Question 3: Language Flashcards
All 17 cards in this deck
What is tone in a non-fiction text?
The writer's attitude to the subject or reader, e.g. affectionate, mocking, angry or awed.
What is register?
How formal or informal the language is, chosen to suit audience and purpose.
What is emotive language, and what does it do?
Words chosen to stir strong feelings, e.g. "abandoned", "heartbreaking", to make the reader share the writer's view.
What is irony?
Saying the opposite of, or something different from, what is meant, inviting the reader to share the writer's critical view.
What is sarcasm, and how is it different from irony?
Irony used to mock or wound a particular target. It is harsher than irony and shows contempt.
What is satire?
Humour, often with irony and exaggeration, used to criticise people, institutions or society.
What is understatement?
Describing something as less serious than it is, e.g. a flooded house as "a little damp". Often creates dry humour.
What is bathos (or mock-heroic language)?
Grand language used about something trivial, or a sudden drop from the grand to the ordinary, creating comedy.
Which words have changed meaning since the 19th century?
Gay meant lively or fashionable, pathetic meant moving or pitiful, and awful could mean awe-inspiring.
What conventions do 19th-century letters usually have?
Addressed to a named person ("My dear sister"), dated, personal and chatty, with a sign-off such as "Your affectionate…".
What is litotes?
Understatement by denying the opposite: "I was not a little alarmed" means very alarmed.
What should you know about social class in the 19th century?
Sharply divided: wealthy upper class, growing middle class, often poor working class. Many writers are middle-class observers of the poor.
What was the position of women in the 19th century?
No vote in national elections, few routes into university or professions; middle-class women were expected to stay home. Women travelling alone were unusual.
What were education and child labour like in the 19th century?
School wasn't compulsory for all young children until 1880; many poor children worked. Wealthy families often employed a governess.
How can the British Empire shape a 19th-century source?
Britain ruled large parts of the world; many travel writers judge other places and people by British standards.
What is hyperbole, and what does it do in non-fiction?
Deliberate exaggeration, conveying the strength of the writer's feeling, often with humour.
What is colloquial language?
Informal, everyday language, including slang (mate, gutted). It creates a chatty, informal register that feels close to the reader.