III, and IV, which are to highlight
stanza I, comprise a Def. article Adj, —structure the noun is
deleted in these constructions. Thus all the adjectives functioning
in this poem qualify only one noun ‘the billow’. The over-all
syntactic structure of the poem being similar to that of the title,
links the billow with the sea.
At the level of lexicon also the poem reveals significant
patterns. The pure adjectives have been converted to functional
adverbs in the compound expressions in stanza I and II. (e.g-
in ‘Deep-trenched’—deep, an adjective is functioning as an
adverb while qualifying another adjectival form.) Further,
there are two types of derived adjectives: (i) the present partici-
pal constructions, ending with +ing, which are derived essenti-
ally from ‘actional’, verbs such as roll, pour, slide, hush, rush,
‘Hushing’ in the last two lines is a verb form of the word hush.
The last lines in this respect are deviant, depicting a new
process, though ‘hushing’ is also an actional verb. The cther
derived adjectives are formed from nouns: ‘trenched’ is derived
from the noun ‘trench’, ‘topped’ is derived from the noun ‘top’,
and ‘glacid’ is derived from the noun ‘glacier’. These past
participal constructions are stative in nature. On the other
hand the adjectives also indicate ‘state’: adjectives depicting
state are: long, green, steady, wide, unbroken, and slow.
Stylistic Analysis of a Poetic Text 115
Compounding canalso be considered as a matter of the

lexicon. Reduction appears to be resorted to facilitate the
formation of compound expressions. In the first two stanzas all
‘the compound expressions are attributive in nature, whereas in
‘the last two stanzas they are actional in nature.
Finally, the rhythm generated in the poem is prose rhythm.
‘The morphological ending of -+-ing and also to a lesser extent of
+ ed give the poem some rhythm. In stanza III, IV the repetition
‘is more than morphological as in flushing/rushing/hushing. Inter-
nal rhythm is also generated by assonance, (as in rolling/pour-
‘ing, Deep/green, un-/-en, or by alliteration/consonance (as in
-green/glacid, slow/sliding), or even by the repetition of a com-
‘plete structure ‘hush-hushing’ in the last two lines.
II. ANALYSIS AT THE LEVEL OF SYMBOLS IN ART (L,)
Stanza I evokes the image of a huge billow. The qualifiers

‘rolling’ and ‘pouring’ are actional in nature, and they are
suggestive of the vigorous internal action in the wave which is
‘green, and its dimension of height is also mentioned. The syn-
tactic structure being similar to the title makes the billow a part
of the sea. It is this wave having a lot of internal energy that
is to be further exemplified. Stanza II describes the glacier—
like quality of the wave—that it is like a wide-topped, single,
slow-sliding green mass. The image evoked is that of a glacier.
‘In Stanza ITI is depicted the energy of the wave again. The wave/
billow is pushing the cold along its direction. With ‘on-on-on-’
there is extremely quick motion. The billow is approaching
fast, spreading forward more cold—‘a chill’—in the atmosphere,
and finally the noise is dying away. This three-fold phenome-
non of the ‘cold/chill/hush’ is linked with the increasingly
fast movement of the wave/billow, and this creates an image of
the immense movement of the wave and its coming to an end.
Stanza IV is a repetition of the last line of stanza III, thus
te-inforcing the on-coming calm. The incomplete line suggests
that this process is an unending process. The rhyme of the
ast five lines suggests that they are a part of the same image.
The three-image phenomenon is attested by the structure of
the poem. The first stanza has its owa structure of Det. Adj
116 _ Language, Style and Discourse
in
Noun—thus embodying a discrete unit. Stanza II is daviant
that it has no Noun—and hence it embodies another image
If,
though linked: with the noun of the first stanza. In stanza
IV there is further deviance for here the structure of the com-
pound expression is Noun- Verb+adjectival suffix.
Thus there are three types of images inter-linked to the
billow, which is in turn linked to the sea—‘the main deep’.
ANALYSIS AT THE LEVEL OF THE ART SYMBOL (L32)
The preponderance of adjectives, and the Det Adj Noun struc-

ture makes the poem a descriptive poem. The poem merely
describes a scene—a billow emerging from the sea, the main
deep. The billow, in stanza I, is shown to be a huge ove with
a lot of internal activity in it. The poet’s attention is focussed
only on this single long green, billow. Stanza I{ further des-
cribes the physical properties of the billow. With stanza III
comes the movement of wave/billow. It sends before it cold,
chill, and noise, and finally it spends itself out, and silence and
quietitude again appear to be spreading. The incomplete line
expresses the idea that this phenomenon is an eternally recurr-
ing one. Thus the final picture is of the billow rising at a dis-
tance from the sea and moving towards the poet on the shore,
On approaching near, the coldness of the water spreads in the
air and can be felt. The wave then spends itself out. The poem
thus, depicts a process working itself out to its natural fulfil-
ment—that after the tumult of the wave comes a moment of
poise, and that this is an eternal cycle.
THE LEVEL OF THE AESTHETIC SYMBOL (Lb)
Poems are a ‘potential’, they are like a phoneme com-

prising a bundle of distinctive features. This potential can be
realized by different readers in different ways. If a poem leaves
numerous interpretations or concretions in the minds of its
different readers, then its allovariant forms can be said to have
been realized. This poem was given to six lecturers of Delhi
University. Five of them were lecturers in English, and one a
lecturer in Hindi. A interpreted the poem as “a metaphor of
life which with all its vicissitudes marches on inexorably
Stylistic Analysis of a Poctic Text 117
towards the final silence’. 3 interpreted the poem as: “The

inner self manifesting itself through the different actions of
life.” C interpreted it as: “The continuity oflife, its acceptance,
and its various phases’. D interpreted it as: ‘“‘The on-rush of
life—its steady flow—leading ultimately—finally to the hush
of death.” E read it as: “The poem giving an impression of
melancholy in all its ramifications”. And F read it as: “‘The
_ oncoming icy hands of death showing hush of the being and
its eternal silence.” All the interpretations deal with an aspect
of life and its progression. There is definitely a common ele-
ment in these interpretations, but in the final analysis their
stress falls on the interpretation of life differently. Thus in an
interpretation or an aesthetic concretion the reader inter-acts
with the poem, and his world-view also affects the poem,
leading to an individual type of aesthetic concretion. None-
theless, we know that the same poem is an enduring object.
Ifthe reader reads the poem a second time it is quite possible
that he may come up with another interpretation, a different
one from the first. In the present case, all the interpreters view
the poem in terms of ‘movement’, but this movement for each
of them signifies a different aspect of life.
REFERENCES
Collingwood, R.G. 1938. Principles of art. London: OUP.
Croce, B. 1958. Aesthetics. New York: Noonday Press.
Hernstein-Smith, B. 1978. On the margins of discourse.
Chicago: Chicago University Press.
‘Ingarden, R. 1973. The cognition of the literary work of art.
Evanston Illinois: North Western University Press.
Iser, W, 1978. The act of reading: A theory of «aesthetic
response. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press.
Jakobson, R. 1960. Closing statement: Linguistics and poetics.
In T.A, Sebeok (ed.) Style in language. Camb., Mass:
MIT, pp. 350-77.
Jauss, H.R. 1982. Toward an aesthetic of reception. Minnea-
polis: Uni. of Minnesota.
Langer, S.K. 1957. Philosophy in a New Key. Cambridge: Har-
ward University Press.
»
Martinez-Bonati, F. 1981. Fictive discourse and the structures:

of literature: A phenomenological approach, Ithaca: Cornell
University Press.
.
__-— 1983. Toward a formal ontology of fictional worlds.
In Philosophy and Literature. Vol, 7, No. 2, pp. 182-195.
Prince, G. 1983. ‘Words with style’. In Philosophy and Litera-
ture, Vol. 7, No. 1. pp. 59-65.
Saporta, S. 1960. The application of linguistics to the study
of poetic language. In T/A. Sebeok (ed.) Style in language,
pp. 82-93.
Scholes, R. 1982: Semiotics and Interpretation. Yale: Yale
University Press.
Srivastava, R.N. 1980. ‘Lingua-aesthetic approach to art
symbol’. In, Papers in Linguistic Analysis, DULA, Dpt. of
Linguistics, University of Delhi, Delhi.
Walton, K.L. 1983. Fiction, Fiction-making and styles{ of
fictionality. In, Philosophy and Literature. Vol. 7, No.‘1,
pp. 78-87.
<
Stylistics-based teaching strategies

A.N. DHaR
University of Kashmir, Srinagar
The teaching of English poetry, at under-graduate and advan-

ced levels in this country, presents several difficulties. The
major difficulty seems to me a linguistic one. It consists in the
student’s inability to respond properly and adequately to poenis,
his failure to pay close attention to their formal features or
appreciate their structural complexity. This is largely because
the Indian students, learning English as a foreign/second langu-
age or studying the literature composed in this language, are
brought up ina tradition that accustoms them to reading poetry
in such a way as to be mainly concerned with interpreting it in
literal terms. Not trained to look for and perceive the poetic
pattern, nor equipped with the tools needed to analyse this
pattern into various components, they do not assimilate the
‘experience’ a poem embodies. What a sound literary interpre-
tation of poetry involves is not well within their reach. An
adequate rendering of the poem into prose is quite often set up
as the goal by the language teacher. At the other extreme,
explanations not bearing directly on the text and sometimes not
even remotely connected with it, are offered to the students
reading poetry as part of the literature course. They do not
wake up to the challenge the study of poetry should mean to
them. Instead of understanding and enjoying poems, they are
baffled by them, especially by those poems which involve com-
plexity of one kind or other. In glaring contrast to this, the
native tradition of studying Sanskrit poetry has always demand-
ed and encouraged a linguistically oriented approach: the form
»
of a poem being studied closely as an activity important in itself

and at the same time, considered indispensable to the explica-
tion of the poem’s meaning. This tradition values formal analy-
sis of poems as an aesthetic end and also as an important means
to literary appreciation.
Poetic language both accommodates and deviates from the
language used by a community for purposes of ordinary com-
munication. It is ‘“‘a highly organised and patterned mode of
verbal expression’’. To the extent a poet is original, he mani-
pulates and exploits the linguistic resources at his command in
his own way, bending language to the needs of literary commu-
nication. It is in keeping with the poetic mode that he deviates
from the way language is used for purposes other than aesthetic.
This deviation varies in its degree and range from one individual
poet to the ocher. What is equally important for us to keep in
view is that form and meaning in a poem are inseparable and,
therefore, to lock for meaning in poetry, without studying it as
form, is not correct. Desirably, proper appreciation of poetry
demands a conscious effort on the part of the reader to study its
language features carefully.
In his pioneering work on Practical Criticism, which served
to popularise close reading of literary texts, I.A. Richards has
demonstrated to us how such texts can be mis-interpreted if the
reader does not focus his attention on the ‘printed page’’. In
Richards’ view, only the qualified reader, who pays careful
attention to the nuances of Janguage, genuinely profits from the
study of literary pieces. His analysis ofa poem’s meaning in
terms of ‘sense’, ‘intention’, ‘feeling’ and ‘tone’ is very revealing;
it provides a sound basis foriinquiring into and grasping the
operations of poetic language. The New Critics, taking the cue
from Richards, have further extended the scope of a linguistic
approach to the study of poetic texts. In: their view, value
judgements based on personal impressions of the critic cannot
be accepted as valid unless supported by textual evidence. Once
the language features ofa poem have been closely studied, a
task that might even call for an alliance with the linguists, it
remains for the literary critic to see how far he can relate his
intuition to these features. While this approach has been stea-
dily gaining ground, it does not find favour with Many critics
Stylistic-based Teaching Strategies 121
(Bateson, for example). They look upon linguistics as an alien

and autonomous discipline which, in its method and objectives,
has little to do with literary appreciation. They do not approve
of introducing the rigour of linguistic discipline into the study
of literature, and the kind of analysis carried out by several
linguists are viewed by them with disdain‘and branded mechani-
cal. At the other end, many linguists have started asserting
their claims on literature as their proper field of investigation,
the gist of their argument being that all literature is embodied
in language and vice versa. They believe and maintain that
linguistic analysis is indispensable to a sound literary interpreta-
tion. It is yet to be seen if this claim gains general acceptance.
As the position is today, we have to reckon with the fact that
the ‘Lang-lit’ controversy continues to be unresolved. If there is
any promise of a future understanding between the two camps,
it seems to bein the area of what has gradually come to be
recognised as ‘stylistics’, although, as Kachru points out, ‘in
linguistic terms the concept of style and the area of stylistics
are not still well defined.’ (1972:vi) It is appropriate to quote
Widdowson here, whose position on the precise status of stylis-
‘tics is very reasonable. He looks upon stylistics as essentially
providing an aid to literary appreciation and by no means
considers it as a substitute for criticism per se, involving much
more than textual analysis in linguistic terms and comprehend-
"ing a variety of approaches within itself; Widdowson observes:
[have spoken of a linguistic approach and of stylistic analy-

sis and I should make it clear what I intended by these ex-
pressions. By ‘stylistics’ I mean the study of literary discourse
from a linguistic orientation and I shall take the view that what
distinguishes stylistics from literary criticism on the one hand
and linguistics on the other is that it is essentially a means
of linking the two and has (as yet at least) no autonomous
‘domain of its own. (1975:3)
In section II of this paper, Iam considering some of the

“syntactic and lexical features of the following four poems which
‘I have chosen as illustrative examples:
»
1. Coventry Patmore’s ‘A Farewell’

2. Francis Thompson’s ‘To a Snowflake’
3. Emily Dickinson’s
‘The Soul selects its own Society’

&
‘Title divine—is mine.’
The brief analysis that is attempted is intended to demonstrate-

how stylistic-based teaching strategies could profitably be used.
in the class-room to train the student in literary interpretation...
It will be seen that the treatment adopted is not rigorously
linguistic but linguistically oriented. The analytical model.
offered is what I have found useful in my own pedagogical
practice. I believe each teacher of English can evolve models.
and procedures suiting his preferences and the conditions under-
which he is teaching. Appropriate language exercises related to.
the poems on the prescribed course can be devised by the teacher-
to facilitate his task, or incorporated in the teaching materials.
if he is called upon to design them himself. The stylistic pers-
pective on poetry will be particularly beneficial to the teacher at.
the undergraduate level whose students do not (and are perhaps
not supposed to) have a firm grounding in English. It provides.
a valuable aid to teaching poetry and in turn also extends the.
student’s language experience.
II
Patmore’s ‘A Farewell’ is one of his celebrated poems some--

times referred to as the ‘‘Widower’s” odes. It enshrines the
poet’s memories of his first wife, Emily of the grief and suffer-
ing borne by him when confronted by her acute illness and.
death. Intensely human as a poem of love, it has an important
quality: the technical accomplishment matches the intensity and.
profundity of the emotions expressed. This is specially revealed
in the choices made by the poet at the levels of syntax and
vocabulary; the choices are appropriate to the dignity of tone
and theme. The following constructions, occurring in the lines.
indicated; each consisting ofa Noun modified by a Prep. Phrase,
fall into a pattern, providing an example of parallel syntax:
Stylistic-based Teaching Strategies 123.
(i) darling of our widowhead (line 1-),

(ii) faith of still averted feet (line 20),
(iii) circle of our banishment (line 21), and
(iv) tears of recognition never dry (line 25).
The repetitive syntax reveals a process of thought, a lingering.

on the implications of thé statements made. This lends a char-
acteristically meditative and elegiac tone to the verse, recalling
the ritual language of the Bible. The following lines provide
another example of parallel syntax (involving repetition of”
participle phrases):
(i) Making full circle of our banishment (line 21)
(ii) Seasoning the termless feast of our content (line 24)
Parallelism is also found in the following set of constructions.

occurring towards the close of the lines indicated:
(i) “so clear’”’ in line 3,

(ii) ‘so far away’’ ip line 11, and
(iii) “so sweet”’ in line 23.
In line 1, the anti-thesis between the phrases ‘“‘my will” and

‘my heart’ receives emphasis through syntactic equivalence
(both the Noun Phrases have similar constituents—a possessive
pronoun followed by a noun).
The frequent use of the personal pronouns “my’’, “thou’,
‘“‘we”, and “our” emphasises the speaker’s relationship to the
person missed; there is an intimacy that lends a sense of imme-
diacy tothe experience of loss. The repeated use of Noun
Phrases beginning with the possessive pronoun ‘our’’ suggests.
intimacy and harmony between the “widower” and the lady in
question:
(ii) “four solace”’ in line 3,

(ii) “our opposed paths”’ in line 8, and
(iii) ‘our banishment” in line 21.
The demonstrative ‘‘this” in line 19 (‘‘where now this night is.

dry,/’’) lends a further sense of immediacy to the speaker’s state-
of sorrow, suggested by the word “‘night”.
2
The intimate tone of the address in the following lines

‘imparts poignancy to the theme of separation (made inevitable by
the beloved’s death):
(i) My Very Dear, (line 3)

(ii) But, O my Best (line 12)
The following Prop. Phrases, functioning as adverbials, are

shifted to the start of lines:
(i) With all my will (in line 1),
(ii) With faint, averted feet (line 6), and
(iii) In our opposed paths (in line 8;
The phrases achieve emphasis through inversion.
As far as the diction of the poem is concerned, it is chaste

-and simple, bare of any elaboration. Most of the words are
from language in every day use, including familiar terms of
love. A very economical and apt use is made of words having
‘poetical’ associations: ‘“‘widowhead’’, “‘nursling’’, ‘‘perchance’’,
“bourne”, “‘termless”. The poem makes a strong appeal to
“the reader, conveying the depth and sincerity of the poet’s
emotions. This is largely to be attributed to Patmore’s
skilful handling of syntax and vocabulary, revealed in the choi-
“ces he has made at these two levels of verse-structure.
‘To a snow-flake’ is a poem almost unapproachable in

respect of its technical merit. With something akin to the
miniaturist craft, Francis Thompson gives a vivid picture of the
snow-flake, weaving round it an aura of mystery that suggests
‘the unseen. The choice of vocabulary is appropriate, a good
proportion of words being drawn as it were from the ‘register’
of workmanship itself: (i) ‘“‘filgree’, (ii) ‘“‘fashioned’’, (iii)
“‘metal’’, (iv) ‘‘silver’’, (v) ‘“‘graver’, (vi) ‘‘hammered”, (vii)
““‘wrought”’, (viii) “shaper” (ix) “‘Insculped”’ and (x) ‘‘embossed”’.
The entire set comprises words sharing concreteness as their
lexical feature. Collectively, the words suggest the various
~phases of the process of shapinga precious little ornament.
“The other categories of words are:
Stylis:ic-based Teaching Strategies
125.
(a) “snowflake’’, “wind’’, “‘frost’’—words having reference-

to the natural world;
(b) “‘paradisal”, ‘“imaginless’’, “purely’—words suggesting.
the transcendental.
As far as syntax is concerned, the poem consists of short senten-
ces made up of tightly knit structures. The repeated use of
adverbials with the same derivational ending ‘-ly’ creates an
effect of emphasis, which serves to illuminate the meaning of the-
poem. These are the pairs of adverbials we come across: Fragi-
lely; surely; purely, palely; tinily, surely; mightily, frailly. They
Serve to heighten the sense of mystery associated with the snow-.
flake. The internal rhyme between the adverbials of each pair,
and the occurrence of some of them at the ends of lines, intensi-
fies this effect further. The lines of the verse, though generally
short, are of varying length. The rhyme-scheme dces not
havea definite pattern—there are six rhymes not disposed:
systematically. The occurrence of ‘Wh’ type of questions in
the poem ~—there are two such questions addressed to the snow-
flake—introduces an element of rhetoric, which adds a further
touch of mystery to the shaping of a snowflake. Finally, the two.
words “imaginless” and “‘surmisal” (the latter matching the
form of the word “‘devisal’’ in the poem), which are Thompson’s
coinages, fit excellently into the general pattern of the vocabu-
lary and make their semantic contribution to the poem without
seeming obtrusive.
Emily Dickinson’s poem, ‘The Soul selects her own Society’,
communicates an intense spiritual experience, one connected
with the ‘affairs of the heart’, which, ordinarily, cannot be
given adequate expression through words. The poet reveals her-
extra-ordinary gift in the choice of appropriate nouns which
render this experience vivid and intimate. Majority of the
lexical items of the nominal groups can be categorised in the
following manner:
(a) Abstract (b) Concrete

