English Language Devices compiled by R.

Bollmann

Literary Devices
accumulation The heaping up o f similar w o rds, phrases, devices. A summer o f disco ntent, melancho ly, lies, grief, and wo es. An accumulatio n o f language devices in a paragraph. alliteration The repetitio n o f co nso nantal so unds at the beginning o f tw o o r mo re neighbo uring wo rds fo r the purpo se o f special emphasis. "Sister Susie singing so rro w ful so ngs" is an example o f alliteratio n. allusion It deno tes an indirect reference to peo ple o r things o utside the text in which it o ccurs. "To be o r no t to be..." alludes to H amlet. ambiguity The deliberate w o rding o f a phrase o r passage in such a way that it can be taken in tw o w ays. Co me tho u mo rtal w retch. (expresses co ntempt and pity at the same time) anaphora A device o f repetitio n, in w hich the same expressio n is repeated at the beginning o f tw o o r mo re lines, clauses, o r sentences. And she fo rgo t the stars And she fo rgo t the mo o n And she fo rgo t the sun. anticlimax (bathos) A sudden fall fro m an idea o f impo rtance to so mething trifling and ridiculo us. The lo ve o f Go d, justice and spo rts cars. antithesis Deno tes the o ppo sing o f ideas to pro duce a co ntrast. Man pro po ses, Go d dispo ses. aphorism (Gedankensplitter) A co ncise true and w ise saying o r statement appealing to man's co mmo n sense. Life is sho rt, art is lo ng, o ppo rtunity fleeting, experimenting dangero us, reaso ning difficult. (Hippo crates) apostrophe (Anrede) So meo ne, o r so me abstract quality is directly addressed as tho ugh present. H ail, ho ly Light, o ffspring o f heaven firstbo rn! association This term is used to deno te the feelings, tho ughts, o r reco llectio ns linked in the mind with a thing o r perso n. The red co lo ur o f the dress stirred his memo ry. assonance is the repetitio n o f identical o r related vo wel so unds. In Xanadu did Kubla Kahn. (see: co nso nance / alliteratio n) chiasmus [ai] Co ntrasted terms are arranged cro ssw ise Flo wers are lo vely, lo ve is flo w erlike. choice of words The manner o f w riting an autho r uses w hich is characteristic o f a text. The w riter emplo ys abstract wo rds / co ncrete expressio ns / suggestive phrases / o bso lete w o rds / Germanisms / latinized w o rds / co mmo nplace phrases / banal dictio n / po etic terms / bo mbastic w o rds / impressive adjectives / simple / lo ng-w inded / lively / clich ridden / pro vo cative / iro nical / humo ro us / crude expressio ns.
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English Language Devices compiled by R. Bollmann

climax A figure o f speech in w hich a series o f expressio ns rises step by step, beginning with the least impo rtant idea and ending w ith the mo st impo rtant. Gambling might lead to po verty, po verty to theft, theft to ro bbery, ro bbery to vio lence and murder. comparison Ideas are made clear by co mparing them to so mething similar. The wo rk o f a writer can be co mpared to that o f an architect. = appeal to autho rity by pro viding a quo tatio n by M.L. King e.g. connotation (implication) Bo th terms deno te the co nveying o f an additio nal meaning by a wo rd: the wo rd "hearth" w hich literally means "fireplace" (= deno tatio n) suggests in additio n "w armth", "safety" etc. = co nno tatio ns o f the wo rd) evo king asso ciatio ns o f feelings and ideas. consonance is the repetitio n o f co nso nants w ith changes in the intervening vo wels "live - lo ve", " hill - hall", "lean- alo ne" correction co rrectio n o f a w eak expressio n We must act, yes we must act quickly. ellipsis The o missio n o f o ne o r mo re w o rds in a sentence that may be easily understo o d fro m the co ntext. I went to Lo ndo n as o ne go es into exile, she to Lo ndo n (as o ne go es...) emotive language Is used instead o f lo gical arguments to play o n the emo tio ns o f the readers to influence their judgement. Such a law w o uld be unfair to wo men. enumeration A listing arrangement o f w o rds, phrases, expressio ns. Speaking o f furniture w e mean articles such as tables, chairs, w ardro bes, desks etc. epiphora Repetitio n o f wo rds at the end o f sentences, the o ppo site o f anaphora : He co mes here. She co mes here. euphemism Use o f an indirect, mild, o r vague w o rd fo r o ne tho ught to be co arse o r o ffensive. "H e passed away." fo r "H e died." example The autho r gives an example o f so mething to pro ve his po int o f view. The autho r w ants to say so mething abo ut the indestructibility o f mankind. In his narrative fo r example he describes a crippled man climbing upw ard. headline The autho r o nly hints at the subject- matter to aro use so me interest in the reader. The heading do es no t co ver the w ho le subject - matter / leaves us in do ubt as to what the article is really abo ut. The headline is w o rded in an vivid / terse
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English Language Devices compiled by R. Bollmann

