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Section One :Style and Stylistic Analysis

1.1 Style and Stylistics

Many definitions of the word style have been proposed. The English word style is derived from the Latin word “Stilus” meaning a “pen” or a pointed stick of bone or metal used as a writing implement to inscribe wax tables. As the inscriptions produced differ according to the style used, the term was then metaphorically applied to the “different ways” in which a person can express himself in speech as well as in writing (Lucas, 1974.15; Renkema, 1993: 96).

As a general term, Lynch 2001  says that one can talk about style in artichtecture, literature , behavior, linguistics , dress, and in other fields of human activity . Though widely used, it is important to mention that there is no one a greed-upon definition of the term style due to the differences in the writers, personal preferences, judgments , and attitudes

In classical Latin, the word style means “ a man’s way of writing” and his “way of expressing” as when we talk about Shakespeare’s style or the style of Joyce.

 practical linguists and teachers of language consider style as the ability to write clearly , correctly and in a manner calculated to interest the readers ( Lucas , 1960:33). Such a definition is regarded as rigid, self-sustained, and inflexible since in the linguistic analysis, style is not something to be characterized as “good “ or “bad”..., or is confined  to written language , or to literature, or to any single aspect of language (Chapman , 1973:12).

Galperin (1977:9) defines style as the correspondence between thought and its expression. It is shown in the way sentences are arranged to convey the ideas and to get response (ibid:10). Style can also be seen as either the quality of language communicating precise emotions and the thoughts or the result of an “author’s success compelling language to conform to his made of experience”. Consequently, the term style can be seen as a rhetorical term concerned with the “embellishment of language viewed as something that hinders understanding.

Viewed from a different angle , Galperin (ibid) asserts that the term style is often used to refer to “individual style” which deals with the “peculiarities of a writer’s individual manner of using language means to achieve the effect he desires”. Similarly, Chatman (1977: 30) considers style as a “product of individual choices and patterns of choices among linguistic possibilities”. In other words, style is considered as a fingerprint since each language user has some idiosyncratic features that distinguish him from others using the same language or variety of language (ibid). According to this view , style is the reflection of the writer’s character because it reflects the writer’s own experience, education , understanding and his way of putting forward his ideas that differentiate him from others (Mustafa, 1998:17).

From another perspective, there are some definitions of style that

deal with the text itself by investigating and analyzing its linguistic features (Haynes, 1989:13). Most linguists and stylists agree that in order to identify what is distinctive in the style of a certain corpus or text, the analyst has to work out the frequencies of the features it contains and then measures these features against the equivalent features which are normal for the language in question (James,2001). Style is then measured in terms of the characteristics or in terms of deviation from the norm.

       Thus the term style is a board term which is widely used to involve techniques, methods, strategies, grammars and procedures that one may acquire (Corder, 1979:287).

       Defining style leads to the definition of stylistics as a process of literary text analysis which starts from a basic assumption that the primary interpretative procedures used in the reading of the literary text are linguistic procedures (Carter, 1982:4).

       Turner (1973:7) maintains that since linguistics is the science of describing language and showing how it works; “stylistics is that part of linguistics which concentrates on variation in the use of language often but not exclusively with special attention to the most conscious and complex uses of language in literature”.

       Chapman(1973:11) defines stylistics as the linguistic study of different styles.

1.2 Style and Literature

 Though linguistics deals with a cluster of subjects of various complex historical origin , Fowler (1966:3) suggests narrowing the field of linguistics by confiding it to learning about language through the study of literary texts, and exploring its relation with literary criticism . However there is no real standards to distinguish a verbal structure that is literary from one that is not. Only the contextual criteria can explain why the term “literature” is used at a certain time for a certain text (ibid:11).

Joos (1961:51) defines literature as “that text which the community insists on having repeated from time to time intact” . Literary style is  any written individual form of literary intent i.e, the style of an author or of a single poem or even of one isolatable passage (Riffaterre, 1959:155). Style in this sense is understood to be an emphasis added to the information conveyed by the linguistic structure, so language expresses and style stress (ibid). This means that stylistics is seen as the study of literary discourse from a linguistic orientation.  Even the morphological make – up of the term “stylistics” suggests that it is a means of linking literary criticism as well as linguistics because “style” is related to the former and “istics” is related to the latter (Widdoson, 1975:3).

When considered as a mediation between language and literature , stylistics can be used to identify and name the distinguishing features of literary texts, and to specify the generic and structural subdivisions of literature ( Bradford, 1997:1).

Literary texts are characterized by the use of a range of techniques or devices which promote defomiliarization (i.e, making strange )  (Fowler, 1996:57).Defamiliarization is the use of some strategy to force us to look and to be critical in such a way that “the old and habitual is judged as if it is new and unusual . One must speak of the ordinary as if it is unfamiliar” ( ibid).

Most of the defamiliarizing devices of modern literature involve breaking the rules i.e deviation (ibid:23).

Such a process implies the difference between the normal frequency of a feature , and its frequency in the text or corpus (Leech and Short, 1981:48) . Deviation comes out as a result of choice, whether conscious or not (Darbyshire, 1971:100). When speaking about deviation , norm should be presupposed . For Enkvist (1973:26), “norm” is considered as a “ set of patterns which we choose in accordance with their contextual relevance” . Thus when analysing features of a text  , they are compared with those of the norm in order to specify the differences.

There are two techniques of extra structuring that are important in some styles of modern literary discourse :foregrounding and parallelism.

Foregrounding , in literary works , is a process of giving special attention to elements of language which are crucial to a particular effect or meaning. This is often achieved by using them in unusual contexts or unusually in relation to “norm” of syntax, lexis, discourse, and genre.

 Parallelism , or equivalence , on the other hand, consists of the introduction and “foregrounding” of regularities in the language (Leech , 1969 : 62-9; Carter, 1981 : 281 ). By parallelism , or balance , Jakobson (1961:423) means the apportionment of invariant and variable of all levels  of linguistic forms. Such apportionment of patterned recurrences creates unique seguental meanings .

1.4 The Notion of Stylistic Marker

In the light of what has been mentioned in (3.4), stylistic analysis is seen as selective in a way that a method of stylistic analysis  must select some features and ignore others , some studies concentrate on just one feature and others on a mere handful  features (Leech and Short, 1981:69).

If the densities  of certain features are appreciably different in two texts: the studied text and differentiating norm , then these features are style markers, i.e, stylistically significant features (Enkvist, 1973:23).

The norm chosen for comparison with a text must have a definite contextual relationship with the text i.e, the norm chosen is contextually relevant as a background for the text. For example, if we read a sonnet, we are more likely to compare it with other sonnets rather than with a telephone book or a newspaper article. This matching process results in identifying , classifying , and interrelating the densities of linguistic features that make the text different from the norm. Features whose densities are significantly different in the text in comparison with the norm are style markers for the text in relation to the norm used . A change of a norm may result in a different inventory of style markers (ibid:26).

