Lexical and stylistic norms. Typical mistakes in word usage

A careless attitude to the language can cause speech insufficiency - an accidental omission of words necessary for an accurate expression of thought: The Directorate should strive to get rid of this indifference (missed to get rid of); Oil paintings are placed in frames (painted missing). Speech deficiency often occurs in oral speech when the speaker is in a hurry and does not follow the correctness of the statement. In this case, comic situations arise if the “speaker” addresses the audience using a microphone. So, at the dog show you can hear appeals to the owners of thoroughbred dogs:

Dear participants, sort out the breeds and get ready for the parade!

Comrades, participants, carefully wipe the muzzle from saliva to facilitate the examination of the dental system!

Prize-winners, urgently come for the awards. Owners without muzzles will not be awarded.

From such appeals of the administrator it follows that all these tests await not dogs, but their owners, because it is to them that the speech is addressed. With speech insufficiency, ambiguity very often occurs, here are examples of such errors that have fallen into protocols and other business documents: Gr. Kalinovsky L.L. followed the street without a license plate; Set the date of delivery of insurance agents to the accounting department before the 10th day of each month; We will send the persons you are interested in by mail; Class teachers ensure the attendance of their parents.

Due to speech insufficiency, the grammatical and logical connections of words in a sentence are violated, its meaning is obscured. The omission of words can completely distort the author's thought: In order to improve production indicators, it is necessary to unite all workers involved in economic issues (it is necessary: to unite the efforts of all workers); Due to the cold in the room, we only do urgent fractures - an announcement on the door of the X-ray room (meaning urgent X-ray images of fractures).

Due to the omission of a word, various logical errors can occur. Thus, the absence of the necessary link in the expression of thought leads to alogism: The language of Sholokhov's heroes differs sharply from the heroes of other writers (one can compare the language of Sholokhov's heroes only with the language of the heroes of other writers); The conditions of the city are different from the village (it is permissible to compare the conditions of life in the city only with the conditions of life in the village).

Often, as a result of the omission of a word, a substitution of the concept occurs. For example: Patients who have not visited an outpatient clinic for three years are laid out in the archive - we are talking about patient cards, and from the text it follows that "patients are handed over to the archive." Such speech insufficiency gives rise to the comic and absurdity of the statement [The Kuibyshev river port produces men for permanent and temporary work as port workers (“Kr.”); She took second place in gymnastics among girls of the 2nd category (“Kr.”); The National Insurance Inspectorate invites you to the State Insurance on any Thursday for injury (announcement)].

Speech deficiency that occurs as a result of the author's stylistic negligence can be easily corrected: you need to insert an accidentally missed word or phrase. For example:

1. Farmers strive to increase the number of sheep on the farm.	1. Farmers strive to increase the number of sheep on the farm.
2. Competitions have shown that in our city there are strong drafts players on the 100-cell board.	2. The competitions showed that strong checkers players appeared in our city, playing on a hundred-cell board.
3. Isochrones - lines on geographical maps passing through points on the earth's surface in which a particular phenomenon occurs at the same moment.	3. Isochrones - lines on geographical maps passing through points corresponding to points on the earth's surface at which one or another natural phenomenon occurs at the same moment.

If the speaker "does not find words" for the correct expression of thought and builds a sentence somehow, omitting certain links in the chain of logically connected concepts, the phrase becomes insufficiently informative, chaotic, and the editor who corrects such a statement has to work hard to achieve clarity. For example, in the manuscript of an article about the restoration of a printing company, we read: At first, equipment was installed in the format of a half-printed sheet. Based on this "truncated" information, it is not easy to guess that when the printing plant was reopened, equipment was first installed only for the production of products with a format of half a printed sheet. Insufficient information content of the sentence, in which important words and phrases are omitted, especially often leads to the absurdity of the statement, which could be observed in "stagnation times", when our newspapers printed numerous reports on "victories and conquests" in the implementation of five-year plans. For example: On this shift, between 16 and 20 hours, the thousandth billion of Soviet power engineers were worked out. It is not easy to recover the truth from such a message; in fact, we are talking about the fact that Soviet power engineers, who worked the evening shift, gave the country a thousandth billion kilowatt-hours of electricity.

Speech deficiency as a common mistake should be distinguished from ellipsis - a stylistic figure based on the conscious omission of one or another sentence member to create special expressiveness. The most expressive are elliptical constructions without a verb-predicate, conveying the dynamism of movement (I am for a candle, a candle - in the stove! I am for a book, that one is to run and jump under the bed. - Chuk.). With an ellipsis, there is no need to “restore” the missing members of the sentence, since the meaning of elliptical constructions is clear, and the introduction of clarifying words into them will deprive them of their expression, their inherent ease. In case of speech insufficiency, on the contrary, the restoration of missing words is necessary; without them, the sentence is stylistically unacceptable.

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Work on the style of a work is, first of all, work on its vocabulary, since the word is the basis for understanding speech. The vagueness of speech is an invariable sign of the vagueness of thought, L.N. Tolstoy; jokingly, the writer remarked: “If I were a king, I would make a law that a writer who uses a word whose meaning he cannot explain is deprived of the right to write and receives 100 blows of the rod.”

The stylistic approach to the study of vocabulary puts forward as the most important problem the choice of a word for the most accurate expression of thought. The correct use of words by the author is not only the dignity of the style, but also a necessary condition for the informative value of the work, the effectiveness of its content. The wrong choice of a word distorts the meaning of the statement, generating not only lexical, but also logical errors in speech.

Words should be used in strict accordance with their semantics, i.e. value. Each significant word has a lexical meaning, naming phenomena and objects of reality, which in our minds correspond to certain concepts. With a clear presentation of thought, the words used by the authors are fully consistent with their subject-logical meaning. V.G. Belinsky wrote: “Each word in a poetic work must exhaust the entire meaning of the whole work required by thought, so that it can be seen that there is no other word in the language that could replace it here.”

1.2.2. Search for the right word

The search for the only necessary word in the text requires the writer to exert creative strength and tireless work. This work is sometimes reflected in manuscripts, allowing us to get acquainted with the lexical substitutions that the author made, polishing the style of the work. For example, in the draft of A.S. Pushkin "Dubrovsky" we find the following edit: Members (of the court) met him (Troyekurov) with expressions of deep respect [deep devotion; deep servility] - the last word most expressively described the behavior of officials bribed by Troekurov, and the writer left it in the text.

