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Opinions and reflections on the use of spoken language in journalistic texts
Фонический стык. Композиционная роль стыка состоит в «подхватке» звукобуквы или звуко-буквенного комплекса, завершающего одну единицу стиховой речи в начале другой единцы [2, 109]. Соответственно фонический стык может быть строчным: ... el juramento que yo a ti te he hecho/no lo rompe nadie; и межстрочным: N’el hospitalito/a manita “erecha”,/alli tenia la mare e mi alma/la camita “jecha”.
Фоническсая цепь. Суть этой окказиональной компо-зиционой структуры состоит в том, что она связывает «сквозным» звукоповтором весь стиховой ряд или его сегмент, подлежащий фонической актуализации [2, 110]: Hasta Talma me duele/de tanto llorar,/por-que mis penas nunca van a menos,/siempre van a mas. В своем редуцированном варианте цепь маркирует лишь начало, середину и конец единицы стиховой речи, являя собой, таким образом, совокупность рондо и медианы:
1. Son tan grandes mis penas/que no caben mas,/yo muero loco sin calor de nadie/en el hospital.
2. Dices que no la quieres/ni quieres verla./pero la vereita de tu casa a la suya/no cria yerba.
Межстрочная цепь может выполнять также и композиционные функции межстрочного стыка:
1. Con penas me acuesto,/con mas me alevanto;/la culpa tiene mi compamerita/con quererla tanto.
2. A un torito en plaza/no temo yo tanto/como le temo a una malina lengua/y un testigo falso.
Заключение
Звуковая организация стихового текста песен сигирийас представляет собой иерархию звуковых повторов разной значимости и глубины. Ему свойственны не только рифменные проявления звуковой упорядоченности, но и разнообразные категории нерифмеанных созвучий. Фоническая актуализация реализуется на уровне слова, полустишия, стихового ряда, нескольких стиховых рядов. Самые типичные фонические структуры — анафора, эпифора, рондо, медиана, стык и цепной звукоповтор. Композиционно все они делятся на две группы: строчные и межстрочные. Наиболее многочисленной есть группа повторов типа рондо, медиана, анафора. ЗП типа стык в основном встречсаются в межстрочном варианте. Епифора используется редо и, в основном, межстрочная. Характерными есть цепные звукоповторы. Перспективу дальнейшего изучения поетики андалузского фламенко представляет явление паро-нимии — особого рода фонетического повтора, при котором звуковое сходство двух (или более) неродственных словоформ индуцирует семантическую связь между ними.
Список литературы:
1. Брик О. М. Языковые повторы./Осип Максимович Брик//Сборники по теории поэтического языка. -Петербург, 1917. - С. 14-26.
2. Гончаренко С. Ф. Стилистический анализ испанского стихового текста./Сергей Филиппович Гончаренко. -Москва: Высшая школа, 1988. - 186 с.
3. Molina R. Mundo y formas del cante flamenco./Ricardo Molina, Amtonio. Malrena//“Revista de Occidente”. -Madrid, 1963. - P. 21-32.
4. Curiel Alvarez F. Cancionero popular Andaluz [Text]/F. Curiel Alvarez. - Malaga: Editorial Arguval, 1991. - 254 p.
5. Machado y Alvarez A. Coleccion de cantes flamencos recogidos y anotados por [Text]/Antonio Machado y Alvarez. - Madrid: Ediciones Demofilo, 1975. - 206 p.
Molea Viorica, Moldova States University, Doctor of philological sciences, associate professor, the Faculty of Philology E-mail: molea_viorica@yahoo.com
Opinions and reflections on the use of spoken language in journalistic texts
Abstract: The article deals with the problem of presence/absence of spoken language in journalistic texts. There is a controversial issue about the use of spoken language in journalistic texts: some journalists welcome its expressiveness in spite of the fact that it was not present in mass media for a long period of time (totalitarian period). Others,
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however, oppose the (excessive) use of various aspects of spoken language, because it “pollutes” the language, destroys it by defying the readers’ common sense and elevation through vulgar vocabulary.
Keywords: spoken language, text, journalistic, expressiveness, non-standard, vulgar.
