SPANGLY TERMINOLOGY

Question 1

Stative verb

Answer 1

Verbs that describe an internal action e.g. think, believe etc.

Question 2

Superlative

Answer 2

The extreme of a condition e.g. sunniest, most upset.

Question 3

Lexis

Answer 3

A fancy word for ‘word’!

Question 4

Lexical set

Answer 4

If you pick out a group of words (three or more) to analyse together (don’t have to be in sequence) this is a lexical set.

Question 5

Exclamatory sentence mode

Answer 5

Expressions dominated by strong emotion / emphasis.

Question 6

Register

Answer 6

Formality.

Question 7

Parenthesis

Answer 7

An ‘aside’ from the main narrative. Sometimes the narrator’s reflections.

Question 8

Litotes

Answer 8

When something is downplayed or understated.

Question 9

Hyperbole

Answer 9

Exaggeration for effect.

Question 10

Post modification

Answer 10

When description (adjectives) comes after the noun e.g. the chair, old and battered, was abandoned.

Question 11

Semantics

Answer 11

Meaning.

Question 12

Semantic field

Answer 12

Words with a shared meaning (e.g. Rossetti dwells in a semantic field of death).

Question 13

Semantic shift

Answer 13

When the meaning of a word has changed over time.

Question 14

Syntax

Answer 14

The structure and organisation of a sentence.

Question 15

Anachronistic

Answer 15

When something id out of place, time or context (can include language).

Question 16

Ambiguity

Answer 16

When something can be interpreted in more than one way.

Question 17

Euphemism

Answer 17

Softened language or description e.g. “passed away”.

Question 18

Synechdoche

Answer 18

When something is described as a component part of itself (e.g. a bike is a “set of wheels”).

Question 19

Dysphemism

Answer 19

When dialogue or description is brash and goes beyond social appropriateness / restraint.

Question 20

Code switching

Answer 20

When a speaker adjusts their register according to who they are talking to.