LANGUAGE, LANGUAGE, LANGUAGE
Language Feature
Definition and Purpose
Emotive
Language that appeals to the emotions and aims
to provoke an emotional response. This kind of
language is common in the media and is a
powerful tool for persuading the audience to buy
a product or accept a particular point of view.
Sensational
Language that aims to provoke a sharp and
immediate response, capture attention and
amplify a topic or situation.
Persuasive
Language that is designed to persuade or
convince the audience of a particular point of
view. Advertising relies on persuasive language to
engage and appeal to the audience.
Closed ended or
Allow a limited range of response from the
control questions audience and generally require complicity with
the speaker’s views and opinions.
Analogy
Refers to the comparison between two things
that share a similarity but are otherwise
different. An analogy relies on comparison in
order to establish, highlight or infer a relationship
between two things and thereby shed light on
one or both things more fully.
Metaphor
A figure of speech that compares two things or
ideas that are apparently unrelated but are linked
linguistically in such a way that a point of
similarity is created, producing a vivid image.
Used to precisely capture the feelings, mood,
object or essence of one thing by associating it
directly with another. Much more forceful and
compelling than an analogy.
Amplification
A language device used to emphasise, highlight
and magnify for effect. It may involve the
repetition of particular words to attain impact on
the audience.
- Anaphora refers to the repetition of words
at the beginning of clauses.
- Epiphora refers to the repetition of words at
the end of clauses.
Alliteration
Refers to the repetition of consonants in
neighbouring words, particularly at the beginning
of words, or stressed syllables. Alliteration is a
common language device used for special effect
in poetry, speech, advertising and occasionally in
prose. Alliteration is beneficial in persuasive texts
to grab the attention of the audience.
Assonance
Refers to when two or more words, close to one
another, repeat the same vowel sound, but start
with different consonant sounds. This enhances
the musical effect in the text by creating an
internal rhyme. In addition, it develops a
particular mood in the text that corresponds with
its subject matter.
Examples