Cynicism originally meant the life-style of the ancient cynics, a philosophical current of antiquity. However, the term has now assumed a different meaning in the use of language. Whoever is cynical is highly mocking and violates his fellow human beings with his thoughts and utterances by disregarding or even ridiculing their moral values as well as the social conventions. Cynicism is based on radical skepticism (critical doubts) and pursues the intention to recklessly reduce the values and truths of others. Cynicism is related to irony and sarcasm, although there are differences.
Literary Devices
Twin rhyme
A rhyme style is referred to as twins. In the twins’ rhyme, word sequences are rhymed with each other, which have exactly the same character material, which is also arranged identically. However, the letters in the rhyme are not separated at identical places, thus creating other words. If, for example, the word sequence Alter Buimer is separated differently, it becomes Old Reimer. These two word sequences would rhyme with one another and, as they use the same type of material in an identical sequence, would be a twins’ rhyme.
Couplet
A two-line is a poem that consists of two lines of verse or a very brief communication in authorities to speed up internal processes. This does not have to consist of two lines; rather, it is about keeping as short a time as possible and by dispensing with decorations. In lyric, there is the distich, which consists of hexameter and pentameter.
Dilogy (Secondary)
A work, which is composed of two parts, is designated as a dilogy, also a second-hand, work. Such a dilogy can be a literary, cinematic, but also a musical work. However, the term is mostly used in connection with literary products (eg novels) as well as with regard to films. Often, the individual works of the second-hand work independently, which means that the action of the individual work is frequently completed in itself (see also: multipart).
Ikosalogy (Twenty Dividers)
An iconography, also a twentieth part, is an artistic work consisting of twenty interrelated parts. In the case of iconography, this can be a cinematic, literary or even musical piece, although there are only a few examples. It is essential for multi-parters of this kind that they do belong together, but generally function independently. This … Read more
Tongue-twister
Tonguebreakers are termed word sequences whose pronunciation is difficult and presents a challenge even for native speakers. In most cases this is a sequence of similar words, but they differ in certain syllables and are designed to make the speaker promise. Tongue breakers are often based on the same sound, alliteration or the combination of unusual words. Tongue breakers are generally called for amusement, but can also serve as an articulation exercise for moderators and professional speakers, or be used in spokespersons (see children’s rhymes).
Dirty joke
Zote is an indecent, humorous joke or a slippery, joking story that ends in a pointed way. The zote commonly violates good taste, often has a sexual content and is mostly in prose. Zoten is related to the joke, the joke, and the anecdote, even though they are fundamentally not reserved for any literary genre.
Zeugma
A rhetorical stylistic device is called Zeugma. The Zeugma originally described that the verb of a sentence is related to several objects. In the widest sense, however, the fact that a sentence part of the sentence refers to various words, word sequences or other sentences is called for. The stuffma is a form of the syllepse and a stylistic word-saving (cf. Brachylogie).
Central perspective
The central perspective, also the front perspective, is a way of creating space depth on a two-dimensional surface, which acts as if the space were three-dimensional. The central perspective creates the impression that the represented objects of an image behave as they would in reality under visual conditions. In this case, all the lines which enter the depth of the space run towards a vanishing point, which lies on the horizontal line. In this connection we speak of a shortening, since the lines which go into the depth are shown more briefly. The central perspective was developed in the Renaissance, which made the person depicted more realistic.
Caesura rhyme
A rhyme-form in memory is called a caesura-rhyme. Basically, three forms of the caesura rhyme are distinguished. Either here the words before the caesura of a line or the words before the caesura of two verses. In addition, the rhyme between a word before a caesura within the verse and the verse is called caesura rhyme.
Caesura
As a caesura in the verse (metric), a legally defined incision, that is, a short (speaking) pause, is designated within a verse. The caesura can be perceived as a syntactic, phonetic, and metrical incision. A distinction is made between caesura having a fixed position (e.g., Alexandrian) and movable caesura (e.g., blank verse).
Wortfeld
A word field is a group of words which have a similar meaning and belong to the same word type. The word field is to be distinguished from the word family. This includes words grouped around a same or similar word stem and having a common word root; however, the words of a word family do not have to have a similar meaning, but this applies to words from word fields.
Word family
The word family refers to words which are the same or similar tribe morphemes, that is, grouped around the same stem, and are historically based on the same word root (origin). However, words can belong to the same word family, ie have a similar origin, and yet have a completely different meaning. The meaning relation must therefore not be retained within a word family.
Speech
Word types, including word classes or spells, are one way of categorizing the individual words of a language. This means that they are grouped together because of their commonality. In German, there are ten types of words. One differentiates between variable (inflectable) and immutable (non-inflectable) types of words. In German, verbs, articles, nouns, pronouns, numerals, and adjectives are inflected; Adverbs, interjections, conjunctions, prepositions.
