Stylistic devices in english film titles containing the words “heart” and “soul” with reference to vietnamese equivalents

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
HANOI OPEN UNIVERSITY

QUACH THI PHUONG

STYLISTIC DEVICES IN ENGLISH FILM TITLES
CONTAINING WORDS “HEART” AND “SOUL” WITH
REFERENCE TO VIETNAMESE EQUIVALENTS.
(CÁC BIỆN PHÁP TU TỪ TRONG CÁC TIÊU ĐỀ PHIM TIẾNG
ANH CÓ TỪ ―TRÁI TIM‖ VÀ ―TÂM HỒN‖ VÀ TƢƠNG
ĐƢƠNG TRONG TIẾNG VIỆT)

M.A THESIS
FIELD: ENGLISH LANGUAGE
CODE: 8220201

HANOI, 2018
i


MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
HANOI OPEN UNIVERSITY

QUACH THI PHUONG
STYLISTIC DEVICES IN ENGLISH FILM TITLES
CONTAINING WORDS “HEART” AND “SOUL” WITH
REFERENCE TO VIETNAMESE EQUIVALENTS.
(CÁC BIỆN PHÁP TU TỪ TRONG CÁC TIÊU ĐỀ PHIM TIẾNG
ANH CÓ TỪ ―TRÁI TIM‖ VÀ ―TÂM HỒN‖ VÀ TƢƠNG
ĐƢƠNG TRONG TIẾNG VIỆT)
M.A THESIS

FIELD: ENGLISH LANGUAGE
CODE: 8220201

SUPERVISOR NAME:ASSOC. PROF. DR NGUYEN THI THANH HUONG

HANOI, 2018
ii


STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP

I, the undersigned, hereby certify my authority of the study project
report entitled Stylistic devices in English film titles containing words
“heart” and “soul” with reference toVietnamese equivalents submitted in
partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master in English
Language. Except where the reference is indicated, no other person‘s work
has been used without due acknowledgement in the text of the thesis.
Hanoi, 2018

Quach Thi Phuong

Approved by
SUPERVISOR

Assoc. Prof. Dr Nguyen Thi Thanh Huong
Date:…………………………………

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
iii

This thesis could not have been completed without the help and support
from a number of people.
First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Assoc.
Prof. Dr Nguyen Thi Thanh Huong, my supervisor, who has patiently and
constantly supported me through the stages of the study, and whose stimulating
ideas, expertise, and suggestions have inspired me greatly through my growth as an
academic researcher.
My sincere acknowledgement also go to all my lecturers and officers of
Faculty of Graduate Studies, Hanoi Open University, who have facilitated me with
the best possible conditions during my whole course of studying.
Last but not least, I am greatly indebted to my family, my friends for the
sacrifice they have devoted to the fulfillment of this academic work.

iv


CONTENTS
STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP ............................................................................ i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................................................................... iii
LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES ........................................................................ vii
LIST OFABBREVIATIONS .................................................................................. viii
ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................. ix
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................1
1.1 Rationale ................................................................................................................1
1.2 Aims and objectives of the study...........................................................................2
1.2.1 Aims .................................................................................................................... 2
1.2.2 Objectives ........................................................................................................... 2
1.3 Research questions ................................................................................................2
1.4 Methods of the study .............................................................................................3

1.5 Scope of the study..................................................................................................3
1.6 Significance of the study .......................................................................................4
1.7 Design of the study ................................................................................................4
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ....................................................................6
2.1 Review of previous studies ....................................................................................6
2.1.1 Previous studies in English ................................................................................. 6
2.1.2 Previous studies in Vietnamese .......................................................................... 6
2.2 Review of theoretical background .........................................................................6
2.2.1 Definition of film and film title .......................................................................... 6
2.2.2 Film types .......................................................................................................... 6
2.2.3 Characteristics of film titles ............................................................................. 11
2.2.4 Functions of film titles ..................................................................................... 11
2.3 Review of theoretical framework ........................................................................12
2.3.1 Review of stylistic devices ............................................................................... 12
2.3.2Review of syntax ...............................................................................................22
2.3.3Review of translation ........................................................................................25
CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY ............................................................................29
3.1 Subjects ................................................................................................................29
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3.2 Instruments ..........................................................................................................29
3.3 Procedures............................................................................................................29
3.4 Statistical Analysis ..............................................................................................30
3.5 Summary ..............................................................................................................30
CHAPTER 4: ............................................................................................................31
TYPICAL STYLISTIC LEXICAL AND SYNTACTICAL DEVICES INENGLISH
FILM TITLES CONTAINING THE WORDS ―HEART‖ AND ―SOUL‖ ..............31
4.1 Syntactical features of English film titles containing ‗heart‘ and ‗soul‘ ....................31
4.1.1 English film titles in the form of phrases .......................................................... 31

