Style

[Icingsugar]

You talk about Voice here, as a pattern of style, as opposed to language that is the more technical use of words and

But if I have understood the definition the way you use it here, I think that both language and voice can be an autor's choice for a specific piece.

However,I think there is something that I have always called that the fingerprint, a small mark on whatever you do that is undoubtedly you and noone else. It goes beyond just writing. Anyone involved in artistic work, be it music, acting, dancing, painting, writing..., they all leave their personal mark on the performance wether they intend to or not.

I have a friend who is a big fan of ballet. He could tell you which dancer he sees, not by their faces or shapes, but by their posture or step. The same way I often recognise an author's texts long before I see who wrote it, or even moreso with a piece of music. OYu can learn new language, or even deliberately alter your style. But you can't escape the fingerprint.

 

[Guest]

Sugar, what you call the fingerprint is what I call voice. It's how I identify a writer, or a ballet dancer. Your corallary is a good one. All classical ballets have the same steps but one can tell the difference among Russian, English, French and American dancers; there are distinct accents in the 'styles', but among the individual dancers there are distinct 'voices', or fingerprints as you say.

Thanks, I think you've done a service in further clarifying the matter.

Perdita