part II Diction

Part II. Diction

Diction is the choice and use of words. The English language has a very large vocabulary: as many as 400,000 words are collected in the Oxford English Dictionary. Of course no one knows or needs to use so many words. Only a small part of them are used by ordinary people for ordinary purposes. A student learning to write should learn to use the word that are most useful and most often used to express himself. Sometimes he may use the wrong words, but more often the words he uses are not entirely wrong, but inappropriate, inexact, unidiomatic or uninteresting. A basic knowledge of diction mat be of help to him.

I. Stylistic Characteristics of Words

The words that are often used may be divided, from a stylistic point of view, into three types: formal, common and colloquial.

Formal words may be also called learned words, or literary words, or “big words”. They mainly appear in formal writing, such as scholarly or theoretical works, political and legal documents, and formal lectures and addresses. Many such words contain three of more syllables, and most of then are of Greek or Latin origin. They are seldom used in daily conversation, except for special purposes.

The following paragraph talks about heart, and it contains 108 words, of which 17 words are from Latin, accounting for about 16%. If we exclude 19 articles, 13 prepositions and 13 pronouns and conjunctions, Latin words account for 27%.

We have known for only 400 years that it [the heart] was a four-chambered pump and that the circulation moved one way around the body. The left ventricle, which is the chamber that propels blood to the rest of the body, has the thickest, most muscular wall in the heart. Inside it are grayish translucent flaps extending into the cavity. These are the flaps of the mitral valve which stand between the left

auricle and the left ventricle, preventing the backflow of blood. Attached to their surface there are long, thin, glistening threads or cords, rather like the ropes of a tent holding open the flaps of the canvas.

---- Jonathan Miller, Exploring the Inner Man

Most of the words in the paragraph, however, are those that people use every day, and appear in all kinds of writing. Because of this, they are called common words. Read the following paragraph:

When I was a kid, and reading every science fiction book in the local library, I used to wonder exactly how the future would happen. By that I don?t mean what the future would be like—science fiction already told me that—but rather how we?d actually get there. Science fiction books seemed to agree, for example, that in the future there would be no money—all transactions would be made via identity cards

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and centralized computers. But that seemed dubious to me: how, I wondered, are you going to get everybody to give up money in the first place?

— Michael Rogers

In this paragraph, except one or two words that are very colloquial, like kid, and one or two that are a little formal, like transactions and dubious, all the words are commonly used words. The sentences are relatively short and simple. Such vocabulary and sentence structures fit the content of the paragraph, as it describes the thoughts of a child.

There are words which are mainly used in informal of familiar conversations. They seldom appear in informal writing, and in literary works their main use is to record people’s thoughts and dialogues. They are usually short words of one or two syllables and most of them are of Saxon origin (i.e., not borrowed from Greek, Latin or French). We may call them colloquial words, such as guts (meaning courage), guy (man), and hassle (bother).

Here is a paragraph with some of these words:

You have your tension. Sometimes you come close to having an accident, that upsets you. You just escape maybe by a hair or so. Sometimes maybe you get a disgruntled passenger on there, and starts a big argument. Traffic. You have someone who cuts you off or stops in front of the bus. There?s a lot of tension behind that. You got to watch all the time. You?re watchin? the drivers, you?re watchin? other cars. Most

of the time you have to drive for the other drivers, to avoid hitting them. So you take the tension home with you.

— Studs Terkel

This is part of a talk given by a Chicago driver. He uses very colloquial words and expressions like there’s, you’re, by a hair or so, on there, cuts you off, and you got to. But most of the words he uses are common words.

Thus there are three levels of words, with the formal or learned at the top, the colloquial at the bottom, and the common in the middle. Common words are good for all kinds of writing; formal words are seldom used in formal writing, unless for some special purposes or effect. These are all words of standard English, which is used by all educated speakers of the language. There are words which is used only by special groups of people for special effect. Among these are slang words, dialectal words and certain words that are often used by uneducated speakers.

Slang words are highly informal. They may be vivid and interesting, but they may, when used inappropriately, make the writer or speaker sound offensive or funny:

On hearing that his father had kicked the bucket, we wrote him a letter to express our sympathies.

The big banquet held in honor of the distinguished guests was really neat.

Because of the slang expression, the first sentence does not really sound sympathetic, and the second one is not serious in tone.

However, sometimes writers may use different levels of words skillfully in their writing,

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especial novelists. In the following paragraph, the writer skillfully uses standard English to narrate the story, and nonstandard English to describe the thoughts of a black mother.