4.1.2 English film titles in the form of sentences ...................................................... 34
4.2 Typical stylistic lexical and syntactical devices in selected film titles ...............39
4.2.1Stylistic lexical devices in selected film titles ..................................................39
4.2.2Stylistic syntactical devices in selected film titles ............................................46
4.3 Evaluating selected film titles rendered into Vietnamese ...................................50
4.3.1 Titles containing or referringto film character.................................................. 51
4.3.2 Title containing the film‘s message .................................................................. 55
4.3.3 Titles containing film location .......................................................................... 56
4.4 Implication ...........................................................................................................59
4.4.1 For English Learners ......................................................................................... 59
4.4.2 For English Teachers ........................................................................................ 59
4.4.3 For Vietnamese translators ............................................................................... 60
4.5 Summary ..............................................................................................................60
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION ..................................................................................62
5.1 Summary of Findings ..........................................................................................62
5.2 Conclusion remarks .............................................................................................63
5.3 Recommendation for further study .....................................................................64
REFERENCES ..........................................................................................................65
APPENDICES ...........................................................................................................68

vi


LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES

Table 4.1Functions of the word ―heart‖ and ―soul‖ in noun phrases titles

30

Table 4.2Common structure of English film titles containing ―heart‖ and

32

―soul‖.
Table 4.3Film titles with and without lexical stylistic devices

44

Table 4.4 Frequency of Lexical Stylistic Devices in selected film titles

44

Table 4.5 Frequency of Syntactical Stylistic Devices in selected film titles
Chart 4.1 Common structures of English film titles in the films containing

33

the words ―heart‖ and ―soul
Chart 4.2 Common structures in terms of phrases and sentences in both

34

films
Chart 4.3 Common structures in both films

34

Chart 4.4 Film titles with lexical and without lexical stylistic devices

45

Chart 4.5 Frequency of Lexical Stylistic Devices in selected film titles

45

Chart 4.6 Relationship between film titles and film plots

54

Chart 4.7 Evaluation of some of English-Vietnamese film title translations

54

vii


LIST OFABBREVIATIONS

N

Noun

Cs

Subject complement

Adj

Adjective

O

Object

SDs

Stylistic devices

V

Verb

A

Adverb

viii


ABSTRACT
This study investigates the stylistic devices used in English film titles which
containing the words ―heart‖ and ―soul‖ with reference to Vietnamese equivalents.
The purpose of this study is finding out syntactical, lexical stylistic devices used in
selected film titles and syntactical features in these titles as well. About one hundred
and seventeen English film titles containing the words ―heart‖ and ―soul‖ and their
main contents have been collected from Internet, printed material. Various methods
have been adopted but descriptive and analysis method is the main method to find
out the common structures used in titling a film, as well as figure out syntactical,
lexical stylistic devices used in selected film titles because it is synthetic or analytic
in its approach. Besides, the study also uses qualitative and quantitative approaches

as supporting methods which make analyzing data become reliable. Then, the
quantitative methods are applied to find out the frequent occurrence of these
stylistic devices in these titles. The findings show that most film titles are written in
the form of phrase, especially noun phrase. Moreover, lexical stylistic devices are
more frequently used in titling films than syntactical stylistic devices. After that,
some of these translated film titles from Internet have been evaluated. This study
hopes to give better understanding and appreciation of stylistic devices in film titles
as well as contribute in teaching and learning stylistic devices and translating
English film titles into Vietnamese through its implications.

