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Allegory: Abstract ideas formed from the characters, figures and events Eg. The Masque of the Red
Death is an allegory for the Black Death.
Alliteration: Krispy Kreme / Chongs Cupcakes
Allusion: a brief and indirect reference to a person, place, thing or idea of historical, cultural, literary or
political significance. Eg. Nabokovs reference to Dante
Anaphora: Repetition of the first part of a sentence. Eg. Every day, every night, every time of the year.
Antithesis: two opposite ideas are put together in a sentence to achieve a contrasting effect. Eg. Speech
is silver, but silence is gold.
Aside: A dramatic device in plays, to express an idea to a character A and audience while excluding
character B (to break the 4th wall)
Authoritative appeal : Against the man claiming something Eg. How can you argue your case for
vegetarianism when you are enjoying your steak?
Double entendre: a phrase or a figure of speech that might have multiple senses, interpretations or two
different meanings or that could be understood in two different ways. *Does not need to be sexual
Euphemism: Mentally retarded vs Mentally challenged, physically challenged vs crippled, die vs pass
away
Epiphora: Repetition of the same word at the end of each clause. Eg. Theyre all dead, were all dead!
Hypophora: Figure of speech of answering your own question. Eg. Why do it? Because you just do it!
Idiom: An expression comprised of 2 or more words. Eg. Every cloud has its silver lining.
Illeism: Kohji wants to sleep says Kohji
Imagery: words that appeal to our physical senses. Eg. The squid used to hit SQ on his birthday was
sticky and slimy to the touch.
Irony: words are used in such a way that their intended meaning is different from the actual meaning of
the words.
Verbal: What a great idea!
Situational: Uploading selfies to noselfies.com.
Dramatic: When the audience knows something the characters dont, like in Dora the
Explorer when you scream Dora, ITS BEHIND YOU and she still doesnt have a
bloody clue./ Or Romeo and Juliet when the audience knows that Juliet is alive but
Romeo doesnt.
Jargon: Specialised terms to a subject/theme/field of study; Eg. Its important for the monthly sales
revenue to be sufficient for a profit. Otherwise the shareholders will not be happy with their dividends.
Juxtaposition: Two different ideas, places, characters and their actions placed side by side in a narrative
for developing comparisons and contrasts
Lexical clustering:
Thematic: gold, crown, jewel = Theme of royalty
Semantic: Car, bus, boat = Mode of transport
eyes, nose, ear, mouth = Structure of the face
Metaphor: Implicit, implied or hidden comparison between two thing or objects that are different but have
a slight similarity Eg. The assignment was a breeze.
Metonymy: substitution of a name with something that it is closely associated with Eg. Suit for business
executives
Modality:
In reference of the formality of the text: High and low modality
I would have confronted him. - low modality, implies the suggestive element instead of an indicative one.
I confronted him. - high modality, confers assurance.
Visual/textual/multimodal
Monologue: 'single speech'. Speeches made by one person in the company of others (whether or
not it directly addresses the audience or speaks his thoughts aloud while alone or while others are
quiet)
Multivocal: having many or different meanings of equal probability or validity, depending on contexts of
interpretation:
Parallelism: Use of grammatically parallel sentences in repetition. Eg. Those who have hurt, who have
grieved, who have despaired
Personification: a thing, an idea or an animal is given human attributes. Eg. The flowers danced in the
gentle breeze.
Proverbs: A saying that expresses truth or belief. Eg. Too many cooks spoil the broth.
Tricolon: A sentence in which there are three parts or clauses, usually encapsulating the preceding one.
Eg. When youve experienced hardship, you will be stronger, wiser and more understanding.
Polysyndeton: Similar to tricolon except with the partition of and. Eg. The courage and strength and
wisdom to carry out these ideals.
Puns: Word play in which a humorous effect is produced by using a word that suggest two or more
meanings or by exploiting similar sound words having different meanings Eg. Time flies like an arrow.
Fruit flies like a banana.
Register: degree of formality
Satire: to expose and criticize foolishness and corruption of an institution or a society by using humor,
irony, exaggeration or ridicule.
Eg. Oh look at me! Im Chinese and I look like Im smiling all the time because of my teeny, tiny eyes.
Sentence types:
Declarative: I dont want to study.
Imperative: Go study now.
Interrogative: Why arent you studying yet?
Exclamatory: Oh my god, GO STUDY!
Setting: environment or surrounding in which an event or story takes place. It may provide particular
information about placement and timing.
Sibilance: stressed consonants are created deliberately by producing air from vocal tracts through the
use of lips and tongue. Eg. Sing a song of sorrow.
Simile: A simile is a figure of speech that makes a comparison, showing similarities between two different
things. Unlike a metaphor, a simile draws resemblance with the help of the words like or as.
Therefore, it is a direct comparison. Eg. English HL is as hard as a brick. Or IBO is as cunning as a fox.
Solipsism (philosophy): the view or theory that the self is all that can be known to exist.
