Figurative Language versus Literal Language - Assignment Example

Amphiboly An amphiboly is a misleading notion that relies on either a vague word or a grammatical formation and meant to puzzle or give a wrong impression to an audience. In essence, amphiboly is created from fallacies through modification of sentence structures in such a way that the sentence will have two or more meanings. A speaker may choose to create a sentence in a careless manner in order to arouse peoples’ attention for instance in an advert. An amphiboly is best demonstrated in the advert below.

“Four rooms apartments for rent inclusive of; cooking room, private phone, river sight and bathroom”. Someone might e tempted to think that the advert talks about a four bed roomed house that has a private phone, a private kitchen and a private bathroom. But in reality, the only thing that is private in this room is private phone. The other utilities are to be shared somewhere within the apartments. Analogy This is a logical argument which shows similarity between two things or situations while pointing out that if two things or situations are similar in one way, then they should be similar in others.

Example; after John was jailed, he felt like a fish out of water. This means the conditions under which John was is comparable to the conditions a fish moved out of water would be. It means that he was very uncomfortable as a fish would die outside water. Flame word Flame words are words that give an impression of an insult in their use. Flame words are used in conjunction with other figures of speech when a speaker wants to give an insulting comment. Example, “You are such a snob”. The phrase can often be misused to mean that though the speaker is a liar, the subject is a better liar.

This phrase may sometimes be misunderstood to mean an intentional accusation and cause a conflict. Metaphor It is a figure of speech that uses one thing to mean another. It is used to make a comparison between two things. For instance, “the old lady cried until he became a child”. Literally the audience may be tempted to think that the lady cried until he changed into a child but this is not true metaphorically. In fact, it means that he cried like a child. Hyperbole This is the use of exaggeration to produce a comic effect.

Hyperboles are therefore comparisons that are excessive and outrageous in nature. Example, “The comedy was so funny the crowd died of laughter”. The above sentence does not mean that anybody died. It rather means that fun was extreme so people laughed a lot. It is used to show extremity of actions or events. Simile “A simile is a figure of speech that gives a comparison between two dissimilar things to give a different meaning” (Myers & Smith, 2008). It uses the words “like or as” in comparison.

For example, he is a coward like a hyena or he is brave as a lion. The first example compares the cowardice of the subject to that of a hyena while the second example compares the subject’s gallantry to a lion’s bravery. Similes are used in speech to arouse the attention of the audience. Euphemism It is a polite term that is used in place of other words or phrases to pass harsh or unpleasant information to the audience. It can also be used to pass a harsh or bitter truth in a friendlier manner.

For instance, the old woman passed away yesterday. The words ‘passed away’