N.V. worked a lot on their manuscripts. Gogol, L.N. Tolstoy, I.A. Goncharov, A.P. Chekhov, I.A. Bunin, A.I. Kuprin and other Russian writers. Finding the right word reflects their auto-editing. It is interesting to compare the original and final versions of some of the texts of our classics. Let us give examples from the story of N.V. Gogol "Taras Bulba".

original version	Published text
1. The rising breeze made it clear that there was little time left before dawn.	1. A broken breeze made it clear that there was little time left before dawn.
2. The Cossacks made a noise and at once felt their strength.	2. The Cossacks made a noise and sensed their strength at once.
3. ... They laughed at the Orthodox faith.	3. They mocked the Orthodox faith.
4. - "Good!" - repeated in the ranks of the Cossacks.	4. - “The koshevoi also said a kind word!” - responded in the ranks of the Cossacks.
5. "Well, well, tell me what it is!" the crowd answered with one voice.	5. ... the crowd shouted with one voice.
6. These words were penetrated by lightning.	6. These words flew like lightning.

The desire to find the exact words encourages writers to edit the text, comparing possible options for expressing thoughts. N.A. Nekrasov, we find such a stylistic correction in the description of the scene “at the front door”, which so impressed the poet, who later composed the famous poem: “There is nothing to do, [come on, go, go, stretch] wrapped in a tavern.” As you can see, it was not so easy for the author to choose a verb of movement that conveyed the mood of the offended peasants.

The stylistic editing of the writers in the manuscript reflects the last stage of work on the text, and what work preceded this, how many drafts were written and then destroyed, how many times the author said this or that phrase “to himself” before writing it down on paper - this can be just guess.

A.P. Chekhov spoke of his work in the following way: "... I am busy, busy up to my neck: I write and cross out, I write and cross out." He advised his brother: "It is necessary to dirty up fiercely," remarking: "... I do not want to recognize stories without blots." Reproaching one of the young writers for negligence, A.P. Chekhov reminded: “The manuscripts of all true masters are soiled, crossed out along and across, worn and covered with patches, in turn crossed out and fouled up.” And he recommended working like this: “You need to write a story for 5-6 days and think about it all the time ... It is necessary that each phrase, before lying down on paper, lie in the brain for two days ... ". This enormous work of the writer on the word is hidden from us, because we see the finished work. The researcher, comparing the drafts and the white version, comparing the different editions of the works, partly penetrates into the creative laboratory of the writer and, by lexical substitutions, can judge how he worked on the word.

Many lexical substitutions were made by A.I. Kuprin, while working on the article "In Memory of Chekhov". Here are examples of a more accurate choice of words in the process of stylistic editing of the manuscript by the writer himself:

Options	Published text
1. - But no one knows what is most important in this person.	1. - But no one guesses that most characteristic in this person.
2. He could be kind and generous without loving, affectionate and gentle ... without counting on appreciation.	2. He could be kind and generous without loving, affectionate and sympathetic ... without counting on gratitude.
3. ... He came, it seems, with the main goal of showing the then sick A. P-chu the production of his play.	3. ... He came, it seems, with an exclusive purpose ...

An interesting edit by M. Gorky in the novel "Mother":

Writers usually correct lexical errors during the editing process. The editor can also perform stylistic editing of the manuscript. Authors for whom literary work is an unusual occupation need the help of an editor, although literary editing of the text is not a prerequisite for its publication.

1.2.3. Speech errors caused by incorrect word choice

In the process of literary editing of a manuscript, the editor often has to note errors in word usage. The wrong choice of word makes the speech inaccurate, and sometimes distorts the meaning of the statement: The weather accompanied a good rest (instead of favorable); Martens will soon have an inheritance (meaning offspring); I want to continue the family dynasty and therefore decided to become an officer (instead of tradition). In such cases, one speaks of using a word without regard to its semantics. Such lexical errors arise as a result of the author's stylistic negligence, inattention to the word, or poor knowledge of the language. So, in a newspaper article we read: New railways will appear in areas difficult for development. The word "arise" means "appear, begin, form, originate", it is not suitable for naming an action that requires significant effort. Suspicion, anxiety, doubt (spontaneous states) can arise, difficulties, obstacles arise ... Railways cannot arise, they are laid by people.

The use of words without considering their semantics changes the meaning of the statement: The beginning of 1992 was marked by a deterioration climatic conditions- blizzards, a sharp drop in temperature. The author meant, of course, the weather conditions (bad weather), the climate could not change in one year.

When reading a manuscript, the editor has to weigh each word, eliminating such errors. Stylistic editing in such cases often comes down to a simple lexical replacement:

However, sometimes, in order to achieve accuracy and clarity, one has to resort to more complex types of editing, updating the lexical composition of the sentence, changing the wording, rebuilding the structure. Consider examples of such stylistic changes:

The use of words without taking into account their semantics can cause illogicality and even absurdity of the statement.

In one essay it was written: "... And our Far Eastern birch trees stand in their wedding shroud"(The author mixed up the shroud and veil).

Such errors arise under the influence of false associations. At the entrance exam to the Academy of Printing Arts, the young man wrote in an essay: “I know that the ancestors of A.S. Pushkin" (of course, he meant the descendants of the poet). The absurdity of the statement in such cases gives the phrase a comical sound.

The inaccuracy of word usage is explained not only by the low speech culture of the author; sometimes they deliberately do not want to use this or that word in order to veil the negative meaning of the statement. They write: he fantasizes instead of lying, he accepted gifts instead of taking bribes, etc. Recall an episode from the story of A.I. Kuprin “Inquiry”: “Ask him, did he take the tops from Esipaki?

The second lieutenant was again convinced of his inexperience and cowardice, because out of some bashful and delicate feeling he could not pronounce the real word "stole". Words and expressions that soften the rough meaning of speech are called euphemisms (from Gr. eu - good, phēmi - I say). The euphemism of speech is often explained by the author's desire to dull the critical sharpness of the statement when describing the negative phenomena of our life. For example, in a local newspaper, a correspondent reported: The collective farm board paid little attention to the protection of public property, while it should be recognized that the collective farm board treated the protection of public property irresponsibly (or turned a blind eye to the plunder of public property). The inaccuracy of speech in such cases leads the reader away from the truth, distorts the meaning.

