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Figures of speech come in many varieties. [7] The aim is to use the language imaginatively to accentuate the effect of what is being said. A few examples follow: "Round and round the rugged rocks the ragged rascal ran" is an example of alliteration, where the consonant r is used repeatedly.
Speech is the subject of study for linguistics, cognitive science, communication studies, psychology, computer science, speech pathology, otolaryngology, and acoustics. Speech compares with written language, [1] which may differ in its vocabulary, syntax, and phonetics from the spoken language, a situation called diglossia.
An oxymoron is a figure of speech in which a pair of opposite or contradictory terms is used together for emphasis. [27] Examples: Organized chaos, Same difference, Bittersweet. A paradox is a statement or proposition which is self-contradictory, unreasonable, or illogical. [28] Example: This statement is a lie.
However, when the speaker varies their speech intentionally, for example to indicate sarcasm, this usually involves the use of prosodic features. The most useful prosodic feature in detecting sarcasm is a reduction in the mean fundamental frequency relative to other speech for humor, neutrality, or sincerity.
Free indirect discourse can be described as a "technique of presenting a character's voice partly mediated by the voice of the author". In the words of the French narrative theorist Gérard Genette, "the narrator takes on the speech of the character, or, if one prefers, the character speaks through the voice of the narrator, and the two instances then are merged". [1]
Circumstantial speech, also referred to as circumstantiality, is the result of a so-called "non-linear thought pattern" and occurs when the focus of a conversation drifts, but often comes back to the point. [1] In circumstantiality, apparently unnecessary details and seemingly irrelevant remarks cause a delay in getting to the point. [2]
Merism (Latin: merismus, Ancient Greek: μερισμός, romanized: merismós) is a rhetorical device (or figure of speech) in which a combination of two contrasting parts of the whole refer to the whole. [1]: 10 [2] [3] For example, in order to say that someone "searched everywhere", one could use the merism "searched high and low".
For example, a death threat is a type of speech act and is considered to exist outside of the protection of freedom of speech as it is treated as a criminal act.