AICE English Language - Linguistic
Devices Exam Questions and Answers
purpose - ANS-One's intention or objective in a speech or piece of writing.
audience - ANS-the listener, viewer, or reader of a text
context - ANS-The circumstances, atmosphere, attitudes, and events surrounding a
text.
Tone - ANS-a writer's attitude toward the subject and audience. It is primarily conveyed
through diction, point of view, syntax, and level of formality
Figurative Language - ANS-language in which figures of speech (e.g. metaphors,
similes, and hyperbole) freely occur
Figures of Speech - ANS-the various uses of language that depart from customary
construction, order, or significance
Flashback - ANS-a shift in a narrative to an earlier event that interrupts from the normal
chronological development of a story
Foreshadowing - ANS-the use of hints and clues to suggest what will happen later in a
plot
Hyperbole - ANS-a figure of speech in which exaggeration is used for emphasis or
effect; an extravagant statement
Hypophora - ANS-a rhetorical term for a strategy in which a speaker or writer raises a
question and then immediately answers it
Idiom - ANS-a figure of speech that, when translated to another language, does not
maintain its culturally/socially accepted meaning
Imagery - ANS-vivid descriptive language that appeals to one or more of the senses
innuendo - ANS-an allusive or oblique remark or hint, typically a suggestive or
disparaging one
, Invective - ANS-denunciatory or abusive language; discourse that casts blame on
somebody or something
Irony - ANS-the use of words to convey the opposite of their literal meaning. A
statement or situation where the meaning is directly contradicted by the appearance or
presentation of the idea
Jargon - ANS-the specialized language of a professional, occupation, or other group,
often meaningless to outsiders
Juxtaposition - ANS-placing dissimilar items, descriptions, or ideas close together or
side by side, especially for comparison or contrast
Metaphor - ANS-a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between
two unlike things that actually have something important in common
Metonymy - ANS-a figure of speech in which one word or phrase is substituted for
another with which it is closely associated with (e.g. "crown" for "royalty)
Mood - ANS-the quality of a verb that conveys the writer's attitude toward a subject; the
emotion evoked by a text
neologism - ANS-a new word, expression, or usage; the creation or use of new words or
senses
Onomatopoeia - ANS-the formation or use of words that imitate the sounds associated
with the objects or actions they refer to
Oxymoron - ANS-a figure of speech in which incongruous or contradictory terms appear
side by side
Paradox - ANS-a statement that appears to contradict itself
Personification - ANS-a figure of speech in which an inanimate object or abstraction is
endowed with human qualities or abilities
perspective - ANS-(n.) a point of view or general standpoint from which different things
are viewed, physically or mentally; the appearance to the eye of various objects at a
given time, place, or distance
Point of View - ANS-the perspective from which a speaker or writer tells a story or
presents information
Polysyndeton - ANS-the use, for rhetorical effect, of more conjunctions than is
necessary or natural
Devices Exam Questions and Answers
purpose - ANS-One's intention or objective in a speech or piece of writing.
audience - ANS-the listener, viewer, or reader of a text
context - ANS-The circumstances, atmosphere, attitudes, and events surrounding a
text.
Tone - ANS-a writer's attitude toward the subject and audience. It is primarily conveyed
through diction, point of view, syntax, and level of formality
Figurative Language - ANS-language in which figures of speech (e.g. metaphors,
similes, and hyperbole) freely occur
Figures of Speech - ANS-the various uses of language that depart from customary
construction, order, or significance
Flashback - ANS-a shift in a narrative to an earlier event that interrupts from the normal
chronological development of a story
Foreshadowing - ANS-the use of hints and clues to suggest what will happen later in a
plot
Hyperbole - ANS-a figure of speech in which exaggeration is used for emphasis or
effect; an extravagant statement
Hypophora - ANS-a rhetorical term for a strategy in which a speaker or writer raises a
question and then immediately answers it
Idiom - ANS-a figure of speech that, when translated to another language, does not
maintain its culturally/socially accepted meaning
Imagery - ANS-vivid descriptive language that appeals to one or more of the senses
innuendo - ANS-an allusive or oblique remark or hint, typically a suggestive or
disparaging one
, Invective - ANS-denunciatory or abusive language; discourse that casts blame on
somebody or something
Irony - ANS-the use of words to convey the opposite of their literal meaning. A
statement or situation where the meaning is directly contradicted by the appearance or
presentation of the idea
Jargon - ANS-the specialized language of a professional, occupation, or other group,
often meaningless to outsiders
Juxtaposition - ANS-placing dissimilar items, descriptions, or ideas close together or
side by side, especially for comparison or contrast
Metaphor - ANS-a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between
two unlike things that actually have something important in common
Metonymy - ANS-a figure of speech in which one word or phrase is substituted for
another with which it is closely associated with (e.g. "crown" for "royalty)
Mood - ANS-the quality of a verb that conveys the writer's attitude toward a subject; the
emotion evoked by a text
neologism - ANS-a new word, expression, or usage; the creation or use of new words or
senses
Onomatopoeia - ANS-the formation or use of words that imitate the sounds associated
with the objects or actions they refer to
Oxymoron - ANS-a figure of speech in which incongruous or contradictory terms appear
side by side
Paradox - ANS-a statement that appears to contradict itself
Personification - ANS-a figure of speech in which an inanimate object or abstraction is
endowed with human qualities or abilities
perspective - ANS-(n.) a point of view or general standpoint from which different things
are viewed, physically or mentally; the appearance to the eye of various objects at a
given time, place, or distance
Point of View - ANS-the perspective from which a speaker or writer tells a story or
presents information
Polysyndeton - ANS-the use, for rhetorical effect, of more conjunctions than is
necessary or natural