Soul Door
Society Chariots
Majority Gate
Attention Emperor
Mat
Valves
Stone
‘The concrete nouns listed above serve to build up, through their
mutual association, an image which presents, in concrete terms,
the experience of steady and single-minded devotion, on the
‘part of the poet, to her chosen ‘One’. The nouns Door, Gate,
Mat, Valves suggest that the poet is talking about her private
world of affections, visualized as a self-contained one which is
fortified against intrusions by other suitors though they be
“Emperors’. The first line ‘“‘The Soul selects her own society’ is
a general statement about the ‘affairs of the heart’. The use of
the personal pronoun “‘I’’ in the last stanza establishes that the
poet is talking of her own personal experience. The unidirectio-
‘nal communication between the ‘‘Soul”’ and the ‘*One’’, sugges-
ted and emphasised by the word ‘‘Valves” and further re-infor-
“ced by the word ‘‘Stone’’, confirms that the love celebrated in
the poem is of a divine character, cherished within the ‘temple’
of the heart.
Of the ten verbal groups in the poem, nine are used transi-
tively, which is significant: the experience of love is presented
-as an intense activity. The present tense has been used throught-
out the poem to emphasise the universal truth underlying the
theme. We notice parallelism in the following pairs of words;
(i) shuts
close
(ii) selects
chooses
‘Verbs such as ‘select’ ‘shut’, ‘choose’, ‘close’ have lexical

features which generally denote physical action but, in the con-
text of the poem, they depict a mental activity. After the ‘soul’
shas ‘selected’ her society’, which is limited to ‘one’ she has no
-Stylistic-based Teaching Strategies p27
“further contact with the world outside, a fact made explicit by

the verbs ‘shut’ and ‘close’.
The other poem of Emily Dickinson, ‘Title divine—is mine!’,
‘presents a marriage theme. The raptures of an earthly marriage
are viewed by the pcet with ironic detachment bordering on
disdain. She seems to find compensation, accompanied by a
‘sense of fulfilment, in her communion with the Divine, which
she conceives asa royal marriage. For her it is a gratifying
‘spiritual experience, and a painful one too, because it involves
an ‘acute’ responsibility, demanding a constant capacity for
‘suffering (suggested by the noun ‘Calvary’ associated with
Crucifixion). We are presented with a sequence of images, richly
suggestive, connected with precious stones and metals, royalty
and ‘Degree’ (status) which reinforce the theme of ‘Royal’
marriage. These are the nouns, with appropriate lexical feat-
ures, which present the images: Garnet, Gold, Empress, Crown,
‘Title, Sign, Degree. Through the association of the noun ‘wife’
in line 2 with the noun ‘Husband’ in line 13, the poem achieves
its focus on a nuptiel theme. While the poet acknowledges her
sense of community with ‘Women’ (initial letter capitalised)
in line 7, she emphasises her alienation from her class in line 13
where the noun ‘women’ (initial letter not capitalised) recurs in
a changed context. It is interesting to note that of the five
nouns with features ‘human’ four are feminine while only one
is masculine: Wife (f), Empress (f), Women (f), Husband (m),
women (f). On the basis of this, the reader could infer that the
theme of nuptial love is presented here largely from the feminine
point of view. Likewise, passive usage of a number of verbs in
the poem (‘conferred’, ‘Betrothed’, ‘Born’, ‘Bridalled’, “Shrou-
ded’) suggests that marriage is looked upon by the poet as an
‘event in which her role is passive and receptive—a typical femi-
nine attitude.
I have restricted the scope of the above analysis to a few
important linguistic features of the poems selected. Most of
these features should immediately attract the teacher’s atten-
‘tion as he reads the poems. Critical perceptions related to
language features may be within the qualified reader’s easy grasp
(the teacher exemplifies such a reader), but as far as the students
are concerned, their attention needs to be directed towards
significant items and structures in the poem and also towards

the various aspects of the total pattern—syntax, phonology and
lexis. We often come across complexity of various degrees in
poems, traceable, on analysis, to the interplay of word order,
sound and sense. Effects arising out of this interplay can
conveniently be demonstrated tothe student with the aid of
stylistics. The phonological aspect (not touched upon in the
above analysis) requires special attention: rhythm and tone
constitute vital components of a poem’s meaning. The average
Indian student, not sensitive to this aspect, invariably misses
much of the charm of English poetry. He fails to get the ‘feel”
of a poem because he does not recite it at all or as he should,
and, at best, sub-vocalises the text. A perceptive teacher, how-
ever, can communicate the ‘magic’ of poetry to his students
through his own recitations. He will not rest content with the
bare analysis of a poem (whatever be the approach he adopts.
and the model he follows), he would take pains to reintegrate
various refracted elements of the poem so that the students do.
not miss its full-bodied quality.
REFERENCES
Kachru, Braj B. (ed.) 1972. Current trends in stylistics. Edmon-.

ton: Linguistic Research Inc.
Widdowson, H.G. 1975, Stylistics and the teaching of literature.
London: Longman.
APPENDIX
A Farewell
With all my will, but much against my heart,

We two now depart.
My Very Dear,
Our solace is, the sad road lies so clear,
It needs no art,
With faint, averted feet.
And many a tear,
In our opposed paths to persevere.
Go thou to East, I West.
We will not say,
There’s any hope, it is so far away.
But, O, my Best,
When the one darling of our widowhead,
The nursling Grief,
Is dead,
And no dews blur our eyes.
To see the peach-bloom come in evening skies,
Perchance we may,
Where now this night is day,
And even though faith of still averted feet,
Making full circle of our banishment,
Amazed meet;
The bitter journey to the bourne so sweet,
Seasoning the termless feast of content,
With tears of recognition never dry.
— Coventry Patmore-
To A Snowflake
What heart could have thought you?-

Past our devisal,
(O filigree petal !),
Fashioned so purely,
Fragilely, surely,
From what Paradisal,
Imagineless metal,
Too costly for cost?
Who hammered you, wrought you,
From argentine vapour?-
‘God was my shaper.
Passing surmisal,
He hammered, He wrought me,
From curled silver vapour,
To lust of His mind:—
Thou could’st not have thought me!
So purely, so palely,
Tinily, surely,
Mightily, fraily,
Insculped and embossed,
With His hammer of wind,
And His graver of frost’.
—Francis Thompson
The Soul selects her own Society

The soul selects her own Society—-
Then—shuts the Door—
To her divine Majority—
Present no more—
Unmoved—she notes the ia AP oe pos
At her low Gate— ’
Unmoved—an Emperor be kneeling’
Upemher Mat—
“Stylistic-based Teaching Strategies 131
I’ ve known her—from an ample nation—
‘Choose One—
Then—close the Valves of her attention—
‘Like Stone.
—Emily Dickinson
-
Title divine—is mine!
Title divine—is mine!

The Wife—without the Sign!
Acute Degree—conferred on me—
‘Empress of Clavary!
Royal—all but the Crown!
‘Betrothed—without the swoon,
God sends us Women—
When you—hold—Garnet to Garnet—
‘Gold—to Gold—
Born—Bridalled—Shrouded —
In a Day—
‘Tri Victory,
*“My Husband’’—women say --
Stroking the Melody—
Is this—the way?
—Enmily Dickinson
| : eel ne * hee Tie vaurbt oa
me we , R54 os ne 3 —neitoone 7
ca? o Pay OVE Se 7% "
>
f
ae [-- Suge! molec see * «

: noeniiciG yin -
= - 7 ~ - ‘
rh i
| . ¥
-
Js : <
7
:
2 . ‘ :
,. Ot eaegt re ak nee,
. *
©
:
te . 2
* .
a is
ay.)
. Shereee
es Cee el et eTee :
Race
: Bee S377, «2 onl
“ue ae .
Bree 27s ‘ “ of ages ¢
3
. .
sors iat Ching 5, oc? a
ams,
= a
5 . - Mae
>
ri
7 2a +) Selis - as pote
t Noe
nee en Eo 5 oe
t wane? ‘thie (had Seewity .
- .
. ete - 1 PRT
. rode x
% at.
eas Se eee aceite hs eel 9S
> t,o ~s * . + 4’
4 ‘ ee
; Cte :
Role of stylistics infirst language teaching
‘SURESH KUMAR
Central Institute of Hindi, Agra
I propose to deal in this paper with certain aspects of first lan-

‘guage learning to which stylistics should be able to contribute in
a significant way. The potentiality of stylistics in this field needs
to be underlined for the reason that first language learning,
‘compared with second/foreign language learning, is a rather,
granted-for-taken variety of activity. Longer exposure, greater
drive, immediacy of situational context, and conducive condi-
tions of reinforcement lead us to adoptinga rather cavalier
attitude towards finer issues in first language learning. Learning
style is learning the finer and sensitive aspect of language
which needs care and attentiveness, and is accomplished
through experience acquired by conscious and prolonged con-
tact with situations of language use in a variety of formal and
informal domains.
Let me now pinpoint the issues involved in the present dis-
cussion of the problem. Learning style is learning many things
in consonance with the multifaceted character of language use
to which is basically related the notion of style. To elaborate
on it, learning style is:
1. learning language at advanced level—say undergraduate

level—in different senses of the term ‘style’, relevance of
which is to be governed by the position we may adopt
with the particular end in view, taken together with the
characteristics of the text in question;
2. learning to identify a particular situation in interrelation-
ship with the particular functional variety of language,
with respect to norm, switching, and change of style;
»
3. learning to express in formal written standard form of

language;
4. developing the sense of style, developing an eye for it—
a kind of intuition of what is acceptable and appropriate-
and what is not, in terms of degrees rather than bipolar
Opposition; and
5. strengthening the faculty of language in a state of balance-
between language as skill and language as experience,
flexibility and rigidity in rules of language use, and the.
notions of correctness and appropriateness as actualized.
in a text or body of texts.
It should be fairly clear to us from what has been stated above

that learning style as an aspect of learning language—the first
language—can hardly be taken for granted on the plea of
favourable conditions of learning factors. Broadly speaking,
learning first language in the educational system is learning.
formal written standard form of language ina variety of situa-
tions of language use. We do not, better say, we need not,
learn how to talk with friends or members of the family or
people in the bazar in our first language—all areas falling in
the informal domain of language use. But we do learn how to.
write an application, how to write a report, how to write letters.
to people with whom we have different kinds of relationship—
all areas falling in the formal domain of language use. It is the
latter category which I have in mind while talking of learning
style as an aspect of learning language—the first language. When
I say, we do learn, I wish to emphasize the need of learning, in
want of which we are liable to make selections which one may
tend to place rather low on the scale of acceptability and appro-
priatenesss.
I have a few examples from Hindi to support my contention.
Prominence of passive voice constructions is considered to be
general feature of newspaper reports, a variety of narrative
discourse, in English. What is true of English is also true of
Hindi, since newspaper report situation in Hindi came via
English is hardly a good argument. See the following examples
from the two Newspapers: Amar Ujala of Agra and Hindustan
of Delhi:
oo
Stylistics in First Language Teaching 135
1. prapta vivaraN ke anusar ek riksha calakdvara ek JaRaki

ko cheR diya gaya. (Amar Ujala, 8-7-82, p.7) ‘according
to details available, a girl was teased by a riksha puller’.
2. Dakt giroh dvara ghumantud ke dal ke nau sadasyé ko
goli se uRd diya Saya. (Hindustan, 11-7-82; p. 1)
‘nine members of a group of wanderers were gunned
down by a gang of dacoits’
But in the next paragraph:
giroh ne is sandeh mé ghumantud ko goli se uRd diya.
KEE ators
‘the gang killed the wanderers in the suspician that...’
3. ... Shri Ram Sevak dvdrad kSHetradhikari nagar
(pratham) pad ka bhar grahaN kar liyd gaya hai. (Amar
Ujala, 8-7-82, p.8)
‘charge has been taken of the post of C.O. (City) by Shri
Ram Sevak’.
There is hardly any factor justifying the selection of passive

construction for verb phrase. Usually it is a specified individual
or a group of individuals which constitute the nominal group
functioning as subject and as such is more consistent with active
voice verb constructions as per tenets of Hindi language’s
‘genius’. See the following examples in which, the passive voice
seems to be more acceptable, than that of active voice or both.
are equally acceptable, as the constituents of the nominal
group functioning as subject are of rather unspecified nature:
1. kendiiya shramik sangaThan ki rashTriy abhian samiti

i sansad par pradarshan kiyd jdegd. (Amar-
Ujala, 8-7-82, p.3)
‘a demonstration will be staged on (in front of) the:
parliament by the national] action committee of the
central labour organization’.
2. bad mé.....pratinidhi maNDal dvaérd lok sabha ke
adhyakSHa ko m4g patra prastut kiya jdegd. (Ibid)
‘later. . . a representation will be given to the speaker of
the Lok Sabha by the delegation’
eee ees jila parishad dvdra gram sabha cit ki do bigha
jamin ki avaidhanik rip se nilami ki jd rahi hai . (Ibid)
136 - Language, Style and Discourse
‘.. .two bighas of land of the gram sabha of Cheet is

being auctioned illegally’
The point can further be clarified by the fact that employ-
ment of passive voice constructions in the newspaper headlines
is a normal stylistic feature of these headlines:
1. mukbyamantri dvdrdé vidhan sabha sadasyata choRaneka

khaNDan (Amar Ujala, 8-7-82, p.8)
‘denial of resigning from Jegislature membership by the
Chief Minister’
But in the report below:
U.P. ke mukhyamantri.:...ne aj yaba: is ashay ki
khabar6 ka khaNDan kiy@ ki.....
‘the U.P. Chief Minister denied the news that...: .’
2. Zail Singh dvdrd aj shapath
‘oath today by Zail Singh’
But in the report below:
gyani Zail Singh kal pratah shapath grahaN karége
‘Gyani Zail Singh will take oath tomorrow morning’
The second set of exmples is explained in terms of language

function and discourse types and is judged against the com-
prehensive criterion of textuality (i.e. textual consistency) and
contextuality (ie. contextual consistency). Sample data taken
from Hindustan (27-6-1982), the Hindi daily, appears under the
head of Vichar Sangam, i.e. colloquium, raising the expectation
in the reader’s mind that what he is now going to experience is
an exercise in thematic discourse, cognitive function, and prose
form. However, the expectation is belied to an extent that
compels our attention and merits comment.
We begin fromthe top, dahej: ek dhadhakti sej (burning
bed) is the title of the colloquium, It shows the features of pho-
nological rbythm, i.e. repetition of similar syllables dahej: sej
and selection of emotive lexical items sej and dhadhakti as
stylistic alternants—a case of penchant for the florid rather
than a thoughtful reflection.
This title of the first piece is samajhate kya hai? (What do they
think) —a case of expressive function and rhetorical discourse.
What occurs in the text below the title (see I in Appendix) is a
heterogeneous discourse showing prominence of functions other

‘than the cognitive, and marked by thematic incoherence. The
“piece is textually semi-consistent and contextually rather
inconsistent.
The title of the second piece is ‘dahej: karan aur upay’
‘(Dowry: causes and remedies) raising expectation contrary to
that generated by the first. However the text below (see II in
Appendix) fails to meet the expectation from the point of view
-of facts of linguistic structure in addition to language functions.
For the first paragraph, one feels that he was reading a piece
of new trend poem, while what follows appears to bea list of
‘relevant headings for writing a guided essay in the classroom.
The piece may be termed rather not so consistent textually and
-contextually.
The third piece is a case of violation of our expectation of
genre form. It is entitled ‘jine ka adhikar’ (The tight to live)
which sounds poetic in the context and what follows (see III in
Appendix) is a composition to be termed a poem rather than
a prose piece. The poetic character of the text is attested by
emotive vocabulary appropriate to rhetorical discourse and
“typographic design of the poem, though the syntax of the poem
-is appropriate to a prose composition which however is not
uncommon in the new trend poems. The piece is textually consis-
tent though contextually inconsistent in the sense that we do not
normally discuss social problems in the poetic form of discourse.
However, this is one side of the picture. There is the other
side of it too. The fourth piece (see IV in Appendix) entitled
“*dahej bura nahi’, apart from being consistent textually as well
as contextually, appears to be a well-proportioned text, in which
the emotive and conative functions combined together are
“subordinated to cognitive function, resulting in a text which
may betreated asa model for producing texts in thematic
discourse. Whereas the preceding three texts may be viewed as
an example of how not to use language, the fourth one may be
taken as a model worth emulating. We shall return to this point
later.
So much by way of stating the negative part of the problem.
.As for’the constructive part of it, a discussion of role of stylis-
»
tics in first language teaching is based on the assumption tha t-

analytic consciousness of facts of language-use is helpful in
refining and reinforcing the learning of language-comprehen- -
sion and expression—in consonance with its own nature and_
purpose of learning.
Here I wish to remind the reader that we referred to the
term ‘style’ as having been defined variously and done so vali- -
dly. I wish to suggest that we employ the term to refer to the
different aspects of language use, as distinct from language-
structure, each aspect being defined from different vantage -
points of the variables of communication matrix, with both.
points of view—the descriptive and the evaluative. I will men-
tion a few by way of example.
The definition of style as good writing is the most general
and fundamental to discussing the role of stylistics in language
teaching. Here ‘good’ means ‘appropriate’. The first language -
learner needs to be made conscious of different norms of langu-
age use appropriate to different situations, especially the formal
ones. This is a net-all definition for us which will guide our
further deliberations.
Style as the property
of text refers to the state of balance.
between heterogeneously and homogeneously patterned elements .
of language structure ina given text as being consistent with -
itself as well as with the context of situation and registral
variety of language. This view of style is concerned with textua-
lity or textual well-formedness. The learner has to be trained
in the technique of text-production for a variety of situations
and purposes of expression.
Style as the choice between alternative is relevant to practi-
sing effective writing. The same should hold good of aiyle as .
deviation from norm, and style as ornament.
Now we shall take up the piece entitled ‘dahej bura nahi’ ©
referred to earlier, and examine its properties in terms of the
two sets of definition of style as stated above. The analysis will .
help us in identifying the constructive properties of style asa.
result of which we should be able to utilise our findings for-
pedagogic purposes.
We shall (1) identify the stylistic device employed in the-
Stylistics in First Language Teaching 139:
text, and state its effect, and then (2) apply the relevant testing.
device and state its effect to show what it is to break the rules
of game, which would underline the implications of observing:
the rules of game.
I
Definition: Style as choice or deviation from norm
Level of operation: Intra-sentence
Stylistic device: Transposition of structures:
burda hai dahej ki ma:g karna.

