Download FIGURES OF SPEECH

ENGLISH BREW
FIGURES OF SPEECH
A figure of speech is a word or phrase
that moves away from usual language and
is used to create a more vivid and beautiful impact in an expression. There are
many forms of figures of speech. This
month we take up ONOMATOPOEIA.
What is Onomatopoeia?
Onomatopoeia is one or more words
that imply the source of the sound they are
describing i.e. a word that is onomatopoeic
makes a sound, when you say it. This sound
will resemble thing it is talking about. For
example, when you rattle a jar of dry beans
... the word 'rattle' describes the sound, and
it makes the sound when you say the word.
Similarly, a balloon will pop ... the word
'pop' makes the sound the balloon does.
But Onomatopoeia is not universally the
same across all languages; hence the
sound of a clock may be tick tock in English
and tik tak in Dutch or tic-tac in French.
the horn of an automobile, and vroom for
the engine. For animal sounds, words like
quack (duck), bark (dog), roar (lion) and
meow (cat) are typically used in English.
Some of these words are used both as
nouns and as verbs. Some examples of
Onomatopoeia used in prose are:
1. Listen to the buzz of the bee.
2. Click the button and take a picture.
3. Raj whooshed down the hill.
4. The rain went pitter-patter on the window.
5. There were birds chirping outside.
n Onomatopoeia plays a classic role in
enhancing the beauty of a poem. Here is
an instance of the use of onomatopoeia in
poetry:
STORMY WIND
Watch wild wind, whoosh!
Flap-flapping wet sheets
Endless shuffle of leaves
Shapes shift as gust greets
n Some very common English-language
examples include hiccup, zoom, bang,
beep, and splash. Machines and their
sounds are also often described with onomatopoeia, as in honk or beep-beep for
impromptu (adjective):
spontaneous – Though
impromptu his speech
impressed the audience.
impetus (noun): motivated or
momentum – The policy will
give an impetus to the future
projects.
implicit (adjective): definite –
It was an implicit decision that
worked out well.
impostor (noun):a person
who assumes a false character
or pretends to be someone
else – He lived as an impostor
till the law nabbed him.
immolate (noun):to offer or
kill as sacrifice – In protest
against the reservation policy,
many students tried to
immolate themselves.
immune (adjective):
unresponsive or protected
against a disease – He is
immune to the dangers of the
jungle.
impede (verb): to obstruct or
to hinder – Nothing could
impede Ram from achieving
his goal.
Lithe branches creak-creaking
Shrill-shrieking gale blows
n No word in the English
language rhymes with
month, orange, silver, and
purple.
Trivia
WORD
POWER
Wind-sucking horse gulps
Air, whistles through nose
Storm roars, rants, rages
Topples metal bin, crash!
Cylinder clickety-clacks
Rolls, stops at gate, bash!
n The word "dreamt" is
the only word in the English language that ends in
the letters 'mt'.
n The longest one-syllable word in the English language is "screeched."
n The word NEWS did not
come about because it was
the plural of 'new.' It came
from the first letters of the
words North, East, West
and South. This was because information was
being gathered from all
different directions.
ploughman strode through
the streets of borough,
coughing and hiccoughing
thoughtfully.
n "Ough" can be pronounced in eight different
ways. The following sentence contains them all: "A
rough-coated, dough-faced
n The sentence "The quick
n The only word with all
the vowels in reverse order
is subcontinental.
brown fox jumps over the
lazy dog." uses every letter
of the alphabet.
WORDS OF
WISDOM
“Yesterday is but today's memory, and tomorrow is today's
dream.”
“…Your living is determined not so much by what life brings
to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by
what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what
happens. Little knowledge that acts is worth infinitely more
than much knowledge that is idle.”
- Khalil Gibran (January 6, 1883 – April 10, 1931)
Khalil Gibran was a Lebanese American artist, poet, and writer. Born in the
town of Bsharri in modern-day Lebanon, Gibran immigrated with his family to
the United States where he studied art and began his literary career. He is
chiefly known for his 1923 book ‘The Prophet’, a series of philosophical essays
written in English prose. An ideal collection of inspirational quotes, the book
became extremely popular in the 1960s and continues to be inspirational
even today.
Young ExplorEr n august 2009 n
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