Foregrounding2

ForegroundingForegrounding
G. Leech & M. ShortG. Leech & M. Short

Foreground (Foreground (nounnoun))
1. The part of a scene or1. The part of a scene or
picture that is nearest topicture that is nearest to
and in front of theand in front of the
viewer. (opposed toviewer. (opposed to
background).background).
2.a prominent or important2.a prominent or important
position; forefront.position; forefront.

In Visual ArtIn Visual Art
 The termThe term ‘‘foregroundingforegrounding’’ is borrowed byis borrowed by
stylisticians from visual art, which distinguishesstylisticians from visual art, which distinguishes
between the foreground and the background ofbetween the foreground and the background of
a painting. The theory of foregrounding isa painting. The theory of foregrounding is
probably the most important theory withinprobably the most important theory within
Stylistic Analysis.Stylistic Analysis.

 ForegroundingForegrounding
 Theoretical Background.Theoretical Background.
 Theory on Foregrounding.Theory on Foregrounding.
 Linguistic Deviation.Linguistic Deviation.
 Types of Deviation.Types of Deviation.
 Parallelism (Repition)Parallelism (Repition)
 ConclusionConclusion
Contents:Contents:

Theoretical BackgroundTheoretical Background
of Foregroundingof Foregrounding
Jan Mukarovsky, one of the leading exponentsJan Mukarovsky, one of the leading exponents
of the prague linguistic circle, was the first toof the prague linguistic circle, was the first to
postulate the concept of foregrounding . in hispostulate the concept of foregrounding . in his
famous article "standard language and poeticfamous article "standard language and poetic
language", he (1970:43) states.language", he (1970:43) states.
Foregrounding is the opposite ofForegrounding is the opposite of
automatization, that is the deautomatization of anautomatization, that is the deautomatization of an
act, the more an act is automatized the lessact, the more an act is automatized the less
consciously executed; the more it is foregroundedconsciously executed; the more it is foregrounded
the more completely conscious does it become.the more completely conscious does it become.

Automatization refers to the common orAutomatization refers to the common or
familiar use of linguistic devices which does notfamiliar use of linguistic devices which does not
attract particular attention by the languageattract particular attention by the language
decoder, for example, the use of discoursedecoder, for example, the use of discourse
markers (e.g. well, you know, sort of, kind of) inmarkers (e.g. well, you know, sort of, kind of) in
spontaneous spoken conversations.spontaneous spoken conversations.
Deautomization is a term sometimesDeautomization is a term sometimes
translated as “making it strange” ortranslated as “making it strange” or
“defamiliarization” as illustrated by Shklovsky in“defamiliarization” as illustrated by Shklovsky in
1914 when he argued that the work of literature1914 when he argued that the work of literature
was “the resurrection of the word.” (Katerinawas “the resurrection of the word.” (Katerina
Clark, Michael Holquist,Clark, Michael Holquist, Mikhail BakhtinMikhail Bakhtin, p. 191,, p. 191,
1984)1984)

Theory on ForegroundingTheory on Foregrounding
 Foregrounding is realized by linguistic deviationForegrounding is realized by linguistic deviation
and linguistic parallelism (syntagmatic –and linguistic parallelism (syntagmatic –
repetition of the same element).repetition of the same element).
Deviation ParallelismDeviation Parallelism
Figure 1 The Realization of Foregrounding (Leech)Figure 1 The Realization of Foregrounding (Leech)

Linguistic Deviation
It is the specific use of language that goes beyond itsIt is the specific use of language that goes beyond its
linguistic convention. Hence, when a writer wants to makelinguistic convention. Hence, when a writer wants to make
his language to be creative or inventive, he uses the languagehis language to be creative or inventive, he uses the language
that is different from the conventional and everydaythat is different from the conventional and everyday
language. He invents and modifies some lexical, grammaticallanguage. He invents and modifies some lexical, grammatical
or structural elements for the immediate use in order to giveor structural elements for the immediate use in order to give
his readers unexpected surprise and makes a stronghis readers unexpected surprise and makes a strong
impression on their minds. This creative kind of the languageimpression on their minds. This creative kind of the language
is technically called linguistic deviation, by which a writeris technically called linguistic deviation, by which a writer
creates a new language deviated from the norms of thecreates a new language deviated from the norms of the
literary convention or every day speech (Leech,literary convention or every day speech (Leech, A Linguistic
Guide to English Poetry,1969, p. 57).1969, p. 57).

