Language Flashcards
Argument
appeal to logic (logos), emotion (pathos), perceived character of speaker (ethos)
Ad hominem
type of fallacy that involves commenting on or against a person to undermine him instead of his argument; literally “against the man”
Antithesis
opposite; rhetorical device in which opposite ideas are put together in a sentence for contrasting effect
Overstatement
making to seem more important than it really is
Paradox
Statement that appears to be self-contradictory or opposed to common sense but upon closer inspection contains some degree of truth or validity
Parallelism
phrases or sentences of similar construction/meaning are placed side by side, balancing each other
Inversion
practice of changing conventional placement of words
Anastrophe
order of noun and adjective are exchanged
Ex: He spoke of times, past and future
Consonance
repetitive sounds produced by consonants in quick succession within a phrase
Alliteration
repetition of initial consonant sound
Affixation
adding prefix or suffix to a word
Anaphora
repetition of word phrase at the beginning of several clauses
Ex: repetition of “one hundred years later” in MLK’s “I Have a Dream” speech
Assonance
repetition of vowel sounds followed by different consonants in two or more stressed syllables
Blending
combining two words (“breakfast” and “lunch” to make “brunch”)
Clipping
shortening words (“math” for “mathematics”)
