ON THE STYLISTIC ASPECT OF STUDYING THE ELEMENTS OF ALLOPHRONY IN GERMAN COLLOQUIAL SPEECH

Introduction

The relevance of the research is due to the fact that the concept of allophrony is of great interest in modern linguistics, both from a practical and theoretical points of view. It is important and relevant today to study this phenomenon in colloquial speech since this communication layer covers all aspects of language and speech. It is in the colloquial speech that allophrony exists not only at the usual level but also manifests itself occasionally. The aim of the study is to identify allophrony in the colloquial speech of the German language. To achieve this goal the following tasks were to be solved:

1) to define the theoretical basis of the term "allophrony";

2) to investigate the manifestation and functioning of allophronia in German colloquial speech;

3) to analyze empirical material.

The following methods were used to solve the tasks:

1) the method of dictionary definitions (semantic analysis of allophronic elements),

2) contextual analysis and

3) the method of structural analysis.

The theoretical significance of this work lies in the necessity for a theoretical understanding of allophrony as a linguistic concept characteristic of colloquial speech.

In the language of any nation the existence of two opposing types of linguistic units (logical and illogical) can be considered as a norm. Human speech is also multifaceted and manifests itself mainly in two main categories – logical (orthophrony) and illogical, contradictory (allophrony). “Otrofrony” and “allophrony” are concepts introduced into modern linguistics by Professor B.T. Ganeev. If orthophrony is seen as something consistent and unambiguous, allophrony is directly opposed to it being viewed as something inconsistent, contradictory, illogical and ambiguous. According to the proposed theory, allophrony can be called a synonym of the term “contradiction” in the case of a single use of lexical units of the language.

According to B.T. Ganeev, allophrony is “that implicit, mental statement behind the expressed linguistic unit” [5, P. 43]. The notion of allophrony “covers a layer of linguistic and speech phenomena in which alogisms are present in one way or another and to contrast it with a layer of logical elements called orthophrony” [5, P. 44]. Orthophrony and allophrony do not exist separately but are constantly in the process of interaction. According to the theory put forward, orthophronic (i.e. logically correct, corresponding to all linguistic norms) speech in its pure form hardly ever occurs, especially if the language is considered within the diachrony of its development. Any orthophrony contains elements of contradiction (allophrony), whereas allophrony is always based on the logical norm of language (orthophrony).

Allophronicity is a category that manifests itself not only in obvious contradictions (paradox, oxymoron, antithesis) but also in a number of other linguistic and stylistic manifestations which are based on a contradiction that produces certain alogisms (such as metaphor, irony, grammatical inconsistencies, phonetic discrepancies). Thus, the features of allophrony include 1) the presence of an internal (latent) contradiction, 2) the polysemy of the lexeme, 3) phonetic inconsistencies (pronunciation), 4) grammatical incompatibility (gender, tense), etc.

Colloquial speech is the speech of native speakers using their literary language in the terms of free, unprepared and direct communication. V.D. Devkin describes colloquial speech “as relaxed, somewhat reduced, spontaneous, oral, mostly situationally conditioned, mostly in a form of a dialog. Colloquial means not having access to the official sphere due to a deviation from the obligation to comply with the cultural standard” [3, P. 112]. An integral part of ”colloquial speech is the colloquial vocabulary which includes stylistically versatile elements with lower degrees of stylistic norm” [1, P. 18].

Analyzing lexical units of the spoken language it should be noted that it is characterized by the frequent use of members of synonymous series. The native speaker does not often have time to think about his speech, to select expressive means, thus he uses the main lexical unit of a certain semantic series. So O.B. Sirotina notes that “colloquial vocabulary is ... the main initial words of synonymous series, the primary “representatives” of semantic fields” [7, P. 16]. Consider the main manifestations of allophronic elements in German colloquial speech below.

1) Oxymoron – is an alogism based on contradiction (i.e. allophrony), used within a certain context. It is considered to be a figure of speech connecting semantic concepts or separate linguistic units that contradict each other usually or contextually.

E.g.(1) Weiblicher Knabe [Mädchen in Jungmännertracht]. The synthesis of the linguistic units “das Weib” (woman, woman) and “der Knabe” (boy, youth) already indicate the inconsistency of the statement which is used in the meaning of the girl in a man's suit. The same inconsistency can be traced in the examples below:

E.g.(2) Elend prima (terribly great) [unübertrefflich] (meaning unsurpassed)

E.g.(3) Altes Mädchen (old girl) [ältliche Ledige] (meaning an elderly single lady).

E.g.(4) Saure Schokolade (sour chocolate) [sehr unangenehme Sache] (meaning a very unpleasant thing, a situation).

In the examples above there is an obvious contradiction in the combination of language units which are considered to be a manifestation of allophrony.

