“Yes, he ate the dog on this”, “but time is running”, “the whole city has gathered here” ... We are so used to such phrases in spoken and written speech that we don’t even notice the speech and path figures used here. Moreover, many people are not even aware of their existence. Meanwhile, the paths and figures of speech occupy such an important and lasting place in our lives that it would be rather difficult to imagine even ordinary everyday conversation without them ...
The figures of speech are all the syntactic and lexical tools we use that are needed to give the text brightness and expressiveness.
The speech figures that use manipulations with words, sentences and punctuation marks are referred to syntactic:
- inversion (violation of the classical
word order). "The doorman past him with an arrow";
- antithesis (speech turnover using contrast). "I had a black scarf, and my sister Masha - white";
- zevgma (use among
homogeneous members of elements that are knocked out of the general series in meaning). "He took three weeks off and a ticket to Menton;"
- anaphora and epiphora (the technique of repeating the same structures at the beginning or end of several sentences in a row). "The sun is shining in that valley. Happiness awaits in that valley", "The forest is not that! - The bush is not that! - The thrush is not that!";
- gradation (the arrangement of elements according to the degree of increase or decrease in their significance).
"Came, saw, won!" ;
- ellipsis (omission of the offer member, which is implied in the context). “From the station he is right here” (the verb is missing);
- rhetorical questions, appeals and exclamations. “Is there any sense in our life?”, “Come, spring, come here soon!”;
- parcel (breaking the proposal into parts, each of which is made out as a separate proposal). "And so. I returned home. There. Where I was. Young."
The lexical figures of speech include those that use a “game” with the semantic meanings of words:
- synonyms and antonyms (words similar / opposite in meaning). "Red, scarlet, purple colors," "Is he cheerful or sad?";
- hyperbole and litota (artistic exaggeration / understatement). "The whole world froze in anticipation," "Adorable Spitz, no more than a thimble";
- occasionalisms (words first introduced by the author). “Click me a picture”;
- metaphor (hidden comparison based on giving one subject the properties of another). "A bee from a wax cell flies after a tribute to the field";
- oxymoron (a combination of mutually exclusive words). "Young grandmother, who are you?";
- personification (giving the inanimate object the qualities of the living). "Winter came, and the forest fell asleep, to awaken only with the spring sun";
- periphrase (replacing the word itself with a value judgment or description). "I am returning to my favorite city on the Neva";
- epithet (figurative definition). "Its coming - il is empty, il is dark."
The figures of speech illustrate the richness of the Russian language and help not only to express their individual attitude to the subject, but also to show it from a new perspective. They give the text vividness and spontaneity, and also help to identify the author's point of view. Therefore, it is necessary to be able to recognize and use speech figures, because without them our language can become dry and soulless.