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GAMSAT Vocab > Language Techniques > Flashcards

Language Techniques Flashcards

1
Q

Alliteration

A

Same consonant at the beginning of each word
- She sells seashells by the seashore

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2
Q

Assonance

A

Repetition of similar vowels in successive words
- The rain in Spain

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3
Q

Allusion

A

Hint at something and expect the other person to understand what we are referencing
- Chocolate is his Kryptonite

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4
Q

Ad Hominem

A

Appealing to personal considerations rather than to reason
- All murderers are criminals, but a thief isn’t a murderer, and so can’t be a criminal

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5
Q

Ad Populem

A

Words or expressions determined to be popular with people

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6
Q

Anaphora

A

Repetition of a word or phrase to begin successive clauses
- Get busy living or get busy dying

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7
Q

Apostrophe

A

Indicates omission of one or more letters

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8
Q

Anastrophe

A

Syntax inversion that changes the order of a sentence’s structure for effect
- ‘I like apples’ becomes ‘apples I like’

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9
Q

Antithesis

A

Juxtaposition of contrasting words or ideas for balance

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10
Q

Apposition

A

Two noun phrases next to each other that refer to the same person or thing
- [NP1] The living room, [NP 2] the biggest room in the house

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11
Q

Archaism

A

Use of an outdated expression
- Behold

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12
Q

Antagonist

A

Someone who offers opposition

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13
Q

Asyndeton

A

Omission of conjunctions (and / or) where they would be used
- I came, I saw, I conquered

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14
Q

Ambiguity

A

Unclearness by virtue of having more than one meaning

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15
Q

Anachronism

A

Locating something at a time when it couldn’t have existed

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16
Q

Analogy

A

Drawing comparison to show similarity
- Life is like a box of chocolates

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17
Q

Aphorism

A

Concise, instructive saying / expression
- He who hesitates is lost

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18
Q

Bathos

A

Change from a serious subject to a disappointing one

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19
Q

Cacophony

A

Loud confusing disagreeable sounds

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20
Q

Caricature

A

Representation of a person exaggerated for comic effect

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21
Q

Catharsis

A

Releasing of emotional tensions

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22
Q

Chiasmus

A

Reversal of the order of words in a two part sentence
- Pleasure’s a sin, and sometimes sin’s a pleasure

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23
Q

Circumlocution

A

Indirect way of expressing something
- Twice five miles of fertile ground

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24
Q

Cliche

A

An expression that was once innovative but has lost its novelty due to overuse
- Red as a rose

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25
Q

Contradiction

A

Opposition between two conflicting forces or ideas

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26
Q

Colloquialism

A

Expression that seeks to imitate informal speech
- Y’all
- Gonna

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27
Q

Consonance

A

Specific repetition of the same consonant sound anywhere in word or sentence
- Mike likes his new bike.

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28
Q

Circular Reasoning

A

Restating a claim instead of supporting it

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29
Q

Connotation

A

Use of a word to suggest a different association than its literal meaning
- She was feeling blue

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30
Q

Couplet

A

Stanza consisting of two successive lines of verse

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31
Q

Deus Ex Machina

A

Individual appears unexpectedly to solve a difficulty

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32
Q

Double Entendre

A

Word or phrase with two meanings of which one is indecent

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33
Q

Dialectic

A

Arriving at the truth by exchange of logical arguments

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34
Q

Discourse

A

Extended verbal expression in speech or writing

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35
Q

Denotation

A

Literal meaning / definition of a word
- Dead = not living

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36
Q

Elision

A

Omission of a sound between two words
- Fish n Chips

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37
Q

Ellipsis

A

Use of ‘…’ to show a pause in a thought or to create suspense

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38
Q

Encomium

A

Formal expression of praise

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39
Q

Enjambment

A

Continuation from one line of verse into the next

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40
Q

Epigraph

A

Quotation at the beginning of a piece of writing

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41
Q

Equivocation

A

Ambiguous language to conceal the truth, avoid commitment

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42
Q

Epithet

A

Descriptive word or phrase

43
Q

Eponym

A

Name of something is derived from a person
- Adam’s apple

44
Q

Eristic

A

Characterised by debate or argument

45
Q

Euphemism

A

Inoffensive expression substituted for an offensive one
- ‘Passed away’ instead of ‘died’

