Functional Styles

 Functional style (FS) is defined by the

Russian linguist I. Galperin as a patterned
variety of literary text characterized by the
greater or lesser typification of its
constituents, supra-phrasal units, in which
the choice and arrangement of
interdependent and interwoven language
media are calculated to secure the purpose
of the communication
Functional Style is a system of interrelated
language means, which serves a definite aim
in communication.
Each style is recognised as an independent
whole. The peculiar choice of language
means is primarily dependent on the aim of
the communication, on the function the style
performs.
Deductive and inductive approaches to
stylistic stratification of the English language.

 According to the deductive approach (from

general to specific) as criteria of classification
are the features which are not taken directly
from the speech material but are treated as
planned beforehand. Here we can define
several schemes of classification:
 classification of FS on the basis of
functions of the language (beles-lettres
style ([bel'letrə] ), oratorial style, lecturing
style);
 classification of FS on the basis of criteria
of the sphere of the usage of the language
(oral and written );
 classification of FS on the basis of 3 basic
features of differentiation (emotionality -
unemotionality, spontaneity - non-
spontaneity, normativity - abnormativity).
 According to the inductive approach to the
stratification of FS (from specific to
general) criteria of classification are not
planned beforehand but are taken from the
results of the analysis of certain language
material.
 According to such classification there are
the following styles: oratorial, colloquial,
poetic, publicist, newspaper, official,
scientific, belles-lettres style.
There exist a number of classifications of
functional styles, but the most common one
was introduced by I. R. Galperin. It includes
- the belles-lettres style,
- the publicistic style,
- the newspaper style,
- the scientific prose style,
- and the style of official documents.
1-SCIENTIFIC PROSE STYLE

The main function – to convey knowledge,

facts, results and data, obtained through
experimentation and hypotheses; to prove a
hypothesis, creating new concepts, disclosing
the internal laws of existence, development,
relations between different phenomena.
1) Paragraphs are usually well-organized. They consist
of an introduction (topic), body (amplification) and
conclusion.

2) Titles and subtitles summarize the main point /

emphasize central ideas of a paragraph or text and may
contain different graphological types (such as bold type,
italics, capitalization, spacing etc.).

3) Figures, diagrams, tables and symbols are employed to

illustrate the results, to make them clear and accurate.

4) The use of quotations, references and foot-notes.

 Vocabulary:
• objective, precise, and mostly unemotional language
means; words used in primary logical meaning

• use of terms and learned words

•stylistically neutral words in their primary logical meaning

• colloquial vocabulary is not characteristic of the style

• set-phrases and cliches which add to precision, clarity or

logical cohesion of the text: In connection with..; As it was
mentioned above..; One can observe that..; The focus of this
research is in the area of ..; Such a study is important in
order to..; The findings from this research provide evidence
that ..; The main conclusions drawn from this study are …
1) The verbs are predominantly used in three main tense
forms: Past Indefinite (to indicate past achievements and
discoveries); Present Indefinite (to imply a reference to
present
time, to give the account of scientific facts); Present Perfect
(to demonstrate well-established findings and
accomplishments).

2) The usage of the passive voice helps to achieve objectivity

of presentation: it should be pointed out, it must be
emphasized.

3) Noun phrases in scientific texts are long and compound

that contributes to precision and formality of information.

4) Adjectives and adverbs (especially adverbs of place, time,

manner, reason and result) are employed to accomplish
accuracy of description
1) Scientific prose is marked by a developed and
varied system of connectives (to indicate a
conclusion, summary or result; to provide a
concrete argument; to bind relevant information
together.

The most frequent of them are:

a) logical connectives: thus, then, therefore, etc.
b) connectives of contrast; but, yet, however, etc.
c) connectives of addition: and, or.
2) Sentences in this style are of three main sentence
patterns: postulatory, argumentative, and formulative (to
weigh evidence and draw conclusions from data).
Linguistically it is realized as hedges. Hedging is expressed
through the use of the following means, which deal with
degrees of probability:
1) Modal auxiliary verbs
2) Modal lexical verbs: to seem, to appear, to believe, to
assume, to suggest, to estimate
3) Adjectival, adverbial and nominal modal phrases: possible,
probable, un/likely, assumption, claim, possibility, estimate,
suggestion
4) Approximators of degree, quantity, frequency and
time: approximately, roughly, about, often, occasionally
5) Introductory phrases: to our knowledge, it is our view
that
7) Compound hedges: it seems reasonable/probable, it may
suggest that
 E.g. scientific prose style

 https://www.amjmed.com/article/S0002-
9343(21)00525-8/fulltext
 Example:

