Metonymy and synedoche

 

 Metonymy and synedoche

 

Metonymy is a figure of speech in which something is called by a new name that is related in meaning to the original thing or concept. For example, it’s common practice to refer to celebrity life and culture in the United States as “Hollywood,” as in “Hollywood is obsessed with this new diet.” The meaning of this statement is not that the place itself has any obsession, of course, but instead refers to the celebrities and wannabe celebrities who reside there.

Common Examples of Metonymy

As noted above, “Hollywood” can act as a metonym for celebrity culture. There are many other place names that act metonymically in the same way, such as “Wall Street” for the financial sector and “Washington” for the United States government. However, there are many more words in common usage that are metonyms. Here are more examples of metonymy:

• The big house—Refers to prison
• The pen—Can refer to prison or to the act of writing
• Stuffed shirts—People in positions of authority, especially in a business setting
• The crown—a royal person
• The Yankees/The Red Sox/The Cowboys, etc.—any team name is regularly used as a metonym for the players on the team. This is a less obvious metonym because often the team name is a group of people (the Cowboys, for instance), yet of course the football players who make up the Dallas Cowboys are not, in fact, cowboys.
• The New York Times/Morgan Stanley/Wells Fargo, etc.—any organization or company name is often used to stand in for the people who work there, such as “The New York Times stated that…” or “Wells Fargo has decided….”

Difference Between Metonymy and Synecdoche

Metonymy and synecdoche are very similar figures of speech, and some consider synecdoche to be a specific type of metonymy. Synecdoche occurs when the name of a part is used to refer to the whole, such as in “There are hungry mouths to feed.” The mouths stand in for the hungry people. The definition of metonymy is more expansive, including concepts that are merely associated in meaning and not necessarily parts of the original thing or concept.

Metonymy is often confused with another figure of speech called synecdoche. They resemble each other but are not the same. Synecdoche refers to a thing by the name of one of its parts. For example, calling a car “a wheel” is a synecdoche. A part of a car i.e. “a wheel” stands for the whole car. In a metonymy, on the other hand, the word we use to describe another thing is closely linked to that particular thing, but is not a part of it. For example, “Crown” which means power or authority is a metonymy.

Metonymy is different from a metaphor. A metaphor draws resemblance between two different things as in “You are sunlight and I moon” – Sun And Moon from Miss Saigon. Sunlight (and moon) and human are two different things without any association but it attempts to describe one thing in terms of another based on a supposed similarity. Metonymy, however, develops relation on the grounds of close associations as in “The White House is concerned about terrorism.” The White House here represents the people who work in it.

Examples of Metonymy in Everyday Life

We use metonymy frequently in our everyday life. For a better understanding, let us observe a few metonymy examples:

• England decides to keep check on immigration. (England refers to the government.)
• The pen is mightier than the sword. (Pen refers to written words and sword to military force.)
• The Oval Office was busy in work. (“The Oval Office” is a metonymy as it stands for people at work in the office.)
• Let me give you a hand. (Hand means help.)

Function of Metonymy

Generally, metonymy is used in developing literary symbolism i.e. it gives more profound meanings to otherwise common ideas and objects. By using metonymy, texts exhibit deeper or hidden meanings and thus drawing readers’ attention.  In addition, the use of metonymy helps achieve conciseness. For instance, “Rifles were guarding the gate” is more concise than “The guards with rifles in their hands were guarding the gate.”
Furthermore, metonymy, like other literary devices, is employed to add a poetic color to words to make them come to life. The simple ordinary things are described in a creative way to insert this “life” factor to the literary works.

Synecdoche

A synecdoche is a type of trope, which is a figure of speech. When used in literature, a synecdoche will add to the visual imagery of the passage and enhance the reader’s experience.    

Synecdoche Forms

There are several different forms of synecdoche examples including:

• A synecdoche may use part of something to represent the entire whole.
• It may use an entire whole thing to represent a part of it.  
• It can use a word or phrase as a class that will express less or more than the word or phrase actually means.  
• It may use a group of things that refer to a larger group or use a large group to refer to a smaller group.  
• A synecdoche may also refer to an object by the material it is made from or refer to the contents in a container by the name of the container.  

Here are examples of each type of synecdoche.