Wrong word choice can cause various speech errors. So, due to inaccurate word usage, anachronism may arise (violation of chronological accuracy when using words related to a certain historical era): In ancient Rome, plebeians dissatisfied with the laws held rallies (the word “rally” appeared much later, and in England); In the 18th century, several printing houses were closed in Leningrad (the name of the city on the Neva, which the author used, was unknown in the 18th century, it should have been written: in St. Petersburg).

Incorrect word usage often leads to logical errors. Among them we will name alogism - a comparison of disparate concepts, for example: The syntax of encyclopedic articles is different from other scientific articles. It turns out that the syntax is compared with scientific articles. Eliminating alogism, you can write: The syntax of encyclopedic articles differs from the syntax of other scientific articles, or: The syntax of encyclopedic articles has a number of features that are unusual for the syntax of other scientific articles. Often the identification of alogism does not cause difficulties, stylistic editing in these cases is simple:

However, sometimes alogisms are not so obvious, and in order to eliminate them, one has to significantly change the author's text. For example: Our knowledge of the wealth of the bowels of the earth is only an insignificant part of the hidden, even greater wealth. We can offer the following options for stylistic editing of this phrase: We still know so little about the richest deposits of minerals, the secret of which is kept by the bowels of the earth; Huge riches are hidden in the bowels of the earth, about which we still know so little; Our knowledge of minerals is still so incomplete! We know only about an insignificant part of the wealth hidden in the bowels of the earth.

The reason for the illogicality of the statement may be the substitution of the concept, which often occurs as a result of incorrect word usage: It is bad when the same movie title is shown in all the cinemas of the city. Of course, the film is being shown, not its title. You could write: It's bad when the same film is shown in all the cinemas of the city. Similar errors in speech also arise due to insufficiently clear differentiation of concepts, for example: The theater staff is waiting for the approaching day of the premiere with special excitement (they are not waiting for the approach of the premiere, but when the premiere will take place).

In the case of a concept substitution, stylistic editing can be different: sometimes it is enough to replace an unsuccessfully used word, in other cases lexical replacement is combined with the use of new, clarifying words, and finally, sometimes it is necessary to redo the sentence in order to correctly convey the author's idea.

Our speech is also made illogical by the unjustified expansion or narrowing of the concept that arises as a result of mixing generic and specific categories: With good care from each animal, you can milk 12 liters of milk (it was not necessary to use the generic name - animal, but the specific name - cow); At any time of the day, medicine should come to the aid of the child. It was necessary to write: At any time of the day, medicine should come to the aid of the patient (after all, not only children need medical care).

It is especially common to observe the use of a generic name instead of a specific one, and this not only deprives speech of accuracy, leads to the loss of those specific information that make up the living fabric of the narrative, but also gives the style an official, sometimes clerical, coloring. Generic names are often presented by the speaker as more significant, giving the impression of the “importance” of the statement. Therefore, as the writer P. Nilin noted, “a person who wants to express himself “uncivilized” sometimes does not dare to call a hat a hat, and a jacket a jacket. And instead he pronounces strict words: a headdress or outerwear ”(Nilin P. The danger is not there // Novy Mir. - 1958. - No. 4.). K.I. Chukovsky, in his book “Alive Like Life,” recalled how, during the preparation of a radio broadcast, they “edited” the speech of a young writer who was going to say: “Heavy rains have passed.” “The head of the club grimaced:

So it doesn't fit. It should be more literary. Write something better like this: "Heavy rainfall fell."

Unfortunately, this unreasonable addiction to generic names becomes a kind of stencil: some authors, without hesitation, prefer atmospheric precipitation over rains, showers, drizzle, snow, snowstorms; green spaces - in front of lilac, jasmine, mountain ash, bird cherry; reservoirs - in front of lakes, ponds, rivers, streams ... Replacing species categories with generic ones makes our speech colorless, bureaucratic. It is no coincidence that the great artist of the word S.Ya. Marshak addressed his contemporaries with bitter reproach: "... We called lunches and dinners food, but the room was living space for us."

The reason for the illogicality of the statement, the distortion of its meaning sometimes lies in the fuzzy distinction between concrete and abstract concepts, for example: You need to think about winter feed for public animal husbandry (meaning, of course, feed for animals, livestock).

Consider examples of stylistic correction of sentences in which the illogicality of the statement is the result of an unjustified expansion of the concept or its narrowing, the replacement of a specific concept by an abstract one:

The distortion of the meaning and even the absurdity of the statement arise as a result of the discrepancy between the premise and the consequence, for example: The speed of reproduction of pests depends on how persistently and systematically the fight against them is carried out. It turns out that the more they fight pests, the faster they multiply. In this case, one should write not about the reproduction of pests, but about destruction, then the idea would be formulated correctly. Various options for stylistic editing of the proposal are acceptable: The speed of destruction of pests depends on how persistently and systematically the fight against them is carried out; Persistent pest control leads to their faster destruction; In order to exterminate pests more quickly, it is necessary to wage a stubborn and systematic struggle with them; With a persistent fight against pests, you can quickly achieve their destruction, etc.

Logical errors in speech are a great evil: they not only give rise to ambiguity of the statement, distort its meaning, but also lead to absurdity, inappropriate comicality of speech. The parodic sounding of certain statements in such cases nullifies their informative value. One ad, praising pills for those who want to lose weight, claims: The company guarantees weight loss by a hundred percent.

Another example. Working on the manuscript of the article "Physical Education and Health", the editor finds in it the reasoning:

It is not old age that is terrible, but decrepitude, therefore better to die young and healthy. Many people think so.

The absurdity of the statement in this case arose due to the fact that the author did not notice the substitution of the concept, using the word die, but he should have written: It would be nice to stay young and healthy until the end of his life, or: Keep vigor and health until old age. Careful attention to vocabulary, the correct choice of words, thoughtful analysis of the logical side of speech will help the author and editor avoid such mistakes.