However , if the density of a given feature is roughly the same in the text and the norm, that feature is, in terms of comparison, stylistically unmarked or neutral . In other words,  the results of comparison are entirely dependent on the choice of norm , their impressions of its style will be different (ibid:23).

 A question which may arise is how to select the features? It is assumed that stylistics investigates the relation between the writer’s artistic achievement and how it is achieved through language . It studies the relationship between the significance of a  text , and the linguistic characteristics in which they are manifest . This implies two criteria of relevance for the selection of stylistic features: a literary criterion and a linguistic criterion . These two criteria coverage in the concept of foregrounding.

By combining literary discrimination and linguistic discrimination in this way , the concentration is laid to those particular features of style which call for more investigation . Such prominent features of style are called style marker. (Leech and Short , 1981:69).

1.5 Some relevant Models of  Stylistic Analysis

1.5.1 Joos (1961)

Joos (1961:11) introduces four usage-scales of native central English: i) age; ii)style ; iii) breadth and ; iv) responsibility . These four scales are essentially independent ; therefore , relation among them are not identities . In other words, it is not a condition that , for example , a formal style is used by a mature person . These four scales are shown in the following table:

Table (1) the Four Usage –scales of English

Age

Style

Breadth

Responsibility

senile

Frozen

genteel

best

mature

formal

puristic

better

teanage

consultative

standard

good

child

casual

provincial

fair

baby

intimate

popular

bad

The five styles tabulated above are termed “five clocks” by Joos.

However, it is not a must that a speaker must be confine to a single style for one occasion , so it is possible to shift to another style even within the sentence. On the other hand, no two “neighbouring” styles are used alternatively and it is anti-social to shift , for example , form casual to formal , Joos, 196: 19).

Joos clarifies these five styles in the following terms :

consultative style has two defining features : i) the speaker supplies background information since he is not going to be understood without it, and ii) the addressee participates continuously . As such consultative style is the norm of communicating with strangers who speak the speaker’s language but whose personal stock of information may be different (ibid:23).

However , it is a hard work to treat the listener as a stranger in the long run . There must be a try to form a social group with him by means of using the casual style.

Casual style is used for friends , acquaintances , and those who are strangers treated as insiders. Unlike consultative style, there is an absence of background information and no reliance on the listener’s participation since the addressee will understand without such aids (ibid) . The defining features of casual style are i) ellipsis, and ii) slang.

Intimate style excludes any public information , and avoids giving the addressee information from outside the speaker’s skin ( as Joos calls it) . It is used to inform , or remind, the addressee of some unexpected feeling inside the speaker’s skin. Intimate style has two systematic features : i) extraction and ii) jargon.

Formal style is designed to inform . Its dominating character is the absence of participation which infects the speaker as well as the hearer. The speaker may speak as if he were not present avoiding words such as  “I , me, mine” , but except “one”. And as such , the speaker protects both the text and himself from involvement. The defining features of formal style is i) detachment, and ii) cohesion.

Frozen style is for people who are to remain social strangers and it is a style for print and declamation. Unlike the consultative style , it lacks participation and intonation . However, it gains two things : the reader can reread . The rereading is reconsidering the text rather than rescanning (ibid:41) and , revealing (ibid:49). Frozen style is called “ anti-formal style “ because it reverses the aims of formal style by subordinating information to involvement (ibid:50).

1.5.2 Crystal and Davy’s Model (1969)

This model offers certain dimensions of style, consisting of categories that are situationally based with reference to sets of linguistic features called “ stylistic features”. These dimensions are individuality, dialect, time, discourse , medium, province , status , modality and singularity .

Individuality refers to those permanent features of the speech or   writing habits, which identify someone as a specific person , distinguish the person from other users of the same language, or the same varity of the language . This term is also used to cover both psychological and physical personal trails which could give rise to phonetic and graphic distinctiveness of any kind (Crystal and Davy, 1969:66).

Dialect refers to features which can be used to give an indication of the person’s place of geographical origin of his location on a nonlinguistically based social scale.

The dimension of time includes temporal features of an utterance of an individual which indicate exclusively diachronic information. Such information is of primary importance in any historical study of English, both in the general sense of the development of the language as a whole , and in the particular sense of the development of the habits of a single human being (ibid).

Discourse includes two types variability in language :i) medium which can be either  speech or writing , and ii) participation in the language event which can be monologue or dialogue (ibid).

Province features identify an utterance with those variables in an extra –linguistic context which one defined with references to the kind of occupational or professional activity being engaged in . For example , the language of public worship advertising, science, or low (ibid:71).

The term status is related to different factors as formality, informality , respect , politeness, deference , intimacy , kinship relations , business relations and  hierarchic relations in general.

 The dimension of modality allows a description of the linguistic features which are correctable with the specific purpose of an utterance which leads the user to adopt one feature rather than another , and   to produce spoken or written format of his language which may be given a descriptive lable (ibid).

Singularity is a cover –term for those personal and occupational features which are only related to individual user . In other words, it describes those linguistic and idiosyncratic features which are regarded as markers of an authorship if they appear in a person’s usage . Therefore , there is a contrast between singularity and personality in the sense that the former is relatively continuous , permanent, and  not to be manipulated in short or nonlinguistic, whereas the latter is short, temporary , and manipulatable (ibid:76).

Additionally, there are some situational categories that must be distinguished within each dimension , such as formal, informal  legal, religious, etc. (ibid:82) .These categories are in turn called “stylistic features” which correlate with the distinctiveness of a situation and operate at some or all of the phonological, grammatical , and lexical level (ibid:83).

1.5.3 Enkvist’s Model (1973)

Enkvist (1973:17) states that one way of defining styles is by regarding them as variations that correlate with contexts and situations like Crystal and Davy, Enkvist (ibid) sheds light on other variations as temporal, regional , social dialect as well as ideolect . He introduces the term “linguistic diatype” to include all the different subvariations mentioned above.

Style means differences since it is defined as a variety of language. Such differences can be analysed and described  in terms of comparison . The comparison is important to show ranges of linguistic variation in specific situation, and in each situation the recipient of a message has some exceptions about the massage i.e, it has a certain type of situation /bound language . If the expectations are fulfilled, the message has conformed to the style usually associated with the situation and the message has a high stylisticality. If they are disappointed, the message departs from  the  usual style and has a low stylisticiy (ibid:22).

 

1.5.4 Galperin’s Model (1977)

This model shows that differentiation exists in literary language due to the differences in the actual situations in which language is used and the aims of communication (Galperin , 1977:48).

