The Relevance of Norm and Deviation from Norm in Decoding Stylistics

1. The Relevance of Norm and Deviation from Norm in Decoding Stylistics

THE RELEVANCE OF NORM AND
DEVIATION FROM NORM IN
DECODING STYLISTICS
Lecture 8

2. Norm and deviation from norm in decoding stylistics

NORM AND DEVIATION FROM NORM
IN DECODING STYLISTICS
1. The Relevance of Norm and Deviation from Norm in Contemporary Linguistics.
2. The Relevance of Norm and Deviation from Norm in Decoding Stylistics.
3. The Notion of Norm in Decoding Stylistics.
4. The Notion of Deviation in Decoding Stylistics.

3. The Relevance of Norm and Deviation from Norm in Contemporary Linguistics

THE RELEVANCE OF NORM AND DEVIATION
FROM NORM IN CONTEMPORARY LINGUISTICS
Strictly, norm is a statistical concept, referring to what is
statistically average. Deviation refers to the divergence in
frequency from the norm.
Social norms are collective representations of acceptable
group conduct as well as individual perceptions of
particular group conduct (Lapinski, Rimal 2005).
They can be viewed as cultural products (Sherif, 1936)
which represent individuals' basic knowledge of what
others do and think that they should do (Cialdini, 2003).
From a sociological perspective, social norms are informal
understandings that govern the behavior of members of a
society.

4. The Relevance of Norm and Deviation from Norm in  Contemporary  Linguistics

THE RELEVANCE OF NORM AND DEVIATION
FROM NORM IN CONTEMPORARY LINGUISTICS
Language as a part of social behaviour is similarly affected. There is a normal set
of rules for the English language on each of the linguistic levels.
Violation of these rules constitutes deviation and markedness.
The norm is presumably the language of non-literature, a sort of undifferentiated
language, from which literary language deviates.
In literary criticism since classical times the focus of attention has most frequently
centred on the language of poetry.

5. The Relevance of Norm and Deviation from Norm in  Contemporary  Linguistics

THE RELEVANCE OF NORM AND DEVIATION
FROM NORM IN CONTEMPORARY LINGUISTICS
The characteristic poetic function – foregrounding and estranging
language and meaning against the background of non-literary
language, by devices of deviation and also repetition or parallelism.
For R. Jakobson, patterns of repetition on all levels are the most
important feature of poetic language, in many languages if not all.
An obvious example is poetic metre, which can be seen as
foregrounded against the natural rhythm of speech
Roman Jakobson
(1896-1982)

6. The Relevance of Norm and Deviation from Norm in  Contemporary  Linguistics

THE RELEVANCE OF NORM AND DEVIATION
FROM NORM IN CONTEMPORARY LINGUISTICS
The meaning of a poem comes as much from the form as
from the content, which in any case is created within the
poem.
The sheer density in poetry of all kinds of equivalences
cannot be denied, especially involving metrical form.
‘Semantic saturation’ of a poem comes as much from the
information of the different linguistic levels as from its
relations with other texts and social and cultural knowledge
(Lotman, 1970)
Yu. M. Lotman
(1922-1993)

7. The Relevance of Norm and Deviation from Norm in  Contemporary  Linguistics

THE RELEVANCE OF NORM AND DEVIATION
FROM NORM IN CONTEMPORARY LINGUISTICS
Literary texts themselves set up their own norms: secondary
norms or second-order norms.
In modern English, even ‘non-literary language’ contains the
poetic deviations of word-play and metaphor.
Comprising numerous varieties according to social groups and
registers, with differing degrees of formality, etc., non-literary
language comprises a set of norms.
Any text or piece of language is matched against the linguistic
norms of its genre, or its period, and the common core of the
language as a whole.

8. The Relevance of Norm and Deviation from Norm in Decoding Stylistics

THE RELEVANCE OF NORM AND DEVIATION
FROM NORM IN DECODING STYLISTICS
Adding emphasis to information conveyed presupposes a special organization of material,
including various types of deviation.
There is a sort of interaction between deviation from some general norm and creating a new
norm specific to each given text.
Neither regularity in itself nor any particular instance of creating linguistic prominence by
deviating from it will be stylistically relevant, unless it stresses something important in the
meaning of the text.