Repeat
Repetition, also repetitio, is a stylistic device found in all literary genres. Repetition is the repeated naming of the same word or a sequence of words in the same verse or in a stanza as well as in a short text section. There are different ways in which the respective element can be repeated. However, all have an amplifying effect on the receiver (reader, listener).
W questions
W questions are questions beginning with the letter W and are the basis of the essential work in many journalistic text forms and are the starting point of a research. By answering the usual W questions, an event can be completely reconstructed.
Vox nihili
As Vox nihili, also ghost word or ghostword, is meant a word which has arisen only by accidental printing, writing or pronunciation errors of the copyist or editor. Accordingly, a Vox nihili does not arise deliberately, but because of an error and thus has no real meaning. What is important is that a ghostword can be considered as such only if it has appeared in a publication which leads to the actual dissemination of the word, such as dictionaries or scientific papers, which are referenced and cited.
Vormärz
A period of German history is called Vormarz. The Vormarz is dated to the years before the March Revolution (1848), with different divisions being customary. He who comprehends the pre-war period in the broader sense locates it between 1815 and 1848, who takes it narrowly, means a period from 1830, also 1840, to 1848. The term is equally meant the literature of this time. Parallel to the radical-democratic Vormärz existed the rather conservative or even home-baked Biedermeier. The motives of the Vormarz were the demand for the equal treatment of all men, a democratic constitution and the freedom of the press, which was then subjected to censorship.
Operation Description
The description of the operation is intended to describe to the future reader an operation or process as detailed as possible, so that the latter can independently follow the described process and imitate it. The course description is introduced in the Department of German at the primary school in order to describe simple procedures.
Vokal
A vocal, also self-defined, is defined as a sound, in whose articulation, ie, the air, can escape unhindered from the mouth, which is why the speech apparatus does not narrow or close, as is the case with the so-called consonants. The German vowel letters include a, e, i, o, u and the umlauts. Diphthongs (au, ei, ui) belong to the vowels.
Word
The vocabulary is a single word of a (foreign) language. Accordingly, any word that does not count to the vocabulary of the mother tongue is a vocabulary. The term is used primarily in the context of the learning of foreign languages, since the main focus is on the memorization of new vocabulary. In the beginning the basic vocabulary of a language, which in most languages covers about 2000 words, is taught. Look up vocabulary in dictionaries. The word is also used synonymously for expression and name.
Tetralogy (four-part)
As tetralogy, also four-part, is called an artistic work, which consists of four parts. As a rule, this is a literary, cinematic or musical work, although the term is also applied to other fields. It is essential for such a quadrant that the parts of the four-part parts of the quadripartite are, however, mostly independent. This means that the action of the individual works of a tetralogy is usually completed in itself and is comprehensible without the knowledge of other parts (see Mehrteiler). Such four-part works are often films or extensive prose works, such as novel series.
Measure (Metrum)
The measure or metrum is a concept from the verse (metric). In this context, the measure describes the extent to which the individual syllables in each verse are accentuated or unstressed. In this way, the verses within a poem can, of course, influence the rhythm and structure, but also the mood and our reading.
History log
The history log is a form of logging, where the logger writes down the flow of a thing, event, or form. In doing so, the history log is always written in the form of a dot point and also in the present tense. In contrast to the results log, there is information about how the participants came to a conclusion.
Comparison
The comparison is a rhetorical stylistic medium used in works of any literary genre. A comparison is the direct countertransference of two or more facts, objects or linguistic images, which at least have a common feature. Comparisons are usually initiated with the words as and how, and can be used in the rhetoric for illustration, as well as intensify a thought process or describe an object in more detail.
Ut pictura poesis
Ut pictura poesis is a Latin twist that comes from the poet’s poetry Horaz. Ut pictura poesis can be translated as “How a picture [be] the poem”. In a modified form, theorem was already published by the Greek poet Simonides von Keos, but it gained an enormous popularity only through Horace’s treatise. Originally, the comparison pointed to the fact that poetry and painting resembled certain aspects, and yet it was misunderstood, especially in the Renaissance. In this epoch the saying was interpreted to the effect that lyric art should be as picturesque as possible. It was only Lessing who measured the two forms of autonomy, even if he preferred the art of poetry, pointing to the fact that poems were essentially word-work and that both arts were not to be equated.
Premiere
The first performance of a stage or piece of music in front of an audience is described as the premiere (abbreviated as U and UA), while the first performance of a film as a premiere and the first broadcasting in broadcasting (for example in the radio play) The title with the first performance is related. In contrast to the premiere, this means the first performance of a musical work or stage piece in a translation. Sometimes, however, the first performance at a different venue – at which the premiere of the work was not held – is also called the first performance (eg “First performance in Berlin”).
