English key terminology

• Abstract nouns refer to ideas and concepts that only exist in the mind
• Colloquial language is the informal language of conversation
• Metaphor = A comparison that creates a direct correspondence ‘society is a hive’ unlike a simile.
• Simile = something is like something
• Oxymoron = Language device where two opposite words or meanings are used side by side e.g. ‘sour sweet’.
• Pathetic fallacy = The use of setting, scenery or weather to mirror the mood of a human activity.
• Semantic field = The area of language from which a text draws most of its tropes.
• Sibilance = Repetition of s sounds.
• Assonance = Repetition of vowel sounds within words.
• Onomatopoeia = Words that imitate the sound they describe.
• Personification = Giving human qualities to non-human things.
• Alliteration = Repeated consonant sounds at the beginning of words.
• Oxymoron = Two opposite ideas put together.
• Hyperbole = Exaggerated statement used for emphasis.
• Imagery = Use of language to create mental images.
• Alliteration = The repeating of the initial letter for aesthetic effect: ‘the bright, broad, blade’.
• Sibilance = The aesthetic use of the hissing ‘s’ sound; ‘So many slights, so many sighs, so many sneers ‘
• Emotive language = language that is designed to evoke a particular emotion in the reader
• Onomatopoeia = Words which sound like the word they are describing e.g. buzz, crack
• Tone = The way the writer creates a mood or atmosphere in their writing
• Connotation = the meaning of a word or phrase that is not its literal meaning.
• Pathos = sympathy
• Zoomorphism = the idea that animals have human qualities, such as intelligence, emotions, and consciousness
• simile = If something is like something using the word like
• Mataphore = a more direct link without like like a simile
• Using the five senses
• Forsadowing = hinting future events
• Tone = This allows the writer to convert different messages and attitudes
• Punctuation and font = commas can create abundance and urgency whilst exclamation marks can catch the readers attention
• Rhetorical questions = these are posted to make an audience think more deeply into the issue
• Repetition = to emphasise a point
• Allusion = indirect reference to event
• • Second person – uses personal pronouns, words such as ‘you’, ‘your’ and ‘you’re’. This can help writers to make their work more engaging by appearing to speak directly to their audience. They are particularly effective in speeches and persuasive writing. Just like rhetorical questions, personal pronouns help to question the conscience of the audience.
• • First person – when the writer uses words such as ‘I’ and ‘myself’ while describing what he or she is experiencing. This may help audience to look at the happenings of the text through the writer’s eyes.
• • Third person – writing that describes another person’s feelings and experiences using pronouns such as ‘he’, ‘she’, ‘they’ etc. This point of view is, perhaps, better at giving an overview of a setting, something that one character alone might find it difficult to do.
• Jargon = refers to specifics in field like facia and soffit in building - writer and reader bond
• Neologism = a word made up by the writer to suit the topic
• Asyndeton

  • This is when conjunction is omitted from a sentence.
  • An example would be ‘I stopped, turned, waved goodbye at him.’
•  Irony

  • Irony refers to the conveying of a message/idea using language that means the exact opposite of what the writer is trying to say, thus creating a humorous effect.
• Paradox

  • A paradox is a statement or idea that seems false, but, on closer inspection, could actually turn out to be true.