(kurz / bndig / dramatic / ambiguo us / alluring (verlo ckend) way. The jo urnalist intends to sho ck / appeal to the reader's emo tio ns / alarm the public. hyperbole Deliberate exaggeratio n fo r the purpo se o f emphasis. We w alked in a sea o f tears. imperative Do wn with it, destro y it o r tear it up and build a new o ne. invective (Schmhung) Fo rceful speech used to attack so meo ne verbally. Yo u w ar - bisho ps aren't allo w ed to tell the wo rld ho w to keep peace. invocation (Anrufung) An address e.g. to a deity (Muse) fo r aid. Heavenly Muse, that, o n the secret to p o f the mo untain didst inspire the shepherd.... irony The use o f wo rds w ith humo ro us o r satirical intentio n, so that the meaning is the direct o ppo site o f what is actually said. The go vernment institutio n respo nsible fo r war is called "Ministry o f Peace". litotes A rheto rical understatement. "That's no t half bad" means "that's quite go o d." metaphor a simile co ndensed:" My lo ve is a ro se." onomatopoeia The fo rmatio n o f w o rds fro m so unds w hich seem to suggest and reinfo rce the meaning. The Germans are fo nd o f cucko o clo cks and o o mpah bands. oxymoron A figure o f speech in w hich tw o co ntradicto ry phrases are co mbined to pro duce a rheto rical effect. "elo quent silence", "bitter sw eetness" paradox A statement that is seemingly co ntradicto ry o r o ppo sed to co mmo n sense, and may yet to be fo und to co ntain so me truth o n clo ser examinatio n. Mo bilizing fo r peace. parallelism Two o r mo re parts o f sentences are given a similar fo rm. We charge him w ith having bro ken his o ath. We accuse him o f having given up his peo ple to merciless slaughter. personalisation The writers co mments o n / describes a perso n's perso nal details (reference to privacy) to appeal to the reader's emo tio ns / to tap so me public emo tio ns. personification A figure o f speech in w hich inanimate o r abstract things are referred to as if they w ere human beings. Justice is blind. The mo o n smiled upo n us. pleonasm A needless repetitio n o r the additio n o f unnecessary w o rds to express an idea co mpletely. He walked the w ho le w ay o n fo o t. pu n
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English Language Devices compiled by R. Bollmann

A usually humo ro us play o n w o rds having a similar so und but different meanings. Is life wo rth living? It depends o n the liver. quotation The autho r suppo rts his po int o f view by a quo tatio n fro m Shakespeare. register The type o f language appro priate to a particular situatio n. An autho r can emplo y vulgar / slang / co llo quial / familiar / dialect / fo rmal / po etic / learned / technical / religio us / eco no mic / legal terms (vo cabulary / language). repetition Repetitio n o f w o rds ,phrases, o r statements made use o f fo r the purpo se o f stressing an idea. Jo hn was his so le friend, his so le mo urner, his so le master, his so le servant. rhetorical question A statement turned into a questio n to w hich no answer is expected in o rder to persuade the reader to accept the argument mo re readily. Who do es no t lo ve this co untry? sensationalism a jo urnalistic technique o f o verblo w n / exaggerated rheto ric repo rting o n details o f sex and crime etc. to aro use the reader's interest. simile A simile is a figure o f speech in w hich tw o things are co mpared in o rder to make the descriptio n mo re striking. My lo ve is like ro se. slogan A striking phrase, a catchy expressio n. "Black is beautiful" statistics The writer o f an article makes use o f statistics (statistical data) to pro ve his po int o f view . stereotype (clich') The view pro po unded in a text can be fo unded o n stereo types, i.e. we are invited to think o f so mething hackneyed verbal fo rmulas. All Germans eat sauerkraut. symbol A sign, a co ncrete thing that stands fo r so mething abstract. The cro ss is the symbo l o f Christianity. synecdoche A part o f so mething is used to signify the w ho le (pars pro to to ). We use the term ten "hands" fo r ten "w o rkmen" to n e This term is used to reflect the mo o d o f the autho r and his attitude to wards his subject. The to ne o f a passage is humo ro us / iro nical -serio us / pro vo cative -matter-o f-fact/ co mmitted / detached

