FIGURES OF SPEECH Figures of speech are special

FIGURES OF SPEECH Figures of speech are special terms in language. They add colour and interest in our speech and writing. Common figures of speech include the following:

alliteration metaphor oxymoron assonance cliche metonymy onomatopoeia paradox simile plain language He ran quickly down the street. with a simile He ran like a hare down the street. with a metaphor He hared down the street.

Figures of speech add colour, interest, and meaning to our language. They are often used in speech - and in creative writing such as poetry and short stories. They are not usually used in writing for instructions or business. Here's a plain statement of fact: This is a wooden door. Here's an example of a metaphor: The sunshine of your smile.

Metaphor is a figure of speech where one thing is compared to another, in other words it is a transference of meaning based on some existing or supposed likeness between objects. Sometimes the comparison is direct and obvious. Sometimes it's not so obvious. Examples: these are all simple metaphors: He's a wizard with the ball. She worked her fingers to the bone. They were swamped with orders.

Metaphors are often used in creative writing such as poetry and short stories. They are often used in adverts and in political speeches. In metaphors, a vivid picture is created by a few key words. This skateboard is made of wood. But in a metaphor, one thing is compared to another. Or it is described as if it were the other. Here's an example: His board has got wings!

The sun is a big yellow duster polishing the blue, blue sky Adverts make use of metaphor because they can pack a lot of meaning into a small space. Kellogs - 'the sunshine breakfast‘

Besides simple metaphor which is confined to one image, you can find sustained (prolonged) metaphor (e. g. The appearance of the park, the centre of his own battlefield, where he had all his life been fighting excited no thought or speculation in his mind. These corpses flung down there from out the press and turmoil of the struggle. . . )

Metaphor is a deep semantic transformation of a word going far beyond its primary semantic range. It is the most important factor in the renewal of language. A metaphor is based on the association of similarity and thus is actually a hidden comparison. A cunning person, for example, is referred to as a fox. A woman may be called a cat, a goose.

In actual usage the motivation of the wordmeaning may be obscured or completely lost. This leads to the development of so-called fossilized or trite metaphors by origin. Fossilized metaphors belong to the vocabulary of a given language as a system. In such cases the connection between the original and transferred word-meaning is lost. The meaning of such expressions as a sun beam or a beam of light is not expressed by allusions to a tree, although the word is actually derived from Old English beam which meant 'tree'. The

The following examples will serve to clarify what metaphor is: a ray of hope, a shade of doubt, the wish is father to the thought, the light of knowledge, flight of fancy, cold reason, cold truth, a stony heart, he was a lion in the fight. Metaphoric sense-shift must be understood in terms of lexical transposition, i. e. transference of a given word into a new lexico-semantic environment unusual to its primary meaning

This is most frequent with nouns, abstract and concrete, animate and inanimate classes. a)Inanimate nouns of different lexico-semantic passes: cold water — cold reason, iron bridge - iron will b)Animate nouns of different lexico-semantic classes: lion's strength - lion's share c)inanimate nouns instead of animate ones: shy girl - shy stars, clever boys — clever fingers The same is in Russian: волк воет - ветер воет

d)Animate nouns instead of inanimate ones: gilded sword - gilded youth, blooming flowers blooming girls, the boy runs - the play ran, for six months the newspaper runs The same is in Russian: золотые часы - золотой человек, черёмуха расцвела — девушка расцвела The well-known fact is that most of the words which are now used to describe mental states or qualities have obtained their meaning through metaphorical use: low fellow, low manners, low conduct, narrow look, cold reason, ripe age, etc.

Personification - attributing human properties to lifeless objects - mostly to abstract notions, such as thoughts, actions, intentions, emotions, seasons of Ihe year. Its purpose is to help to visualize the description, to impart dynamic force to it or to reproduce the particular mood of the viewer. Personification can be evident if we have capitalization of the word, direct address or we the use of the personal pronouns like he or she.

Antonomasia - the use of the name of a historical, literary, mythological or biblical personage applied to a person whose characteristic features resemble those of the well-known original.

Metonymy If the transfer is based upon the association of contiguity it is called metonymy. It is a shift of names between things that are known to be in some way or other connected in reality. The transfer may be conditioned by special, temporal, causal, symbolic, instrumental, functional and other relations.

The simplest case of metonymy is the so-called synecdoche which means giving the part for the whole or vice versa, e. g. all hands aboard (hands — 'sailors', ), foot-infantry — пехота, Bluebeard (so called from the titular hero of the popular story). Cf. in Russian: Синяя борода. Эй, борода! А как проехать отсюда к Плюшкину? (Н. В. Гоголь). И слышно было до рассвета, как ликовал француз (М. Ю. Лермонтов).

