Aice English Lang. AS - Linguistic Devices:
1. Context-The circumstances, atmosphere, attitudes, and events surrounding a text.
2. Audience-the listener, viewer, or reader of a text
3. Purpose - One's intention or objective in a speech or piece of writing
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4. Form-type of writing, relates to shape and overall presentation of a text
5. Genre-a category of artistic composition, as in film or literature, marked by a distinctive style, form, or content
6. Structure-the way a text is organized and ordered. It can relate to both the whole text and the features of the text.
7. Tone-a writer's attitude toward the subject and audience. It is primarily conveyed through diction, point of view, syntax, and level of formality
8. Register-The formality or informality of language
Example - Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
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9. Alliteration-the repetition of an initial consonant sound
Example - “One short sleepe past, wee wake eternally,
And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die.” — “Death, Be Not Proud” by John Donne
10. Allusion-a brief, usually indirect reference to a person, place, or event -- real or fictional
Example - She had the feeling she had a golden ticket: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
11. Ambiguity / ambiguous-the quality or state of having more than one possible meaning, doubtful, equivocal; unclear, uncertain, open to more than one interpretation, not definitive, dubious
Example - Fair is foul, and foul is fair.
12. Analogy-reasoning or arguing from parallel cases
Example - “She is blind as a bat”
13. Anaphora-the repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or verses
Example - Martin Luther King’s 1963 “I Have A Dream” speech.
14. Antithesis – an opposition, contrast. The rhetorical contrast of ideas by means of parallel arrangements of words, clauses, or sentences. For example: “action, not words”.
Example - “Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven.”
15. Assonance-the identity or similarity in sound between internal vowels in neighboring words
Example - Lean, mean, fighting, machine.
16. Asyndeton-the omission of conjunctions between words, phrases, or clauses
Example - “Call up her father, rouse him, make after him, poison his delight proclaim in the streets.
17. Chiasmus – presentation of thoughts or ideas first presented one way, then in reverse order.
Example: “Don’t ask what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.”
18. Cliché-a worn-out idea or overused expression
Example - “All that glitter is not gold.”
19. Colloquial- characteristic of writing that seeks the effect of informal spoken language as distinct from formal or literary English
Example - “And these tend inward to me, and I tend outward to them.”
20. Connotation-the emotional implications and associations that a word may carry
Example - “She is feeling blue.”
21. Denotation-the direct or dictionary meaning of a word, in contrast to its figurative or associated meanings
Example - “The patient is sick.”
22. Diction-the choice and use of words in speech or writing
Example - “I’ll fetch that book for her.
23. Ellipsis and dash – indicate a pause of missing information
Example - “What are you talking about - wait, Johnny said it was Maria!”
24. Epiphora - the repetition of a word or phrase at the end of several clauses
Example - I am tired; he is tired; we are all tired.”
25. Euphemism-the substitution of an inoffensive term for one considered offensively explicit
Example - “We are going to have to let you go.”
26. Figurative language-language in which figures of speech (e.g. metaphors, similes, and hyperbole) freely occur
27. Figures of speech-the various uses of language that depart from customary construction, order, or significance
28. Flashback- a shift in a narrative to an earlier event that interrupts from the normal chronological development of a story
Example - “ A man is about to give a speech to a large audience on biology. Suddenly, he remembers playing with frogs and toads in his backyard as a curious child.”
29. Foreshadowing-the use of hints and clues to suggest what will happen later in a plot
Example - “We'll see about that.”
30. Hyperbole-a figure of speech in which exaggeration is used for emphasis or effect; an extravagant statement
Example - “When she did the flips at the dance, she landed as light as a feather.”
31. Hypophora-a rhetorical term for a strategy in which a speaker or writer raises a question and then immediately answers it
Example - “What's one way to unwind after finals? The beach!”
32. Idiom-a figure of speech that, when translated to another language, does not maintain its culturally/socially accepted meaning
Example - “That is the last straw.”
33. Imagery-vivid descriptive language that appeals to one or more of the senses
Example - “After the long run, he collapsed in the grass with tired and burning muscles. The grass tickled his skin and sweat cooled on his brow.”
34. Innuendo-an allusive or oblique remark or hint, typically a suggestive or disparaging one
Example - "Good for you with that youthful dress"
35. Invective-denunciatory or abusive language; discourse that casts blame on somebody or something
Example - "A woman had hurled racist invective at the family".
36. Irony-the use of words to convey the opposite of their literal meaning. A statement or situation where the meaning is directly contradicted by the appearance or presentation of the idea.
Example - “It was a tragic irony that he made himself sick by worrying so much about his health.”
37. Jargon-the specialized language of a professional, occupation, or other group, often meaningless to outsiders
Example - Describing a condition: "I've been experiencing pain in my knee"
Using medical terminology: "Work in some industries so clearly leads to deafness that it has become part of medical terminology"
38. Juxtaposition-placing dissimilar items, descriptions, or ideas close together or side by side, especially for comparison or contrast
Example - “Real stupidity beats artificial intelligence every time.” Terry Pratchett
39. Lexicon-a dictionary; a specialized vocabulary used in a particular field or place
Example - "No-hitter," "go-ahead run," and "Baltimore chop
40. Metaphor-a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between two unlike things that actually have something important in common
Example - “He is a lion when he comes to the field.”
