About the term used in linguistics the term used in rhetoric Circumlocution In linguistics , periphrasis is a device by which a grammatical category or grammatical relationship is expressed by a free morpheme typically one or more function word s modifying a content word , instead of being shown by inflection or derivation linguistics derivation . For example, the English language English future tense is periphrastic it is formed with an auxiliary verb shall or will followed by the base form of the main verb. Another example is the comparative and superlative forms of adjectives, when they are formed with the words more and most rather than with the suffix es er and est the forms more beautiful and most beautiful are periphrastic, while lovelier and loveliest are not. ref cite book title A Student s Dictionary of Language and Linguistics last Trask first R. L. publisher Arnold isbn 0 340 65266 7 year 1997 location London page 166 ref Periphrasis is a characteristic of analytic language s, which tend to avoid inflection. Even synthetic language s, which are highly inflected, sometimes make use of periphrasis to fill out an inflectional paradigm that is missing certain forms. ref cite book last Stump first Gregory T. authorlink Gregory Stump chapter Inflection title The Handbook of Morphology editor Andrew Spencer and Arnold M. Zwicky eds. pages 13 43 year 1998 publisher Blackwell location Oxford isbn 0 631 18544 5 ref An example is the grammatical person third person grammatical number plural of the perfect grammar perfect grammatical voice Passive passive in Ancient Greek p peistai he has been persuaded pepeism noi eis they have been persuaded A comparison of some Latin forms with their English translations shows that English uses periphrasis in many instances where Latin uses inflection class wikitable Latin inflected English periphrastic st llae of a star patientissimus most patient am beris you will be loved In Esperanto , periphrasis is used ... more details
about the geometric meaning the plant Phyllanthus Image Triangle Sides.svg 200px frame A right angled triangle where c sub 1 sub and c sub 2 sub are the catheti and h is the hypotenuse In a right triangle , the cathetus originally from the Greek language Greek word lang el plural catheti , commonly known as a leg , is either of the sides that are adjacent to the right angle . It is occasionally called the periphrasis PLEASE DO NOT link periphrasis that article is only about the use of the term in linguistics side about the right angle . The side opposite the right angle is the hypotenuse . When referring to the hypotenuse, the catheti are often referred to simply as the other two sides . If the catheti of a right triangle have different lengths, distinction can be made between the minor shorter and major longer cathetus. The ratio of the lengths of the catheti defines the trigonometric functions tangent and cotangent PLEASE DO NOT link tangent that article is about a tangent line or cotangent that redirects to Trigonometric functions of the angles in the triangle. In a right triangle, the length of the cathetus is also the geometric mean between the length of the segment cut by the altitude to the hypotenuse and the length of the whole hypotenuse. By the Pythagorean theorem , the sum of the squares of the lengths of the catheti is equal to the square of the length of the hypotenuse. References Bernhardsen, T. Geographic Information Systems An Introduction , 3rd ed. New York Wiley, p. 271, 2002. MathWorld urlname Cathetus title Cathetus Wiktionary Category Elementary geometry Category Triangles Category Greek loanwords ar ast Catetu az Katet bar Kathete ca Catet de Kathete es Cateto eo Kateto eu Kateto fr Cath te gl Cateto is Skammhli it Cateto lv Katete mk nl Rechthoekszijde ja no Katet nn Katet km nds Katheet pl Przyprostok tna pt Cateto qu Manyaku ru sl Kateta sr sv Katet th tr Dik kenar uk ... more details
Bafflegab baf uhl gab is a slang term referring to confusing or generally unintelligible jargon . See Gobbledygook . ref name Dictionary.com http dictionary.reference.com browse bafflegab Dictionary.com ref The word was defined by its inventor, Milton A Smith, as multiloquence characterized by consummate interfusion of circumlocution or periphrasis, inscrutability, and other familiar manifestations of abstruse expatiation commonly utilized for promulgations implementing Procrustean determinations by governmental bodies. ref name WorldwideWords.org http www.worldwidewords.org weirdwords ww baf1.htm WorldwideWords.org ref Thus defining bafflegab using bafflegab. Smith was awarded with the presentation of a plaque by the Bellingham Herald for his invention of the word. ref name WorldwideWords.org In popular culture In the Doctor Who serial The Pirate Planet , the Fourth Doctor exclaims Bafflegab, my dear. I ve never heard such bafflegab in all my Regeneration Doctor Who lives , after Queen Xanxia attempts to explain how she plans to gain immortality. In Robert J. Sawyer s 2000 science fiction book Calculating God , the main character Thomas Jericho refers to Stephen Jay Gould s phrase non overlapping magisteria as a typical bit of Gouldish bafflegab. References references Category Slang ... more details
