Microsoft Word Revised Syllabus Ver doc

Proverbial Expressions 
In every culture there are nuggets of popular wisdom, expressed in the form of 
succinct sayings. There are usually referred to as proverbs, through several other terms are 
also used (e.g. adage, maxim, precept). Proverbs are not commonly encountered in everyday 
speech in English, but in many cultures, they are an important and frequent element. 
Style 
 
The way people use language, gives us information about their physical type, their 
geographical, ethnic and social background, and the type of context in which they are 
communicating. The many senses of style can be classified into two broad types; the 
evaluative and the descriptive. Under the first heading, style is thought of in a critical way; 
the features that make someone or something stand out from an ‘undistinguished’ 
background. In this sense, it implies a degree of excellence in performance or a desired 
standard of production, as when someone is complimented for ‘having style’, or condemned 
for writing ‘without style’. The second sense lacks these value judgments and simply 
describes the set of distinctive characteristics that identify objects, persons, periods or places. 
In this sense we talk of ‘Shakespearean style’, the ‘house style’ of an institution and all the 
variations.
Poetry 
 
There has always been controversy over the nature of poetic language. At one 
extreme, there are poems that are as far removed from everyday speech as it is possible to 
imagine; and at the other, there are the poems that, if it were not for the division into lines, 
would closely resemble prose. Poetic movements are often between these poles, as people 
respond to the competing linguistic influences of old traditions and contemporary realities. It 
is not possible to make simple general statements about the form of poetic language, 
therefore; all one can do is identify a number of recurrent notions that are part of the 
traditional image of poetic language and take a note of that which is often called ‘poetic 
license’.