Stylistic classification of the english vocabulary

3. Interaction of Logical and Emotive Meanings

The emotive meaning or emotional colouring of a word plays considerable role in stylistics. The emotive meaning of a word can be clearly understood when we compare it with its neutral meaning. Stylistic significance of emotional words and constructions are easily sensed when they are set against the non-emotional words and constructions.

a) Interjections

Interjections are words we use when we express our feelings strongly and which may be said to exist in the language as symbols of human emotions. They express such feelings as regret, despair, sorrow, woe, surprise, astonishment etc. They are defined as expressive means of the language. Emotionally coloured features of inter­jections become of stylistic device. They exist in language as conventional symbols of human emotions.

Interjection is not a sentence; it is a word with strong emotive meaning.

In traditional grammars the interjection is regarded as a part of speech as the noun, adjective, verb, etc. Inter­jection will always manifest a definite attitude of the spea­ker towards the problem and therefore have intonation. The intonation with which interjections are pronounced depends on the sense of the preceding or following sen­tence. E.g.:

"Oh, where are you going, all you Big Steamers?" (Kipling)

Interjection "Oh" here precedes a sentence and must be regarded as a part of it.

Interjections can be divided .into primary and deri­vative. Primary interjections are generally devoid of any logical meaning. Derivative interjections may somewhat retain their logical meaning, though these meanings are always suppressed be emotive ones. Oh!, Ah!, Bah!, Pooh!, Gosh!, Hush!, Alas! are primary inter­jections, though some of them once had logical meaning.

Derivative interjections are Heavens!, Good graci­ous!, Dear me!, God!, Come on!, Look here!, By the Lord!, God knows!, Bless me! and others.

There are a number of adjectives and adverbs which can also take on the function of interjections. They are terrible!, awful!, great!, wonderful!, splendid!, fine! etc. When they are used as interjections they are not used in their logical dictionary meanings. In most cases they are used in their emotive meanings as intensifiers.

Interjections like other words in the English vocabulary bear features of bookish, neutral and colloquial. Thus oh, ah, bah and others are neutral; alas, Lo, Hark are bookish; gosh, why, well are colloquial. But borderline between the three groups is broad. Sometimes therefore a given interjection may be considered as bookish by one and as neutral by another scholar or colloquial by one and neutral by another.

Interjections are direct signals that the utterance is emotionally charged and insufficient attention to the use of interjections will deprive a person of a truer understanding of the writer s aims.