glossary of terms Flashcards
advertorial
an advertisement that gives information about a product or service in the form of an editorial or journalistic article
act
a collection of scenes in drama
accent
the pronunciation of a language
dialect
a unique and distinguishable combination of vocabulary, pronunciation and syntax
actual reader
an individual or individuals who actually read or listen to a text
actual writer
the individual or individuals who actually produce a text
adjective
a word class used to modify nouns
adverb
a word class used for a number of functions, including modifying adjectives and verbs
adverbs of manner
adverbs suggesting time, manner, and place
adverbs of degree
adverbs that suggest the degree of the nouns and verbs they modify
allegory
a story that reveals a hidden truth, moral, political message
alliteration
the repetition of sound at the beginning of several words, generally used to express the lyrical qualities of language
allusion
a form of figurative language in which reference is made to text, event, person or place, thereby the author relies on the reader’s contextual knowledge and makes an implicit comparison between what is presented and what is known
ambient advertising
advertisements that make use of their physical surroundings in order to construct meaning
amplification
rhetorical device where the writer embellishes the sentence by adding more information to it, to increase its worth and understandability
anadiplosis
a form of repetition in which the last word of one clause or sentence is repeated as the first word of the next sentence
analogy
a cognitive process of transferring traits from one thing or idea to another
anaphora
the repetition of the same word or phrase in a succession of phrases or sentences, often used to establish rhetorical or ‘literary’ effect
anecdote
a short personal story
anti-advertising
advertising that draws your attention to and makes you aware of the conventions of advertising
antithesis
a contrast between ideas (the thesis and antithesis) by placing them together for rhetorical or literary effect
appeal
a mode of persuasion
appeal to authority
argumentum ad verecundiam = an argumentation technique, in which one refers to a source that claims to have authority, assuming that authorities are right
argument
a line of reasoning aimed at demonstrating a truth or falsehood
argument ad hominem
attacking the opposition’s character, not their arguments
argumentation fallacy
the use of invalid or faulty reasoning in an argument
assertion
a strong declaration or forceful conviction based on belief
assonance
the repetition of the same sound between syllables of nearby words
atmosphere
the feeling or mood that a writer creates by describing a setting, objects, characters
banner
an image-based advertisement
biographical criticism
literary criticism which uses a writer’s biography in order to show a relationship between the author and his works
blank verse
verses with regular metrical feet without rhyme
audience
the reader or listener of a text
cacaphony
discordant, rugged or hard-sounded effects in prose or verse, usually produced by clusters of consonants arranged so as to make pronunciation difficult
caesura
a pause within a line of verse, established by the natural organisation of language into phrases, clauses, and sentences, which do not conform to the metric pattern
capitalisation
the inclusion of capital letters in a word
caricature
a picture, imitation of a person which exaggerates that person’s features or character traits
cartoonification
the process of turning an object or person into a cartoon by drawing them
catharsis
the process of being relieved from strong or repressed feelings
characterisation
the way in which a writer creates her characters in a narrative so as to attract or repel the sympathy of the reader or audience
chiasmus
a rhetorical device in which words, grammatical constructions or ideas are repeated in reverse order
clause
a group of words that express a single idea, consisting of a subject and verb
cliché
a boring phrase, made tedious by frequent repetition
coherence
the systematic connection of ideas in a written piece achieved through the use of linking words and the integration of illustrations
colloquialism
expression or grammar that is associated with ordinary, everyday speech rather than formal language
colonial discourse
a way of using language that establishes a relationship between colonial powers and colonised power
colonialism
a policy or practice of acquiring full/partial political control over another country
complex sentence
consists of at least two clauses, one of which is subordinate to a main clause
compound sentence
consists of two or more main clauses linked with one of the conjunctions “or”, “and” and “but”
condescension
a way of talking down to someone in a patronising way
conjunctions
words that are used to connect words, phrases, and clauses
connotation
the aura of emotion that is associated with the word through personal experience
denotation
the literal, factual meaning of a word
consonance
repetition of the same sound between syllables of nearby words, caused by the repetition of consonants
context
the time, place and people that influence the way a text is interpreted
context of production
the situation or circumstances in which a text is produced with significant factors influencing the writing or speaking of a text
