IB English Lang/Lit Paper 1 Useful Terminology

assonance

repetition of vowel sounds

asyndeton

listing using commas

caesura

pause created usually through punctuation usage

chiascuro

relationship between light and shade in an image

denotation

actual meaning of a word

dysphemism

a harsher way of communicating an idea, e.g. using taboo terms

endophoric reference

reference to something within the text

epistemic modal verb

express degrees of probability, possibility, or certainty e.g. will, shall

euphemism

a politer, more socially acceptable way of saying something e.g. passed away

exophoric reference

reference to something beyond the text

graphology

the 'look' of the text, e.g. font style, size, colour

grapho-semantics

the meaning behind images used

imperative

a command

inclusive pronoun

'we' 'us'

marked/unmarked forms

where words/phrases have evidence of a gender e.g. policeWOMAN

metonymy

when one whole thing (not a part) represents something closely associated with it; for example, ' the crown' representing the king

mis-en-scene

the layout of an image

motion lines

abstract lines to convey movement (often in comics/graphic novels)

new media

media which allows access to content anytime on digital devices

pastiche

imitation of another form

pejoration

semantic change where word becomes negative e.g. 'coloured'

presupposition

assumptions pre-text, e.g. Steve no longer plays rugby

semantic derogation

where words acquire negative connotations

semantics

meaning behind words in a text

synecdoche

a part used to represent the whole, e.g. 'the eyes' to represent the audience

synthetic sisterhood

the 'false friendship' created in magazines aimed at females

double entendre

a word or phrase open to two interpretations

ekphrasis

a literary description of or commentary on a visual work of art

amelioration

semantic change where meaning becomes positive

anglocentrism

centred on England/Britain

building consumer

position the receiver as the ideal reader and therefore consumer of product

byline

place for author acknowledgement

contractions

shortening of words by contracting them often using apostrophes

declarative

a statement

deontic modal verb

express degrees of obligation and necessity

determinism

the belief that language determines how we think

dialect

words or phrases particular to a geographic place

disempowering

taking power and language away from a social group

en masse

addressing a large number of readers

ephemeral

lasting for a short time only/temporary

ethnocentrism

centred on a particular ethnicity

ethos

beliefs, ideology

exclamatory

!!!

heteroglossia

multiple voices in one language (e.g. differences in poor vs rich speech in Dickens)

ideology

inherent beliefs in a text

idiolect

the speech particular to an individual

idioms

expression e.g. sweating buckets

implicature

suggestions, eg I'm tired meaning, 'I want to go home and you should come with me.'

intertextuality

references to other texts

linguistic convergence

where a speaker adapts their speech to be more similar to the listener

linguistic divergence

where a speaker adapts their speech to differ from that of the listener

modality

possibility expressed in a text

mode

whether a text is spoken or written

oxymoron

two words with opposite meanings used side by side e.g. bittersweet

pathos

evocation of pity, sadness

polyvocality

multiple voices in a text

superlatives

of the highest degree, usually ending in -st

synthetic personalisation

where readers are treated as individuals

temporal context

time of production

triadic structure

pattern of three (same as rule of 3, 3 part build-up etc)