METALANGUAGE : Semantics Flashcards
Irony
Use of words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of the literal meaning (often humorous)
e.g ‘Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink’ (The Rime of the Ancient Mariner - Coleridge)
Metaphor
A type of figurative language that makes a direct comparison of one thing to another, suggesting a resemblance of one thing to another
e.g ‘Love is a rose.’ , ‘Time is a circus, always packing up and moving on.’
Oxymoron
The expression of a contradiction or paradox through the use of antonyms
e.g ‘criminal justice’ , ‘definite possibility’ , ‘peace force’ , ‘ill health’
Simile
A figure of speech that directly compares 2 different things, usually using ‘like’ or ‘as’
e.g ‘Rihanna shines bright like a diamond’
Personification
A metaphor that attributes human qualities to non-human things
e.g ‘The ground rushed up to embrace his body’
Animation
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Pun
A form of word play suggesting 2 or more meanings
e.g ‘I’m reading a book about anti-gravity - it’s impossible to put down’
Lexical Ambiguity/Homonymy
Lexical ambiguity is the presence of two or more possible meanings within a single word
e.g “You know, somebody actually complimented me on my driving today. They left a little note on the windscreen; it said, ‘Parking Fine.’ So that was nice.”
(English comedian Tim Vine)
Idiom
An expression that means something other than its literal meaning
e.g ‘A blessing in disguise’, ‘I can’t make heads or tails of …’
Denotation
The official, dictionary meaning
Connotation
The social, non-official associations related to a word
Euphemism
Words that attempt to make something sound better
e.g ‘passed away’ - dead, ‘big-boned’ - fat
Dysphemism
Substitution of a word emphasising harshness or offensiveness
e.g ‘That show is so lame/shit/retarded.’
Semantic Field
A set of words related by meaning
e.g Semantic field of love - heart; flower; love; music; passion
Semantics
The study of meaning