9. The Relevance of Norm and Deviation from Norm in Decoding Stylistics

THE RELEVANCE OF NORM AND DEVIATION
FROM NORM IN DECODING STYLISTICS
Literary language tends to be high in information value, with its unusual
metaphors and striking turns of phrase.
Redundancy is a term taken to linguistics from communication and information
theory.
A redundant message is one which is highly predictable, and therefore low in
information value.
Generally, literary language is less predictable or redundant than most other types
of discourse, because of its deviations and unusual collocations and imagery

10. The Relevance of Norm and Deviation from Norm in Decoding Stylistics

THE RELEVANCE OF NORM AND DEVIATION
FROM NORM IN DECODING STYLISTICS
Ozymandias
I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone,
Stand in the desert... Near them on the sand,
Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed:
And on the pedestal these words appear:
“My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away (P.B. Shelley)
The mass noun sand by taking the
plural form receives the meaning of “a
vast expanse of sand, i.e. desert” in
P.B. Shelley's "Ozymandias”
Thus, we have the general rule, the
norm (the regular plural in -s), a
constraint on this norm (no plural for
mass nouns) and a meaningful
deviation from this (reclassification)
enhancing the impression of decay

11. The Relevance of Norm and Deviation from Norm in Decoding Stylistics

THE RELEVANCE OF NORM AND DEVIATION
FROM NORM IN DECODING STYLISTICS
The violation of one rule may be individual, occasional, creating an unorthodox meaning of a
word or a whole sentence.
Semi-marked structures
a grief ago, all the sun long and all the moon long
(Dylan Thomas)
When the breaking of rules results in the appearance of a new meaning and/or additional
expressiveness we shall call that deviation, whereas the main rules and restrictions of
arranging the code constitute its norm.

12. The Relevance of Norm and Deviation from Norm in Decoding Stylistics

THE RELEVANCE OF NORM AND DEVIATION
FROM NORM IN DECODING STYLISTICS
The head that wears a crown lies uneasy - neutral
Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown - emphatic
Head the that wears crown a lies uneasy - impossible
The unpredictability may result from breaking the norms of linguistic code:
• He who attempts to tease the cobra
• Is soon a sadder he and sobra (Ogden Nash)
or from violating logical expectations:
• Get a house and a wife and a fire to put her in. (The last verbal phrase breaks the
expectation of marital bliss established by the previous enumeration of nouns after a sort of
norm has been created within this very short space.)

13. The Notion of Norm in Decoding Stylistics

THE NOTION OF NORM IN DECODING STYLISTICS
The norm is a linguistic abstraction very susceptible to all kinds of
simplification.
The norm comprises the most frequent codograms and the basic,
i.e. the main invariant, rules and constraints of arranging the signals
of the code.
The norm of the language is the common core of all its dialects,
regional variants, functional styles, registers, idiolects, it includes
the simplest and most frequent combinations of its elements.
Standard English cuts across the boundaries of various dialects, yet
we distinguish regional varieties, i.e. British, American, Australian,
Canadian and Indian English, each with a norm of its own*.

14. The Notion of Norm in Decoding Stylistics

THE NOTION OF NORM IN DECODING STYLISTICS
Katie Wales in the “Dictionary of Stylistics” writes: a variety is
common in sociolinguistics especially to describe any system of
language which distinguishes one group of people or one function
from another:
• whether regional or occupational (see the notion of DIALECT);
• social (see the notion of SOCIOLECT);
• or situational (see the notion of REGISTER).

15. The Notion of Norm in Decoding Stylistics

THE NOTION OF NORM IN DECODING STYLISTICS
Dialect refers to a variety of language associated with subsets of users:
• in a geographical area (rural dialect, e.g. Cornwall, Leicestershire; urban dialect if a town
or city, e.g. Tyneside, Cockney);
• or with a social group (class dialect if associated with socio-economic status, e.g. working
class; occupational dialect if associated with a profession or trade, e.g. train-drivers, coalminers, etc.).
It is known that some language forms that are deviating from the point of view
standard English may come within the norm of the dialect.
of

16. The Notion of Norm in Decoding Stylistics

THE NOTION OF NORM IN DECODING STYLISTICS
A regional dialect differs from a regional variety in that although it has a norm, the
norm is not a literary norm.
The local Cockney Dialect as used in speech characterization often enhances the wit
characteristic of the simple people of London:
It's over, and can't be helped, and that's one consolation, as they always says in Turkey, ven
they cuts the wrong man's head off. / Dickens /
Some forms that are deviating from the point of view of Standard English may come
within the norm of the dialect:
We aren't thin red 'eroes,
nor we aren't no blackguards too / Kipling /

17. The Notion of Norm in Decoding Stylistics

THE NOTION OF NORM IN DECODING STYLISTICS
Register is used in musical studies, phonetics. More widely
known is the use of register in stylistics and
sociolinguistics to refer to a variety of language defined
according to the situation.
Functional styles and registers are varieties 'according to
use'. In this they contrast with regional and social
dialects depending on the background of the speaker and
thus constituting varieties 'according to user’.
The norm of standard English is
codified in numerous books on grammar and
dictionaries. The rules of functional styles have not been
fixed to the same extent.