…She did not even turn her head when she heard him [her son] come stomping into the kitchen. She heard him pull up a chair, sit, sigh, and draw off his muddy shoes; they fell to the floor with heavy thuds. Soon the kitchen was full of the scent his drying socks and his burning pipe. Tha boy hongry! She paused and looked at him over her shoulder; he was puffing at his pipe with his head tilted back and his feet propped up on the edge of the stove; his eyelids drooped and his wet clothes steamed from the heat of the fire. Lawd, that boy gits mo like his pa every day he lives, she mused, her lips breaking in a slow faint smile. Hols tha pipe in his mouth just like his pa usta hol his. Wondah how they woulda got erlong ef his pa had lived? They oughta like each other, they so mucha like….

---- Richard Wright, Bright and Morning Star, 1930s

The appropriate use of words of different styles depends on the occasion, including the writer’s or the speaker’s subject, audience and purpose.

The following sentences are all used to ask the other person to close the door, and the tone is from a simple order to a polite request. Which one to choose, of course, depends on the different relations and status of the two speakers:

Door!

Shut the door (will you) (please)?

I could do without the draught from that door. May we have the door shut (please)? Would you mind closing the door (please)? I wonder if you would mind closing the door?

I?m sorry to trouble you, but could I ask you to close the door for me, please? ---- W. R. O’Donnell and Loreto Todd, Variety in Contemporary English, 1980

Exercises

I. Read the following passage carefully and then answer the questions:

Language is our facility to talk to each other. The word ?talk? is used not merely to avoid a rather more technical and high-sounding word like ?communicate?; talk is more precise and more relevant to the special nature of human language than ?communicate?. In the first place, all creatures — cat, sparrow, and bee — can be said to communicate with each other to some extent. They can attract each other?s attention, warn of danger, woo their mates, and direct the way to food. We are still learning just how well animals can communicate with each other, but there can be no doubt that animal communication is wholly rudimentary as compared with the complex and subtle control of language possessed by even the least intelligent or least educated English tramp or American aboriginal. It is therefore appropriate to say that language involves ?talk? to emphasize that language is a peculiarly human activity.

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—Randolph Quirk

1. From what type of book is this passage taken? What do you think is the purpose of the book?

2. Is the book written for scientists or for ordinary readers?

3. Are there slang expressions in the passage? Are there formal words in it? Give examples.

4. Is the diction appropriate for the content of the passage? Give reasons.

II. Read the following passage carefully and then answer the questions:

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of captivity.

But one hundred years later, we must face the tragic fact that the Negro is still not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize an appalling condition.

—Martin Luther King, Jr.

1. Is the style of the passage formal or informal?

2. Give examples of the formal words and expressions in the passage.

3. What rhetorical devices are used? Give examples.

III. Point out the formal and common words in each of the following groups of words:

get, obtain; locate, find; cast, throw; bear, carry; buy, purchase; cease, desist, stop;

commence, begin; complete, finish; give, extend;, donate; live, dwell, reside; edifice,

building; possible, feasible; hasten, expedite; try, endeavor; dubiety, doubt; send out, dispatch; take away, remove; deem, think; conceal, hide; rooms, accommodation; felicitate, congratulate; perchance, perhaps; true, veritable; vessel, ship; share, partake

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II．The Meaning of Words

The meaning of a word has two aspects: denotative and connotative. A word’s denotation is what it literally means, as defined by the dictionary; its connotation is the feeling or idea suggested by it.

For instance, country, nation, state and land have more or less the same denotation and may all be translated into 国家 in Chinese, but their connotations are quite different. Country refers to an area of land and its population and government, nation emphasizes the people of a country, state refers to the government or political organization of a country, and land is less precise but more literary and emotive than country.

an island country; neighbouring countries;

In area China is the third largest country in the world. a peace-loving nation; the awakening nations of Africa;

The modernization program has won the support of the whole nation. state organs; state-owned enterprises China is my native land.

The connotations of words may very different based on people’s country, race, class, political views and even professions. The names of people and places, animals and plants, colors, etc., may bring different associations to different people. The names of people that can have connotations may come from history, literary works or other sources. From example, in English, the names of Hitler, Don Quixote or Judas can all have many connotations. Similarly, in Chinese we can describe a person as a 张飞，or a 红娘, but the connotations of these two names may not be able to be understood by English-speaking people.

Names of places may also have many connotations: Munich, Pearl Harbor, Vietnam in English; 周口店，延安，黄河，卢沟桥 in Chinese.