usase bhi burd hai apekSHit dahej milane ya na milane
ke bavajiid laRakiyé ko sataya jand......
koi dahej deta hai apani laRaki ke sukh ke lie.
Effect: Emphasis on the meaning of transposed structures.

with emotive implications.
Testing device: Normalization of order:
dahej ki m4:g karana bura hai.

milane ya
apekSHit dahej milane ya na milane ke bavajud laRakiy6

ko sataya jana. ..... usase bhi burda hai.
koi apani laRaki ke sukh ke lie dahej deta hai.
Effect: Loss of emphasis.
II
Definition: Style as cohesion

Level of operation: Inter-sentence level
Stylistic device: Cohesive devices in logical order with
prominence of contrajunction:
dahej lena ya dena bura nahi (Initial)
bura hai dahejki mag karana (Contrajunction with
Partial Recurrence)
usase bhi burda hai....unhé jala kar mar Dalana
(Extension of the above)
koi dahej deta hai apani laRaki ke sukh ke lie (Related
to the Initial)»
»
440 Lariguage, Style and Discourse
lekin dahej se sasusral vale labh uThana cahate bai

(Contrajunction)
aur jab vah -unhé. nahi milata to atyacar kiya jata hai
(Conjunction)
Effect: Coherence
Testing device: Disordering of sentences:
dahej bura nahi
dahej lend ya dena bura nahi hai. bura hai dahej ki ma"g
karanad. usase bhi burda hai apekSHit dahej na milane ya
milane ke bavajiid laRakiyé ko sataya jana, unhé atmahatya
karane ke lie majabir kar dena, unhé jala kar mar Dalana.
koi dahej deta hai apani JaRki ke sukh ke lie. lekin dahej se
sasural vale 14bh uThana cahate hai. aur jab vah unhé nahi
milaté to atyacar kiya jata hai. (Giving or taking dowry is
not anevil. But demanding dowry is certainly one. Still
worse isto torture the girls, to force them to take their
own lives, to burn them to death, whether dowry is given or
not. People give dowry for the happiness of their daughters.
But the grooms’ parents want to take undue advantage from
it. And when they find they did not get that, they torture
the girls.’)
"Effect: Loss of coherence.
This analysis of restricted data is instrumental in explaining

the relationship between the effect of emphasis and the stylistic
device of transposed structures in a text in a general way, and
can be utilized asarule of good writing as per demand of the
context. Similarly, the cohesive devices of contrajunction and
recurrence and arranged in the logical order the way as mani-
fest in the text, explain to us the coherent character of the text
on a subtler and deeper level, thus contributing to strengthening
of our intuition.
As for the deviant writings dealt with earlier (pieces I to III
‘in Appendix), our contention was that they were not appro-
priate to thematic discourse. This judgment originated from our
-commitment to the teaching of writing in our educational sys-
‘tem. When it comes to teaching, observance of certain cons-
raints as p2r demand of the situation becomes imperative. The
Stylistics in First Language Teaching 14h
foremost consideration is that it is essentially a controlled

situation. We permit laxity in application of rules only at the-
expense of the learners, resulting in their intuition teing vitiated:
and their sense of ‘correct’ and ‘incorrect’, and ‘appropriate”
and ‘inappropriate’ weakened. What do we do to avoid it? We:
prescribe certain norm and judge the performance against that
norm, inorder that learning takes place in a given direction,
with as little digression as possible. That is why we make an
inflexible distinction between ‘acceptable’ and ‘unacceptable”
and proceed with our task. If it is our story, then it is the same-
story everywhere, where the teachers teach and learn. a
However, wecannot and should not overlook the realistic
situation around us. People are writing in the ‘deviant’ manner
without however impeding the communication. Can we dismiss.
it as an event of no consequence? Do the learners do the same-
as are taught to? Do not they deviate from the beaten path? Is.
it always the case that all deviations are unacceptable? We.
know, it is not true. With reference to the deviant writings in.
question, two categories of explanations can be offered: the:
cultural, and the literary, better say, compositional /penchant for-
the florid seems to be our cultural characteristic which sometimes
may even transcend the boundaries of appropriateness. The
deviation from the normal standard of thematic writing—the:
employment of truncated structures and of the poetic form of
discourse—may be deemed to be in tune with the journalistic:
writing. This kind of writing is innovative. by nature and is.
marked by impermanence through space and time. Such texts.
will continue to be produced, and will have to be evaluated in.
a framework, different from the pedagogic one, as the two.
situations are different—the one is controlled and the other is.
free. Such a distinction is helpful in determining the role of
stylistics for teaching the norms of language use on one hand.
and for understanding the deviations from norm on the other.
»
442 as Language, Style and Discourse
APPENDIX
65 ,a
samajhate kya hai? —

maine ek din apane baRe bhai se kaha—bhaiyd, ye laRake.
‘vale samajhate kya hai apane ap ko? ye’kya kavzgal hote hai
bilkul jo laRaki val se 30 hazar se nice bat nahi karate?
maine baRi taRi se kaha— dekhana, mai bina dahej ke shadi
‘Karigi. bhaiya, tum bhi, mat lena dahej. bina dahej ke shadi
karana. turant pita ka javab mila—aurkuch to nabi, na dahej
lend-dena band hoga. h&, mera sds lena band ho jaega.
jo kuch bhi hota, bad mé hota. par us vakt meri bolati band
ho gai. par yah saccai hai ki ajkal ke dahej mé fark hai. ajkal
‘dahej vah hahi jo ma: bap JaRki ko dete hai. yah vah hai jo ma:
bap nahi de sakate.
dahej laRake ka gharto bhar deta hai. yah sac hai. par
laRaki apani Doli ke sath pita ki arthi bhi taiyar karava deti
hai.
mai bahut kamazor hu”. par mujh mé itani shakti hai ki
‘mai apane pita se aur sam4n ke sath thoR4 milli ka tel aur ek
macis bhi mag sakati hu. niscint rahie. mai kisi bhi halat mé
nani jaliigi. yah samay batdega ki dahej ko jalau"gi ya dahej
mdagine vale ko. filhal mai kivari hu”.
F hat Do They Think?
Once I said to my brothers—brother, what do the groom’s

‘p - nts think of themselves? Are they absolutely pauper that
they do not agree to less than thirty thousand in dowry?
‘I spoke haughtily—see, I will marry without dowry. Brother,
‘you too’should not accept dowry. Marry without dowry. Pat
‘came father’s: comment—it is meaningless. It will not put an
end to the dowry system, thoughit. will certainly put an end to
my life.
The result of it wasa thing to be seen later, but at that
‘moment I was speechless. It is a fact that there is a difference
between dowry given now and dowry given in the past. Now,
‘dowry is not one which the parents give to their daughter, but
one which they cannot give.
“Stylistics in First, Language Teaching 143
It is true that the dowry enriches the groom’s family, but

the bride provides for her father’s funeral.as well, the moment
‘she leaves for her new home.
I am very weak, yet I have enough strength so as to ask my
father to give me a match box and alittle kerosin oil alongwith
-otber things. Don’t worry. I will never burn myself. Only time
will tell whether I burn the dowry or the dowry-seekers. At he
moment, 1] am unmarried.’
II
-dahej: kara@N aur upay

var-mulya! sabhyata ke bazar mé laRaké ki nilami!
bhikSHAvritti ka navin simajik manyata prapta ghinauna rip!
Gdhunik yuva piRhi va simajik sabhayata ke ceharé par ek
badarang janleva nasir.
karaN?
shikSHa ke ucit pracdr ka abhav. stri jati ka pichaRapan,
jativad, jhuThi pratiSHTha, bhautikvad ka akarSHaN, parivarik
va samajik vighaTan ki pravritti, svavalamban, svabhiman tatha
naitik va manaviya mtly6 ka poSHaN karane vali shikSha ka
abhav.
upay?
samajik jagriti va shikSH4 mé krantikari parivartan, antar-
jatiy vivah ko protsahan, kaThor kanin, dharmik va samajik
andolan, mohalla ya ‘sector’ star par yuvak va yuvatiyo dvara
dahej-virodhi ‘cells’ ka gaThan, sahitya va calcitré ki bhimika,
adi.
Dowry: Causes and Remedies

Price of the groom! Auction of the youngmen in the bazzar
that a civilized society is! A new from of beggary—despic-
able yet socially recognized! An ugly malignant tumour on the
face of the modern youth and social culture!
Causes?
Lack of education, backwardness of the _women,.castism,
false prestige, material attractions, ‘tendency of disintegration in
the family and society, lack of education promoting self-suffi-

ciency, self—respect, and moral and human values.
Remedies?
Social awareness and revolutionary change in education,
encouragement to intercaste marriages, stringent laws, religious.
and social campaigns, setting up of anti-dowry cells by young
men and women at the level of mohalla or sector, role of litera-
ture and films, etc.’
Ill
jine k@ adhikar
aisa nahi—
ki ve kangal the
jinhone meri chah mahine ki
garbhavati bahan ko
manasik aur sharirik yatanaé
dekar
berahami se mar Dala
aur hamdre pahticane se pahale hi
usaka dah-satiskar bhi kar diya
usi din
meri choTi bahan ne
ajivan kuvari rahane ki
kasam kha li thi ©
aur ab—
vivah ka nam lete hi
vah apane biRhe bdp par
ghayal sherani ki tarah TOT paRati hai
yah kah kar ki—
baRi didi ki tarah kya mujhe bhi
samaj mé jiné ka adhikar nahi hai? -
Right to live
It was not the case

that they were pauper—
those who, by putting my sister to
mental and physical torture,
killed her so cruelly—

my sister, who was pregnant of six months.
And cremated her without even
waiting for us.
The same day
my younger sister swofe never to marry
And now—
on just mention of marriage
she explodes into fury like a wounded lioness
charging her old father-—
Do I have no right, like my elder sister,
to live in this world?’
Social ad “sh oe
PERNT RDI 3
eed tasial eacapa’ iy
men AEE womer
agt
ters and Bits, ene
*
piasence
Ghd gehgceh et te ES RSS
nie kaiight 186 Tb ; Buss A
jared sl ak noelee om
wybhaat hahek Xo
f.
“wi
pata ane detctrik es
oyrt‘
eran:
< Secnlvomhas idee Dem”

ore =
or
De
i
pave
pee Beenie pNERE 38 pan . Ae
ae Bia aa ae
oeHensebek ae fot 2divi» ‘ ~, a
asa
hag
3eettcaolt bakan pe : a ae
ivar £0vici cehene na aN aes
Agar ke 2 vat bec J 3 Nga Shete 5
ats SR aA PGS b> uae aoe
vivGh KF cam inne ab +3 ek, 2? ee, Ree ee
"aE apace siRhe aay pat got ty SO ENS, A
- ghayst gopraat kt ween TUT paKeti teal - eT ee - :
véirReb ear Rh ; ? o
Bae Soay: &f tacah byt wate Sa OR ere a
SER BPRAE be ee ae
xSS
i eat w 1 the Se , :
Te not tig Gite

iNet they vee ane ake,
_ thnente 07Sine Fe A
cmeeTraeh wks es
Stylistics and the ELT programme in India
3B.N. PATNAIK
Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur
While discussing the contribution that stylistics could make to

‘second /foreign Janguage teaching, one must not forget that as
-an intellectual pursuit and an academic discipline stylistics has
mever been either directly or indirectly concerned with language
teaching. Though broadly speaking stylistics is concerned with
‘the manipulation of language in all types of written materials
and spoken discourses, in its more narrow and interesting sense
it is concerned basically with the way insights from linguistics
can beused inthe interpretation and evaluation of literary
texts. It is then perfectly understandable why stylistics has not
‘even been remotely concerned with second/foreign language
teaching; whereas the main preoccupation of the latter is with
the so-called normal use of the language in the ordinary,
day-to-day life, that of stylistics is with the deviant, unortho-
‘dox and creative use of language.
If this appraisal is correct, then it might be legitimate to ask
whether such a discipline can really make any meaningful
‘contribution to second/foreign language teaching. The answer
to this question would depend, at least partly, on how one
‘views language teaching itself as a discipline. One view could
‘be that unlike literary criticism or linguistics, language teaching
is NOT an autonomous discipline. Literary criticism may be
claimed to be autonomous in the sense that though it can cer-
tainly make use of the insights available in other disciplines like
4inz1istics, psychology and sociology, it does not necessarily
have tod» so. Forexample, itis true that literary criticism
could certainly use findings in psychology to discuss the melan-

cholic disposition of Hamlet or the motiveless malignity of
Jago, but at the same time it has to be recognised that highly
intelligent and perceptive studies of Hamlet and Othello are
possible without a psychoanalytical account of Hamlet’s and
Iago’s personalities. Any standard bibliography of Shakespearean
tragedy would demonstrate the validity of this statement.
Similarly sociology can surely make a meaningful contribution
to the study of linguistic variation and of language use in
interpersonal communication, but it would be clearly incorrect
to assert that illuminating studies of language are not possible
without making use of sociology.
The situation is not the same when it comes to language
teaching. Basic issues in language teaching can be satisfactorily
pursued only by using insights gained in linguistics, psychology,
sociology. and the like. For instance, a language can be taught
efficiently only when the course designer, the text book writer
and the class room teacher have a reasonably sound under-
standing of the structure of that language, though this is by no
means the sole condition for the success of a Janguage teaching
programme. Similarly the most effective language teaching
techniques can be devised on the basis of a sound understanding
of how language learning takes place. It is not the discipline
of language pedagogy that can offer insights into the structure
ofa language; it is linguistics that can do so. Again, it is not
language teaching that can help us to know how learning takes
place; it is psychology that can offer valuable insights in this
regard. Sometimes it become particularly important for the
language teachers to become awares of the socio-cultural milieu
in which the language concerned is to be taught. For example,
if the standard language of the concerned region has to be
taught in a tribal area in India, it becomes imperative for the
teachers to know the socio-cultural set-up of that particular
tribal area. This is where sociology can be of help to the
pedagogists.
All these go on to show that language teaching as an acade-
mic field could be best viewed as being of an interdisciplinary
nature. Such a conception of language pedagogy naturaliy pro-
vides for assimilation into pedagogy, some of the insights
Stylistics and ELT in India 149
obtained in various disciplines dealing with language and

even society, the fundamental concerns of which may not have
any direct relationship witb language teaching. Stylistics is one
such discipline. It may be worthwhile to ask in what ways
language teaching could benefit from it. The main aim of this
paper is to find an answer to this question.
It would be more meaningful to discuss this question in the
specific context of the teaching of English in India than to
discuss it in abstraction. To start with one must consider what
role English is intended to play in India. There may not be
unanimity among scholars with regard to the exact status of
English in India at present; whereas some would assign the
status of a foreign language to it, others would take the stand
that it is indeed a second language in India. We would not and
we need not go into the merits and drawbacks of each of these
positions here. Similarly we would not discuss here the issue of
the precise role that must be assigned to English ia our multi-
lingual country, and state our views on the subject. For our
present purpose we take cognizance of the fact that the present
day language planning and language education in India aim at
progressively restricting the domain of use of English in this
country. Language planners and planners of language education
in India envisage that English must be ultimately used in this
country asa library language. The government of India has
taken the stand that for an indefinite period it must also be used
as the associate official language of India. No matter what func-
tions the associate official language is meant to perform in our
country, in actual practice it would eventually function as the
medium of communication among the various states of India,
especially among the non- Hindi states. This is bound to happen;
one can see that the two extremely important aims of Janguage
planning in our country today are (a) the enrichment of Hindi
so that it can prove adequate to fulfil the task of functioning as
the sole official language of the country, and (b) the rapid
development of the regional languages so that these can be used
in as many domains as possible and as soon as possible. Con-
sequently what seems certain to happen is that except fora
very small section of the people, Indians would tend to use
English only ina very few situations in day to day life. This
must be reflected in the programme cf English language teach-
ing in this country. To give a concrete example, it would not be
expected of the Indian learners of English to possess active
control of all the ways in which politeness, or for that matter
condescension, approval, disapproval, irony, satire, ete. are
expressed in English. In sum, we find that our General English
teaching programme need not aim at teaching the learners the
numerous subtle nuances of the language, and the multiple
shades of meaning that the language expresses. But these are
'precisely among what are of interest to stylistics.
Of the various concerns of stvlistics, the following could be
of relevance to the teaching ofa second or foreign language:
lexis including collocations, stylistic and registral features, and
inter-sentence relationships. If the goal of teaching a second or
foreign language is to equip the learners with the ability of
using the concerned language with atleast some degree of
effectiveness in whatever few situations it has to be used, the
language teaching programme must lay due emphasis on these
areas; even a minimal degree of efficiency in the use of language
involves correct choice of lexical items, collocations, sentence
connectors, and some stylistic and registral features.
One might feel that this is by no means a startling contri-
bution of stylistics to language teaching; language teaching was
never unaware of this. Consider, for instance, the suggestion
that the teaching of lexical items must be given high priority in
the second or foreign language teaching programme. Not very
long ago, learning a language was considered to be almost
synonymous with learning the words of that language, and
language teaching programmes used to function under this
assumption. It is no doubt true that language teachers, by and
large, were not quite clear about what precisely must be taught
about lexical items. To give just one example, they didn’t seem
to realize that the grammatical peculiarities of lexical items is
one point about lexical items that needed to be.taught carefully
But all the same the fact remains that the teaching oflexis did
receive prominence in a second/foreign language teaching pro-
gramme,
Stylistics and ELT in India, 151
It was only when. the »structural approach was applied to