Part to Represent Whole

It is common in our language for part of something to be used to represent the whole.
For example:

• The word “bread” can be used to represent food in general or money (e.g. he is the breadwinner; music is my bread and butter). 
• The word “sails” is often used to refer to a whole ship.
• The phrase "hired hands" can be used to refer to workmen.
• The word "head" refers to cattle.
• The word "wheels" refers to a vehicle.

Whole to Represent a Part

Using the whole to refer to a part is also a common practice in speech today.
For example:

• At the Olympics, you will hear that the United States won a gold medal in an event. That actually means a team from the United States, not the country as a whole.  
• If “the world” is not treating you well, that would not be the entire world but just a part of it that you've encountered.
• The word "society" is often used to refer to high society or the social elite.
• The word "police" can be used to represent only one or a few police officers.
• The "pentagon" can refer to a few decision-making generals.
• "Capitol Hill" refers to both the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives.  

Class as Representing the Whole

A large group or class is sometimes used to represent a portion of it.

• One example of this is referring to the United States as “America” when the “Americas” is actually made up of many countries.
• "Milk" is commonly used to refer to cow's milk when, in reality there are many sources of milk.

Specific Part Representing A Whole

Sometimes a specific thing is used to denote an entire class or group of things.

• Asking someone to put their “John Hancock” on a document refers to anyone putting their signature there.  
• It is fairly common in the United States to refer to any carbonated beverage as “Coke”.
• Facial tissue is often referred to as "Kleenex"

Material Representing an Object

The material used to make something, or that was used in the past, is often used to represent the entire object.
For example:

• Silverware or dishes made of silver may be called “silver” even if they aren't sold silver. 
• The word “plastic” is commonly used to refer to credit cards.
• The word "ivories" is often used to denote piano keys, even though the keys are no longer made of ivory.
• When a golfer plays with their "woods" they are referring to their longest golf clubs.
• The word "lead" is commonly used to refer to bullets.

Container Representing its Contents

Lastly, the name of a container may be used to denote its contents.

• One example is using the word “barrel” for a barrel of oil or beer.
• A "keg" is used to refer to a keg of beer.   

Synecdoche vs Metonymy

It is easy to confuse synecdoche and metonymy because they both use a word or phrase to represent something else. They could also both be considered metaphors because the word or words used are not taken literally.
However:

• A synecdoche uses part for the whole or the whole for a part.
• A metonymy is a substitution where a word or phrase is used in place of another word or phrase. A good example is the phrase “The pen is mightier than the sword.” The word “pen” substitutes for written work, and the word “sword” substitutes for violence or warfare.  

So, now you have many examples and can recognize a synecdoche when you see one.

Read more at http://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples-of-synecdoche.html#YM9r2rplSGOI80E6.99

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antonomasia

I. What is Antonomasia?

Antonomasia (pronounced an-tuh-nuh–mey-zhuh) is a literary term in which a descriptive phrase replaces a person’s name.  Antonomasia can range from lighthearted nicknames to epic names.

The phrase antonomasia is derived from the Greek phrase antonomazein meaning “to name differently.”



II. Examples of Antonomasia

Oftentimes, antonomasia is used to call attention to a certain characteristic.

Example 1

Imagine that you have a friend who is a fantastic chef, and you want to say hello.

Normal sentence:

“Oh, look! Sam’s arrived!”

Sentence with Antonomasia:

“Oh, look! The great chef has arrived!”

Here, the use of antonomasia allows you to greet your friend with a nickname which also reveals something about his character: he’s a great chef.



Example 2

For another example, consider that you have a grumpy teacher:

Normal sentence:

“He’s grumpy, boring, doesn’t want to listen to anyone, and definitely doesn’t want to help anyone.”

Sentence with Antonomasia:

“Mr. Grumps doesn’t want to listen to anyone, and definitely doesn’t want to help anyone.”

Replacing the teacher’s actual name with his defining characteristic, grumpiness, serves to highlight just how much the mood is associated with the man.



Example 3

For a commonly use example of antonomasia, consider two women discussing men:

Normal sentence:

“He’s such a good guy. I enjoy his company so much! I just hope he’s the right guy for me.”