The Romanian journalistic text reflects verbally the image of our history in development, the world’s nowadays panorama. It addresses exclusively to the present, although more actors are implied: the past and the future, because their influence can be easily seen in the present. The main purpose of newspapers, magazines, web sites, blogs, etc. is the impact on the person who reads the text, the reader, to which all the attention and efforts of the j ournalists are directed. The reader must be informed, impressed, shocked, dismayed, relaxed, entertained, etc. This is the reason, why the mass media texts are the main “offer” of editors and journalists, which meet the “demands” of an extremely spoiled and exigent “market”. Today, the source of information is not only a simple registration and dissemination of facts and events, but also a potential to create impressions, emotions, attitudes and more briefly, is an expressive force for regulating the mood and training of civic pride. L. Hoarta Carau§u remarks that “Media products bear social representations (not simple supports), sociocultural currents, ways of life ...” [5].
So, modern publicists have an important, but difficult mission, because in spite of the freedom of speech and technological progress, they are deeply influenced and saturated by a dull, stereotyped, unclear language standard, whose unique “talent” is the referential function, which can’t have the necessary capacity for attraction. Therefore, the process of educating journalists needs non-standard language tools, or exceptional expressions, capable to animate the bored perception of the reader’s mind, which becomes more and more rebellious.
If we question the presence of spoken language in journalistic texts, we should mention that many of the researchers of this topic are against its use in the press, although they acknowledge the presence of its necessity and clarity in many genres, types oftexts, especially in opinions. However, several appreciations and favorable comments for some elements of spoken language used in journalistic texts have been found in many studies. Most of them can be found in R. Zafiu’s works, which refer to journalistic language and its characteristics. In fact, she has often emphasized the role ofspoken language and its various forms, especially after the revolution of 1989. R. Zafiu acknowledges that “The expansion of the spoken language in the Romanian culture in the last decade tends to seem to the observer as a phenomenon of great importance not only through its objective data, but also due to a contrast effect:
the new stylistic formula substituted journalistic style of the totalitarian regime, which was perfectly sealed from contact with reality and linguistic diversity” [18, 399].
The Romanian media has the freedom of expression, which is a major privilege compared with the dominated by censorship recent past, as a result, it reveals an unprecedented diversification of information, which is full ofboth written and spoken language. There is an absolute freedom in selecting the means for editing journalistic texts, particularly those of opinion or entertainment. D. Vlad mentions that “It’s good to observe the radical transformation of the Romanian press and media institutions since 1989, the diversification of style, the incomparable expressiveness compared to the past, due to freedom of expression” [16]. In this way, journalists are tempted to exploit the resources of the language that were not permitted before. However, D. Irimia states that “. freedom of expression implicitly means the acception of responsibility from the person who accepts as a free human being this fundamental human right” [6, 285]. On the other hand, everything that follows severe restrictions, along with this refreshment of journalistic style in the Romanian press leads to a mess. In addition to the expressive and revealing language elements, humble expressions and even taboos penetrated the language. They refer to spoken language, an inexhaustible source of linguistic material, considered an exotic one, sometimes with well-defined stylistic characteristics. “The polychromy and the expressiveness of published materials, which is sometimes exuberant, also reflect the freedom from any constraint and censorship” mentions C. Marcu§an [9, 151]. Luminita Rosca points out some events and trends that occurred during the mentioned period “A specific phenomenon of the 90-s is the easy way the terms of different language registers (informal, popular) penetrated the newspaper style language. An explanation could lie in mass media and a considerable number of receptors’ intention to get rid of the official language required by the propaganda during the communist system ...” [13, 314].
As mentioned before, democratization or, more precisely, freedom of expression in media is a process characteristic to transitional period for the former Soviet states. It is a natural process of promoting values of democracy after a long dictatorship. The Russian researcher M. Р. Smirnova states the presence of “... some speech reflections on word level, which are specific for
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Opinions and reflections on the use of spoken language in journalistic texts
contemporary media” [19], these reflections being intensely felt in the Romanian press. The insertion of spoken language in the written text is also defined. “The effect of spoken language can be defined as accepting the written text as spontaneous speech, thus creating the impression of informal communication” says Elena Tkachevа [20].