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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1

Rationale

Language is an indispensable tool in communication. It‘s considered to have
miraculous power in conveying the ideas, purposes and messages.
With the globalization, Film industry is really becoming an integral part in
the modern life. It brings the audiences not only happiness, entertainment but also
experiences in life. No usual day goes by without seeing the films on TV, at the
cinema, on the Internet. Films really become a preciously spiritual form to satisfy
all senses, and it also makes an emotional connection in conveying the life
messages, thrilling experiences, excitement and awareness through its main
emphasis aspects. Sometimes, the films can bring back optimistic thoughts for
unhappy person, enrich people‘s knowledge, and enhance people‘s analytical
thinking. Films make our life more vivid and exciting.
Movie is so important that it has become the first arts of the human world.

Moreover, it‘s very clear that film titles are always the first impressive things come
into the viewer‘s mind instead of the characters, director or the content of the film.
A good film title certainly helps not only grab the viewers‘ interest but also bring
the prediction about the content of the film, the main characters as well as its
general view, even it helps to stimulate the audiences‘ curiosity and excitement for
film goers. It‘s also true in international environment when more and more English
films are being watched in Vietnam in particular and in all countries all over the
world in general. As a result, the proper use of language in the film titles and their
translated film titles must be taken into consideration carefully because the movie in
target language is accepted in association with target cultures.
A good way into coming up with a great movie title is to consider what the
core essence of the story is. What‘s it really about? What‘s the core conflict?
What‘s the overall emotion screenwriter wants to convey in the script‘s title? Then,
it is stylistic devices that assist screenwriter to create a unique and memorable title
because ―stylistic devices‖ just means ―fancy ways of saying or writing something‖.
Therefore, in the practice of the writing film titles as well as film title translation
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.People have to pay more and more attention to the use of stylistic devices to make
the film title more succinct, accurate and vivid and to provide rich imagination and
plentiful associations for readers so as to stimulate their desire and make a notable
film title as producer‘s expectation.
The stylistic devices have so far been the focus of attention of many linguists
and researchers, especially in literary areas. However, there are not many serious
studies of the language used in film titles, especially stylistic devices used in
English film titles with reference to Vietnamese equivalents. The author chooses the
film ―heart‖ and ―soul‖ in the film titles only because there is a close relationship
between two words. Actually, the ―heart‖ has both physical and spiritual meanings
while the word ―soul‖ has mostly spiritual meaning. In order to create favorable

conditions for those who want to understand more about film title language, I
decide to carry out a detailed analysis of these features: “Stylistic devices in
English film titles containing words “heart” and “soul” with reference to
Vietnamese equivalents.”
1.2

Aims and objectives of the study

1.2.1

Aims

To help learners of English mastering stylistic devices in English film titles
containing the words ―heart‖ and ―soul‖ and common structures in these English
films with reference to Vietnamese equivalents
1.2.2

Objectives

Investigating the syntactical features in English film titles containing the
words ―heart‖ and ―soul‖.
Discovering lexical and syntactical stylistic devices in selected film titles.
Examining how some of these English film titles are rendered into Vietnamese.
1.3

Research questions

Findings are discussed in relation to the following research questions of
the study:
1)

What are typical stylistic syntactical features of English film titles
containing the words ―heart‖ and ―soul‖?
2


2)

What are typical stylistic lexical and syntactical stylistic devices in
selected film titles?

3)

1.4

How are selected English film titles rendered into Vietnamese?
Methods of the study

This study is conducted by employing qualitative and quantitative research
approach to find out the lexical and syntactical stylistic devices in heart-title and
soul-title films.
Firstly, observation is applied into internet accessing to find out 117 film
titles for the study.
Secondly, descriptive method enables the researcher to figure out syntactical
and lexical stylistic devices in selected English film titles. After data are collected,
all the selected films plots, film genres will be collected from internet for better
understanding about the main content, characters, theme, and their ideological
value, and the relationship between film titles and film contents.
Next, statistical, quantitative methods show the frequency of occurrence of
some commonly used lexical and syntactical stylistic devices.

