2 excessive pausing between words
3 abnormal lengthening of sounds. For example:
I fffffffeel cold.
4 introduction of extra words or sounds at points of difficulty, such as
oh, or gosh.
Stutterers vary in the precise nature of their stuttering and in the situations
which cause them to stutter. Several theories have been suggested to account
for stuttering but no single cause has been identified.style nstylistic adj
1 variation in a person’s speech or writing. Style usually varies from casual
to formal according to the type of situation, the person or persons
addressed, the location, the topic discussed, etc. A particular style, e.g. a
formal style or a colloquial style, is sometimes referred to as a stylistic
variety.
Some linguists use the term “register” for a stylistic variety while others
differentiate between the two (see register).
2 style can also refer to a particular person’s use of speech or writing at all
times or to a way of speaking or writing at a particular period of time,
e.g. Dickens’ style, the style of Shakespeare, an eighteenth-century style
of writing.
see also stylistic variation
style shift n
a change in style during a verbal or written communication. Usually, a
style shift takes place if the writer reassesses or redefines a particular situ-
ation. For example, a writer may add an informal note at the end of a formal
invitation because he or she is on familiar terms with the person the invita-
tion is addressed to. In a job interview, an applicant may change his or her
formal style to a less formal style if the interviewer adopts a very informal
manner.
see also stylistic variation
stylistics n
the study of that variation in language (style) which is dependent on the
situation in which the language is used and also on the effect the writer or
speaker wishes to create on the reader or hearer. Although stylistics some-
times includes investigations of spoken language, it usually refers to the
study of written language, including literary texts. Stylistics is concerned
with the choices that are available to a writer and the reasons why particu-
lar forms and expressions are used rather than others.
see also discourse analysis
style