Many animals have similar connotations in the minds of the easterners and westerners. For instance, a fox is cunning; a pig is dirty and lazy; a sheep is meek and a mouse is timid, etc. Of course, some animals have different connotations in different cultures. For instance, in English, a phoenix is a symbol of “rebirth, renaissance” while in Chinese, 凤凰is a symbol of “祥瑞”. Some animals may have special meanings only to a certain people. In English, chicken may be used to refer to a young woman, or more often, a coward. In Chinese, 仙鹤is a symbol of longevity, but in English, the word crane never have such a connotation.

Colors may have similar or different connotations in English and Chinese. For example, in English-speaking countries, white is usually considered a sacred and pure color, while in China, it is traditionally a color of mourning. Black has a negative connotation both in English and Chinese: black market, black list, black day, black future, black heart, etc. The connotations of blue are quite different in English and Chinese. In Chinese, blue may symbolize peace and calmness, while in English the connotations of blue may be more negative: sad, melancholy, obscene, etc. Similarly, the connotations of green may be more positive in Chinese: exuberant and hopeful. In English, it has more connotations: new and immature (a green hand, as green as grass); envious (green with envy, the green-eye monster). Also, it can be used to refer to money, because the bills of U.S. dollars are green in color: green power（金钱的力量）, green stuff（钱，纸币）. Yellow may

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As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country. ---- Proverbs. 25, the Bible

In the above three examples, people and things of different categories are compared: a woman and a rose, records and ripe apples, cold waters and news. But each pair has one similarity: loveliness, falling quickly, and urgent need. The discrepancy between the two things compared makes their similarity all the more striking.

2. Metaphor Like a simile, it also makes a comparison between two unlike elements, but unlike a simile, this comparison is implied rather than stated. In a simile, the words like, as, as…so are used to make the comparison, as in

1) Jim was as cunning as a fox. 2) The world is like a stage.

In a metaphor, however, the comparison would appear simply as

1) Jim was a fox.

2) The world is a stage.

A metaphor, then, is in a sense, a condensed simile, different from the latter only in form and artistry.

Metaphors have three main uses: descriptive, illuminative and illustrative, can be seen from the following examples:

1. The hallway was zebra-striped with darkness and moonlight.

---- Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (A description of the alternate bands of light and shade in the hall, like a zebra’s stripes.)

2. The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure. ---- Thomas Jefferson

(The suggestion here is that liberty cannot be achieved or defended without bloodshed ---- the shedding of the blood of both the defenders and the oppressors of liberty in a violent struggle.)

An important form of the metaphor, and one often used by writers when they wish to describe or explain something in detail is the many-aspect extended or branching metaphor. In a branching metaphor, there is usually a basic comparison which is developed in such a way that every new stage of its elaboration throws new and related light on the subject. For example:

All the world?s a stage,

And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances. And one man in his time plays many parts,

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His acts being seven ages …

---- Shakespeare

The basic comparison in this famous passage is “The world is like a stage.”

A metaphor or a simile has to be fresh to be effective. One that has been frequently used over a long period of time will become dull and stale, and cease to function as a metaphor or simile. “The leg of a table” must have been a metaphor when it was first used, but today we feel that leg is used in its literal sense.

3. Personification it is a figure of speech that gives human form or feelings to animals, or life and personal attributes to inanimate objects, or to ideas and abstractions, e.g.

1. The wind whistled through the trees.

2. If not always in a hot mood to smash, the sea is always stealthily ready for a drowning.

---- Joseph Conrad

In these two examples, natural phenomena, the wind and the sea, are personified.

Personification is a simple enough figure to recognize and to understand. It is easy enough to use, too, except for one problem ---- gender, or the grammatical classification of the thing personified as masculine or feminine. Should it be male or female, he or she? There is no problem with animals, where the sex is known, but objects and ideas would present difficulties.

There is no guide to usage here unless custom and personal taste could be considered guidelines. It is customary, for example, to call ships she. Sometimes wind storms are given women’s names, e.g. Hurricane Katrina, Typhoon Alice. Poets and writers tend, too, to characterize various natural phenomena as male or female according to cetain idealistic or romantic conceptions, e.g.