1.5

Scope of the study

There are different types of film which can denote people, animal, plants,
jobs, etc. However, within the framework of this minor thesis, the author mainly
focuses on the film titles containing the words ―heart‖ and ―soul‖. 117 English film
titles, their film contents and some of these translated versions are collected mainly
from Internet. This study focuses on the findings of lexical and syntactical SDs in
English film titles. Together with SDs, the thesis also figures out the syntactical
features of English film titles so that Vietnamese translators and audiences can have
an intensive understanding about the common structures in English. Moreover, the
thesis also evaluates some Vietnamese translations basing on determined SDs and
film plots to find out whether Vietnamese translators base on SDs and film plots
when translating film titles.

3


In addition, the ―English‖ word in this thesis can be understood that the
language of films is English. All over the world, there are many varieties of English
such as British English, Indian English, etc. However, the thesis only focus on films
manufactured mostly in United States because this is the main source of English
and this thesis can figure out the beauty of English linguistics as a native language.
1.6

Significance of the study

Theoretically, the research will provide a systematic insight into lexical and
syntactical SDs in the film containing the words ―heart‖ and ―soul‖.

Practically, the research will be a valuable contribution to the teaching and
learning of English and Vietnamese Stylistics in general and of stylistic devices in
film tile language in particular. The findings of the research will help Vietnamese
learners appreciate the beauty of film title language. Moreover, it will not only help
them get better understanding of film title language but also provide them with
some necessary strategies and techniques in writing film titles. As a result, their
experience will certainly facilitate their English language learning so that they will
be able to learn more effectively and successfully. Stylistic devices are used not
only in film titles but also in everyday life as well. Understanding SDs in film titles
help both film writer writes an effective title and audiences understand the hidden
message under the title words so that audiences can choose the film to experience
more quickly and accurately.
1.7

Design of the study

The study is organized into five chapters as follows:
Chapter 1 – INTRODUCTION– presents the rationale, aims and objectives,
research questions, methods of the study, scope of the study, significance of the
study, and design of the study.
Chapter 2 – LITERATURE REVIEW– presents a review of prior studies and
concepts related to the problem under study. General views of film titles and some
fundamental theoretical background to the study will also be presented.

4


Chapter 3 – METHODOLOGY– presents research design, research method and
procedure, description of population and sample, data collection and data analysis
will be fully described.

Chapter 4 – FINDINGS and DISCUSSION– provides the findings of typical
structures in these selected film tiles, stylistic devices used in these selected film
titles in terms of syntactical stylistic devices and lexical stylistic devices, evaluates
some translated films and gives some suggestions for teaching, learning translating
these film titles into Vietnamese based on the determined SDs and film plot
Chapter 5 – CONCLUSION– gives summary of findings, conclusions and
recommendations for further Study

5


CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1

Review of previous studies

2.1.1 Previous studies in English
Many scholars have been investigating about stylistics all over the world
because it has the long century development.
In English, Here are outstanding linguistics experts with their works including
Galper in with Stylistics (1977), A handbook of Rhetorical Devices‖ by Harris
(2003), Sachkova with ―Lectures on English Stylistics‖ (2012), they not only
present an overview of English stylistics but also categorize English stylistic
devices into different groups and provide carefully analyzed examples.
2.1.2 Previous studies in Vietnamese
It appears that Vietnamese scholars also take interest in this field resulting in
great related works. Some famous works are ―Phong cách học và đặc điểm tu từ
tiếng Việt‖ by Cu Dinh Tu (1983), ―99 phƣơng tiện và biện pháp tu từ tiếng
Việt‖ by Dinh Trong Lac (2003), which present and analyze stylistic devices in
Vietnamese language.