language teaching that a change in emphasis was evident. The
teaching of grammatical. structures was greatly emphasised
whereas the teaching of lexical items received neglect. Language
teachers generally came. to believe in the soundness, of C.C.
Fries’s well-known assertion that learning a language does not.
crucially mean learning the words of that language. During the
last twenty five years or so, a lot of thinking has gone into the
devising cf suitable methods and techniques of teaching, anda
considerable amount of work has been done to identify the
various psychological and social factors that play a significant
role in effective language teaching and learning. These are of
course far too general statements and do not do justice to the
extremely valuable work that has been done in the field during
the last twenty five years. But it is not our present purpose to
give an outline of this work; our aim is merely to indicate that
during these years the focus in second/foreign language teaching
has shifted from teaching materials to teaching methods and
techniques, discovery of the. various variables that operate in
language learning and teaching, etc. Now if there has been no
serious attempt to re-emphasize the teaching of lexis in second/
foreign language teaching, it is not at all surprising. It is
recisely in this context that language pedagogy might find the
preoccupation with lexis onthe part of the stylisticians of
interest to it. Again, now since it has been widely accepted that
the aim of second/ foreign language teaching is to equip the
learners with the ability of using the language appropriately in
various contexts, it is only natural to expect language pedagogy
to find yet another precccupation of stylistics, namely register,
of interest to it
It is not the case that all the information about lexical items
that stylistic studies yield are directly useful for language
teaching. As mentioned above, stylistics is concerned with
deviant forms, in forms like ‘‘a grief ago’, as against forms like
“ten years ago’? which are used in normal, day-to-day use of
the language. Whereas the concern of stylistics with non-normal
forms is basic, its concern with normal forms is derived, in the
sense that its interest in the latter is due to the fact that
ordinary language helps one to understand the nature of deviant
language. In contrast, second/foreign language pedagogy is con-

cerned with basically the ordinary language. It is therefore only
natural that in terms of the actual bulk of information stylistics
may not have a lot to offer to language pedagogy which it can
directly make use of. As far as stylistics is concerned, what
could be of relevance to language teaching is the significance
that this discipline attaches to lexis; in other words, its over-all
orientation towards lexis. When it comes to details, it is the
context of language teaching that must determine to a large
extent the programme of teaching of lexis.
Some of the teaching points concerning lexis which have
traditionally received neglect are given below.
Many lexical items have their own grammatical peculiarities.
It is easy to demonstrate this with examples from verbs. Con-
sider the lexical items have, own and possess which are identical
in meaning in one of their senses. They do share some gramma-
tical properties like non-occurrence with the progressive, but
show differential syntactic behaviour when it comes to passive.
Only own can occur in the passive structure; have and possess do
not—not in the meaning of possession that they share with own.
Conversely, Rummenigge is said/ reputed to be a briiliant foot-
baller has no corresponding active inthe form of People say/
repute Rummenigge to be a brilliant footballer, neither has /t was
rumoured sometime back that Rina had ditched her boy friend in
the form of People| Gossip columns rumoured sometime back that
Rina had ditched her boy friend. There are verbs like give which
must have two objects, like pride which must have areflexive
object, and like put and keep which must not only have an
object but also a place adverbial. Verbs like Know take com-
plements of the form how-to-V whereas verbs like /earn take to-V
complements. Notice that J know how to swim and I have learnt
to take things easy are grammatical but J know to swim and J
have learnt how to take things easy are not. I expect that he will
survive has an alternative form in J expect him to survive whereas
I hope that he will survive has no such alternative in the form of
I hope him to survive. Examples such as these show that viola-
tion of the idiosyncratic syntactic features of lexical items results
in ungrammaticality.
Just as two synonymous lexical items may exhibit different

‘syntactic behaviour, two synonymous words may express
the
different assertiors. Consider must and have to which sbare
says you
sense of compulsion. Yet the sentences The professor
and The
must submit your assigunent by 10 o'clock tomorrow
10 o’clock
professor says you have to submit } our assignment by
first the spea-
tomorrow express two different assertions. In the
concerned
ker—reporter concurs with the professor in that the
time speci-
student is obliged to submit the assignment by the
as merely the
fied, whereas in the sccond, he is functioning
the professor
-catrier of the message, and does not concur with
-on the matter under reference.
the lexical
If for our present purpose we extend the notion of
expressing tense
item so as to include its various derived forms
-and aspect, we would readily find several instances of semantic-
different assertions.
cally equivalent lexical items which express
ways in English to
Consider the following. Two of the several
ve (a) the use of
refer to action taking place in future time invol
modal shall/will. But
the simple present form and (b) of the
He leaves for Delhi tomor-
He will leave for Delhi tomorrow and
the latter expresses
row are non-equivalent in the sense that
greater certainty than the former of the subject’s proposed trip
‘to Delhi.
a
Collocations form a very important part of the system of
ictions on the
language. Each larguage imposes certain restr
age. Some of the wel]
-co-occurrerce of lexical items of that langu
as well as
k ncwn restricticns in English are as tullows: both and
do not co-ocur, neither do alihough/though and sull. Discuss
does not go with abcur, whereas discussion does. The intensifier
_too collocates with an adjective denoung a positive quality only
in a negative sense; consider the oddity of too intelligent asa
phrase expressing praise. Adjectives like ssim, buxum, blonde
modify tcminals that iefer 10 women; virtuous Aves NOL have
exactly the same meaning when it modifies a nominal referring
‘to men asit has when it modifies one referring to women.
Fcreign language learners generally find collocations difficult.
They often ccme up with expressicns which a native speaker
finds odd, to say the least. Indian learners cf English, for
“example, frequently use expressions like remove poverty/froblems,
154 Language, Style and Discourse:
abolish illiteracy; take lunch|dinner/bath, commit a mistake, good’

name, one’s good self, have rest/slecp, climb the throne, close the-
tap. drop a letter, prevent some one from doing something,
comprise of, discuss about, meet/marry with someone, too nice
(in the sense of ‘“‘very nice’), eat someone up asin My boss will
eat me up, etc. Native speakers of Engiish would find many
of these odd and some of these ugrammatical.
So far we have considered examples which fall roughly into.
two classes: (a) forms which are clearly ungrammatical and (b).-
forms which are not ungrammatical, but a number of which are
odd, and some of which like must and have to are such that
they could mistakenly be taken as free variants by a foreiga
language learner whereas they indeed are not. We will justify
this classification later. Coming to style we find that it is this
aspect of language use that the second/foreign language lear-
ners always find especially difficult. The problems of the Indian
users of English in this respect are well known. The English
that the Indians use often tends to be bookish. Indians fail to
manipulate various styles; at best they ofcen seem to use only
one style, and at worst, they mix styles. Frequently they use
essentially the same style in their speech and writing though the
contexts are -to be widely different. Mixing of styles is a serious
charge that has been levelled against the English used by the.
Indians.
For the second/foreign language learner it is imperative to
distinguish between atleast forma!/semi-formal and informal
styles, if not between various degrees of formality and informa-
lity, and use these styles judiciously in appropriate contexts.
Speaking specifically about the Indian learners, it is important
for them to know that in formal writing. certain forms must not
occur. Some of these are as follows: contracted forms, abbrevia-
tions, especially those which have not received international
acceptance like Jit crit for literary criticism and maths for mathe-
matics, the impersonal you, half sentences, sentences beginning
with items such as /ike as Like I told him what I thought of him,
left-dislocated sentences such as Her friend, she was telling me-
that she cooks excellent South Indian food, to cite a few. Certain
deletions are possible in informal English but not in formal
English; for instance, the subordinator that can be deleted in,
Stylistics and ELT in India 155.
Tam sure that she cai cook excellent South Indicn food when it
is used in informal discourse, but it cannot be if the sentence is
part ofa formal discourse. In the campuses of some Indian
universities one gets to hear forms like Ifelt shitiy, The bloke
popped off, Me push off, He is anut, There were lots of girls in
the meetings, etc. which are all appropriate in informal speech
and writting, but when they occur in formal writing, these forms:
are inappropriate.
Some of the causes of the oddity that one often finds in the
English used by the Indian learners are as follows: use of less
familiar words in preference to the more familiar ones in speech,
use of cliches, mixing of styles. One often hears learners using
in their speech expressions like He hails from Punjab, fam
goitg to purchase vegetables, Iam residing in a good locality,
He is fabulously rich; he possesses five buildings in Delhi, From
where did you procure this beautiful sari?, etc. Expressions like
He left this place bag and baggage, He is hale and hearty, His joy
knew ro bounds when she arrived, His cup of misery was full when
she left, When I sawhim lost he was in the pink of health, etc.
occur in the writing, and sometimes even ia the speech of many
learners. Within the same discourse, without any change in the
context, one finds utterances like He hails from a remote corner
of Kerala soon followed by those like That bloke isa nut.
Utterances of the type The poor fellow breathed his last are very
often found in the speech and writing of the learners.
Correct use of registral features forms an essential part of
‘the competent use of language. Second/foreign language lear-
ners generally have difficulty in using the appropriate register.
Many clear instances of the wrong use of registral features can
be found inthe informal use of English on the part cf the
Indian learners. In personal letters many cf them use such
forms as as per (I went to the railway station as per your request),
per (I paid a rupee per orange), vide (I consulted the lawyer yiae
the instruction in your letter yesterday), in accordance with (Iam
taking calcuim tablets in accordance with the dentist’s Drescrip-
tion), hereby (you are hereby requested to look after my belong--
ings during my absence), to list a few. In their informal writing
many Indians use the passive form where the active form is.
“more appropriate. Consider instances like the following: I have

received the basket of mangoes you sent me; yaur gesture is
-appreciated; It is regretted that you refused to accept a gift from
a
me; and It is requested that you please immeditely consult
doctor. Some words and phrases are quite popula r with the
of,
learners; consider persual, Kind information, for favour
about
_favourable consideration/orders, etc. There is nothing odd
these items themselves; itis the context in which these are
often used that makes them look out of place. For example,
consider statements like the following; J am sending you my
_first detective novel for favour of your kind persual; and For your
kind information Iam to state that I have bought your tickets.
All these examples show how the officialese often intrudes into
‘the linguistic performance of the learner. Needless to mention
‘that more often than not is it totally out of place there.
The importance of sentence (and clause)-linkers can
‘never be over-emphasized. In second/foreign language teaching
‘programmes the teaching of these connectors has generally
been neglected; it has been especially so in India as far as
‘the teaching of English is concerned. At best all that is
taught is the grammar of some linkers: for example, the depen-
dency nature of either-or, neither-nor, not only-but (also), etc.,
the non-cooccurrence of both and as well as, because and so/
therefore, although and still, and the like, and some restrictions
in certain clause-types like the constraint on wi// that it cannot
-occur in the subordinate if-clause (*/f he will come, I will go.), to
give a few instances. The semantic aspect of the linkers is gener-
ally ignored in teaching asa result of which the learners very
often misuse the linkers. Consider the way incidentally and by
the way are used by most Indian learners of English. One
sometimes gets the impression that many use incidentally in the
sense of it so happened that..., or accidentally. An utterance
like Incidentally I met you at Nirula’s yesterday; I was worrying
-about you and was wondering where to find you is used by one
who meets the addressee on the following day and recalls how
he had chanced to meet her the day before. Similarly the linker
by the way is often used by the Indian learners in a way a native
speaker would not use it. Two of the ways the phrase by the
‘way is sometimes used by them are as follows: it is used to
initiate a conversation, and it is used to confide some secret.

For example, consider By the way when is the hockey final’
scheduled, which is used to start a conversation, and My neigh-
bour is aman of lakhs; by the way he isa smuggler in which
by the way is used to introduce a secret about the subject of
conversation. Though and although are quite frequently misused;
Although I called him he did not come isa typical example of-
this misuse.
This is only part of the problem. An examination of a.
sample of the written work of many Indian learners of
English would readily show that they often fail to connect their
sentences properly as they do not use linkers where they should:
use them, Their sentences look disjointed, and paragraphs,.
diffused. At times when they do use linkers they fail to intro-
We
duce variety. A typical example of this is the following:
we hired a
reached Madras at 8. Then we had breakfast. Then
-
taxi to go to the bus terminus. Then we took a bus to Chidamba
used; it is.
ram .., etc. Notice that the linker then is correctly
in time which
used to connect several incidents taking place
occurs in,
is what it does here. One of the positions where it
this is where
a sentence is the sentence-initial position; in fact
in the example:
it normally occurs. It occurs sentence-initially
give the impres-
given. Yet the sentences in the example do not
d above,.
sion of having been smoothly connected. As mentione
been used three
there is no variety here; the same connector has
it occurs, it is.
times in four simple sentences, and each time
show that the
there in the sentence-head position. All these
sometimes they
learners fail to use the connectors effectively;
they either do
make syntactic and semantic mistakes, at others
repeatedly which,
not use the linkers at all or use the same linker
makes their writing montonous.
the deviant.
It may be recalled here that while discussing
classified in two-
lexical forms we observed that they could be
the odd forms.
categories: (a) the ungrammatical forms and (b)
forms and the:
The specific uses of the stylistic and registral
eding paragraphs.
linkers that we have dealt with in the prece
both and
could also be classified in the same way. The use of
g to the
as well as, to give an example, would clearly belon
to the
former category, and My boss will eat me up, clearly
Jatter. Let us discuss the implications of this ‘classification to

the teaching of English as second/foreign language with special
‘reference to India.
Once it it decided that due attention must be paid to the
teaching of lexis, linkers anda set of stylistic and registral
features, such a classification as the one mentioned above would
help us to determine which: forms must be taught so as to
become part of the learner’s active linguistic repertoire and
‘which, of his passive linguistic repertoire. It is obvious that the
learner must be taught to avoid the items classified as ungram-
matical: items like know to swim, discuss about, both in conjunc-
tion with as well as, The bloke breathed his last, and the like,
and to use their corresponding grammatical forms while perfor-
ming in English. It is, however, not easy to decide when it
comes to the items listed under odd forms. A number of factors
complicate the issue, one of them being the variety of English
chosen as the educational model. Consider for instance the
fact that though He leaves for Delhi tomorrow and He will
leave for Delhi tomorrow are non-equivalents in British English,
they are not so in Indian English. Similarly, Close the tap, drop
the letter, take a bath, etc. would all be acceptable in Indian
English though they would not be in British English. If Indian
English is accepted as the educational model, then these and
similar items would not even be listed as ‘‘odd’’. But Indian
English does not have respectability in India yet, and teaching
British English in India isa programme doomed to failure.
Acquisition of turn off the tap, post the letter, havea bath, etc.
would involve significant learning effort on the part of the lear-
ner because it is only in the English class room that he would
‘come across forms like these whereas elsewhere he would be
exposed to forms such as close the tap, drop the letter» and take
a bath. Yn sucha situation there is very little chance of the
learner acquiring the desired forms, and one would not be sure
whether the amount of effort that the learner would have to
put in to learn these forms would really be justified. The teacher
of English in India is ia a state of indecision on the issue of the
variety of Eig'ish which should acquire the status of the educa-
tional model. He is aware that the teaching of a foreign model
fike British Englis’ is a virtually impossible proposition, but he
cannot opt for a home grown model like Indian English because
it is as ‘yet undefined ina precise way and also because it lacks
prestige at the moment. Insuch a situation it is difficult to
decide whether the items listed as odd should be ignored for
the Indian learner of English, that is, whether the teachers
should not discourage the Jearner from using these forms.
We believe it would be reasonable to suggest that the learner
must be taught not to use some of these forms whereas about
others there need not be any specific instruction to him for
avoiding them. For instance, the learner could be advised not
to use colloquial forms like Me push off cr slangs like J lefl
shitty, and not to mix styles and come up wiih a statement
like The bloke has breathed his last. The decision to advise the
learner against the use of colloquial forn.s can be justified on
the ground that since English in India is to be used in mostly
formal and semi-forma] situations, the General English courses
intended to teach Janguage to all learners must be designed in
such a way as toteach formal and semi-formal styles. Those
who somehow pick up colloquia! expressions of the kind men-
tioned above must be told that such expressions must not be
used in formal and semi-formal discourses. About forms like
close the tap, drop the letter, tcke a bath, etc. one could suggest
that these be accepted, though the learner's attention could be
drawn to their corresponding British English equivalents.
What we have outlined above is just one approach to the
issue of the forms Jisted as odd, and again, what we have given
is only a broad outline. In terms of tis particular formulation
of this approach it may be easy to identify at least the clear
cases. How every single instance of the odd forms must be
dealt with is a matter of detail and as such falls outside the
scope of the present paper.
To conclude, the paper has attempted to maintain that what
second/foreign language teaching can. gain from linguistic
stylistics in particular and stylistics in general is a change in
orientation which would lead to laying greater stress on the
teaching of lexis and some stylistic and registral features than
what these have received in the language teaching programme
so far. Lhe paper takes the stand that it is. the functions that
»
the target language is expected to perform in a particuiar

speech commmnity that must determine what features stylistic,
registral, etc. of the language concerned wou'd receive emphasis.
in the second/foreign Janguage teaching programme. Based on
an assessment of the function that English is expectec to per=
form in India, the paper has attempted to identify some of the
features of English that could justifiably receive prominence in
programme of teaching General English in India.
REFERENCES
Chomsky, N. 1971. Linguistic theory, In Allen (ed ) Chomsky:

