Linguistic deviation

An introduction :
► Linguistic deviation arises/happens/occurs when the writer or the poet choose
not to abide by the rules of his language when he transcends its norms and exceeds
the limits of the linguistic protocols that characterize it .

► Deviation is the breaking of rules which others obey. Poetry as a genre

is a deviation from the ordinary language, though, despite the poetic
deviation, poetry skill has its own rules and norms which separate it from
ordinary language and therefore creates its own pattern. In literary circle,
deviation is taken as poetic license or writer’s license and it should be
noted that deviation could occur at various linguistic level. We can have
grammatical lexical, phonological, semantic and textual deviation.

The Importance of Linguistic deviation:

- The Importance of Linguistic deviation due to its being motivated breach of the
rules. it has a purpose & a function.
♣Writers especially poets resort to / turn to deviation to achieve certain artistic
aims and effects as Leech say " a poet may transcend the limits of the language to
explore and communicate new areas of experiences ".
♣Through deviation a poet can communicate unique experiences which he feels
can not be effectively communicated by means of the normal communicative
resources of his tongue ( his native normal language ).
♣poets may also deviate to realize specific effects on the reader by striking him
with something unexpected forcing him to focus his attention on the deviant
sequences .
♣ Deviation which is a linguistic phenomenon has an important psychological
effect on the readers ( or hearers ). If a part of a poem is deviant, it becomes
especially noticeable , or perceptually prominent . This is called
"foregrounding"( Short , 1969 : 11) .
Deviation is actually a very significant way to " Foregrounding" certain aspects of
a given literary text. So, What is Foregrounding ?
Foregrounding :
♣ Foregrounding as postulated by Mukarovsky is" the intentional violation of the
scheme by means of which an item brought into artistic emphasis and thus stands
out from its background .
♣ Linguist M.A.K. Halliday has characterized foregrounding as motivated
prominence: "the phenomenon of linguistic highlighting, whereby some features of
the language of a text stand out in some way" (Explorations in the Functions of
Language, 1973).
♣ Mukarovsky refers to foregrounding as "the esthetically intentional distortion
of the linguistic components."I4 This definition signifies two
important aspects of foregrounding: first, poetic
foregrounding , being 'intentional', presupposes some
motivation on the part of the poet which in turn demands careful attention from
the reader, and second, distortion
of any 'linguistic component' may bring about foregrounding. Thus
concentration of any linguistic features - phonological, syntactic, or semantic -
which are rare or unnoticed in ordinary speech but brought
into prominence deliberately in the literary text with the purpose of contributing to
its total effect can result in foregrounding. This "calling of the reader's attention to
linguistic structures", quite different from the way in which a non-literary writer
will emphasize the language elements, " is an essential part of literary creation."
Kinds of Foregrounding :
► The concept Foregrounding has been developed by G.N. Leech . According to
him " the foregrounding of any linguistic or stylistic feature can be accomplished
either by " regularity " which is " Parallelism" and " Irregularity " which is "
deviation " .
► Leech and Short identify two kinds of foregrounding: qualitative
foregrounding and quantitative foregrounding. In
the former, there is deviation from the
rules of the language code or from the conventions of language use or
both. In the latter, the deviance is from some expected frequency of
linguistic occurrence and not from the language code. When a writer writes he is
constantly involved in making linguistic choices. The choices he makes
both outside and inside the language system may thus lead to foregrounding.
Parallelism :
► Foregrounding as Parallelism , according to G.N Leech " consists in the
introduction of extra regularities into the language , that is where the language
provides the writer with a range of options to choose from, but he
consistently limits himself to the same option " . With Parallelism , the writer
temporarily renounces/ refuse his permitted freedom of choice introduction
uniformity where there should normally be diversity .
► Parallelism is identified as "structural repetition in which variable elements
occur.
Short quotes the following line from Shakespeare's Othello as the "best
example ever" of parallelism:
" I kissed thee ere I killed thee "
The line consists of two parallel clauses linked by ere: < [SPO] [SPO] > . The
words I and thee are repeated. This leaves 'kissed' and 'killed' which are parallel,
What's the difference between Parallelism and Repetition?!?
► Parallelism is different from mere mechanical repetition in that it is an
apportionment of invariants and variables .In any pattern of parallelism there must
be an element of identity and an element of contrast but the absolute duplication or
the exact repetition of a sentence is not considered of any parallelistic value.
► Repetition is the repeated use of the same word or word pattern as a rhetorical
device in a short passage or sentence .
e.g. by Leech from Goldsmith's poem " the deserted village" ( Where wealth
accumulates and men decay ) this line is an illustration of contractive connection .
The relation of equivalence in the line is one of ironic contrast between "
accumulates & decay " .
The importance of parallelism :
►Foregrounding regularity ( parallelism ) is considered an important feature of
poetic language. Leech for example considers it to be the principle underlying all
versification & refers to its " overriding importance in the structure and
significance of works of literature " .
Parallelism VS coupling :
► Leech's concept of parallelism seems to be a continuation of Levin's concept of
" coupling " . Levin considers " coupling" to be the essence of poetry and argues
that poetic language maximizes the use of such figures as " couples" coupling ,
according to Levin, accounts for the convergence of a pair of equivalent phonic &
or semantic elements & a pair of syntagmatic ( positional ) patterns. i.e. placing
equivalent positions. e.g. for " coupling " " A soul as full of worth as void of pride
" . Where " full" & " void " are semantically related ( antonymous ) and occur in
identical parallel position.