Many elements of spoken language are found in journalistic texts. They represent on opinion, as the subj ective attitude of the author ‘s individual style is always present. It is mainly about reportages, interviews, portrayals and serial publications, pamphlets, editorials, analysis and comments as well. Having investigated the characteristics of spoken language used after the Revolution, R. Zafiu mentions that “The use of colloquial tone in editorials, analysis and political comments is less predictable, but this fact makes them more interesting. During that decade, there was a very strong trend in this direction: it was based on an ideology of triviality, common perspective, common sense and identification with the average reader” [18, 404]. In the same opinion, “spoken language is a communicative strategy that can be differently adopted by periodicals. It depends on their general profile, which varies greatly even within the same publication compared with the types of texts and their potential recipients” [18, 404]. Even if the texts are marked by the spoken language, they represent a relevant evidence of the nowadays language, which is informal, used by ordinary people, as it reflects the present state ofspeech, even though there might be some linguistic comments. Magda M. Manu mentions similar things with reference to an actual magazine “The magazine Catavencu Academy (CA) could be an important source for understanding spoken language today, which is a colloquial style of post-December period in Romania”, thus representing a “real virtual archive of current spoken Romanian language presented in written works” [8].
The question is, what would be the reason of substantial use of spoken language in literary texts, especially in the post-communist and current periods, without tending to use too many provincialisms and familiarisms, when there are so many possibilities of expression? We can’t give a comprehensive answer, because the reasons for using folk elements, familiarisms and slangs are of a strategic and pragmatic nature. Through the variety of substandard spoken language, there can be expressed lots of meanings and nuances, that can render with great precision and relevance important contents for a varied audience, which is constantly increasing.
In this way, the access of all the readers, the intellectual elites and large groups ofreaders, who are less trained, to information and its dissemination, promoted the
development of a plain language, colorful, able to attract, to impress, with the capacity of being easily memorable. L. P. Cristescu considers that “Taking into consideration the collective recipient, the sender has to select a number of terms from the informal vocabulary and even archaic language, making its expression an area of interference of written literary language and informal language” [3, 17].
On the other hand, a standard language, which only communicates and informs without conveying emotions, with stylistic nuances which are often more significant than the message itself, will not be able to hold reader’s attention for too long. Interest and curiosity can be stimulated by different means including non-standard and figurative language, by sub-standard vocabulary. The human nature is very complex and is always looking for something new, sensational and picturesque, therefore texts writers (writers and journalists) should always change the range of ideas and the linguistic ways of conveying information.
As for a j ournalist who writes texts monthly, weekly or even daily, it is difficult to always produce concepts, original thoughts, to find events, new information that would surprise the audience. It is clear that s/he tends to diversity, trying to mix unusual linguistic elements. Therefore, we believe that the spoken language is a source, which is always open for such combinations. R. Zafiu’s states “As the new element does not always appear in ideas or any kind of information, it soon becomes an objective of language: to record and to produce neologisms and new slang elements” [18, 401]. Obviously, this precious stock of spoken language is always accessed, depending on the talent and intuition of every language user. Sometimes some ordinary elements can form rich textual variations and vice versa, valuable aspects of spoken language can be transformed into trivial or vulgar messages.
More and more researchers of journalistic texts consider that the use of spoken language in journalistic texts is appropriate and relevant, because they develop and reveal multiple pragmatic and stylistic values. On the other hand, there are many opinions that condemn their inclusion in such texts. In her work “Stylistic diversity of the modern Romanian language Rodica Zafiu mentions the existence of a contradiction: “The massive penetration of spoken language in newspaper style is an obvious phenomenon, it has been discussed from the point of view of linguistics for several times, thus arousing contradictory reactions: from the satisfaction of expressiveness, vividness and picturesque elements of the written colloquial language to the irritation caused by careless expressions, rules breaking and the presence of a lexicon which is usually considered vulgar” [17, 193].
