Teaching Stylistics to Students of Russian

Abstract

signification.' V. V. Vinogradov defines three fields of inquiry within stylistics: first, structural stylistics or stylistics of language as a system of systems; second, the stylistics of literature; and third, the stylistics of speech, i.e., of various types of speech and how they function in society.2 These three fields, as Vinogradov and many other scholars have noted, require totally different preparation, approaches, and means of analysis.3 We shall deal here only with practical stylistics and the problems of teaching it. Theoretical stylistics might be appropriate for students who have already had rigorous training in practical stylistics, but the two do not mix well on the level, for example, of the first-year graduate student. Nearly all discussions of practical stylistics revolve around questions of content, semantics, and emotional or expressive language (Vinokur, 233). This emphasis on the emotional or expressive aspect is particularly relevant to the teaching of practical stylistics. According to D. e. Rozental', one of the best-known Soviet experts in this field, practical stylistics includes (1) general information concerning styles of language, (2) evaluation of the expressive-emotional nuances of language, and (3) synonyms (p. 21). This definition raises the question of functional styles. No matter how many subcategories we may choose to create, we will still have to agree--or come to terms-with statements like Dolezel's: Functional styles make up the most important general category of stylistics.'4 The division of speech into functional styles is a question which has received a great deal of attention. Praktieeskaja stilistika russkogo jazyka6 introduces the categories of academic style, official or business style, publicistic style, literary style, and colloquial style, but many subordinate categories can be added: colloquial-literary, literary-colloquial, poetic, epistolary--the list is long. But the question of how to teach these styles in practice to a large extent depends on the student's preparation. Unfortunately, many advanced students of Russian even in their first year of graduate study have never been introduced to the subject of stylistics. What is perhaps more to