In the school curriculum, there is always a theme: "Types of speech: description, narration, reasoning." But after a while, knowledge tends to fade from memory, so it will be useful to fix this important issue.
What are types of speech? What functions do they perform?
Types of speech: description, narration, reasoning - this is how we talk about the subject. For example, imagine a regular table in an office or at home in the kitchen. If you need to describe this item, you should tell in detail what it looks like, what is on it. Such a text will be descriptive, therefore, it is a description. If the narrator begins to reason about what this table is for, is it too old, is it time to change it for a new, chosen type of speech, it will be called reasoning. The text can be called a narration if a person tells the story of how this table was ordered or made, brought home and other details of the appearance of the table in the apartment.
Now a little theory. Speech types are used by the narrator (author, journalist, teacher, announcer) to convey information. Depending on how it is filed, a typology is determined.
Description is a type of speech, the purpose of which is a detailed story about a static object, image, phenomenon or person.
The narrative reports on the evolving action, conveying certain information in a time sequence.
With the help of reasoning, the flow of thought is transmitted regarding the subject that caused it.
Functional-semantic types of speech: description, narration, reasoning
Types of speech are often called functional-semantic. What does it mean? One of the meanings of the word “function” (there are many others, including mathematical terms) is a role. That is, speech types play a role.
The function of description as a type of speech is to recreate a verbal picture, to help the reader see it with his inner vision. This is achieved through the use of adjectives in various degrees of comparison, participles, other speech means. This type of speech is most often found in an artistic style. The description in the scientific style will significantly differ from the artistic one by the unemotional, clear course of the story, the mandatory presence of terms and professional vocabulary.
The narrative is characterized by an image of an action, situation or specific case. With the help of verbs and short, capacious sentences, the effect of presence is created . This type of speech is often used in news reporting. Its function is alert.
Reasoning as a type of speech is characterized by a variety of styles: artistic, scientific, business, and even conversational. The pursued goal is to clarify, reveal certain features, prove or disprove something.
Features of the structure of speech types
Each type of speech has a clear structure. The following classical form is characteristic of the story:
- tie;
- development of events;
- climax
- denouement.
The description does not have a clear structure, but it differs in such forms as:
- a descriptive story about a person or animal, as well as the subject;
- detailed description of the place;
- status description.
Similar examples are often found in literary texts.
Reasoning is fundamentally different from previous types of speech. Since its purpose is to transmit the sequence of the human thought process, the reasoning is constructed as follows:
- thesis (statement);
- arguments, together with the examples given (proof of this statement);
- final inference or conclusion.
Speech types are often confused with styles. This is a gross mistake. Below we will explain how styles differ from types.
Types and styles of speech: what are the differences?
The textbooks of the Russian language featured the concept of speech styles. What is it and are there any differences between styles and types?
So, style is a complex of certain speech means used in a specific area of communication. There are five main styles:
- Colloquial.
- Publicistic.
- Officially business (or business).
- Scientific.
- Art.
To see the characteristic features of styles, you can take any text. The type of speech (a description, examples of which will be presented) is present in both scientific and journalistic style. The conversation style we choose for daily communication. It is characterized by the presence of colloquial expressions, abbreviations and even slang words. It is appropriate at home or with friends, but upon arrival at an official institution, such as a school, university or ministry, the style of speech changes to business with elements of a scientific one.
Newspapers and magazines are written in a journalistic style. Using it, broadcast news channels. The scientific style can be found in the educational literature, it is characterized by many terms and concepts.
Finally, the art style. He has written books that we read for our own pleasure. It is characterized by comparisons (“morning is beautiful, like a beloved smile”), metaphors (“the night sky is pouring gold on us”) and other artistic turns. By the way, the description is a type of speech that is quite common in fiction and, accordingly, in the style of the same name.
How to distinguish speech styles from types? Speech types are how and what we are talking about. We describe a flower or a house - which means the type of speech is a description. We affirm that the house appeared here in a certain year, citing good arguments for that - our speech type - reasoning. Well, if the narrator wants to share the experience of planting and caring for the plant or to tell how he built the house, then we are dealing with a story.