With the addition of antonomasia, we can emphasize the quality she hopes to find in this man:

Sentence with Antonomasia:

“He’s such a good guy. I enjoy his company so much! I just hope he’s Mr. Right.“

Giving a man the title “Mr. Right” is an everyday example of antonomasia in conversation.



III. The importance of using Antonomasia

Antonomasia can provide someone with a strong epithet which further celebrates and memorializes their great deeds. In advertising and pop culture, such wording can also further celebrate the famous, such as The Beatles as “The Fab Four.”

Uses for antonomasia vary slightly depending on the time period. In the past, antonomasia would be used to designate class members, as oftentimes people’s names were linked to their professions. Antonomasia was also used in the past to give positive names to strong warriors and negative names to weak or nasty people.

Here are a few examples of antonomasia in the past:

Aristotle as “The Philosopher”
Winston Churchill as “The Great Commoner”
William Shakespeare as “The Bard”
In this way, the past is similar to the present, as we tend to use antonomasia purely for enjoyment and fun with nicknames.





https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonomasia

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onomatopoia

What is Onomatopoeia?

Onomatopoeia is a word that imitates the sound or suggests the source of the sound that it describes. It is commonly used in comic strips as action sounds and in nursery rhymes.

Examples of Using Onomatopoeia

 Buzz – for a bee

 Hiss – for a snake

 Moo – for a cow

 Woof – for a dog

 Pow – for a punch

 Whoosh – for a rocket taking off

 Tick-tock – for a clock


Onomatopoeia Definition
Onomatopoeia is defined as a word, which imitates the natural sounds of a thing. It creates a sound effect that mimics the thing described, making the description more expressive and interesting.

For instance, saying, “The gushing stream flows in the forest” is a more meaningful description than just saying, “The stream flows in the forest.” The reader is drawn to hear the sound of a “gushing stream” which makes the expression more effective.

In addition to the sound they represent, many onomatopoeic words have developed meanings of their own. For example, “whisper” not only represents the sound of people talking quietly, but also describes the action of people talking quietly.

Common Examples of Onomatopoeia
The buzzing bee flew away.
The sack fell into the river with a splash.
The books fell on the table with a loud thump.
He looked at the roaring sky.
The rustling leaves kept me awake.
The different sounds of animals are also considered as examples of onomatopoeia. You will recognize the following sounds easily:

Meow
Moo
Neigh
Tweet
Oink
Baa


Groups of Onomatopoeic Words
Onomatopoeic words come in combinations as they reflect different sounds of a single object. For example, a group of words reflecting different sounds of water are; plop, splash, gush, sprinkle, drizzle, drip etc.

Similarly, words like growl, giggle, grunt, murmur, blurt, chatter etc. denote different kinds of human voice sounds.

Moreover, we can identify a group of words related to different sounds of wind, such as; swish, swoosh, whiff, whoosh, whizz, whisper etc.





http://literarydevices.net/onomatopoeia/

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blending

In linguistics, a blend word or a blend is a word formed from parts of two or more other words. These parts are sometimes, but not always, morphemes.

Blends abridge then combine lexemes to form a new word. Defining a true blend is complicated by the difficulty of determining which parts of the new word are "recoverable" (have roots which can be distinguished).[1]

Blends can be divided into three groups

Phonemic Overlap: a syllable or part of a syllable is shared between two words


Clipping: two words are shortened then compounded


Phonemic Overlap and Clipping: two words are shortened to a shared syllable and then compounded


What is Blending?

Blending is a process of forming a new word by taking and combining parts (e.g. syllables) of two (rarely, three or more) source words. The new word formed is called a blend.

What are the types of Blend?

Blends, according to Plag , come in two types: Proper blends and Improper blends.

1. Improper Blends

 the meaning of the first word is modified when combined with the other word. The new word carries the meaning of the second word (i.e. breathalyzer is a kind of analyzer, not a kind of breath).

Examples:

breath + analyzer = breathalyzer
motor + camp = mocamp
motor + hotel = motel


2. Proper Blends

In this type, the new word contains the combined meaning of both source words. For instance, a boatel is both a boat and a hotel.

breakfast + lunch = brunch
channel + tunnel = chunnel
modulator + demodulator = modem
stagnation + inflation = stagflation
sheep + goat = shoat
prim + sissy = prissy
motor + cavalcade = motorcade
cybernetic + organism = cyborg
chuckle + snort = chortle
spoon + fork = spork
web + seminar = webinar
education + entertainment = edutainment
sex + expert = sexpert
guess + estimate = guesstimate
travel + monologue = travelogue
California + fornication = Californication



How to Use Blending?

