Smyrnova O.M. Alliteration and assonance as phonetic stylistic devices in the context of the future primary school teachers’linguo-stylistic competence formation

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Поточна версія на 17:27, 17 липня 2013

Смирнова Ольга Миколаївна – студентка Педагогічного інституту Київського університету імені Бориса Грінченка, спеціальність «Початкова освіта», кафедра іноземних мов і методик їх навчання Київського університету імені Бориса Грінченка

У статті розглянено проблему розпізнавання, розуміння та запам’ятовування алітерації та асонансу як фонетичних стилістичних прийомів у процесі формування лінгво-стилістичної компетентності як однієї із іншомовних комунікативних компетентностей майбутніх учителів початкової школи. Автор досліджує різноманітні аспекти алітерації та асонансу, а також критерії їх відбору для використання у навчальному процесі.

Ключові слова: віршування, манера виконання, алітерація, асонанс, вмотивоване повторення, комбінація подібних звуків, приголосні, голосні, стисла послідовність, специфічні ефекти, композиційні одиниці, поетика, фольклор.

В статье рассматривается проблема распознавания, понимания и запоминания аллитерации и ассонанса как фонетических стилистических приёмов в процессе формирования лингво-стилистической компетентности как одной из иноязычных коммуникативных компетентностей будущих учителей начальной школы. Автор исследует разнообразные аспекты аллитерации и ассонанса, а также критерии их отбора для использования в учебном процессе.

Ключевые слова: стихосложение, манера исполнения, аллитерация, ассонанс, мотивированное повторение, комбинация подобных звуков, согласные, гласные, сжатая последовательность, специфические эффекты, композиционные единицы, поэтика, фольклор.

The article dwells upon the problem of recognizing, comprehension and memorizing alliteration and assonance as phonetic stylistic devices in the process of the formation of linguo-stylistic competence as one of the foreign language communicative competence of future primary school teachers. The author investigates various aspects of the alliteration and assonance and also criteria of their selection for the use in teaching process.

Key words: versification, instrumentation, alliteration, assonance, motivated repetition, combination of similar sounds, consonants, vowels, close succession, specified effects, compositional units, poetry, folklore.

Problem setting

Nowadays, in Ukraine we observe the realization of a renewed strategic course in the sphere of education in the direction of improvement of the future primary school teachers whose English is fluent and who can use it as a tool in the culture dialogue and civilizations of the modern world.

The achievement of this purpose foresees the formation of students’ linguo-stylistics competence by means of a foreign language as one of the important means for training them to an intercultural communication in different spheres of life activity: personal, professional, educational, and public. It is the use of special phonetic stylistics devices, alliteration and assonance, their nature and functions, possible interpretations of additional meanings they may carry in a message as well as their aesthetic value can result in the formation of linguo-stylistic competence as one of the components of foreign language communicative competence of the future primary school teachers.

The use of phonetic stylistic devices, alliteration and assonance, as one of the effective means in the process of the formation linguo-stylistic competence of the future primary school teachers, conditions the actuality and expediency of our investigation.

Last scientific researches and publications analysis

Both home and foreign scientists give much importance to the problem of new generation of future primary school teachers training whose foreign language communicative competence has been partly formed, and who are oriented to the achievement of the mutually conditioned activity with native foreigners’ culture. The research results of scientists V. Bukhbinder, N. Galskova, Z. Nikitenko, A. Konysheva, O. Maslyko, S. Nikolayeva, G. Rogova, V. Filatov, N. Moshkyn, L. Markova, M. Mastalygina, and others prove it.

The problem of future primary school teachers training was defined in a State Curriculum “Teacher” and Curriculum for English Development in Universities and Institutes.

The essence of the stylistic analysis of the texts in the process of the formation of linguo-stylistic competence of the learners (in our case – future primary school teachers) was investigated by scientists: I. Galperin, I. Arnold, O. Valigura, L. Yefimov, T. Znamenska, Yu. Skrebnyov, D. Crystal, R. Chatman, K. Wales, N. Enkvist, and others.

Formulation of the article’s purpose

Today the majority of modern manuals and textbooks are lack of linguo-stylistic analysis of different stylistic devices (in our case – phonetic stylistic devices) that help formation of appropriate linguo-stylistic competence of the future primary school teachers.

Non-correspondence of the texts in English textbooks that were compiled by non-native home authors with the aims and objectives of the Curriculum for English Language development in universities and Institutes demand from the future primary school teachers to be creative as for means of the formation of the appropriate level of linguo-stylistic competence as one of the foreign language communicative competences, to encourage and stimulate them to independent search of texts including different phonetic stylistic devises such as alliteration and assonance.

Modernization of the content, forms and technology of the professional development of the future primary school teachers conditioned by the trespass to the European Level in the sphere of education in order to improve the professional competence of the foreign language teacher, use of special texts containing different stylistic phonetic devices including alliteration and assonance in the process of the formation of the future primary school teacher linguo-stylistic competence as one of the foreign language communicative competence, have been investigated by us a s the most important tasks of the higher educational establishments. Considering all these things, the article’s purpose relates to the investigation of the definition of alliteration and assonance, their nature, communicative functions, possibilities of interpretation of additional meanings they may carry in a message as well as their aesthetic value in the process of the formation of the linguo-stylistic competence as one of the foreign language communicative competence.

The statement of basic material of investigation

Stylistically marked phonemes do not exist. Consequently, there are no expressive means on the phonological language level. Nevertheless, specific combinations of sounds may create different speech effects and devices.

Phonetic stylistic devices belong to versification and instrumentation types.

Versification is the art of writing verses. It is the imaginative expression of emotion, thought, or narrative, mostly in metrical form and often using figurative language.