Thus, as leech puts it, "foregrounding is theThus, as leech puts it, "foregrounding is the
motivated deviation from linguistic or other sociallymotivated deviation from linguistic or other socially
accepted norm.“(p. 121)accepted norm.“(p. 121)
e. g: "The fog comese. g: "The fog comes
on little cat feet.on little cat feet.
It sits lookingIt sits looking
over harbor and cityover harbor and city
on silent hauncheson silent haunches
and then moves on.“and then moves on.“
(Carl Sandburg’s(Carl Sandburg’s The FogThe Fog))

 According to Leech and Short (According to Leech and Short (Style inStyle in
FictionFiction, 1981) these are the main types of, 1981) these are the main types of
deviation.deviation.
1.1. Morphological deviation.Morphological deviation.
2.2. Phonological deviation.Phonological deviation.
3.3. Graphological deviation.Graphological deviation.
4.4. Lexical deviation.Lexical deviation.
5.5. Semantic deviation.Semantic deviation.
6.6. Syntactic deviation.Syntactic deviation.

Morphological DeviationMorphological Deviation
The lowest unit of syntactic organization isThe lowest unit of syntactic organization is
the word.the word. MorphemesMorphemes are the building blocks forare the building blocks for
words. ‘Bookshelf’, for example, consists of twowords. ‘Bookshelf’, for example, consists of two
morphemes, ‘book’ and ‘shelf’. These are freemorphemes, ‘book’ and ‘shelf’. These are free
morphemes because they can stand freely asmorphemes because they can stand freely as
words. There are bound morphemes like ‘unclean’words. There are bound morphemes like ‘unclean’
represented in the negation marker Un-.represented in the negation marker Un-.
‘Un/fortun/ate/ly’ consists of four morphemes,‘Un/fortun/ate/ly’ consists of four morphemes,
one free and three bound.one free and three bound.

||One way to produce deviation at a morphologicalOne way to produce deviation at a morphological
level is by adding an ending to a word it would notlevel is by adding an ending to a word it would not
normally be added to:normally be added to:
e.g. perhapsless mystry of paradise. (E. E.e.g. perhapsless mystry of paradise. (E. E.
Cummings, “From Spiralling EcstaticallyCummings, “From Spiralling Ecstatically
This”)This”)
The suffix –less is added to nouns (e.g. sunless,The suffix –less is added to nouns (e.g. sunless,
hatless), but ‘perhaps’ is an adverb. By comparinghatless), but ‘perhaps’ is an adverb. By comparing
‘perhapsless’ with the norm we can see that‘perhapsless’ with the norm we can see that
Cummings is pointing to an apparentlyCummings is pointing to an apparently
contradictory quality of heaven, a mystry withoutcontradictory quality of heaven, a mystry without
certainty.certainty.

Another way to create a morphological deviation is byAnother way to create a morphological deviation is by
playing around word boundaries:playing around word boundaries:
e.g. I caught this morning morning’s minion, king-e.g. I caught this morning morning’s minion, king-
dom of daylight’s dauphin,… (Hopkins, Thedom of daylight’s dauphin,… (Hopkins, The
Windhover)Windhover)
The word kingdom is broken over a line boundary. AsThe word kingdom is broken over a line boundary. As
a result we are invited to think harder about thea result we are invited to think harder about the
meaning, ‘king’ is obvious enough, but ‘-dom’ here ismeaning, ‘king’ is obvious enough, but ‘-dom’ here is
historically the same morpheme as ‘doom’, meaninghistorically the same morpheme as ‘doom’, meaning
‘judgement’. Hopkins through this description of the‘judgement’. Hopkins through this description of the
windhover, is writing a praise to Christ.windhover, is writing a praise to Christ.

