Abstract: | The different epithets which have been attributed to stylistics for over thirty years (linguistic, pedagogic, literary etc.) reveal the theoreticians' dissatisfaction with former definitions and their efforts to narrow down the meaning of the word. This attitude has resulted in dissidence and has led to a questioning of the validity of the term (cf. Lecercle, 1993 and the 1994 PAL A Conference). In this work, I will discuss some of these epithets, reappraise the nature, the function and the place of stylistics, and set it in relation to linguistics, literary and cultural studies. My aim is to offer a wider perspective of stylistics, one which may accommodate many of the various approaches developed so far. |
