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Language Techniques
Languages Features and Techniques
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Acronym | A word formed from the initial or syllables of other words (e.g. SCUBA = self contained underwater breathing apparatus) |
| Adjectives | Words that describe nouns (e.g. Rude, yellow, heavy) |
| Adverbs | Words that describe verbs, adjectives and other adverbs (e.g. slowly, gently, yesterday, quite) |
| Allegory | A type of narrative which makes literal sense in its own right but also has a double meaning |
| Alliteration | The repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginning of a number of words that occur close together. |
| Allusion | The use of reference either directly, or by implication. |
| Ambiguity | When a text or sentence has more than one meaning or is obscure in meaning. |
| Anachronism | The inclusion of a person, place or thing which is literally 'against the time' it is supposed to exist. |
| Analogy | Reasoning by comparison. if things are alike in certain respects, they are probably alike in others as well. |
| Anecdotes | Amusing or interesting little stories. |
| Antithesis | The complete or exact opposite of something. The use of words or phrases that contrast with each other to create a balanced effect. |
| Appeals | A sentence or phrase which makes an appeal to, or refers to human values or vulnerabilities. |
| Appropriation | The taking over or possessing of something for personal use. |
| Assonance | The repetition of vowel sounds in or near successive words. |
| Assumption | Any idea which is unsupported by evidence. Something taken to be true. |
| Axiom | A generally accepted principle. Another word for 'premise' |
| Bias | A way of thinking g or arguing where the logic leans one way. |
| Black Humour | Light-hearted treatment of something that is normally taken very seriously. |
| Blank Verse | Unrhymed poetry. |
| Caricature | Where a gross exaggeration has been made of some feature or quality of a character. |
| Characterisation | The manner in which a character is portrayed. The techniques used to portray a character. |
| Cliché | A much-used phrase which consequently loses significance. |
| Colloquial Language | The word and phrases belonging to everyday speech and conversation, including contractions and slang. |
| Comparison | The examination of two or more things together to show the similarities between them. |
| Connotations | The implied meaning of a word beyond the primary or literal meaning. |
| Description | Language used to create a picture or an account of something. |
| Dialogue | A conversation between two people. |
| Direct speech | Copies actual speech in writing g, using speech marks |
| Indirect Speech | A report of what was said |
| Free Indirect Course | Where the narrator speaks to the responder but using the language of the character. |
| Distance | The amount of space between responder and subject |
| Dot Points/ Numerical Points | Used in the listing of information |
| Dramatic Irony | The audience of a play is aware of facts that the characters are not. |
| Ellipsis | The intentional omission of words indicated by a row of three dots (...) |
| Emotive Language | Deliberate use of strong words to play on responder's feelings |
| Enjambment | Lines of poetry with no punctuation, so no that they 'run on' |
| Euphemism | An expression used to disguise the real or more unpleasant meaning of a text. Used to make people uncomfortable with what is being represented. |
| Evidence | Factual information used to support a belief or opinion |
| Exaggeration/ Hyperbole | Th suggestion that something is larger, greater or more important than it actually is . Hyperbole is a more extreme form of exaggeration. |
| Extended Metaphor | Returning to or developing a metaphor in a speech or writing. |
| Figurative Language | Creative expressions which attempts to stand for the literal thing the represent. |
| Flashback | A structural device used in narrative and film where narrative and film where there is a pause in the action while events that occurred previously are relayed. |
| Foreshadowing | This occurs when the composer drops subtle hints about plot developments to come later in the story. |
| Formal Language | Language of texts of authority and/or objectivity. Used more for serious occasions. Highly structured. |
| Informal Language | Language of everyday speech and texts. More loosely structured and natural. |
| Free Verse | Poetry which seems to have no pattern, stanzas or rhyme scheme. |
| Generalisation | A sweeping statements that claims or asserts that something is true for most or all people because it is true in one or more cases. They can also tap into social stereotypes or racial prejudices which are familiar. |