Consequently , there are two varieties of literary language : the spoken and written . The spoken language is considered primary and the written secondary simply because the speaker may use other means in addition , such as intonation, gestures , and tones in his voice quality in order to give the utterance some kind of melody and to effect its general meaning. The spoken language involve the presence of speaker /interlocutor whereas the written varity presupposes the absence of both simply because the speaker cannot view language from outside and there must be an interlocutor to react whereas in the written variety , the speaker can look upon his utterance objectively with an opportunity to correct  and improve his variety before it reaches to the interlocutor (ibid).

Stylistics tries to analyse the expressive means and stylistic devices of the language which are based on some significant structural point in an utterance , whether it consists of one sentence or a string  of sentences . The utterances are patterned as neutral or non stylistic as the sentences are patterned as simple , compound or complex. Such patterns are called as “stylistic patterns” since they help to establish the norm of syntactical usage . Such patterns are viewed as variants of the general syntactical models of the language i.e, syntax is not a new material that is coined but new relation i.e, a definite combination of grammatical forms . (ibid:191).

Galperin defines the term “utterance” as a stylistic term to be a means to denote a certain span of speech in which coherence, interdependence of the elements , one definite idea , and the purport of the writer may be observed (ibid).

To achieve the purport of the writer , which is to make the desired impact on the reader, the syntactical units are connected to achieve the desired effect and it is often by the manner they are connected that the desired effect is served (ibid).

1.5.5 Leech and Short’s Model (1981)

Leech and short (1981: 11-12) limit the domain of style to written literary texts because they are the best representatives of their author, period and it is possible to see how language serves a particular artistic function . As a relational term , style reflects the person who use the linguistic habits; the way language is used ; the period , genre, school of writing or some combination of these.

Generally , looking at style in a text , one is not interested in choices in isolation but at a pattern of choices which belongs to the text as a whole i.e, a chosen feature must be seen in relation to other features , “against the background of the pervasive tendency of preferences in the text (ibid:42).

The process of measuring style is to find out what is distinctive about the style of a certain corpus or text and to work out the frequencies of the features it contains and then to measure the figures against equivalent figures which are normal. Therefore, style is to be measured in terms of deviations either higher or lower frequencies from the norms (ibid :43).

Since the ideal of a completely objective description of style is a myth , the norm is not an absolute norm but a relative one . So, the process of measuring style is to compare the corpus  whose style is under scrutiny with one or more comparable corpuses . (ibid:51).There are as many measures as there are relative norms .( ibid:53).

Within the relative norm, which determine the more general expectation of language , there is a secondary norm which is attained by stylistic consistency in that text (ibid:55). Then appears the phenomenon of internal deviation in a text through which the features of language within that text may depart from the norms of that text. Such phenomenon explains the prominence of an ordinary , even banal piece of language which seems to gain its impact from the context in which it is found.

But how the frequency of a particular feature can be determined ? Leech and Short (1981:66) present two ways: either by working out the number of times it occurs per x,   where x is some standard general measure including the features being counted ; as counting the number of nouns per words not per sentence, or to express the frequency in terms of the ratio of occurrences of one category to occurrences of another . The categories to compare are ones which are immediately in contrast with  another ,as comparing the ratio of nouns to adjectives (ibid).

 

1.6 Discussion of the Previous Models of Stylistics

All the models discussed in this chapter tackle the important notion style, though from different perspectives. Crystal and Davey (1969) concentrate on the language of conversation , unscripted commentary, religion, newspaper reporting and legal documents only. Enkvist (1973) emphasise that any stylistic feature must be compared with a certain norm, whether textual or extratextual.

Leech and Short(1981) is the most relevant model to this study  which, in turn, draws on the previous models cited in subsection(1.5.5).

Section Two: Sentence Length and Complexity

2.1 The Notion Sentence

       Although native speakers of English know intuitively what a sentence is and how to use it, the term sentence is difficult to define neatly. Crystal (1971:200) concludes that it is highly that there will ever be best definition of a term like sentence.      

A sentence can be defined as a group of words, or in some cases a single word, which expresses a statement, a command or an expression of wish, a question, or an exclamation (Onions,1965:3):

      (2.1 )

I am an engineer. (Statement )

Speak ! ( Command )

How do you do? (Question )

How it thunders! ( Exclamation)

 However, the two chief components necessary to every grammatically complete sentence are the subject and the predicate. The subject of the sentence names the person, the place, the thing or the condition which the sentence is talking about by means of the predicate. The predicate is that part of the sentence that asserts or tells something about the subject (Jespersen,1933:110  ; Palmer, 1974:55).

       The Structuralists define the sentence as a statistic linguistic entity, i.e., “an independent form not included in any larger form” or “the minimal independent grammatical term”. (Bloomfield, 1933:170).

       Similarly, Crystal’s Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics (1997:347) thinks that the sentence is “the largest structural unit in terms of which the grammar of a language is organized”.

       Quirk et al. (1985:47) hold that the sentence is the highest ranking unit of grammar and that the purpose of a grammatical description of English is to define, by means of whatever description apparatus may be necessary (i.e. rules, categories etc.), what counts as grammatical sentence in English.

       2.1.1 Simple Sentence

Quirk et al. (1985:47) define the simple sentence as the sentence that consists of a single independent clause and use the term multiple sentence to subsume both complex and compound sentences.

Sentences is classified into three types (ibid: 987): simple which consists of a single clause, in which each of its elements (subject, verb, object, adverbial . . . etc.) is realized by a sub-clausal unit, i.e., a phrase:

You can borrow my car. (SVO)

       Simple sentences may be divided into four major stylistic types:

I.Declaratives are sentences in which the subject is overt and generally precedes the verb:

( 2:2) Pauline gave Tom a digital watch for his birthday. (SVO1O2PP)

II. Interrogatives are sentences that are formally marked in one of two ways:

i.Yes-no interrogatives: the operator is placed in front of the subject:

(2:3 )Did Pauline give Tom a digital watch for his birthday?

ii.Wh-interogatives: the interrogative wh-element is positioned initially:

(2:4 ) What did Pauline give Tom for his birthday?

III. Imperatives are sentences which normally have no overt grammatical subject, and whose verb has the base form:

       (2:5 ) Give me a digital watch for my birthday.

IV. Exclamatives are sentences which have an initial phrase introduced by what or how, usually with subject-verb order:

       (2:6 ) What a fine watch he received for his birthday!

      

2.1.2. Compound Sentence

       A compound (double or multiple) sentence can be defined as two or more sentences joined by a conjunction or coordinator (Eckersly & Eckersly, 1972:319). Each of the sentences composing the compound sentence can stand independently e.g.,

    (2.7 )

     a. I am teaching you English and you are listening to me.

     b. Do you understand that or is the point still not clear?

Sentences like these are called compound , double or, multiple sentences.

