English Non-Literary (Language) Analytic Vocabulary

Question 1

Verisimilitude

Answer 1

The quality of appearing to be true, real, or likely within the context of a literary work.

Question 2

Synecdoche

Answer 2

A figure of speech in which a part is used to represent the whole or the whole is used to represent a part.

Question 3

Understatement

Answer 3

A figure of speech that deliberately represents something as less important or significant than it actually is.

Question 4

Diction

Answer 4

The choice and use of words and phrases in writing or speech.

Question 5

Tone

Answer 5

The attitude or emotional disposition of the writer or narrator towards the subject matter or audience.

Question 6

Allusion

Answer 6

A brief and indirect reference to a person, place, event, or work of literature, which the reader is expected to recognise.

Question 7

Imagery

Answer 7

The use of descriptive language that appeals to the senses (sight, sound, taste, touch, smell) to create vivid mental images.

Question 8

Dichotomy

Answer 8

A division or contrast between two things that are or are represented as being opposed or entirely different.

Question 9

Metonymy

Answer 9

The substitution of the name of an attribute or adjunct for that of the thing meant, for example suit for business executive, or the track for horse racing.

Question 10

Euphemism

Answer 10

A mild or indirect word or expression substituted for one considered to be too harsh or blunt when referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing. For example, ‘they passed away’ instead of ‘they died’.

Question 11

Abbreviation

Answer 11

A shortened form of a word or phrase. E.g. Ag from the Latin word of silver, argentum.

Question 12

Acronym

Answer 12

An abbreviation formed from the initial letters of other words and pronounced as a word (e.g. NASA ).

Question 13

Initialism

Answer 13

An abbreviation consisting of initial letters pronounced separately (e.g., CPU ).

Question 14

Onomatopoeia (Phonology)

Answer 14

The formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named (e.g. slam, sizzle, gargle).

Question 15

Epizeuxis

Answer 15

The repetition of a word or phrase in quick succession. (E.g. ‘He was dead. Dead as can be.’ Or ‘Oh no, Oh no, Oh no’).

Question 16

Asyndetic Listing (Asyndeton)

Answer 16

Listing connected with a comma instead of a conjunction/connective.

Question 17

Polysyndetic Listing (Polysyndeton)

Answer 17

Listing while placing a conjunction/connective (and, or) after every term in the list (except, of course, the last).

Question 18

Malapropism

Answer 18

The mistaken use of a word in place of a similar-sounding one, often with unintentionally amusing effect, as in, for example, “dance a flamingo” (instead of flamenco).

Question 19

Solecism

Answer 19

A grammatical mistake in speech or writing. (E.g. “This is just between you and I” for “This is just between you and me”).

Question 20

Jargon

Answer 20

Special words or expressions that are used by a particular profession or group and are difficult for others to understand.

Question 21

Logos

Answer 21

Appealing to the audiences’ sense of reason or logic. This can be done by including the use of facts or statistics and/or using historical and literal analogies to make a logical argument.

Question 22

Ethos

Answer 22

The character or emotions of a speaker or writer that are expressed in the attempt to persuade an audience. It appeals to the speaker’s status or authority, making the audience more likely to trust them.

Question 23

Pathos

Answer 23

Appeals to the reader’s emotions, trying to make the audience feel angry or sympathetic.

Question 24

Epistrophe

Answer 24

The repetition of a word at the end of successive clauses or sentences. (Like anaphora but at the end of a sentence instead of at the beginning).

Question 25

Synaesthesia

Answer 25

When an author blends the human senses to describe an object. (E.g. “Loud dress”).

Question 26

Extended Metaphor

Answer 26

An extended metaphor is a version of metaphor that extends over the course of multiple lines, paragraphs, or stanzas of prose or poetry.

Question 27

Rule of Three

Answer 27

The rule of three is a writing principle that suggests that a trio of entities such as events or characters is more humorous, satisfying, or effective than other numbers. (E.g. “Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”).