Most clipped compounds are blends. Strictly, however, complex clipping is done by preserving and combining initial parts (or first syllables) of a compound word, likesitcom in "situation comedy", not by joining inital and ending syllables, like the blend travelogue from "travel" and monologue




.http://www.brighthubeducation.com/esl-lesson-plans/59679-forming-new-words-compounds-clipping-and-blends/

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acronymy

An acronym (pronounced AK-ruh-nihm, from Greek acro- in the sense of extreme or tip and onyma or name) is an abbreviation of several words in such a way that the abbreviation itself forms a pronounceable word. The word may already exist or it can be a new word. Webster's cites snafu and radar, two terms of World War Two vintage, as examples of acronyms that were created.

According to the strictest definition of an acronym, only abbreviations that are pronounced as words qualify. So by these standards, for example, COBOL is an acronym because it's pronounced as a word but WHO (World Health Organization) is not an acronym because the letters in the abbreviation are pronounced individually. However, opinions differ on what constitutes an acronym: Merriam-Webster, for example, says that an acronym is just "a word formed from the initial letters of a multi-word name."

Frequently, acronyms are formed that use existing words (and sometimes the acronym is invented first and the phrase name represented is designed to fit the acronym). Here are some examples of acronyms that use existing words:

BASIC (Beginner's All-Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code)
NOW (National Organization for Women)
OASIS (Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards)
Abbreviations that use the first letter of each word in a phrase are sometimes referred to as initialisms. Initialisms can be but are not always acronyms. AT&T, BT, CBS, CNN, IBM, and NBC are initialisms that are not acronyms. Many acronym lists you'll see are really lists of acronyms and initialisms or just lists of abbreviations. (Note that abbreviations include shortened words like "esp." for "especially" as well as shortened phrases.)

Summing up:

An abbreviation is a shortening of a word or a phrase.
An acronym is an abbreviation that forms a word.
An initialism is an abbreviation that uses the first letter of each word in the phrase (thus, some but not all initialisms are acronyms).
Furthermore:

An acronym so familiar that no one remembers what it stands for is called an anacronym (For example, few people know that COBOL stands for Common Business Oriented Language.)
An acronym in which one of the letters stands for the actual word abbreviated therein is called a recursive acronym. (For example, VISA is said to stand for VISA International Service Association.)
An acronym in which the short form was original and words made up to stand for it afterwards is called a backronym. (For example, SOS was originally chosen as a distress signal because it lent itself well to Morse code. Long versions, including Save Our Ship and Save our Souls, came later.)
An acronym whose letters spell a word meaningful in the context of the term it stands for is called an apronym. (For example, BASIC, which stands for Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code, is a very simple programming language.)


Acronym                Meaning
ASAP                  As Soon As Possible
BTW                  By The Way
FWIW                  For What It's Worth
FYI                         For Your Information
IMHO            In My Humble Opinion
IMO                  In My Opinion
LOL                  Laughing Out Loud
ROTFL                Rolling On The Floor Laughing




http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/A/acronym.html

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Clipping

What is Clipping?

Clipping is a process of shortening a word by omitting one or two of its parts (i.e. beginning, middle, or ending letters/syllables) while retaining its original meaning. This word-formation process does not create new meanings rather it provides stylistic value. Each type is discussed below, from the most common to the least. 

New words are formed within a culture when phrases and words are shortened, or ‘clipped,’ and used commonly over time.  Read on to find out more about this grammatical term called ‘clipping’.

Clipping occurs when the original word is reduced to one of its parts, resulting in the formation of a new word.  This process is also referred to as ‘truncation’ and ‘shortening.’  In clipping, the word is shortened but the meaning remains the same. 

Clipping historically originated among professional groups such as the police, medical profession, schools and army.  Clipping that becomes Standard English tends to originate from affluent social classes.  Clippings used by less wealthy and/or educated social classes tend to remain as slang.

There are four main types of clipping.  These include back clipping, fore-clipping, middle clipping and complex clipping.  Below, please find definitions and examples of each.