In addition, there are many thesis carried out basing on stylistics .However, most
studies emphasizes on the SDs in prose, poems or stories.
2.2 Review of theoretical background
2.2.1 Definition of film and film title
According to Oxford learner‘s dictionary ―film is a series of moving pictures
recorded with sound that tell a story, show on television art at the cinema/ movie
theater‖ [27]
It also defines that ―title is the name of a book, poem, painting, piece of music, etc.‖
Therefore, film title is the name of a film which is a series of moving pictures
recorded with sound that tell a story, show on television art at the cinema or movie
theater.
2.2.2 Film types

6


There are many types of films, and here are some of the most common and
identifiable film genre categories, with descriptions of each type or category. Most
information in this section base on the theory of Dirk [21]
2.2.2.1

Comedy

Comedies are light-hearted plots consistently and deliberately designed to
amuse and provoke laughter by exaggerating the situation, the language, action,
relationships and characters .Films in this style typically have a happy ending .One
of the oldest genres in film, some of the very first silent movies was comedies.
Comedy, unlike other film genres, puts much more focus on individual stars, with
many former stand-up comic transitioning to the film industry due to their
popularity. While many comic films are lighthearted stories with no intent other

than to amuse, others contain political or social commentary.[21]
2.2.2.2

Drama

A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of
realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as
alcoholism, drug addiction, racial prejudice religious intolerance, poverty, crime
and corruption put the characters in conflict with themselves, others, society and
even natural phenomenon.[21]
The film genre can be contrasted with an action film, which relies on fast- paced
action and physical conflict but superficial character development, All film genres
can include dramatic elements, but typically, films considered drama films focus
mainly on the drama of the main issue.
2.2.2.3

Crime/mystery

Crime films are developed around the sinister actions of criminals or mobsters,
particularly bank robbers, underworld figures, or ruthless hoodlums who operate
outside the law, stealing and murdering their way through life. The criminals or
gangsters are often counteracted by a detective-protagonist with a who-dun-it plot.
Hard-boiled detective films reached their peak during the 40s and 50s (classic film
noir), although have continued to the present day.

7


Therefore, crime and gangster films are often categorized as film noir or detectivemystery films, and sometimes as courtroom/crime legal thrillers - because of
underlying similarities between these cinematic forms. This category also includes

various 'serial killer' films.[21]
2.2.2.4

Biography

A documentary film is a nonfictional motion picture intended to document some
aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education, or maintaining
a historical record. Such films were originally shot on film stock - the only medium
available - but now include video and digital productions that can be either directto-video, made into a TV show, or released for screening in cinemas. Documentary
has been described as a filmmaking practice, a cinematic tradition, and mode of
audience reception that is continually evolving and is without clear boundaries. [21]
2.2.2.5

Documentary

Documentary film is a broad category of visual expressions that is based on the
attempt, in one fashion or another, to ―documentary‖ reality. Although
―documentary film‖ originally referred to movies shot on film stock, it has
subsequently expanded to include video and digital productions that can be either
television series. Documentary as it applies here, works to identify a ―filmmaking
practice, a cinematic tradition, and mode of audience reception‖ that is continually
evolving and is without clear boundaries.[21]
2.2.2.6

Action

Action movie is a film genre where in the story is largely told through physical
action as opposed to dialogue. The action typically involves individual efforts on
the part of the hero. While action has long been an element of film, the ―Action
movie‖ as a genre of its own began to develop in the 1970s, the genre is closely

linked with thriller and adventure film genres. While action films have traditionally
been a reliable source of revenue for movie studios, relatively few action films
genre critical praise. While action films have traditionally been aimed at male
audiences, from the early teens to the mid-30s, many action filmmakers from the

8


1990s, and 2000s added female heroines in response to the times, glorifying the
strong female archetype[21]
2.2.2.7

Adventure film

Adventure films are usually exciting stories, with new experiences or exotic locales,
very similar to or often paired with the action film genre. They can include
traditional swashbucklers or pirate films, serialized films, and historical spectacles
(similar to the epics film genre), searches or expeditions for lost continents, "jungle"
and "desert" epics, treasure hunts, disaster films, or searches for the unknown.[21]
2.2.2.8

Romantic film

Romantic films of passionate love relationships between men and women have
always held a special place in our cultural heritage. Movies about great love affairs
have been made from the classic stories of Lancelot and Guinevere, Heloise and
Abelard, and Romeo and Juliet. These timeless treasures are remembered as
symbols of physical passion and spiritual devotion. Although they are most often
regarded as love stories, the literary foundation of these romantic movies is that of
tragedies, and tragedies of the most telling kind.[21]

