Lit & Lang Terminology Flashcards
Allusion
To refer to something, either directly or indirectly
Archaism
A word that, over time, has fallen out of common usage
E.g - ‘Lords Day’ instead of Sunday
Asyndetic Listing
The listing of elements that excludes any form of conjunction (no connectives)
Binary Opposites
Elements of a text that hold opposite ends of a notional scale (opposite meanings)
E.g - Black and white
Clipping
Colloquial omission of parts of words to create a more casual alternative
E.g - ‘cause’ rather than ‘because’
Compound words
A word that is created by putting two existing words together with a hyphen
E.g - ‘Global village’
Connotation
The association of words
Denotation
The literal meaning of words
Dysphemism
An unnecessarily extreme way of saying something, not normally socially appropriate
E.g - swear words
Irony
Language that conveys a meaning other than that literally expressed by the words, usually for humorous effect
Juxtaposition
The placing together of elements for some conscious effect, whether that b complimentary or contrasting
Narrator
The voice that tells the story
1st, 2nd or 3rd person
Neologism
A newly invented word
Oxymoron
The use of apparently contradicting words in a phrase
E.g - The Living Dead
Pathetic Fallacy
Where the weather reflects the mood
Portmanteau
A newly invented word, created by merging two words together
E.g - ‘Chillax’(taken from ‘chill out’ and ‘relax’)
Protagonist
The main character
Person who the reader identifies with/ follows throughout the story
Can be more than one person
Satire
A piece of writing or art that mocks the societal establishment (makes fun of society)
Syndetic listing
Listing with conjunctions (connectives)
Taboo language
Words that are considered socially unacceptable to say in polite, civilised society
E.g - swear words
Abstract noun
A naming word for an idea, concept,state of being or belief
Cannot be physically touched but felt emotionally
Active verb
A word that represents a physical action
E.g- jump or run
Comparative adjective
An adjective that relates one thing to another in some way
Adding ‘er’ to the end of a word ( smarter ) or a word like ‘more’ if word can have ‘er’ added
Declarative sentence
Makes a statement
Euphemism
A mild or indirect word or expression substituted for one considered to be too harsh or blunt when referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing
Exclamatory sentence
A sentence which conveys a strong sense of emotion, alarm or emphasis
Uses an exclamation mark
Hyperbole
Over exaggerating things for effect
Hyporphora
When a rhetorical question is immediately followed by an answer
Imperative sentence
Issues a command
Interrogative sentence
Asks a question
Litotes
Deliberate downplaying if things for effect
Model verb
An auxiliary verb that expresses a degree of possibility or necessity
E.g- could, might, should
Monosyllabic lexis
Words that contain one syllable
Post modification
Descriptive words that come after the word they are describing
E.g - the was of cash, was big and fat
Pre- modification
Descriptive words that are found before the word they are describing
E.g- the big, fat was of cash
Pronoun
A word that takes the place of a noun in a sentence
E.g- him,he,she,
Register
The level of formality of a text
Possessive pronouns
Shows possession of something
E.g- his coat
Statute verb
Words that represent a process which is often mental and cannot be seen
E.g- love, fear, thinking
Superlative adjective
Displays the most extreme value of its quality and usually adds ‘est’
E.g- most, biggest, smallest
Syndedoche
A metaphor that states something is only a constituent part of itself
E.g- he has a new set of ‘wheels’ rather than a new car
Hendiadys
The expression of a single idea by the use of two nouns joined by conjunction (and)
House and home
Law and order
Nice and juicy
Syntax
Sentence structure
Intensifier
Creates a tense mood
Modal verb
Command that’s suggest necessity or possibility
Provenance
Origins
Modality
What is it? It’s mode of communication
Eg monologue, blog etc
Reception
How it is received
Epiphoral/ Epistrophe
2 sentences that end with the same thing