| Genre | The kinds of texts that can be grouped together. |
| Headings | Larger sized text at the beginning of a text, or section a text. |
| Humour | The quality of being amusing. |
| Idiom | Expressions whose meaning does not follow from the meaning of the individual words of which it is composed. Idioms are often culturally or geographically explicit. |
| Imagery | A collection of images constructed to provide descriptions or to convey meaning. Images can be visual, aural, oral, tactile or olfactory. |
| Inclusive Language | Use of first plural pronouns: 'we', 'us', 'our' |
| Intertextuality | The idea that a text occurs in context with all other texts in existence. It refers to the relationships between texts. |
| Irony | Language which has two levels of meaning. Used to describe a situation where the opposite occurs to what we are expecting or when the composer makes a statement about one thing, but means something else. |
| Jargon | Language used by a particular group of people who share a common interest or concern. The language is only fully understood by that group. |
| Juxtaposition | Putting two things side by side in order to show a relationship between them. |
| Metaphor | A figure of speech where something is described as something else. |
| Mixed Metaphor | When two or more unsuitable metaphors are mixed |
| Metonymy | The use of a single characteristic to identify a more complex entity. |
| Monologue | One person talking. A speech delivered to an audience. |
| Nouns | Words used to name people, places, things. |
| Objective Language | Writing which does not contain opinion, only facts. |
| Omniscient Narrator | The all-knowing, all-seeing teller of a story, who is not a character in the story,. Uses third person point of view. |
| Onomatopoeia | Language which attempts to copy a sound. |
| Oxymoron | The linking together of contradictory or opposite words for effects. |
| Pace | The 'speed' at which writing moves. Pace is created through language choices. |
| Paradox | A seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement that contains an element of truth. A person or thing exhibiting apparently contradictory characteristics. |
| Parody | Humorous imitation of something with the intention to make fun of it. |
| Personification | The giving of human characteristics to inanimate objects or animals. A special type of metaphor. |
| Point of View | The perspective from which events are viewed and related. |
| Puns | A play on words that suggests double or multiple meanings of key words. |
| Quotations | The use of words or phrases taken from another source. |
| Repetition | The repeating of certain words or phrases a number of time. |
| Rhetorical Questions | Questions posed which no answer is required. |
| Rhyme | Deliberate repetition of for a good effect. |
| Rhythm | The movement of language in speech, verse, prose. |
| Ridicule | To mock or make fun of someone or something in a contemptuous way. |
| Sarcasm | Extreme use of irony. Writing deliberately spiteful and hurtful in order to degrade or belittle another. |
| Satire | A combination of humour and criticism. Ridicule or irony is used to focus on something which is thought to be wrong or hope foolish. |
| Sentence Length/Construction | Sentence length is determined by the number of phrases in a sentence. |
| Setting | The time and place in a text. |
| Simile | A figure of speech where something is described by suggesting something else. Similes generally contain the words 'like' or 'as'. |
| Slang | Common language below the standard accepted. Fashionable within small groups for short periods of time. |
| Slapstick | Visual, physical humour. |
| Soliloquy | A speech given by one person with the audience accepting that (s)he is essentially 'alone' and delivering the speech to no one in particular.2=3-4 |
| Stock Characters / Stereotypes | A character who is created from stereotypical traits. They are instantly recognisable to members of a given culture. |
| Subjective Language | Writing which contains personal views / opinions. |
| Symbolism | The use of something to represent or allude to something else. |
| Synonyms | Words that share very similar meanings. |
| Tense - past, present & future | The facet of a verb that expresses the time at which the action takes place. |
| Tone | The way in which the language sounds to the responder. |
| Understatement | The opposite of exaggeration. The suggestion that something is smaller or lesser than it actually is. |
| Verbs | Action or 'doing' words. |
| Vernacular | The language of everyday speech as opposed to literary language. Vernacular is common to particular areas. |
| Wit | Brilliant and sharp use of language expressing ideas in an unexpected or amusing way. |
Created by:
lacey.bowden1
Popular English Verbs sets