What is rhetoric?
 The art or science of using language in prose or poetry,
including figurative language.
 I would write: Rhetoric: the art of using language
Style
 Style is the author’s unique way of
expressing his/her ideas.
 Style is affected by word choice, voice,
sentence structure, and the use of conventions.
 Two authors’ styles can be as different as their
speaking voices or signatures.
 Writers may change his/her style for
different types of writing and for different
audiences
Diction
 Diction is a writer’s word choice
Why does word choice matter?
All words have 2 meanings: Denotation verses
Connotation
 Denotation is a word’s dictionary definition.
 Connotation is a word’s emotional overtones.
Aggressive and assertive have different
connotations. One is positive and the other is
negative.
Denotation vs. Connotation
 Think of the following terms from The Giver and
how their denotations and connotations
compared.
The Giver
Commonly used word
Dwelling
Newchild
Learning community
House/ home
Baby
School
 The denotation was the same but the words from
the book lacked emotional connection.
Formal English
 Contains carefully written, complete sentences
 Avoids contractions (no contractions)
 Follows grammar rules (correct grammar)
 Uses sophisticated vocabulary (big words)
 *Tone may vary (tone varies)
Informal English
 Uses everyday speech
 Uses popular expressions
 Uses contractions
 Uses some sentence fragments
 Tone may vary (tone varies)
Formal or Informal?
Using a t-chart, list the following types of writing as formal or
informal:
1. Written report
2. Essay
3. Conversations with friends
4. Interview
5. Debate
6. Oral report
7. Personal letter
8. Class notes
9. Journal entries
10. Text messaging
ENGLISH Language-My how you’ve changed…
Where is it okay to use text
abbreviations?
 The Internet
 Email (informal)
 Text messaging
 Blogs and blogging (web+ log= blog)
How Well Do You Know Texting?
You might know quite a few text abbreviations, but c if u no the
less common ones 2.
Common:
1. Be right back.
1. brb
2. I don’t know.
2. idk
3. cya 3. See you.
4. Laughing out loud.
4. lol
5. sup 5. What’s up?
6. afk 6. Away from keyboard.
7. rofl 7. Rolling on the floor laughing.
8. tyvm 8. Thank you very much.
9. ur
9. You’re…
10. asap 10. As soon as possible.
How Well Do You Know Texting?
Less common:
1. ucmu
2. ttfn
3. aota
4. imho
5. aytmtb
6. crbt
7. tbd
8. wysiwyg
9. fomcl
10. wdalyic
Solutions
Less common:
1. ucmu
You crack me up.
2. ttfn
Ta ta for now.
3. aota
All of the above.
4. imho
In my humble opinion.
5. aytmtb And you’re telling me this because…
6. crbt
Crying really big tears.
7. tbd
To be decided.
8. wysiwyg What you see is what you get.
9. fomcl
Falling off my chair laughing.
10. wdalyic Who died and left you in charge?
Dialects
Everyone speaks with a dialect of
some sort. A dialect is the accent
and vocabulary of a particular
region. If our parents are from a
different region than where we’re
raised, we might speak a
combination of dialects.
Say what?
 What do you call the following things?
• Syrup
• Caramel apples
Possible answers:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
Frosting/icing
Sneakers/running shoes/sneaks/tennis shoes
Faucet/spigot/tap
Grocery store/supermarket/food store
Soda/pop/coke
Pizza/pie
The beach/ the shore/ down the shore
Lollipop/ sucker/taffy
Hoagie/sub
Syrup/(pronounced ser-up or seer-up)
Caramel (pronounced car’-muhl or ca’ra-mell)
Dialectal Regions of the U.S.
1. North 2. Northeast 3. West 4. Midwest
5. South
What influences my dialect/speech?
 Where you grew up
 People around you
 Parents
 Siblings
 Friends
 Teachers
 TV/ Internet
 Literature
 Music
Slang
 Slang is invented words or existing words given a new meaning.
You know lots of slang for your generation, but do you know
these older slang expressions?
1. Can you dig it?
2. That is so far out!
3. I’ll catch ya on the flip-side.
4. Keep on truckin’!
5. Wow, that is really heavy news, man.
6. Can you loan me some bread?
7. He’s totally bugged out.
8. Gimme some skin.
9. She is hip to the groove.
10. Man, I dig your new threads.
Slang Solutions (60’s to 70’s)
Can you dig it? Do you understand?
That is so far out! That is amazing!
I’ll catch you on the flip side. I’ll see you later.
Keep on truckin! Good luck!
That is really heavy news, man. That is depressing news.
Can you loan me some bread? Can I borrow some money?
He is totally bugged out. He’s not feeling well.
Gimme some skin. Hit my hand with your hand so that we
may bond.
9. She is hip to the groove. She understands.
10. Man, I dig your new threads. I really like your new clothes.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Digital Slang
 See if you know what these digital-age slang terms
mean:
1. Mistext
2. Autoincorrect
3. Phone tag
4. Spam
5. Dead text
6. Snope
7. Google dance
8. Serp
Solutions
Mistext: text sent in error
Autoincorrect: when text is incorrectly fixed
Phone tag: calling back and forth with no answer
Spam: unwanted messages
Dead text: text that does not need a
response/irrelevant
6. Snope: to inform someone that an email is
spam/fake. Refers to the website snopes.com.
7. Google dance: When google changes the SERP.
8. SERP: Search Engine Result Page
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Understanding Colloquialisms and
Idioms
 A colloquialism is a word or phrase used in everyday
conversation. Colloquialisms are generally informal
and can include dialect and slang.
 Idioms are common expressions with a meaning that
varies from what the individual words mean. Many
idioms are metaphors. Idioms are also an important
part of dialects and are often considered part of
colloquial speech.
Idioms
 What do these phrases mean?
1. Back seat driver
2. Cash on the barrelhead
3. Dead as a doornail
4. Face the music
5. Have an axe to grind
6. Head over heels in love
7. Kick the bucket
8. Make a bee-line for something
9. Saved by the bell
10. Set your teeth on edge
Idiom Solutions
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Back seat driver: someone who tells the driver what to do
Cash on the barrelhead: cash up front
Dead as a doornail: no chance of being alive
Face the music: accept the consequences
Have an axe to grind: hold a grudge
Head over heels in love: completely in love
Kick the bucket: to die
Make a bee-line for something: to hurry
Saved by the bell: saved at the last moment
Set your teeth on edge: to make you anxious or worried
See What You’ve Learned
 Open your language book to page 10 and complete
exercise 1.
 Then, turn to page 23 and do exercise 1.