Figurative Language
© Andrew Newbound 2013
Figurative Language
Metaphor
 Similes
 Personification
 Describing Words ie. adverbs and
adjectives

© Andrew Newbound 2013
Metaphors and Similes
Simile
The dog is as
big as an
elephant
Basic
Sentence
The Dog is big
© Andrew Newbound 2013
Metaphor
The dog is an
elephant
Grammar – Nouns and Verbs

Nouns
 Names of People, Places and Things

Collective Nouns
 Names of groups of things
 E.g. Mob of Kangaroos, School of Fish

Verbs
 Doing words
 If you can do it – it’s a verb
© Andrew Newbound 2013
Adjectives and Adverbs
Adjectives: Describe Nouns. E.g. The
BIG, GREEN motorcycle. Noun,
Adjectives
 Adverbs: Describe Verbs. How an action
is/was done. E.g. The frenzied teacher
screamed loudly at the naughty
students.

© Andrew Newbound 2013
Pronouns

Replace Nouns






I
You
They
Me
Everyone
Someone
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First, Second and Third Person
First Person: When the writers talk
about themselves. Word/s: I, me, myself
etc. Autobiographies
 Second Person: Aimed directly at the
audience. Word/s: ‘You’. E.g. “Are YOU
listening?” Advertising, giving directions
 Third Person: Write about other people.
Word/s: he, she, they, him etc.

© Andrew Newbound 2013
Visual Texts
Analyse Advertising – Language &
Layout Features
 Language Features: Poetry Terms E.g.
similes, metaphors etc.
 Layout Features: Set out. E.g. dot
points, headings, text boxes etc.
 Visuals & Graphics: E.g. Pictures,
Symbols, Logos

© Andrew Newbound 2013
Homophones and Homonyms


Words that sound the
same but are spelt
differently
E.g. There, Their,
They’re
Homophones
Words that are spelt the
same but means different
things.
 The bow is the front of a
boat / I tied a bow in my
hair.
 Dog lead / Lead pencil

Homonyms
© Andrew Newbound 2013
There, Their, They’re
There – Place
 Their – Ownership
 They’re – Short for they are

© Andrew Newbound 2013
Level of Language

Colloquial Language (Informal)





Friends
Slang
Contractions
Abbreviations
Formal




Job interview
Slang
Contractions
Abbreviations
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Jargon

Group of Words Associated With A Topic
 Golf (Par, Iron, Eagle, Birdie)
 Horse Riding (Canter, Gallop, Gymkhana)
 Football (Centre, Drop Kick, Forward Pass)
 Basketball (Full Court Press, Dribbling)
 Dancing (Avant, Aplomb, Coda)
 Surfing (Old School, Rip, Lame)
 Soccer (Leage, Offensive Team, Open)
© Andrew Newbound 2013
Persuasive Language
Pushy
 Advertising
 To See Your Opinion
 Letters To The Editor
 Newspaper Articles
 Essays

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Juxtaposition
Place 2 objects side by side to show
how different they are.
 A good character and a bad character in
a story to show how different they are.

© Andrew Newbound 2013
Tone And Mood

The manner in which a
text is written.
 Words that describe it
are also used to describe
speaking.
 Depressing, Excited,
Over-joyed, Comical
 Lines of text

Overall feeling of a piece
of writing.
 Describing words (see
tone)
 Overall text
Tone
Mood
© Andrew Newbound 2013
Style
The way a writer uses words and
punctuation to create their own style.
 Sometimes you can read a piece of
writing and you can guess who it is by.

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Tense
Past
Present
Future
Jumped
Jump
Tomorrow I will be Jumping
Swam
Swim
Tomorrow I will be swimming
Ran
Run
Tomorrow I will be running
Hopped
Hop
Tomorrow I will be hopping
© Andrew Newbound 2013
Personification

A personification is a
figure of speech that
gives an inanimate
object or abstract idea
human traits and
qualities, such as
emotions, desires,
sensations, physical
gestures and speech.





The flowers were
suffering from intense
heat.
The teddy bear sat
slumped on the bed,
looking sadly at its feet
This web browser really
loves to crash
US Defends Sale of
Ports Company to Arab
Nation
Microsoft embarrassed
one final time over SP2
© Andrew Newbound 2013
Synonym











Synonyms are different words with identical or at
least similar meanings
baby and infant
petty crime and misdemeanour
student and pupil
buy and purchase
pretty and attractive
sick and ill
quickly and speedily
on and upon
freedom and liberty
dead and deceased
© Andrew Newbound 2013
Antonym (Opposite)
short and tall
 dead and alive
 near and far
 war and peace
 increase and decrease

© Andrew Newbound 2013
Apostrophe (‘ ’)
Ownership: Jonathon's truck.
 Replacement: It is – It’s (not to be
confused with Its (it owns))

© Andrew Newbound 2013
Pun

A pun (or paronomasia) is a phrase
that deliberately exploits confusion
between similar-sounding words for
humorous or rhetorical effect.
© Andrew Newbound 2013
Punctuation Marks

apostrophe ( ’ ' )
brackets (( )), ([ ]), ({ }), (< >)
colon ( : )
comma ( , )
dashes ( ‒, –, —, ― )
ellipsis ( …, ... )
exclamation mark ( ! )
full stop ( . )
guillemets ( « » )
hyphen ( -, ‐ )
question mark ( ? )
quotation marks ( ‘ ’, “ ” )
semicolon ( ; )
slash/stroke ( / )
solidus ( ⁄ )
© Andrew Newbound 2013
Purpose, Audience, Context

