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Lang and lit - lists
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| literal language | actual meaning |
| figurative language | based on comparisons or imagery (word pictures) eg simile, metaphor, personification. |
| alliteration | repetition of initial letters. |
| metaphor | direct comparison |
| simile | indirect comparison using like as or than |
| personification | giving human characteristics to non human objects, eg the disease ran through the school. |
| hyperbole | exaggeration for effect eg a ton of homework. |
| onomatopoeia | sound of word suggests the meaning eg buzz splash |
| repetition | repeating words and phrases eg "break, break, break on thy cold grey stone, o sea" |
| cliche | overused stale saying eg turning over a new leaf. |
| acronym | a word composed of initial letters/syllables of a phrase or organisation eg anzac |
| allegory | a story or prose on two levels, eg the lion the witch and the wardrobe |
| antonym | a word of opposite meaning eg cold to hot. |
| synonym | A word of similar meaning eg small, little. |
| pun | play on words |
| dialogue | scripted speech/conversation between people |
| monologue | one way convo usually in play or performance |
| soliloquy | speech when alone on stage - thoughts or feelings. eg shakespeare |
| formal language | presise politically correct language used in formal situations and essays. |
| informal language | language that is colloquial casual or suggests familiarity - slang |
| rhetorical question | asking a question when no answer is expected. |
| superlative | the extreme comparison of an adjective eg good better best- best is the superlative. |
| colloquial | informal language or slang usually spoken not written. |
| dialect | words and accents that belong to a region |
| symbolism | where something represents something else eg cross - christianity. |
| euphemism | softening of something unpleasant eg she passed away |
| eye of god | omniscient or all-seeing third person narrative. Narrator shows the characters inner thoughts and feelings. |
| fable | story or poem in which animals take the place of humans usually with moral eg the tortoise and the hare |
| genre | form of literature eg short story novel play poem film |
| mnemonic | memory aid eg my very excellent mother just served us nachos. |
| parody | style of another work is imitated usually for humor eg bored of the rings |
| proverb | short saying in common use and often metaphorical or traditional eg people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. |
| rhythm | the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables often in poetry. the beat eg iambic trochaic etc. |
| sarcasm | bitter wounding remarks, often the opposite of what is meant. verbal irony. |
| parable | bible story with moral eg the good samaritan |
| stream of consciousness | supposedly random flow of thoughts of characters in fiction, often disjointed and difficult to follow. |
| style | all aspects of how a piece of literature is said or written (the individual flavour of the writer) |
| homophone | words which sound the same but mean different things meat meet which witch |
| assonance | repetition of similar vowel sounds eg please leave these |
| archaism | outdated words - thou art penchance |
| caesura | pause midline in poetry I knew you in this dark : for you so frowned. |
| consonance | repetition of consonant sounds with different vowels between eg slip slop slap |
| enjambement | a runon line in poetry eg ' i wandered lonely as a cloud That floats on high o'er vales and hills.' |
| active voice | the subject of the sentence performs the action - the dog bit the postman |
| passive voice | the subject of the sentence is acted upon (more formal) - the postman was bitten by the dog. |
| anecdote | a short amusing or interesting story about a real incident or person |
| allusion | reference to a well-known person, place or thing e.g. Classical – Zeus, historical – Hitler, literary – Shakespeare |
| ambiguity | two possible meanings, e.g. He slipped and broke his leg in several places/ I saw her duck. |
| anachronism | something that is out of its historical time, e.g. Macbeth watching a video of the battle against Norway / The Flintstones using a computer |
| analogy | comparison to show a similarity, e.g. The choice of two paths in a wood is like the choices in life. |
| antithesis | balanced, contrasting phrases or sentences, e.g. ‘to be or not to be’, ‘to err is human, to forgive, divine.’ |
| connotation | emotional meaning, e.g. ‘bath’ – warm, relaxing, peaceful |
| denotation | dictionary meaning of a word, e.g. ‘bath’ – a vessel for washing |
| didactic language | language intended to instruct or teach. e.g. “Fifty kilograms heavier, and a whole head longer than a lion, the tiger is the world’s uncontested supercat.” |
| ellipsis | A series of 3 dots that indicates the omission of one or more words. It is often used in quotations, e.g. “Congress shall make no law… abridging the freedom of speech.” |
| emotive language | deliberate choice of words to illicit emotion. E.g. instead of “The men were killed,” (not emotive), “The victims were executed in cold blood” (emotive). |
| idiom | common expression not to be taken literally, e.g. It’s raining cats and dogs / Pull your socks up / Hold your horses. |
| imperative | command form of a verb, e.g. Close the door / Give me the keys. |
| innuendo | something hinted at but not stated directly, often with unpleasant overtones, e.g. That’s an ‘unusual’ hat. |
| inversion | reversal of normal word order, e.g. “Drenched were the cold fuchsias,” or “We here shall constant be.” |
| irony | a.) a perverse event or circumstance, e.g. a girl cheats on her boyfriend and while she’s out she sees her boyfriend with another girl. b.) saying the opposite of what is meant, e.g. “What a hard working girl you are!” when she is lazy. |
| jargon | elaborate technical language used by a group or profession, e.g. engine torque / sauté / deuce |
| listing | where the writer uses a list, e.g. she was beautiful, graceful, eloquent and rich. |
| extended metaphor | comparison continued through a poem, fable or parable, e.g. comparing life to the seasons – ‘First is your spring, then your summer. |
| mixed metaphors | confusing mixture of comparisons, e.g. take up arms against a sea of troubles / Oh no, I’ve got two left feet in my mouth! |
| neologism | newly created word or phrase, e.g. Nylon, Xerox, Hoover |
| portmanteau word | combination of two words into an appropriate third e.g. Gruffalo (gruff + buffalo), smog (smoke +fog) |
| propaganda | persuasive language to promote a belief or value, now often seen as lies and dangerous |
| register | the level of language according to type and appropriateness, e.g. Very formal: I hereby declare that… / Very informal: Hi, I wanna say that… |
| satire | use of ridicule, irony, sarcasm, to expose and discourage folly or weakness, e.g. Gulliver’s Travels, The Simpsons |
| sibilance | a specific type of alliteration, where soft consonant sounds are repeated to create a hissing effect, e.g. “Sing a song of sixpence” |
| statistic | a fact or piece of data obtained from a study of a large quantity of numerical data, e.g. According to Statistics New Zealand, the current population is 4,543,846 people. |
| stereotype | fixed idea of sex or type, e.g. the dumb blond / geeky scientist |
| syntax | word order in a sentence |
| tone | the mood or feeling conveyed by a piece, e.g. sarcastic /romantic / angry |
| transcript | written version of spoken language |
| understatement | said more weakly than the meaning intended, e.g. “She’s pretty good, all right” when she is incredible |
| verbosity | using more words than necessary, e.g. owing to the fact that, cannot see the way clear to… (similar to circumlocution) |
Created by:
ella.simmons
Popular English Vocabulary sets