Selected Readings. London. LLL Series, C.U.P.,
Fowler, R. (ed.) 1979. Essays on style and language. London.
Routledge and Kegan Paul. (reprint).
Halliday, M.AK. et. al. 1964. The linguistic sciences and
language teaching. London: Longmans.
Kachru, B.B 1966. Indian English: a study in contextualization.
In C.E, Bazell et. al. (eds ) In memory of J.R. Firth. London:
Longmans.
Lado, R. 1957. Linguistics across cultures. Michigan. Univer-
sity of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor.
Leech, G.N. 1971. Meaning and the English verb. London:
Longman Group Ltd.,
Legget. G, et. al. 1978 Essentials of grammar and composition.
New Delhi. Prentice-Hall of India Pvt. Ltd.,
Mohan, R. 1978. (ed.) Indian writing in English, New Delhi.
Orient Longman Ltd.
Palmer, H.E. 1963. A grammar of English words. The English
Language Book Society and Longmans, Green & Co.; Ltd.,
16th Impression.
Quirk, R,S. Greenbaum, G. Leech and J. Svartvik, 1972.
Grammar of contemporary English, Longmans.
Turner, G.W. 1975. Stylistics Penguin Books, Ltd., Middlesex.
England. (reprint).
_ Widdowson, HG. 1975. Stylistics and the teaching of literature,
London Longman Group Ltd.
Language teaching and discourse
VIJAY GAMBHIR
University of Pennsylvania
1. INTRODUCTION
It is common to see that adult students after spending up to

three or four years learning a foreign language are not able to
conduct themselves successfully inthe target language even in
day to day activities such as ordering food ina restaurant, or
reserving a plane or atraia ticket. Also, it has been reported
that often they may be able to communicate the basic idea in
the target language, but miss the nuances asa result of which
they may sound rude or impolite. It is seen quite often that
some foreigners coming to the United States do not use enough
polite expressions while others overuse them. It is not the case
that those who do not use them wish to be less polite than those
who overuse them, but the reason seems to be that those foreig-
ners perhaps never learned sufficient polite formulas for
American English, or else they failed to realize the exact corre-
lation between situation and language. The chances for this
type of behavior are increased if these people are speakers ofa
language where politeness in one’s linguistic behavior is mani-
fested not through set linguistic formulas but through other
linguistic strategies and body gestures.
The focus of this paper is to discuss why these students fail
to communicate effectively in the target language even after
spending many years in a classroom, and what steps need to be
taken to overcome this shortcoming in our teaching of a second
language.
22. CURRENT TEACHING METHODS
Until recently, attempts to achieve the pedagogic goals were

largely through teaching structures (grammar rules and basic
vocabulary) of the target language. More recently following
Chomsky (1965) some language teachers also focused on the
generative aspect of language, as a result of which they now
taught basic syntactic structures of the target language and
major transformations that related these structures. Generally,
however, many language teachers seem to have a basic assump-
tion that once students have mastered all the syntactic struc-
tures and a fair amount of vocabulary of the target language,
then they will automatically be able to use the language. {n
other words, the shift from structures to function has been
believed to be automatic.
Today, with the result of modern researches in the field of
second language acquisition and discourse, it is becoming
increasingly clear that knowledge of syntactic structures of
linguistic competence alone is not sufficient if students wish to
use the language appropriately and effectively for interacting
with native speakers outside the classroom. In order to gain
communicative competence (Hymes 1972), students must go
beyond the knowledge of structures Knowing structures is
one thing and their appropriate application is quite another.
The pedagogic goal should be to enable students to use the right
structure with the right person at the right time.
Note that the purpose of this paper is not to undermine the
importance of teaching or learning linguistic structures. The
structures are indubitably an important facet in any language,
teaching because (1), it may allow speakers to monitor their
-own speech or writing, and (2), it allows them to communicate
in all those situations where the correlation between structures
-and functions of their first language and the second language is
similar, What we wish to suggest in this paper is the shift in
‘focus from simple knowledge of linguistic structures to their
-appropriate USE in communication.
So far, pedagogy has relied mainly on sentence-grammar.
‘The sentence has been considered the basic unit of language and
amany text books used in many language classes up to this day
Language Teaching and Discourse | 163
are reflections of this assumption since the goal of each lesson in

such text books is to teach a new syntactic structure or a gram-
matical point. Sometimes the structure or grammatical point of
the lesson is reinforced through isolated and unrelated sentences
and at other times, it is reinforced through artificially connected
texts which one may never come across in real life.
How can we expect students to know how to use a language
in real situations if the ioput they received was only isolated
‘sentences? In real life, the basic operative unit of communication
‘is discourse, and not a sentence. Isolated sentences, it seems,
occur only in grammar classes and grammar books and not
anywhere in real life communication. It therefore seems impera-
tive that we change our basic unit of language from sentence to
discourse in our language teaching. Hatch, who has done
tesearch on child language acquisition, shows that among young
children ‘language learning, even at one:and-two word stages,
evolves out of learning how to carry on conversations.’ (Hatch
1978:137) Out-of-discourse are of no interest to learners if they
wish to use the language. Further, note that sentence structures
can be acquired even if these are presented in a discourse, but
discourse rules cannot be acquired from structures alone.
3. LIMITATIONS OF THE SENTENCE AS AN OPERATIVE UNIT
Researches show that even conscious knowledge of formal

structures of a language does not guarantee that the speakers
would be able to use the structures correctly in their speech.
It has been observed that the English verb-inversion rule (He is
going — Why is he going?) is misused by foreigners during their
speech. It is not that these speakers do not know the rule. A
short test carried out for this showed that the same people who
misuse the rule in their speech can use the rule correctly in
writing. Also, when these people were given sufficient time to
monitor their recorded speech they were able to point out the
incorrect application of the rule in their speech. What it shows
is that these speakers could not use the rule correctly either
because they did not have sufficient time to have access to the
rule to apply it, or their focus was on content rather than on
form. The results for the Hindi ne rule are similar’. In spite of
knowing the rule consciously, it was found that many foreigners.

(whose first language is English) misused it in their speech.
2. We know that there is no one-to-one correspondence.
between a structure and its function in any language. The same:
structure may perform different functions depending on the
discourse. So, if students learn a structure out of discourse the.
chances are that they may miss the different functions that it
might have in the language. For instance, the Hindi sentence
given in (1) below, which is structurally an interrogative, may
function either as a question or a suggestion depending on the
discourse as shown in (2) and (3) respectively.
(1) tum DaakTar ke paas kyoN nahiiN jaatiiN?

you doctor to why not go
Why don’t you go to a doctor?
(2) A. maiN DaakTar ke paas nahiiN jaauuNgii.
I doctor to not go-will
I will not go to a doctor.
B. tum DaakTar ke paas kyoN nahiiN jaatiiN?

you doctor to why not go
A. ve log bekaar meN raNg biraNgii
those people for nothing colorful
goliyaaN jo de dete haiN.
pills because give Voce
Because they always prescribe colorful pills for no.
reason.
(aux=auxiliary; V=vector verb?)
(3) A. aajkal merii tabiiyat Thiik mnahiiN rahtii,
these days my health fine not stays
These days, my health is not good.
B. tum DaakTar ke paas kyoN nahiiN jaatiiN?
you doctor to why _ not go
Language Teaching and Discourse . . MS
C. haaN, ab jaanaa hii paRegaa. soc rahii

yes now going E have to-will think -ing
huuN_ kal dikhaa hii aauuN,
am tomorrow show E V
Yes, now I will have to go. I am thinking that I
Should see him tomorrow, (E=emphatic particle)
Similarly, the English utterance given in (4) below is a statement

if considered out of context, but it may function as a request in
an appropriate context, as shown in (5).
(4) It’s hot in here.

(5) (Two people A and B are sitting in a room. The door
is closed)
A. It’s hot in here.

B.- Oh! I will open the door.
3. If structures are not learned in their appropriate dis-

courses, students may use a single structure to perform the same
function with different persons and in different situations ina
given language. This basically refers to the same limitation as
discussed above, that is, there is no one-to-one relationship bet-
ween a Structure and a function, but from the examples below,
our emphasis now is on the fact that there are several different
structures for carrying out a given speech act, which when
understood with their pragmatics will make the interaction
much more appropriate and meaningful. Consider the following
examples in Hindi and English,
(6) a. zaraa aacaar denaa. (infinitive imperative)

please pickles give
Please give (me) the pickles.

b. zaraa aacaar _ diijiye. (polite imperative)
please pickles give
Give (me) the pickles please.
c. zaraa aacaar diijiyegaa. (future imperative)

please pickles give-will
Would (you) give (me) the pickles please.
d. zaraa aacaar deNge. (simple future)

please picklesgive-will
Will (you) give (me) the pickles please.
e. zaraa aacaar de deNge? (simple future with compound
please you give V-will verb}
Will (you) give (me) the pickles please.

f. zaraa aap aacaar de _ sakte haiN? (stem+ saknaa
please you pickles give can aux-present ‘can’)
Can you give (me) the pickles please.

g.zaraa mujhe aacaar mil saktaa hai? (dative subject. ..
_stem-++saknaa ‘can’)
please to me pickles get can aux-present
Can I get the pickles please.
h. agar aacaar de sakeN fo meharbaanii hogii (if then cons,)

if pickles give may then kindness te-will
It will be kind (of you) if (you) can give (me) the pickles,
(7) a. Excuse me. Where is the Hotel Hyatt?

b. Excuse me. Which way is the Hotel Hyatt?
. Excuse me. Could you tell me where is the Hotel Hyatt?
. Excuse me. Do you know where the Hotel Hyatt is?
Excuse me. Could you guide me to the Hotel Hyatt?
ey Hi, would you be kind enough to tell me where the
CL
OO)
aa
Hotel Hyatt is?
g. Hi, Iam sure you can tell me where the Hotel Hyatt
is. I am lost.
Example (6) from Hindi shows the seven different structures

may perform the same function, that is of a request for pickles
at the dinner table; and also, at least seven and possibly more
Language Teaching and Discourse 167
structures in English may perform the function of asking direc-

tions, as in example (7). Here we are not suggesting in any way
that the different sentences given in (6) and (7) are in free:
variation. Each one of them differ in their detailed pragmatics.
Asa matter of fact, when these sentences are presented to
students in their appropriate discourses much of the pragmatic:
information can be absorbed from the discourses themselves.
Analyzing and discussing pragmatics is a difficult job in itself;
even when possible, without the appropriate discourse it wouldn’t
make much sense.
4. Another problem that is faced during the use of a second
language is that if students have learned only structures of the:
target language but not the discourse rules for it, then the only
choice that they have is to transfer the discourse rules of their
native language. This kind of transferrence of discourse rules is.
certainly not without risk. Students come up with unnatural.
discourses as exemplified below in case of Hindi.
(8) (A and B are planning to go toa concert. B brings the:
tickets and gives them to A.)
A. are aap le aaye TikaT. bahut bahut dhanyavaad aapkaa.
hey you brought tickets many many thanks yours
Hey, you brought the tickets. Many Many thanks!

$ B. aapkaa svaagat hai.
your welcome is
Your are welcome, (Asin ‘“‘you are welcome to our
house/city/etc.’’)
(9) (Two friends are eating in a restaurant. A is eating pizza
and B is eating chicken.)
A. cikan kaisaa hai?
chicken how is
How is the chicken?
$ B. acchaa hai. thoRii koshish karo.
good is little try do
It’s good. Try alittle. (‘‘Make attempt’’-i.e. try to
' do something.)
In examples (8) and (9), the utterances with a$ sign in

front of them indicate that the speaker B (whose first language
is English) is simply translating his English structures and is
assuming that whatever is acceptable in English in these con-
texts is also acceptable in Hindi. Unfortunately, the languages
differ in the two contexts given here. The utterances aapkaa
svaagat hai and achaa hai. thoRii koshish karo in (8) and (9)
respectively are perfectly grammatical sentences of Hindi, but
their use is not appropriate in the given discourses. In fact, in
the above situations, the speaker B may not be even understood
rightaway by a native speaker of Hindi. The natural responses
for B in these two sentences would have been something like in
(10) and (11) below respectively.
(10) ajii koii batt nahiiN.

oh any thing not
Oh, never mind, it’s nothing. OR
are kyoN sharmindaa_ karte ho

oh why embarrassed do aux
Oh, why do you embarrass me? (i.e. Don’t embarrass me)
OR
ajii yah bhii koii kaam thaa!

oh this E any work was
Oh, this was no work. (i.e. it was nothing.)
(11) acchaa hai. tum bhii khaao.

good is youalso eat
It’s goods. You also eat some. OR
acchaa hai, khaa kar dekho.
good is eat having see
It’s good. Eat some.
5. There is no disagreement on the issue that each language
is a product of its cultural milieu in which it functions; it has
its own do’s and don’ts. A cultural violation may even be more
inappropriate (if we can say that there are degrees of inappro-
. Language Teaching and Discourse 169
priateness) than violation of a grammar rule, say of the English

- verb-inversion rule. The chances of violating a cultural rule are
much greater in the case of students who have learned the
language through isolated sentences or in non-natural connected
~text than in the case of those who bave learned it in a natural
- or nearly natural discourse’
Imagine a man meeting another man who is with his daugh-
-ter. After the two men have said ‘hello’ to each other, the
first man wants to say ‘hello’ to the other man’s daughter whom
he has not met earlier. So he starts by saying:
~(12) kyaa maiN is khuubsuurat javaan aurat ko jaantaa huun?

<a alk this beautiful young lady know aux
Do I know this beautiful young lady?
The utterance (12) is culturally inappropriate when said in

Hindi. It would be no surprise, in case the two men do not
know each other well, that the father of the ‘young beautiful’
‘lady takes the other man to task. In Indian culture, a man
passing beauty judgements about someone’s daughter, sister or
wife is not looked upon kindly. In American society, however,
‘the same utterance said in a similar situation would often not
be offending.
6. Furthermore, ifa language is learned through isolated
structures, most likely learners will not be exposed to idioms
and idiomatic expressions. Idioms by definition are frozen
- expressions and do not strictly follow rules of grammar. No
doubt, a speaker can always express himself without the use of
idiomatic expressions in his speech, nevertheless absence of
idioms in at least some cases would make the speech sound
unnatural. Moreover, foreigners may escape the use of idioma-
tic language in their speech, but the knowledge of such expres-
sions is obligatory for understanding the speech of the native
> speakers.
DISCOURSE METHODOLOGY
Most of the shortcomings that are encountered in the tradi-

- tional method can be overcome if discourse is considered the
basic unit of language in language classes. Discourse would help
learn the use of sentences for gaining communicative compe-

tence. Grammatical competence is not helpful in language use-
e, .
unless it is realized in actual use of a language. For instanc
it is not of much significance if students can recognize that
know -
jave is a subjunctive verb form of ‘go’ in Hindi uuless they
how and when to use it. 7
At this point perhaps a little diversion from our main point
rse
is needed to state what is meant. by discourse and discou
analysis, Note that discourse is aot necessarily a combination .
of sentences. It may b2 a single sentence which can perform an _
‘lam
act of communication. For instance, if a child says
case, a
hungry’ and the mother brings food for him, in this
it is a comp--
simple sentence ‘I am hungry’ forms a discourse;
ive -
lete act—requesting food. So, discourse is a communicat
there is no
unit and not a formal unit. Sometimes, in real life
ce,
formal cohesion between sentences ofa discourse. For instan
a new
if a wife asks her husband, ‘Are you thinking of buying
.
car’, andthe husband replies, ‘Oh, I wish the money would
two
grow on trees’, there is no formal cohesion between the
sentences: one is interrogative and the second is exclamatory,
that
but still it isa coherent discourse. Similarly we may find
it is possible to answer a question, that has an interrogative -
-
structure, with an interrogative sentence than with a declarative
sentence which is normally the case; for instance, one person
asks another person, “Did you see my pen anywhere?”’ The -
other person replies, “‘Where did you put it?” Thus we see that .
in a discourse it is possible to violate rules of formal cohesion
among utterances and still have a coherent communication.
The term discourse analysis has been used to refer to two .
defferent things in the literature? sentences in combination and .
the use of sentences (cf. Widdowson 1979:98). Harris (1963) -
and Holliday & Hasan (1976) have mainly used the term in
the former sense; they discuss the rearrangement of sentence -
struture in a connected text and divices that are used to link
sentences to form text. Labov (1972), however, has used the -
term in the sense, that is, how sentences are used to perform...
actions. Labov states:
.. discourse analysis is to distinguish what is said from

what isdone—From a grammatical viewpoint, there are
only a small number of sentence types: principally statements, |
questions, and imperatives, and these must be related by
discourse rules to the much larger set of actions done with
words .. there are a great many other actions which are
done with words and which must be related by rule to the
utterance: refusals, challenges, retreats, insults, promises,
threats, etc. (p. 298-99)
In the case of second language teaching, the use of the term

‘discourse’ mainly refers to ‘use of sentences’. The most impor-
tant thing for second language learners is to be able to acquire
or assimilate rules as to what different structures may mean in
different social situations in a given language. Knowledge of
such rules would help make their use of the foreign language
more effective and appropriate.
No doubt, it is important to know things like ‘rules of cohe-
sion’ for effective use of the foreign language, but the know-
ledge of such rules seems secondary to rules of use, particularly
for those who want to concentrate on developing speaking skills
in the target language.
Here, Krashen’s Monitor hypothesis of language acquisition
is relevant to the point under consideration. According to Kras-
hen (1981), there are two independent ways for developing
ability in a second language. One is ‘acquisition’ which is a
subconscious process similar to first language acquistion, and is
called ‘picking up’ in ordinary language; and the second is
‘learning’ which is a conscious knowledge about language and
is called ‘rules’ of grammar’ in ordinary language. The Monitor
hypothesis claims:
...it is acquisition that is responsible for our fluency in

second language. Learning has only one function—it acts as
an editor or monitor, When we speak a second language,
the forms we use come ‘first’ from our subconsciously acqui-
red competence. We then attempt to apply conscious rules,
sometimes before we speak and sometimes not, sometimes.
successfully and sometimes not. (Krashen 1981 :52)
“A72 Language, Style and Discourse
If itis ‘acquisition’ and not ‘learning’ that is mainly res-

~ponsible for gaining fluency ina second language, it would
“mean that in our language classes, the maximum focus has to
be on acquisition. The format of the classroom and teaching
materials has to be, as far as possible, close to natural socio-
linguistic situations that a person is likely to encounter in the
target society. The classroom should be less of a formal acade-
mic center where the teacher: is explaining how a language
works and students are taking notes; or, a teacher is making
students drill key structures ofa language. A language class-
room should emphasize activities which take place in real life
-communication rather than pattern rehearsal. A classroom may
be treated more like a stage where a teacher and his students
are playing different roles. For instance, a teacher may pretend
to be a salesperson and then different students may come in
turn as customers and buy things. Or, they imagine that a party
is going on and one of the students pretends to be a host and
the others guests. This type of role playing exercises will reduce
the anxiety level in students and will provide opportunities for
~what has been described as acquisition of the target language.
“One need not worry too much about explaining grammatical
rules in the class at every step. In the begining, the students
may not always have a grammatically accurate speech but as
Krashen claims in his Input hypothesis, and our language
teaching seems to confirm this, it would develop accuracy over
time as the learner would get more input.
In order to facilitate acquisition, we need new teaching
materials which are derived from a description of discourse and
not from sentences based on theoretical grammar. The goal of
a lesson is mentally to transport students to a given social situa-
tion and then expose them to a possible linguistic interaction
that may take place. For example, if a friend visits another
friend to see her newborn baby, the conversation that would
most likely take place can be predicted (grossly) and then
should be captured in a lesson.
The best way, of course for replicating what goes on in real
life communication in our lessons is first to analyze and account
all the communication properties of a language through dis-
“course analysis. The analysis of a discourse would reveal how
Language Teaching and Discourse 173:
meanings are attached to utterances; how the same utterance
may be interpreted as a request or a question depending on the
discours?; how people change their speech when talking to.
different people in different situations——to children, to elderly
people, to a boss, toa servant, toa friend at home, and toa.
friend in public; what are the possible ciscourse strategies—
how can one disagree with someone and still be polite, or,
how to show anger without raising the tone of voice; what.
are the rules of conversation—does atopic need to be establi--
shed before something is said about the topic; what are the.
rules of address, for expressing gratitude, paying respect,
making compliments etc.
Some work has already been done in this new direction. The-
results of these studies are encouraging. It helps us to see micro-
components of discourse. Any study done in the area of dis-
course analysis should be of help in second language, teaching but
contrastive studies in this respect would be particularly advan-
tageous because it would allow teachers to focus more cn points.
of contrasts between learners’ native tongue and their target
language. One such study that I would like to quote is Apte
(1973) about the use of ‘Thank You’ expressions in South Asian
languages and their use contrasted with American English. He
gives seven neat contrastive rules of usage for expressing thanks
(1) An automatic response of saying “thank you’? for everye.

