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110 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
a familiar proverb or wise saying |
Adage |
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an argument attacking an individual’s character rather than his or her position on the issue
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Ad hominem |
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literary work in which characters, objects, or actions represent abstractions |
Allegory |
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repetition of initial consonant sounds. Sally sells sea shells.
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Alliteration |
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reference to something literary, mythological, or historical that the author assumes the reader will recognize. |
Allusion
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compares two different things that are similar in some way.
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Analogy |
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repetition of words or phrases at the beginning of consecutive lines or sentences |
Anaphora |
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work, phrase, or clause to which a pronoun refers
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Antecedent
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statement in which two opposing ideas are balanced.
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Antithesis |
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concise statement that expresses a general truth or idea, often using rhyme or balance.
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Aphorism |
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one addresses an absent or imaginary person |
Apostrophe |
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detail, image, or character type that occurs frequently in literature and myth, is thought to appeal in a universal way to the unconscious, and is meant to evoke a response |
Archetype |
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construction in which elements are presented in series without conjunctions. |
Asyndeton |
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words, phrases, or clauses are set off against each other to emphasize a contrast
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Balanced sentence |
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insincere or overly sentimental quality of writing intended to evoke pity.
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Bathos |
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statement consisting of two parallel parts in which the second part is structurally reversed, like Susan walked in, and our rushed Mary. |
Chiasmus |
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Overused Expression |
Cliche |
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informal words not accepted in formal language. |
Colloquialism |
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one independent clause and one dependent clause. |
Complex Sentence |
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two or more independent clauses (sentences) with conjunctions. |
Compound sentence |
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fanciful, particularly clever extended metaphor. |
Conceit |
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relate to or describe actual, specific things or events. |
Concrete details |
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implied meaning. |
Connotation |
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makes a statement or declaration.
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Declarative sentence |
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a conclusion is reached by stating a general principle and then applying that principle to a specific case. (The sun rises every morning; therefore, the sun will rise on Tuesday morning.) |
Deductive reasoning |
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literal meaning.
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Denotation
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speech/grammar associated with a particular region (like an accent).
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Dialect |
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conversation
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Dialogue |
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word choice |
Diction
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having the primary purpose of teaching or instructing. |
Didactic
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harsh, not harmonious, or discordant sounds. |
Dissonance |
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formal poem presenting a meditation on death or another solemn theme |
Elegy |
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omission of a word or phrase which is grammatically necessary, but can be deduced from the context. (Some prefer cats; others, dogs.) |
Ellipsis
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Long, narrative, adventuresome poem |
Epic |
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brief, pithy, and often paradoxical saying |
Epigram |
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saying or statement on the title page of a work, or used as a heading for a chapter or other section of work |
Epigraph
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inscription on a tombstone or burial place. |
Epitaph |
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term used to point out a characteristic of a person. Homeric epithets are often compound adjectives (swift-footed Achilles) that become an almost formulaic part of a name. They can be abusive or offensive, but are not so by definition. Athletes can be give epithets like “the rocket.” |
Epithet |
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formal speech praising someone who has died. |
Eulogy |
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indirect, less offensive way of saying something that is considered unpleasant (pass away instead of die). |
Euphemism |
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expresses strong feeling, usually punctuated with an exclamation mark. |
Exclamatory sentence |
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interjection to lend emphasis, sometimes profanity. |
Expletive |
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brief story that leads to moral, often using animals as characters. |
Fable |
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employs one or more figures of speech (simile, metaphor, imagery). |
Figurative language
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insertion of an earlier event into the normal chronological order of a narrative. |
Flashback |
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embodies a single quality and who does not develop in the course of a story. |
Flat character |
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presentation of material in such a way that the reader is prepared for what is to come later in the work. |
Foreshadowing |
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story within a story.
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Frame device |
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sermon or moralistic lecture. |
Homily |
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excessive pride or arrogance that results in the downfall of the protagonist of a tragedy. |
Hubris |
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intentional exaggeration to create an effect. |
Hyperbole
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raises a hypothesis, conjecture, or supposition. |
Hypothetical question |
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expression that can’t be understood from the literal meaning. (He kicked the bucket.)
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Idiom |
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: use of figures of speech to create vivid images that appeal to one of the senses. |
Imagery
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Suggestion an author makes without saying it (implies). |
Implication
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deriving general principles from particular facts or instances. (Every cat I’ve seen has four legs; cats are four-legged animals.) |
Inductive reasoning |
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conclusion based on evidence.
