marina-denel.ucoz.ru - Glossary of Linguistics and Rhetoric a-d

ablaut

a vowel change that accompanies a change in grammatical function. Same as "gradation." Sing, sang, and sung.

accidence

the part of morphology that deals with the inflections of words. See also: morphology.

accismus

pretended refusal of something desired.

acrolect

a variety of language that is closest to a standard main language, especially in an area where a creole is also spoken. Standard Jamaican English, where Jamaican Creole is also spoken. See also: creole.

adianoeta

an expression that carries both an obvious meaning and a second, subtler meaning.

adnominal

characteristic of an adnoun. See also: adnoun.

adnominatio

assigning to a proper name its literal or homophonic meaning; also, paronomasia or polyptoton. Same as "prosonomasia." See also: aptronym, paragram, paronomasia, polyptoton.

adnoun

the use of an adjective as a noun. Blessed are the merciful. See also: adnominal.

adynaton

a declaration of impossibility, usually expressed as an exaggerated comparison with a more obvious impossibility. "I will sooner have a beard grow in the palm of my hand than he shall get one of his cheek." -- William Shakespeare.

alexia

inability to read, usually caused by brain lesions; word blindness. See also: aphasia, dysgraphia.

alliteration

repetition of the same sound beginning several words placed close together, usually adjacent. See also: assonance, consonance, parechesis, paroemion.

alphabetism

the expression of spoken sounds by an alphabet.

ambigram

a word, phrase, or sentence written in such a way that it reads the same way upside down as right side up.

amelioration

See: melioration.

amphibology

See: amphiboly.

amphiboly

ambiguous discourse; amphibology.

anacoluthon

a change in a grammatical construction within the same sentence. "And these socks -- are they mine also?" See also: synesis.

anacrusis

one or more unstressed syllables at the beginning of a line of verse, before the normal meter begins.

anadiplosis

rhetorical repetition of one or more words, particularly a word at the end of a clause. "Men in great place are thrice servants: servants of the sovereign or state; servants of fame; and servants of business." -- Francis Bacon. See also: anaphora, epistrophe, symploce.

anagram

a rearrangement of a group of letters, especially a word that can be formed by rearranging the letters in another word.

anaphora

repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, or sentences. "We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France; we shall fight on the seas and oceans; we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air; we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches; we shall fight on the landing grounds; we shall fight in the fields and in the streets; we shall fight in the hills. We shall never surrender." -- Winston Churchill. See also: anadiplosis, epistrophe, symploce.

anaptyxis

the process by which a new word is formed by inserting a vowel sound between successive consonants in an older word. See also: dissimilation, epenthesis, haplology, metathesis, paragoge.

anastrophe

transposition or inversion of normal word order; a type of hyperbaton. "Once upon a midnight dreary..." -- Edgar Allan Poe. "The helmsman steered; the ship moved on; yet never a breeze up blew." -- Samuel Taylor Coleridge. See also: hyperbaton, synchysis.

antanaclasis

repetition of a word whose meaning changes in the second instance. "Your argument is sound...all sound." -- Benjamin Franklin.

anthimeria

substitution of one part of speech for another, most often a noun used as a verb.

antiphrasis

the use of a word or phrase contrary to its normal meaning for ironic or humorous effect. A mere babe of 60 years.

antisthecon

substitution of one sound, syllable, or letter within a word for another, frequently to accomplish a pun; a type of metaplasm. See also: metaplasm.

antistrophe

the repetition of words in an inverse order. "The master of the servant and the servant of the master."

antithesis

contrast of opposing words or ideas in a parallel construction. "Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice; moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue." -- Barry Goldwater.

antonomasia

the substitution of a title or epithet for a proper name. "Yes, Your Majesty." Also, the substitution of a personal name for a common noun. "You're a Benedict Arnold." See also: honorific.

antonym

a word which is the opposite of another. "General," which is the antonym of "specific." See also: contronym, synonym.

aphaeresis

Loss of the initial portion of a word. For example, cause from because; specially from especially. See also: apocope.

aphasia

partial or total loss of the ability to articulate ideas or comprehend spoken or written language, usually due to damage inflicted on the brain by injury or disease. See also: alexia, dysgraphia, paraphasia.

aphesis

mispronouncing a word by dropping one or more initial, usually unstressed syllables. "'cept" instead of "except." See also: aphetic.

aphetic

characteristic of aphesis. See also: aphesis.

apocope

loss of the final portion of a word. For example, info from information; cinema from cinematograph. See also: aphaeresis.

apocrisis

replying to one's own arguments.

apophasis

mentioning something by declaring that it shall not be mentioned. Same as "paralepsis" and "preterition." "I need not remind you to get your Christmas shopping done early." See also: autoclesis, parasiopesis.

aporia

expression of doubt, usually feigned, about what the speaker should say, think, or do. "Oh no! Whatever shall I do now?"

aposiopesis

a halting or trailing off of speech caused by the speaker seemingly overcome by an emotion such as excitement, fear, or modesty; a form of brachylogy. "When your father finds out...." See also: brachylogy.

apostrophe

addressing an alternate audience midstream, whether that audience be a person, group, or abstraction, present or absent.

apposition

the juxtaposition of two nouns, the second of which clarifies the first. "The man, a leather-clad hoodlum, bolted from the scene when the police showed up."

