1. Language
Chapter 12

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

3. Semantic triangle
Thought
Symbol
Referent

4. 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

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

6. 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

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

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

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

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

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

12. 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

13. 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

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

15. 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"

16. Personification
Attribute human characteristics to animals, objects, or concepts
-- Bruce Sutter, Baseball Hall of Fame Induction Address

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

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

19. 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

20. 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)

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

22. Alliteration Repetition of a particular sound in a sentence or phrase
- Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery

23. Alliteration example
“We should not demean our democracy with the politics of distraction, denial, and despair.”
~Al Gore
- Bill Clinton, 1992 Democratic National Convention

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

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

26. 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