Feminine

1. Nature ---- Mother Nature

2. Earth ---- Mother Earth

3. morning ---- Aurora; daughter of the dawn (Homer); mild blushing goddess (Logan P. Smith)

4. evening ---- the pale child, Eve

5. night ---- empress of silence, and the queen of sleep (Christopher Marlowe);

the pale child, Eve, leading her mother, night (Alexander Smith) 6. the moon ---- Diana, Luna, Phoebe; Queen of heaven, queen of night (Shakespeare); queen and huntress, chaste and fair (B. Jonson) Masculine

1. the sun ---- Helios, Apollo, Hyperion; the god of life and poesy and light

(Byron)

2. rivers ---- the Father of Waters (of the Mississippi and the Irrawaddy, for

example)

3. time ---- Father Time;

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Time, you old gypsy man,

Will you not stay, Put up your caravan Just for one day?

---- Ralph Hodgson

4. Metonymy It is a figure of speech that has to do with the substitution of the name of one thing for that of another. This substituted name may be an attribute of that other thing or be closely associated with it. In other words, it involves a “change of name”, the substituted name suggesting the thing meant.

Metonymy is a very useful and effective rhetorical device, for it compresses much into a single word or short noun phrase. Most of us may be familiar with the following examples:

1. pen: what is written by the pen; books, articles, etc. 2. sword: instrument of force and destruction;

e.g. The pen is mightier than the sword.

3. table: source or supply of food;

e.g. She sets a good (poor) table.

(= She provides good (poor) food.)

4. bottle: liquor, wine, alcohol;

e.g. He took to the bottle. (= He took too drinking.)

5. Synecdoche has often been confused with Metonymy. This is not surprising, as both involve substitution. Only metonymy involves substitution of the name of one thing for that of another closely associated with it, whereas synecdoche involves the substitution of the part for the whole, or the whole for the part. For instance, in the sentence: “They counted fifty sails in the harbor”, sails really means ships, and is an example of the part representing the whole.

Below is a list of familiar examples of synecdoche:

A. The part for the whole

1. hand: a) member of a ship’s crew ---- All hands on deck.

b) worker, labourer, helper ---- They were short of hands at harvest time. 2. head: person

---- He paid the workers $5 per head. 3. heart: brave fellow

---- Yet there were some stout hearts who attempted resistance. (C. S. Forester) 4. legs: (coll.) persons on foot, the infantry

---- The legs could hardly keep up with the tanks. 5. bread: food, esp. staple food

---- Give us this day our daily bread. (Prayer) ---- They say there’s bread and work for all, And the sun shines always there: But I’ll not forget old Ireland,

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Were it fifty times as fair. (Helen S. Blackwood) B. The whole for the part

1. Name of country for group of people of that country ---- Australia beat Canada at cricket.

(= the Australian team beat the Canadian team.)

2. Vehicle for engine, machine for mechanism of machine itself; etc. ---- The car conked out. ---- The plane’s flamed out! 3. Person for part of his body

---- Then he cut me open and took out the appendix and stitched me up again. (= cut

his abdomen open)

6. Euphemism Euphemism is defined in the New Edition of the Oxford Concise Dictionary as “Substitution of mild or vague or roundabout expression for harsh or direct one; expression thus substituted”. In Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary, the definition reads, “Substitution of an agreeable or inoffensive expression for one that may offend or suggest something unpleasant”.

The urge to speak euphemistically is a universal trait, but varying in scope and motive with different individuals in different circumstances. The great complexity of scope and motive can be seen from the following list of “true words” and their euphemisms, the “gilded words”:

A. Death, Illness, Old Age, etc. 1. to die

To pass away; to depart; to go to sleep; to go to heaven 2. old age, senility

getting on (in years); past one’s prime; feeling one’s age; second childhood 3. old people

senior citizens

4. mad; feeble-minded

not all there; soft in the head; of unsound mind; simple-minded 5. stupid pupil

a slow learner; under-achiever 6. fat people

weight-watchers

(The motive for the euphemism in this case seems to be to avoid hurting people’s

feelings.) B. Toilet Habits, etc.

1. to urinate or to defecate go to the bathroom, etc.; do their business; answer nature’s call;

(infants) sit on the potty; 2. men’s lavatory

Gent’s; the john; the washroom; head (Navy); water closet (W. C. )

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3. women’s lavatory

Ladies’; the powder room; Mrs. Jones

(The motive here, obviously, is to avoid using the true words which are considered crude

and indecent in polite conversation.) C. Poverty and Unemployment 1. dismiss, sack

lay off, ease out, give (get) the walking stick, pink slip 2. penniless

out of pocket; hard up; in reduced circumstances; badly off 3. in debt

in difficulties; in embarrassing obligation to… 4. the poor

+ the have-nots; the underprivileged; the disadvantaged 5. unemployed mother + welfare mother 6. living on dole

on relief; on welfare benefits 7. slums

+ substandard housing

(The euphemism used by the poor themselves are to “soften” harsh reality, but the terms

marked + often used by government personnel seem more to cover up governmental inability to solve social and economic problems ---- “cosmetic” words, so to say.) D. Menial jobs or professions of low social standing 1. a maid, housekeeper, etc.

