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11 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Amelioration:
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The process where a word gains a positive meaning.
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Pejoration:
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The process where a word gains a negative meaning.
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Semantic Reclamation:
– E.g. |
The process where a word or phrase which was used against a specific group of people is then used by the people is was used against.
– E.g. Ni**er was a term used against black people, however now it's in many dialects of black individuals to express solidarity. |
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Semantic weakening?
– E.g. |
The process where a words meaning becomes less impactful/meaningful.
– E.g. 'glad' used to be a statement of joy, yet now it merely means 'happy'. |
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Broadening:
–E.g. |
The process in which a word gains more meanings over time.
– E.g. The common noun 'birds' once meant a young bird, it now means all flying species in general. (This is also known as 'generalisation'. |
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Narrowing:
– E.g. |
The process in which a word which once had a more general meaning becomes more specific.
– E.g. The common noun 'meat' used to mean food in general, but now it specifically means a piece of 'animal flesh'. |
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Political correctness:
1) Its purpose? 2) An example? 3) Its critics? |
1) Its purpose is to remove words and phrases which have negative connotations.
2) The collective noun 'old people' has been changed to 'senior citizens'. 3) Critics say that PC has no limits, and refer to this as 'PC gone mad'. |
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Trivialising suffixes:
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This is a process of gender neutralising. Suffixes which are gender specific, such as '-ess' in actress are removed, leaving the common noun 'actor' to refer to both males & females.
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Metaphors:
– E.g. |
A phrase which describes something as if it were something else.
– E.g. Plain sailing is used to say something was straight forward. |
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Idioms:
– E.g. |
A phrase where the literal meaning has nothing to do with the intended meaning.
– E.g. 'It's raining cats and dogs' is used for saying it's raining very heavily. |
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Clichés:
– E.g. |
These are basically idioms which are overused.
– E.g. 'It's as easy as pie' for when describing something as being easily done. |
