Stylistics is a field of study: the study of style in language. Someone doing stylistics looks closely at a poem, a novel, a speech, even an advertisement, and asks how the language is put together and what effect those choices have on a reader.

stylisticsstylistics is a field of study是一門學科: the study of style in language研究語言中風格的學問. someone doing stylistics做stylistics的人 looks closely at會仔細看 a poem, a novel, a speech, even an advertisement一首詩、一本小說、一篇演講，甚至一則廣告, and而且 asks問 how the language is put together語言是怎麼組成的 and what effect those choices have on a reader那些選擇對讀者造成了什麼效果.

Why this word and not that one? Why a short sentence here? Why repeat that sound?

why為什麼 this word用這個字, and not而不是 that one那一個? why為什麼 here在這裡 a short sentence用短句? why為什麼 repeat重複 that sound那個聲音?

It sits on the border between linguistics and literature. That is really its whole character — literature people ask what a text means, language people ask how language works, and stylistics asks both at once.

it它 sits on the border between linguistics and literature座落在語言學和文學之間的邊界上. that這 is really its whole character其實就是它的整個特質 — literature people文學的人 ask問 what a text means一篇文本的意思是什麼, language people語言的人 ask問 how language works語言是怎麼運作的, and而 stylisticsstylistics asks both at once兩個都問.

A grammar point worth having: like physics, economics, and politics, stylistics ends in -s but is singular. You say 'Stylistics is a difficult subject', never 'are'. This -ics ending on names of academic fields is very regular, and once you notice it you can predict the grammar of subjects you have never met.

a grammar point worth having有一個文法重點值得記住: like physics, economics, and politics就像physics、economics和politics一樣, stylistics ends in -s but is singularstylistics字尾有-s但其實是單數. you你 say會說 'Stylistics is a difficult subject'『Stylistics is a difficult subject』, never 'are'絕不會說『are』. this -ics ending on names of academic fields這種學科名稱字尾-ics的規則 is very regular非常固定, and而且 once you notice it一旦你注意到了 you can predict就能預測 the grammar of subjects you have never met你從沒學過的學科的文法.

At university in Taiwan you would meet this word in a Foreign Languages department, often as a course name. Outside a university it is rare — most English speakers have never used it in their lives.

at university in Taiwan在台灣的大學裡 you你 would meet this word會遇到這個字 in a Foreign Languages department在外文系, often as a course name通常是當作課程名稱. outside a university在大學以外 it這個字 is rare很少見 — most English speakers大多數說英文的人 have never used it in their lives一輩子都沒用過它.