1.2.4. Lexical compatibility

For the correct use of words in speech, it is not enough to know their exact meaning; it is also necessary to take into account the peculiarities of the lexical compatibility of words, i.e. their ability to connect with each other. So, “similar” adjectives long, long, long, long, long are “attracted” to nouns in different ways: long period, long period (but not long, long, long period); long way, long way; long-term fees, long-term credit. Often words with the same meaning can have different lexical compatibility (cf .: a true friend is a genuine document).

The doctrine of lexical compatibility is based on the position of Acad. V.V. Vinogradov about the phraseologically related meanings of words that have single compatibility (bosom friend) or limited compatibility possibilities (stale bread, loaf; stale person, but you can’t say “stale candy” (chocolate), “stale comrade” (father, son).

For the development of the theory of lexical compatibility, Vinogradov's selection of phraseological combinations and the establishment of the main types of lexical meanings of words in the Russian language were of great importance. Phraseology deals with phraseological combinations, the subject of lexical stylistics is the study of the combination in speech of words that have free meanings, and the definition of those restrictions that are imposed by the language on their lexical compatibility.

Many linguists emphasize that the lexical compatibility of a word is inseparable from its meaning. Some scientists, studying the problems of lexical compatibility, come to the conclusion that there are no absolutely free combinations of lexemes in the language, there are only groups of words with different possibilities of compatibility. With such a formulation of the question, the difference between free combinations and phraseologically connected ones is destroyed.

Combining words into phrases can run into various kinds of restrictions. Firstly, words may not be combined due to their semantic incompatibility (purple orange, leaned back, water is on fire); secondly, the combination of words into a phrase can be excluded due to their grammatical nature (mine - swim, close - cheerful); thirdly, their lexical features can prevent the unification of words (words denoting seemingly connected concepts do not combine; they say to cause grief, trouble, but one cannot say to cause joy, pleasure).

Depending on the restrictions governing the combination of words, there are three types of compatibility: semantic (from the term "semantics" - the meaning of the word), grammatical (more precisely, syntactic) and lexical.

Semantic compatibility is broken, for example, in such cases: today's hour no information yet; Need to speed up bloodshed settlement; My father's maiden name Sobakin; After the death of Lensky, no duel, Olga married a hussar ... Funny combinations of words, isn't it? But if you think about it, in other cases a very undesirable underlying meaning arises: not to stop, but only to settle the bloodshed? ..

A parodic example of a violation of grammatical compatibility is known: My yours does not understand (possessive adjectives cannot be combined with verbs in the personal form). More examples: Our leader healthy inside and out ; Most of the time deputies spend on discussions.

The most drastic violation of the laws of “attraction of words” is lexical inconsistency: The voice of numbers is not comforting; In the recent past we all had our tongues clamped. The bright effect of “deceived expectation” is played by comedians in caustic jokes: We have been victorious and no longer have the right to delay; Reached the gaping peaks.

Violation of lexical compatibility is often explained by the incorrect use of polysemantic words. So, in its basic meaning, the word deep can be freely combined with any other, suitable in meaning: deep (that is, having great depth) well, bay, pond, lake, river. However, in the meaning of “reached the limit, complete, perfect”, this word is combined with a few (deep autumn, winter, but not summer, not spring, deep night, silence, but not morning, not day, not noise; deep old age, but not youth). Therefore, we are laughing at the statement: deep childhood he looked like his mother.

The word to take place is interpreted in dictionaries by means of synonyms to happen, to come true, however, unlike them, this verb is appropriate if the planned events were being prepared, planned (A meeting was held; A meeting of the candidate for the Duma with voters took place). And if the correspondent writes: On the streets of the city armed clashes took place, - you might think that armed clashes were being prepared, planned by someone. As you can see, a violation of lexical compatibility can lead to a distortion of the meaning of the statement.

Lexical stylistics should focus on the assessment of lexical compatibility. However, the boundaries between different types of compatibility are very fuzzy, therefore, in the stylistic analysis of the text, one has to talk not only about “pure” lexical compatibility, but also take into account various transitional cases.

All significant words that have free meanings can be conditionally divided into two groups. Some are characterized by compatibility, practically unlimited within their subject-logical connections; such, for example, are adjectives that characterize the physical properties of objects - color, volume, weight, temperature (red, black, large, small, light, heavy, hot, cold), many nouns (table, house, person, tree), verbs ( live, see, work, know). Another group is formed by words that have limited lexical compatibility (and in the case of polysemy of words, this restriction can only apply to their individual meanings). This group of words is of particular interest.

Lexical compatibility restrictions are usually inherent in words that rarely occur in speech. Words with the maximum frequency of use (they are included in the 2500 most frequent words of the Russian language) easily enter into lexical relationships. For example, when comparing the compatibility of the words fear and fear, it turned out that the word fear is more actively combined with various verbs.

The lexical compatibility of words has an intralinguistic character. In our native language, we usually “predict” possible variants of lexical connections of words (mostly by intuition). Marks of lexical compatibility in explanatory dictionaries are rare and inconsistent. Of practical importance is the "Dictionary of the compatibility of words of the Russian language" ed. P.N. Denisova, V.V. Morkovkina (2nd ed. M., 1983).

1.2.5. Violation of lexical compatibility as a stylistic device

The assessment of lexical compatibility in expressive speech cannot be approached with the usual yardstick, here the laws of “attraction” of words to each other are special. In fiction and journalistic works, the boundaries of lexical compatibility can be expanded. For example, it has been noted that the restrictions of semantic compatibility do not apply to figurative word usage: phrases are possible that seem meaningless if their constituent words are understood in a literal sense (the sunset is burning, the years are flying, black thoughts). The semantic incompatibility of words is not an obstacle to the creation of artistic images. It is the violation of the usual connections of words, giving them new shades of meaning, that underlies many classical images that have become textbook examples of epithets, metaphors, metonyms: gray winter threat (P.); The bell cries loudly, and laughs, and squeals (Vyaz.); Sometimes he falls passionately in love with his elegant sadness ... (L.); pot-bellied walnut bureau (G.); mental and moral neckline, bald syllogism (S.-Shch.).