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English Language Devices compiled by R. Bollmann

Newsstory headline: Functio n: = is designed to catch the reader's interest to intro duce the theme to hint at an appealing aspect o f the new s The autho r o nly hints at the subject- matter to aro use so me interest in the reader. The heading do es no t co ver the w ho le subject - matter / leaves us in do ubt as to w hat the article is really abo ut. The headline is w o rded in an vivid / terse (kurz / bndig) / dramatic / ambiguo us / alluring (verlo ckend) w ay. The jo urnalist intends to sho ck / appeal to the reader's emo tio ns / alarm the public. lead (:) = (zusammenfassende Einleitung) Functio n: = is designed to summarise the main po ints o f the sto ry = intro ducto ry / summarising paragraph: pro vides the reader w ith the mo st essential info rmatio n co ncerning the theme o f the article: the who / what / w here / w hen / w hy bo dy (Hauptteil) 2 parts: 1. news sto ry / info rmatio n + explanatio n Functio n: pro vides reader w ith details / examples gives backgro und info rmatio n / give factual (sachlich), o bjective info rmatio n to give evidence / pro o f to give different po ints o f view to enable the reader to fo rm his o w n o pinio n 2 argumentative text / autho r's co mment (final co nclusio n) includes / co mprises autho r's co mment, evaluatio n o f the pro blem Functio n: =to win the reader's suppo rt fo r s.th. to appeal to / to influence the reader to make the reader ado pt his o pinio n to co nvince / persuade / impress / sensitize (sensibilisieren) the reader

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English Language Devices compiled by R. Bollmann

Analyzing a political speech

the subject matter is co ntro versial and o pen to vario us interpretatio ns. Sho o ting by the po lice w ill be regarded as an act o f brutality by blacks e.g., and as an act o f selfdefense by o thers. The aim o f po litical speeches is persuasio n. There is always a message invo lved, a purpo se. The to pic o f a speech need no t be the same as its purpo se, its underlying message. A speech abo ut "hunger" might pro vo ke the audience to begin a so cial upheaval o r revo lutio n. key symbols Terms with symbo lic meaning, emo tio nal o verto nes (co nno tatio ns) are frequently used : the expressio n "freedo m "is a w o rd w ith a vague meaning, but it is generally understo o d and must no t be explained. Such terms have the functio n o f establishing a co mmo n gro und, o f pro viding a basis fo r identificatio n w ith the gro up. Slogans are striking phrases, catchy expressio ns like "Po wer to the Peo ple". They serve to pro mo te feelings o f so lidarity. simplification and generalization A speaker who addresses a gro up o f no n-specialists tends to simplify (simplificatio n) and generalize (generalizatio n) co mplex pro blems to make them plausible by the use o f key symbo ls, slo gans, clear-cut alternatives, self-evident truths, stereo types, paint sth in black and white etc.). method of constructing alternatives Po litical speeches tend to present a w o rld o f "either / o r" They may co nstruct alternatives w hich are exaggerated, even fictitio us, i.e. do no t exist The go vernment either passes this law , o r the w o rld will crumble. "we" versus "they" method A po litical speech enco urages the feeling o f "w e" as o ppo sed to "the o thers". This rheto rical device will pro mo te feelings o f lo yalty and so lidarity, but may also linked to feelings o f aggressio n to ward "the o thers". Stereo types are auto matic assumptio ns abo ut a gro up o f peo ple. they express generalizatio ns w hich are o ften linked to race, so cial status. "Germans are punctual and hard- wo rking". "method of getting nearer to the audience" A speaker may try to bridge the gap between himself and the audience in vario us w ays by addressing the audience perso nally to create the illusio n o f a dialo gue, (see: appeal to the crowd) by referring to the listeners private lives o r to so me perso nal experience, (reference to privacy) by making direct references to the immediate situatio n and enviro nment to co nvey a sense o f familiarity ("my friends here to ld me..."). by using slang or colloquialisms (see. register: vulgar, slang, co llo quial, familiar, casual, everyday, fo rmal, po etic, religio us speech) by emplo ying a certain style (see: to ne: humo ro us, iro nical, serio us, co mmitted, detached, imperso nal , pro vo cative, co nciliato ry ) (see. cho ice and arrangement o f w o rds: abstract -co ncrete, co ncise -redundant / lo ng-winded / repetitive, simple (plain), learned, co mplex)
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English Language Devices compiled by R. Bollmann