Instrumentation is the art of selecting and combining sounds in order to make utterances expressive and melodic. Instrumentation unites three basic stylistic devices: alliteration, assonance and onomatopoeia.

Alliteration is a phonetic stylistic device, which aims at imparting a melodic effect to the utterance. The essence of this device lies in the stylistically motivated repetition of similar sounds, in particular consonant sounds, in close succession, particularly at the beginning of successive words. For Example:

“The possessive instinct never stands still. Through florescence and feud, frosts and fires it follows the laws of progression.” (Galsworthy) or:

“Deep into the darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing”,

“Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortals ever dared to dream before” (E.Poe); She sells sea shells on the sea shore. Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled pepper.

Alliteration, like most phonetic expressive means, does not bear any lexical or other meaning unless we agree that a sound meaning exists as such. But even so we may not be able to specify clearly the character of this meaning, and the term will merely suggest that a certain amount of information is contained in the repetition of sounds, as is the case with the repetition of lexical units.

However, certain sounds, if repeated, may produce an effect that can be specified.

For example, the sound [m] is frequently used by Tennyson in the poem “The Lotus Eaters” to give a somnolent effect. “How sweet it were To lend our hearts and spirits wholly To the music of mild-minded melancholy; To muse and brood and live again in memory.”

Therefore alliteration is generally regarded as a musical accompa¬niment of the author’s idea, supporting it with some vague emotional atmosphere which each reader interprets for himself. Thus the repeti¬tion of the sound [d] in the lines quoted from Poe’s poem “The Raven” prompts the feeling of anxiety, fear, horror, anguish or all these feelings simultaneously.

Sometimes a competent reader, if unable to decipher the implied purpose of the alliteration, may grow irritated if it is overdone and be ready to discard it from the arsenal of useful stylistic devices.

An interesting example of the overuse of alliteration is given in Swinburne’s “Nephelidia” where the poet parodies his own style:

“Gaunt as the ghastliest of glimpses that gleam through the gloom of the gloaming when ghosts go aghast.”

When the choice of words depends primarily on the principle of alliteration, exactitude of expression, and even sense may suffer. But when used sparingly and with at least some slight inner connection with the sense of the utterance, alliteration heightens the general aesthetic effect.

Alliteration in the English language is deeply rooted in the traditions of English folklore. The laws of phonetic arrangement in Anglo-Saxon poetry differed greatly from those of present-day English poetry. In Old English poetry alliteration was one of the basic principles of verse and considered, along with rhythm, to be its main characteristic. Each stressed meaningful word in a line had to begin with the same sound or combination of sounds.

The repetition of the initial sounds of the stressed words in the line, as it were, integrates the utterance into a compositional unit. Unlike rhyme in modern English verse, the semantic function of which is to chain one line to another, alliteration in Old English verse was used to consolidate the sense within the line, leaving the relation between the lines rather loose. But there really is an essential resemblance structural¬ly between alliteration and rhyme (by the repetition of the same sound) and also functionally (by communicating a consolidating effect). Alli¬teration is therefore sometimes called initial rhyme.

The traditions of folklore are exceptionally stable and alliteration as a structural device of Old English poems and songs has shown remark¬able continuity. It is frequently used as a well-tested means not only in verse but in emotive prose, in newspaper headlines, in the titles of books, in proverbs and sayings, as, for example, in the following:

Tit for tat; blind as a bat, betwixt and between; It is neck or nothing; to rob Peter to pay Paul; or in the titles of books:

“Sense and Sensibility” (Jane Austin); “Pride and Prejudice” (Jane Austin); “The School of Scandal” (Sheridan); “A Book of Phrase and Fable” (Brewer).

Alliteration is often used in children’s rhymes, because it emphasizes rhythm and makes memorizing easier: Baa baa black sheep Have you any wool? Yes sir, yes sir. Three bags full.

The same effect is employed in advertising, so that slogans will stick in people’s minds: Snap, crackle and pop.

Assonance is a stylistically motivated repetition of stressed vowels. The repeated sounds stand close together to create a euphonious effect (a sense of ease and comfort in pronouncing of hearing) and rhyme: The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain. We love to spoon beneath the moon in June.

Just like alliteration, assonance makes texts easy to memorize. It is also popular in advertising for the same reason. Assonance is seldom met as an independent stylistic device. It is usually combined with alliteration, rhyming, and other devices.

Cacophony is a stylistic device that produces a sense of strain and discomfort in pronouncing and hearing: “No soul helps flesh now more than flesh helps soul” (R. Browning). It is considered to be the opposition to alliteration and assonance.

Conclusion

Summarizing, it is necessary to underline that the use of the texts containing alliteration and assonance as phonetic stylistic devices in the process of teaching a foreign language results in favourable and encouraging background for the formation and development of the linguo-stylistic competence as one of the foreign language communicative competence of the future primary school teachers.

But the problem of the correspondence of the texts embracing different stylistic devices and analysis of them that are used in teaching foreign languages is quite complicated and covers a lot of divergence in views.

On the one hand, it is much better to teach a foreign language using texts including alliteration and assonance and especially in the primary school that makes the learner’s memorizing the texts much easier.

On the other hand, such texts are too difficult and sometimes they are not adequate concerning specific tasks and conditions of the learning process.

Taking into consideration all the things that have been mentioned above, the logics gives us the perspective direction: to compile texts in manuals and textbooks that are mostly close to natural patterns, containing alliteration and assonance as effective instrumental types of phonetic stylistic devices taking into consideration their specific sound meaning, the character of this meaning, musical accompaniment of the author’s idea, exactitude of expression, a certain amount of information alliteration and assonance contain, emotional atmosphere which the learner interprets for himself/herself, aesthetic effect for effective formation of the linguo-stylistic competence of the future primary school teachers.

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