context of reception
the situation or circumstances in which a text is received with significant factors influencing the reading or listening of a text
contrast ad
a political advertisement which includes information about opposing candidates, highlighting their negative traits
core vocabulary
everyday and easily understood words that constitute a significant majority of our vocabulary
couplet
a pair of rhymed lines in any meter in poetry
crowdsourcing
the act of taking a job traditionally performed by a designated employee and outsourcing it to an undefined, generally large group of people in the form of an open call
culture jamming
the practice of criticising and subverting advertising or consumerism in the mass media
deictic
words that point in various directions, within a text and beyond it
deontology
the study of nature of duty and obligation
diacope
the repetition of a word or phrase with one or two intervening words
diatribe
a severely critical type of discourse, often spoken, characterised by anger directed towards something or someone
diegetic sound
any sound that originates from the people or things within the world being filmed, on screen or off screen
dolly
the vehicle on which a camera is placed in order to track its subject while moving
dramatic irony
when the development of the plot allows the audience to possess more information about what is taking place than some of the characters themselves have
dramatic aside
an instance when a character in drama speaks briefly and directly to the audience without being heard by other characters
dysphemism
opposite of a euphemism
dystopia
an unpleasant, bad, totalitarian place, opposite of a utopia
ellipsis
the omission of part of a language structure
end-stopped line of verse
the end of the line coincides with a grammatical pause usually signalled by punctuation
enjambment
a line of poetry that is not end-stopped, meaning the sentence continues into the next line without pause or punctuation
equivocation
a word is used in two different senses in an argument
ethos
the character of an audience, nation or community
euphemism
a word or phrase that makes something sound better than it actually is
enumeration
a rhetorical device which mentions or numbers items one by one
ephemral
lasting for only a short period of time
expression
a turn of phrase or idiom which does not have a literal meaning
facetious
treating a serious matter with flippant or inappropriate humor
freeze-frame
the act of stopping action in order to point to a particular moment
free-verse
verse that is released from the convention of metre, with its regular pattern of stresses and line lengths, printed in broken-up lines like verse frequently rhythmical, sometimes containing metrical regularity, but overall free from regular of repeated feet
gatekeeper
a person who has access to a particular medium and can disseminate ideas with it
genre
def, main kinds
a kind or type of literature
the three major genres: poetry, drama, prose
graphology
the visual aspect of a text, including layout, font, and image
haiku
a Japanese lyric form, exactly seventeen syllables are used in three lines: 5-7-5; their common method is to describe a natural scene or object as a way of implying feeling
hegemony
dominance of one social group over another
hyperbole
a figure of speech; emphasis through exaggeration
hypophora
a figure of speech in which the speaker raises a question and then answers it immediately
icon
an image that resembles what it represents
inflection
a change in pitch or loudness of the voice
intonation
the rise and fall of the voice in speaking
intertextuality
the ways in which a text resonates or refers to another text
irony
def, forms
a literary or stylistic device in which one states something that is in discordance with what is expected, when someone says one thing but means something else
forms of irony: verbal, situational (the opposite of what is expected happens), dramatic
jargon
the special technical language of any trade, profession, branch, or scholarship
juxtaposition
the placement of two opposite ideas in close proximity
language
a system of communication that is mutually intelligible among all members of a community; a dialect with ‘official’ acceptance as the standard to which all other varieties are compared
logos
the appeal to a reader or listener’s sense of logic
literary theory
the study of methods used for analysing texts
loaded word
a word that is charged with emotion
male chauvinism
a belief that men are better than women in terms of ability and intelligence
manifesto
a text used to declare policy or aims
mash up
online texts, usually short films, that copy content from an original source and alter it to some extent to give it new meaning
metaphor
a figure of speech that directly refers to one thing by mentioning another
metonymy
the act of referring to a concept not by its name, but by something intimately associated with it
metre
the basic rhythmic structure in a verse
mise en scène
arrangement of scenery, props and characters on a stage or set of a film
modality
the linguistics of judgement, the way in which writers express attitudes towards their subject matter and towards their addresses
monologue
a long speech by a character
mood
the emotional connotations that surround the language of a text
multivocal
meaning is not fixed in a text, however, it is constructed by readers who occupy particular positions, who are informed ideologically, and who exist in particular historical and cultural contexts