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Inference |
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intense, vehement, highly emotional attack.
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Invective |
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use of words to convey the opposite of their literal meaning; incongruity between what is expected and what happens. |
Irony
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specialized language or vocab. Of a particular group or profession. |
Jargon |
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placing two elements side by side to present a comparison or contrast.
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Juxtaposition
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light verse consisting of 5 lines of regular rhythm in which the first, second, and fifth lines (each has 3 feet) thyme, and the second and third lines (each consisting of two feet).
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Limerick
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he/she presents the story as it is seen and understood by a single character and restricts info. To what is seen, heard, thought, or felt by that one character.
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Limited narrator |
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deviating from normal rules or methods in order to achieve a certain effect, like intentional fragments.
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Literary license |
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understatement in which an idea is expressed by negating its opposite, like describing a horrible accident as it’s not a pretty picture.
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Litotes |
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mistaken substitution of one work for another word that sounds similar, like the doctor wrote a subscription instead of prescription.
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Malapropism
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offers advice, like an adage.
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Maxim
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direct comparison of two different things.
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Metaphor |
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substituting the name of one object for another closely associated with it, like the pen (writing) is mightier than the sword (fighting).
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Metonymy
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standard reoccurring theme, element, or dramatic situation in a piece.
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Motif
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inference that does not follow logically from the premises. (literally, does not follow)
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Non sequitur |
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sees, knows, and tells all, including the inner thoughts of the characters.
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Omniscient narrator |
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words formed from the imitation of natural sounds. Pow! |
Onomatopoeia
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expression where words contract each other. Jumbo shrimp.
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Oxymoron
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simple story that illustrates a moral or religious lesson.
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Parable |
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apparently contradictory statement that actually contains some truth. (Don’t go near the water until you learn how to swim.)
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Paradox |
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use of corresponding grammatical or syntactical forms.
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Parallelism
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restatement of text in a different form, usually for clarity.
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Paraphrase
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humorous imitation of a serious work.
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Parody
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comment that interrupts the immediate subject, often to qualify or explain. |
Parenthetical
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promotes feelings for pity
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Pathos |
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excessive display of learning or scholarship.
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Pedantic
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endowing nonhuman objects or creatures with human qualities or characteristics
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Personification
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strong verbal denunciation.
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Philippie
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use, for rhetorical effect, of more conjunctions than is necessary or natural.
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Polysyndeton
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play on words
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Pun
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art of presenting ideas in a clear, effective, and persuasive manner.
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Rhetoric
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asked merely for effect and not requiring an answer.
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Rhetorical question
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literary techniques used to heighten the effectiveness of expression
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Rhetorical devices
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describes a character or literary work that reflects the characteristics of Romanticism, the literary movement beginning in the late 18th century that stressed emotion, imagination, and individualism.
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Romantic
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demonstrates some complexity and develops or changes in the course of a work.
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Round character
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use of humor to emphasize human weaknesses or imperfections in social institutions
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Satire
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person or group blamed for another.
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Scapegoat
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time, place, and environment in which action takes place.
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Setting
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comparison of two things using like or as or other specifically comparative words.
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Simile |
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consisting of one independent clause.
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Simple sentence
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nonstandard grammar usage; violation of grammar rules.
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Solecism
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the choices a writer makes; the combination of distinctive features of a literary work.
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Style
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artistic movement emphasizing the imagination and characterized by incongruous juxtapositions and lack of conscious control.
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Surrealism
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construction in which one word is used in two different sense, like in after he threw the ball, he threw a fit.
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Syllepsis
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3 part deductive argument in which a conclusion is based on a major premise and minor premise. (A=C, B=A, therefore C=A)
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Syllogism
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using one part of an object to represent the entire object, like referring to a car as wheels.
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Synecdoche
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describing one kind of sensation in terms of another, like a loud color, a sweet sound.
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Synesthesias
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manner in which words are arranged into sentences.
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Syntax
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needless repetition which adds no meaning or understanding, like free gift.
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Tautology
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central idea of a work.
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Theme
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primary position taken by a writer.
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Thesis |
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a work in which the protagonist, a person of high degree, is engaged in a significant struggle and which ends in ruin or destruction.
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Tragedy
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overused and hackneyed
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Trite
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everyday speech of a particular county or region, often involving nonstandard usage.
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Vernacular
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