Unclean rhyme
An unclean rhyme, also semi-rhyme, is a rhyme style. In the unclean rhyme, syllables are rhymed, which are only approximately rhyme, so they are not exactly identical. In the unclean rhyme, therefore, the sequence of the rhyme syllables coincides only approximately, which becomes clear in vowels, less in consonants. Sometimes rhymes appear unclean in reading, but are pure in a mouth-watering pronunciation. The acceptance of impure rhymes varies in the literaturepochen.
Understatement
Understatement is called understatement. The understatement is a rhetorical stylistic which is used in all literary genres as well as in the diminution. In rhetoric the figure often appears together with the litotes, an affirmation by double negation, or uses the diminutive (reduction form). The counterpart is the hyperbola (exaggeration).
Embracing rhyme
The embracing rhyme is a rhyme scheme, which is formed from a definite sequence of final rhymes, such as the cross rhyme, pair rhyme or tail rhyme. The embracing rhyme is formed from at least three verses, the outer lines of the verse enclosing the inner lines or “embracing” (→ verse).
Tweet
Tweet is a message or status message that has been sent by the social network Twitter. A tweet is limited to 140 characters with spaces filled. Through the limitation, tweets are reminiscent of telegram-like short messages (see telegram style). The social network Twitter can thus be referred to as a microblogging service because it provides its users with only this limited number of characters. If a logged-in user sends a tweet, it is visible in his profile and is also displayed to the users who are connected to him – so-called followers – on an overview page. This bundles all messages from friends accounts. Users can access and display a tweet on their own profile, which is called retweet. When writing a tweet, so-called hashtags can be used to categorize the message. As a hashtag, a word chain is designated, preceded by a diamond sign (#) (eg #wordgroup).
Debris literature
A German literature of literature, which begins immediately after the end of the Second World War in 1945 and can be imitated until the beginning of the 1950s, will be described as rubble literature, also home literature and literature of the hour zero, and is subsequently replaced by more demanding forms. The representatives of the rubble literature had mostly returned home from the war and tried to draw a realistic and true picture of the world of the post-war period. At the same time, the language – which in the Nazi regime was regarded as an ideologue carrier – should not be lyrically transfigured, but clearly show the reality. Authors of the rubble literature portray the experiences of the war, but also show how the present in the post-war Germany presents itself to them. The language of prose was often denigrated by the Nazi period, which led to the creation of numerous lyrical works. Popular genres are the short story, the sonnet and the satire, while the drama contained only a few pieces, which found a large audience. The literary epoch of debris literature forms the prelude to what later is called “postwar literature.” Postwar literature can be documented in 1967.
Trope
Trope, also Tropus, is a conception of stylistic means in which what is said differs from what is said. The trope is thus a figure which does not directly name the meaning (eg, camel) with the actual word, but chooses an embellishing concept (for example, a desert ship) in order to decorate the language, make it appear more lively, or make it more vivid. Thus all the stylistic figures, which do not directly name what is meant, belong to the tropics. Among the most common tropes are allegory, euphemism, irony, metaphor, personification and synekdoche.
Trochee
The Trochaeus is one of the first to meet with us at school and in German. Several such verses form the metrum (→ verse) within a text. The metrum can rhythmize a text and thereby decisively influence our reading. In Trochthae follows an emphasized one unaccented syllable.
Trilogy
A trilogy, also a three-part, is a work that is composed of three parts. A trilogy can be a literary, cinematic or even musical work, although the term is also used in other areas. It is essential for the trilogy that its individual parts mostly function independently, which means that these have a common framework, but appear to be self-contained (see Mehrteiler). Consequently, trilogies are rarely interrupted by strong cliffhangers, which would interrupt the act shown.
Tricolon
The tricolor is a sentence, often a set of sentences, composed of three rhythmic speakers (Kola). Kolas are formed by speech by light interferences, and are interlocuting speech acts which rhythmify the language. The tricolor is therefore, in the widest sense, a triple figure or a three-part sentence, such as “I sit, I read, I think!”. If the parts of the tricolon are increased in content, this can signifi- cantly amplify a statement (see Klimax, Antiklimax).
Dieresis
Trema is a horizontal colon above a letter, as in French Noël. In principle, the points can be regarded as trema (Ä, Ö, Ü) by means of the German vowel letter, whereby they represent a changed pronunciation of the unmarked letter. The Trema is a diacritic sign. The diacritics are signs which are attached to letters and refer to a different emphasis or pronunciation.