The association between the existing meaning and the new is based on the contiguity of meaning. In terms of the referential approach we may speak here of the contiguity of referents We use metonymy in daily conversation in expressions like: head of table, to keep a good table - 'хорошо кормить', unfit for table - 'несъедобный'.

Faded metonymy will be found in all spheres of human life including political vocabulary when the place of some establishment is used not only for the establishment itself but also for its policy, e. g. The White House, The Pentagon, Wall Street.

Other examples of metonymy include the following. The sign for the thing signified, e. g. from the cradle to the grave ('from childhood to death'). The instrument for the agent, e. g. the best pens of the day - 'лучшие современные писатели'; the pen is stronger than the sword which means 'those who use the pen have more influence than those who use the sword'.

The container for the thing contained, e. g. he drank a cup (the contents of the cup), the kettle (the water in the kettle) is boiling. The names of various organs are used in the same way, e. g. to play by ear - 'играть на слух', an ear for music - 'музыкальный слух', a ready tongue -'находчивость'. The noun head is often used for brains, heart - for emotions, e. g. to wear one's heart in one's sleeve - 'не уметь скрывать своих чувств', out of heart - 'в плохом настроении', to lose one's head - 'потерять голову', 'потерять ум'. e) A part of species substituted for a whole, e. g. he manages to earn his bread (the necessaries of life).

f) A whole substitutes for a part, e. g. he is a poor creature (man). The following cases of metonymy are worthy of notice. The abstract substituted for the concrete. Here an abstract noun is used as a concrete noun, e. g. the authorities were greeted. The material substituted for the thing made, i. e. a material noun is used as a common noun, e. g. the marble (the statue made of marble) speaks.

Hyperbole is another name for an exaggeration Colloquial speech is rich in hyperbolic expresions. Exaggeration serves to convey intensity of eeling. One of the most typical features of hyperbole its emotional saturation. Familiar examples of hyperbole are: I'd give the world to see you. Millions of reasons. I beg a thousand pardons. The whole town was there. A sea of faces. A sea of troubles.

The reverse figure is called litotes or understatement. It might be defined as expressing the affirmative by the negation of its contrary, e. g. not bad or not half bad for good; not small for great; no coward for brave. Some understatements do not contain negations: rather decent, too bad.

Simile is a figure of speech in which one thing is directly compared with another. He was as strong as a lion It shot out like a bullet Music is such sweet thunder Similes are part of everyday speech. They may be used consciously or unconsciously. They are often used in imaginative writing such as fiction and to clarify and enhance an image. A simile states that A is like B, whereas a metaphor that A actually is B.

Epithet is an attributive characterization of a person or a thing. Unlike attribute the epithet is more emotionally coloured and reveals the author's attitude. The glow of an angry sunset.

Oxymoron describes some feature to an object incompatible with that feature. Examples: honour rooted in dishonour faith unfaithful falsely true a great little kidder careful carelessness a white Negro NB! awfully good/ kind can't be defined terribly nice as oxymoron, pretty dirty these are intensifiers of very

A cliche is a hackneyed phrase or expression. The phrase may once have beer fresh or striking, but it has become tired through overuse. "He was over the moon about that goal. " "Yes please. I don't mind if I do. " "Far be it from me. . . " "I would be the last person to cast aspersions. " "We will leave no stone unturned in our search. "

Cliches are often used unconsciously in casual speech. They usually suggest mental laziness or the lack of original thought. They should be avoided in writing. Cliches circulate in the spoken language very readily, because they save people having to think. When written down, they appear even more tired and vacuous than when spoken.

traditional examples are expressions such as it takes the biscuit, back to square one and a taste of his own medicine. Current favourites (in the UK) include the bottom line is. . a whole different ball game, living in the real world, a level playing field, and moving the goalposts.

Cliches present a temptation, because they often seem to be just what is required to make an effect. They do the trick. They hit the nail on the head. They are just what the doctor ordered. [See what I mean? ] Here is a stunning compilation, taken from a provincial newspaper.

A vogue word is very close to the cliche. This is an item of vocabulary whose meaning is becoming blurred, distorted, or inflated, i. e. emptied, through overuse. The term 'vogue' implies that the word is currently fashionable. That's a fantastic dress! [very nice] We are in a war situation, [at war] It‘s a brilliant novel, [interesting] She’ 11 get paranoid about it. [become worried]

Euphemism is the use of a pleasant term to describe a disagreeable fact. Euphemism is a frequent occurrence in most modern languages but it will be remembered that it is not the same as religious taboo with which it is connected historically. The following examples may serve as an illustration. The verb to die may be substituted by such words and expressions as to decease, to join the majority, to pass away. Instead of the dead it is common to say the deceased.