This presentation tells about publicistic style in writing, its peculiar features and characteristics. Enjoy!

1. Publicistic Style
In the English
language
Malaki Marina
3LM3

2. Functional Styles
-Is a system of interrelated language
means , which serves a definite aim in
communication
-The peculiar choice of language means is
primarily dependent on the aim of
communication, on the FUNCTION the
style performs

3. Classification of Functional
Styles by I.R.Galperin
1. The Publicistic Style
2. The Belles-Letters Style
3. The Newspapers Style
4. The Scientific Prose Style
5. The Style of Official Documents

4. General Aims
• to influence the public opinion
• to convince the reader or the listener
that the interpretation given by the
writer or the speaker is the only
correct
• to cause the audience to accept the
expressed point of view.

5. Peculiarities of The
Publicistic Style
• coherent and logical syntactical structure
• expanded system of connectives (hence,
forward, inasmuch, thenceforth)
• careful paragraphing
• the use of words with the emotive
meaning
• stylistic devices are not fresh or genuine
• brevity of expression

6. Subdivisions
Oratorical
Radio and Tv
commentory
Publicistic
Style
Essays
Journalistic
Articles

7. Oratorical , Tv and Radio
- speeches on political and social problems
-orations on solemn public occasions
(public weddings, funerals, jubilees)
-radio and TV commentaries
-political speeches
-speeches in courts of law

8. Typical Features
• direct address to the audience by special
formulas : Ladies and Gentlemen!; My
Lords!; Mr. Chairman!; Honorable
Members!; Highly esteemed members of
the conference!;
• or, in less formal situation, Dear Friends!

9. Typical Features
• Calling upon the audience:
Let us then, with courage and confidence,
pursue our own federal and republican
principles

10. Typical features
• the use of the 1st person pronoun we; 2nd
person pronoun you :
We hold these Truths to be self-evident,
that all Men are created equal, that they
are endowed by their Creator with
certain unalienable Rights, that among
these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of
Happiness (Th. Jefferson, The Declaration
of Independence).

11. Typical features
• The use of contractions I’ll, won’t,
haven’t, isn’t and others:
We’re talking about healing our nation. We’re
not talking about politics. We’re all here to do
everything in our power to save lives; I’m here
to thank you for hearing that call. Actually, I
shouldn’t be thanking you, I should be thanking
a Higher Power for giving you the call (George
W. Bush).

12. Typical Features
• Asking question to reach the contact:
Sometimes it is said that man cannot be
trusted with the government of himself.
Can he, then, be trusted with the
government of others? Or have we found
angels in the forms of kings to govern
him? (Th. Jefferson)

13. Essay
Features:
- brevity of expression
• Personal approach to the subject
• a rather expanded use of connectives
• the abundant use of emotive words
• the use of similes and sustained
metaphors.

14. Shorter forms of Essays
• on philosophical, social, aesthetic or
literary subjects
• no deep examination of the subject, only
touches upon the surface
• rather a series of personal and witty
comments than a finished argument

15. Longer Forms of Essays
• reviews, memoirs, treatises
• exhaustive studies rather than actual
essays

16. Example:
• Language most shows a man; speak, that I may
see thee. It springs of the most retired and in
most parts of us, and is the image of the parent
of it, the mind. No glass renders a man’s form
or likeness so true, as his speech, and, as we
consider features and composition in a man, so
words in language. Some men are tall and
big, so some language is high and great.
Then the words are chosen, the sound ample,
the composition full, all grace, sinewy and
strong. Some are little and dwarfs; so of
speech, it is humble and low; the words are
poor and flat; the members are periods thin and
weak, without knitting or number. Ben
Johnson

17. Oratories vs. Essays
• - oratories: seek an immediate effect > use
simple, straightforward devices to
communicate the main point to the
audience at once
• - essays: seek a lasting effect >
use complex, elaborate devices to
develop a depth of meaning discernible on
close reading or rereading only

18. Journalistic Articles
• compositions of moderate length bringing
attractive information with
a commentary
• - the use of stylistic devices varies depends
on the character of the newspaper
(tabloids x quality newspapers) or
magazine (popular x scientific) and on the
subject

19. Peculiarities
• is defined by the character of newspaper,
magazine, as well as subjects chosen
• The rule of 5 Ws can be applied: Who?
What? Where? When? Why?
• Usually based on the following: proximity,
prominence, timeliness, human interest,
oddity, consequence.

20. Political Articles
• - strong reliance on
the extralinguistic context
• - rare and bookish words
• - neologisms
• - epithets (e.g. Elizabeth I of
England, ‘The Virgin Queen’)

21. Political Articles
• - puns (e.g. ‘Pie in the sky is too
colourless a phrase to describe his
final speech. It was more like caviar
in the stratosphere.’)
• - alliteration (e.g. ‘the gap between
promise and performance’)
• - irony

22. Literary Articles
• abstract words of logical meaning
• original expressions
• emotional language

23. Stylistic Devices
• But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate; we
cannot consecrate; we cannot hallow this ground.
The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here,
have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or
detract. The world will little note, nor long remember
what we say here, but it can never forget what they did
here. It is for us the living, rather, to be
dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who
fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is
rather for us to be dedicated to the great task
remaining before us; that from these honored dead we
take increased devotion to that cause for which they
gave the last full measure of devotion; that we here
highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in
vain ; that this nation, under God, shall have a new
birth of freedom and that the government of the
people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish
from the earth (A. Lincoln).

24. Stylistic Devices
• It is high time this people had recovered
from the passions of war. It is high
time that counsel were taken from
statesmen, not demagogues: It is high
time the people of the North and South
understood each other and adopted
means to inspire confidence in each other.

25. Stylistic Devices
• For Burns exalted our race, he hallowed
Scotland and the Scottish tongue. Before his
time we had for a long period been scarcely
recognized; we had been falling out of
recollection of the world. From the time of
the Union of the Crowns, and still more from the
legislative union, Scotland had lapsed into
obscurity. Except for an occasional riot, or a
Jacobite rising, her existence was almost
forgotten.

26. The technique of the three-part-list:
X,Y and Z.
signed, sealed and delivered
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
Tom, Dick, and Harry
the truth, the whole truth, and
nothing but the truth
• this, that, and the other
•
•
•
•

27. Examples:
• Governor Wallace: and I say segregation now,
segregation tomorrow, and segregation
forever.
• Abraham Lincoln: Government of the people, by
the people, for the people.
• Winston Churchill: This is not the end. It is not
even the beginning of the end. But it is perhaps
the end of the beginning.

28. Thank You!