small favor done must be suppressed unless one happens
to be among Marathi or Hindi speakers who are highly
westernized and use either English, or the native langu-
age heavily sprinkled with English words for communi-
cation on most occasions. Of course, it is most probable-
that these are the very individuals with whom an
American is likely to come in contact with initially, thus.
reinforcing his native habit and giving him a wrong
impression of the patterns of behavior among Marathi
and Hindi speakers with regard to verbalization of’
gratitude,
(2) Gratitude expressions in Marathi or Hindi should be.
used at'a public function, especially if the American:
guest is required to make a speech. As far as possible,
474 Language, Siyle cnd Discourse
every one connected with the function should be

thanked, but particularly those who invited him to the
function with arequest to givea talk. Similarly the
audience should also be thanked.
(3) Gratitude expressions should not be used in a traditional
family and/or household, especially where the American
guest may have been ‘adopted’ as a member of the
family. His usage may-easily offend the family.
(4) No gratitude expressions need be used when interacting
with persons of lower socioeconomic status such as
servants.
(5) Gratitude expressions should not be used with non-
westernized Marathi or Hindispeakers who may consider
the American individual their close friend or whom he
may consider as good friends.
(6) There is no need to use gratitude expressions ina
buying-selling encounter or where payment is made for
services. For example there is no need to thank a waiter,
barber, taxi driver, bus-conductor, ete. However, this
rule may be relaxed in shops modeled after western
business.
(7) As far as possible, only the English expression should
be used when mixing with high-class westernized
Marathi or Hindi speakers at informal gatherings. Use
of indigenous expressions in these settings may make
the individual a subject of amusement or subtle sarcasm
(pp. 86-87)
Results of contrastive analysis would be helpful for both
“teachers and students. Conscious knowledge of usage rules
would allow a teacher to be more specific and effective in his
teaching; for instance, a teacher would be able to explain
rightaway why the use of dhanyavaad ‘thank you’ is inappro-
priate with a janitor. Students may not be told all the complex
rules of usage, but some rules that are rather straightforward
may be explained to them. Like grammatical rules, rules of use
should he!p students monitor their use of the foreign language.
Today, research in the field of discourse analysis is, in fact,
in very early stages, and it is more so for south Asian languages.
“What we suggest is that the following general principles be kept
.Language Teaching and Discourse >
in mind for designing a language course, which will help stu-

dents acquire proficiency. In the meantime, our research con-
“tinues in the area of discourse; and we will keep improving our
teaching materials and teaching strategies under the light of
new researches.
5. DESIGNING A COURSE
In this section, we will discuss some general principles that

should guide our way in designing a course that aims -at deve-
loping communicative proficiency in language learners. The
language
general principles can then be applied to specific
can be
‘situations and a detailed format for each course
‘developed.
1. Speech Situations
situations
1. Our first step is to select a number of speech
ing these
that are pertinent tothe target language. In select
maximum
situations, one may make a point to cover the
ont ina
number of situations that foreigners are likely to confr
community. Obviously, these situations will
target language
differ for different societies. Situations such as conversations
a washerman are extremely prevalent
with a cook, a servant,
an Indian
and thus useful for any ene who is going to learn
situations like
Janguage and deal in an Indian situation; in other
interaction with government Officials, professionals, and bank
managers, one is more likely to use English rather than an
while
Indian language, except perhaps in rural areas. So,
needs to give
designing a syllabus for teaching, say Hindi, one
situations which involve interacticn with
priority to such
n with
household helpers. Certain situations (like communicatio
some societ ies but others
-household helpers) may be restricted to
ng to a vendor
may be found in all societies. These include talki
, finding out
ordering food in a restaurant, asking for directions
introducing
train or bus schedules, hunting for a place to stay,
talking toa
oneself, seeking heip in case of an emergency,
buying clothes or
-mailman, mailing a parcel at a post office,
“food, returning a defective piece of merchandise, etc.
age are
It is important that different situations of a langu
ordered according to frequency of occurrence. This frequency

may be intuitive in case no statistics are available for it. The:
sequencing of situations in a course, however, will change if the:
language being learned is to be used for specific purposes only.
If a course is designed for, say, nurses who are going to work
in a foreign community, it will be appropriate that we give
priority to situations that are more likely to occur in their con-
frontations in the context of their duties in the new situation.
Ina similar fashion, if learners are going to be in a supervisory
capacity in a foreign firm, where they would have to talk to
their subordinates and colleagues, the set of situations is bound
to be different.
2. Alternative Expressions
As discussed in section one, we know that there are no one-

to-one correspondences between forms and meanings. The same
meaning may be conveyed in several different ways. It is im-
portant to be conscious of different equivalent expressions in a
language. The use of the same expression each time sounds
more like a ritual expression and discounts the meaning. For
instance, in English, the use of the word ‘thank y.u’ for
expressing gratitude has become so depreciated through constant
use that when people really wish to thank someone they often
verbal'ze it by adding more words or sentences to the ritual
expression, such as ‘Thanks a million’, ‘Thanks a lot’, “Thank
you very much and I really mean it’, ‘Oh you are so nice how
can I thank you’.
Each language would have a list of alternative expressions.
for performing a given speech act like complimenting, thanking,.
requesting,apologizing, sympathizing, warning, greeting. The-
detailed pragmatics of each alternative utterance would be,.
however, different in each language. So it is crucial that these
alternative utterances be used in appropriate contexts so as to
bring out their meanings clearly.
Further, it may not be possible to use all alternative
expressions in one lesson. In such situations, therefore, a
particular speech act may be re-cycled in mini-conversations in:
an appendix to the main lesson, or in later lessons, or in both.
The decision will rest on how the author organizes his or her
materials.
3. VARIATION
No speech communityjs a ‘homogeneous’ speech community

and variation is built into in every living language. This
variation, as we know, might be geographical, stylistic, or social.
It is important to expose language learners particularly at
intermediate and advanced stages of learning to representative
samples of variation in the target language.
The factors contributing to variation may be different
in different societies; for instance, in one society, religion may
contribute to variation in greetings but not in the other. Simi-
larly, age or social status may be a deciding factor for the
selection of a particular address form in one society but not in
the other. In Hindi, for example, choice of a particular form of
greeting may depend on the religion or sect of the person being
greeted——namaskaar to a Hindu, aadaab arz to a Muslim,
Sat sirit akaal to a Sikh, raadhaa swaamii to followers of Radha
Swami sect, etc. The use of different address forms in Hindi is
determined by a complex interplay of factors like age and social
status in the community; and usually the factor of social status
overrides the factor of age. For example, normally a neighbour
who is older than the speaker is addressed as Mr. followed by
his Jast name, e.g. Mr. Gupta, or else the last name plus jii, a.
respect particle, e.g Gupta Jii; and a neighbour who is younger:
than the speaker is addressed by his first name or last name
without the use of Mr. or Jii, e.g. Ramesh or Gupta. However,
a neighbor who is younger in age than the speaker but is higher:
in social status may be addressed as Mr. Gupta or Gupta Jii;
and, on the other hand, neighbor who is older than the speaker
but lower in social status may be addressed by his first or last
name only.
Recognition of important dialectal variations at the
grammatical level is helpful for learners. The learners may not
master these variants so as to be able to use them in their speech,
but it is necessary to be able to recognize them for communica-
tive purposes. Many dialect speakers, especially those who
s
never had any formal education, are not able to speak the stan-
dard language, but are able to understand it. So if one wishes
to communicate with these dialect speakers one must be able to
recognize important dialectal features of a language. In the case
of Hindi, it is important for a learner to be familiar with the
variation, say, between v and D as in vishesh and bishesh ‘special’,
van and ban ‘forest’; sand shas in saam and shaam ‘evening’,
siisaa and shiishaa ‘mirror/glass’; and between verb forms aao
and aaiyo ‘come (imperative)’, khaataa and khaae ‘eat/eats
(habitual form). These variations are quite frequently found in
the speech of a non-standard Hindi speaker and are thus helpful
in understanding the speech of those who use it.
Stylistic variation is also important. Some languages have
more stylistic variation than others. The gap between spoken
and written styles is much greater in Hindi than in English.
Therefore, a Hindi course must represent this variation duly.
The use of appropriate style would prevent foreigners from
becoming objects of amusement. This may be seen form example
(12) below where written style is used instead of spoken style
which was required in the situation.
(12) To a doctor:
DaakTar saahab, baccaa tiivr jvar se grasit hai

Dr. sit child high fever from suffering is
Doctor, the child has a very high fever.
(Literally: Doctor, the child is suffering from high fever.)
The appropriate spoken style equivalent of (12) even in
a formal situation would be something like (13) below:
(13) DaakTar saahab, bacce ko bahut tez buxaar hai
Dr. sir child to very high fever is
Doctor, the child has a very high fever.
In bilingual or multilingual societies, use of appropriate

code is also very necessary. Lessons are to be selected and hand-
led in a way that learners get at least some idea about the
code-mixing or code-switching conditions. It would be, for
instance, important to know that in the Hindi speech com-

munity, it is proper to use a mixed code while talking toa
friend in an informal situation as shown in (14) but notina
formal address as shown in (15) below:
(14) Itold you ke vo nahiiN jiitegaa

that he not win-will
I told you that he would not win.
(15) bhaaio aur bahano, we all

brothers & sisters
know ke 35 varsh pahle bhaarat aazaad huaa thaa.

that 35 years ago India free became
Brothers and sisters, we all know that India was freed

35 years ago.
As a matter of fact, use of wrong code or style may even at

times unnecessarily signal that the speaker is being formal when
the speaker is not intentionally either trying to keep a distance
‘or be friendly.
The decision regarding which variants should be emphasized
basis of
in the limited time available may be made on the
‘communicative value of different forms in a given langua ge.
4. STRUCTURAL GRADING
It is true that primary focus is on the use of the language in

that
different situations but it is also true at the same time
e to
structural grading cannot be overlooked. It is not possibl
introduce any structure at any point in language teaching. In
‘some cases there may be inherent grading of structures, for
instance simple sentences precede complex sentences such as
relative constructions. In other cases, there may not be any
inherent grading between the structures as in the case of wh-
questions and yes-no questions. In a given language, however,
grading in such cases may be necessary and can be superimposed
depending on the frequency and complexity of different con-
‘structions..
A good insight into the problem of grading of construction

may be developed through systematic analysis of ‘foreigner
talk’. Such an analysis will reveal the frequency of different
constructions in the adapted speech of native speakers. It has
been observed that ina ‘foreigner talk’ (data is available for
Hindi, English, and Japanese) speakers who have long exposures
with foreigners tend to avoid construction like passives, relatives,
and wh-questions that can be avoided without injuring com-
munication (cf. Long, Gambhir et. al.). If the “foreigner talk’
analysis supports that there are very few wh-questions and that
most wh-questions are replaced by yes-no-questions in a given
language, then it is advisable that for the given language course,
the teaching of yes-no-questions should precede the teaching of
wh-questions. In the same fashion, if the analysis shows that in
a ‘foreigner talk’ there are wh-questions of the type who or where
that demand only one word answers but none with why which
demands a lengthy answer, then a gradation can be imposed
even among different wh-questions depending on the nature of
a wh-word. In such a case, questions with who or where are to
precede why in our language course.
Since in discourse method our primary emphasis is on langu-
age use, we must find appropriate social situations and topics
which will match our structural grading. In other words, we
need to know the relationship between text-type and grammar
forms. At first, it might appear difficult to find appropriate
materials showing relationship between text-type and grammar
forms, but a close study of discourse would reveal that it is not
difficult to find such a relationship. Structures like imperatives
may be introduced through a text dealing with situations like
entertaining a guest (eg. baiThiye ‘Please sit down’, kuch
ThanDaa liijiye ‘Please have something cold to drink’, thoRaa
aur khaaie ‘Please eat some more’), or placing an order for food
(e.g. ek kap caae laao ‘Bring a cup of tea’, jaldii aanaa ‘Come
back soon’, ciinii mat Daalnaa ‘Don’t put any sugar’). For
illustrating a structure like the passive, it is perhaps best to have
a scientific text (eg. aaksiijan dvaaraa....‘by oxygen’, bijlii
se. . .“by electricity’) or news items (e.g. bataayaa gayaa hai...
‘It has been reported’, vishvast suutroN se pataa calaa hai ki...
‘It is learned form reliable sources that’, pradhaan mantrii
dvaaraa. .. .‘by the prime minister’) because passives are used.

frequently in such texts. And, for teaching, for instance present
tense or future tense, a text may be selected that describes
someone’s daily activities (e.g. uThtaa hai ‘wakes up’, jaataa hai
*“goes’, lauTtaa hai ‘returns’, etc.) or future plans (e.g.
dekhuuNegaa ‘will see’, xariiduuNgaa ‘will buy’, banvaauuNgaa
‘will have it made’, etc.). Similarly, the use of may or can may
be presented through a situation where some one is seeking
a permission (e.g. kyaa maiN andar aa saktaa huuN ‘May I come
in?’) or talking about the ability of someone or something (e.g.
maiN hindii acchii tarah paRh saktaa huuN ‘I can read Hindi
very well,’).
5. REVIEW EXERCISES
more
In review exercises or assignments, there should be
more
exercises in which students have to use the language
meaningfully than in the form—Transform Xaintowy a.bese
exercises should always make students imagine themselves into
target
a situation and ask them to express themselves in the
for
language; for example, going to a gas station and asking
ten liters of gas, or going to an auto mechanic and explai ning
be
what is the problem with the car, etc. Students may also
the
asked to fill gaps in given conversations, or to extend
ation. Furthe r,
text of each response by adding more inform
text in
exercises could be given in the form of re-writing a short
to
students? own words. This would give students a chance
nt
express the same thingin different ways by using differe
constructions.
Oral review exercises in a class may be conducted through
different activities like role-playing, such as salesperson-custo-
mer, doctor-patient; describing things, places or people; making
evening plans; discussing controversial issues like the nuclear
arms race, use of preservatives in food. These types of exercises
would help students develop skills for using language to com-
municate meanings as efficaciously as possible in concrete
situations.
In addition to the main points given above, one should also
bear in mind points like the use of idiomatic expressions and
metaphors at appropriate levels of the language courses. One-

sation.
should also try to bring into the text different conver
sions
strategies like how to elicit information by using expres
kyaa kah
like jii? ‘What?’, kyaa kahaa? ‘What did you say?’ aap
rahe the? ‘What were you saying?’, maiN samjhaa nahiiN > I did
not understand’; how to let the other person know that you are
listening to him, and especially so on the telephone, like jii
Thiik hai, haaN, haaN-haaN, acchaa (all indicating listener's.
attentiveness); how to go back to the original topic after an
interruption like haaN, to maiN kah rahaa thaa ‘so what I was
saying is’, haaN, to ham kyaa baat kar rahe the So what was it
that we were talking about’, xair, ham kah rahe the ‘At any
rate, we were discussing that’, and so on.
6. CONCLUSION
A language course which treats discourse as the basic unit of

language and has a syllabus design that keeps in view the
general principles (as discussed above) and the language speci-
fic needs should provide better input for acquiring communica-
tive competencé in the target language. It may be, however,
borne in mind that for achieving best results, contents of the
lessons are interesting, these are in tune with the age level of
the learners, and are relevant to their needs. More research in
the field of discourse analysis, we hope, will give us a clearer
idea as to how we can further improve our language teaching.
NOTES
1. neis the agent marker in Hindi, In general, it follows an

agent when a verb is transitive aud is in perfective form; e.g.
maiN ne film dekhii
I Ag. film saw
I saw the film.
2. Vector verb means the second member of the compound
verb like jaao in aa jaao ‘come’. Generally, a vector verb
adds only a shade to the meaning of the main verb, which
is the first member of the compound verb.
Language Teaching «nd Discourse 183
REFERENCES
Apte, M.L., 1974. “Thank You’’ and South Asian language: a

comparative sociolinguistic study. International Journal of
the Sociology of Language, 3. 6689.
Chomsky, N. 1965. Aspects of the theory of syntax, Cambri-
dge, Mass , M.I.T. Press.
Ervin-Tripp, S.M. 1973. Language. acquisition and communi-
cative choice. In Anwar S.Dil (ed) Language Acquisition
and Communicative Choice, pp. 302-373.
Halliday, M.A-K. and R. Hasan. 1976. Cohesion in English,
London: Longman.
Harris, Z.S. 1963. Discourse Analysis Reprints. The Hague:
Mouton.
Hatch, E. 1978. Discourse analysis, speech acts, and second
language acquisition. In William C. Ritchie. Second langu-
age Acquisition Research (ed). Academic Press, New York.
pp.) 137153.
Hymes, D. 1972. On communicative competence. In J. B.
Pride and J. Holmes. (eds.) Sociolinguistics Harmondsworth,
England: Penguin Books. pp. 269-293,
Jain, D K. 1973, Pronominal usage in Hindi: a sociolinguistic
study. Doctoral Dissertation. University of Pennsylvania.
Krashen, S.D. 1981. The fundamental pedagogical principle in
second language teaching. Studia Linguistica 35.50-70.
Labov, W. 1972. Language in the inner city: studies in the
Black English vernacular. Philadelphia: University of Pen-
nsylvania Press.
Larson-Freeman, D. 1980. Discourse analysis in second language
research. Rowley, Mass: Newbury House.
Littlewood, W. 1981. Communicative language teaching.
Cambridge University Press.
Long, M.H. 1981. Questions in foreigner talk discourse.
Language Learning, 31.135-157.
Long, M.H., V. Gambhir & S. Gambhir and M. Nishimura:
1982. Regularization in foreigner talk ‘and interlanguage.
Paper presented at the TESOL convention program in
Toronto, Canada.
Monane, T.A. 1982. Language drills of sociolinguistic relevance:
~“
overcoming ‘drill lag’ in Japanese language pedagogy. Paper

presented at the 1982 Association for Asian Studies Meeting,
Chicago, Illinois.
Searle, J.R. 1969. Speech acts, Cambridge: Cambridge Univer-
sity Press.
Widdowson, H,G. 1979. Explorations in applied linguistics. Ox-
ford Unversity Press. :
Wolfson, N, 1981. Compliments in cross cultural perspective,
TESOL Quarterly, 15.117-124.
/
Creativity in popular style
AMIYA DEV
Jadavpur University
I would like to begin with six excerpts from six Bengali novels
I have recently read by a fastselling author.
1. This story begins with Monomay Majumdar and his wife
Malabika Majumdar. Since no story beginning with a husband
and a wife can ever end with the husband and the wife, there
has to appear at least one more person at the appropriate
moment. That one is there, is waiting and will appear at the
appropriate moment. You wait.
Let us open the story in Malabika Majumdar’s bedroom.
Quite early morning now, Monomay hasn’t yet woken up. But
his young wife Malabika is up.
What a peaceful morning. There is no premonition of any
mishap anywhere in this happy morning. But a mishap is going
to happen. A mishap that will plunge Monomay and Malabika
into a dangerous whirl. No good getting unnecessarily curious
to learn where this danger is going to drift these two and that
unknown third. Scripture says, only the unruffled attain the
desired goal. It is written further in the Yogavasista yan Ramana:
Nothing happens in this world causelessly. And the mind is the
first body—this mind-body is where the soul has its relish. ‘‘The
mind takes many shapes in the body—what is dear today will be
unwanted tomorrow, what is tasteful will be bitter, what is true
will be untrue.”
Her body wrapped in a soft half-voile cotton saree, Mala-
bika Majumdar M. Sc. is now idly musing away. Let us listen
to this part of Malabika Majumdar’s musings in her own words,
‘
Needless to say, Malabika’s mind is always occupied by