                  

Leech and Svartvik (1994:266) states that in coordination, equivalent units are linked by and , or but. So, coordination is realized in terms of coordinated phrases as well as clauses.                                                                      

       Crystal (1996:3 )  maintains that it is a sentence with two (or more) main clauses joined by co-ordination conjunction in the same way as the separate parts of a single clause can be. All of the clauses making up the compound sentence are co-ordinate, i.e., equal in rank.

       In compound sentences the subject or the auxiliary verb, or both, may be omitted in the second clause if they are the same as those in the first clause, e.g.,

     (2:8)

     a. The sun is shining and the birds are singing.

 

2.1.3 Complex Sentence

       According to Palmer (1972:79)complex sentence is a way in which two sentences may form a large sentence when one of the sentences functions as part of the other.

       A complex sentence consists of only one main clause plus one or more subordinate clauses :

      

(2:9 )

       She telephoned while you were out.

             MC                        SC                           

Subordination is known by different names like rank-shifting, downgrading and more recently embedding , when one sentence is embedded in another. The traditional grammars referred to this as subordination and talked about the embodied sentence as a subordinate clause. Embedding is of incorporating a clause within another clause (Poole,1999:89). Sentences found in literary prose are characterized by several bound clauses, often-embedded one within another (Wright and Hope,1996:140).

2.2 Clause Functional Types

Adjective Clauses

Adjective clauses (sometimes called attributive clauses or relative clause) qualify nouns. The noun qualified is usually called the antecedent and the relative clause follows the antecedent, e.g.,

That is the house that I would like to buy.

The antecedent is the noun which the relative pronoun refers back to like:

      (2: 10)

The car which crashed into the tree was totally wrecked.

The tree which the car crashed into was an oak

Sometimes the adjective clause divides the main clause, e.g.,

     (2: 11)

      The house that I would like to buy is not for sale.

     An adjective clause is basically introduced by a relative pronoun (that, which, who, etc.).

       Adjective Clauses can be divided to defining intransitive and non-defining Clauses (or non-restrictive).

If the adjective clause is a necessary part of the idea, it is a defining one:

    (2: 12 )

     a.  The student who answered the question was John.

     b. The book which you lent me was interesting.

 Both these clauses define the antecedent and give it its definite connotation; they indicate which student out of a number of students, which book out of thousands of books. So clauses of this type are called defining clauses.

If the adjective clause could be omitted and the rest of the sentence would still perfectly understood , then it is a non-defining one :

(2. 13 )

Bernard Shaw, who wrote Pygmalion, died in 1950.

My brother, who had been on a visit to Jordan, arrived at    

        Baghdad yesterday..

 The adjective clauses here are a kind of parenthesis, a causal remark, an aside or an explanation. They could be written between brackets or dashes, e.g.

     (2. 14 )

      a.  Bernard Shaw( who wrote Pygmalion) died in 1950.

      b. My brother, who had been on a visit to Jordan- arrived at      

          Baghdad yesterday.

 Relative Clauses Introduced by other Words (when,  where, why)

       Adjective clauses are introduced by who, whom, which, and that as well as where, when, why if these words have the meaning in which, at which, for which, etc., e.g.

     (2.15 )

     a. The place where Macbeth met the witches was a desolate health.

b.I remember the day when she first wore that pink dress, I know the    

   reason why he was so angry.

In the above examples the adjective clause is a defining one; but when and where can also introduce non defining clauses, e.g., 

     (2. 16)  

       a. We will put off the picnic until next week, when the   

       b. weather may be better.

Other words used to introduce adjective clauses are but and as. For example, a noun is a negative sentence is sometimes qualified by an adjective clause introduced by but:

     (2. 17 )

     There’s not a man here but would like to be in your place.

After same and such an adjective clause is usually introduced by as, e.g.,

     (2.18)

I shall be surprised if he does this the same way as I do.

2.2.  Adjective Clauses with Formal Subject ‘It’

       Sometimes a part of a sentence is given front position and is introduced by it is (or some other form of the verb to be singular number) and followed by an adjective clause, e.g.

     (2.19)

       It is work that we want, not charity.

2.  Noun Clauses

        A noun clause is one which does the work of a noun. It may be:

1. The object of a verb, e.g.

(2. 20 )

George said (that) he was pleased to welcome our        

      Italian friends.

This is the most usual function.

An object clause, i.e., a noun clause that is the object of a verb may be:

a statement,  direct or indirect, e.g.,

(2.21)

a.  He said, ‘The matter will be settled tomorrow’.

     b.  He told me (that) the car had been crushed.

a question, direct or indirect, e.g.

(2.22)

a. He said, ‘Where do you live?’

b. He asked me where I lived.

c. Can you tell me what the time is?

The subject of a verb, e.g.,

 (2: 23)

What you are ding seems very difficult.

A subject noun clause always precedes its principal clause. The verbal predicate of subject clauses is almost always the verb to be or a verb with a similar meaning.

The object of a preposition, e.g.,

(2: 24)

He only laughed at what we said.

The complement of a verb, e.g.,

(2: 25)

The problem is that he does not really study.

In apposition to a noun, e.g.,

(2: 26)

The fact that the prisoner was guilty was plain to      

        everyone.

6.Used with a number of predicative adjectives, like certain, glad, sorry, etc.,

     (2: 27)

      I am certain that I shut the door.

4. Adverb Clauses

Adverb clauses do the work of adverbs. The main types of adverb clauses are those of manner, place, time, reason, purpose, concession, comparison, condition and result.

Manner, which indicate how an action is done, e.g.,

(2. 28)

Henry did the work as it ought to be done.

       Adverb Clauses of manner are usually introduced by the conjunctions as, as if, as though, followed by a past subjunctive, e.g.,

(2. 29)

 You look as if (= as you would look if) you had seen a ghost.

Place, which indicate where an action was done, e.g.,

(2. 30)

Fools rush in where angles fear to tread.

Time, which indicate when an action was done. These clauses can be introduced by a number of conjunctions, e.g., when, while, after, before, until, since, as, as soon as.

(2. 31)

She learned English before she came to England.

Reason (or Cause), which indicate why an action was done. These clauses are generally introduced by because, since, as, seeing that, now that, e.g.

      (2.32 )

     He sold the house because it was too small.

(2.33)

 Since /as/ seeing that /now that/ you won’t help me, I must clean the house myself.

Clauses beginning with as, since, seeing that, usually precede the principal clause; those beginning with because usually come after it, e.g.,

(2.34 )

 As my mother is away at present, I have a great many extra jobs to do.

(2.35 )

 I have a great many extra jobs to do because my mother is away at present.

5. Purpose. These clauses are usually introduced by so that,  in order that, and the somewhat archaic lest (modern: for fear that; so that . . . not).

(2.36)

Some people eat  so that they may live.