Phonological DeviationPhonological Deviation
It is the deviation in sound or pronunciationIt is the deviation in sound or pronunciation
which is done deliberately in regard to preserving thewhich is done deliberately in regard to preserving the
rhyme, as when the nounrhyme, as when the noun windwind is pronounced like theis pronounced like the
verbverb windwind. Leech considers the phonological deviation. Leech considers the phonological deviation
as irregularities of pronunciation.as irregularities of pronunciation.
The phonological deviation is associated withThe phonological deviation is associated with
the social class. All phonetic behavior is determined bythe social class. All phonetic behavior is determined by
individual and social needs.individual and social needs.
Sometimes deviation from the normal use ofSometimes deviation from the normal use of
sounds or mispronunciation of sounds may be thesounds or mispronunciation of sounds may be the
result of habit, e.g. childish mispronunciation.result of habit, e.g. childish mispronunciation.

e.g.e.g. "I'm th' one single Hand in Bounderby's mill , o' the men
theer ,as don't coom in wi th' proposed reg'lations . I canna' coom
in wi em' . My friends, I doubt their doin' yo onny good . Licker
they'll do yo hurt ( Dickens, Hard Times).
The Analysis:
"th'" (=the) "o'" (=of) "theer" (=there) "coom“ (=come)
"reglations" (=regulations) "canna" (=cann't)
"doin'" (=doing) "yo" (=you) "onny" (=any) "lickr“ (=likelier) .
Substitution of Sounds
Mr. Sleary has a defect in pronunciation. He is a stout man. He is
troubled with asthma and whose breath comes far too thick and
heavy which affects his pronunciation with the sound /s/ and
/z/ and makes it /θ / sound. Dickens shows how factory fumes
affects people.

Graphological DeviationGraphological Deviation
“It refers to the whole writing system:
punctuation and paragraphing as well as spacing”
(Leech 1969,p.69). These are the graphological features
in a text which strike our mind at first sight. They play a
major role in analyzing the text before noticing lexical
and grammatical features. Graphology is very useful and
subtle. Capitalization, hyphenation, italization,, use of
parenthesis, bullets, font styles and underlining creates a
great impact and produces powerful influence on the
minds of readers.

e.g. Mr. Podsnap in Our Mutual Friend, speaks in capital
letters, when addressing foreigner: “HOW DO YOU LIKE
LONDON?” Such mimicry often extends to the use of
spelling to suggest a character’s unusual accent with
foreigners. When we come to this sentence, we must say it
louder, more slowly and with very wide pitch span.
e.g.“For Thine is….
Life is…
For Thine is the…”
Dash is used to show a comment or after thought at the end
of a sentence, or simply an incomplete utterance.
Sometimes it is used to signaling a missing word or letter.
These lines from Eliot’s The Hollow Men shows their
inability to complete their prayer because of their
hollowness.

Lexical DeviationLexical Deviation
The most obvious example of lexical
deviation is neologism. Neologism is a new word
or example which is introduced into language, e.g.
nonce-formation. Nonce formation is the
invention of new words. A word is considered to
be a nonce-formation, if it is made up for the
nonce, i.e. for a single occasion (Leech, 1969: 42).

A nonce-formation is a linguistic form which a
speaker consciously invents or accidentally uses on a
single occasion. Many factors account for its uses, e.g.
a speaker cannot remember a particular word, so it is
coined as an alternative approximation (as in
linguistified, heard recently from a student who felt he
was getting with linguistics), or isconstrained by
circumstances to produce a new form (as in
newspaper headlines). Nonce-formations have come
to be adopted by the community in which case they
cease by definition to be nonce and become
neologisms.