2) Enantiosemia is a complex term which is considered within the framework of the theory of polysemy. Linguists define this category in three main meanings: 1) a trope (antiphrase) in which linguistic units are used in the opposite meaning; 2) a linguistic reality combining two antonymically opposed meanings; 3) the loss of outdated semantics and the acquisition of a new contrasting meaning. In this article enantiosemy is seen as the existence of opposite (allophronic), contrasting meanings in the semantic structure of one linguistic unit. Enantiosemia manifests itself both in language and in speech. Enantiosemy can be introduced in vocabulary units thus being the unit of language or it can be expressed in speech in relation to a certain situation, then it is attributed to speech enantiosemia. For example,

E.g.(5) Toter (deceased) [alter Mann] (meaning an old man but alive);

E.g.(6) in der Schokolade sitzen [sich in Not befinden] (meaning to be poor).

E.g.(7) Held [Taugenichts, Versager] (meaning a loser, failure);

E.g.(8) Der Blinder [Zuschauer beim Kartenspiel] (meaning the one who watches a card play).

These examples (5-8) of colloquial speech illustrate contradictions in the form of a stylistic figure “enantiosemy” which, according to the present theory, is included in the concept of allophrony. In this case there is a shift of the main denotation from the usual to the contextual-occasional (deceased in the meaning of alive, hero in the meaning of loser, blind in the meaning of sighted). There is no direct contradiction within the semantics of a language unit but non-causality can be traced within a certain conditionality which allows us to refer the above mentioned examples to allophrony.

3) Many linguists have noticed the semantic ambiguity of metaphor. Thus, the essence of its ambiguity was characterized by Ch. Pyle as following: “Metaphor is a paradox of duality. The metaphor is both false and true: true in one sense – figuratively and false in another – literally ...” [8]. Metaphor, according to E. McCormack's point of view, on the one hand implies a sign of similarity between the properties of its semantic objects, and on the other hand it implies differences between them, since the use of metaphor is aimed at creating a new semantic image. Later studies on a conceptual metaphor led to the fact that the concept of “metaphor” began to be understood, first of all, as a verbalized method of thinking about the world" [4, p. 360]. Consider the examples below for the use of colloquial vocabulary within the framework of the suggested theory.

E.g.(9) Seelische Erkältung [Rohheit, Gefühllosigkeit] (meaning heartlessness, insensitivity) and E.g.(10) grüner Winter [kühler Sommer] (meaning cold summer).

Using a metaphorical utterance in colloquial speech the speaker’s task is not only to inform the listener correctly (orthophrony) but also to use a secondary meaning of a linguistic unit (allophrony). Thus, an allophronic effect is achieved (not a contradictory but a secondary meaning).

4) Irony is a stylistic device that enables to express implicitly speaker’s emotional and evaluative attitude to the situation. We define this implicitness, or latent contradiction, of the lexeme as one of the features of allophrony.

E.g.(11) Gern: das habe ich gern! (direct meaning I like it very much). But when it is used ironically the listener realizes the implicit meaning of the utterance which is completely the opposite das ist mir höchst unerwünscht, verhaßt! [(It’s terribly unpleasant! I don’t like it];

Using irony the speaker sets a logically sounding goal (orthophronic) since his main task is to inform the listener unerringly he uses a usual, standard form of a language unit. No contradiction in the use of lexical units is observed but the opposite (allophronic) effect in the meaning of the utterance is achieved.

Conclusion

Considering colloquial German speech in the terms of the theory of allophrony the author identifies the following contradictions that characterize the colloquial speech of any language: 1) the speaker’s desire to go beyond the boundaries of linguistic means and express his\her thoughts through certain situationally expressed occasionalisms which leads to deviations from linguistic norms which are more characteristic of the spoken language; 2) simultaneous similarity and difference in the communication goals of the listener and the speaker. On the one hand, they have one common goal, i.e. to understand each other and convey their thoughts, but on the other hand, the speaker using certain linguistic means intends to express his/her personal attitudes which may not always coincide with the listener’s attitudes; 3) the existence of two opposite tendencies: the tendency to brevity, conciseness and the tendency to excessiveness. This feature of the spoken language was described in the 19^th century by F. Wunderlich who was the first to establish the above mentioned tendencies in colloquial speech – brevity (Kürze) and excessiveness or abundance (Breite) [6, P. 141].

In this article the main trends in the manifestation of contradiction in German colloquial speech within the framework of the theory of allophrony in the stylistic aspect have been examined. In the course of the study we have come to the conclusion that allophrony is a natural category of language and speech found not only in the main genres of fiction but also widely used in colloquial speech. And its main manifestations have been observed in such stylistic techniques as enantiosemy, oxymoron, irony and metaphor.

Studies on this issue is at the research stage and further study on other areas of manifestation of allophrony is to be carried out.