(2. 37)

Our soldiers risk their lives in order that we live safely.

6.Concession (meaning ‘I concede that . . .’  , ‘I grant that . . .’). These clauses are introduced by though, although, even though, occasionally by even if, wherever, whenever, however + adjective), whether . . . or not, no matter whether . . . or not, e.g.,

(2.38)

     Though(although) he tried hard, he was not successful.

     (2.39 )

     However rich people are, they always seem anxious to make more money.

Comparison. These clauses can be expressed by one of the following : so, such, as in the principal clause), than (preceded by a comparative in the principal clause), e.g.,

  (2.40)

 She can’t run as/so fast as he can.

(2.41)

 I can’t cook as well as my mother can.

Another type of comparative clause has the construction ‘The . . .  comparative . . .  the . . . comparative’, e.g.,

(2.42 )

 The more you work, the more you earn.

Condition (or Supposition), which indicate on what condition a thing happens, happened or will happen. These clauses are introduced by the conjunctions if, unless(= if not), whether, as long as, or that (after supposing, provided, on condition)e.g.,

(2.43)

I shall go if you asks  me.

(2. 44)

I shan’t come unless she needs me.

Result. A clause of simple result is introduced by so that , e.g.,

(2.45 )

I received my wages yesterday, so that I can now pay what I owe you.

This construction differs from the similar construction introducing a clause of purpose, in that it is not followed by may, might or should.

A clause of result associated with degree is introduced by so . . . that, such . . . that or so . . . as to , e.g.,

    (2.46 )

 The rain was so heavy that we stayed at home.

2.3 Clause Types: Verb Element

       Analysed by structural type,Quirk et al (1972: 722) ), Leech and Sartvik (1994:249)  there are three main classes:

 Finite clause: a clause whose V element is a finite verb phrase, e.g.,

(2. 47 )

Jack has visited London.

Because Jack is teaching, he. . .

Non-Finite clause: a clause whose V element is non-finite verb phrase, e.g.,

(2.48)

Having cleaned the rooms, she. . .

For Jack to solve the problem was a . . .

Verbless clause: a clause containing no V element (but otherwise generally analysable in terms of one or more clause elements)

(2. 49)

Although always helpful, Marry . . .

Marry, then in London, was . . .

All these types may themselves have subordinate clauses which are finite, non-finite, or verbless. The following example includes verbless clause which has a finite clause within it:

     (2. 50 )

      Although always helpful when her mother was a way,she . ..

       The finite clause always contains a subject and a predicate, except in the cases of commands and ellipsis , e.g.,

   (2. 51)

    a. Be careful

b.Jack was the winner in 2001, and John (was the winner) in    

   2002.

 In contrast, non–finite clauses can be constructed without a subject, and usually are. Quirk et al (1982:310) distinguish four classes of non-finite clause:

Infinitive with to

without subject like: The best thing would be to tell every   

    body the  truth.

with subject like: The best thing would be for you to tell        

    everybody the truth

2.Infinitive without to

without subject like: All he did was put it on the table.

with subject like: Rather than Mary do it, I’d like to give the job to Lucy.

3–ing participle

without subject like: Leaving the chicken, he ate the cake.

With subject like: Her mother having left the house, they    

helped Mary in her duties.

4–ed participle

without subject like: Fulled with smocking, I left the place.  

b.with subject like: They left the office and went home, the job finished.

According to Crystal (1996:1)    ) Non-finite subordinate clauses can be divided to three types; one for each of the non-finite forms of the verb:

1.Infinitive clauses which have nominal , adjectival and adverbial functions , e.g.

    (2: 52 )

     a. To have a successful career was their goal. (nominal: S)

b. I hope to see you next week. (nominal : dO)

c. The chairmen called a meeting to discuss the report. (adverbial: A of purpose)

There are several interesting conclusions to be found in the report. (adjectival: postmodifier of noun)

2–ing-clauses which have nominal, adjectival and adverbial functions

     (2.53)

Skiing in the mountains is great fun. (nominal:S)

The firemen stopped smoking pot. (nominal: dO)

The car coming down the road belonged to Jacob. (adjectival: postmodifier of noun)

They were getting bored with lunching with the same people every day. (nominal: complement of preposition)

Having discussed the matter, the board made its decision. (adverbial: A of time)

2.Past participle clauses which have adverbial and adverbial functions.

     (2.54)

The house is near a lake surrounded by beautiful hills. (adjectival: postmodifier of noun)

When asked to contribute, she gave them a piece of her mind. (adverbial: A of time)

 

Section Three: Data Selection and Analysis

3.1 Introduction

       This section is specified to presenting the procedure of data selection and its stylistic analysis by means of statistics to explore the possibility of getting at objective inferences based on solid linguistic evidence.

The data consists of two short stories, one written by Virginia Woolf (1919): Kew Gardens and one by Katherine Mansfield: The Little Girl (1912) .The selection of these two writers has been motivated by the following considerations:

1.They are well-known. Contemporaneous writers of short stories in English, belonging to the same generation and literary age;

2.They also show special interest in the use of the stream of consciousness as a narration technique.

3.2 General Themes of the Data

       Virginia Woolf's short story (Kew Gardens)  is a descriptive short story that offers a panoramic sketch of Kew Gardens revolving around an oval flower toed with its colourful petals and leaves stirred by the breeze. Around this flower bed, we can see the figures of men, women, and children visiting the garden and moving here and there among the flowers, insects, and trees.

The first couple described are Simon and his wife Eleanor, accompanied by her two children: Caroline and Hubert. Simon remembers how fifteen years ago he came to this same garden with Lily and sat by the lake. He also remembers how he begged Lily to marry him, but she refused. He tells his wife about this past story and the wife shows considerate understanding. She also tells her husband how she used, twenty years before, to come to this very place to paint water-lilies; and how she was once kissed on the back of her neck by an old gray-haired woman.

Then the description shifts to a snail trying to move in the oval flowerbed. Two men, one young and one old come to the flowerbed, and the older man discusses the flow of the great number of spirits of those men who are killed daily because of the on-going war. He also remembers his trip as a young man to the forests of Uruguay with a beautiful young woman. The old man does all the talking, making a lot of gestures. These two men are followed by two elderly women who are eavesdropping and scrutinizing the old man’s gestures, unable to catch his words. The two women then stop at the oval flowerbed, look at the plants, and decide to go and have some tea in the garden’s café.

Another couple, a young man and a young woman, are described next. They sit together, hand in hand, at the same flowerbed. Then, they, too, decide to go and have some tea.

The description then goes back to the flowerbed, the blue vapor, the heat, birds, butterflies, palm house, the drone of the flying airplanes, and the shapes of men, women and children spotted upon the horizon. There were human voices of passions and desires, omnibuses, motors, city murmurs as well as myriads of flowers, flashing their colours into the air.