Another example of lexical deviation isAnother example of lexical deviation is
functional conversion. It is the process of convertingfunctional conversion. It is the process of converting
a word from one grammatical class to another. Thisa word from one grammatical class to another. This
process is common in literary language (Short, 1969:process is common in literary language (Short, 1969:
46). Sometimes "slip of the tongue" or "speech error"46). Sometimes "slip of the tongue" or "speech error"
in which one deviates in some way from the intendedin which one deviates in some way from the intended
utterance to form a new word, can be consideredutterance to form a new word, can be considered
another example of lexical deviation. Some of theseanother example of lexical deviation. Some of these
tongue slips are called malapropism. It refers to thetongue slips are called malapropism. It refers to the
misuse of words which comes when Mrs. Slipslopmisuse of words which comes when Mrs. Slipslop
says “convicted" for “convinced“ (From Henrysays “convicted" for “convinced“ (From Henry
Fielding’sFielding’s Joseph AndrewsJoseph Andrews))

Semantic DeviationSemantic Deviation
According to Leech (1969)," It is reasonable toAccording to Leech (1969)," It is reasonable to
translate semantic deviation mentally into 'non-sense'translate semantic deviation mentally into 'non-sense'
or 'absurdity' "(p. 48).or 'absurdity' "(p. 48).
Semantic deviation deals with what LeechSemantic deviation deals with what Leech
(1969), calls as "Tropes foregrounded irregularities of(1969), calls as "Tropes foregrounded irregularities of
content" (p.131). He states that they are classified intocontent" (p.131). He states that they are classified into
three sectionsthree sections: 1. Semantic oddity/ 2. Transfer of: 1. Semantic oddity/ 2. Transfer of
meaning. / 3. Honest Deception.meaning. / 3. Honest Deception.

11. Semantic Oddity:. Semantic Oddity: means semantic peculiarity ormeans semantic peculiarity or
strangeness of expressions, such asstrangeness of expressions, such as OxymornOxymorn, and, and
ParadoxParadox have semantic absurdity that contains self-have semantic absurdity that contains self-
conflicting information (Leech, 1969).conflicting information (Leech, 1969).
2. Transference of Meaning:2. Transference of Meaning: it is classified into fourit is classified into four
tropes of figurative language:tropes of figurative language: SynecdocheSynecdoche,, MetonymyMetonymy,,
MetaphorMetaphor, and, and SimileSimile (Leech, 1969).(Leech, 1969).
3. Honest Deception:3. Honest Deception: it is classified into threeit is classified into three
tropes“tropes“ HyperboleHyperbole "the figure of over-statement","the figure of over-statement",
LitotesLitotes "The figure of understatement", and"The figure of understatement", and IronyIrony
"(p.166). The three are connected in the sense that"(p.166). The three are connected in the sense that
they all misrepresent the truth (ibid).they all misrepresent the truth (ibid).

 Oxymoron means “juxtaposing elements that appear to
be contradictory” e.g. random order, open secret, same
difference.
 Paradox means a statement that apparently contradicts
itself and yet might be true. e.g. “A rich man is no richer
than a poor man.”
 Synecdoche is a figure of speech in which a term for a
part of something refers to the whole of something, or
vice versa. e.g.referring to workers as hired hands.
 Metonymy is a figure of speech in which a thing or
concept is called not by its own name but rather by the
name of something associated in meaning with that thing
or concept. e.g. Scepter and crown/ Must tumble
down/ And in the dust be equal made /With the poor
crooked scythe and spade. (James Shirley, “Dirge”)

 Simile a figure of speech involving the comparison
of one thing with another thing of a different kind,
used to make a description more emphatic or vivid
e.g. brave as a lion ,” my love is like a red red rose”
 Metaphor is a figure of speech that identifies one thing
as being the same as some unrelated other thing. e.g.
“Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day,” is an
extended analogy between the love of the speaker and
the fairness of the summer season. (Shakespeare,
Sonnet 18)
 Hyperbole: e.g.I'm so hungry I could eat a horse.
 Litotes: e.g.”Death, thou shalt die.” (John Done)

