Literary Language

or
Language of Literature
The language which is used in literature for expression is called literary language or language of
literature. This language is more beautiful than other languages. We can express our feelings,
expressions and thoughts attractively than others. The other languages do not have this quality
like attractiveness and beautiful expressions, as literary language has.

Characteristics of Literary Language:

1. Formal Language :
Literary language is based on special words with specific meanings where we focus on the
beauty of language, even if we use simple words, we emphasize on attractiveness of words and
their usage. Literary language is formally used by writers of novels, short stories and by poets.
Idioms and difficult words are thought as attraction of literary language.

2. Eloquence :
Usage of words on time and on a proper place is known as eloquence. It is kept in mind while
producing a literary piece of writing. Such words are tried to be used which need not editing.

3. Rhetoric :
Rhetoric is an important characteristic of literary language. Such words are chosen which have
vast meanings. A short writing should have such effect which can be spread in many pages.

4. Imagination :
Instead of realism, imagination is more important in literature. Sometimes unnatural and unreal
events are told in literature by using imagination.

5. Area of Communication :
Literary language communicates with a specific class like educated and intellectuals. Common
people cannot understand such a difficult language.
6. Source of Creation :
Literary language is a source of creation. It is a source of sending a literary piece of writing to
people having literary taste.

7. Objective :
Objective of a writing is expression instead of communication. Beauty of language is more
important than demonstration of meaning.

8. Emotions :
Emotions are involved in literary language. It has capability to impress a reader through
emotional style.

9. Consistency :
Consistency is also an important characteristic of literary language. Events are said in a specific
manner.

10. Protractedness :
A specific class is communicated by literary language, so writings are detailed instead of short
writings.

11. Rules of Language :

Rules of language are kept in mind while writing a short story, poetry, drama etc.

12. Symbolic Expression :

Instead of telling something straightforward, symbols are used. Metaphoric meanings of words
are used.

Characteristics of literary language

1- Originality
Literary language is an act of conscious creation (González-Serna Sánchez, 2010, 49) in which
the writer can have the freedom to write in an original and unpublished way, considering the
proper meaning he gives to words and This way away from the common language.

2- Artistic Will
The final intention of what is written is to create a work of art, that is, through the words convey
beauty. It privileges the style and the way of saying the message about the content itself.

3- Special communicative intention

Language is a self-communication and is what gives meaning to it. Therefore, literary language
does have a communicative intention that is to communicate literary beauty over a practical
purpose (González-Serna Sánchez, 2010).

4- Connotative or subjective language

Realizing the originality and fiction characteristic of literary language, the writer is sovereign in
giving meaning to the words he desires and gives his discourse multipurpose and multiple
meanings (as opposed to a technical or non-literary text), that is, multi-meaning . In this way,
each receiver will have a different assimilation.

5- Use of fiction
The message creates fictitious realities that do not have to correspond to external reality. The
writer can be very versatile and convey the reader to other dimensions almost identical to real
life, but unreal in the end.

This world of fiction is the result of the author's own particular vision of reality, but in turn
generates in the receiver some of his own life experiences that express in the reading the horizon
of expectations with which a text is approaching (Sotomayor, 2000). , Pp. 28-29).

6- Importance of form
The relevance of form in literary language leads the writer to take care of the"texture"of the
language as such, such as careful selection of words, order of words, musicality, syntactic and
lexical construction, etc.

Poetic function
Pursuing an aesthetic purpose, literary language takes advantage of all available expressive
possibilities (phonic, morphosyntactic and lexical) to produce curiosity and attention on the part
of the reader.

7- Use of rhetorical figures or literary figures

We will understand here by"figure", in its broadest sense, any kind of resource or language
manipulation for persuasive, expressive or aesthetic purposes (García Barrientos, 2007, p.10).

Rhetorical figures are ways of using words in an unconventional way to cause strangeness to the
reader and confer more meaningful text. Of these resources we find a wide variety in two main
categories: diction and thought.

8- Appearance in prose or verse

It is chosen based on the needs of the author and the chosen genre (Herreros & García, 2017).

Literary language can be present in the two forms of language: prose or verse.

In prose, which is the natural structure that takes the language, we appreciate it in fables, stories
and novels. It serves to enrich the description of the texts.

In the case of verse, its composition is more careful and demanding because the lyrical works
measure the number of syllables (measure), the rhythmic accents in the verses (rhythm) and, the
relationship between the verses and the rhyme (stanzas).