 

Mansfield’s Short Story (The Little girl) explores what goes on in the mind of Kezia, the little girl who has developed the childishly wrong impression that her father is a figure to be feared and avoided though every morning the father is keen to come into the nursery room and kiss her goodbye before going to work. Her dread is renewed when he returns home from work in the evening, and she is required to pull off his boots. She stutters whenever he addresses her. The objects she carries at his presence, such as the tea cups or spectacles, shake as her hands jog like that of an old lady. She sees him as a fearful giant with big hands, neck, mouth and a load voice.

A week before her father’s birthday, her grandmother advises her to make him a pincushion for a present out of a piece of yellow silk. Kezia indulges in work and innocently stuffs the pincushion with her father’s personal papers shredding them into pieces. When her mistake is discovered, her father punishes her with a ruler.

So, to Kezia, her father was a quite dreadful person, not as good as the father of their neighbours, the Macdonalds, whose children have been watched by her as they play with their father in the garden and freely “turn the hose on him.”

One day, her mother falls ill and goes down town with her grandmother while Kezia is left alone at home with her father. When she sleeps at night, she sees nightmares and makes up shivering only to see her father beside her bed, with a candle in his hand. She tells him of her nightmare and he takes her into his arm and lets her sleep beside him in his bed. There, Kezia sees for the first time that her father is not so big and fearful after all, and realizes her childish mistake, feeling that her father has a really big heart.

3.2.2 Styloanalysis of Woolf’s Short Story Kew Gardens

This story consists of (91) sentences of different lengths, the shortest of which consists of ( 1 ) lexical items, and the longest contains (96 ) lexical items. The whole story consists of (2743 ) lexical items. Out of the total (91 ) sentences, twenty six sentences  have a range of (1 - 9_) lexical items only, comprising ( 136 ) of the whole text. Significantly, twenty six of these sentences are either direct or indirect speeches. This suggests that speech presentation in this story is particularly expressed  via the shortest sentences. The remaining short sentences are either descriptive or narrator comment.

(17) sentences are the longest in the text, consisting of (720) lexical items of the whole text. One  sentence of them contains more than (100) lexical items.

The remaining  medium size sentences- those consisting of (10-48) lexical items each comprise the greater portion of the text, both in terms of sentence. This suggests a preference for medium-size sentences. The previous mentioned results are outlined in Table (1 ) below:

 

Table (1 ):

Sentence Number and Length in Virginia Woolf's Kew Gardens

S.No

No.of W

%

S.No

No.of W

%

S.No

No.of W

%

S.No

No.of W

%

1

68

2.48

27

12

0.43

53

43

1.56

79

6

0.22

2

43

1.56

28

49

1.78

54

31

1.13

80

145

5.28

3

51

1.86

29

4

0.14

55

34

1.24

81

9

0.33

4

57

2.07

30

48

1.75

56

25

0.91

82

73

2.66

5

32

1.16

31

56

2.04

57

48

1.75

83

53

1.93

6

38

1.38

32

56

2.04

58

28

1.02

84

4

0.14

7

37

1.34

33

47

1.71

59

24

0.87

85

96

3.50

8

23

0.84

34

29

1.05

60

24

0.87

86

62

2.26

9

10

0.36

35

6

0.22

61

13

0.47

87

42

1.53

10

20

0.73

36

60

2.18

62

22

0.80

88

1

0.03

11

24

0.87

37

47

1.71

63

62

2.26

89

2

0.07

12

35

1.27

38

21

0.76

64

37

1.35

90

28

1.02

13

47

1.71

39

28

1.02

65

13

0.47

91

60

2.18

14

29

1.05

40

24

0.87

66

48

1.75

 

 

 

15

7

0.25

41

11

0.40

67

6

0.22

 

 

 

16

5

0.18

42

55

2.005

68

1

0.03

 

 

 

17

7

0.25

43

23

0.84

69

5

0.18

 

 

 

18

16

0.58

44

1

0.03

70

7

9.25

 

 

 

19

8

0.29

45

1

0.03

71

4

0.14

 

 

 

20

5

0.18

46

3

0.10

72

4

0.14

 

 

 

21

18

0.65

47

22

0.80

73

9

0.33

 

 

 

22

23

0.84

48

19

0.69

74

8

0.29

 

 

 

23

10

0.36

49

26

0.94

75

16

0.58

 

 

 

24

4

0.14

50

54

1.97

76

25

0.91

 

 

 

25

30

1.09

51

49

1.78

77

98

3.57

 

 

 

26

11

0.40

52

32

1.16

78

2

0.07

 

 

 

 
3.2.3 Styloanalysis of Mansfield’s Short Story The Little Girl

Finally, the analysis moves to Mansfield’s short story. This short story consists of (106) sentences of different lengths, the shortest of which consists of (2 ) lexical items, and the longest contains (59 ) lexical items. The whole story consists of (1431 ) lexical items. Out of the total (106 ) sentences, thirty one sentences  have a range of (1 - 9_) lexical items only, comprising ( 253 ) of the whole text. Significantly,( 26) of these sentences  are either direct or indirect speeches. This suggests that speech presentation in this story is particularly expressed via the shortest sentences. The remaining ( 14) short sentences are either descriptive or narrator comment.

( 1) sentence is the longest in the text, consisting of ( 59 ) lexical items. No sentence of them contains more than(100) lexical items . 

The remaining  medium size sentences- those consisting of (10-48) lexical items each comprise the greater portion of the text, both in terms of sentence. This suggest a preference for medium-size sentences. The previous mentioned results are outlined in Table (2 ) below:

Table (2):

Sentence Number and Length in Mansfield's The Little Girl

S.No

No.of W

%

S.N

No.of W

%

S.No

No.of W

%

S.No

No.of W

%

S.No

No.of W

%

1

13

0.90

27

13

 

53

3

0.21

79

19

1.32

105

15

1.05

2

25

1.74

28

25

 

54

21

1.46

80

10

0.70

106

9

 

3

23

1.60

29

39

 

55

29

2.02

81

22

1.53

 

 

 

4

19

1.32

30

22

 

56

12

0.83

82

7

0.49

 

 

 

5

7

0.49

31

4

 

57

10

0.70

83

27

1.88

 

 

 

6

5

0.35

32

7

 

58

8

0.56

84

36

2.51

 

 

 

7

8

0.56

33

39

 

59

4

0.28

85

14

0.97

 

 

 

8

14

0.97

34

11

 

60

9

0.62

86

6

0.42

 

 

 

9

20

1.39

35

6

 

61

17

1.18

87

7

0.49

 

 

 

10

29

2.02

36

4

 

62

6

0.42

88

24

1.67

 

 

 

11

24

1.67

37

17

 