Circumlocution also called periphrasis , circumduction , circumvolution , periphrase , or ambage ref Ambage in http www.merri 13 A0241300.html American Heritage , and http dictionary.reference.com search?q ambage&r 66 Dictionary.com ref is an ambiguous or roundabout figure of speech . In its most basic form, circumlocution is using many words such as a tool used for cutting things such as paper and hair to describe something for which a concise and commonly known expression exists scissors . ref group note However, it is important to note that concepts are not necessarily objectively simple only because a simple word or expression exists for them. Many concepts which are exceedingly complex or difficult, or notoriously hard to define, are associated with very simple, short or plain words. This is very much dependent on culture or, properly, the language used. ref In this sense, the vast majority of definitions found in dictionaries are circumlocutory. Circumlocution is often used by aphasia aphasics and people learning a new language, where in the absence of a word such as abuelo grandfather the subject can simply be described el padre de su padre the father of one s father . It is also used frequently in Basic English , a constructed language constructed dialect of non regional English. Circumlocution has numerous other uses, referred to by other terms. Amphilogism Amphilogism also called amphilogy is a form of circumlocutory speech used to avoid telling something that might otherwise harm you. For example, a man who for ulterior reasons doesn t want to divulge his relationship status might use amphilogistic language i.e., the pronoun game to talk about his significant other without making concessions as to his relationship. For example, instead of saying She made dinner for me last night , an amphilogistic statement would be Dinner was already made for me last night ... linguistics Inflection Periphrasis Notes reflist group note References reflist cite book last Smyth ... more details
Refimprove date November 2007 The possessive case list of glossing abbreviations abbreviated sc pos or sc poss of a language is a grammatical case used to indicate a relationship of Possession linguistics possession . It is not the same as the genitive case , which can express a wider range of relationships, though the two have similar meanings in many languages. Citation needed date November 2007 See Possession linguistics for a survey of the different categories of possession distinguished in languages. The English possessive Nouns The term possessive case is often used to refer to the form of a noun suffixed with the Saxon genitive s morpheme . Calling it a case is arguably not strictly correct some grammarians contend that this affix is actually a clitic . ref group nb Consider the phrase The King of England s horse. If the s morpheme were not a clitic and actually a proper grammatical case case , we would expect to see The King s of England horse , since the King and not England possesses the horse in question. German language German , which has an inflected case system, phrases it Das Pferd des K nigs von England , where K nig king takes the genitive case . In English, by contrast, the possessive s morpheme is affixed to the whole noun phrase King of England . ref However, the English usage does stem from a case ending, Old English es . See Genitive case English s ending genitive case for details. For information on how to construct the possessive form in written English, see Apostrophe Possessive apostrophe Possessive apostrophe . In English the possessive can also be expressed periphrasis periphrastically , by preceding the noun or noun phrase with the preposition of . Examples Here are some examples of the possessive case being applied to nouns in the English language . style font size 95 style background efefef width 150px Nominative case width 150px Possessive case width 150px Example child child s, of the child I have the child s bag woman woman s, ... more details
completely periphrasis periphrastic in Romance, the active voice has been morphologically preserved ... due to sound changes in Vulgar Latin , but rather from an infinitive HABEO periphrasis, later grammaticalisation ... forms also developed, such as the conditional, which in most Romance languages started out as a periphrasis ... more details