domestic help; day-help; live-in help 2. chief waiter, waitress captain; hostess 3. real estate agent realtor 4. hairdresser beautician 5. janitor

superintendent; custodian 6. undertaker mortician 7. rat-catcher

exterminating engineer; pest control operator

(The motive here is plainly to “uplift” these professions by names, if not by status. It

reflects a sense of inferiority as well as a striving for “better things”.) E. Political and Military activities 1. lies

terminological inexactitude; 2. aggression

pre-emptive action; police action

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3. retreat, rout

phased withdrawal 4. admit defeat

concede the victory to 5. concentration camps strategic villages or hamlets

6. bombing and blasting of whole villages

pacification of the enemy infrastructure; softening up of enemy resistance; give

massive air support (The euphemism here are in the true sense of the word “false”. They are used to cover up

the true nature of events, deceiving the public with nice-sounding and pseudo-technical words.)

7. Irony Irony achieves emphasis by saying the opposite of what is meant, the intended meaning of the words being the opposite of their usual sense.

In everyday life we often hear people using irony in their speech, though they may not be conscious of it. For instance, they may call a very thin boy “Fatty”, or a very fat one “Skinny”. Similarly we may hear people saying, “Oh, how I love queuing up” when in fact they hate it.

However, not all verbal irony is of this light and humorous type. More often it is used to veil feelings in a subtle way, using words of praise where condemnation is meant, and vice versa. Such irony can be light or heavy, depending on the circumstances.

Below are some examples of light irony:

1. “Generally speaking,” said Miss Murdstone, “I don?t like boys. How d?ye do, boy?”

Under these encouraging circumstances, I replied that I was very well, and I hoped she was the same, with such indifferent grace that Miss Murdstone disposed of me in two words, ---- “Wants manner!” ---- David Copperfield (Dickens)

Here the word encouraging is used ironically, for the circumstances were not encouraging at all ---- they were, in fact, discouraging, for Miss Murdstone had said she didn’t like boys.

2. We are lucky. It?s the other side on the thirteenth of December. That makes us feel real good.

---- G. I. Diary (David Parks)

The writer means exactly the opposite of what he says. 13 is an unlucky number to most Westerners, and therefore they are definitely not lucky. And since on that date (December 13) they will land “on the other side” of the Pacific, in Vietnam, to fight in the Vietnam War, they don’t feel good at all. In fact, they are all quite frightened at the prospect.)

8. Hyperbole Hyperbole is the deliberate use of overstatement or exaggeration to achieve emphasis. Instead of saying in plain language

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1. Thank you very much.

2. She is very pretty. 3. He laughed heartily.

We can express the same ideas or feelings more emphatically by saying:

4. Thanks a million.

5. She is the prettiest girl in the world. 6. He almost died laughing.

Effective hyperbole, however, is more than just to emphasize something in exaggerated terms. In the hands of experienced writers it can be used to achieve various literary effects: to intensify emotion, to elevate or idealize persons or events to heroic or mythical status, or to poke fun at or ridicule.

Examples of various forms and uses of hyperbole are given below:

1. Belinda smiled, and all the world was gay. (Alexander Pope)

2. For she was beautiful ---- her beauty made The bright world dim, and everything beside

Seemed like the fleeting image of a shade. (P. B. Shelley) 3. Was this face that launched a thousand ships,

And burnt the topless towers of Ilium?

Sweet Helen, make me immortal with a kiss! … O, thou art fairer than the evening star,

Clad in the beauty of a thousand stars… (Christopher Marlowe)

4. “Shut up a minute!” Brackett ordered angrily. “Listen! You just have to look at

this soup (= nitroglycerin), see? You just cough loud and it blows!” (Albert Maltz)

In the last example, Brackett is angrily trying to dissuade Jesse from taking the job of transporting nitroglycerin by exaggerating the dangerous nature of the stuff.

It is not difficult to sprinkle our speech and writing with superlatives, especially when we are deeply moved or excited. But if we get into the habit of describing ordinary happenings in exaggerated terms, we might find ourselves at a loss for the right words to describe extraordinary events. For instance, if we use “terrific”, “fantastic”, “sensational”, “terrible”, “horrible” to describe every little thing that impressed us, what words would we use for something really impressive and significant? As the writer Robert Lynd once said, “If we use all the extreme words on ordinary occasions, we make it impossible to use them with very much significance on extreme occasions.”