to create a mo re o r less familiar and info rmal atmo sphere. euphemisms A po litician may have an interest in making a disputed issue appear less co ntro versial. One o f the mo re co mmo n techniques is the use o f euphemisms: (substitutio n o f names), e.g.. ("pacificatio n " can actually mean "to tal destructio n"). panacea The pro pagandist, o ut o f a mass o f co mplex facts, selects o nly tho se that are suitable fo r his purpo se in o rder to present them as a panacea (Patentrezept) fo r the ills he mentio ns. (selectio n) repetition The po litician is co nfident that, if he repeats a statement o ften eno ugh, it will in time co me to be accepted by his audience method of downright lying One last device a pro pagandist might emplo y is the metho d o f do wnright lying, which can't be accepted as a means o f pro panganda. assertions In a speech there might be great number o f designed to po rtray o ne side o f the picture o nly. The speaker rarely argues, but makes bo ld assertio ns in favo ur o f his thesis. appeal to authority An is used to suggest that the ideas presented in the speech are in harmo ny w ith similar demo cratic and civilised etc. principles. The appeal to autho rity can take many fo rms: appeal to religio n, science, a po litical figure etc.; ano ther co mmo n kind is the appeal to the cro wd which suggests that "everybo dy is do ing it" and therefo re tho se who are no t are o utsiders.

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English Language Devices compiled by R. Bollmann

Characteristic Features of Black English

1. "so meo ne co me to yo u" "The white man do " "he get" absence o f verb endings in the third perso n singular-present tense is particular to Black English (Bl.E.) 2. "Yo u wo uldn't catch no hell" Yo u haven't go t no blo o d" do uble negatives are characteristic o f Bl.E. 3. "There was tw o kinds o f slaves" "There was alw ays mo re Negro es" "There was" fo r "there w ere" is co mmo n in Bl.E. 4. "If so meo ne co me to the field Negro and said..." verb co njugatio n making the past tense is very o ften absent in Bl.E., no distinctio n is made betw een the past and the present tense. 5. "we sick" o missio n o f the verb / fo rm o f to be, even the co ntracted fo rm "we're..." is left o ut alto gether. 6. "a ex-slave" a fo r an is a feature co mmo n to Bl.E. 7. They eat them steaks. "wro ng " use o f po ssessive fo rms

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English Language Devices compiled by R. Bollmann