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The demands of selecting a noble and truly expressive language reject the idea of using spoken language without any discernment in journalistic texts. There can’t be accepted any elements of language, even if they are borrowed from the spoken layers of the language, which contradict the moral norms and the common sense, the function of civil education and character building and not that of disorientation and brutality promoting, because “mass-media products bear (not only support) social representations, socio-cultural currents, ways of life”. As mentioned before, the excess of freedom or freedom’s misunderstanding can result in the appearance of lingual inhibitions, caused by some psychological or physiological frustrations. D. Ir-imia defines precisely this damaging trend in journalistic style: “The Romanian publicist confused the essence of the language, which combines semantics and esthetics, with various aggressive and violent language structures, caused by the rapport between the human being and the worst aspects of human life” [6, 293].
In this way, since 1989 the Romanian media, including the press, has been influenced by spoken language elements which bear original, fresh and valuable pragmatic expressions, and by those whose status condition relates to the low level of socio-linguistic education, as well. Some linguists consider that the use and the spreading of vulgar, trivial elements in media is a serious problem for a civilized society. The distinguished philologist G. Pruteanu states firmly in an article about the harm of colloquial exaggeration in press that “The market economy (or its imitation) has generated a press which has more and more characteristics of a market press” [11].
In another article, G. Pruteanu states that “Soon after 1989, the vulgar vocabulary and phraseology could be explained by a sort of linguistic outpouring after censorship and plain language use. Today, we have to deal with the language that developed in the post-December decade and the renewal of what was missed during that period. The vulgarity mentioned by Adorno 50 years ago often takes the shape ofbrutality and triviality” [12, 343-345]. The scientist warned in the same source that “the tough language and slangs, along with poor stylistics has the effect of developing the sensitivity to delicacy, tenderness, gentleness (...)” [12, 345].
Usual these elements are slangs, jargons, barbarisms, indecent and trivial words, non-standard vocabulary characteristic of uneducated speakers from different informal settlements. The reasons for using such a language are not always clear, as these aspects can be found in many kinds of journalistic texts, so its appearance does not depend on a particular type ofjournalistic discourse.
C. Neamtu mentions that “Unfortunately, some jargon and slang elements entered the language of some journalists not having the purpose of language diversity, but are used for insulting and defamation, claiming to be pamphlets. But during this crisis of pamphlet elements, these journalists promote only colloquial language. The process when a language becomes more vulgar is a reality which can be difficult to stop, as it operates in the name of freedom of expression” [10, 46]. At the same time, the flow of colloquial terms reveals some more negative aspects of Romanian journalistic style: the lack of ideas and arguments in a text review or in a pamphlet, unprofessional journalists, the ignorance of moral rules and of Code of ethics. D. M. Bejan also thinks that verbal hooliganism and non-standard language in the Romanian press shows the lack of ability to support ideas and to use arguments. The media as a form of reflection and a way of modeling the modern reality often provides evidence of using the language inappropriately through low level of improvisation. The phenomenon is present both in journalistic language ofpamphlets and in some texts, where the obscene expressions substitute the true information, the reader not having the possibility to an opinion. G. Pruteanu adds that such elements are found in all types of journalistic texts, not only in tabloids. More than that “The difference between slang, informal language and standard language loses its intensity and risks to disappear even in publications that are far from the tabloid style.” [12, 346]. At the same time, more people mention that the “abundance of slangs in various forms of media is currently accepted by a large number of Romanian language speakers (for which public communication is associated with a literary form of expression) as a «perversion» of the language and its vulgarization” [4, 8]. Apart from a few exceptions, such items may be accepted (with a well-defined pragmatic purpose) in journalistic writings.
The genres that are mostly influenced by these characteristics of spoken language are the journalistic genres of opinion, such as editorials, political comments, pamphlets, periodic publications and the so-called “street press”, recently called “newspaper tabloids”. All these usually aim to not very pretentious categories of readers, who are satisfied by scandalous articles, slander, celebrities and their specific language. «This kind of mass media, called “street” or “yellow press” was called tabloid journalism in modern linguistics» [19]. R. Keeble defines this type of modern journalism, using lots of details: “The phenomenon of tabloids can mean the increase of the number of news about celebrities, entertainment, lifestyle, intimate details, exaggeration of sensational (...), vulgar
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words, (...) texts which are written in short words, with a plain language, values and topics characteristic to pop culture, especially the TV culture” [7, 38]. It is obvious that even on TV, which is most appropriate for the spoken language use, we can see along with “fashionable” neologisms some non-standard elements, which convey a kind of repulsive provincialism. In Slama Cazacu’s opinion “All these can explain the Freudian tendency to a liberty, an unreal one, through verbal mirage: often by a violent and licentious expression on the one hand and through an absurd suicidal escape from the shackles of the Romanian language, on the other hand” [15, 125].