Violation of lexical compatibility can become an effective means of creating a comic sound of speech in a humorous context: Since that day, glory has befallen Evstigneyka (M. G.); an apple with a mole, a seething lazybones (I. and P.); on the basis of a comprehensive and double-edged squabble (I. Ilf); single fox terrier (L. Lench). Violation of lexical compatibility as a vivid stylistic device for creating a comic effect underlies various jokes, aphorisms, which are usually published on the humorous pages of magazines and newspapers. For example: Genius was recognized alive ("LG"); It is difficult to forgive other people's shortcomings, but it is even more difficult to forgive other people's virtues; our sworn friends; hardened leader; Finally, the government achieved a significant deterioration in the life of the people; With perestroika, another event befell us: humanitarian aid from the West (from the newspaper).

Incompatibility makes headlines catchy: "A genre doomed to success" (about parody); "Memories of the Future" (movie title); “Alone with everyone” (play by A. Gelman); "Lifetime Friend" (about the "friendship" of V. Zhirinovsky with Saddam Hussein); "Stalkers of Heaven" (about helicopter pilots who worked in areas of high radiation); "Turn on the silence"; “What was silent about in the subway”; "Long, serial life"; "Bouquet of stars" (variety). Often poets violate lexical compatibility. Unusual combinations of words in the songs of Vl. Vysotsky: Poets walk with their heels on the blade of a knife and cut their barefoot souls into blood. In a non-expressive, prosaic speech, the phrases “walk on your heels”, “barefoot souls” would seem impossible, absurd, but, in a poetic context, they amaze with their artistic power. Another example from a song by the same author: In the morning, they shot the silent mountain echo ... And the stones, like tears, splashed out of the wounded rocks.

1.2.6. Violation of lexical compatibility as a speech error

If the author does not strive to achieve a certain stylistic goal, the violation of lexical compatibility becomes a speech error. This reflects a characteristic feature of the dialectical nature of the language: in one case, the phenomenon, which is a deviation from the linguistic norm, turns out to be an effective means of creating speech expression, in the other, it is evidence of the author’s negligence, inattentive attitude to the word. Involuntary violation of lexical compatibility is a very common speech error.

“Although in these competitions our favorite skaters defeated, the spectators greet them standing up,” says the sportscaster (but: win, lose). “Maybe insomnia has come to you, and you are lying without closing your blue eyes,” the poet writes (but: you can close your eyes, not your eyes). In the essay, the journalist notes: “The basin produced cozy impression” (you can make a pleasant impression, not a cozy one). Some words are often used in speech in the wrong combinations (meeting convened, conversation read, increase attention, give importance, increase horizons, etc.).

Violation of lexical compatibility can be caused by contamination of outwardly similar phrases. For example, they say: to meet modern needs, mixing combinations to meet the requirements and meet the needs; From him recover property damage in favor of the victims (material damage can be compensated; money can be recovered); The artistic level of the expositions of the folk museums has been improved (the level can increase, increase; the quality can be improved). More examples of word combinations contamination: take measures (take measures - take steps); deserved fame (acquired fame - deserved respect); unflagging help (constant help - unflagging attention); does not matter (does not matter - does not matter). The confusion of phrases was the reason for the joke:

Tastes could not be discussed:

Some respect apricots in brine,

Others like jam with mustard.

But all this is irrelevant

And besides, it doesn't matter.

(E. Svistunov)

When using words that have extremely limited possibilities of lexical connections, a violation of lexical compatibility often becomes the cause of the comic sound of speech. For example: Serious problems came crashing down on young entrepreneurs by surprise ; Leaders paid close attention to deficiencies achieved; They worked like the most notorious specialists; People came to us dejected by experience. Comic in such cases arises because words that have limited lexical compatibility suggest variants of phrases with often directly opposite meanings (cf .: successes achieved, notorious scammers, dejected by grief).

Consider examples of stylistic editing of sentences in which lexical compatibility is violated:

As you can see, stylistic editing basically comes down to replacing words, the use of which led to a violation of lexical compatibility.

1.2.7. Speech deficiency

A careless attitude to the language can cause speech insufficiency - an accidental omission of words necessary for an accurate expression of thought: The directorate should strive to avoid this indifference (missed to get rid of); Oil paintings are placed in frames (painted missing). Speech deficiency often occurs in oral speech when the speaker is in a hurry and does not follow the correctness of the statement. In this case, comic situations arise if the “speaker” addresses the audience using a microphone. So, at the dog show you can hear appeals to the owners of thoroughbred dogs:

Dear participants, sort by breed and get ready for the parade!

Fellow participants, carefully wipe the muzzle from saliva to facilitate examination of the dental system!

Prize-winners, urgently come for the awards. Owners without muzzles will not be awarded.

Speech deficiency that occurs as a result of the author's stylistic negligence can be easily corrected: you need to insert an accidentally missed word or phrase. For example:

1. Farmers strive to increase the number of sheep on the farm.	1. Farmers strive to increase the number of sheep on the farm.
2. Competitions have shown that in our city there are strong drafts players on the 100-cell board.	2. The competitions showed that strong checkers players appeared in our city, playing on a hundred-cell board.
3. Isochrones - lines on geographical maps passing through points on the earth's surface in which a particular phenomenon occurs at the same moment.	3. Isochrones - lines on maps passing through points, relevant points on the earth's surface at which one or another natural phenomenon occurs at the same moment.

1.2.8. Speech redundancy

The ability to find the exact words for naming certain concepts helps to achieve brevity in the expression of thought, and, on the contrary, the author's stylistic helplessness often leads to verbal redundancy - verbosity. Verbosity as a great evil was repeatedly pointed out by scientists, writers A.P. Chekhov remarked: "Brevity is the sister of talent." A.M. Gorky wrote that laconism, as well as accuracy of presentation, are not easy for the writer: "... It is extremely difficult to find the exact words and put them in such a way that a lot is said to a few," so that the words are cramped, the thoughts are spacious "".

Verbosity comes in various forms. Often one can observe an obsessive explanation of well-known truths: Consumption of milk is a good tradition, not only children eat milk, the need for milk, the habit of milk persists until old age. Is this a bad habit? Should it be abandoned? - Not! Such idle talk, of course, is suppressed by the editor: reasoning that is not of informative value is excluded during literary editing. However, such an edit-abbreviation is not directly related to the lexical style, since it affects not the lexical side of the text, but its content.

