The Language of Oratory To follow are some language effects used in oral transactional texts and oral presentations (speeches). Note: Some of these appear in poetic texts also.

RHETORICAL DEVICES ‘Rhetorical’ means language and effects used to impress or persuade the audience. Rhetorical Question a question asked for effect, but not necessarily needing to be answered Rhetorical Question a question asked for effect, but not necessarily needing to be answered Eg: How do you stay healthy on a diet of chips and chocolate? Exaggeration trying to impress or influence by overstating a viewpoint, statement or idea Exaggeration trying to impress or influence by overstating a viewpoint, statement or idea Eg: Students get home from school and snack because they are starving. Understatement Understatement as above, but understating a viewpoint for effect. Eg: Children in Africa are a bit hungry.

Contrast/Juxtaposition Contrast/Juxtaposition When two opposite viewpoints, ideas or concepts are placed close to each other for effect. Eg: Let us break the chains, shackles and nightmare of slavery and embrace each other in the dream of freedom. Quotations from well-known sources Quotations from well-known sources Such as the Bible, television, movies, proverbs and clichés: to link with our audience and our common, shared experiences. Eg: Turn the other cheek. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Eat my shorts. Go ahead, make my day. I'll be back! Shaken, not stirred. What’s done is done.

CONSCIOUS USE OF PERSONAL PRONOUNS As speakers we want to make our audience agree with us in our viewpoints and be against things we are against. As speakers we want to make our audience agree with us in our viewpoints and be against things we are against. The deliberate use of including or excluding pronouns help speakers do this. The deliberate use of including or excluding pronouns help speakers do this. These include…

Pronouns to address the audience To address them as a group, but not necessarily to persuade them at this stage. Pronouns to address the audience To address them as a group, but not necessarily to persuade them at this stage. Eg: You know the feeling, waiting for that reply text. Pronouns to include the audience To get the audience on-side and agree with your statements/ideas Pronouns to include the audience To get the audience on-side and agree with your statements/ideas Eg: We came here tonight to choose our town symbol. Pronouns to exclude or to distance the audience: To distance the audience from those who have differing arguments. Pronouns to exclude or to distance the audience: To distance the audience from those who have differing arguments. Eg: If they think that raising the drinking age will prevent teenagers from drinking they are sadly deluded.

EMOTIVE LANGUAGE Similar in effect to use of pronouns, choice of words packed with emotion can influence an audience for or against your ideas, to be with you or against you. Words With Positive Connotation Words with pleasant ideas associated with them that help to get the audience on your side. Words With Positive Connotation Words with pleasant ideas associated with them that help to get the audience on your side. Eg: The warm sun is shining, it’s the first beautiful day of the summer holidays… Words With Negative Connotation Words With Negative Connotation Words with negative ideas associated with them. Create the opposite effect to positively charged emotive words. Eg: They hover like an angry, vicious swarm of wasps, waiting to attack…

Contrast / Juxtaposition Contrast / Juxtaposition Similar to exaggeration and understatement close together, +ve and -ve words in close proximity can highlight and improve the effectiveness of your ideas Eg: The bullies descend like a black cloud over the sun and turn the beauty of the day and your blissful holiday happiness into utter misery.

SOUND DEVICES Speaker makes main ideas, keywords and phrases memorable using sound effects and devices. Alliteration Repeating the initial consonant of a group of words for aural effect Alliteration Repeating the initial consonant of a group of words for aural effect Eg: The sun, the sea, the sand and the surf Assonance Repeating vowel sounds for aural effect and to be memorable Assonance Repeating vowel sounds for aural effect and to be memorable Eg: It might seem rough, but enough is enough

Onomatopoeia Words that sound like the thing or concept being described Onomatopoeia Words that sound like the thing or concept being described Eg: wind swishing or moaning in the treetops, frost crunching underfoot, splish, splash, snap, pop Rhyming Words sounding similar that are pleasant to the ear. Also appeal because the listener can predict a part of the speech. Rhyming Words sounding similar that are pleasant to the ear. Also appeal because the listener can predict a part of the speech. Eg:things will be fine if you walk the straight line every time

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE Language that creates a picture in the mind of the listener can assist in the interest level of a speech. Metaphor Describing two unrelated things using direct comparison. Metaphor Describing two unrelated things using direct comparison. Eg: Her gaze was icy, the salesman was a shark, the whole sorry incident left a sour taste for every one concerned. Simile Describing two unrelated things or ideas using the linkers "like" or "as" Simile Describing two unrelated things or ideas using the linkers "like" or "as" Eg: As fast as a leopard, as good as gold, as thick as a brick, as sharp as a tack, like bees around a honeypot, like a moth to the flame

Extended Metaphor Extended Metaphor Sometimes the metaphor can be drawn out for effect. Eg: Politicians should darn the holes in the ragged economy before we all start to feel the cold. Personification Giving human qualities to non human or inanimate things. Personification Giving human qualities to non human or inanimate things. Eg: The New Zealand Dollar had a quiet week, life dealt him a heavy blow, clouds passed sorrowfully overhead

OTHER ORATORICAL DEVICES There are some other devices which help to make speeches more interesting, vibrant, memorable. Repetition To hammer home a point and make it memorable using repetition. Repetition To hammer home a point and make it memorable using repetition. Eg: It’s all about trust. But if we can't trust the government to not lie, then who can we trust? Parallel structure This is like repetition, except that phrases and groups of words are repeated for effect. Parallel structure This is like repetition, except that phrases and groups of words are repeated for effect. Eg:We shall fight them on the beaches, we shall fight them on land and in the air.

Listing In order to emphasise important points lists are often used. Listing In order to emphasise important points lists are often used. Eg: This law change will impact on town people and country people; rich people and poor people, Maori, Pacific Islander, Asian and European; employed and unemployed alike. Rule of Three Rule of Three The listener is unlikely to remember more than 3 items in a list, or 3 main points in your speech and information presented in groups of three sticks in our heads better than other clusters of items. Eg:Blood, sweat and tears. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Stop, Look and Listen