Besides numerous acts of vulgar spoken language, or street vocabulary encountered both in broadcasting and in the newspapers, magazines and in other types of journalistic texts, it seems that the same Freudian tendency apparently determines the increase of vulgar vocabulary, which diminishes the common sense, human qualities of a civilized and balanced person. This type of language is mostly used in the audiovisual media in debates or other live broadcasts, but also in some types of journalistic writing, especially in political comments or even in some editorials which focus on pamphlets, when political opponents are implied. The language violation has become a norm that defies the good practice of polemics and civilized discussions. Rus L.-M. analyzes the use of informal language in media and concludes that «the publicist style has a tendency to definitely go down to the limits of urban vocabulary, destroying (with nonchalance and cynicism?) the conventional barriers between “information” and “pamphlet”, between “decent” and “indecent”. The common sense does not characterize such journalistic comments at all (!)» [14]. In this regard, more authors refer to a major study on the Romanian language violation, characterized by nine records, entitled “The violent imagination of Romanians” by R. Cesereanu. Such records develop the following characteristics, expressed in the following terms: inhuman, hygienic, crime, bestiary, religious and punitive, putridness and excremental registers, sexual or libidous, funeral, xenophobic and racist. In the article with the same title, published in the Literary Romania, the author
asks rhetorically: “What kind of people are we — Romanians, as we write and talk, especially when it comes to the vitriolic pamphlet, personal attacks, slander, insult etc.?” [2]. From R. Cesereanu’s attempt to scan these impulses of our people, it is obvious that such language features are some reflections of deep processes of the Romanian people’s minds, that in fact, are characteristic to humans in general. The problem consists of another thing: what can the human nature’s exhibitionism cause to the violent human nature through language? We believe that in this case, it is first about an insufficient understanding of liberalism in general and of the language, in particular, and about a low level of instruction, of in globo culture, but also about the need to show the ego, the “muscles” in an attempt to highlight the human background which becomes more disobedient. The way these linguistic records about violence are conceived and designed in a journalistic text is not so important, because they finally become public acquisitions, the so-called “models” to follow for most speakers. Therefore, it is natural to draw our attention and to show an attitude, if not precautions, because language violation can ultimately generate physical violence, as current events on the Russian media market has recently proved. In several televised interviews from Russia, people started talking about war, strife, hatred as something ordinary. Propaganda “education” on TV and in the Russian press becomes more imminent. L.-M. Rus states that “the problem of realizing the responsibility of various forms of media for the general use of the Romanian language arises, by highlighting the role of the language model (the main one), which is given to them by their current status in society”. The same is about the need to “linguistic cleaning of the social media” [14].
In an attempt to diminish these worthless and even dangerous linguistic practices, we believe it is strongly necessary to monitor both the legal framework of media entities, and the language practices. In our opinion, there should exist a legal action that will prohibit nonstandard vocabulary in mass media, and a punishment by law as well. Otherwise, we risk to become uncivilized and inhuman.
References:
1. Bejan D. M. Huliganismul verbal si limbajul violentei in presa romaneasca actuala.//[Electr.resource]. - Available from: http://mss.academiaromana-is.ro/cademiaromana-is.ro/philippide/.../029-032 %20BEJAN_RED.pdf (acces at: 17.07.12).
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3. Cristescu C. G. Stilul jurnalistic. - Campulung Muscel: Muscel, 2000.
4. Gutu Romalo V. Obiectiv si subiectiv in evolutia limbii romane literare. - Bucuresti: Editura Acad. Romane, 1999.
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5. Hoarta Carausu L. Ipostaze publicistice ale “discursului repetat”, AUI, sectiunea III e, tomul LIV, 2008.//[El. resource]. - Available from: http://www.webtest.ovipedia.ro/fisiere %20pdf/2008/Carausu.pdf(acces at: 19.08.13).