The subject of lexical stylistics is speech redundancy that occurs when the same thought is repeated, for example: They were shocked by the sight of a fire, which they were witnesses; Our athletes arrived at international competitions in order to to take part in competitions in which not only ours, but also foreign athletes will participate; He could not stay away from family conflicts, as a woman's husband and children's father; The machine park was updated with new machines (highlighted words are superfluous).

Sometimes the manifestation of speech redundancy borders on the absurd: The corpse was dead and did not hide it. Stylists call such examples of verbosity lapalissiads. The origin of this term is not without interest: it is formed on behalf of the French marshal Marquise La Palisa, who died in 1525. The soldiers composed a song about him, in which were the words: Our commander was still alive 25 minutes before his death. The absurdity of the lapalissiada lies in the assertion of a self-evident truth.

Lapalissiades give speech an inappropriate comedy, often in situations that arose as a result of tragic circumstances. For example: Since the responsible editor of the collection has died, it is necessary to introduce a new living editor to the editorial board; The dead corpse lay motionless and showed no signs of life .

Speech redundancy can take the form of pleonasm. Pleonasm (from Gr. pleonasmos - excess) is the use in speech of words that are close in meaning and therefore unnecessary words (the main essence, everyday routine, it is useless to disappear, to anticipate in advance, valuable treasures, dark darkness, etc.). Often pleonasms appear when synonyms are combined kissed and kissed; long and long; courageous and bold; only; nevertheless, however; for example.

More A.S. Pushkin, considering brevity as one of the merits of the work, reproached P.A. Vyazemsky in a letter to him for the fact that in his fairy tale "The Line of the Terrain" the speech of one of the characters is "stretched", and the phrase "Even more painful is almost doubly pleonasm."

Pleonasms usually arise due to the stylistic negligence of the author. For example: Local forest workers are not limited only to the protection of the taiga, but they also do not allow the richest gifts of nature to be wasted in vain. When stylistic editing, the highlighted words must be excluded. However, this manifestation of speech redundancy should be distinguished from "imaginary pleonasm", which the author deliberately refers to as a means of enhancing the expressiveness of speech. In this case, pleonasm becomes a striking stylistic device. Let's remember F. Tyutchev: The vault of heaven, burning with star glory. Mysteriously looks from the depths, And we swim, a flaming abyss surrounded on all sides; S. Yesenina: Give me a paw, Jim, for good luck. I have never seen such a paw. Let's bark with you in the moonlight quiet, silent weather ... Another example: The time will not return when the history of our country was rewritten for the sake of a false ideology (from the gas.).

The use of pleonastic combinations is also characteristic of folklore: Where are you going, Volga? Where are you heading? To give you a place by name, by patronymic ... In oral folk art, expressively colored pleonastic combinations of sadness-longing, sea-okiya, path-path and so on have traditionally been used.

A variation of pleonasm is tautology (from Gr. tauto - the same thing, logos - a word). Tautology as a phenomenon of lexical stylistics can arise when repeating words with the same root (tell a story, multiply many times, ask a question, resume again), as well as when combining a foreign and Russian word that duplicates its meaning (memorable souvenirs, debuted for the first time, an unusual phenomenon that drives keynote). In the latter case, one sometimes speaks of a hidden tautology.

The repetition of cognate words, which creates a tautology, is a very common mistake (Plaintiff proves his case unsubstantiated evidence; The rise in crime has risen; Citizens pedestrians! Cross the street only pedestrian crossings!). The use of words with the same root creates unnecessary "marking time", for example: ... Quite naturally, the definition follows that labor productivity at certain stages of technological development is determined completely certain patterns. In order to comprehend such a statement, it is necessary, first of all, to get rid of the tautology. The following variant of stylistic correction is possible: A well-founded conclusion follows that labor productivity at various stages of technological development is determined by objective laws.

However, the repetition of cognate words should not always be regarded as a stylistic error. Many stylists rightly believe that it is not always necessary to exclude single-root words from sentences, replacing them with synonyms: in some cases this is impossible, in others it can lead to impoverishment, discoloration of speech. Several cognates in a close context are stylistically justified if related words are the only carriers of the corresponding meanings and cannot be replaced by synonyms (coach - to train; elections, voters - to choose; habit - to wean; close - cover; cook - jam, etc. .). How to avoid, say, the use of words with the same root, when you need to say: White flowers bloomed on the bushes; The book was edited by the editor-in-chief?

There are many tautological combinations in the language, the use of which is inevitable, since they use terminological vocabulary (a dictionary of foreign words, a fifth-level link, a foreman of the first brigade, etc.). We have to put up with such, for example, word usage: the investigating authorities ... investigated; suffer from Graves' disease; the seam is cut by a cutting machine, etc.

Many related words from an etymological point of view in the modern language have lost their word-building connections (cf.: remove - raise - understand - hug - accept, song - rooster, morning - tomorrow). Such words, having a common etymological root, do not form tautological phrases (black ink, red paint, white linen).

The tautology that occurs when a Russian word and a foreign word are combined, which coincide in meaning, usually indicates that the speaker does not understand the exact meaning of the borrowed word. This is how combinations of a young child prodigy, meager little things, an interior, a leading leader, a break interval, etc. appear. Tautological combinations of this type sometimes pass into the category of permissible ones and are fixed in speech, which is associated with a change in the meanings of words. An example of loss of tautology would be a combination of time periods. In the past, linguists considered this expression tautological, since the Greek word period means "time". However, the word period gradually acquired the meaning of "a period of time", and therefore the expression period of time became possible. Combinations of a monumental monument, reality, exhibits of an exhibition, a second-hand book and some others were also fixed in speech, because in them the definitions ceased to be a simple repetition of the main feature already contained in the word being defined. The tautology that occurs when using abbreviations in scientific and official business styles does not require stylistic editing, for example: SI system [i.e. "System International System" (about physical units)]; Institute BelNIISH (Institute Belarusian Scientific Research Institute of Agriculture).

