Expressive means in literature in plain language (based on the material of the short story “The Trap” by J. Hermann)

Abstract

The study aims to describe in a comprehensive manner the linguostylistic means of literary expression in the short story “The Trap” („Falle“) by the modern German writer Judith Hermann. A special, simplified version of the German language used by the author, i.e., plain language or ‘einfache Sprache’ in German, is a distinctive feature of the work. J. Hermann’s short story was included in Germany in the first collection of original literary texts in plain language available to a wide readership and became a part of the new literary project „LiES – Literatur in Einfacher Sprache“ (“Literature in plain language”). The scientific novelty of the study lies in the uniqueness of the analysed practical material – it is the first time that an attempt has been made to identify and characterise the stylistic potential of plain language based on the material of an original (untranslated) literary work by a modern German author. The results of the study clearly show that plain literary language is not inferior to standard literary language and has an extensive arsenal of stylistic means (epithets, comparisons, metaphors, personification, antitheses and gradation, parcellation and ellipses, repetitions, rhythm) and an ample potential for building new, fictional worlds and creating non-trivial artistic imagery, in particular due to the receptive intention of the title and the open ending.