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One theory, the semantic feature hypothesis, states that mistakes occur because children acquire the basic features of a word's meaning before learning its more specific aspects. [3] For instance, the child may initially use the word basketball in reference to any round object, but then change its meaning to a round, orange, and grooved ball ...
Oxymorons are words that communicate contradictions. An oxymoron (plurals: oxymorons and oxymora) is a figure of speech that juxtaposes concepts with opposite meanings within a word or in a phrase that is a self-contradiction. As a rhetorical device, an oxymoron illustrates a point to communicate and reveal a paradox.
The political (rather than analytic or conceptual) critique of binary oppositions is an important part of third wave feminism, post-colonialism, post-anarchism, and critical race theory, which argue that the perceived binary dichotomy between man/woman, civilized/uncivilised, and white/black have perpetuated and legitimized societal power structures favoring a specific majority.
An auto-antonym is a word that can have opposite meanings in different contexts or under separate definitions: enjoin (to prohibit, issue injunction; to order, command) fast (moving quickly; fixed firmly in place) cleave (to split; to adhere) sanction (punishment, prohibition; permission) stay (remain in a specific place, postpone; guide ...
An unpaired word is one that, according to the usual rules of the language, would appear to have a related word but does not. [1] Such words usually have a prefix or suffix that would imply that there is an antonym , with the prefix or suffix being absent or opposite.
A group of words whose meaning is different from the meanings of the individual words: “She let the cat out of the bag” or “He was caught red-handed.” Inductive teaching Also known as induction, from the verb “to induce”; a facilitative, student-centred teaching technique where the students discover language rules through extensive ...
Antiphrasis is the rhetorical device of saying the opposite of what is actually meant in such a way that it is obvious what the true intention is. [1] Some authors treat and use antiphrasis just as irony, euphemism or litotes. [2] When the antiphrasal use is very common, the word can become an auto-antonym, [3] having opposite meanings ...
Literal language is the usage of words exactly according to their direct, straightforward, or conventionally accepted meanings: their denotation. Figurative (or non-literal ) language is the usage of words in a way that deviates from their conventionally accepted definitions in order to convey a more complex meaning or a heightened effect. [ 1 ]