名人教你讲英文：Style and Figures 风格与词采

名人教英文：style and figures 风格与词采

this week i would like to introduce the subject of "style" in english. the word "style" is a manner of using english which is characteristic of a period of time or the user's personality or his preferences. this is a big topic.

this being the case, i would like to start by discussing style in the context of figures of speech (1). these include, for example, the use of alliteration (2), metaphor (3) or simile (4).

it is important to understand the question of style as it will make it easier for foreigners, studying english, to understand the nuances (5) that exist in the english language. it will also help to distinguish good english from bad english (6).

it should be noted that often "style", particularly in poetry, is associated with a certain movement particular to a period of time: for example the metaphysical style of the 16th, 17th century; the renaissance style of the 18th century; the impressionism, romanticism, surrealism, minimalism of the twentieth century etc. (7)

■passage of the week

we hong kong people

we who live in hong kong certainly feel blessed in that we have the best of both worlds: we are cherished by china and courted (8) by the rest of the world! we have a special culture, developed from our unique history and nourished by those who come and live here from different parts of the world. we speak cantonese. in recent years we speak, or try to learn to speak putonghua as well. we also speak our brand of english, peculiar to hong kong. that is to say we have developed a tongue described as chinglish — a true blend of east and west — unintelligible in either tongue but somehow understood, or misunderstood, if spoken in a mixed-up manner. we are pampered like princes and princesses (9). this undoubtedly enviable state has probably made us too precious for words (10)!