1. Back clipping: In back clipping, the first part of the word is kept. 

Blackclipping (Apocopation) is the loss of one or more syllables at the end of a word. 

Examples of back clipping include:

   pop (popular music)

   fax  (facsimile)

   gym  (gymnasium)

   memo (memorandum)

   ad (advertisement)

   demo (demonstration)

2.  Fore-clipping: In fore-clipping, the last part of the word is kept.

Foreclipping (Aphaeresis) refers to the omission of one or more syllables at the beginning of a word. 

Examples of fore-clipping include:

  chute (parachute)

  phone (telephone)

  site (website)

  plane (airplane)

  copter (helicopter)

  burger (hamburger)

  bulb (light bulb)

      3. Middle clipping:  In middle clipping, the middle of the word is kept.

Middle Clipping (Syncope) retains the middle part of a word, getting rid of the beginning and ending parts.

Examples of middle clipping include:

fridge (refrigerator)

flu (influenza)

tec (detective)

jams (pajamas)

fridge (refrigerator)

     4.   Complex clipping: In complex clipping, part of the original compound is kept.

Complex Clipping is the shortening of a compound word by preserving and combining its initial parts (or first syllables).

Examples of complex clipping include

 photo-op (photo opportunity)
 rom com (romantic comedy)

sci-fi (science fiction)

midcult (middlebrow culture)

sitcom (situation comedy)

forex (foreign exchange)

frag (fragmentation grenade)

garbo (garbage man)

govvy (government-run or sponsored)

grandma (grandmother)

grandpa (grandfather)

chum (chamber fellow)

antilog (antilogarithm)

perm (permanent wave)

shrink (head shrinker) 

See if you can recognise some of these words when you practise conversational English.  The next time you hear one, you may recall the word or words from which it was derived.   

http://www.stgiles-international.com/student-services/english-language-tips/clippings-definitions-and-examples/

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compounding

compounding

That is, in familiar terms, compounding occurs when two or more words are joined together to make them one word. The meaning of the compound may be very different from the meanings of its components in isolation.

In language studies, compounding is the process of combining two words (free morphemes) to create a new word (commonly anoun, verb, or adjective). Also called composition.Compounds are written sometimes as one word (sunglasses), sometimes as two hyphenated words (life-threatening), and sometimes as two separate words (football stadium).

Types of Compounds

 A.compound words 

in morphology, a compound word is made up of two or morewords that express a single idea and function as a single word.

The most common types of compound words in English arecompound nouns (e.g., cheeseburger), compound adjectives("red-hot temper"), and compound verbs ("waterproof the deck").

1.  CLOSED COMPOUND WORDS

 formed when two unique words are joined together do not have a space between them  examples:

• I love the fireworks on the fourth of July.

 • Make sure you hold hands when you come to the crosswalk.

• The ocean was bathed in moonlight.

 others examples: football , anybody , everything , inside , upside , railroad etc.

 2.  OPEN COMPOUND WORDS

have a space between the words  a new meaning is formed when they are read together examples :

 • Ice cream is my favorite dessert.

 • There must be a full moon out tonight.

  others examples : middle class , cave in , real estate , half sister  etc.

  3.    HYPHENATED COMPOUND WORDS

 connected by a hyphen

 examples :

 • My mother-in-law is coming for a visit.

 • Some over-the-counter drugs can have serious side effects.

 others examples : one-half , merry-go-round , well-being etc.

One-half	Mother-in-law
Eighty-six	One-third
Merry-go-round	Well-being
Mass-produced	Over-the-counter
Daughter-in-law

B. Compound Adjective

A compound adjective is made up of two or more words (such aspart-time and high-speed) that act as a single idea to modify anoun (a part-time employee, a high-speed chase). Also called a phrasal adjective or a compound modifier.

As a general rule, the words in a compound adjective arehyphenated when they come before a noun (a well-known actor) but not when they come after (The actor is well known).

Also, compound adjectives formed with an adverb ending in -ly(such as rapidly changing) are usually not hyphenated.

C.Compound Noun

Two or more nouns combined to form a single noun.

Compound nouns are written as separate words (grapefruit juice), as words linked by ahyphen (sister-in-law), or as one word (schoolteacher).