Trecento
The 14th century in Italy is described as Trecento in art and literature. What is meant by the term, above all, the Protorenaissance, ie the first tendencies in architecture as well as in painting, imitated the ancient models. These tendencies can be demonstrated mainly in architecture, with the conceptual design and the marble cladding of buildings clearly mimicking ancient models, but this became the central design theme only several centuries later, that is, in the Renaissance. Other centuries related to the Italian Renaissance are called by art historians Duecento, Trecento, Quattrocento, Cinquecento and Seicento.
Treatise
A treatise on an arbitrary topic, which usually has an educational character, is called a treatise. As a rule, the treatise deals with spiritual, cultural, social and political, moral, scientific or even philosophical questions. In contrast to the essay with which the type of text is related, the purpose is in the foreground and not the aesthetic claim. Tracts are therefore prose. Once the treatise also meant flight and dispositions, today the term pamphlet is more common, also state treaties were designated as tracts.
Totum per parte
The Totum per parte is a rhetorical stylistic device and a special form of the Synekdoche as well as metonymy and belongs to the group of the tropics. As a totum per parte, we call a concept that is named after the whole, although it is actually only a part of it. The stylistic counterpart is the Pars pro toto, with a part for the whole.
Thesis
A thesis is a claim. The thesis is drawn up to initiate an argument and is regarded as the starting point of such an argument. It is thus the basis of a scientific work and must be proved by valid means. In dialectical argumentation, the logical counterpart of the thesis is antithesis.
Text analysis
The text analysis is one of the most important types of essay in the school or university and for a further processing of each text type. After all, the majority of German lessons consist of understanding, analyzing and interpreting various types of texts. Text analysis is about capturing the details of a text and its relationships with each other.
Tetralogy (four-part)
As tetralogy, also four-part, is called an artistic work, which consists of four parts. As a rule, this is a literary, cinematic or musical work, although the term is also applied to other fields. It is essential for such a quadrant that the parts of the four-part parts of the quadripartite are, however, mostly independent. This means that the action of the individual works of a tetralogy is usually completed in itself and is comprehensible without the knowledge of other parts (see Mehrteiler). Such four-part works are often films or extensive prose works, such as novel series.
Trio
A three-verse verse is described as a trio, also a three-string version. Characteristic is the trio, especially for the baroque sonnet, which consists of two quartets and two terzets. In the sonnet the terzets often follow the rhyme schema cdc / dcd, cde / cde and ccd / eed, whereas a three-line poem can have all the rhyme schemata, aba, rarer abb or aab. Nevertheless, there are no stipulated specifications. In music, the term means a composition for precisely three concurrent singing voices.
Telegraphese
A telegram style is a form of expression characterized by enormous brevity. The telegram style is determined by an almost concise concentration on the essentials. As a result, the insignificant filling words of a message are often omitted, often with articles, possessive and personal pronouns or auxiliary verbs as well as prepositions. It is typical of the dramas of the storm and the urge, as well as of expressionism and a form of brachylogy.
Teichoscopy
As pondoscopy, also called Mauerschau, is called a technical stylistic means in the drama. Pondoscopy means the fact that a happening that can not be shown on the stage is nevertheless conveyed. The trick here is that the happening is moved behind a wall (obstacle) that the viewer does not overcome. Some figures can see and report it.
Tautology
Als Tautologie wird ein rhetorisches Stilmittel bezeichnet, welches in Texten aller Art und literarischen Gattung auftauchen kann. Die Tautologie beschreibt entweder den Umstand, dass dasselbe mit einem anderen Ausdruck erneut gesagt wird oder aber, dass derselbe Sachverhalt mit gleichen Wörtern der gleichen Wortart wiederholt wird. Verwandt sind demzufolge Pleonasmus sowie Hendiadyoin.
Tautogram
The tautogram is a text whose words begin with the same initial letter. This makes the tautogram very memorable and is often used in advertising or in print media. Historically, however, the tautogram is a form of the poem. The tautogram is a special form of the alliteration (→ examples of the alliteration)
Constructio ad sensum
Constructio ad sensum, also Constructio kata synesin or synesis and synesis, is a grammatical conspicuousness that can also be used as stylistic means. The point is that sentences that are syntactically related to one another do not coincide in number, sometimes also in genus. Often, the stylistic figure is found when the speaker uses a singular term, which thus stands in the singular, and constructs the further proposition in the sense of the plural. However, this is also possible in reverse. In addition, the Constructio ad sensum can also occur through the superposition of the grammatical gender by the natural.
Synecdoche
The Synekdoche is a stylistic medium that encounters us in texts of all kinds and literary genre and belongs to the group of the tropics. The Synekdoche replaces one term with another one, which originates from the same field of meaning and is thus a part of the word itself, or an upper concept for this. Consequently, the meaning may be broad or narrow.