Language+Terms

Language Terms Attention students. You need to become familiar with these terms. You never know when your name will be picked out of the hat during classroom discussion. 

1. **Antonyms**-Words that are opposite with respect to one of their semantic properties, e.g., tall/short are both antonyms.

**//2. Alliteration//** is the use of words beginning with the same letter to achieve a poetical effect. Shakespeare (Macbeth) 'Good things of day begin to **dr**oop and **dr**owse.

3.  **Cognates**- Words in related languages that developed from the same ancestral root, such as English man and German Mann. Example of English/Spanish cognate - history/historia.

4.**Figure of Speech** is where a word or words are used to create an effect, often where they do not have their original or literal meaning. If someone says that they are 'starving', they do not mean that they are in fact dying of hunger, but that they are very hungry. This is a simple example of a figure of speech, where the word is used to heighten or increase the state that they are describing.

5.**Irony** is common in English, especially in humour. When the speaker or writer says one thing but wants you to understand something different, they are being **ironic**. Example of irony:Your friend turns up in ripped jeans. With a smirk, you say, "I see you have put on your best clothes!"

6.**Sarcasm** is a form of irony that is widely used in English especially when people are being humorous. Generally the sarcastic speaker or writer means the exact opposite of the word they use, often intending to be rude or to laugh at the person the words are addressed to. Here is a great website to help you better understand sarcasm. If you think that sarcasm and irony are very similar, you are correct. Remember sarcasm is a form of irony. []

7.//**Hyperbole-**// is overstatement or exaggerated language that distorts facts by making them much bigger than they are if looked at objectively. The media use it a lot to make stories seem more important or interesting than they really are. For example an apparently unfair boxing decision was described as the 'crime of the century' by one newspaper which seems excessive when compared to murder.

8.A **metaphor** is a word or phrase that describes one thing being used to describe another; on a simple level a phrase such as 'the heart of the matter' is a **metaphor** as matters do not actually have hearts. **Metaphorical** phrases are widely used in English.

9.A **simile** is a comparison between two different things, designed to create an unusual, interesting, emotional or other effect often using words such as '**like**' or '**as** ... **as**'. Common comparisons are with the qualities associated with animals (as sly as a fox, as brave as a lion, etc.)

10. A **Cliché** is a phrase that is used excessively and has become a bit meaningless and even irritating. SAMPLE CLICHES:
 * Always look on the bright sight of life
 * To be or not to be
 * Live and learn
 * Live and let live

11.An **idiom** is a phrase which has a meaning that is commonly understood by speakers of the language, but whose meaning is often different from the normal meaning of the words. Here is a great site for English idioms. []

12.A **synonym** is a word that means the same as another word, or more or less the same. If a word is slightly different, it is a //near-synonym//. EG: '//Movie//' is a synonym of '//film//'. In this example the former is more common in American English and the latter in British English.