AP Language Glossary of Terms Flashcards

10599518970	Allegory	The device of using character and/or story elements symbolically to represent an abstraction in addition to the literal meaning.	0
10599518971	Alliteration	Repetition of initial consonant sounds	1
10599518972	Allusion	A reference to another work of literature, person, or event	2
10599518973	Ambiguity	The multiple meanings, either intentional or unintentional, of a word, phrase, sentence, or passage.	3
10599518974	Anadiplosis	repetition of the last word of one clause at the beginning of the following clause	4
10599518975	Analogy	A similarity or comparison between two different things or the relationship between them.	5
10599518976	Anaphora	One of the devices of repetition, in which the same expression (word or words) is repeated at the beginning of two or more lines, clauses, or sentences.	6
10599518977	anecdote	a short and amusing or interesting story about a real incident or person	7
10599518978	antecedent	The word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun.	8
10599518979	Aphorism	A terse statement of known authorship which expresses a general truth or a moral principle.	9
10599518980	Apostrophe	A figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or a personified abstraction, such as liberty or love.	10
10599518981	atmosphere	The emotional mood created by the entirety of a literary work, established partly by the setting and partly by the author's choice of objects that are described.	11
10599518982	clause	A grammatical unit that contains both a subject and a verb.	12
10599518983	Colloquialism (Colloquial)	The use of slang or informalities in speech or writing. Not generally acceptable for formal writing.	13
10599518984	Coherence	A principle demanding that the parts of any composition be arranged so that the meaning of the whole may be immediately clear and intelligible.	14
10599518985	Conceit	A fanciful expression, usually in the form of an extended metaphor or surprising analogy between seemingly dissimilar objects.	15
10599518986	Connotation	The non-literal, associative meaning of a word; the implied, suggested meaning.	16
10599518987	Denotation	The strict, literal, dictionary definition of a word, devoid of any emotion, attitude, or color.	17
10599518988	Diction	Related to style, diction refers to the writer's word choices, especially with regard to their correctness, clearness, or effectiveness.	18
10599518989	didactic	intended to instruct	19
10599518990	Epistrophe	the repetition of a word at the end of successive clauses or sentences	20
10599518991	Euphemism	An indirect, less offensive way of saying something that is considered unpleasant	21
10599518992	Exposition	a comprehensive description and explanation of an idea or theory.	22
10599518993	extended metaphor	A metaphor developed at great length, occurring frequently in or throughout a work.	23
10599518994	figurative language	Writing or speech that is not intended to carry literal meaning and is usually meant to be imaginative and vivid.	24
10599518995	figure of speech	a device used to produce figurative language	25
10599518996	generic conventions	This term describes traditions for each genre. These conventions help to define each genre; for example, they differentiate an essay and journalistic writing or an autobiography and political writing. On the AP language exam, try to distinguish the unique features of a writer's work from those dictated by convention.	26
10599518997	Genre	a major category or type of literature	27
10599518998	homily	This term literally means "sermon," but more informally, it can include any serious talk, speech, or lecture involving moral or spiritual advice.	28
10599518999	Hyperbole	exaggeration	29
10599519000	Imagery	visually descriptive or figurative language, especially in a literary work.	30
10599519001	inference/infer	to draw a reasonable conclusion from the information presented	31
10599519002	Invective	An emotionally violent, verbal denunciation or attack using strong, abusive language.	32
10599519003	irony/ironic	the contrast between what is stated explicitly and what is really meant	33
10599519004	loose sentence	A type of sentence in which the main idea comes first, followed by dependent grammatical units such as phrases and clauses	34
10599519005	Metaphor	A comparison without using like or as	35
10599519006	Metonymy	the substitution of the name of an attribute or adjunct for that of the thing meant	36
10599519007	Mood	Feeling or atmosphere that a writer creates for the reader	37
10599519008	Narrative	The telling of a story or an account of an event or series of events.	38
10599519009	Onomatopoeia	the use of words that imitate sounds	39
10599519010	Oxymoron	a figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction	40
10599519011	Paradox	a statement that seems contradictory but is actually true	41
10599519012	Parallelism	similarity of structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases, or clauses	42
10599519013	Parody	A work that closely imitates the style or content of another with the specific aim of comic effect and/or ridicule.	43
10599519014	pedantic	An adjective that describes words, phrases, or general tone that is overly scholarly, academic, or bookish.	44
10599519015	periodic sentence	A sentence that presents its central meaning in a main clause at the end.	45
10599519016	Personification	A figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes	46
10599519017	point of view	the perspective from which a story is told	47
10599519018	predicate adjective	An adjective that follows a linking verb and describes the subject	48
10599519019	predicate nominative	a noun or pronoun that follows a linking verb and renames or identifies the subject	49
10599519020	Prose	Any writing that is not poetry	50
10599519021	Repitition	The duplication, either exact or approximate, of any element of language, such as a sound, word, phrase, clause, sentence, or grammatical pattern.	51
10599519022	Rhetor	The speaker who uses elements of rhetoric effectively in oral or written test.	52
10599519023	Rhetoric	the art of using language effectively and persuasively	53
10599519024	rhetorical modes	This flexible term describes the variety, the conventions, and the purposes of the major kinds of writing. (Exposition, argumentation, description, narration	54
10599519025	Sarcasm	the use of irony to mock or convey contempt	55
10599519026	Satire	the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues.	56
10599519027	Semantics	The branch of linguistics that studies the meaning of words, their historical and psychological development, their connotations, and their relation to one another.	57
10599519028	Style	A basic and distinctive mode of expression.	58
10599519029	subject complement	the word or clause that follows a linking verb and complements, or completes, the subject of the sentence by either renaming it or describing it	59
10599519030	subordinate clause	A clause in a complex sentence that cannot stand alone as a complete sentence and that functions within the sentence as a noun or adjective or adverb	60
10599519031	Syllogism	a logical structure that uses the major premise and minor premise to reach a necessary conclusion	61
10599519032	symbol/symbolism	Generally, anything that represents itself and stands for something else.	62
10599519033	Syntax	The arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language.	63
10599519034	Theme	Central idea of a work of literature	64
10599519035	Thesis	the primary position taken by a writer or speaker	65
10599519036	Tone	Attitude a writer takes toward the audience, a subject, or a character	66
10599519037	transition	a word or phrase that links different ideas	67
10599519038	Trope	Artful diction; the use of language in a nonliteral way; also called a figure of speech.	68
10599519039	Understatement	A statement that says less than what is meant	69
10599519040	Undertone	An attitude that may lie under the ostensible tone of the piece.	70
10599519041	unreliable narrator	an untrustworthy or naive commentator on events and characters in a story	71
10599519042	Wit	intellectually amusing language that surprises and delights	72
10599519043	Zeugma	use of two different words in a grammatically similar way that produces different, often incongruous, meanings	73