63

9

0.62

89

15

1.05

 

 

 

12

15

1.05

38

31

 

64

26

1.81

90

19

1.32

 

 

 

13

5

0.35

39

11

 

65

8

0.56

91

5

0.35

 

 

 

14

4

0.28

40

10

 

66

12

0.83

92

30

2.09

 

 

 

15

3

0.21

41

5

 

67

13

0.90

93

9

0.62

 

 

 

16

14

0.47

42

6

 

68

15

1.05

94

13

0.90

 

 

 

17

27

1.88

43

14

 

69

5

0.35

95

8

0.56

 

 

 

18

3

0.21

44

3

 

70

20

1.39

96

6

0.42

 

 

 

19

7

0.49

45

7

 

71

8

0.56

97

2

0.14

 

 

 

20

16

1.11

46

3

 

72

4

0.28

98

13

0.90

 

 

 

21

17

1.18

47

9

 

73

19

1.32

99

12

0.83

 

 

 

22

13

0.90

48

17

 

74

28

1.95

100

16

1.11

 

 

 

23

2

0.14

49

4

 

75

29

2.02

101

8

0.56

 

 

 

24

59

4.12

50

2

 

76

11

0.76

102

5

0.35

 

 

 

25

15

1.05

51

11

 

77

17

1.18

103

6

0.42

 

 

 

26

15

1.05

52

4

 

78

13

0.90

104

2

0.14

 

 

 

 

 

3.3 Sentence Complexity in the Data

3.3.1 Sentence Complexity in the Data in Woolf's Kew Gardens

Woolf's short story Kew Gardens consists of (679  ) clauses, in which  (239 ) are finite clauses. (82 )  are subordinate clauses, (102 ) coordinate clauses, (145 ) non-finite clauses, and (111 ) verbless clauses.  Significantly, the mean of multiple clauses per sentence stands at:    These figures are illustrated in Table (3 ) below:

Table (3 ):

Sentence Complexity of Woolf's Kew Gardens

S.

N.

M.

Sub.

Coor.

NP

VP

S.

N.

M.

Sub.

Coor.

NP

VP

1

14

1

2

6

5

 

45

1

 

 

 

 

1

2

6

1

1

1

2

1

46

1

 

 

 

 

1

3

8

1

2

1

2

2

47

2

1

1

 

 

 

4

6

1

 

2

2

1

48

6

1

 

3

2

 

5

5

1

1

1

1

1

49

4

1

1

1

 

1

6

4

1

1

 

 

2

50

7

1

2

1

2

1

7

6

1

2

 

3

 

51

9

1

2

1

2

3

8

4

1

1

 

1

1

52

7

1

1

1

1

3

9

2

1

1

 

 

 

53

6

1

1

 

 

3

10

3

1

 

1

1

 

54

8

1

1

 

 

6

11

4

1

1

 

1

1

55

3

 

 

 

 

3

12

9

1

2

3

3

 

56

6

1

 

 

1

4

13

6

1

3

1

 

1

57

10

1

1

5

2

1

14

7

1

 

3

1

2

58

6

1

1

2

2

1

15

1

1

 

 

 

 

59

6

1

1

 

3

1

16

1

1

 

 

 

 

60

6

1

1

 

3

1

17

1

1

 

 

 

 

61

3

 

1

2

 

 

18

4

1

1

1

 

1

62

4

1

 

 

3

 

19

2

1

 

 

1

 

63

14

1

6

1

4

2

20

1

1

 

 

 

 

64

7

1

1

2

 

3

21

3

1

 

 

1

1

65

2

1

 

1

 

 

22

6

1

 

2

1

2

66

8

1

1

1

2

2

23

2

 

 

 

 

2

67

2

1

1

 

 

 

24

2

 

 

 

 

2

68

1

1

 

 

 

 

25

3

1

 

 

1

1

69

1

1

 

 

 

 

26

2

 

 

1

 

1

70

3

1

 

 

1

1

27

2

 

1

 

1

 

71

2

1

 

 

 

1

28

7

1

2

1

1

2

72

1

1

 

 

 

 

29

4

1

 

1

 

2

73

3

1

1

 

 

1

30

6

1

 

3

1

1

74

4

1

 

2

 

1

31

10

1

3

2

2

2

75

4

1

 

2

 

1

32

10

1

1

2

3

3

76

4

1

 

1

 

2

33

7

1

1

 

 

5

77

20

1

4

5

2

6

34

5

1

1

 

2

1

78

1

1

 

 

 

 

35

1

1

 

 

 

 

79

1

1

 

 

 

 

36

11

1

3

4

1

2

80

18

1

6

7

2

2

37

11

1

 

5

4

1

81

3

1

1

 

 

1

38

5

1

1

2

1

 

82

12

1

1

3

7

 

39

3

1

1

 

 

1

83

5

1

1

3

 

 

40

5

1

 

2

 

2

84

1

1

 

 

 

 

41

5

1

 

2

2

 

85

7

1

1

2

2

1

42

13

1

5

2

2

2

86

8

1

2

1

3

1

43

5

1

 

1

1

2

87

5

1

1

2

 

1

44

1

 

 

 

 

1

88

1

 

 

 

 

1

 

S.

N.

M.

Sub.

Coor.

NP

VP

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

89

2

 

 

 

 

2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

90

5

 

 

 

2

3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

91

7

1

2

3

1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
3.3.2 Sentence Complexity in Mansfield's The Little Girl

Mansfield's short story The Little Girl consists of ( 405) clauses, in which (191) are finite clauses, (40 ) are subordinate clauses, (61) coordinate clauses, (69 ) non-finite clauses, and    ( 38 ) verbless clauses.  These figures are illustrated in Table (4 ) below:

Table (4 ):

Sentence Complexity of Mansfield's The Little Girl

S

N

M

Sub

Coor

NF

VL

S.

