Гальперин И. Р. Стилистика английского языка

E. PARTICULAR USE OF COLLOQUIAL CONSTRUCTIONS

We have already pointed out some of the constructions which bear an imprint of emotion in the very arrangement of the words, whether they are neutral or stylistically coloured (see] p. 39). Such constructions are almost exclusively used in lively colloquial intercourse. The emotional element can be strongly enforced by emphatic intonation, which is an indispensable component of emotional utterance. But what is important to observe is that the structure itself, independent of the actual lexical presentation, is intended to carry some emotional charge.
Emotional syntactical structures typical of the spoken variety of language are sometimes very effectively used by men-of-letters to depict the emotional state of mind of the characters; they may even be used, in particular cases, in the narrative of the author. But even when used in the dialogue of novels and stories these emotional constructions, being deprived of their accompaniment – intonation – assume a greater significance and become stylistically marked. Here the emotional structures stand out more conspicuously, because they are thrown into prominence not by the intonation pattern but by the syntactical pattern.
Consequently, it will be found necessary to classify some of the most typical structures of these kinds, in spite of the lurking danger of confusing idiomatic phrases (set expressions, phraseological units) with abstract patterns.
a) One of the most typical patterns is a simple statement followed by the pronoun that+noun (pronoun)+verb to be (in the appropriate form), for example:
"June had answered in her imperious brisk way, like the little embodiment of will that she was." (Galsworthy)
"And Felix thought: 'She just wants to talk to me about Derek, Dog in the manger that I am.'"
b) Another pattern is a question form with an exclamatory meaning expressing amazement, indignation, excitement, enjoyment, etc., for example:
"Old ladies, Do I ever hate them?"
"He said in an awestruck voice: 'Boy, is that a piece of boat!'"
"And boy, could that guy spend money!"
"And was Edward pleased!"
"'Look', she said.’Isn't that your boss there, just coming in?' 'My God! Yes,' said Lute, 'Oh, and has he a nice package?' 'I'll say. That's his wife with him, isn't it?'" (O'Hara)
"A witch she is. Г know her back in the old country. Sure, and didn't she come over on the same boat as myself?" (Betty Smith)
Note that this pattern is generally preceded by an exclamatory word, or an interjection, or the conjunction and in the same function.
c) The third pattern is a morphological one (generally use of continuous forms), but mentioned here because it is closely connected with syntactical structures, inversions, repetitions and others, for example:
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"You are not being silly, are you?" (Leslie Ford)
"Now we're not going to have any more of that, Mrs. Euston."
(O'Hara)
d) The fourth pattern, also very common in colloquial English, is a construction where a noun or pronoun subject followed by the verbs to have (noun+object) or to be (noun+predicative) ends with the two components in inverted order, for example:
"She had a high colour, had Sally."
"He has a rather curious smile, has my friend."
"She is a great comfort to me, is that lass." (Cronin)
Sometimes though, the noun or pronoun subject is predicated by notional verbs. In this case to do is used in this trailing emphatic phrase, as in:
"He fair beats me, does James Brodie." (Cronin)
Negative forms are frequently used to indicate an emotional outburst of the speaker, for instance:
"You don't say!"
"I do say. I tell you I'm a student of this." (J. Steinbeck) "Don't be surprised if he doesn't visit you one of these days," (=if he visits you)
The emphasis is weaker in the second example.
The basic patterns of emotional colloquial constructions enumerated above have a particularly strong stylistic effect when they are used in the author's speech. The explanation of this must be sought in the well-known dichotomy of the oral vs the written variety of language.
As has been previously pointed out, the oral variety has, as one of its distinctive features, an emotional character revealed mostly in the use of special emotive words, intensifiers and additional semanticizing factors caused by intonation and voice qualities. The written variety is more intellectual; it is reasoned and, ideally, is non-emotional. So when such constructions have travelled from their homeland – dialogue – into the author's domain – monologue – , they assume the quality of an SD. Some of the examples given above illustrate this with sufficient clarity.
Among other cases of the particular use of colloquial constructions are 1) ellipsis, 2) break-in-the-narrative, 3) question-in-the-narrative, and 4) represented speech.