Deviation :
► Deviation from linguistic or other socially accepted norms has been claimed to
be a basic principle of aesthetic communication and is essential for the study of
poetic language. .
► The creative writer's dilemma is that he is never satisfied with the normal
communicative resources of his language & always feels the need to find other
ways of using the language that are particular to himself and through which he can
convey what he has to say.
Whoever has thought strongly & felt strongly has innovated in his language ; mental
creativity immediately inscribes itself into the language, where it becomes linguistic
creativity.
► In his strife for linguistic creativity a writer may violate the rules of the normal
usage of his language in a number of ways : He can infringe these rules, add to
them or relate the structure of language to meaning in ways not prescribed by
everyday linguistic convention.
► This motivated violation of linguistic rules, known as linguistic deviation, &
results when the writer makes choices that are not permissible in terms of the
accepted code .and effects a disruption of the normal process of communication
that is justified only when the reader can assign some significance , some
communication value to the deviation. i.e. It has its significance through the reader
knowledge of it . and it is unintelligible unless the reader can , by some effort of
his mind, provide an interpretation for it.
However far the poets may go in their departure from what is expected they still
keep enough relationship with the accepted code in order to be able to
communicate . No poet can create an entirely new language . He has to adopt the
words & has to respect the fundamental rules of his language.
The concept of "norm ":
► It is very important in the study of deviation ; every deviant utterance is
understood against the norm of a language system ; this norm is the common
stock , the background that is assumed in any talk of deviation and against which
features that are prominent because of their abnormality are placed in focus. There
are many norms from which a poet may deviate: those of langue, parole and the
poetic tradition. Therefore , the critic dealing with deviation should define the
norm against which the deviation of a given text to be assessed.
Standard Language :
► Quirk defined standard English as the normal English. That kind of English
which draws least attention to itself over the widest area & through the widest
range of usage.
Standard English is basically an Ideal, a mode of expression that we seek
when we wish to communicate beyond our immediate community with
members of the wider community of the nation as a whole, or with the
members of the still wider community, English-speakers as a whole.
► Mukarovsky said that the distortion of the norms of the standard language is the
essence of poetry and it is improper to ask the poetic language( the poet) to abide
by this norm.

Types of Linguistic Deviation:

► There are different types of linguistics deviation in literature depending on what
rules are broken and at which level of the language it occurs.
-
Lexical Deviation
► It accounts for the poets transgression of the normal limits of the lexical
resources of his language . i.e. When he applies the rules of lexical formation &
patterning with a greater generality than usual, violating the normal ranges of
choice.
►There are many ways for the poet to deviate from the lexical norms in his
language : like ( Neologism – affixation – compounding – functional shift /
Unusual Collocation ).
Neologism :
► It is the invention of new lexical items & it is the most obvious, common ways
in which a poet can exceed the normal resources of his language. That happens
when the poets are not satisfied with the established word stock of their language.
► An example of neologism or the invention of new words is nonce-formation .A
word is considered to be a nonce-formation if it is made up for the nonce, i.e. for a
single occasion (Leech,1969: 42). Bauer (1983:45) defines a nonce-formation as a
new complex word coined by a speaker or a writer on the spur of the moment to
cover some immediate need. Whereas Crystal (1987:260) defines nonce-formation
as a linguistic form which a speaker consciously invents or accidentally uses on a
single occasion, many factors account for their uses. A speaker, for instance, can
not remember a particular word , so he coins an alternative approximation (e.g.,
linguistified, heard recently from a student who felt he was getting with
linguistics ), or is constrained by circumstances to produce a new form (as in
newspaper headlines ).
► In this process of coining new words, poets do not really violate the lexical
rules of word-formation, but they rather tend to apply the existing rules with
greater generality that what is normal.
It is misleading to suggest that neologism is a " violation of lexical rule; a
more correct explanation is that an existing rule ( of word formation ) is
applied with greater generality that is customary .
Affixation : It the addition of a prefix or a suffix to an item already in the language
. e.g. " disremember / unchilding / unfathering / disseveral ).
Compounding : It accounts for the joining together of two or more items to form a
single compound one .e.g. " widow-making / black-backed / may-mess / thunder-
throne / mid-numbered "
Functional shift or Functional conversion : it means to shift an item from one
part of speech to another, to adapt it to a new grammatical function, without
changing its form. e.g.
Stirred for a bird-the achieve of, the mastery of the thing
(Hopkins ,The Windhove)
Here, Hopkins takes the verb (achieve) and uses it as a noun, in spite of the fact
that English already has a noun, achievement derived from that verb. It is obvious
that the word is a noun here because of (1) the preceding definite article, (2) the
(of) apparently beginning a post-modifying prepositional phrase, and (3) the
grammatical parallel with mastery.
Unusual collocation :
It is another important type of deviation & it arises when the poet violates the
normal ranges of collocability of his lexical items creating unexpected lexical
patterns and relations. e.g. " giant groans / cordial air / a way grief's gasping /
lovely death / my lagging lines"
Grammatical Deviation :
► The number of grammatical rules in English is large ,and therefore the
foregrounding possibilities via grammatical deviation is also large (Short,
1969:47).
► To distinguish between the many different types of deviation is to start with the
line traditionally drawn between morphology( the grammar of the words) and
syntax (the grammar of how words pattern within sentences )
Examples of morphological deviation are museyroom, eggtentical, and intellible
in James Joyce’s Finnegan’s Wake.
She dwelt among the untrodden ways (Wordsworth)
►In syntax, deviations might be 1) bad or incorrect grammar and 2) syntactic
rearrangement/ hyperbaton. The examples are:
I doesn’t like him.
►One important feature of grammatical deviation is the case of ungrammaticality
such as "I does not like him" (Leech,1969:45).
► The most obvious examples of grammatical deviations are where a poet or a
writer uses the double negative, the double comparative and the double
superlative. In Old and Middle English the idea of negation was often expressed
several times a single sentence, as in the following example :
" I will never do nothing no more " (Brook, 1977:146).
► Similarly, writers or poets deviate from grammatical rules by combining two
ways of expressing comparison: the addition of suffixes and the use of the separate
words (more) and (most). Thus Shakespeare, for example, could combine
"unkindest" and "mostunkind" such as:
(This was the most unkindest cut of all.) (Brook, 1977: 146).
.
Some types of grammatical deviation :
Hyperbaton :It is deviation from normal word-order .Poets tend to arrange
syntactic elements in an irregular order to give prominence to certain elements
within the sentence. e.g. ( To seem the stranger lies my lot ) Hopkins.
► "One of the most common ways to use hyperbatonis to put an adjective after
the noun it modifies, rather than before it. While this might be a normal word order