A snowfall consists of myriads of minute ice

crystals that fall to the ground in the form of frozen
precipitation. The formation of snow begins with
these ice crystals in the subfreezing strata of the
middle and upper atmosphere when there is an
adequate supply of moisture present. At the core of
every ice crystal is a minuscule nucleus, a solid
particle of matter around which moisture
condenses and freezes.
2-THE STYLE OF OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS

This style is not homogeneous and is

represented by four major substyles:

1-Legal Documents
2-Business Documents
3-Documents of Diplomacy
4-Military Documents
1) There are no paragraphs, the whole document is
one sentence divided into separate clauses, often
marked by commas or semicolons, and not by full
stops (to show the equality of the items, to avoid
ambiguity and cheating).

2) Punctuation marks, even full stops, are not used in

traditional legal English (to avoid misunderstanding)

3) Capitalization is highly significant (to mark the

beginning of a document or a new part of the same
document, to emphasize important words)
Vocabulary:

1) The vocabulary is highly bookish.

2) Archaic words (especially compound words with
adverbs here/there and preposition (hereunder, hereinafter)
and archaic forms (witnesseth) are still used in legal
English:

We are sending you herewith statement of your account.

All expenses connected therewith begin born by ...
Subject to General Conditions on Sale endorsed hereon ...

3) Pairs of synonyms (an English word and its French

counterpart) are common for documents: made and signed;
terms and conditions; able and willing; reasonable and
proper.
4) There is a special set of terms, phrases and clichés:
hereinafter, aforesaid, it is understood and agreed,
including without limitation, assignees and licenses,
without prejudice, as between us, solely on condition
that;

5) The use of Latin (pro rata, pari passu, ad hoc) and

French words (force majeure, amicably);

6) The use of abbreviations, conventional symbols and

marks is peculiar to the style, e.g.: C&F (Cost and
Fright), C&I (Cost and Insurance), et al. (and others),
v.v. (quite the opposite)
Grammar:
1) Noun phrases are extremely long and complex
with many modifiers in postposition

2) The most widespread tense forms are Indefinite

and Perfect Tenses.

3) Sentences in the passive voice beginning with the

introductory word it and abstract nouns are
statistically more recurrent than sentences with a
verb in the active form.

4) Non-finite forms of the verb are extensively

exploited:
Property in goods, to have passed to Buyers when
goods have been put a board
5) The modal verb shall is used in the sense of must
(to indicate obligations but not to refer to the future):
The result shall be considered ...

6) Adjectives and intensifiers are rarely used (to

avoid ambiguity)

7) Adverbs of time and place (hereto, hereby, hereto,

thereof, hereunder) are widely used (to achieve a
required precision of reference)

8) Pronouns as substitutes for nouns are quite rare (to

avoid ambiguity of reference)
Syntax:
1) Sentences are usually very long, complex and complicated
which.
2) Declarative sentences dominate in legal language.
3) Clauses are complex and complicated due to many insertions
and interruptions.
 Example:
From Laws of War: General Orders No. 100
INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF
ARMIES OF THE UNITED STATES IN THE FIELD
Prepared by Francis Lieber, promulgated by
President Lincoln, 24 April 1863.
SECTION III
Deserters - Prisoners of war - Hostages - Booty on the
battle-field.
Art. 48. Deserters from the American Army, having
entered the service of the enemy, suffer death if they fall
again into the hands of the United States, whether by
capture, or being delivered up to the American Army; and if
a deserter from the enemy, having taken service in the Army
of the United States, is captured by the enemy, and punished
by them with death.
 Example:
From Laws of War: General Orders No. 100
INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF ARMIES
OF THE UNITED STATES IN THE FIELD
Prepared by Francis Lieber, promulgated by
President Lincoln, 24 April 1863.
SECTION III
Deserters - Prisoners of war - Hostages - Booty on the battle-
field.
Art. 48. Deserters from the American Army, having entered
the service of the enemy, suffer death if they fall again into the
hands of the United States, whether by capture, or being
delivered up to the American Army; and if a deserter from the
enemy, having taken service in the Army of the United States,
is captured by the enemy, and punished by them with death.
 3-PUBLICISTIC STYLE

The publisistic style has spoken (oratory and

speeches) and written (essays) varieties.
Oratory and Speeches are often referred to as
the Oratorical Style.