Syntactic DeviationSyntactic Deviation
The number of grammatical rules in English is large,
therefore the foregrounding possibilities via grammatical
deviation is also very large (Short,1969: 47).
One important feature of grammatical deviation is the
case of ungrammatical such as: " I dose not like him“
(Leech, 1969: 45). It is worth mentioning that grammatical
deviation indicates the social classes of the speakers. The
existence of differences in language between social classes
can be shown in the following sentences:

Uneducated Class Educated Class
I aint done nothing I haven't done anything.
I weren't me that done it. I didn't do it.

Parallelism (Repitition)
The word parallelism is derived from Greek "The word parallelism is derived from Greek "ParalelasParalelas""
which means phrases or sentences of similar construction andwhich means phrases or sentences of similar construction and
meaning placed side by side, balancing each other (. Parallelismmeaning placed side by side, balancing each other (. Parallelism
is not a merely a mechanical repetition, it requires someis not a merely a mechanical repetition, it requires some
contrasting elements in any paralytic's pattern there must be ancontrasting elements in any paralytic's pattern there must be an
elements of contrast.elements of contrast.
Leech (1969) argues that if a parallelism occurs in aLeech (1969) argues that if a parallelism occurs in a
poem, people feel that there. must be some deeper motivationpoem, people feel that there. must be some deeper motivation
or justification which should be sought. Every parallelism hasor justification which should be sought. Every parallelism has
a relationship of equivalence between two elements namely,a relationship of equivalence between two elements namely,
the elements which are singled out by the pattern as beingthe elements which are singled out by the pattern as being
paralleled.paralleled.

Parallelism has the power to produce
foregrounding in a text by inviting the reader to
search for the meaning connections between the
parallel structures, thus foregrounding is not only a
result of linguistic deviation, and it is also a result
of repetition and parallelism (Short, 1969)
e.g. Blow, blow, thou winter wind
(Shakespeare, As You Like It)
Wind is greater than usual, the speaker has
stronger feelings about it than usual.

e.g. Repetition is the fundamental element of The Hollow Men
by T. S. Eliot, as it can be found from the very beginning to
the very end, not only emphasising structures, words and
ideas, but also giving us the impression of paralysis of the
actions taking place.
We are the hollow men,
We are the stuffed men.
……….
This is the way the world ends.
Everything in this poem is circular, repetitive and somewhat
absurd, like a group of children dancing and singing round
and round increasing the sense of aimlessness and paralysis.

Conclusion:Conclusion:
Foregrounding theory is required for the analysis of literaryForegrounding theory is required for the analysis of literary
works. This theory yields the best conclusions in textualworks. This theory yields the best conclusions in textual
analysis that it is indispensable to describe the specific featuresanalysis that it is indispensable to describe the specific features
and characteristics of any text and explain the poetic effectsand characteristics of any text and explain the poetic effects
on the reader. Foregrounding device, devices of deviation andon the reader. Foregrounding device, devices of deviation and
parallelism, will lose their important value if they are notparallelism, will lose their important value if they are not
developed. Novelty is reached to by violation of rules, anddeveloped. Novelty is reached to by violation of rules, and
violation is seen here as breaking up everyday routine.violation is seen here as breaking up everyday routine.
Therefore, how can we expect the unexpected? Such questionTherefore, how can we expect the unexpected? Such question
and enquires should be the main concern of researchers inand enquires should be the main concern of researchers in
this field. All in all, foregrounding is the best theory forthis field. All in all, foregrounding is the best theory for
innovation in literature because it gives unexpected forms ofinnovation in literature because it gives unexpected forms of
novelty and creativity.novelty and creativity.

Foregrounding2

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