Question 28

Discourse

Answer 28

A method of analysing the structure of texts or utterances longer than one sentence, taking into account both their linguistic and sociolinguistic contexts. (E.g. Graphology, text type, purpose, narrative, exposition, description).

Question 29

Syntax

Answer 29

A set of rules that helps readers and writers make sense of sentences. (E.g. Clauses, collocations, declarative, imperatives, interrogatives, passive vs active voice, simple sentences, Oxymorons, Asyndeton, etc).

Question 30

Lexis

Answer 30

The vocabulary of a language. (Nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, determiners, connotations, etc).

Question 31

Morphology

Answer 31

The study of words and their parts. (E.g. Prefixes, suffixes, base words, plurals, modality, tenses, etc).

Question 32

Phonology

Answer 32

The branch of linguistics that deals with systems of sounds (including or excluding phonetics), within a language or between different languages. (E.g. Liquid sound, sibilance, plosives, assonance, alliteration, etc).

Question 33

Liquid Sound

Answer 33

A consonant sound in which the tongue produces a partial closure in the mouth, resulting in a resonant, vowel-like consonant, such as English l and r.

Question 34

Assonance

Answer 34

The repetition of the vowel sound (I, e, a, u, o, y, w) across words within the lines of the poem creating internal rhymes.

Question 35

Active Voice

Answer 35

The subject performs the action denoted by the verb. These examples show that the subject is doing the verb's action. (E.g. Shira likes birdwatching).

Question 36

Passive Voice

Answer 36

The subject of the sentence is acted on by the verb. (E.g. Birdwatching is liked by Shira).

Question 37

Visual Narrative

Answer 37

Individual images, series of images, and sequences of images created with the intent to tell a story. Visual narrative formats include drawing, painting, illustration, still photography, film, collage, and performance art.

Question 38

Copy

Answer 38

This is the term used to describe the text or words in an advertisement.

Question 39

Tagline

Answer 39

This is the catchphrase that leads an advertisement. It should be memorable.

Question 40

Signature

Answer 40

The use of the products name and logo acts as a kind of signature.

Question 41

Slogan

Answer 41

This is a phrase used by a or product or brand for all of its marketing purposes.

Question 42

Fairclough’s Linguistic Theory

Answer 42

Advertising exists as a prime example of ideology at work through building a relationship between text producer and receiver by constructing a ‘product image’, that, in turn, help to position the receiver as a potential ‘consumer’. This has 3 stages (Synthetic Personalisation, Members’ Resources, Building the Consumer).

Question 43

Synthetic Personalisation (Stage 1)

Answer 43

Using personalised language such as the second-person pronoun ‘you’ to construct a relationship between text producer and receiver.

Question 44

Members’ Resource (Stage 2)

Answer 44

The vast amount of background knowledge and information that readers use in order to interpret texts and which may be explicitly drawn upon by text producers.

Question 45

Building The Consumer (Stage 3)

Answer 45

Placing the text receiver into a desired position in relation to the advertiser and advertised product. The implied reader of this advertisement and by consequence implied consumer of this product is of course the one for whom this particular construction of image and product represents a closeness to his or her own values and lifestyle. (Intangible Value).

Question 46

Gender Performativity

Answer 46

Gender is made up of the acts that mark a person as “man” or “woman” (dress, mannerisms, etc) and it is through the repetition of those gendered acts that the illusion of a stable gender identity is created.

Question 47

Substructure

Answer 47

Foundation

Question 48

Paragon

Answer 48

Perfect Example

Question 49

Enamata

Answer 49

Unrealistic pictorial elements emanating from a character, symbolising something about that character (movement or emotion like surprise). E.g. a sweat drop for anxiety or a question mark for confusion.

Question 50

Typography

Answer 50

Arranging text to make written language, readable, clear and visually appealing. (Font, capitals, etc)