A compounded noun whose form no longer clearly reveals its origin (such as bonfire ormarshall) is sometimes called an amalgamated compound. Many place names (or toponyms) are amalgamated compounds: e.g., Norwich (north + village) and Sussex (south + Saxons).

D.Compound Verb

(1) In English grammar, a compound verb is made up of two or more words that function as a single verb. Conventionally, verb compounds are written as either one word ("to housesit") or two hyphenated words ("to water-proof"). Also called a compound (orcomplex) predicate.

(2) Similarly, a compound verb can be a phrasal verb or aprepositional verb that behaves either lexically or syntacticallyas a single verb. In such cases, a verb and its particle may be separated by other words ("drop the essay off"). This structure is now more commonly known as a multi-word verb.

(3) The term compound verb can also refer to a lexical verb along with its auxiliaries; in traditional grammar, this is called a verb phrase.

E.Exocentric Compound

In morphology, an exocentric compound is a compound construction that lacks a head word: that is, the construction as a whole is not grammatically and/or semantically equivalent to either of its parts. Also called a headless compound. Contrast with endocentric compound (a construction that fulfills the same linguistic function as one of its parts).

Put another way, an exocentric compound is a compound word that's not a hyponym of its grammatical head. As discussed below, one well-known type of exocentric compound is the bahuvrihi compound (a term that is sometimes treated as a synonym for exocentric compound).

Linguist Valerie Adams illustrates exocentricity in this way: "The term exocentric describes expressions in which no part seems to be of the same kind as the whole or to be central to it. 

The noun change-over is exocentric, and so are 'verb-complement' noun compounds like stop-gap, along with adjective + noun and noun + noun compounds like air-head, paperback, lowlife.

F. Rhyming Compound

A compound word that contains rhyming elements, such as blackjack, fuddy duddy, pooper-scooper, and voodoo. Also called rhyme-motivated compounds.

Rhyming compounds (subtype of compounds)
These words are compounded from two rhyming words.

Examples:

lovey-dovey
chiller-killer

There are words that are formally very similar to rhyming compounds, but are not quite compounds in English because the second element is not really a word--it is just a nonsense item added to a root word to form a rhyme.

Examples:

higgledy-piggledy

tootsie-wootsie 

Kenneth Wilson notes that rhyming compounds are "catchy and surprisingly durable self-imitating words such as nitty-gritty, hanky-panky, hurdy-gurdy, nambypamby, and itty-bitty"  

G. Root Compound and Synthetic Compound

In morphology, a root compound is a compound construction in which the head element is not derived from a verb. Also called aprimary compound or an analytic compound. Contrast withsynthetic compound.

Root compounds are made up of free morphemes, and the semantic relation between the two elements in a root compound is not inherently restricted.

In morphology, a synthetic compound is a type of compound that parallels a verbal construction, with the head derived from a verband the other element functioning as an object. Also known as averbal compound. Contrast with root compound.

Synthetic compounding is a type of word formation in whichcompounding and derivation are combined.

According to Rochelle Lieber, "The thing that distinguishes synthetic from root compounds, and therefore that drives the interpretation of synthetic compounds, is the fact that the secondstem of a synthetic compound is by definition a deverbal derivation, and in deverbal derivations we often have more than one argument available for co-indexing. Further, those arguments, by virtue of being verbal arguments, have distinctive thematic interpretations which contribute to the interpretation of any co-indexed stem" (Morphology and Lexical Semantics. Cambridge University Press, 2004).

•      H. Suspended Compound
  In English grammar, a suspended compound is a set ofcompound nouns or compound adjectives in which an element common to all members is not repeated. Also called suspensive hyphenation.
  A hyphen and a space follow the first element of a suspended compound. (A hyphen with a space after it is called a hanging hyphen.)
• 
  

COMPOUNDING

• noun-noun compound: note + book → notebook
• adjective-noun compound: blue + berry → blueberry
• verb-noun compound: work + room → workroom
• noun-verb compound: breast + feed → breastfeed
• verb-verb compound: stir + fry → stir-fry
• adjective-verb compound: high + light → highlight
• verb-preposition compound: break + up → breakup
• preposition-verb compound: out + run → outrun
• adjective-adjective compound: bitter + sweet → bittersweet
• preposition-preposition compound: in + to → into

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