修辞学 第节优秀培训书.ppt

Summary As non-native learners of the English language, we often learn new words as they come, and fine-sounding words of many syllables often impress us their “profundity”. We like to “try out” these words in our writing, and ignore their appropriateness. The choice of one’s diction is, of course, determined by many factors. We do not usually talk about common everyday things or events in learned language. Neither can we avoid using learned words in scholarly, academic or legal discussions. The rule is to suit one’s diction to the occasion, and not to mix things up. Chapter One Lexical Devices Lexical Devices Introduction In this chapter, we will deal with lexical options, or the way writers choose their words to express their ideas clearly and effectively, in the appropriate context and situation. When we say “The pen is mighter than the sword ”, we really imply that words have power. A large vocabulary alone, however, does not give one words with power. It is one’s stock of vocabulary plus the knowledge of how to use words effectively and appropriately in the right place and to the right person that gives one the freedom and ability to influence with words. Short Words and Long Words Short words: monosyllabic words of Anglo-Saxon origin. Long words: polysyllabic words of Latin, French and Greek origin. Advice: Prefer the short one to the long one, or not use a long one where a short one will do. Short Words Pope: He did not object to using short words if they fitted the sense. “Words are like leaves; and where they most abound, much fruit of sense beneath is rarely found.” (Essay on Criticism) Hemingway: He also knew how to use short words to great effect, setting them off with a sprinkling of longer ones, as the following extracts from The Snows of Kilimanjaro show: “All right. Now he would not care for death. One thing he had always dreaded was the pain. He could stand pain as well as any man, until it went on too long, and wore hi