LEKSYKALNE ŚRODKI TRADYCYJNEJ STYLISTYKI WE WSPÓŁCZESNYCH BADANIACH NAD STYLEM.
Lexical methods of traditional stylistics in contemporary studies of style.

(The sad fate of epithet)

Summary/Abstract: The author is interested in the presence of the traditional features of style (verbal figures) in contemporary stylistics – theory, teaching, and interpretations. The author primarily focuses on the epithet; notes that only in teaching the science of stylistics refer to traditional verbal figures. In the theory of contemporary stylistics, style is understood broadly – as a cultural category, and its characteristics are sought in the semantics of words and their cultural connotations. The word epithet, however, is used in the media and in the colloquial sense in a different meaning from the traditional one. It is synonymous with verbal abuse and is used to insult or humiliate someone. Most often, it occurs in conjunction with the adjective “abusive” (derogatory epithets). The author concludes that while epithet was formerly considered an element of high style and decorative, today it is considered stylistically inferior.

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