Monomay. Spreading her tall lissom body on the bed the
musingloving Malabika is musing.
2. New York of Calcutta—this story can be started from
both the ends of the world. It is 7pm now in the Kennedy
International Airport. At the abundance of sodium and mer-
cury vapour lamps the world’s wealthiest city’s enormous air-
port is looking as bright as daylight.
One can see a brown-skinned Bengali youth at the departure
gate no. 11 of this foreign airport. Right next to him isa white-
skinned blonde young American woman. In her right hand she
is holding a pair of coloured polaroid glasses, hanging from her
shoulders are more thanone Japanese cameras and tape-recor-
der, and on her feet are a pair of sandals that have come from
faraway India’s Kolapur. This woman is Elizabeth Gibson.
Not far is standing still on the grey runway a huge India-
bound Boeing 747 with its wings spread. inte
Time for the bird to go. In an unaccustomed gesture by
folding her two hands the young woman tried to wish well her
lim-bed companion.
3, By the grace of the white-uniformed Calcutta traffic
policeman the two-storied cream-coloured house of Denver
India Ltd. came to Mr. Pain’s notice this morning.
Compared to other days, Mr. Pain wasa little late today. But
there was no help—his friend Panu’s wife Padmabati had said,
on your way to office you must eat the special leftovers for this
uncooking day. Mr. Pain could refuse a good many lunch,
dinner, cocktail invitations, but there were very few on this
wide world to remember Patitpaban Pain on an auspicious
uncooking day.
4. Today is Ist Ashad. Standing at the junction of Calcutta’s
Chitpore Road and C.I.T. Road very near a discoloured
lamp-post, is Somnath. Full name Somnath Bannerjee.
Rickshaws, pushcarts, buses, lorries, taxis and tempos have
made a nasty jam in the Chitpore Road traffic. And in the
midst of all this the old driver of a decrepit tram on, its way
from Lalbazar to Bagbazar is anxiously ringing the bells, It
seemed to Somnath as ifa huge palsied lizard from the pri-
Creativity in Popular Style 187
maeval age, thrown out of its safe shelter and caught in the.
human forest of Calcutta, was groaning helplessely.
Despite its size Somnath felt a little pity for the refugee.
lizard. By what ill stroke of fate did the poor chap get to
Calcutta’s Rabindra Sarani even though there were so many
highways in the world? A4ew years ago, Somnath would have
collected his material for poetry from this intricate jam-thick
situation. He would have noted down the moment’s reflection
in the tiny notebook carried in a pocket and would have sat
down at night to work out the poem. Would perhaps have-
given it the title, a primaeval lizard in the human forest. Would
have let Tapati take a look at the newly written poem on the
next day. But what use thinking these things now? Poetry has
left Somnath’s life.
5. This office is where Chowringhee Road, by keeping the
lonely bronze statue of Mahatma Gandhia silent witness and
shifting all responsibilities to the shoulders of Jawaharlal Nehru
Road, has been bifurcated.
If anyone after having a view of Gandhi in the early morn-
ing, walks along the Chowringhee Road footpath passing by
this modern designed new house, he will see that before the
whole office area has waked up Jatadhar Das, with a container
of brasso in his hand, is concentratedly polishing two namepla-
tes, both of brass, one of which is written in English and the
other in Bengali. As beautiful ladies before accompanying their
husbands to cocktail parties put on a limecoat on their faces
for an hour or so, the bearer Jatadhar Dass too is rubbing with
an equal diligence and care the Bengali nameplate with a thin
piece of cloth and the engraved words are gradually glittering _
brighter and brighter.
Hindustan Peters Ltd.

Incorporated in India
Members’ liabilities are limited.
6. The period that has begun alittle while ago in Kamalesh

Roy Choudbury’s life, can be easily named: ‘After the wedding. .
night’. Only a few hours have passed after that most desired,
extremely romantic and revolutionary experience. There cannot.
‘
be any reason in seeing the hero of that bridal bed sitting alone
in a train compartment at Howrah Station.
But the thirty-two year old handsome Kamlesh Roy Choud-
hury is indeed looking out the window froma seat ina first
class compartment ona Howrah-Chandanpur Express. Why
should there appear these lines of displeasure on his face even
after he was made prosperous with a new experience?
Parden my inept translations, but these fastseller beginnings
“should give us an idea of their author’s style. The first thing we
mark is that there is a sense of finality in the author’s tone.
Whatever his subject, whether marriage or an American girl’s
attitude to India or an aged successful man’s loneliness ora
despondent young man watching a Calcutta traffic jam or the
polishing of a mercantile firm’s nameplates or a newly married
man’s displeasure for an interruption of marriage bliss, the
author seems to have a final view of it. It gives one the impres-
sion of absolute authenticity, as if there could be no dispute
about it, as if noone could put any question to it. Marriages
must have an inevitable third, Americans should be necessarily
attracted to India, success has an invariable hollow, Calcutta is
a human forest, mercantile firms have a glittering facade, men
“whose marriage bliss has been interrupted are unhappy. The
subjects are serious and are seriously dealt with, but the results
are inflexible and incontrovertible statements. Not that there is
no truth in them; what, however, the author offers is not the
truth as such, arrived at through a close analysis of the subject,
but a certain formulation of the truth which tends to be final. It
almost takes on the quality of an axiom or a truism.
Axioms and truisms do not provoke or agitate the readers or
make them think; they are not supposed to. The present
finalities too tend that a way—they do not impel any thinking,
and this is the second thing we mark, a follow-up from the
first. The readers simply relish these statements without, to
push the famous metaphor or Paul Valéry’s, receiving any
nourishment. This unquestioning acceptance of the so-called
“truth is perhaps also similar to what Bert Brecht comdemned
in a1other context as ‘catharsis’. One arrives at the truth, ONe
does not begin from the truth; in other words, truth is the
Creativity in Popular Style 189»
outcome of a dynamic process, not a static donné. When truth

is turned into a donné, it loses its value and becomes an image.
For instance, the truth is that the Kennedy International Air-.
port is enormous and is as bright at night as on day; but there.
is a difference between one arriving at this through physical and
psychological details and one simply stating the enormity and,
the brightness. The statigg turns the airport into an image, a
little too attractive perhaps to a developing country’s readership.
The media have already advanced such images, the evocation is.
enough to complete the task.
Images are comfortable because readers are used to them.
Calcutta the human forest as an image and Calcutta the human.
forest as a truth produce two different kinds of effect, one com-
forts and the other agitates. The old tram cum primaeval.
lizard also does not change matters, simply adds an embellish-
ment to the comforting image. For the emphasis should not be-
on the tramlizard but on the human forest, and where is the
human forest here? All we have is an enumeration of rickshaws,
pushcarts, buses, lorries, taxis, tempossounds more like a forest
of metals. Besides, the details by which the protaginists’s mood
is communicated border on sentimentality, again quite com--
forting. That poetry is the product of a happy mind isa
regular cliché, and all clichés are comforting for they are fami-
liar, they do not extend any invitations to meaning. On the-
contrary the meanings tagged to them are so faded that they
make no ripples in the readers’ minds.
Using words and _ phrases like clichés is thus another aspect
of this style. A ‘‘young wife” or a “‘tall lissom body” moves.
cliché-ward, for a wife is usually associated with youth and a
young wife from a particular class is usually supposed to have
a tall lissom body. What the author is-doing here is not depict-
ing an individual person (she may be young and she may have
a tall lissom body), but is catering an image. The readers have-
satisfaction for it feeds their ago by offering something they
are familiar with. There are no risks in the confrontation, there
is no surprise around the corner to jump upon them. The
cliché-coding can also be seen in the way certain quotations
are put forward. ‘‘Time for the bird to go”’ (‘‘jabar samay halo
bihanger’’) is a famous line from Tagore, and a reader who has,
“had his school or college dose of Tagore should be happy to

identify it. Here is another example, this time from the greatest
Bengali poet after Tagore, often considered quite obscure: “A
Banalata Sen personality is spread over Bishakha Biswas’ face
-and eyes. As if by raising her bird-nest like eyes she is asking in
this twilight the forty-five year old Monomay, where were you
all this time?’ The name Banalata Sen and the phrases like “‘her
birdnest like eyes’’ and ‘‘where were you all this time’’ are both
taken from one of Jibanananda Das’ most famous and by now
popular poems. This use of quotations is thus another instance
of ego-feeding. A very peculiar kind of cliché-coding is the
ubiquity of the word “‘foreign’’, foren in Bengali. America is
usually not called America, or Britain Britain, or Germany
Germany, it is all ‘foreign’. When one goes to America or
Europe one simply goes to America or Europe though not
without the social implications, but going to‘foreign’ or living
in ‘foreign’ or having a touch of ‘foreign’ has a special quality
about it; the word does not have any meaning any more, it
simply contains a social complex triggered by an abject post-
colonial situation. I don’t know whether the Third world fast-
sellers have a general feature in this respect, but it is worth
‘finding out.
Consonant with the cliché-coding is a repetitiveness, another
feature of this style—repetitiveness for similar situations are
-coded in fairly similar sentence or word clusters. A wife proud
of her husband’s career or the male determination for success or
a scientist’s dedication or a businessman’s business acumen or a
sex-trap or sex-bribe or the use of sex as a commodity or the
uncontaminated love of middle class girls and boys or a lower
middle class girl forced to the street for a living or a club scene
or an ‘office’ scandal or Calcutta traffic, is described more or
less the same way. That is, after a point, if we know what the
situation is, would know what stylistic turns to expect. It is like
a repertory-one keeps coming across the same sort of fares
again and again. And one judges his author by the extent of his
repertory, the larger the repertory the more famous the author,
“the smaller the repertory the intenser the response. Every year
-at Jadavpur during the B.A and M.A. admissions we geta
“Creativity in Popular Sule 191
-graded review of some of the contemporary fastselling authors.

The same names are quoted in different orders.
The question of repetition can be looked at from another
point of view. If an author makes any stylistic repetitions, it
follows that he is writing formulas. We have a general idea of
formulas from bardic poetry, we know that the ancient bard,
“someone like Homer’s Bemodocus, had a repertory of words
and phrases on which he would draw according to his metric
necessities. After the Parry-Lord studies of oral composition
in the Western epic and after the nearly finished work of the
late Father Robert Antoine of Jadavpur on the teachnique of
oral composition in the Rdm4dyana, we have absolutely no
doubts about formulaic composition. Besides in the oral poetry
“today we mark an absolute formulaic tendency: the Bengali
kavigan where two rural poet-singers are usually engaged in a
poetry competition, is a clear instance. As opposed to the poet
who writes, the bard or the oral poet, we know, uses formulas
normally without any nuances. He doesn’t have a choice,
‘because he has to improvise on the spot. The writer-author on
“the other hand has all the choice, he is in no hurry, he can
~work at length in order to attain the right response. When he
writes a simile for instance, he can show the affinity between
his upamana and upameya in botha physical and a spiritual
~sense. The oral author usually focuses on the physical. It is
peculiar, then, for a writer-author to write formulas.
As opposed to the bardic formulas which are compositional,
‘the fastseller formulas are response-oriented: they seem to
-embody the possible responses. And looking from this point of
view, given a situation there cannot be a number of responses.
Response in other words is bereft of all preconditions, socio-
“historical as well as psychological; respose is, as it were, ideali-
zed. But there canot be a blanket universal response to a situa-
‘tion, so the idealization has to be with reference to a certain
class. Fiction-reading as such, we know, is a middle class
~precccupation in the Third world because of the literacy situa-
“tion. In the Third World, therefore, this response is idealized.
“with reference to the middle class, which means it is a manifes-
‘tation of middle class values. Success is a middle class dream,
“but since the middle class does not have a straight road to
success there has to be some contamination. And it is always

those bright but unagressive middle class boys who rise. A
happy family is happy because there is an ideal son raised by
an ideal father—he knows how to sacrifice his personal happi-
ness to the family’s. There are ideal scientists who use their
‘foreign’-earned expertise to produce indigenous things, but
they live in a shark-infested society where their practical-
minded brothers are engaged in looking after the interests of
the sharks. But there is a.reason for that as well: they have
gone practical tecause of an unhappy antecedent. Besides, they
are not cynical, so they still have a hope of redemption. It is
no fault of the middle class that they have to dish up their
sisters’ flesh to the sharks for a pittance. True it is the same
class that do the going between, but one after all has to eat.
The point is, the fastseller formulas justify the middle class.
values. It is not wish-fulfilment of the ordinary sort where,
say, a primary teacher’s boy walks straight up to a managing
director’s chair-—wish-fulfilment that we are fed with everyday
in the commercial cinema. It is a justification of the class and
thus in a subtle way a persuasion for the status-quo. Fiction
not producing formulas and trying to deal with truth may not
be committed and raise a revolutionary slogan to end the status-
quo, but does reveal the social conditions which are ever ina
flux, no matter how slow. The subtle argument for the status--
quo then isa conservative argument. While the other style, so
to speak, subverts by simply analyzing, by surfacing the pro-
cess, this style upholds. Whatever is, is because there are:
sharks, and as long as we say that there are sharks and as long
as we blame them for eating us up small fellows, we are justi--
fied. It isa way of meeting our basic insecurities, and we can
even locate a generation of myth here—middle cass myth, that
is. If we say that myth has a faith content and maintains the-
interests of the class that produces it, then surely these fast-
seller formulas have a mythic core.
Now, myth raises a corollary question, that of manipula-
tion. We know that at least in the case of modern myths we-
can’t altogether rule out the possibility of manipulation. The
media can cajole one into believing in the absolute efficacy of
certain things. Do we have something comparable to media
Creativity in Popular Style 193:
manipulation in fastseller formulas? Are they, in other words,

constructed in the same aesthetic as that of ads? Ads either
have an essentially aphoristic formulation like ‘“‘Heaven is.
where X is’ X being a bathsoap or a toothpaste, or ‘‘made for
each other” accompanying a blow-up of a man and a woman
and a pack of cigarettes, or we have some sort of a dualistic
formulation, quoting a problem and proposing a solution, like
pimples affecting an isolation from the prosperous set and an
ointment leading finally to marriage. In both formulations or
in their variations, ads tend to be absolute and timeless. How
‘can we put within the bounds of time such formulations as.
“srandfather eats grandson eats’’ or “‘Bata shoes Puja shoes’’?’
We know from employment indexes that good ad-writers have:
a great demand. In terms of the intensity with which they are
coveted one can perhaps propose a parallel between a good
ad-writer and a fastseller writer. Ad-writers write out our
dreams, fastseller writers write out our beliefs. Their formulas.
also stand out and, so to speak, take on a capsular quality.
They seem to contain all wisdom. Confident reflections on
issues Jying near our hearts they seem to have no loose
ends; they are flawless merchandise. Here are a few examples.
(1) “Wrong English pronunciation, no practice—the typical
Bengali woman’s affair. Monomay has thought a number
of times. the women who have passed from Bengali medium
schools have no future in their jobs. It is hard to know why
in the first place they went to school and what they have learned
there through the years. They have neither dash nor push.
Neither ‘go’ nor determination (there is a pun here in the Bengali,
*go’ and ‘gon’). Possibly they get the training to beconie the
ideal. lifeless Bengali wife (Bengali wife, ‘Banglar badhu’, is
cliché-coded), but there is no hope at all for them to get a place
in the great enormous build-up programme of India’’. (2) “Mind
you, what Bengal fails today India fails tomorrow (a varia-
tion on the celebrated ‘“‘What Bengal thinks today India thinks
tomorrow’’). ‘The wheel of history has turned, but what fails in
Bengal today will also fail elsewhere tomorrow.” (3) “‘Mono-
may has read somewhere, the Bengalis cannot distinguish indi-
viduals from institutions. In the lively alluvial soil of these
parts individuals flourish, but institutions do not come to life.”
~
(4) “I am now only Mrs. Majumdar—just like the wife of any

busy man. One of those men who are very successful, who
marry to neglect their wives, who make love to work, yet
falsely pretend to be in love with their wives and say, they have
to run after work for livelihood.’’ (5) “‘Bejewelled dames are
no longer safe now in this world-famous idealist city.’’ (6)
“After crossing a great many landmarks from history and
geography she finally reached Beliaghata. The much-maligned
taxi-drivers of Calcutta are” really ;matchless. Only on one clue
bas this one found this part of Beliaghata. God: how many
lanes and bye-lanes have you created in Calcutta. In no other
city in the world are there so diverse and impossible streets.
Whether all these streets are even entered in the books of
Calcutta Corporation, is doubtful.’
The readers buy these wares for the readers feel at home
with them, for their style is reader-minded. That is, their style
is consciously or unconsciously geared to effect, to how the
readers are going to take to them. Now, all creative style is
to a point geared to effect, all creative writing is to a point
rheorical. One doesn’t write in an absolute vacuum, one writes
in hope of readers. But it is one thing to write a subject in
hope of readers and another thing to write a subject for the
readers, In the first case the emphasis is on the subject, the
quality of the style is determined by the nature of the subject.
If the subject is dialectically perceived the style will show that
-dialectic, and if the subject is unitary the style will reflect the
unitariness. In the second case the emphasis is on the reader,
the quality of the style is determined by what the readers may
-or may not take. The reason why phrases or sentences like
“the big time” (I am quoting the celebrated Harold Robbins
now) or “It was better than brandy after dinner’ or ‘‘Twice I
tried to speak and twice I failed’? (think of the Milton parallel,
“thrice he assayed and thrice...”) cr ‘“‘had found herself
-again’’, ‘you were the greatest’, “‘one of the big rough faces
that you usually associate with an outdoor, hardworking guy”’,
‘‘Two things I specially liked. Eggs for breakfast and showers
in the morning’, ‘“What isa convertible if you don’t put the
top down’’ (couldn’t this be an effective Ford convertible ad?),
“*It had all the patient tolerance of the very young for the very
Creativity in Popular Style 195
old”—and I can go on adding examples—the reason why such

phrases and sentences go down rather well with the average
American reader is because they are a good catch, they are
looking at things from the reader’s point of view, they have
little to do with the complexities of the subject.
In cther words,1 gm proposing that there are two basic
kinds of creative writing, one is subject-minded and the other
reader-minded. It doesn’t have to be that an author writes only
one kind, it can very well be that he writes both. We are not
concerned with which kind which author writes, we are con-
cerned with which kind which writing is. And I have called
the reader-minded kind ‘effective’ in a simple sense: it sells.
If you would call the other kind writing degree zero then you
may call this kind of writing degree hundred. And which
average reader can escape a persuasion that full and that big?
a a ¥
’
i ‘ ~ i ,
‘ — a a
’ ree
ikl F Ce eee >
* ceApi i
f ,7
Se eds ide iHekoy waht winded

ee
* et) toc ie Hag kee he
nS aah otialre ame ay" aw .
eS . Lp ge sy Neboesinbole
ani * ey."
: vite? Aye. wht. hd eg ney rat , Pe ,
2 tala a! Or Dabctcnside
ae pee
OO ater crinecns tekeopdeat ia ate
“os Pieeel. dni so sfc 9 Sane
Ban, Oe RA Ai |gsi Gtk” Apia
to ee Gana
patito cnemd hap A guniverstalttik
Ha ticogeacsinmt
a. deter eeh ea
\. Wigtaadi won omash usuiw bride tlenedetagbh
ane bray. (AGA. Janband. ign. give Yo’bail” Hae
—. heminnn Saye
Spirakis dria, tort, ints Ae, |
alt ) wees Bicon, Eat tea? Stee pene + saben. ‘Pherae, .
= Bae, Sn Saiuttioyaly a suegic Sth, Seatoe ae e AA. iyiw ~ as

egetaes ae. Pamg «16 aac Te fn. ew, : ending
ih: bieeeDer re tude : os pets af creative schide ee
; - be eet: Oke shear.’ ntile T tr Ath ae othe Wns MOIR:
——. “ et yee Pr ate Eat 5 sib cire4* jaa ey ran =" eh
ae. byes is pea cige amit anetees very:te wee a4 5

ak “phndest, hie “fhe Test eS Pia: oceghaums ‘son wt 30
yeite Edie ae aditensinet. Gaia cee aorta
ig els Cee dy pega Caleee
- itech Swish ike mht A oReery See ro) :
ert: kt pace X > thm otte; oe . te eels bee
fae 5, i; an ee ree i ‘ieee * ae aah
‘ 7 Jit! Fhe yaw. tay Fae a: dae