41. Metonymy-a figure of speech in which one word or phrase is substituted for another with which it is closely associated with (e.g. "crown" for "royalty)
Example - “My ride is parked out side” ride for car “This region is a cradle of civilization.” cradle for birth or birthplace
42. Mood-the quality of a verb that conveys the writer's attitude toward a subject; the emotion evoked by a text
Example - "I am no bird; and no net ensnares me; I am a free human being with an independent will"
43. Neologism-a new word, expression, or usage; the creation or use of new words or senses
Example - “There is a great brunch place on fifth street near the gas station.” word examples “Liner” “Chillax” “Wedinar”
44. Onomatopoeia-the formation or use of words that imitate the sounds associated with the objects or actions they refer to
Example - “The boom of the fireworks scared that baby.”
45. Oxymoron-a figure of speech in which incongruous or contradictory terms appear side by side
Example - “This is another fine mess you have got us into.” or “You are clearly confused by the situation you have found yourself in.”
46. Paradox-a statement that appears to contradict itself
Example - “Save money by spending it.” or “If I know something, it's that I know nothing.”
47. Parody – a humorous but recognizable imitation of literature, art, or music for the purpose of amusement or ridicule.
Example - “I need to make a business call. I am a very busy, very important businessman!”
48. Personification-a figure of speech in which an inanimate object or abstraction is endowed with human qualities or abilities
Example - “The engine gave one final protest before the car shuddered to a stop.” or “Wind rattled the windows as the storm raged.”
49. Perspective -a point of view or general standpoint from which different things are viewed, physically or mentally; the appearance to the eye of various objects at a given time, place, or distance
Example - “It was times like these when I thought my father, who hated guns and had never been to any wars, was the bravest man who ever lived.” - To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
50. Point of View-the perspective from which a speaker or writer tells a story or presents information
Example - "My heart leaped into my throat as I turned and saw a frightening shadow."
51. First person point of view-a character in the story is actually telling the story himself/herself
Example - “I heard the monster's growl from somewhere in the woods.”
52. Second person point of view-the narrator addresses the reader directly using the pronoun "you"
Example - “You remember that you were supposed to turn left, but now you're lost in the maze of the housing development.”
53. Third person omniscient-Point of view in which an all-knowing narrator who is privy to the thoughts and actions of any or all characters.
Example - “She sat in the café waiting for her food to arrive. “What is taking so long?” she thought.”
54. Polysyndeton-the use, for rhetorical effect, of more conjunctions than is necessary or natural
Example - “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.”
55. Prose-ordinary writing (fiction and nonfiction) as distinguished from verse
Example - “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.”
56. Pun-a word employed in two senses, or a word used in a context that suggests a second term sounding like it. Puns are usually used for comic effect
Example - “They seemed to think the opportunity lost, if they failed to point the conversation to me, every now and then, and stick the point into me.” By Charles Dickens
57. Repetition-an instance of using a word, phrase, or clause more than once in a short passage -- dwelling on a point
Example - "Fear leads to anger; anger leads to hatred; hatred leads to conflict; conflict leads to suffering."
58. Sarcasm-a mocking, often ironic or satirical remark
Example - “Tell me something I don't know.” or “Yeah, because that's never happened.”
59. Rhetorical question-A question asked merely for rhetorical effect and not requiring an answer
Example - What happens to a dream deferred? or If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?
60. Satire – a kind of writing which ridicules human weaknesses, vice, or folly in order to bring about social reform.
Example - If voting changed anything, they would make it illegal. or When I was a boy, I was told that anybody could become President. Now I'm beginning to believe it.
61. Simile-a figure of speech in which two fundamentally unlike things are explicitly compared, usually in a phrase introduced by "like" or "as"
Example - As I Lay Dying: "He looks like right after the maul hits the steer and it no longer alive and don't yet know that it is dead"
62. Stream of consciousness-A literary technique that presents the thoughts and feelings of a character as they occur.
Example - “I grow old ... I grow old ...
I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled.
Shall I part my hair behind? Do I dare to eat a peach?
I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach.
I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each.
I do not think that they will sing to me.” - The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock
63. Symbol-a person, place, action, or thing that represents something other than itself
Example - “Life's a rollercoaster” or “You’re as brave a lion”
64. Synecdoche-a figure of speech in which a part is used to represent the whole, the whole for a part, the specific for the general, the general for the specific, or even the material for the thing made from it
Example - At the event they are serving bubbly for the adults.
65. Syntax-the study of the rules that govern the way words combine to form phrases, clauses, and sentences; the arrangement of words in a sentence
Example - Moby Dick, by Herman Melville (1851). Melville begins with this famous line: “Call me Ishmael.” This first line—one of the most famous in literature—is short and direct. The sentences that follow, though, are significantly more sophisticated. In the fourth sentence, Melville uses a number of dependent clauses (“Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth,” “Whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul,” and so on) to create a sense of anticipation.
66. Text structure/organizational pattern: the relationship between ideas in a text.
67. Cause and effect – two events are related as cause and effect when one event brings about the other.
Example - "The heavy rain caused the river to overflow, resulting in flooding in the nearby town."
68. Chronological order – the order in which events happen in time (sequence of events). Ideas are grouped on the basis order of time.
Example - "First, mix the flour and butter, then add the eggs, and finally, pour the batter into the pan."
69. Compare/contrast – writing that examines the similarities and differences between two or more subjects. Transitions are used to signal these similarities and differences.
Example - "While both dogs and cats are popular pets, dogs are more active, whereas cats are more independent."
70. Triadic Structure (list of three)- three words, clauses or sentences given together in order to create a memorable impact
Example - "I need your love, support, and understanding"
71. Voice-the distinctive style or manner of expression of an author or narrator
Example - "The dog chased the cat" (active) vs. "The cat was chased by the dog" (passive).