Words, made of sounds, are the smallest component parts of literature. Writers select words carefully for their audience, purpose and context, and you will be expected to be able to comment on word choice. Word choice sets the tone, voice, character, setting, and establishes assumptions about the knowledge and references of the reader. You will need words for words.
There are words for words you would have learnt in primary school. You can revise these in high school, and extend on them. You would have learnt the parts of speech, but there is a lot more to know. I’ll begin with the words you will really need, and then continue with the more obscure words. The point of including the more obscure words is to show you that there is more to know if you are interested, and also to demonstrate the kind of thinking you can apply when writing about words. My list is incomplete.
Parts of Speech
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Conjunctions
Prepositions
Nouns can be sub categorised as:
Collective noun, proper noun, common noun, abstract noun, concrete noun
Verbs can be sub categorised as:
action (transitive or intransitive), modal (helping) auxiliary (linking)
Conjunctions can be categorised as:
Subordinating conjunctions - whereas, although, though
Conjunctive adverbs - however, hence, nevertheless, therefore
You can use a semicolon instead of a conjunction.
You should also know these are determiners.
Determiners
- articles - a, an, the
- demonstratives - this, that
- possessive adjectives - my, your, their
- quantifiers - many, few, several
You would have learnt about antonyms and synonyms, but a word can be a contranym, acronym, homonym, eponym, pseudonym, or metonym.
Nym as a suffix means name (from the Greek root word onym).
Suffix - sets of letters added at the end of a word (Often from the Greek: -gram, -ology, -archy etc)
Prefix - sets of letters added before a word (Often from the Greek: ana -, anti-, para-, hyper-, syn-, pro- etc)
These are used to change the meaning or change the word class.
Also from the Greek:
Lex (Gk): of words - lexicon - the words associated with a subject
Log (Gk): word, study, reasons - logic, dialogue, prologue, epilogue, analogy, syllogism, eulogy, neologism
We can describe word choice that indicates the register or style of a piece of writing, eg, technical, poetic, descriptive, emotional, formal, informal, jargon, vulgar, sensory, dialect, colloquial. These need to be appropriate to the purpose, as well as the audience or reader. A writer makes word choices according to the assumed knowledge of the intended reader.
Also, you can comment on:
Modality - is it high or low? This expresses how certain we are about what we say. High is definite, and low is unsure.
High: Learning words for words will definitely help you in high school English.
Low: Learning words for words could possibly help you in high school English.
Connotation, denotation, collocation
All words have a literal meaning and a connotation. The denotation is the literal definition you might find in a dictionary. The connotation is the associations with the word - be they related to time, place, culture, class - and may bring in emotions. Connotation may be deliberate or may reveal assumptions or prejudices of the writer. The connotations of a word might reveal that the writer is saying one thing but meaning something different. Collocation is the regular combination of words that form fixed relationships to become part of our lexicon. Eg, strong tea, heavy rain, curry favour. The word ‘collocation’ is in the NESA glossary, so, even if you may never have heard of it you need to know it.
An attribution is the action of ascribing a work or remark to a particular author, artist, or person.
To refer to the he said, she said in a dialogue, you can refer to attributions.
Syllables and stresses (but we will deal with them in a poetry post)
Top Tip: Good writing attempts to create an experience for the reader. You could say that good word choice attempts to be autological and onomatopoeic!
Acronym
Definition: an abbreviation formed from the first letters of a series of words, pronounced as one word
From: Gk - acron = end, tip, onym = word,
Example: radar (Radio detection and ranging), gif (graphics interchange format)
Effect: memory device, makes new words,
Anagram
Definition: a word, phrase or sentence formed from another by rearranging its letters
From: Gk - ana = back, anew, gamma = letter, writing back or anew
Example: angel/glean, I am Lord Voldemort/Tom Marvolo Riddle.
Effect: cleverness, puzzle
Archaism
Definition: usage of an older, often obsolete, form of language
From Latin and Greek: "retention of what is old and obsolete," from Modern Latin archaismus , from Greek arkhaismos , from arkhaizein "to copy the ancients"
Example: quoth, lore, sate, ye, hath
Effect: could be comedic, parody, satirical, or pretentious or could use an outdated word to fit into a metrical pattern
Autological
Definition: a word that describes itself
From: Gk: autos= self, logos = word
Example: word, polysyllabic, buzzword, English
Effect: the most direct representation of a word for a meaning
Opposite: Heterological (ie, all other words)
Calque/ Loanword
Definition: an expression introduced by translating it from one language to another
From: French - to copy or trace
Example: ‘superman’ from the German ‘Ubermensch’
Effect: introduces new words into English
Contranym
Definition: a word which is its own opposite
From: Gk - contra = against, nym = name
Example: cleave, sanction, screen, left, dust, oversight
Effect: could cause confusion - the reader needs to understand the context to gain the meaning, can be used to be deliberately ambiguous
Dysphemism
Definition: making something sound worse
From: Gk - dys = bad, difficult, pheme = speaking
Example: pigheaded for stubborn, grammar Nazi, do-gooder latte-sipping lefties
Effect: Makes something sound worse than it is, may be deceitful or a misrepresentation
Opposite: Euphemism
Eponym
Definition: a person from whose name a word is derived
From: Gk - Epi = upon, nym = name
Example: Earl of Sandwich, Lord Cardigan
Effect: introduces new words into English
Eponymous means ‘giving name to’ and is the character whose name is the title of the work, eg, Harry Potter, Jane Eyre
Euphemism
Definition: using a polite, tactful or less explicit term used to avoid the harsh or unpleasant reality, making something sound better than it is
From: Gk - eu = well, pheme = speaking
Example: ‘pass away’ for die, ‘friendly fire’ for death due to weapons of own side
Effect: Makes something sound palatable and easier to accept, may be deceitful or a misrepresentation
Homograph
Definition: a word that shares the same written form as another word but has a different pronunciation and meaning
From: Gk - homo = same, graph = something written
Example: bear (carry, or the animal), calf, bass, wound, lead, row, tear
Effect: can be used in word play, otherwise, context is everything
Homonym
Definition: words that are identical in sound and spelling but different in meaning. Both a homograph and a homophone.