Moderation in the use of exaggeration, then, seems to be the rule for us to follow.

9. Understatement As the word implies, understatement is the opposite of hyperbole, or overstatement. It achieves its effect of emphasizing a fact by deliberately understating it, impressing the listener or the reader more by what is merely implied or left unsaid than by bare statement. Below are some typical examples:

1. He was a man of no mean wealth. (He was quite rich.)

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2. …so we carried him, and that was rough. He weighs 290 lbs. (David Parks) 3. It?s no laughing matter. (It?s a serious matter.) 4. I didn?t half like that. (I liked that very much.)

10. Transferred epithet It is a figure of speech where an epithet (an adjective or descriptive phrase) is transferred from the noun it should rightly modify to another to which it does not really apply or belong. Generally, the epithet is transferred from a person to a thing or idea. For instance, when we say we spent sleepless nights on a project, the word sleepless is a transferred epithet, for nights cannot sleep. Below are further examples:

1. … Virtues

Are forced upon us by our impudent crimes. (“Gerontion” ---- T. S. Eliot) (impudent crimes really mean “crimes committed by impudent people, or committed in impudence”.)

2. …And an old man driven by the Trades To a sleepy corner. (Ibid)

(sleepy corner refers to “a corner where he can go to sleep or doze off”.)

11. Oxymoron An oxymoron is a compressed paradox, formed by the conjoining of two contrasting, contradictory or incongruous terms, as in

---- bitter-sweet memories

---- proud humility: this refers to the quality of being humble, but not servile ---- orderly chaos: chaos (confusion, disarray) exists, but there is some method or order in the way the things are thrown around.

An oxymoron can be formed in various ways, the most common being the following: a) adj. + noun a living death

conspicuous absence tearful joy

jarring concord

b) adj. + adj. cold pleasant manner poor rich guys c) adv. + adj. dully bright mercifully fatal d) verb + adv. hasten slowly shine darkly

e) noun + noun a love-hate relationship

As in paradox, the appreciation of an oxymoron comes from trying to find the hidden truth, the subtle significance in otherwise conflicting images or ideas.

12. Alliteration It is a rhetorical device that has more to do with sound than the sense of words for effect. It is a device that repeats the same sound at frequent intervals and since the sound

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repeated is usually the initial consonant sound, it is also called “front rhyme”.

1.

“?Father? is rather vulgar, my dear. The word ?Papa?, besides, gives a pretty form to the lips. Papa, potatoes, poultry, prunes and prisms, are all very good words for the lips; especially prunes and prisms.” (Little Dorrit ---- Dickens)

2.

…a fourth imputed our defeat to the over-civility of our umpire, George Gosseltine, a sleek, smooth, silk, soft-spoken person, who stood with his little wand under his arm, smiling through all our disasters ---- the very image of peace and good humor; whilst their umpire, Bob Coxe, a

roistering, roaring, bullying blade, bounced, and hectered, and blustered from his wicket, with voice of a twelve pounder. (Our Village ---- Mary

Russel Mitford)

In present-day journalistic writing and in advertisements, writers make use of the impressiveness of alliteration quite frequently. In one issue of Time, for example, the following instances of alliteration were found:

(Titles of articles)

---- Bye, Bye, Balanced Budget

---- Gunk Grounds the Second Shuttle ---- Sky Swoop

---- Six Masters, Seen by a Seventh (Advertisements)

---- C & C ---- The Computer and Communication Company helps you get the most out of

“digital”. ---- For comfort, convenience, superb service and more flights to Japan ---- YOU CAN

DEPEND ON US. Cathay Pacific

Exercises

I. Name the figure of speech used in each of the following sentences:

1. Her rich relatives rained birthday presents on her only son. 2. Wrong ideas may harm a man just like disease. 3. Some words may be defaced by careless usage. 4. The leaves are trembling in the cold wind.

5. The storm was so angry that it wanted to destroy everything in its way.

6. Many people bowed before Force, but eventually Force would surrender to Reason. 7. Selfless people are like cows, which eat straw but produce milk. 8. “What do you think of the roast duck?” “Not bad.” 9. His friends praised his daughter’s performances to the skies. 10. His writing is clear and clean.

