ENG1300 Chapter 15/16 Flashcards
Colloquial English
The casual or informal, but correct, language of ordinary native speakers. Conversational in tone, may have slang, shifts in grammar, vocabulary and action.
Denotation
The literal, dictionary meaning of a word.
Diction
Word choice or vocabulary. Refers to the class of words an author chooses as appropriate for a particular work.
Decorum
Refers to the propriety or appropriateness of diction. Aged nuns speaking an inner-city jive might violate this principle.
Who?
One of Journalist’s questions: refers to identifying the speaker, or listener, of the poem.
Poetic Diction
Language deemed suitable for verse, but generally refers to elevated language intended for poetry rather than common use.
What?
One of the 5 journalist’s questions: refers to the objects of events being seen or presented.
Formal English
The heightened, impersonal language of educated persons, usually written, but can be spoken on dignified occasions.
Allusion
Brief, sometimes indirect reference in a text to a person, place, or thing. Implies a common body of knowledge between the reader and the writer, and acts as a literary shorthand to enrich the meaning of text.
Connotation
An association or additional meaning that a word, image, or phrase may carry, apart from literal, dictionary definition.
Dialect
A particular variety of language spoken by an identifiable regional group or social class
Concrete Diction
Words that specifically name or describe things or persons. Refers to words that we can immediately perceive with our senses.
When?
One of the journalist’s questions: refers to the timing of the poem, time, of day, season, etc.
Portmanteau
An artificial word that combines parts of other words to express some combination of their qualities (Ex: brunch)
Dictionary
It is recommended to always have one of these, or an app for it, on hand - particularly when reading poetry.