Sotto voce: Under voice a softer (in terms of volume) utterance, purpose is to emphasise a meaning by
intentionally lowering ones voice. Speaker gives the impression of saying something that might shock or
surprise the audience.
E.g. After Hal got up from the table, Marie told me, sotto voce, about the surprise party she was planning
for him.
Symbolism: the use of symbols to signify ideas and qualities by giving them symbolic meanings that are
different from their literal sense. Eg. Dove as a symbol of peace
Synecdoche: Synecdoche is a literary device in which a part of something represents the whole or it may
use a whole to represent a part. Eg. All hands on deck!
Synesthesia: a technique adopted by writers to present ideas, characters or places in such a manner that
they appeal to more than one senses like hearing, seeing, smell etc. at a given time. Eg. Loud colours,
warm colours, bitter cold
Synthetic personalisation: addressing mass audiences as though they were individuals through inclusive
language usage.
Theme: a main idea or an underlying meaning of a literary work that may be stated directly or indirectly.
Verb moods:
Indicative: Ib students cry all the time.
Imperative: IBO, stop torturing teenagers.
Subjunctive: IBO, could you please stop changing your syllabus? :C / I might fail IB.
MORE TERMINOLOGY
Intended audience
Interpreted audience
Inclusive language
Exclusive language
Types of context:
Context of composition
Context of interpretation
Historical: The black death during Poes time.
Social: Social hierarchy in America alluded in the Masque of the Red Death
Temporal: Honestly idk.
Cultural: Think of culture as a persons way of life instead of a persons traditions alone. Lots of
things come under culture but hopefully this example works out for you.
Eg. Americas consumer culture: The need for kitschy items.
Mood:
What the Reader feels
Adjectives: cold, hot, tense, suspenseful, peaceful
http://www.fallriverschools.org/Tone%20and%20Mood%20words%20(unedited).pdf
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The English Language Unit: Key terms
Language borrowing
Bilingualism
Lingua Franca
Loan words
Code Switching
Vernacular
Language death
Language planning
Linguistic imperialism
Anglophone world
Linguistic Determinism
Pidgin
Dialect
Idiolect
Language of persuasion:
Ad hominem: commenting on or against an opponent to undermine him instead of his arguments.
Association: Celebrities
Bandwagon Effect
Body language
Brand
Caricature : a picture, description, or imitation of a person or thing in which certain striking characteristics
are exaggerated in order to create a comic or grotesque effect.
Colour (Not applicable for our exams)
Copy
Costume
Counter advertising
Genre
Guerilla ads: unconventional ads
Iconography
Institutional info
Lighting
Logo
Media
Medium
mise en scne: the arrangement of scenery and stage properties in a play.
Parody
Pastiche
Pathos, Logos, Ethos: Emotional appeal, logical appeal, ethical appeal (eg Ethos = quotes, testimonials
from authoritative, influential figure)
Philanthropic ads
Propaganda:
o Assertion: Bold statements that are usually unquantifiable. Eg. The races within Malaysia now
live in harmony.
o False Dilemma: Presenting two options when there are many. Eg. You are either an anti-abortion
supporter or a baby killer.
o Plain Folks: The information gap between the speaker and the audience. Eg. Fellow citizens, I
have seen what this new technology can do and it is my pride and joy to share it with the
people.
o Name-calling: Pin pointing the enemy. Eg. Are you really going to allow your childrens killer to
go scot free? Join the army!
o Glittering generalities: Words connected to abstract concepts. Eg. Are you a true American?
American connotes patriotism, democracy and freedom, concepts that are difficult to contest
against.
Sensationalism
Slogan
Stereotypes: Gender, sexuality, race, religion, age
Tagline
Testimonials
Terminology for various text types:
Comics: comic strip, panels
Poems/songs: verse, stanza, line
Website: Header
Movie poster: Institutional info, Title
Newspaper: Masthead, ears, headlines, subheading, image, copy
Literature Terminology:
Freytags arch: Exposition, Rising Action, Climax, Falling action
Point of view:
1st: Narrators eyes
2nd: Reader of the story
3rd: Objective: Characters internal thoughts, feelings and motivations are not revealed.
Limited: Main characters thoughts, feelings and motivations are revealed.
Omniscient: You know everything.
Narrative Voice:
Stream of consciousness: The thought process of the narrator, interior monologues and
incomplete thoughts.
Epistolary narrative voice: Series of letters and other documents to convey the plot of the
story.
Nave narrator: Ignorant and inexperienced narrators that expose issues of their world.
Audiences know of the environment better than the narrator themselves.
Narration:
Direct: Narrator talks to you.
Foil: a character that shows qualities that are in contrast with the qualities of another
character with the objective to highlight the traits of the other character.
Bildungsroman: psychological and moral growth of its main character from his or her youth
to adulthood.
Protagonist: central character or leading figure in poetry, narrative, novel or any other story.
furthermore finally
too besides
also and/or/nor
in the second place first, secondly, thirdly
again conversely
in addition/additionally on the other hand
even more however
next in spite of this/despite this
further as such
last/lastly therefore
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