11. His unfriendly tongue surprised her.

12. There is fertile soil for popular music in China today.

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II. Find a euphemism from the right column that matches the word or words in the left column.

1. lazy a. subterranean engineer 2. drunk b. planned withdrawal

3. heavy drinking c. deteriorating residential section d. culturally deprived environment 4. dirty e. plant food 5. manure f. memory garden 6. toilet g. the low-income group 7. slum h. beautician 8. cemetery i. relocation center 9. firing j. indolent

10. bankruptcy k. clairvoyant readers 11. concentration camp l. resettlement

12. forcible expatriation m. plant superintendent

13. disorganized retreat n. immoderate use of intoxicants 14. the poor people o. customer-contact personnel 15. sewerman p. jakes/john

16. shoemaker q. lack of proper health habits

17. hairdresser r. intoxicated

18. foreman s. straitened financial circumstances 19. door-to-door salesman t. shoe rebuilder

20. fortune teller u. termination of employment

v. declaring staff redundant

VI. Commonly Confused Words

1. Homonyms

Some words are commonly confused because they have the same sounds but different meanings and spellings; such words are known as homonyms. Following are a number of homonyms. Complete the activity for each set of words, and check off and study the words that give you trouble.

all ready completely prepared already previously; before

It was already four o’clock by the time I thought about lunch. My report was all ready, but the class was canceled.

Fill in the blanks: Tyrone was ________________ to sign up for the course when he discovered that it had _________________ closed.

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course part of a meal; a school subject; direction coarse rough

At the movies, I tried to decide on a course of action that would put an end to the coarse language of the man behind me.

Fill in the blanks: Over the ________________of time, jagged, __________ rocks will be polished to smoothness by the pounding waves.

its belonging to it

it’s shortened form of “it is” or “it has”

The tall giraffe lowered its head (the head belonging to the giraffe) to the level of the car window and peered in at us.

It’s (it is) too late to sign up for the theater trip to New York.

Fill in the blanks: I decided not to take the course because ________________too easy; ___________ content offers no challenge whatever.

passed went by; succeeded in; handed to

past a time before the present; by, as in “I drove past the house”

As Yvonne passed exit six on the interstate, she knew she had gone past the correct turnoff.

Fill in the blanks: Lewis asked for a meeting with his boss to learn why he had been _________________ over for promotion twice in the __________ year.

peace calm piece apart

The best piece of advice she ever received was to maintain her own inner peace.

Fill in the blanks: Upon hearing that _________________ of music, my angry mood was gradually replaced by one of _________________.

plain simple plane aircraft

The plain box contained a very expensive model plane kit.

Fill in the blanks: After unsuccessfully trying to overcome her fear Selena finally admitted the _________________ truth: She was terrified of flying in a __________.

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principal main; a person in charge of a school principle a law or standard

If the principal ingredient in this stew is octopus, I’ll abandon my principle of trying everything at least once.

Fill in the blanks: Our __________________ insists that all students adhere to every school __________ regarding dress, tardiness, and smoking.

than used in comparisons then at that time

I made more money then, but I’ve never been happier than I am now.

Fill in the blanks: When I was in high school, I wanted a racy two-seater convertible more __________ anything else; but __________ my friends pointed out that only one person would be able to ride with me.

their belonging to them

there at that place; a neutral word used with verbs like is, are, was, were, have, and had they’re shortened form of “they are”

The tenants there are complaining because they’re being cheated by their landlord.

Fill in the blanks: The tomatoes I planted ______ in the back of the garden are finally ripening, but __________ bright red color will attract hungry raccoons, and I fear __________ going to be eaten.

weather atmospheric conditions whether if it happens that; in case; if

Although meteorologists are weather specialists, even they can’t predict whether a hurricane will change course.

Fill in the blanks: The gloomy __________ report in the paper this morning ended all discussion of _________________ to pack a picnic lunch for later.

whose belonging to whom

who’s shortened form of “who is” and “who has”

“Who’s the patient whose filling fell out?” the dentist’s assistant asked.

Fill in the blanks: __________________ the salesperson ___________ customers are always

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complaining about his high-pressure tactics?

your belonging to you

you’re shortened form of “you are”

You’re making a fool of yourself; your Elvis imitation isn’t funny.

Fill in the blanks: If __________ having trouble filling out _________________ tax return, why don’t you call the IRS’s toll-free hot line?

2. Other Words Frequently Confused

accept to receive; agree to except excluding; but

It was easy to accept the book’s plot, except for one unlikely coincidence at the very end.

