Metalanguage: Semantics

Question 1

Puns

Answer 1

Lexical ambiguity or semantic closeness is exploited for a humorous effect.

“I was going to make a joke about mozzarella, but it was too cheesy”

Question 2

Figurative language

Answer 2

Language that deviates from the literal meaning or denotation

Question 3

Irony

Answer 3

When a speaker says one thing or means another

‘Just what I need, another SAC’

Question 4

Metaphor

Answer 4

Using one semantic domain to help explain another.
“marriage is war”
“life is like a box of chocolates”

Question 5

Oxymoron

Answer 5

Contradictory words are combined and juxtaposed.

Question 6

Simile

Answer 6

Comparing elements to highlight their similarities.
“I slept like a baby”
“That computer screen is as bright as your future”

Question 7

Hyperbole

Answer 7

A figure of speech which involves exaggerated statements.
“I’ve done this a thousand times”
“This is going to kill me”

Question 8

Personification

Answer 8

To attribute human qualities to inhuman things.
“The wind whispers”

Question 9

Animation

Answer 9

Bringing inanimate objects to life through language based in motion.
“The music bounces out of the page”

Question 10

Lexical ambiguity

Answer 10

A word with two or more possible meanings.
‘bank’ may refer to a bank for money or a riverbank.

Question 11

Idiom

Answer 11

Commonly used phrases without literal meaning.

“Children are the apple in the eyes of their parents”

Question 12

Denotation and Connotation

Answer 12

Denotation: The literal dictionary definition of a word.

Connotation: A set of associations to which a word is attributed over time. “peace” and “democracy” have positive connotations whereas “authoritarianism” has negative connotations.