Purpose (why it was created)
○ To persuade (Advertisement)
○ Argue (Letters to the editor, Re: petrel prices)
○ Inform (teach. E.g. science textbook)

Audience (people aimed at)
○ Men, Women, children, mothers
○ E.g. Daddy Day Care

Context (Time it was writtten
○ War Poem (1917)
○ Video Game (2008)
© Andrew Newbound 2013
Ambiguity
Someone fails to convey the intended
message
 Causes





Double meaning
No clear subject for pronoun
Expression/phase is misplaced
A phrase beginning with an ‘ing’ word does not
relate to any identifiable person/thing
 A phrase beginning with an ‘ing’ word is not
placed as closely as possible to the person/thing
to which it relates
© Andrew Newbound 2013
Tautology
The needles repetition of an idea or
statement is called tautology
 E.g.

 The car reversed backwards out of the mud
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Idioms
Sayings/expressions used in everyday
speech
 E.g.

 My friend gave me a cold shoulder
○ Friend ignored you
© Andrew Newbound 2013
Circumlocution
Speaking or writing in a
roundabout/longwinded way
 Characteristically using an unnecessary
amount of words
 E.g.

 The person on foot became the recipient of
contusions occasioned by a car and himself
impacting
 Means
 The pedestrian was bruised in a car accident
© Andrew Newbound 2013
Euphemism
Using a pleasant word to replace a word
that has an unpleasant, offensive or
harsh connotations.
 E.g. Comfort station & restroom

 Both mean public toilet
© Andrew Newbound 2013
Objective & Subjective

Objective
 Non-emotive

Subjective
 Emotive
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Analogy
Comparison demonstrating similarity
 Two apples plus three apples equals five
apples
 Makes explaining easier

 Referring to what reader knows
© Andrew Newbound 2013
Appropriation
Take parts of another story
 E.g. My Achilles heel
 Some stories are appropriated because
they hold truths about the human
condition
 They are good stories so why not
market them

© Andrew Newbound 2013
Buzz Words
Used in advertising to help sell a
product/image
 E.g. Free, special, bonus
 Audience feels they are getting
something for nothing

© Andrew Newbound 2013
Connotation
Feelings or emotions suggested by a
word or a phrase
 Home:

 Warmth
 Loving
 Security
 Not textbook definition: a place of residence

To convey images
© Andrew Newbound 2013
Ellipsis
…
 3 dots which signify one or more words
have been left out
 If you don’t do this, I will …
 Using a quote from a text
 To create suspense

© Andrew Newbound 2013
Epigram
A concise saying usually witty,
imaginative, clever, sharp, to the point
 Character is a like a photograph: it
develops in darkness
 Sayings that are easy to remember and
get us thinking

© Andrew Newbound 2013
Innuendo
To indirectly say something – implying
 He said he liked dogs.

 Emphasis on liked indicates he hates dogs

Usually applies to negative references.
Implies mean ‘stuff’ about someone but
not held
© Andrew Newbound 2013
Irony
The meaning that the audience is to
understand differs from the ‘real’
meaning
 Cute dog you have there. Said to the
man who has an ugly, salivating, vicious
dog
 Accountable
 Provides humour
 Highlights contradiction

© Andrew Newbound 2013
Malapropism
Using a word that sounds similar, but is
the incorrect word used in context
 Howard be thy name (instead of
hallowed)
 To create humour
 To show ignorance or lack of education

© Andrew Newbound 2013
Paradox
A contradiction that contains
truth/opinion
 You’ve got to be cruel to be kind
 It can be startling and grabs our
attention. No everything in society is
logical

© Andrew Newbound 2013
Satire
Text that ridicules human beings with the
intention of bringing about change
 The Simpson’s
 Positive humour

 Amusement makes us more receptive to the
message/ideas the composer is examining
© Andrew Newbound 2013
Enjambment

Comma/full stop is not at the end of the
line and the line runs on to the next line
© Andrew Newbound 2013
By-line

The name of the writer of the piece,
usually written immediately after the
headline, but sometimes at the bottom
of the piece
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Empathy

Being able to feel how someone else
feels
© Andrew Newbound 2013
Motif
A recurring subject/theme in a work of
art, music or literature.
 A motif can be an object or image which
is constantly mentioned in the text

© Andrew Newbound 2013
Emotive Language
Language specifically chosen to evoke
an emotional response from the
reader/listener
 Evoke
= create in emotional way
 Provoke
= create response in a
physical way

© Andrew Newbound 2013
Cumulation

The building of words (attributes) having
a similar meaning
© Andrew Newbound 2013
Prose

Writing without a regular, metrical
rhythm
 That is, a pattern of stressed and unstressed
syllables in a line

Contrast with verse
 Writing WITH a regular rhythm
Some poetry is written this way
 Often a cadence (rhythm) to some prose

 Not just regular
© Andrew Newbound 2013
Cadence

Rise and fall in pitch; volume and tonal
sounds of a voice
© Andrew Newbound 2013