From: Gk - homo = same, nym = name
Example: rest = repose or remainder, bay = gulf or laurel
Effect: can be used in word play, otherwise, context is everything
Homophone
Definition: a word which has the same pronunciation as another but different meaning, derivation or spelling
From: Gk - homo = same, phone = voice, utterance
Example: its/ it’s, to/ two/ too, there/ their/ they’re, wood/ would, foul/ fowl, pearl / purl
Effect: can be used in word play, otherwise, context is everything. A misuse of a word in written form can indicate lack of education.
Malapropism
Definition: the use of a word sounding like the one intended but ludicrously wrong in the context
From: the French, and based upon the character of Mrs Malaprop in the 1775 play The Rival by Richard Brinsley Sheridan
Example: No-one is the suppository of all wisdom - Tony Abbott. I want to be effluent - Kath & Kim
Effect: comic, or to show ignorance
Metonym
Definition: a figure of speech consisting of the use of the name of one thing for that of which another is attributed or associated with
From: Gk - meta = after, beyond, nym = name
Example: ‘the press’ for journalists, ‘the crown’ for royalty, ‘Hollywood’ for the US film industry
Effect: a shorthand, a type of metaphor
Monepic
Definition: a one word sentence
From: Gk - mono = one, epos = word
Example: Smile. No.
Effect: Definite, assured.
Please note: No is a complete sentence.
Neologism
Definition: a newly invented word or term
From: Gk - neo = new, logos = word
Example: Netiquette, staycation, webinar
Effect: creates a new word
Also: Nonce word - a new word made up for one occasion or to describe one event
Palindrome
Definition: a word or sentence that reads the same both ways
From Greek meaning ‘running back again’ palin = again, drome = to run
Example: civic, level, minim, radar,
Madam, I am Adam. Sir, I’m Iris.
Effect: cleverness, fun
Paragram
Definition: a letter joke, a type of pun, a play on words by alteration of a letter
From: Gk - para = beside, gram = display or show, a joke by the letter
Example: Swine Lake, The high cost of loving
Effect: humour, often used in news headlines
Portmanteau
Definition: two or more words combined to make a single concept
From: Lewis Carroll, who used it in Through the Looking-Glass (1871) when Humpty Dumpty explained a word to Alice
Example: crowdsourcing, overshare, spork (spoon and fork), brunch, chillax, labradoodle, telemarketing, ginormous, steampunk
Effect: creates a new word
Pseudonym
Definition: a name taken by a writer to publish under, a pen-name or non de plume
From: Gk - pseudo = false, nym = name, false name
Example: Mary Ann Evans published under the name of George Eliot
Effect: frees the writer to publish without the expectations that might be associated with their identity
Pun
Definition: a joke exploiting two meanings of a word or words that sound alike, double entendre
From: Middle English?
Example: Reading while sunbaking makes you well red.
Effect: playful
Purr word/Snarl word
Definition: a purr word has positive connotations so is useful in building good public relations while a snarl word has negative connotations
From: modern times
Example: family values/ queue jumper
Effect: emotional, a short-hand, bypasses logical reasoning
Spoonerism
Definition: switching the beginning letters of two words to make the meaning nonsensical
From:named after William Archibald Spooner
Example: Spooner, an Oxford dean, is reported to have said to a student: You have tasted your worm, hissed my mystery lectures, and you must catch the first town drain.
Effect: humorous
Tautonym
Definition: a word that has two identical parts
From: Gk - taut - the same, nym - name
Example: tutu, pompom
Effect: playful, could be childish
Tmesis
Definition: inserting a word in the middle of another
From: Gk - to cut
Example: fanfairytastic, nobloominway, unfreakingbelievable
Effect: playful or emphatic, could be abusive
Verbal punctuation
Definition: a sound that is not a word but punctuates speech
From: it just describes what it is
Example: um, er
Effect: realism, indicates thinking or fumbling
Words can form a lexical string, that is, a sequence of related words. These contribute to cohesion and to the meaning of a text. Lexical cohesion is in the NESA glossary.
There are other terms from rhetoric that describe words, particularly words that use contractions, omit letters, or substitute letters or syllables, but you don’t need them for high school.
And don’t forget all the words about the sound effects of words: alliteration, sibilance, assonance, cacophony, dissonance, resonance, harmony, euphony, onomatopoeia, tone. Words creates tone pictures or tone colours (to use synesthesia - a mixing of the senses).
No piece of literature is free from devices! For even one word on a page, there is something to comment on.
Upcoming posts: how to write about sentences; using rhetorical terms for sentences, structure and style