N

M

Sub

Coor

NF

VL

1

3

1

1

1

 

 

45

2

1

 

 

 

1

2

4

1

1

1

1

 

46

2

1

1

 

 

 

3

3

1

 

1

1

1

47

1

1

 

 

 

 

4

3

1

 

 

2

 

48

3

1

1

 

1

 

5

2

1

 

 

1

 

49

2

1

1

 

 

 

6

1

1

 

 

 

 

50

1

1

 

 

 

 

7

1

1

 

 

 

 

51

2

1

 

1

 

 

8

5

1

1

2

 

1

52

1

1

 

 

 

 

9

5

1

1

2

 

1

53

2

1

1

 

 

 

10

7

1

 

2

2

2

54

4

1

1

1

 

1

11

4

1

1

1

 

 

55

6

1

1

1

3

 

12

5

1

 

2

 

2

56

2

1

 

 

 

1

13

1

1

 

 

 

 

57

2

1

1

 

 

 

14

1

1

 

 

 

 

58

4

1

 

 

1

2

15

1

1

 

 

 

 

59

1

1

 

 

 

 

16

3

1

1

 

 

 

60

3

1

1

1

 

 

17

5

1

1

2

1

 

61

3

1

1

 

1

 

18

1

1

 

 

 

 

62

1

1

 

 

 

 

19

1

1

 

 

 

 

63

2

1

 

 

 

1

20

4

1

1

 

1

1

64

3

1

1

1

 

 

21

4

1

1

 

 

2

65

2

1

1

 

 

 

22

3

1

 

1

1

 

66

3

1

 

 

1

1

23

1

 

 

 

 

1

67

3

1

1

 

1

 

24

9

1

2

2

2

2

68

4

1

 

1

2

 

25

3

1

1

1

 

 

69

1

1

 

 

 

 

26

5

1

1

 

 

3

70

3

1

1

1

 

 

27

3

1

 

 

2

 

71

1

1

 

 

 

 

28

4

1

 

1

1

1

72

1

1

 

 

 

 

29

7

1

1

2

2

1

73

3

1

 

 

2

 

30

7

1

1

4

1

 

74

 

 

 

 

 

 

31

2

1

 

 

 

1

75

4

1

 

1

2

 

32

1

1

 

 

 

 

76

5

1

2

1

1

 

33

7

1

3

1

 

2

77

2

1

 

1

 

 

34

2

1

 

 

 

1

78

2

1

 

 

1

 

35

1

1

 

 

 

 

79

3

1

1

1

 

 

36

1

1

 

 

 

 

80

3

1

2

 

 

 

37

3

1

 

1

1

 

81

4

1

1

2

 

 

38

5

1

 

4

 

 

82

2

1

1

 

 

 

39

2

1

 

1

 

 

83

6

1

1

3

1

 

40

1

1

 

 

 

 

84

9

1

2

1

2

3

41

2

1

 

 

1

 

85

3

1

 

 

1

1

42

2

1

 

 

1

 

86

2

1

1

 

 

 

43

2

1

 

 

1

 

87

2

1

 

 

 

1

44

2

1

1

 

 

 

88

4

1

 

2

1

 

S.

N

2

Sub.

Coor.

NP

VP

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

89

2

1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

90

3

1

 

2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

91

1

1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

92

5

1

 

3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

93

2

1

 

1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

94

3

1

1

1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

95

1

1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

96

1

1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

97

1

 

 

 

 

1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

98

2

 

 

 

1

1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

100

3

1

 

1

1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

101

1

1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

102

2

1

 

1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

193

2

1

1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

104

1

 

 

 

 

1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

105

4

1

1

1

 

1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

106

2

1

 

 

 

1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Section Four: Results, Conclusions and Suggestions

 Results

       In this section, results of the analysis are set against each other and compared. The main aim of such a juxtaposition is to explore how far the differentials in the data of each short story which allow inferences about the distinctive features of their style. Another aim is to show how sentence length and complexity (i.e. form) correlate with meaning (i.e. function) used in their texts.

       This section starts with comparison of sentence length in the stories of both writers. Then, the stories are compared in terms of sentence complexity.

       Regarding the hypothesis of 1 of the study which says that there is a positive correlation between the length of a sentence and it degree of complexity . The result of the study confirms the validity of this hypothesis. The analysis of the study provides concrete evidence that the longer the sentence is, the more complex. This runs counter to the claim put forward by certain styloanalysts, which says that sentence length doesn't necessarily lead to its complexity. For example, Crystal's Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics (1997:218) maintains that there is no correlation between the length of a linguistic unit and its structural or functional complexity. This statement confirms an earlier one (Crystal, 1971:204) which says that small sentences could be expanded to apparently infinite length following certain procedures .

The correlation between sentence length and its complexity in the data is illustrated in Table 5 and the shortest sentences in the data are always the least complex ones.

 

Table (5):

The Correlation between Sentence Length and Complexity

Details

Woolf

Mansfield

The Longest Sentence

No.80

No.24

Number of Words

145

59

The Most Complex sentence

No.80

No.24

Number of Clauses

18

1

The Shortest Sentence

No.68

No.23

Number of Words

1

1

The Least Complex Sentence

No.68

No.23

Number of Clause

1

1

 

 

Concerning the second hypothesis of the study, namely, Virginia Woolf  tends to use longer and more complex sentences in her short stories , the analysis has provided positive evidence to the effect that Mansfield uses more multiple subordinate clauses than simpler sentences in her short stories.

Table (6):

Sentence Length in the Data

Details

Woolf

Mansfield

No.of Sentence

91

106

Shortest Sentences (in Words)

1

2

Longest Sentences (in Words)

145

59

Mean Sentence Length

 

 

Most Frequent Sentence Length in words)

 

 

 

References

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- Carter, K. (ed.)( 1982) Language and Literature: An Introductory Reader in Stylistics. London: Unwin Hyman Ltd.

- Chapman, R. (1973) Linguistics and Literature: An Introduction to Literary Stylistics. London: Edward Arnold.

- Chatman, S. (1971) Stylistics. N.Y, V. I.

- Crystal, D. (1996) Rediscover Grammar. London: Longman.

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- Enkvist, N.E. (1973) Linguistic Stylistics. Paris: Mouton.

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Cambridge University Press.

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- Jakobson, R. (1961) Closing Statement: Linguistics and Poetics in Sebeok T.A. 1960. Style in Language. Massachusetts: The M.I.T Press. P. 350-77.

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خلاصة البحث بالعربية

طول الجملة وتعقيدها في قصص محختارة للكاتبتين

فرجينيا وولف وكاثرين مانسفيلد

تتقصى هذه الدراسة طول الجملة في اللغة الانكليزية ضمن اطار اسلوبي باعتبارهما اثنين من الخصائص المهمة في النصوص القصصية، وعليه فانهما يمثلان حقلا كامنا للبحث والدراسة في ميدان الاسلوبية وبناءا على ذلك تتكفل هذه الدراسة من خلال تحري وظيفة طول وتعقيد الجملة القصصية استقصاء علاقتهما بالاسلوبية لكاتب عن اخر.

تهدف الدراسة الى تقصي العلاقة بين طول وتعقيد الجملة من ناحية، والاسلوب الشخصي للكاتب من ناحية اخرى. وقد اختيرت الكاتبتان فرجينيا وولف وكاثرين مانسفيلد كما اختيرت قصة قصيرة لكل منهما لغرض التحليل الاسلوبي .

ان النتائج المستحصلة  من القسم التحليلي في الدراسة تقيم الدليل على وجود فروقات اسلوبية بارزة لدى الكاتبتين في طول وتعقيد الجملة في القصص القصيرة المختارة للتحليل العملي.