Language Chapter 12

Language System of verbal or gestural symbols a community uses to communicate with one another

Semantic triangle Thought Symbol Referent

Language Choices Concrete Words Abstract Words Refers to tangible object, person, place or thing Abstract Words Refers to ideas or concepts but not to specific objects

Abstract vs. Concrete Language Physical activity Abstract Sports Golf Professional golf Tiger Woods Concrete

Idiom Fixed, distinctive expression whose meaning is not indicated by its individual words Examples: Horsing around Busy as a beaver Face the music Give the cold shoulder

Improve Accuracy of Language Check definitions of words being used Work with someone who has strong language skills Study the language Learn pronunciation

Oral Style Reflects the spoken rather than the written word Oral style is more Interactive Casual Repetitive

Spoken Language Is interactive speakers make adjustments as they speak speakers monitor interest & understanding speakers ask or respond to questions

Spoken Language Is casual writing more rule governed speakers use contractions & colloquialisms speakers run words together

Spoken Language Is repetitive speakers repeat main ideas & arguments speakers summarize main points speakers restate important arguments

Similes An explicit comparison of two things that uses the word like or as “Air pollution is eating away at the monuments in Washington, D.C., like a giant Alka-Seltzer tablet.” -- from the original radio broadcast of War of the Worlds http://www.americanrhetoric.com/rhetoricaldevicesinsound.htm

Metaphor Comparison between two things not using like or as Emphasizes similarities “America’s cities are the windows through which the world looks at American society.” ~ Henry Cisneros -- Mario Cuomo, 1984 DNC Address http://www.americanrhetoric.com/rhetoricaldevicesinsound.htm

Student Video Example Tara Flanagan; Descriptive Language (20 sec.) Click image to play video; “alt” & “enter” keys for full screen. Windows Media Player required

Mixed Metaphor Makes illogical comparisons between two or more things Example "He stepped up to the plate and grabbed the bull by the horns“ "People who skate on thin ice are likely to find themselves in hot water"

Personification Attribute human characteristics to animals, objects, or concepts -- Bruce Sutter, Baseball Hall of Fame Induction Address http://www.americanrhetoric.com/rhetoricaldevicesinsound.htm

Rhythm Arrangement of words into patterns so sounds of words together enhance meaning of phrase

Parallelism Arrange related words so they are balanced Arrange related sentences so they have identical structures

Parallelism example “The denial of human rights anywhere is a threat to human rights everywhere. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” ~Jesse Jackson -- John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address http://www.americanrhetoric.com/rhetoricaldevicesinsound.htm

Repetition Repeat keywords or phrases at the beginnings or endings of sentences or clauses “We will not tire, we will not falter, and we will not fail.” ~ G.W. Bush Robert F. Kennedy, Announcing the death of Martin Luther King Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address (delivered by Jeff Daniels) http://www.americanrhetoric.com/rhetoricaldevicesinsound.htm

Student Video Example Ogena Agbim; Repetition & Contrast (1 min.) Click image to play video; “alt” & “enter” keys for full screen. Windows Media Player required

Alliteration Repetition of a particular sound in a sentence or phrase - Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery http://www.americanrhetoric.com/rhetoricaldevicesinsound.htm

Alliteration example “We should not demean our democracy with the politics of distraction, denial, and despair.” ~Al Gore - Bill Clinton, 1992 Democratic National Convention http://www.americanrhetoric.com/rhetoricaldevicesinsound.htm

Mnemonic Device Rhyme, phrase, or other verbal device that makes information easier to remember

Antithesis Place words & phrases in contrast or opposition to one another

Antithesis example “Your success as a family, our success as a society, depends not on what happens at the White House but on what happens inside your house” ~ Barbara Bush -- John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address http://www.americanrhetoric.com/rhetoricaldevicesinsound.htm