; tah oes te tn tee aR, hi cater ae td Kal
. he ome. jt ers Sar) iigagh B7Z bap gfieee ener ores Cah
net te speck and awige Jes (hes) oh A Nites pee

‘you bie Se eee) inaliiie
ieaa
‘ Oa vez ‘ cape ity b “hint ‘Pe
oh As ny tges tes fica ssa

i hai & 4 hy yet ae wdinne at
ae a
eee
r , Ms ae & rel wate ore.
5 = west Heaedt ofibe,woul
ot
Style diffusion: The influence of Persian on
Kashmiri
‘OmKAR N. Kou
Northern Regional Language Centre Patiala
The diffusion of literary style as other linguistic characteristics

from one language into other takes place primarily, as a result
of language contact. The literary style of the dominant langu-
age may influence the literary style of other language or langu-
ages which comes in its contact at different levels. The diffusion
of literary style from Persian into Kashmiri has not been studi-
ed so far. In this paper, an attampt will be made to make some
remarks on the diffusion or borrowing of Persian literary style
in Kashmiri poetry.
The main contacts between Kashmir and Persia were politi-
cal and cultural. Islam entered the valley of Kashmir long
before the period of the Muslim rule in Kashmir. Islamic mis-
sionaries and military adventurers form Persia came into Kash-
mir and preached the doctrine and teachings of Islam to the
people who suffered the burdens of misrule and were dominated
by the excessiveness of rites and rituals by the Brahmins. Thus,
‘Islam entered the valley not as a result of foreign invasion, but
by a coup d'etat from within the country’ (Bamzai 1962:422).
Under the prevailing socio-political situation, it was not diffi-
cult for the common masses to embrace a new faith in this case
Islam, which was preached by the Sufis (Mystics) on the grounds
of close social and religous humanism. Islam, like other new
faiths, did not meet any violent opposition in Kashmir. During
the rule of Muslim Sultanate (1339-1586), Islam spread widely
in Kashmir and since then it is a predominant religion of
Kashmiris,
s
As a result of foreign invasions, Muslim rule, and the spread

socio-cultural patterns had a
of Islam in Kashmir, the Persian
ure.
profound influence on Kashmiri art, language and literat
Persian
According to Bamzai ‘the impact of the Arabic and
in
cultures which followed the wholesale adoption of Islam
Kashmir, produced profound and far-reaching effect on diet,
na-
dress, marriage and morals, art and literature, which is discer
profo und and.
ble among the people even today’ (1962:422). The
and
most important influence was that of Persian language
about a
literature on Kashmiri language and literature. After
the
century of the advent of the Muslim rule, Persian became
m
official language of Kashmir. With the efforts of the Musli
ted
rulers the Persian language became popular with the educa
people. Instead of writing in their mother tongue, Kashmiri
creative writers thought it a matter of great honour, pride, and
dignity to write in Perisan. The Kashmiri language which had
proved itself a successful medium for the Vakhas of Lalla and
Shruks of Sheikh Nurudin earlier (14th and 15th century), was
later dominated by the Persian language and its literary style.
During the second and third period (15th-18th century) of
Kashmiri poetry, literary styles of Kashmiri were immensely
influenced by Persian styles. Persian provided not only the frame
for the Kashmiri poetry but favoured it with innumerable
lexical items, idioms and expressions which were lacking in
Kashmiri in order to make it capable to express those ideas and
thoughts involving Persian culture and environment. In addition
to this, Persian borrowed lexical items, idioms and metaphors,
sometimes in spite of their inappropriateness, replaced the
original Kashmiri lexical items, idioms and metaphors.
Besides a large number of poems (nazms and ghazals) almost
all the famous masnavis of Persian are translated into Kashmiri
verse. In these works, Persian lexical items and idioms are
frequently used by the translator whenever he did not find appro-
priate lexical items and idioms in Kashmiri. There are very few,
if any, changes in the styles from Perisan into Kashmiri in these
translations. Some works such as Yusuf-Zulekha, Laila Majnu
etc., were translated by different writers at different times. Meh-
mood Gami has made some changes in the literary style of the
translation of Persian Yusuf-Zulekha into Kashmiri verse. But
Influence of Persian on Kashmiri 199
these changes are insignificant. Under the influence of the

Persian masanavis, the Persian styles are used even in the
original Kashmiri masanayis.
Beside the independent translations of Persian literary works
into Kashmiri verse, Kashmiri poets have used Kashmiri
translations of Perisan stanzas ia their ‘original’ verses. A few
such examples are being quoted from Azad (Kashmiri Zaban
Aur Shairi Vol. 1) as below:
1. kas ba:vi tabi:bas ti pheki:ras bi dilza:r
nai zO:r duva k’eh lobum nai ca:ri dava:vi
‘To which saint or savour should I open my heart?
Both medicants and methads proved futile’
2. chum ja:n kd:sid pa:ni pritshi tas ha:li dilza:r
nai kha:mi za:nay na:mi tay paiga:m niga:ro (Rasool Mir)
‘Wish a merciful messenger convey the pangs of heart!
But both the messenger and the message are unknown’.
The italicised parts in the two couplets above are rough
translations of these two Persian lines respectively:
Ja. ne tabi:b cara: sa:zad an fasu":gare duva:ra: (P. 57)
2a, man na:ma nami fahmam paiGa:m nami:da:nam (P. 57)
Similarly,
3. a:hu:y ma:ci:n zaini kyoh
har non tamana: co:n hyu:v
phe?run vuchun thohrun ti ram (Rasool Mir)
is a translation of these original Persian lines:
3a. a:hu: z-tu a;mu:kht behang:me davi:dan
ram kardan -o- bar ashtan -o- ista:dan -o- di:dan (P. 85).
‘The lovely deer has learnt to run, to turn, to stand (stop)
and to see from thy charmful actions’.
4. zo:num ni vanith do:d panun na:ri d9zim vas
vanha: ti d9zim ta:o: ba:!1 marayo: (Nazim)
‘I could not express my anguish, heart burned; in
furnace. I wished to express, but my tongue furnage.
. How I wish to die for thee!
s
is a translation of the following Persian couplet:

4a. mara: dardi:st andar dil agar go:yam zaba: so:zad (P. 85)
5. kha:l di:shith murg-e-dil paband da:mi zuluph gov
za:li l8:gith go: matan az di:da: saya:d ai sanam (Habib
Kashmiri)
js a rough translation of the following Persian couplet:
5a. kha:lim tu da:na: o zulf-e- tu da:m da:m
murGe:ke: da:na: diid-o- girfta:r da:m shud (P. 87)
‘The dark mole of the cheek like a grain, and thy curved
curles like a net. The bird who saw the grain was cought
imite
Due to the influence of socio-cultural patterns of Persian
style through the native Persian literary works, Kashmiri
writers have borrowed appropriate lexical items and idioms to
express those new ideas which were unfamiliar to Kashmiri
language and culture. Kashmiri poets tried to create that very
environment in their writings, for which they had to borrow
suitable lexical items, idioms and expressions from Persian. A
few examples of such Persianized stylistic Kashmiri forms are
given below:
6. ashki me:da‘ni bi tra:vay aishka:ni go:yi sar

ne;t darbar h’ath zih ge:su ta:zi co:ga:n dilbaro
(Haqani (P. 87)
‘Let me offer my head (in place of ball) in the playground
of love for thy Chogan sport’
7, vadukh kelmi per’ per’ vodukh doh ti ra:th
ziyi shapbkat chu ho:phiz basha:kh naba:t (Akrm Bagal)
(P. 59)
‘They wept grieved and lamented reciting Kalima day and
night,
Like Hafiz remembering his sweet-heart with deep love’
In both these examples the borrowed ideas are expressed in

the borrowed lexical items and idiomsin order to make the
expression clear. Without an adequate knowledge of the
background of these borrowed ideas it is not possible to under-
stand these lines.
Anfluence of Persian on Kashmiri 201
Sometimes poets do not feel free to express the borrowed

ideas or exprepressions in pure Kashmiri. although there are
appropriate words, idioms or expressions available, because
they are afraid of socio-cultural setting of their native language.
They would like to avoid certain connotations of the native
expressions. For example, Maqbool Kralvari uses Persian
lexical items and symbols to describe the passicnate moment of
“the meeting of the hero and the heroine in his masnavi of Ajab
Malik ta Noshlab. He writes:
8. tsombun yeli gavhar sha:di ba-alma:s
‘When her ruby was pierced by his dazzling diamond’
9. saman gonci dahan tang o:s suphti
ndsi:miki bi:mit’an gav shagufti (p. 113)
‘The un-opened bud was like a knot.
But blossomed with the gushes of sweet breeze’.
Most of the poets did not borrow the Persian lexical items
-and idioms in order to make the expression clear, but to exhibit
“their knowledge of the royal language Persian and to impress on
the royal families and foreign scholars for their appreciation
and favour. This attitude of blind borrowings was indeed very
bad for the development of the use of similies and metaphors
in Kashmiri language, but it was openly patronized by the
foreign rulers, The literary Kashmiri siyles became more and
more Persianized day by day with the result that the masses
could not make out anything out of it. For examples, consider
the following:
10. a:za:d co:nuy sarvikad
pa:band zulft la:li khad
man da:g rashkiki 19j rah
‘The lock on thy sublime slender figure.
Made the moling moon jealous’.
411. hindu: du ge:su: purfitan

da:m-e- gaza:la:ne khutan
sad ci:n retk dar yak girdh (p. 57)
‘The black locks of hair, full of mischief. The net for
the deers of khutan caught hundreds in one knot’.
~“
202 Language, Style and Discourse -
12. jain mi: daham az la:li labt ya:r katha:kar

lila: tu mere: nail valo: ba:1 mareyo (p. 57)
‘With thy ruby lips say something o love! Come with me, .
I'll die for thee’.
In the examples (10) and (11) only a few words are Kashmiri»
and the the whole expression is very difficult to understand.
In the example (12) ‘yar katha:kar’ is Kashmiri and ‘valo: bail)
marayo’ is a radeef which is expeated in every stanza.
13. ai mahi arz-o- a:sma:n aphro:z

makbu:l kaA:cha:n chuy shab-e- ro:z
phe:ro:ziyat ro:z-e- aphzu”: ba:d (Maqbool)
In this stanza only ‘ka:cna:n chuy (‘desires’) is Kashmiri:
14. sar siikh-e- midjga:n kaba:b jigar

gatsha:n khasith pa:nay chi bar yakdigar (Akram Baqal)»
‘The sharp arrows of thy tentalizing eyes roast the lean,
layers of hearts, like Kababs on burning rods’.
15. saza:vair za:tas sana: be:shuma:r
baha:r-e- jahad: ha:vem a:shka:r
chu khala:kh makhlu:k dar ka:yaha:t
ditan jalva-o- za:t-e- khud dar sipba:t (Azizullah Haqani)
In the example (15) only one or two words such as ‘havem’”
and ‘chu’ are Kashmiri. The use of some Persian borrowed
lexical items looks very funny. For example, the use of ‘rozah’
in the following line:
16. a:ri reste sa:ni ro:zah chukh n2 ro:za:n ai sanam

(Maqbool):
‘O merciless one! Thou art not staying with us even for
a day’. ‘roz’ in Persian means ‘day’ Maqbool has tried
to make it look as Kashmiri by adding -ah as its suffix.
In the modern Kashmiri poetry, Persianized styles have-
developed in a different way. Instead of following the tradi-
tional’ persianized styles or attempting to create an unfemiliar -
environment, the poets have adopted and developed some-
independent styles. The poets mostly concentrate on the environ- -
Influence of Persian on Kashmiri 203..
ments around them. In the modern poetry, mostly the Persian.

lexical items and idioms are used only for making the expres-
sion more clear, natural and poetic. Attempts are being made
to make the Persian borrowed lexical items and idioms more
and more Kashmirized by the alterations in pronunciation and
by adding Kashmiri affixation. For example, consider the use
of the following italic Péfsian borrowed lexical items, idioms
and expressions:
Lt: tath shamah ro:yas votha:n yith kin’ chu ba:ze: thod
naka:b-
tambla:va:n yus kara:n phalve:y la:ven ha:vsan
‘When the veil is lifted from her radiant face,
It makes the gazar benumb’
18. dal chu ba:sa:n ja:mijam zan ta:l dith zu:ni re:ts manz
‘Under the moonlet night, the Dal Lake appears like a.
cup of wine filled to the brim’.
19. mazrital cha: k9":si vun’kes sha:mi shaphkak’' ‘khe:mi kem’
niyi thod tulith (Gulam Nabi Firaq).
‘Has anyone behold the unveiling of red veils at the time-
of dusk?’
20. ko:hi biyaba muntazir divda:r h’ath
‘The colossal mountains with deodars are waiting’.
21. kodratan kor pharshi makhmal yakhtarph
‘God has laid aside the velvety carpet’.
22. ta:rkav kor kha:mu:shi hunduy intiza:m
kha:mu:shi ber’ rd:ts hind’ t2:ri:kh ja:m (Fazil Kashmiri).
‘The twinkling stars created an atmosphere of silence’
23% gotsh dardijigras marhama: hijras vaslic a:sh getsh
‘How I pine for the healing baim to the tarnished heart!
I pine for the conversion of the pangs of separation into.
the bliss of union.’
24. yeli sho:ki vasliki zamzamuk hijruk shara:bv a:mutuy
yeli tsho:d ja:nan rahtija teli iztaru:ba a:mutuy
(Ghulam Nabi Khayal)
When you urge for union—a cup of nectar, accept pangs..
of separation—a cup of wine. For the soul’s quest for
contentment, restlessness of mind is bound to occur’
‘“
REFERENCES
Azad, Abdul, Ahad 1959. Kashmiri Zaban aur Shairi Vol.1

Srinagar: J & K Academy of Art, Culture and Languages.
Bamzai, P.N.K, 1962. A History of Kashmir, Delhi: Metro-
politan.
Koul, Omkar N. 1977. Linguistic Studies in Kashmiri, Delhi:
Bahri Publications. j
About the Editor *
Dr. Omkar N. Koul is Principal of the

Northern Regional Language Centre (CIIL)
Patiala. His other publications include
Kashmiri aur Hindi Ramakatha-Kavya_ ka
tulnatmak adhyayan (1974), Linguistic studies
in Kashmiri (1977), Punjabi phonetic reader
(Co-author, 1980). Urdu phonetic reader
(Co-author, 1980), Topics in Hindi linguistics
Vol. Il (Editor, 1981}, Language in eduction
(1980), Kashmiri : A sociolinguistic survey
(Co-author 1983), Kohistani to Kashmiri: An
annotated bibliography of Daradic languages
(Co-author, 1983). Punjabi bhasha da adhya-
pan (Editor 1983), Aspects of Kashmiri
linguistics (Co-editor, 1984), An intensive
course in Kashmiri (1985) and a number of
Papers. .
Chase Se 3 .

Language, Style and Discourse

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Language, Style and Discourse

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Language, Style and Discourse

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

About the Book ~<

Language, style and discourse is a

This volume will be quite useful for stu-

ISBN 81-7034-064-0 Rs. 130

©1986 Bahri Publications Pyt. Ltd.

First Published 1986

Rs. 120.00 $ 24.00

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any

The interpretation of terms language, style and discourse and

methods are adopted in presenting stylistic descriptions of a

‘teaching programmes, stylistics can prove helpful in the teaching

July 1986 OMKAR N, KOUL

otraswn sof are

of fs aru, griacg Pnadesse OOEN DaeAde slsah

Spin ; 1°21 Soeweeek Cotes pv of

. Stylistics and literary criticism $3

12. Stylistics and the ELT programme in India 147

1. Style is one of the most controversial and elusive terms of

2 Language, Style and Discourse

potential offers, and an individual or a social group makes a

A more vital question in this context is—how does this addi-

4 Language, Style and Discourse

suprasegmental. These layers are hierarchically organised. The

L, mother’s breast milk tears

‘Style is understood as an emphasis (expressive, affective or

8 Language, Style and Discourse

linguists would even begin to entertain the possibility that

Burgess, A., 1973. Joysprick: an introduction to the language of

Like all other modern linguistic disciplines, contrastive lingui-

‘AZ Language, Style and Discourse

language, though they are mainly restricted to literary levels..

14 Language, Style and Discourse

-enormous influence upon written ones and sentences under the

16 Language, Style and Discourse

While the native speaker with varying degrees of tolerance,

“the emphasis should be on effective communication rather

“Some areas of grammar are more important for communi-

18 Language, Style and Discourse

connection with FL teaching, this with particular reference to

Based on a special lecture delivered in the Seminar on Stylistics

‘He needs to develop a ‘sense of style’, as it is often called

20 Language, Style and Discourse

they do suggest any concrete simplifications for non-native spea-

The bilingual’s creativity! in English on a global scale, and the

pluricentricity of the English language. I will first raise a

6“CONTACT’’ IN CONTACT LITERATURES

24 Langtage, Style and Discourse

literatures, as I have stated elsewhere, are ‘‘a product of multi-

The concept of “contact literature’ is an extension of

It has already been shown that contact literatures have both

an example, “‘our national literature’, and English ‘our natio-

The experience of peoples crossing over into a second

DISCOURSAL THOUGHT PATTERN

The relationship between underlying thought patterns and

I want one of my sons to join these people and be my eyes

Achebe, then asks, ‘supposing I had put it another way. Like

I am sending you as my representative among those people—

And he rightly concludes: ‘‘The material is the same. But

There is no village in India, however mean, that has not a