2.2.2.9

Horror film

Horror films are movies that strive to elicit the emotions of fear, horror and terror
from viewers. Their plots frequently involve themes of death, the supernatural or
mental illness. Many horror movies also include a central villain.
Early horror movies are largely based on classic literature of the gothic horror
genre, such as ―Dracula‖, ―Frankenstein‖, ―The Phantom of the Opera‖, and
―Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde‖. More recent horror films continue to exploit the monsters
of literature, and also draw inspiration from the insecurities of modern life. Horror
films have been dismissed as violent, low budget and exploitation films.
Nonetheless, all the major studios and many respected directors have made forays
into the genre. Serious critics have analyzed horror films through the prisms of
genre theory and the amateur theory. Some horror films incorporate elements of
other genres such as science fiction, fantasy, documentary, black comedy, and
thrillers.[21]
9


2.2.2.10 Thriller
Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film
genre that involves excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element,
found in most films' plots, is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre.
Tension is created by delaying what the audience sees as inevitable, and is built
through situations that are menacing or where escape seems impossible.[21]
2.2.2.11 War
War films are a film genre concerned with warfare, usually about naval, airor land
battles, sometimes focusing instead on prisoners of war, covert operations, military
training or other related subjects. At times war films focus on daily military or

civilian life in wartime without depicting battles. Their stories may be fiction, based
on history, docudrama or occasionally, biographical. The term anti-war film is
sometimes used to describe films which bring to the viewer the pain and horror of
war, often from a political or ideological perspective.[21]
2.2.3 Characteristics of film titles
Generally speaking, we can study the characteristics of film title from
three aspects: language characteristics, cultural characteristics, and aesthetic
characteristics.
2.2.3.1

Language Characteristics

The title is a sales tool designed to get people to read the script, rent the film
or ask for more information. It is not only an artistic statement. Therefore, the most
obvious language characteristic of the film title is its clearness and conciseness and
simple, for film title can highly concentrate the content of a film. In general, the
number of words in a title shouldn‘t be more than five words, so it‘s necessary to
keep the titles as short as possible. According to search, for most of the Academy
Awards winning films and nominated films, their titles usually contain two words
or four words. In addition, the titles should hint at the genre of the film, and they
should honestly and succinctly reflect the story. [20,33]
2.2.3.2

Cultural Characteristics

10


Films mirror culture, and films reflect the customs, beliefs, and values of the
cultures that produce them, they also help to shape and solidify a culture‘s beliefs.

Films can record the changes of the cultural development; it can also capture the
complex things of social life that

in other ways can‘t achieve. Although films

cannot substitute for actual interaction with members of other cultures, they can
provide useful preparation for those encounters by fostering understanding and
developing sensitivity. All good films are cultural phenomena and ideological
trend of social production of specific era. In short, culture is the basis of films,
films also enrich the culture at the same time. Intercultural contact through films
enables people to understand other actions and to have empathy with members of
minority groups. [20,33]
2.2.3.3

Aesthetic Characteristics

Film title should not only be concise and express cultural information, but
also should be beautiful or aesthetic which explores the nature of art, beauty,
and taste, with the creation and appreciation of beauty. The title‘s artistic
conception and the title‘s rhyme should be loud and clear, flow freely, and have
musical rhythm, and can let a person enjoy auditory felling, and film titles should
be simple to understand but must be creative and attractive. Above all, the
film title should have the characteristics of three aspects; they are language
characteristics; cultural characteristics, and aesthetic characteristics. Only with these
three characteristics, can a film title be a qualified film title.[20,33]
2.2.4 Functions of film titles
In general, the film title has three functions, namely informative function,
aesthetic function and commercial function
2.2.4.1

Informative/Descriptive Function

The informative function is the basic fundamental one of the film. This kind
of title can convey content, theme, character, location or time related to the film.
The information can‘t reflect the whole film but it helps audiences directly to
draw a summary about the upcoming film based on these limited words in titles.

