Language Techniques Revision

Onomatopoeia: Từ tượng Words which describe sounds that also sound like that which they describe.
thanh E.g. Crash, splash, howl, screech.

Assonance: Sự lặp lại của The repetition of vowel sounds in words and phrases.
nguyên âm giống hệt hoặc E.g. I must confess that in my quest I felt depressed and restless.
tương tự âm thanh trong các từ
lân cận
Simile: So sánh, đối chiếu The comparison of one thing as being ‘like’ or ‘as’ another, used to
describe a quality about that thing.
E.g. He ran like the wind.
She’s as cool as a cucumber.

Emotive language The deliberate (có chủ ý) choice of words which produce an emotional
response in the audience.
E.g. The victims were executed in cold blood.

Sensory imagery: Hình tượng Writing that describes objects, actions and ideas by appealing (thu hút) to
giác quan our five senses.
Examples:
 It was dark and dim (âm u) in the forest. – The words “dark” and
“dim” are examples of visual imagery.
 The children were screaming and shouting in the fields. -
“Screaming” and “shouting” are examples of auditory imagery.
 He whiffed (rít lên) the aroma (mùi thơm) of brewed coffee (cà
phê pha sẵn). – “whiff” and “aroma” are examples of olfactory
imagery (hình ảnh khứu giác).
 The girl ran her hands on a soft satin fabric (Cô gái lướt tay trên
nền vải satin mềm mại). – “soft” is an example of tactile imagery
(Hình ảnh xúc giác).
 The fresh and juicy oranges are very cold and sweet. – “juicy”
and “sweet” when associated (có liên quan đến) with oranges are
examples of gustatory imagery (hình ảnh vị giác).
Alliteration: phép điệp âm The repetition of consonants (phụ âm) in words or phrases.
E.g. Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled pepper.
Personification: nhân hoá Giving human qualities to inanimate (vô tri vô giác) objects.
E.g. It was time to go home but the bell refused to ring.
The trees danced back and forth in the moaning wind.

Metaphor: ẩn dụ A comparison that says one thing is another thing.

E.g. Your room is a pigpen!
Sibilance: âm "s" được lặp đi Making or having a sound like the letters ‘s’ or ‘sh’.
lặp lại nhiều lần liên tiếp E.g. She hissed like a snake. Sing a song of sixpence.

Hyperbole: cường điệu Huge exaggeration or overstatement (phóng đại).

E.g. You could have knocked me over with a feather.
Symbolism Often objects, colours, sounds and places work as symbols. They can
sometimes give us a good insight into the themes.
E.g. Snakes are often symbols of temptation (sự cám dỗ) (as in
the story of Adam and Eve) and white usually symbolises innocence (vô
tội).
Tone The attitude of a writer toward a subject or an audience. Tone is generally
conveyed through the choice of words, or the viewpoint of a writer on a
particular subject. For example, the tone of a text can be serious, comic,
sarcastic (châm biếm), sad, or cheerful, or it may be any other existing
 attitude.

Foreshadowing: báo trước Gives the reader a hint of something that is going to happen without
revealing the story or spoiling the suspense (hồi hộp). Foreshadowing is
used to suggest an upcoming outcome to the story.
E.g. “He had no idea of the disastrous (tai hại) chain of events to
follow.” In this sentence, while the protagonist (nhân vật chính) is
clueless (ko biết gì) of further developments, the reader learns that
something disastrous and problematic (có vấn đề) is about to happen to
him.