Publicistic Style:
1-Essays
2-Oratory and Speeches
 Features :

• direct contact with the audience • careful paragraphing

(use of you, your, we, our) • brevity of expression
• the use of the 1st person singular due to emotional appeal:
to justify a personal approach • use of emotionally coloured
to the problem treated words
• combination of logical argumentation • imagery and stylistic devices
and emotional appeal are used but usually are not fresh
due to logical argumentation: and genuine for the audience to
• coherent and logical syntactic comprehend the message implied
structure with less effort
• expanded system of connectives
(hence, inasmuch, thenceforward,
therefore)
 Features of substyle:

• use of similes and sustained to believe firmly in, I'm

metaphors to emphasize ideas confident that
• direct address to the audience • wide use of repetition (lexical,
(Your Worship, Mr. Chairman; synonymic, syntactical) to
you, with your permission, focus on the main points
Mind!) • frequent rhetoric questions
• special obligatory forms to • use of similes and sustained
open and end an oration (Ladies metaphors to emphasize ideas
and Gentlemen; In the • contractions are acceptable
name of God do your duty)
• words expressing speaker's
personal opinion (I'm no idealist
Example:
Content for "I Have a Dream"
"I Have a Dream" has been misconstrued and sentimentalized
by some who focus only on the dream. The first half of the speech
does not portray an American dream but rather catalogues an
American
nightmare. In the manner of Old Testament prophets, Frederick
Douglass's "What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?" oration and
Vernon Johns, King excoriated a nation that espoused equality
while
forcing blacks onto "a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a
vast
ocean of material prosperity."
Example (Essay):
Women’s Liberation
1. Since the middle of the century, women around the
world have been seeking greater independence and recognition.
No longer content with their traditional roles as housewives
and mothers, women have joined together to create the
women’s liberation movement. While the forces behind the
international
movement vary from culture to culture and from
individual to individual, the basic causes in the United States can
be traced to three events: the development of effective birthcontrol
methods, the invention of labor-saving devices for the
home, and the advent of World War II.
4-NEWSPAPER STYLE

English newspaper style may be defined as a system of

interrelated lexical, phraseological and grammatical means as a
separate unity that basically serves the purpose of informing and
instructing the reader. It goes without saying that the bulk of the
vocabulary used in newspaper style is neutral and commonly literary.
But apart from this, newspaper style has its specific vocabulary
features, which are presented in the chart below.
Its basic genres, which can be classed as follows:
Newspaper Style
Headlines Articles
Brief News, Items, Advertisements and Announcements
 Features:
a) Special political and economic terms (e.g. apartheid-расова ізоляція,
by-election, per capita production-продукція на душу населення).
b) Non-term political vocabulary (e.g. public, people, progressive,
nation-wide unity).
c) Newspaper clichés, i.e. stereotyped expressions, commonplace
phrases familiar to the reader (e.g. vital issue, well-informed
sources, overwhelming majority, amid stormy applause).
d) Clichés more than anything else reflect the traditional
manner of expression in newspaper writing. They are commonly
looked upon as a defect of style (e.g. captains of industry, pillars of
society). But nevertheless, clichés are indispensable in newspaper
style: they prompt the necessary associations and prevent ambiguity
and misunderstanding.
e) Abbreviations. News items, press reports and headlines
abound in abbreviations of various kinds as it helps to save space
and time.
Features:
• Some abbreviations are read as individual letters:
WHO (read as W-H-O) World Health Organisation
BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation)
UN (United Nations)
PM (Prime Minister)
MP (Member of Parliament)
• Some abbreviations are read as words; they are called acronyms.
NATO /'neitou/ North Atlantic Treaty Organisation
OPEC /'oupek/ Organisation of Petroleum Exploring Countries
AIDS /eidz/ Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
• Abbreviations are used in titles (Mr, Ms, Mrs, Dr, etc.)
f) Neologisms. The newspaper is very quick to react to any
new development in the life of society and technology. Hence, neologisms
make their way into the language of the newspaper very easily. So, not long
ago such words as glasnost and Gorbymania used to cover almost each and
every inch of printed matter materials. But many neologisms, the same as
slang words, tend to become dated very fast.
5-BELLES-LETTRES STYLE
1-Language of Poetry
2-Language of Drama
3-Language of Fiction (prose)
Typical for Style
• there are no unique features as this style is not
homogeneous: it contains vocabulary and syntax of
different registers and styles
• the choice of the form and means depends on the author's
preferences solely
• wide variety of stylistic devices and expressive means of
different kinds
• use of words in contextual and often in more than one
dictionary meaning
Typical for Substyle:

• rhythm and rhyme phonetic coloured words

means (alliteration, assonance) • combination of the spoken
• fresh, unexpected imagery and written varieties of language
(wide use of expressive • two forms of communication
means) (monologue and dialogue)
• wide use of syntactic • combination of the spoken
means: and written varieties of language
detached constructions, asyndeton, • two forms of communication
polysyndeton, inversion,
(monologue and dialogue)
elliptical and fragmentary
sentences
• a great number of emotionally
Typical for Substyle:

• language is stylized:
colloquial speech approximates • simplified syntax, curtailment
real conversation but of utterances although
still strives to retain the modus not so extensive as in natural
of literary English (unless dialogue
the author aims to characterize • the utterances are much
the personage through his longer than in natural conversation
language) • monological character of
• redundancy of information dialogue
caused by the necessity to
amplify the utterance for the
sake of the audience (wide
use of repetition)
Example:
From The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy
By Douglas Adams
Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of
the western spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun.
Orbiting this at a distance of roughly ninety-two million miles is
an utterly insignificant little blue green planet whose apedescended life
forms are so amazingly primitive that they still think digital watches
are a pretty neat idea.
This planet has – or rather had – a problem, which was this:
most of the people on it were unhappy for pretty much of the time.
Many solutions were suggested for this problem, but most of these
were largely concerned with the movements of small green pieces of
paper, which is odd because on the whole it wasn't the small green
pieces of paper that were unhappy.
 The linguist O. Morokhovsky defines such
functional styles:

 Official business style.

 Scientific-professional style.
 Publicist style.
 Literary colloquial style (literary speech
style).
 Familiar colloquial style (everyday
speech style).
 Official business style is based on non-
fiction written type of the language, the
personal element is excluded. It is used in
formal situations.
 Scientific-professional style is based on
non-fiction written type of the language, the
personal aspect is minimal.
 Publicistic style is based on non-fiction
written type of the language, but it can widely
include structures of written and oral types of
speech.
 Literary speech style is based on non-
fiction written type of the language, but it
can widely include structures of written
and oral fiction types of speech. It is used
in formal situations. The presence of the
personal is possible.

 Everyday speech style is based on non-

fiction oral type of language. It is used in
informal situations. The personal aspect
dominates
 According to this classification, language
functions and types of speech define the
usage of styles. V. Vinogradov
distinguishes such language functions as
 communicative,
 referential

 and conative.

They are realized in everyday speech style

(communicative function), scientific professional
and official business styles (referential), literary
speech and publicistic styles (conative).
 V. Kukharenko singles out such
functional styles:
 Official Style.
 Scientific Style.
 Publicistic Style.
 Newspaper Style.
 Belles-Lettres Style.
M. Brandes defines five functional styles:
 Official;

 Scientific-technical;

 Publicistic;

 Colloquial;

 Artistic.
 K. Dolinin solves the problem of classification by
paying attention to three basic distinctive features,
positively or negatively characterizing every type of
speech: emotional, spontaneous, and normative.
Each may be either present or absent. Thus, his
classification is the following:
 Emotional normative conversation: literary
colloquial speech.
 Emotional non-normative conversation: familiar
colloquial speech.
 Emotional non-spontaneous literary speech:
publicistic style, oratorial style, style of literary
narrative.
 Emotional non-spontaneous non-normative
style.
 Non-emotional normative talk.
 Non-emotional non-normative talk.
 Non-emotional, non-spontaneous, normative
(literary) speech: official business style,
scientific style.
 Non-emotional, non-spontaneous, non-
normative speech: an official business letter of a
semi-literate man.