11


Many English films can be known much about the films only through their titles‘
information which have great influence on audiences‘ choices.[35,608]
2.2.4.2

Aesthetic Function

Film titles are a kind of art, and art always highly appreciate the beauty, and
the emotional entertainment with creation. Film title should be concise and express
cultural information, and transfer the beauty of language .However, film titles with
aesthetic function promotes the emphasis on the charm of language more than
indicate the movie plot or characters. For example, English is an intonation
language which can make the sentence from a statement into a question by
changing the pitch; it can also change those structures which are meaningless to the
whole sentence. English can also create aesthetic rhythm through the use of
different tones and stresses. [35,608]
2.2.4.3

Advertising Function

Advertising function maybe the most important function of the film title

because film title has commercial value in the film industry. The more audiences
an impressive film title can attract the more profit the film directors can earn. It is
also true that film title is trademark of the film because it lures audiences to watch
the film, go to the cinema, discuss about the film itself, even think about the film.
As a result, among millions of film titles all over the world, a unique and
unforgettable film title is given more points in making its film become more
popular. [35,608]
2.3 Review of theoretical framework
2.3.1 Review of stylistic devices
2.3.1.1

Definition of Stylistic Devices

Stylistic Devices is a branch of general linguistic which is regarded as a
language science. According Galperin (1977), Stylistics studies expressive means of
a language which are those phonetic, morphological, word-building, lexical, phrase
logical and syntactical forms which exist in language-as-a-system for the purpose of
logical and/or emotional intensification of the utterance [6,27]
Galperin also adds that Stylistic devices (SDs)is a conscious and intentional
12


intensification of some typical structural and/or semantic property of a language
unit (neutral or expressive) promoted to a generalized status and thus becoming a
generative model‖. Most SDs display an application of two meanings: the ordinary
one is the meaning (lexical or structural) which has already been established in the
language-as-a-system, and a special meaning which originates within certain
context and is contextual [6, 29]
Stylistic devices are also called rhetorical devices or figures of speech. It is a
stylistic use of a language unit acquires what we call a stylistic meaning, and a

stylistic device is the realization of an already well-known abstract scheme designed
to achieve a particular artistic effect.
Mark Brendan (2008) assumes that Stylistic devices deal with the artificial
structures of reality that in their compound complexities constitutes what we call
culture. We do it an injustice to define it simply as communication, etc. Rhetoric is
itself a structuring art. As an art of persuasion its materials are words and images,
sentences and paragraphs, arguments and examples, all of which are used to
organize the responses and actions of an audience. As an attitude about the world,
rhetoric underwrites all kinds of processes and methods that aim to produce order
out of chaos [4, 60]
In short, Stylistic Devices is a science, a branch of general linguistic which
investigates principles and the results of selection and use of lexical, grammatical,
phonetic and other language means for the transfer of thoughts and emotions. It
deals with the result of the act of communication. It means that stylistic devices take
into consideration the output of the act of communication. The most frequent
definition of stylistic devices is one defined as the ability to write clearly, correctly
and in a manner calculated to interest the readers.
2.3.1.2 Functions of Stylistic Devices
Galperin(1977) gives the notion of basic function of stylistic that ―SDs
function in texts as marked units. They always carry some kind of additional
information, either emotive or logical‖ [6, 30]

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The idea of the function of SDs is expressed most fully that the justification
and the sense of each device lies in the wholeness of the artistic impression which
the work of art as a self-contained thing produces on us. Each separate aesthetic
fact, each poetical device finds its place in the system, the sounds and sense of the
words, the syntactical structures, the scheme of the plot, the compositional purport –

all in equal degree express this wholeness and find justification
In a word, stylistic device is the study of the principles and devices by which
writing is made more effective and persuasive. Stylistic device in language can be
defined as distinctive linguistic expression to serve its own purposes and effect with
its own inventory of tool.
Stylistic devices have many functions based on the different situations
Stylistic devices used in titles will help to arouse the readers‘ interest and catch their
attention. Stylistic devices such as paradox will make the reader think, and create
vivid/graphic mental images through metaphors, and personifications. If repetition,
parallelism, alliteration emphasize certain aspects, euphemism, similes, metaphors
amuse or entertain the readers.
2.3.1.3