6. Irimia D. Stilul publicistic actual intre libertatea de exprimare si libertatea de expresie. In: Stil si limbaj in mass-media din Romania. - Iasi: Polirom, 2007. - Р. 283-298.
7. Keeble Richard. Presa scrisa. O introducere critica. - Iasi: Polirom, 2009.
8. Magda M. Structuri colocviale in revista “Academia Catavencu”//[Electronic resource]. - Available from: http://ebooks.unibuc.ro/filologie/dindelegan/43.pdf (acces at: 04.04.13).
9. Marcusan C. Limbaj jurnalistic sau... “vadimizarea” limbajului? in Limbaje si comunicare, VI, Partea I, Colocvi-ul International de Stiinte ale Limbajului. - Suceava: Editura Universitatii Suceava, 2003.
10. Neamtu C. Stilul publicistic. - Bucuresti: Editura Mirador, 2004.
11. Pruteanu G. Presa, cultura, limbaj.//[Electronic resource]. - Available from: http://www.pruteanu.ro/9ultima/pres-cult.html (acces at: 03.02.14).
12. Pruteanu G. Violenta societatii si brutalitatea lingvistica in mass-media. In Stil si limbaj in mass-media din Romania. - Coordonator: Ilie Rad. - Iasi: Polirom, 2007. - Р. 341-351.
13. Rosca L. Mecanismele constructiei mediatice. In: Stil si limbaj in mass-media din Romania. - Iasi: Polirom, 2007. - Р. 299-319.
14. Rus M.-L. Familiaritatea exprimarii in presa.//[Electronic resource]. - Available from: http://www.upm. ro/cci/volCCI_II/Pages %20from %20Volum_texteCCI2-128.pdf (acces at: 09.08.13).
15. Slama-Cazacu, Slama-Cazacu T. Stratageme comunicationale §i manipularea. - Ia§i: Polirom, 2000.
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17. Zafiu R. Diversitate stilistica in romana actuala. - Bucure§ti: Editura Universitatii din Bucure§ti, 2001.
18. Zafiu R. Marci ale oralitatii in limbajul jurnalistic actual, in Aspecte ale dinamicii limbii romane. - Bucure§ti: Editura Universitatii din Bucure§ti, 2002. - Р. 399-430.
19. Смирнова М. П. Фамильярная тональность в текстах современных российских таблоидных изданий.//Гумани-тарные науки. Филология. - № 1/2 (63). - 2009.//[Electronic resource]. - Available from: http://proceedings.usu. ru/?base=mag/0063 (01_$01_022009)&xsln=showArticle.xslt&id=a07&doc=../content.jsp (acces at: 18.06.13).
20. Ткачева Е. Эффект разговорной речи в публицистике Сергея Довлатова: случайное неслучайно.//Научно-культурологическйй журнал. - № 9 [247]. - 15.06.2012.//[El. resource]. - Available from: http://www.relga. ru/Environ/WebObj ects/tgu-www.woa/wa/Main?textid=3252&level1=main&level2=articles (acces at: 01.08.13).
Khamaganova Valentina Mikhailovna, Buryat State University, Professor of the Department of Russian Language and General language science E-mail: vmh2003@inbox.ru
Functional, semantic and stylistic characteristics of the words designating the “description-portrait” in a lexical model of a text
This work was supported by the Russian Humanitarian Foundation (Project".Modeling of the text: lexical structure of a descriptive text" № 15-04-00305)
Abstact: Words which denote human beings and animals (as taken from the “Russian Semantic Dictionary”) have an a priori potential to be subjects of description-portrait. When searching for their functional, semantic and stylistic characteristics it is significant to use perspective of descriptive context and its logical-semantic, lexical-grammatical and communicative parameters: the context of a description specifies that not any hierarchical union of designational words of “a face, a person” subset can equally be the subject in the description of a portrait. Descriptive context as a function allows us to find functional-semantic-stylistic characteristics of words which denote human beings.
Keywords: descriptive text, description-portrait, semantic subject, designational words, lexical model.
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