Using Language Chapter 12 The Meanings of Words

+ Using Language Chapter 12

+ The Meanings of Words n Denotative Meanings n Connotative Meanings n Use Language Accurately

+ Use Language Clearly n Choose familiar words n n Choose concrete words n n Simple and basic not multisyllabic Be specific not abstract Eliminate clutter n Lose the dreaded “academic style” Go wild—you can’t overdo it!

+ Try These. . . n What is the connotation when we hear “cozy” in an ad for an apartment? n is the difference between the words skill, ability, and expertise? n Re-write: “All professors are expected to achieve high standards of excellence in their instructional duties. ” n n Professors are expected to teach well. Put in order from abstract to specific: Mona Lisa, art, painting, creative activity, portrait. n Creative activity, art, painting, portrait, Mona Lisa.

+ Fix This. . . n Imagine thought of burning up a priceless, invaluable painting by Rembrandt just in order to stay warm for ten minutes. Sounds really crazy, doesn’t it? But that is comparable to just what’s happening right now in the Amazon rain forest of Brazil. In 1970, the president of Brazil began to start a 14, 000 mile network of highways to open up the huge, vast area of the rain forest to poor, poverty-stricken Brazilians.

+ How About This? n Imagine thought of burning up a priceless, invaluable painting by Rembrandt just in order to stay warm for ten minutes. Sounds really crazy, doesn’t it? But that is comparable to just what is happening right now in the Amazon rain forest of Brazil. In 1970, the president of Brazil began to start a 14, 000 mile network of highways to open up the huge, vast area of the rain forest to poor, poverty-stricken Brazilians.

+ Use Language Vividly Imagery: n Simile n Metaphor Rhythm: n Parallelism n Repetition n Alliteration n Antithesis Be selective—you can overdo it!

+ Examples n “The vice-presidency is the sand trap of American politics; it’s near the prize and designed to be limiting. ” n Howard Fineman (metaphor) n “America is not like a blanket—one piece of unbroken cloth, the same color, the same texture, the same size. America is more like a quilt—many patches, many colors, and woven and held together by a common thread. n Jessie Jackson (simile, parallelism)

+ Problems? n “The Senator hopes to use his victory in the California primary as a springboard to rekindle his campaign. ” n n Mixed metaphor “Flat as a pancake” n Cliché