Classification of Stylistic devices
Galperin classifies SDs into three different types: phonetic, lexical

and syntactical SDs. However, the thesis mainly focuses on lexical and
syntactical SDs, phonetic SDs aren‘t mentioned in detailed in this study.
1) Lexical stylistic devices

a. Metaphor
Metaphor is one of the most beautiful and symbolic rhetorical devices in the
field of stylistics. It is a type of expressive and figurative language in which one
semantic field of reference is carried over or transferred to another. A metaphor
consists of two main parts: the tenor and the vehicle. The tenor is the implied idea
or the hidden subject of the comparison; the vehicle is the metaphorical word(s) or
image(s) by which the tenor is conveyed. These two parts are combined together
basing on the common ground between them. For example in the following
sentence: Life is a yo-yo, the tenor of life and the vehicle is yo-yo. The fact that both
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life and yo-yo have ups and downs is the ground. Metaphor is different from logic
comparison, a device focusing on the aspects of comparison directly, simply in
order to find out the likeness between /amongst objects in the same class. Logic
comparison seems to be a very simple rhetorical device that draws less attention
from the language users. Metaphor, in contrast to logic comparison, carries more
affirmative characteristic in comparing to simile; when focusing on a certain aspect
of comparison, it requires a higher level of cognitive competence. Metaphor,
undoubtedly, much more creativeness, and this is also the reason why it has been
widely used by thousands of writers, composers and advertisers in many styles of
language, especially in poet, music and advertising language. Here, many kinds of
metaphor are used; to bring about many new, strange feelings; stimulate the
creativeness in ways of thought from the readers and hearers and especially, to draw
attention and persuade the consumers to products, goods or services.
Accordingly, metaphor is thought as the currency of mind. Metaphor is a
fundamental and indispensable structure of human understanding. It is by means of
metaphor that we generate new perceptions of the world; it is through metaphor that
we organize and make sense out of experience. Let‘s look at some closest citation
of metaphor
Galperin (1977) A metaphor is a relation between the dictionary and
contextual logical meanings based on the affinity or similarity of certain properties
or features of the two corresponding concepts.[6, 136]
He also mentions that the more obvious the similarity, the less need there is for
deciphering words in the con text
According Oxford Learner‘s Dictionaries metaphor is ―a word or phrase used
to describe somebody/something else, in a way that is different from its normal use,
in order to show that the two things have the same qualities and to make the
description more powerful‖
Metaphor can be embodied in all the meaningful parts of speech, in nouns,

adjectives, verbs, and adverbs and sometimes even in the auxiliary parts of speech,
as in prepositions.
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Metaphor is one of the most potent means of creating images which helps
writer transfer meanings in a beautiful way.
However, Metaphor is easily confused with simile and metonymy because
they all base on associative relations. Therefore, simile and metonymy should be
mentioned herein in comparison with metaphor.
b. Metonymy
As mentioned by E.V Sachkova(2012) , metonymy denotes transference of
meaning which is based on contiguity of notion . Metonymy represents meanings
based on proximity, and the similar association connects 2 objects or concepts [17,
25]
Galperin(1977) says that Metonymy is based on a different type of relation
between the dictionary and contextual meanings, a relation based not on affinity,
but on some kind of association connecting the two concepts which these meanings
represent on a proximity [6, 144]
Metaphor and metonymy are similar in various aspects but the major
difference is that if a metaphor substitutes a concept with another, a metonymy
selects a related term. So, if metaphor is for substitution, metonymy is for
association. For example, the sentence ‗he is a tiger in class‘ is a metaphor. Here the
word tiger is used in substitution for displaying an attribute of character of the
person. The sentence ‗the tiger called his students to the meeting room‘ is a
metonymy. Here there is no substitution; instead the person is associated with a
tiger for his nature.
In addition, Metaphor is an extension to a word‘s meaning on the account of
similarity and metonymy is a way of extending the meaning of a word based on its
association to another. Another difference between metaphor and metonymy is that

a metaphor acts by suppressing an idea while metonymy acts by combining ideas.
But both metaphor and metonymy are used to express ideas which are greatly
different from the original meaning in the psychic realm. When a person uses a
metonymy, the qualities are not transferred from the original word to the

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