18. The Notion of Norm in Decoding Stylistics

THE NOTION OF NORM IN DECODING STYLISTICS
Idiolect is known as an individual's distinctive and unique use of language, including speech. This
unique usage encompasses vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation.
An idiolect is the variety of language unique to an individual. This differs from a dialect, a common
set of linguistic characteristics shared among some group of people.
Language consists of sentence constructs, word choice, expression of style. Thus by idiolect we mean
the code of each individual person as each of us has his own peculiar way of using language.

19. The Notion of Norm in Decoding Stylistics

THE NOTION OF NORM IN DECODING STYLISTICS
Sociolect is a term created by analogy with words like dialect and idiolect which is used in
sociolinguistics to refer to a variety of language distinctive of a particular social group or
class.
Lect is used in sociolinguistics as a generic term equivalent to a language variety for any set
of features with a definite functional or situational identity.
There are genderlects which distinguish male and female speech.
Adamson (1998) has the useful term chronolect for a variety distinctive in time, dividing
people in terms of language change. We can talk of the chronolect of the late sixteenth
century, relevant for the understanding of Shakespeare.

20. The Notion of Deviation in Decoding Stylistics

THE NOTION OF DEVIATION
IN DECODING STYLISTICS
Deviation has been very commonly used in early work in stylistics, and has appeared in
definitions of style itself. It has also been used in generative grammar to refer to any unit
which is not grammatical or is ill-formed, which does not conform to the ‘rules’ of the
language.
(1) Strictly, deviation refers to divergence in frequency from a norm, or the statistical average.
Such divergence may depend on: (a) the breaking of normal rules of linguistic structure
(whether phonological, grammatical, lexical or semantic) and so be statistically
unusual/infrequent; or (b) upon the over-use of normal rules of usage, and so be statistically
unusual in the sense of over-frequent.
(2) Not surprisingly, statistical deviance easily becomes associated with what is unusual,
unpredictable, unexpected, unconventional.

21. The Notion of Deviation in Decoding Stylistics

THE NOTION OF DEVIATION
IN DECODING STYLISTICS
• (3) The definition of style itself as a deviation from a
norm (common in the 1960s) is rather unsatisfactory,
since there are as many norms as there are varieties of
language, non-literary, as well as literary.
• (4) It is also possible to argue that all texts, whatever the
degree of deviance, establish their own particular
‘secondary’ or ‘second order’ norms; and some early
stylisticians, following Levin (1965) distinguish
between external and internal deviation.
Internal
deviation
External
deviation
light’s lives lurch
a once world quickly from rises
army the gradual of unbeing fro
on stiffening greenly air and to
ghosts go
drift slippery hands tease slim
float twitter faces
Only stand with me, love!
against these its
until you are, and until i am
dreams…
/E.E. Cummings/

22. The Notion of Deviation in Decoding Stylistics

THE NOTION OF DEVIATION
IN DECODING STYLISTICS
The quantitative deviation is represented by repetition, that is a significant accumulation of
elements of any kind surpassing their average distribution.
The violation of rules and constraints controlling a given code are always partial. Their
effect is mostly transmitting connotations and the hierarchy of meanings.
Consider for instance the following example from "A Midsummer Night's Dream":
...the fairest dame
That lived, that loved, that liked, that looked with cheer.

23. The Notion of Deviation in Decoding Stylistics

THE NOTION OF DEVIATION
IN DECODING STYLISTICS
A qualitative deviation with a contrast for traditional and situational nomination is present in
every kind of trope: metaphor, metonymy, periphrasis and so on.
As this aspect is described in every book on stylistics, we shall give only one example:
Men must endure
Their going hence, even as their coming hither ("King Lear")
No text can deviate too far from the expectations of its possible readers, otherwise it becomes
unreadable. On the other hand, deviation is necessary.

24. The Notion of Deviation in Decoding Stylistics

THE NOTION OF DEVIATION
IN DECODING STYLISTICS
E.E. Cummings