Tautology, like pleonasm, can be a stylistic device that enhances the effectiveness of speech. In colloquial speech, such tautological combinations are used as to serve, all sorts of things, bitter grief, etc., which bring a special expression. Tautology underlies many phraseological units (eat, see views, walk shaking, sit in one seat, packed full, disappear to waste). Especially important stylistic significance is acquired by tautological repetitions in artistic speech, mainly in poetic speech.

There are tautological combinations of several types: combinations with a tautological epithet (And it was not old again, but new and victorious. - Sl.), with a tautological instrumental case (And suddenly a birch was white and white in a gloomy spruce forest. - Sol.). Tautological combinations in the text stand out against the background of other words; this makes it possible, resorting to tautology, to pay attention to especially important concepts (So, lawlessness was legalized; Less and less remains with nature unsolved mysteries). An important semantic function is played by the tautology in the headlines of newspaper articles (“Green shield asks for protection”; “ Extremes North”, “Is it an accident?”, “Is the old bicycle obsolete?”).

Tautological repetition can give the statement a special significance, aphorism ( Winner student from defeated teacher. - Bug.; Fortunately, the fashion circle is no longer in vogue. - P.; And old fashioned, and the old is delirious with novelty. - P.). As a source of speech expression, tautology is especially effective if single-root words are compared as synonyms (It’s as if they hadn’t seen each other for two years, their kiss was long, long. - Ch.), antonyms (When did we learn to be strangers? When did we forget how to speak? - Evt. ).

Like any repetitions, tautological combinations increase the emotionality of journalistic speech [The Seventh Symphony (Shostakovich) is dedicated to the triumph human in man... To the threat of fascism - dehumanize a person- the composer answered with a symphony about the victorious triumph of everything high and beautiful. - A. T.].

The stringing of single-root words is used in gradation (from Latin gradatio - gradualness) - a stylistic figure based on a consistent increase or decrease in emotional and expressive significance (Oh! for the sake of our past days deceased, ruined happiness, do not destroy in my soul to the past of the last fate! - Og.).

In expressively colored speech, tautological repetitions, like the repetition of sounds, can become an expressive means of phonics (Then the tractors with guns stretched, the field kitchen passed, then the infantry went. - Shol.). Poets often combine both techniques - repetition of roots and repetition of sounds (Everything is fine: the poet sings, the critic criticizes. - Mayak.).

The possibility of a punning clash of cognate words makes it possible to use tautology as a means of creating comedy, satirical coloring. This technique was brilliantly mastered by N.V. Gogol, M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin (Let you not allow this; The writer pees, and the reader reads). As a means of comedy, tautology is also used by modern authors of humorous stories, feuilletons, and jokes (Efficiency: Do not do it, but you can’t redo all the things; The cow, nicknamed God’s, godlessly destroys potato plantings. - “LG”).

1.2.9. Word repetition

The repetition of words should be distinguished from tautology, although it is often a manifestation of speech redundancy. Unjustified lexical repetitions, which are often accompanied by tautology and pleonasms, usually indicate the author's inability to clearly and concisely formulate an idea. For example, in the minutes of the meeting of the pedagogical council we read: The essay has been copied, and the one who copied does not deny that he copied the essay, and the one who allowed it to be copied even wrote that he gave the essay to be copied. So the fact is established. Was it not possible to formulate this idea briefly? One had only to indicate the names of the perpetrators of what happened: Ivanov does not deny that he copied the essay from Petrov, who allowed him to do this.

To avoid lexical repetitions, literary editing often has to significantly change the author's text:

1. Were results close to results obtained on the ship model. Results showed...	1. Results were obtained close to those given by the test of the ship model. This indicates that...
2. It is good to add a small amount of bleach to the water for washing the floor - this is a good disinfectant and, in addition, it freshens the air in the room well.	2. It is recommended to add a little bleach to the water for washing the floor: it disinfects and freshens the air well.
3. Always be well dressed and you can be fashionable if you sew for yourself.	3. Sew yourself, and you will always be dressed fashionably and beautifully.

However, the repetition of words does not always indicate the stylistic helplessness of the author: it can become a stylistic device that enhances the expressiveness of speech. Lexical repetitions help to highlight an important concept in the text (Live for a century, learn for a century. - last; They pay good for good. - proverb.). This stylistic device was skillfully used by L.N. Tolstoy: She [Anna] was charming in her simple black dress, her full arms with bracelets were charming, her firm neck with a string of pearls was charming, curly hair of a disordered hairstyle was charming, graceful light movements of small legs and hands were charming, this beautiful face was charming in its revival; but there was something terrible and cruel in her charms. Publicists turn to the repetition of words as a means of logical selection of concepts. For example, the headlines of newspaper articles are interesting: “The mighty forces of a mighty region” (about Siberia), “Opera about the opera” (about a musical theater performance), “Be a man, man!”

The repetition of words is usually characteristic of emotionally colored speech. Therefore, lexical repetitions are often found in poetry. Let us recall Pushkin's lines: A classic, old-fashioned novel, remarkably long, long, long...

In poetic speech, lexical repetitions are often combined with various techniques of poetic syntax that enhance emphatic intonation. For example: You hear: the drum rumbles. Soldier, say goodbye to her, say goodbye to her, the platoon goes into fog, fog, fog, and the past is clearer, clearer, clearer ... (Ok.) One of the researchers wittily remarked that repetition does not at all mean an invitation to say goodbye twice; it can mean: “soldier, hurry up to say goodbye, the platoon is already leaving”, or “soldier, say goodbye to her, say goodbye forever, you will never see her again”, or “soldier, say goodbye to her, to your only one”, etc. . Thus, the "doubling" of the word does not mean a simple repetition of the concept, but becomes a means of creating a poetic "subtext" that deepens the content of the statement.

By stringing the same words, one can reflect the nature of the visual impressions (But the infantry goes, the infantry goes past the pines, pines, pines without end. - Lug.). Lexical repetitions sometimes, like a gesture, enhance the expressiveness of speech:

The battle thundered for the crossing,

And below, a little to the south -

Germans from left to right,

Late, they made their way. (...)

And on the left on the move, on the move

Rippled bayonets.

They were pushed into the water, into the water,

And the water is flowing...