46
Q

Euphony

A

Pleasing or harmonious sounds

47
Q

Foreshadowing

A

The act of providing vague advance indications

48
Q

Flashback

A

Transition in a story to an earlier event

49
Q

False Analogy

A

Two things compared unfairly

50
Q

Free Verse

A

Poetry that does not rhyme or have a regular meter

51
Q

Figurative

A

Not literal

52
Q

Hyperbole

A

Extravagant exaggeration
- Her brain is the size of a pea

53
Q

Hypothesis

A

Message expressing opinion based on incomplete evidence

54
Q

Imagery

A

Ability to form mental pictures of things or events

55
Q

Irony

A

Use of words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of its literal meaning
- The police station gets robbed

56
Q

Invective

A

Abusive language used to express blame or censure

57
Q

Inversion

A

Altering sentence structure, may make the sentence sound grammatically incorrect
- Never a day had she missed her lessons

58
Q

Jargon

A

Technical terminology characteristic of a particular group

59
Q

Juxtaposition

A

Positioning two things close together with contrasting effect
- You’re making a mountain out of a molehill

60
Q

Litotes

A

Understatement for rhetorical effect
- ‘Not the sharpest tool in the shed’ instead of ‘stupid’

61
Q

Literal

A

Limited to the explicit meaning of the word

62
Q

Maxim

A

A saying widely accepted on its own merits, general truth
- Actions speak louder than words

63
Q

Metaphor

A

Figure of speech that suggests a non-literal similarity to an object
- Her eyes were diamonds

64
Q

Mood

A

Characteristic state of feeling

65
Q

Metonymy

A

Substituting the name of a feature for the name of the thing
- Wall Street
- The White House

66
Q

Mimesis

A

Process of imitation or mimicry

67
Q

Narrator

A

Someone who tells a story

68
Q

Non Sequitur

A

Statement doesn’t logically follow on from a previous statement / claim
- Mary bakes the best cakes in town. She should run for mayor

69
Q

Neologism

A

Newly invented word or phrase
- Mansplain

70
Q

Onomatopoeia

A

Words that imitate the sound they denote
- Boing
- Clap

71
Q

Oxymoron

A

Conjoined contradictory terms
- Old news
- Deafening silence

72
Q

Point of View

A

Mental position from which things are perceived

73
Q

Protagonist

A

Principle character

74
Q

Personification

A

Attributing human characteristics to abstract ideas
- The wind howled in the night

75
Q

Pun

A

Humorous play on words
- This vacuum sucks

76
Q

Paradox

A

Statement that contradicts itself
- This is the beginning of the end

77
Q

Parallelism

A

Using similar words / elements to emphasise similar ideas in a sentence
- Easy come, easy go

78
Q

Parenthesis

A

Message that departs from the main subject

79
Q

Parody

A

Composition that imitates / misrepresents a style

80
Q

Pleonasm

A

Using more words than necessary to express meaning
- I saw it with my own eyes

81
Q

Repetition

A

Act of doing or performing again

82
Q

Rebuttal

A

Speech act of refuting by offering a contrary argument

83
Q

Red Herrings

A

Writer brings up an irrelevant point to distract the reader

84
Q

Rhyme

A

Correspondence in the final sounds of two or more lines
- Clue and blue

85
Q

Rhythm

A

Interval during which a recurring sequence occurs

86
Q

Stanza

A

Fixed number of lines forming a unit of a poem

87
Q

Speaker

A

Someone who expresses in language

88
Q

Sarcasm / Satire

A

Witty language used to convey insults or scoen

89
Q

Setting

A

Physical position of something

90
Q

Simile

A

Uses a comparison to describe
- As busy as a bee

91
Q

Syllogism

A

Reasoning in which a conclusion is derived from two premises
- If A is true then B is true

92
Q

Synecdoche

A

Using part of something to refer to the whole thing
- Pour me a glass of bubbly

93
Q

Symbol

A

Something visible that represents something invisible

94
Q

Syllable

A

Unit of pronunciation

95
Q

Tautology

A

The saying of the same thing twice over in different words
- HIV virus

96
Q

Thesis

A

Unproved statement advanced as a premise in an argument

97
Q

Trope

A

Language used in a figurative or nonliteral sense
- The damsel in distress

98
Q

Theme

A

Subject matter of a conversation or discussion

99
Q

Tone

A

General character or attitude of a place, piece of writing etc

100
Q

Understatement

A

Something said in a restrained way for ironic contrast

101
Q

Plot

A

Main events devised and presented as an interrelated sequence

102
Q

Verisimilitude

A

Having the appearance of being true or real
- Hogwarts

103
Q

Zeugma

A

Rhetorical use of a word to govern two or more words
- She broke his car and his heart

GAMSAT Vocab (3 decks)

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