Vocabulary of text analysis

the first part of the text (passage) sho w s / indicates / reveals the main idea is expressed in the o pening sentence / is develo ped in all that fo llo w s the opening sentence expresses the pro blem the autho r is dealing with the writer's main argument is /the w riter begins saying that the next point the autho r makes co ntributes greatly to his main argument fo llo wing up this argument the w riter says that a clo se examinatio n o f the passage reveals that the writer is dealing with the problem of is co ncerned w ith / says so mething abo ut /speaks abo ut the writer po ints o ut that /examines the pro blem o f /states / expresses the view that states the fact that /expresses his opinion on /gives a survey o f suppo ses that (annehmen) /appeals to the reader's emo tio ns demo nstrates that /justifies his po int o f view /gives evidence of sth wants to pro ve the co rrectness o f his po sitio n do ubts whether sth is true emphasizes the fact that /stresses the idea /lays emphasis o n /undersco res that /attaches great impo rtance to (beimessen) comments on / rejects the argument / supports /defends /attacks /refutes / disproves (widerlegen) takes sides with (against) /assumes a critical attitude towards describes accurately /depicts in detail generalizes when saying that /exaggerates a lo t w hen saying that simplifies the pro blem /idealizes s.o ./explains sth in detail puts fo rward an argument /presents the thesis that develo ps a logical line of agumentation /gro unds his argument o n the fact that his argument is co nvincing /tries to co nvince / persuade the reader refers to an example to illustrate finds / pro duces / presents a contrast to /co ntrasts sth. w ith makes / draws / fo rms / builds up / establishes / a comparison between ...and makes a distinctio n betw een ...and gives a definition o f po ints o ut the contradiction betw een ...and /he is in co ntradictio n to has / raises a stro ng o bjectio n to an argument is o ppo sed to sth / is no t o n favo ur o f gives / pro vides / presents information which is based o n facts uses details to characterize suppo rts his view by a quotation fro m /by quo ting an autho rity he w ants to pro ve the validity o f by this means the w riter pro duces an impressio n o f o bjectivity his idea co nveys (hervo rrufen) the impressio n o f helplessness the writer raises a new po int / questio n the speaker mo ves fro m this idea to ano ther he turns to examine /he co mes / arrives at / reaches the conclusion fo llo wing up this argument the w riter co ncludes by saying that he finds a so lutio n to (fo r / o f) a pro blem the writer wants to influence the reader/he w ants the listeners to ado pt his view
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English Language Devices compiled by R. Bollmann

10

the passage / text co ntains so me impo rtant stylistic traits / features / means / devices (Stilmittel) this means reveal the impo rtance o f the repetitio n o f w o rds undersco re / stress / illustrate / emphazise the sentence co ntains an allusio n to the sentence begins w ith an exclamatio n / an invo catio n o f nature the expressio n "mo vement" indicates that the autho r enumerates emo tive adjectives the wo rd "mo vement" in line 2 expresses / develo ps / sums up / invo lves the idea o f the idea is illustrated by a number o f examples (l.2 / l.2 f./ ll. 3 ff.) in lines 3 ff. the autho r po ints o ut / expo ses the pro s and co ns o f the pro blem in questio n in this enumeratio n w e can find a certain gradatio n (Steigerung) the speaker uses /makes (frequent) use o f /emplo ys /reso rts to /applies this language device is used to call up / evo ke / pro duce / call fo rth asso ciatio ns in the reader the expressio n means /deno tes / suggests/ stands fo r/ hints at/ implies sth / the text stirs / catches / affects / takes / ho lds / the reader's imaginatio n / anger / interest autho r`s o pinio n, view : In this article the autho r expresses / co nveys his own ideas / views / opinion. he states / claims / suggests so mething; he hints at / alludes to / refers to he is o f the o pinio n that / in his o pinio n (view ) the difficulty lies in the fact that he ho lds a pessimistic / o ptimistic view o f the situatio n he agrees -disagrees / appro ves - disappro ves o f / suppo rts - co ndemns so mebo dy`s view he sympathizes w ith -criticizes (repro aches, blames) so mebo dy fo r s.th. he feels sympathy - antipathy to w ards so mebo dy he has (takes, assumes) a(n) impartial - partial; o bjective - subjective; to lerant - into lerant attitude to wards his o utlo o k is quite practical, matter - o f - fact (sachlich, nchtern) the autho r puts fo rw ard (presents, develo ps) the thesis that he backs up his thesis / antithesis by co nvincing - reaso nable - stro ng - w eak arguments he puts fo rth an argument in suppo rt o f he gives go o d - so und - co nvincing reaso ns fo r / against he bases his arguments o n facts / evidence / his o wn experience / quo tatio ns he refutes the argument that he refers to figures / gives an example / presents a metapho r / puts in quo tatio ns fro m ... in pro o f o f his train o f tho ught / his line of argumentation is convincing he advances reaso nable / lo gical / co nsistent arguments the autho r`s line o f argumentatio n is illo gical / inco nsistent / manipulative he emplo ys / reso rts to unfair tricks o f argumentatio n he uses rather dero gato ry (abfllig) language to attack and discredit so meo ne so me examples o t the autho r`s cho ice o f wo rds reveal his unfairly bad o pinio n o f so meo ne by using the w o rd "..." the autho r co ndemns so mebo dys view and tries to give s.o . a bad name / bring s.o . into disrepute

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