Chapter 16

imagery

colorful and concrete words that appeal to the senses. Concrete language that brings into play the senses of smell, taste, sight, hearing, and touch to paint mental pictures.

figures of speech

expressions, such as metaphors, similes, analogies, and hyperbole in which words are used in a nonliteral fashion. "

gender-neutral language

language that avoids the use of third-person generic masculine pronouns in favor of inclusive pronouns such as his or her, he or she, we, ours, you, your, or other gender-neutral terms

abstract language

language that is general or nonspecific

hackneyed language

language that is poorly crafted and lacking freshness

Allusion

making vague or indirect reference to people, historical events, or concepts to giv deeper meaning to the message

colloquial expressions

sayings specific to a certain region or group

antithesis

setting off two ideas in balanced (parallel) opposition to each other to create a powerful effect

concrete language

specific , tangible and definite language

parallelism

the arrangement of words, phrases, or sentences in a similar form

onomatopoeia

the imitation of natural sounds in a word form; it adds vividness to the speech

malapropism

the inadvertent use of a word or a phrase in place of one that sounds like it

connotative meaning

the individual associations that different people bring to bear on a work

denotative meaning

the literal or dictionary meaning of a word

repetition

the reiteration of the same word or set of words at the beginning or end of successive clauses or sentences. "Repeating key words, phrases or even sentences at various intervals throughout a speech creates a distinctive rhythm and thereby implants important ideas in the listeners' minds. P. 241.

epiphora (epistrophe)

the repetition of a word or phrase appears at the end of statements

alliteration

the repetition of the same sounds, usually initial consonants, in two or more neighboring words or syllables

code-switching

the selective use of casual language, dialect, a second language, or even slang within a speech

anaphora

the speaker repeats a word or phrase at the beginning or successive phrases, clauses or sentences.

Jargon

the specialized "insider" language of a given profession,

Style

the specific word choices and rhetorical devices (techniques of language) speakers use to express their ideas and achieve their speech purpose.

Irony

using humor, satire, or sarcasm to suggest a meaning other than the one that is acutally being expressed

hyperbole

using obvious exaggeration to drive home a point

mixed metaphor

"A comparison that inappropriately juxtaposes two unlike images or expressions, often clichéd, such as "He went off the deep end like a bull in a china shop." P. 503.

personification

A figure of speech in which the speaker endows an abstract idea or inanimate object with human qualities,

simile

A figure of speech used to compare one thing with another by using the word like or as,

metaphor

A figure of speech used to make an implicit comparison without the use of like or as. "A metaphor also compares two things, but does so by describing one thing as actually being the other. "Time is a thief" and "All the world's a stage." P. 236.

Rhetorical device

A technique of language to achieve a desired effect.

cliche

An expression that is predictable and stale, analogy - An extended metaphor or simile that compares an unfamiliar concept or process with a more familiar one in order to help the listener understand the one that is unfamiliar,

analogy

An extended simile or metaphor that compares an unfamiliar concept or process to a more familiar one to help listeners understand the unfamiliar one.

faulty analogy

An inaccurate or misleading comparison, suggesting that because 2 things are similar in some ways, they are necessarily similar in others,

understatement

Drawing attention to an idea by minimizing or lowering its importance

Oral style

The use of language that is simpler, more repetitious, more rhythmic, and more interactive than written language; effective speeches use oral style.

a triad

a rhetorical device that makes use of three parallel elements