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AP Lang Vocab review Spring 2018
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Allegory A story or poem or picture that can be interpreted to reveal the hidden meaning Example: The Pilgrim's Progress is an allegory of a spiritual journey; Animal Farm is an allegory for the rise of Communism in the Soviet Union
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alliteration Same letters or sound at the beginning of closely connected words “She sells seashells down by the seashore”
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Allusion An expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly “Don’t be a Romeo” – refers to Romeo and Juliet without actually saying it
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Ambiguity Uncertainty of meaning of a word or phrase
When someone says a “A good life depends on the liver”; liver could be an organ or a living persion “Time flies like an arrow, but fruit flies like a banana”
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Analogy A comparison between two things for the purpose of explanation or clarification “That movie was a roller coaster ride of emotions”
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Antecedent The word a pronoun replaces
Fatima is smart; she will pass the test. “She” is the pronoun for the antecedent “Fatima”
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Antithesis A contrast or opposition between two things (the exact opposite idea) “We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools”
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Aphorism A pithy observation that contains a general truth
“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”
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Apostrophe Talking to something that cannot hear you
“Oh sun, please come out so I don’t have to drive home in the rain!”
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Atmosphere A type of feeling that readers get from a narrator based on details such as setting, background, etc. In Rowling’s Harry Potter she spins a whimsical and suspenseful atmosphere.
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Caricature A picture or description or imitation of a person or thing in which certain striking characteristics are exaggerated to create a comical effect “Her ears were smoking and her hair was on fire – mom was mad!”
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Clause A group of words that includes a subject and a verb
“Cara ate a cheese roll”
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Colloquial/Colloquialism
Involving slang or informal conversation/language “I’m blue” meaning someone is sad.
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Conceit A metaphor that compares two objects that are nothing alike.
The mighty oaks are as abundant as the squirrels in the forest
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Connotation An idea or feeling that a word makes
Inexpensive vs cheap – positive vs negative connotation
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Denotation The literal or primary meaning of a word – the dictionary definition Home – a physical place where you live
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Dichotomy A division into two parts
Good/evil, black/white, Cruella DeVille’s hair
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Diction The use of words and phrases in writing
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…”
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Didactic Intended to teach or particularly in having moral instructions as an ulterior motive The professor’s lectures were designed to be didactic; they only served to confuse the students.
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Euphemism An indirect word or expression substituting for one considered to be too harsh or blunt Passed away instead of died
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Extended metaphor When an author uses a metaphor throughout a long passage or even an entire work In R+J, Shakespeare uses an extended metaphor comparing Juliet to the sun
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Figurative Language Language that uses words or expressions with a meaning that is different from the literal interpretation Similes, metaphors, personification, imagery, etc.
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Figure of Speech A word or phrase used in a nonliterature sense for rhetorical or vivid effect “He was a lion in a fight”
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Generic Conventions Features shown by a text that allows them to be put into a specific genre Almost all westerns use cowboy hats, six shooters, and horses
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Genre A category of artistic composition as in music or literature
Fantasy, sci-fi, poetry, essay, cartoon, etc.
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Homily A sermon but more informally it can mean any serious talks involving moral or serious matter When a minister gives a sermon
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Hyperbole Exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally “I’ve told you a million times!”
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Imagery Usually descriptive or figurative language – anything that paints a picture in your head “She wears a long fur coat of mink”
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Inference/Infer A conclusion reached on the basis of evidence or reasoning “There should be no inference drawn from the fact that he chooses not to be a witness”
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Invective Insulting, abusive, or highly critical language
“He let out a stream of invectives”
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Irony/Ironic The expression of one’s meaning by using language that signifies the opposite for humorous or empathetic effect (the opposite of what is expected) A McDonald’s right next to a gym
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Litotes A figure of speech that employs an understatement by using double negatives or in other words a positive statement expressed by its opposite (litotes is the opposite of hyperbole) “Not too bad” = good
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Loose/Non-periodic sentence
A type of sentence in which the main idea is elaborated by the successive addition of modifying clauses or phrases “He went into the town to buy groceries and to visit his friends and to go to the bookstores.”
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Metaphor A comparison between two things without using like or as
“The classroom was a zoo”
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Metonymy A figure of speech that replaces the name of something with the name of something else that is closely related to it. “The cup is quite tasty” “The White House issued a press release today..”
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Mood Including or suggestive of a particular feeling or state of mind
A scary story makes the reader feel nervous/scared
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Narrative A story spoken or written document of connected events
Any book, movie, etc.
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Onomatopoeia The formation of a word from a sound associated with its name (A word which is defined by its sound) Boom, bam, bang, cliché
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Oxymoron A figure of speech that seems contradictory
Cool kindness, living death, jumbo shrimp
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Paradox Self contradictory statement that may prove to be true
I know one thing – that I know nothing.
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Parallelism A balance within one or more clauses that have the same grammatical structure The “I have a dream” speech
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anaphora Repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses I came, I saw, I conquered
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Parody A work created to imitate, make fun of, or comment on an original work The movie A Haunted House or the Scary Movie series
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Pedantic Of or like a person who is excessively concerned with minor details A person at a party who bores everyone by talking at length about the origins of a particular piece of pottery
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Periodic Sentence The main clause or predicate used at the end for emphasis I couldn’t wait any longer; I went to sleep
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Personification Giving human qualities of something that isn’t human.
“lightning danced across the sky.”
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Point Of View Attitude or feelings towards a matter or a perspective.
A mixture of point of view towards that president’s speech
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Prose A form of language that has no formal metrical structure
Verses in poems
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repetition The action of repeating something that has already been said.
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Rhetoric Art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing
“The waiter at the restaurant suggested we add some of their sweet, delicious potato fries to for a dollar more”
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Rhetorical modes Describe the variety conventions and purposes of the major kinds of language based communication particularly writing and speaking Narration, description, exposition, and argumentation
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Sarcasm The use of irony to mock or convey contempt
“His voice hardened by sarcasm could not hide his resentment”
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Satire The use of humor, irony, exaggeration or ridicule to expose and criticize peoples stupidity or vices
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semantics Nitpicking at the literal meaning of a phrase or word
Arguing with a s/o over whether or not you said I love you
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style The authors word choice, sentence structure, figurative language, and sentence arrangement all work together to establish style Expository, descriptive, persuasive, and narrative styles
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Subject complement The adjective, noun, or pronoun that follows a linking verb The box is a present
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Subordinate clause It is typically introduced by a conjunction
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syllogism Two logical statements that lead to a third statement
All birds are animals, all parrots are birds, all birds are animals
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Symbol/symbolism To give to foreign an object representing a deeper meaning The Statue of Liberty - Freedom
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synecdoche Figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole or vice versa He asked for her hand in marriage
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synesthesia Describing sensation in terms of another
The silence was as thick as the forest Just looking at those ants makes me itchy The food on TV looked so good I could taste it
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syntax Arrangement of words or phrases to create proper sentences
Stop doing that, you’re driving me crazy.
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Theme The main subject that is being discussed or described
The Hunger Games
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Thesis/claim A statement or theory put forward as a premise to be proved
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tone Similar to mood, the author’s attitude towards their written work
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Transition A word or phrase that links different ideas
Furthermore, however, additionally, also, and so…
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Understatement The ironic minimizing f a fact to present it as something less important than it is. Similar to litotes, opposite of hyperbole
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Wit Intellectually amusing language that surprises and delights
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