Fill in the blanks: Ved would ________________the position, __________ that it would add twenty minutes to his daily commute.

advice noun meaning “an opinion”

advise verb meaning “to counsel, to give advice”

I have learned not to take my sister’s advice on straightening out my life. A counselor can advise you about the courses you’ll need next year.

Fill in the blanks: Karen is so troubled about losing her job that I will _________________ her to seek the _________________ of a professional counselor.

affect verb meaning “to influence”

effect verb meaning “to cause something”; noun meaning “result”

The bad weather will definitely affect the outcome of the election.

If we can effect a change in George’s attitude, he may do better in his courses. One effect of the strike will be dwindling supplies in the supermarkets.

Fill in the blanks: Scientists have studied the __________________ of large quantities of saccharine on lab animals but have yet to learn how similar amounts ________________ human beings.

among implies three or more

between implies only two

After the team of surgeons consulted among themselves, they decided that the bullet was lodged

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between two of the patient’s ribs.

Fill in the blanks: _________________ halves, one enthusiastic fan stood up _________________ his equally fanatic friends and took off his coat and shirt.

beside along the side of besides in addition to

Besides doing daily inventories, I have to stand beside the cashier whenever the store gets crowded.

Fill in the blanks: _________________those books on the table, I plan to use these magazines stacked _________________ me while doing my research paper.

fewer used with things that can be counted less refers to amount, value, or degree

I’ve taken fewer classes this semester, so I hope to have less trouble finding time to study.

Fill in the blanks: This beer advertises that it has _________________ calories and is ____________________ filling.

former refers to the first of two items named latter refers to the second of two items named

Sue yelled at her sons, Greg and John, when she got home; The former (Greg) had left the refrigerator open and the latter (John) had left wet towels all over the bathroom.

Fill in the blanks: Eddy collects coupons and parking tickets: The ______________ save him money and the _________________ are going to cost him a great deal of money some day.

loose /lu:s/ not fastened; not tight-fitting lose /lu:z/ to misplace; fail to win

In this strong wind, the house may lose some of its loose roof shingles.

Fill in the blanks: A __________________ wire in the television set was causing us to __________________ the picture.

quiet peaceful

quite entirely; really; rather

Jennifer seems quiet and demure, but she has quite a temper at times.

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Fill in the blanks: Most people think the library is ________________ a good place to study, but I find the extreme __________ distracting.

Exercises

I. Underline the two incorrect spellings in each sentence. Then spell the words correctly in the spaces provided.

__________ 1. “Its not a very good idea,” yelled Alexandra’s boss, “to tell you’re customer __________ that the striped dress she plans to buy makes her look like a pregnant tiger.” _________ 2. You’re long skirt got stuck in the car door, and now its sweeping the highway. _________ 3. When your young, their is a tendency to confuse a crush with true love.

_________ 4. After too hours of typing, Lin was to tired to type any longer.

_________ 5. It is unusual for a restaurant to lose it’s license, but this one had more mice _________ in its’ kitchen than cooks.

_________ 6. The vampires bought a knife sharpener in order too sharpen there teeth.

_________ 7. Your sometimes surprised by who you’re friends turn out to be in difficult __________ times.

_________ 8. When the children get to quiet, Clare knows their getting into trouble.

_________ 9. There friendship developed into love as the years passed, and now, in midlife, __________ their newlyweds.

_________ 10. There is no reason to panic if you get a bad grade or too. Its well known that __________ many successful people were not great students.

II. Underline the correct word in the parentheses. Rather than guessing, look back at the explanations of the words when necessary.

1. I (know, no) that several of the tenants have decided (to, too, two) take (their, there, they’re) case to court.

2. (Whose, Who’s) the author of that book about the (affects, effects) of eating (to, too, two) much protein?

3. In our supermarket is a counter (where, wear) (your, you’re) welcome to sit down and have free coffee and doughnuts.

4. (Its, It’s) possible to (loose, lose) friends by constantly giving out unwanted (advice, advise). 5. For a long time, I couldn’t (accept, except) the fact that my husband wanted a divorce; (then, than) I decided to stop being angry and get on with life. 6. I spent the (hole, whole) day browsing (threw, through) the chapters in my business textbook, but I didn’t really study them.

7. The newly appointed (principal, principle) is (quite, quiet) familiar with the problems (hear, here) at our school.

8. I found that our cat had (all ready, already) had her kittens (among, between) the weeds (beside, besides) the porch.

9. I (advice, advise) you not to take children to that movie; the special (affects, effects) are (to, too, two) frightening.

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