can also be expressed with an equivalent periphrasis. The future tense future indicative is usually replaced with a periphrasis or the present indicative in the spoken language. The Portuguese conditional mood conditional is sometimes replaced with a periphrasis or with the imperfect indicative ... more details
unreferenced date May 2009 The mediopassive voice is a grammatical voice which subsumes the meanings of both the middle voice and the passive voice . Languages of the Indo European languages Indo European family and many others typically have two or three voices of the three active, middle, and passive. Mediopassive may be used to describe a category that covers both the middle or medium and the passive voice. In synchronic grammars, the mediopassive voice is often simply termed either middle typical for grammars of e.g. Ancient Greek or passive typical for grammars of e. g. modern Danish language Danish . In the oldest Indo European languages, the distinction active middle was the most important, while the development in later languages has generally been to replace the old distinction with or reinterpret it as an active passive distinction e.g. modern English to tease to be teased . The Proto Indo European language itself is typically reconstructed as having two voices, active and mediopassive, where the middle voice element in the mediopassive voice was dominant. Ancient Greek also had a mediopassive in the present, imperfect, perfect, and pluperfect Grammatical tense tenses , but in the aorist and future tenses the mediopassive voice was replaced by two voices, one middle and one passive. Modern Greek and Albanian language Albanian have only mediopassive in all tenses. A number of Indo European languages have developed a new middle or mediopassive voice. Often this derives from a Periphrasis periphrastic form involving the active verb combined with a reflexive pronoun. This development happened independently in the Romance languages , the Slavic languages , and the North Germanic Scandinavian languages. North Germanic languages, and to some extent the Slavic languages, have fused the reflexive with the verb to form a new synthetic conjugation, while in the Romance languages the reflexive mostly remains separate. Usage of the mediopassive The mediopassive can hav ... more details
infinitives otherwise periphrasis, e.g. vou falar I will speak , is used. But note that future .... When a prospective in past meaning is intended, a periphrasis is often substituted, e.g. ... more details
Image DutchAfrikaans.svg thumb right 300px Dutch and Afrikaans Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch language Dutch ref name jansen cite web url http dare.ubn.kun.nl dspace bitstream 2066 56692 1 56692 JS&N20070001.pdf title The influence of spelling conventions on perceived plurality in compounds. A comparison of Afrikaans and Dutch. first1 Carel last1 Jansen first2 Robert last2 Schreuder first3 Anneke last3 Neijt work Written Language & Literacy 10 2 page 5 year 2007 publisher Radboud University Nijmegen accessdate 2010 05 19 ref ref name mennen cite web url http eresearch.qmu.ac.uk 152 1 wp 10.pdf title Acquisition of Dutch phonology an overview. first1 Ineke last1 Mennen first2 Clara last2 Levelt first3 Ellen last3 Gerrits work Speech Science Research Centre Working Paper WP10 page 1 year 2006 publisher Queen Margaret University College accessdate 2010 05 19 ref ref name booij cite web url http cs.engr.uky.edu gstump periphrasispapers Progressive.pdf title Constructional idioms and periphrasis the progressive construction in Dutch. first Geert last Booij work Paradigms and Periphrasis page 5 year 2003 publisher University of Kentucky accessdate 2010 05 19 ref ref name hiskens cite web url http www.lancs.ac.uk fss linguistics staff kerswill pkpubs HinskensAuerKerswill2005Conv.pdf title The study of dialect convergence and divergence conceptual and methodological considerations. first1 Frans last1 Hiskens first2 Peter last2 Auer first3 Paul last3 Kerswill work page 19 year 2005 publisher Lancaster University accessdate 2010 05 19 ref see page 5 ref name heeringa see page 1, 5 and throughout and unlike Belgian Dutch , Dutch Dutch and Surinamese Dutch a separate standard language rather than a Variety linguistics national variety . ref cite book url http books.google.ca books?id wawGFWNuHiwC title Pluricentric languages differing norms in different nations accessdate 2010 05 19 first1 G. last1 Geerts first2 Michael G. last2 Clyne ed. editor publisher Walter de G ... more details
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