aptronym

a name aptly suited to its owner, often because the name applies in more than one sense. "Mr. Calamity had a unique penchant for causing destruction wherever he went." See also: adnominatio.

archaism

usage of an older, often obsolete form of language

argot

the jargon of a group or class; slang.

assonance

repetition of the same sound in multiple words placed close to each other, often adjacent. See also: alliteration, consonance, parechesis.

asyndeton

lack of conjunctions between coordinate words, phrases, or clauses; a form of brachylogy. "But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground." -- Abraham Lincoln. See also: brachylogy, polysyndeton.

autoclesis

introducing an idea or subject by seeming to refuse discussion of it, thereby arousing interest. See also: apophasis, parasiopesis.

autogram

a phrase, sentence, or paragraph that self-documents its letter content.

billingsgate

coarsely abusive language.

bloviate

to speak or write pompously and windily.

brachylogy

abbreviated or condensed expression, often by omitting words that can be determined by the surrounding context. See also: aposiopesis, asyndeton, zeugma.

cacemphaton

an expression that is deliberately foul or ill-sounding.

cacography

poor handwriting; also, incorrect spelling.

cacology

poor choice of words; also, incorrect pronunciation.

cacophemism

See: dysphemism.

cacophony

juxtaposition of harsh sounds.

calque

an expression introduced into one language by translating it from another language. Same as "loan translation." "Superman," from the German word "Ubermensch." See also: loan translation, loanword, Wanderwort.

catachresis

harsh metaphor involving the use of a word beyond its normal function, usually incorrectly. See also: metaphor.

cataphora

use of a pronoun or other linguistic unit to refer to a word used later. "Him," in, "I nudged him, but George did not wake."

chiasmus

corresponding pairs not matched in parallel but inverted or crossed (a-b-b-a, rather than a-b-a-b). The word derives from the Greek letter chi (X). "Those gallant men will remain often in my thoughts and in my prayers always." -- Douglas MacArthur.

chrestomathy

a collection of choice literary passages, especially to help in learning a language.

chronogram

an inscribed phrase in which certain letters can be read as Roman numerals. "ChrIstVs DVX; ergo trIVMphVs," which is the motto of a medal struck by Gustavus Adolphus; the capital letters, when added as numerals, indicate the year 1632.

circumlocution

the use of indirect language or roundabout expressions; evasion in speech or writing. See also: cledonism, periphrasis.

cledonism

use of circumlocution to avoid speaking words deemed unlucky. See also: circumlocution.

climax

arrangement of words, phrases, or clauses in increasing order of power

commoratio

dwelling on or returning to one's strongest argument.

consonance

the repetition of consonants or consonant patterns, especially at the ends of words. Same as "consonant rhyme." See also: alliteration, assonance, parechesis.

consonant rhyme

See: consonance.

constative

characteristic of an assertion that can be definitively judged true or false.

contronym

a word which is its own opposite. "Cleave," meaning "adhere" and "separate." See also: antonym.

coprolalia

uncontrolled, excessive use of obscene or scatological language, sometimes accompanying certain mental disorders.

copula

a copulative word. See also: copulative.

copulative

syntactically connecting coordinate words or clauses; also, a copulative word or group of words. "And," which is a copulative conjunction, and "be," which is a linking verb. See also: copula.

crasis

a contraction of two vowels, usually the final and initial vowels of consecutive words, into one long vowel or diphthong.

creole

a language that originates from two other languages and has features of both. See also: acrolect.

cruciverbalist

a constructor of crossword puzzles; also, an enthusiast of word games, especially crossword puzzles.

cryptophasia

a language consisting of words or phrases understandable only between two twins and which is usually developed as the twins grow up together.

deictic

characteristic of a word whose reference depends on the circumstances of its use; also, a deictic word. "This," which means nothing outside of context.

diaeresis

the pronunciation of adjacent vowels separately. "Naive."

dilogy

an ambiguous speech.

diphthong

a speech sound in which one vowel gradually changes to another vowel within the same syllable. "Oi" in "boil," and "ou" in "out." See also: syneresis.

disjunctive

serving to establish a relationship of contrast or opposition; also, a disjunctive conjunctive. "But," in "The youth was spirited but naive."

dissimilation

the process by which one of two similar sounds in a word becomes less like the other. "Marble," an English word derived from the French word "marbre" by the process of dissimilation. See also: anaptyxis,epenthesis, haplology, metathesis, paragoge.

dittograph

a letter or word repeated unintentionally in writing or copying.

dittology

two distinct interpretations of the same text.

dontopedalogy

the aptitude for putting one's foot in one's mouth.

dysgraphia

impairment of the ability to write, usually caused by brain dysfunction or disease. See also: alexia, aphasia, dyslalia.

dyslalia

impairment of the ability to speak due to defective speech organs. See also: dysgraphia.

dyslexia

a learning disorder distinguished by impaired ability to recognize and comprehend written words.

dysphemism

substitution of a mild expression with a harsher one; opposite of "euphemism"; cacophemism. See also: euphemism.

dysprosody

a speech impairment characterized by a loss of control of intonation and rhythm.

dysrhythmia

an abnormality in an otherwise normal rhythmic pattern, as the meter in a line of verse.

dystmesis

inserting a word in the middle of another in an unlikely or unexpected place; a form of tmesis. "Unbe-freaking-lievable." See also: tmesis.