Style
The speaker's choice of words and sentence structure.
Rhetorical devices
A technique of language to achieve a desired effect.
Jargon
Specialized terminology developed within a given endeavor or field of study.
Concrete language
Specific, tangible, and definite language (nouns or verbs).
Abstract language
Language that is general or nonspecific.
Imagery
Colorful and concrete words that appeal to the senses.
Figures of speech
Expressions, such as metaphors, similes, anologies, and hyperbole, in which words are used in a nonliteral fashion.
Simile
A figure of speech used to compare one thing with another by using the word like or as.
Metaphor
A figure of speech used to make an implicit comparison without the use of like or as.
Clich�
An expression that is predictable and stale.
Mixed metaphor
A metaphor that juxtaposes or compares unlike images or expressions. ("Before plunging into the pool, let's walk through these steps").
Analogy
An extended metaphor or simile that compares an unfamiliar concept or process with a more familiar one in order to help the listener understand the one that is unfamiliar.
Faulty analogy
An inaccurate or misleading comparison suggesting that because two things are similar in some ways, they are necessarily similar in others.
Personification
A figure of speech in which the speaker endows an abstract idea or inanimate object with human qualities (e.g., "Computers have become important members of our family").
Understatement
A figure of speech in which a speaker draws attention to an idea by minimizing its importance ("Flunking out of college might be a problem").
Irony
A figure of speech in which the speaker uses humor, satire, or sarcasm to suggest a meaning other than the one that is actually being expressed.
Allusion
A figure of speech in which the speaker makes a vague or indirect reference to people, historical events, or concepts to give deeper meaning to the message.
Hyperbole
A figure of speech in which the speaker uses obvious exaggeration to drive home a point.
Onomatopoeia
A figure of speech in which the speaker imitates natural sounds in word form in order to add vividness to a speech. ( e.g., "The rain dripped a steady plop, plop, plop").
Code-switching
The selective use of dialect within a speech.
Malapropism
The inadvertent use of a word or phrase in place of one that sounds like it.
Denotative meaning
The literal or dictionary definition of a word.
Connotative meaning
The individual associations that different people bring to bear on a word.
Voice
The feature of verbs in written and spoken text that indicates the subject's relationship to the action; verbs can be either active or passive.
Hedges
Unnecessary words and phrases that qualify or introduce doubt into statements that should be straightforward.
Tag questions
Unnecessary questions appended to statements or commands; the use of such weak language undermines a speaker's authority.
Colloquial expressions
An informal expression, often with regional variations of speech.
Gender-neutral language
Language that avoids the use of third person generoc masculine pronouns (his,he) in favor of includive pronouns such as his or her, he or she, we, ours, you, your, or other gender-neutral terms.
Persons with disabilities( PWD)
A person whose physical or mental inpairment substantially limits his or her major life activities.
Anaphora
A rhetorical device in which the speaker repeats a word or phrase at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, or sentences.
Epiphora
A rhetorical device in which the speaker repeats a word or phrase at the end of successive statements.
Alliteration
The repitition of the same sounds, usually initial consonants, in two or more neighboring words or syllables.
Hackneyed
Language that is poorly crafted and lacking in freshness.
Parallelism
The arrangement of words, phrases, or sentences in similar grammatical and stylistic form. Parallel structure can help speakers emphasize important ideas in a speech.
Antithesis
Setting off two ideas in balanced (parallel) opposition to each other to create a powerful effect.
Triad
A rhetorical device that makes use of three parallel elements.