news satire
a type of satire which aims to imitate the conventions of news storytelling for humorous effect
newsworthiness
the value of a news story in terms of its relevance, negativity, extraordinariness
noble savage
a representation of a primitive person in an idealised way
non-diegetic sound
any sound whose source is not present in the world being filmed
nominalisation
a process in which a verb or verb group is transformed into a noun
noun phrase
a word or group of words with a noun as the essential word with added information in the form of modifiers (a determiner, premodifier, headword, postmodifier)
onomatopeia
a stylistic device that refers to words that sound like what they represent
othering
the process of treating people differently, as though they are intrinsically different from oneself
paralanguage
aspects of communication functioning in conjunction with verbal language (intonation, pitch and speed of speaking, hesitation noises, gesture, and facial expression)
parallelism
the repetition and aligning of components of a sentence so that they follow a similar construction or pattern
pastiche
a text that imitates the style of another text or author
pathos
speakers appeal to one’s sense of emotion
personification
a stylistic device where inanimate objects are given human qualities, a form of analogy where one thing is compared to another thing
phonological
the sound system of a language
phoneme
a single unit of sound
phonological substitution
replacing an anticipated sound with an unanticipated sound
phrase
a unit of language made up of anything from an individual word to several words acting together, but smaller than a sentence
problem-solution technique
persuasive technique used by advertisers and politicians, in which if an audience can identify with one characteristic of the problem, then they can be persuaded to believe that they must buy into the solution
polysyndeton
the repetition of coordinating conjunctions such as ‘and’ or ‘or’
prosody
the patterns of rhythm and sound
pun
a play on words, often comic, resulting from a word having more than one meaning, or two words with the different meanings having the same sound
referendum
a general vote by the electorate on a single political issue
riddle
a question or statement which presents a puzzle for someone to solve
semantic field
a group of words that are related or analogous in meaning, and are often connected with a particular context of use
lexical cluster
sets of noun or adjective forms, perhaps multiple or in multiple languages, which have in common that they share a meaning
sensationalism
language that appeals to emotions — it exaggerates, over-hypes and attracts attention to controversy
signifier
any form that takes meaning (word, sign, symbol, colour)
signpost
a connective word that tells the reader where the text is going (‘next’)
simile
the comparison of two things, using the words ‘like’ or ‘as’
slang
a deviation in language use, be it vocabulary or expressions, from the standardized form of a particular language
slogan
a phrase used in a political or commercial campaign repeatedly which is short and express a shared purpose or idea
social commentary
a message that criticizes society and the ways in which that society is organised
social networking
a structure of individuals and their interdependence on each other, be it through friendship, economics or interests
socialisation
the process of learning to behave in a way that is acceptable to society
soliloquy
a speech given by a character to himself so that the audience but no other characters can hear the character’s thoughts
speech direction
the instructions given in the play script by the playwright to the actors on how to deliver the lines
spoof
humorous imitation of a text in which its features are exaggerated
stereotyping
assigning fixed characteristics to individuals on the basis of their group membership
surrealism
movement which includes unnatural, fantastical or irrational depictions of the world
subvertising
making spoofs of parodies of corporate and political advertisement
supercrunching
the phenomenon of how large databases are helping us make decisions everyday, especially on the Internet
synecdoche
a stylistic device with which we refer to an entity by one of its parts
tagline
a catchphrase or slogan
tautology
a phrase that says the same thing twice
palindrome
a word or phrase that reads the same forwards and backwards
tension
the feeling of an unresolved problem or unfulfilled events
testimonial
the retelling of a personal experience with a product
textuality
the characteristics that define a text (What makes a speech a speech?)
topical
current or relevant to current events
trompe l’oeil
a 2D art-style that creates an illusion of 3D when viewed from a particular perspective
truncated sentence
a sentence that misses words out
visual narrative
the storyline that is suggested through an image
voice
the quality that makes an author’s style unique
volta
a turning point in argument of thought in poetry
emanata
= symbols or lines that represent a character’s emotions, thoughts, or states of being (hearts, lightbulb, zzz’s, …)
oxymoron
a figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction
paradox
a statement, pair of statements, or even the exploration of an idea that seems contradictory upon first glance
