Language features Flashcards
Simile
A comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind, use to make a description.
Metaphor
Usually uses the word as or like.
A figure of speech in which a word or a phase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable.
Personification
the attribution of a personal nature or human characteristics to something non-human, or the representation of an abstract quality in human form.
Imagery
visually descriptive or figurative language, especially in a literary work
Hyperbole
exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally
Alliteration
the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words.
Repetition
the action of repeating something that has already been said or written.
Rhyme
correspondence of sound between words or the endings of words, especially when these are used at the ends of lines of poetry.
Pun
a joke exploiting the different possible meanings of a word or the fact that there are words which sound alike but have different meanings.
Onomatopoeia
the formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named (e.g. cuckoo, sizzle )
Symbolism
The use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities
Juxtaposition
the fact of two things being seen or placed close together with contrasting effect
Cliche
A phrase or opinion that is overused and betrays a lack of original thought.
Idiom
a group of words established by usage as having a meaning not deducible from those of the individual words (e.g. over the moon, see the light)
Irony
the expression of one’s meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect.
