Oral language features

Here are some examples and definitions of language features that are prominent in speeches.

​Oral language features

“Who here has used a virtual reality headset?”

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​Example

A question asked in order to create a dramatic effect or to make a point rather than to get an answer.

​Definition

Rhetorical question

"Should students wear uniforms to school? Of course they should!"​

​Example

When the writer raises a question, and then immediately provides an answer to that question.

​Definition

Hypophora

"Our software is faster, cheaper and easier to use"

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​Example

When three related words or points are presented in quick succession.

​Definition

Rule of three

The ten most common modal verbs are: can, could, must, should, would, will, shall, ought, may, and must.

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​Example

A verb that expresses necessity, ability, permission, or possibility.

​Definition

Modal verbs

"You need to take this seriously"​

​Example

Where the speaker or writer communicates a message directly to another individual or group of individuals.

​Definition

Direct address

"Whisper words of wisdom, let it be."​

​Example

When a number of words, having the same first consonant sound, occur close together in a series.

​Definition

Alliteration

"Abandoned children found in filthy, flea-infested flat"​

​Example

Certain word choices that are made to evoke an emotional response.

​Definition

Emotive language

"In Emerson's later years his memory began increasingly to fail. He used to refer to it as his 'naughty memory' when it let him down, and he would forget the names of things."​

​Example

A short and interesting story, or an amusing event, which supports or demonstrates some point, and to make a connection with the audience.

​Definition

Anecdote

"So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania..."​

​Example

The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of a new clause or sentence.

​Definition

Anaphora

"the love of peace, the toil for peace, the strife for peace, the pursuit of peace"​

​Example

The repetition of words at the end of successive clauses or sentences.

​Definition

Antistrophe

"Our doubt is our passion, and our passion is our task."​

​Example

A word or phrase at the end of a one clause or sentence is repeated at the beginning of a new clause or sentence.

​Definition

Anadiplosis

"Our soldiers are as brave as lions"​

​Example

Makes a comparison, showing similarities between two different things. using “like” or “as.”

​Definition

Simile

"Love is a battlefield"​

​Example

Makes a comparison between two things that aren't alike but do have something in common using “is”, “was”, or “are”.

​Definition

Metaphor

Multiple Choice

“What should young people do with their lives today? Many things, obviously."

• Rhetorical question

• hypophora

• Metaphor

• Anaphora

Multiple Choice

“What made me take this trip to Africa? There is no quick explanation."

• Rhetorical question

• hypophora

• Metaphor

• Anaphora

Multiple Choice

"Life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly."

• Rhetorical question

• Hypophora

• Metaphor

• Anaphora

Multiple Choice

"You are sunlight and I moon."

• Rhetorical question

• Hypophora

• Metaphor

• Anaphora

Multiple Choice

"Life is pain, highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something."

• Rhetorical question

• Hypophora

• Metaphor

• Anaphora

Multiple Choice

“Be bold. Be brief. Be gone.”

• Rhetorical question

• Hypophora

• Metaphor

• Anaphora

Multiple Choice

“Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.”

• Rhetorical question

• Hypophora

• Metaphor

• Anaphora

Multiple Choice

"A time to be born, a time to die. A time to plant, a time to reap"

• Rhetorical question

• Hypophora

• Metaphor

• Anaphora

Multiple Choice

"If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?”

• Rhetorical question

• Hypophora

• Metaphor

• Anaphora

Multiple Choice

“Will no one tell me what she sings?”

• Rhetorical question

• Hypophora

• Metaphor

• Anaphora

Multiple Choice

“If you tickle us, do we not laugh?"

• Rhetorical question

• Hypophora

• Metaphor

• Anaphora

Multiple Choice

"Breakfast of champions"

• Hyperbole

• Simile

• Direct address

• Anadiplosis

Multiple Choice

"Red Bull gives you wings"

• Hyperbole

• Simile

• Direct address

• Anadiplosis

Multiple Choice

"That song is the worst thing I have ever heard."

• Hyperbole

• Simile

• Direct address

• Anadiplosis

Multiple Choice

"Love is like war: easy to begin but very hard to stop."

• Hyperbole

• Simile

• Direct address

• Anadiplosis

Multiple Choice

"Not forgiving is like drinking rat poison and then waiting for the rat to die."

• Hyperbole

• Simile

• Direct address

• Anadiplosis

Multiple Choice

“You should consider the implications of your actions on Australia’s chance of escaping marine ecosystem collapse.”

• Hyperbole

• Simile

• Direct address

• Anadiplosis

Multiple Choice

"You've been given a gift"

• Hyperbole

• Simile

• Direct address

• Anadiplosis

Multiple Choice

"You have a responsibility to do something"

• Hyperbole

• Simile

• Direct address

• Anadiplosis

Multiple Choice

"She opened a café, a café that ruined her financially."

• Hyperbole

• Simile

• Direct address

• Anadiplosis

Multiple Choice

"When you love, love with all your heart."

• Hyperbole

• Simile

• Direct address

• Anadiplosis

Multiple Choice

"Once you change your philosophy, you change your thought pattern. Once you change your thought pattern, you change your attitude."

• Hyperbole

• Simile

• Direct address

• Anadiplosis

Multiple Choice

"...they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

• Alliteration

• Emotive language

• Modal verbs

• Rule of three

Multiple Choice

"I see also the dull, drilled, docile, brutish masses"

• Alliteration

• Emotive language

• Modal verbs

• Rule of three

Multiple Select

“Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”

• Alliteration

• Emotive language

• Modal verbs

• Rule of three

Multiple Select

“You can unlock an entire world of online shopping that’s fast, convenient, and secure.”

• Alliteration

• Emotive language

• Modal verbs

• Rule of three