The difference is this: you can describe, reflect or narrate using different styles. For example, when talking about a flower in an artistic style, the author uses a lot of expressive epithets to convey to the listener or reader the beauty of the plant. The biologist will describe the flower, from the point of view of science, using generally accepted terminology. In the same way one can reason and narrate. For example, a publicist will write a feuilleton about a carelessly picked flower, using reasoning as a type of speech. At the same time, the girl, using conversational style, will tell her friend how a classmate gave her a bouquet.
Using styles
The specificity of speech styles makes their successful neighborhood possible. For example, if the type of speech is a description, then it can be supplemented by reasoning. All the same flower can be described in the school wall newspaper, using both a scientific or journalistic, as well as an artistic style. This may be an article about the valuable properties of a plant and a poem glorifying its beauty. At the biology lesson, the teacher, applying the scientific style, will offer students information about the flower, and after that can tell a fascinating legend about it.
Speech Type Description. Examples in the literature
This type can conditionally be called an image. That is, describing, the author depicts an object (for example, a table), natural phenomena (thunderstorm, rainbow), a person (a girl from a neighboring class or favorite actor), an animal, and so on to infinity.
In the framework of the description, the following forms are distinguished:
• portrait;
• status description;
• landscape or interior.
The author talks about an object, object or place so that listeners can imagine, see it, but with the help of a verbal description. Check out the following examples.
Examples of landscape, you can find in the works of classics. For example, in the story “The Fate of Man,” the author gives a brief description of the early post-war spring. The paintings recreated by him are so lively and believable that it seems as if the reader sees them.
In Turgenev's story Bezhin Meadow, landscapes also play an important role. Using a verbal image of the summer sky and sunset, the writer conveys the powerful beauty and strength of nature.
To remember that such a description as a type of speech, it is worth considering another example.
“We went out on a picnic out of town. But today the sky was gloomy and in the evening it became more inhospitable. At first the clouds were a heavy gray hue. The sky was closed by them, like a theater scene after a performance. The sun, though not yet set, was already invisible. And then lightnings appeared between the dark shutters of the clouds ... ”
The description is characterized by the use of adjectives. It is thanks to them that this text gives the impression of a picture, conveys to us color and weather gradations. The following questions are asked to the narrative type: “What does the described object (person, place) look like?” What signs are inherent in him? ”
Narration: an example
Discussing the previous type of speech (description), it can be noted that it is used by the author to recreate the visual effect. But the story conveys the plot in dynamics. This speech type describes events. The following example tells what happened to the heroes of a small story about a thunderstorm and a picnic.
“... The first lightning did not scare us, but we knew that this was only the beginning. We had to pack our things and run away. As soon as a simple dinner was packed in rucksacks, the first drops of rain fell on the bedspread. We rushed to the bus stop. ”
In the text you need to pay attention to the number of verbs: they create the effect of action. It is the image of the situation in the time interval that are signs of a narrative type of speech. In addition, questions of the kind “What happened first?” Can be asked to this type of text. What happened then? ”
Reasoning. Example
What is reasoning as a type of speech? Description and narration are already familiar to us and easier to understand than text reasoning. Back to friends in the rain. One can easily imagine how they are discussing their adventure: “... Yes, we are lucky that the truck driver noticed us at the bus stop. It's good that he did not pass by. In a warm bed it’s good to talk about a thunderstorm. It's not so scary at all if we were at the same stop again. A thunderstorm is not only unpleasant, but also dangerous. It is impossible to predict where lightning will strike. No, we will never go back to the country without knowing the exact weather forecast. A picnic is good for a sunny day, and in a thunderstorm it is better to drink tea at home. ” The text contains all the structural parts of reasoning as a type of speech. In addition, you can ask questions that are specific to the argument: “What is the reason? What follows from this? ”
Finally
Our article was devoted to the types of speech - description, narration and reasoning. The choice of a particular speech type depends on what we are talking about in this case and what purpose we are pursuing. We also mentioned characteristic speech styles, their features and their close relationship with types of speech.