in languages like French, in English it tends to give an air of mystery to a
sentence: "The forest burned with a fire unquenchable--unquenchable except by the
helicopter that finally arrived."
► "Hyperbaton can also put the verb all the way at the end of the sentence, rather
than between the subject and the object. So rather than, She wouldn't, for any reason
whatsoever, be married to that smelly, foul, unlikable man," you could write, She
wouldn't, for any reason whatsoever, to that smelly, foul, unlikable man be
married."
Ellipsis :Sometimes literary writers omit some elements of their sentences in order
to achieve compression of expression.
In linguistics, ellipsis (from the Greek: ἔλλειψις, élleipsis, "omission") or elliptical
construction refers to the omission from a clause of one or more words that would
otherwise be required by the remaining elements. There are numerous distinct
types of ellipsis acknowledged in theoretical syntax.
At various points, Hopkins suppresses relative pronouns, linking
verbs, conjunctions, articles, & prepositions in order to achieve maximum
compression .
Parenthesis: Sometimes the writer violates the normal construction of his
sentences when he tends to interrupt it with long parentheses (which
comes in turn from words meaning "alongside of" and "to place") is an
explanatory or qualifying word, clause, or sentence inserted into a passage
with which it doesn't necessarily have any grammatical connection.
Parentheses are usually marked off by round or square brackets, dashes,
or commas. ) e.g.
But what might you think,
When I had seen this hot love on the wing—
As I perceiv'd it (I must tell you that)
Before my daughter told me—what might you,
Or my dear Majesty your queen here, think...?
—Shakespeare, Hamlet 2.2.131-35
other examples :
Billy-bob, a great singer, was not a good dancer.
The phrase a great singer, set off by commas, is both an appositive and a
parenthesis.
A dog (not a cat) is an animal that barks.
The phrase not a cat is a parenthesis.
My umbrella (which is somewhat broken) can still shield the two of us from
the rain.
The phrase which is somewhat broken is a parenthesis.
Please, Gerald, come here!
Gerald is both a noun of direct address and a parenthesis
Formal Repetitions : It isn't the repetition which constitute parallel
patterns. & it sometimes happens when the writer want to realize certain
artistic purposes. and that repetitions don't really involve a violation, in the
exact sense of the word, of any linguistic rules. But their deviance is due to
the fact that the writer repeatedly uses the same lexical or grammatical
forms giving up his right to choose from the variety of linguistic possibilities
open to him. And it is used by writers to indicate a state of extreme
emotional excitement. or to intensify or emphasize certain aspects of the
text.
An example for Verbal repetition used by Hopkins .
Where, where was a, where was a place ?
All felled, felled, are all felled
Also we have the syntactic repetition, which need not include the same
lexical items. When the writer uses the same syntactic structure over &
over, he seems to be calling our attention to something he wants to make
prominent .
The Importance of Interpreting Deviation :
►Deviation is a matter of linguistic choice and is very significant stylistic
feature.
- It presupposes some motivation on the part of the writer & some
explanation on the part of the reader.
►Deviation is part of the meaning of the work & bears on its artistic
evaluation; without its interpretation we miss a good deal of what is
communicated and a great deal of the beauty of the style underhand.
► Deviation may effect a disruption of the normal process of
communication , yet the fact remains that it is the element of interest &
surprise which attracts the attention & urges the reader to find out an
explanation for it , to rationalize it.
► Though deviation from the accepted norms usually results in ambiguity,
it is appreciated in literature because it heightens awareness &
understanding.
► It strikes the reader with something unusual or uncommon & leads to " a
focus, or better, a refocusing on the text " .
► Linguistic deviation deautomatizes the language & causes a focusing of
attention on the deviant sequences.
►Deviation enriches the text in which it occurs because, unlike the normal
discourse, it becomes liable to more than one interpretation. This is due to
the fact that no absolute explanation can be provided foe a deviant
sequence.
► When interpreting deviation, in a given text, it is important to look for the
regular pattern of its occurrence because it is never a random choice, it
follows a certain rationale of its own.
cohesion : The concept of cohesion was first introduced by Leech And he meant
( the intra-textural relations of a grammatical & lexical kind which knit the parts of
a text together into a unified whole. This concept was developed by Hallidy ( The
concept of cohesion is a semantic one; it refers to relations of meaning that exist
within the text, and that define it as a text. Cohesion occurs where the
interpretation of some element in the discourse is dependent on that of another.
The one presupposes the other, in the sense that it cannot be effectively decoded
except by recourse to it.