(A.T. Tvardovsky)

Lexical repetitions can also be used as a means of humor. In a parodic text, a pile of identical words and expressions reflects the comic nature of the described situation:

It is very important to know how to behave in society. If, when inviting a lady to dance, you stepped on her foot and she pretended not to notice it, then you must pretend not to notice, as she noticed, but pretended not to notice. - "LG".

Thus, in artistic speech, verbal repetitions can perform a variety of stylistic functions. This must be taken into account when giving a stylistic assessment of the use of the word in the text.

Dear participants, sort out the breeds and get ready for the parade!

Comrades, participants, carefully wipe the muzzle from saliva to facilitate the examination of the dental system!

Prize-winners, urgently come for the awards. Owners without muzzles will not be awarded.

Dear participants, sort out the breeds and get ready for the parade!

Comrades, participants, carefully wipe the muzzle from saliva to facilitate the examination of the dental system!

Prize-winners, urgently come for the awards. Owners without muzzles will not be awarded.

Speech deficiency that occurs as a result of the author's stylistic negligence can be easily corrected: you need to insert an accidentally missed word or phrase. For example:

1. Farmers strive to increase the number of sheep on the farm. - Farmers strive to increase the number of sheep on the farm.

2. Competitions have shown that in our city there are strong drafts players on the 100-cell board. - Competitions have shown that strong checkers players have appeared in our city, playing on a hundred-cell board.

3. Isochrones - lines on geographical maps passing through points on the earth's surface in which a particular phenomenon occurs at the same moment. - Isochrones - lines on geographical maps passing through points corresponding to points on the earth's surface in which one or another natural phenomenon occurs at the same moment.

Golub I.B. Stylistics of the Russian language - M., 1997

Careless attitude to the language can cause speech insufficiency- random omission of words necessary for the exact expression of thought: Management should strive from this indifference(omitted get rid of); Oil paintings are placed in frames(omitted written). Speech deficiency often occurs in oral speech when the speaker is in a hurry and does not follow the correctness of the statement. Speech insufficiency can generate a comic effect. So, at the dog show you can hear appeals to the owners of thoroughbred dogs:

- Dear participants, sort by breed and get ready for the parade!

- Fellow participants, carefully wipe the muzzle from saliva to facilitate examination of the dental system!

- Prize-winners, urgently come for rewarding. Owners without muzzles will not be awarded.

With speech insufficiency, ambiguity very often occurs, here are examples of such errors that have fallen into protocols and other business documents: Gr. Kalinovsky L.L. followed the street without a license plate; Set the date of delivery of insurance agents to the accounting department before the 10th day of each month; We will send the persons you are interested in by mail; Class teachers to ensure the attendance of their parents.

Due to speech insufficiency, the grammatical and logical connections of words in a sentence are violated, its meaning is obscured. The omission of words can completely distort the author's thought: To improve production performance, it is necessary to unite all workers involved in economic issues(necessary: unite the efforts of all employees); Due to the cold in the room, we make only urgent fractures- an announcement on the door of the X-ray room (meaning urgent x-rays of fractures).

Due to the omission of a word, various logical errors can occur. So, the absence of the necessary link in the expression of thought leads to alogism: The language of Sholokhov's heroes differs sharply from the heroes of other writers.(can be compared the language of the heroes of Sholokhov only with the language of the heroes of other writers); The conditions of the city are different from the village(permissible comparison living conditions in the city with conditions village life).

Often, as a result of the omission of a word, substitution of the concept. For example: Patients who have not visited the outpatient clinic for three years are laid out in the archive- this is about patient cards, and from the text it follows that "the patients are handed over to the archive." Such speech insufficiency gives rise to the absurdity of the statement ( Kuibyshev river port produces men for permanent and temporary work as port workers; She took second place in gymnastics among girls of the 2nd category.; The State Insurance Inspectorate invites you to the State Insurance on any Thursday to receive an injury).

Speech deficiency that occurs as a result of the author's stylistic negligence can be easily corrected: you need to insert an accidentally missed word or phrase. For example:

1. Farmers strive to increase the number of sheep on the farm.

2. Competitions have shown that in our city there are strong drafts players on the 100-cell board.

2. The competitions showed that strong checkers players appeared in our city, playing on a hundred-cell board.

3. Isochrones - lines on geographical maps passing through points on the earth's surface in which a particular phenomenon occurs at the same moment.

3. Isochrones - lines on geographical maps passing through points corresponding to points on the earth's surface at which one or another natural phenomenon occurs at the same moment.

Sentences in which important words and phrases are omitted suffer insufficient information content. For example: On this shift, between 16 and 20 hours, the thousandth billion of Russian power engineers were worked out. It is not easy to recover the truth from such a message; in fact, it is about energy workers working the evening shift produced a thousandth billion kilowatt-hours of electricity.

Speech deficiency as a common mistake should be distinguished from ellipse- a stylistic figure based on the conscious omission of one or another member of the sentence to create special expressiveness. With an ellipsis, there is no need to “restore” the missing members of the sentence, since the meaning of elliptical constructions is clear, and the introduction of clarifying words into them will deprive them of their expression, their inherent ease. In case of speech insufficiency, on the contrary, the restoration of missing words is necessary; without them, the sentence is stylistically unacceptable.

(According to: Golub I. B. Stylistics of the Russian language. M., 1997)

Portal for the student. Self-training

Lexical and stylistic norms. Typical mistakes in word usage

Stylistics of the Russian language: textbook. allowance

What will we do with the received material:

1.2.2. Search for the right word

1.2.3. Speech errors caused by incorrect word choice

1.2.4. Lexical compatibility

1.2.5. Violation of lexical compatibility as a stylistic device

1.2.6. Violation of lexical compatibility as a speech error

1.2.7. Speech deficiency

1.2.8. Speech redundancy

1.2.9. Word repetition

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Portal for the student. Self-training

Stylistics of the Russian language: textbook. allowance

What will we do with the received material:

1.2.2. Search for the right word

1.2.3. Speech errors caused by incorrect word choice

1.2.4. Lexical compatibility

1.2.5. Violation of lexical compatibility as a stylistic device

1.2.6. Violation of lexical compatibility as a speech error

1.2.7. Speech deficiency

1.2.8. Speech redundancy

1.2.9. Word repetition

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