Language Style

237. Language Style

See also 236. LANGUAGE ; 248. LITERARY STYLE ; 249. LITERATURE ; 354. RHETORIC and RHETORICAL DEVICES .

academese

language typical of academies or the world of learning; pedantic language.

aeolism

a tendency to longwindedness. —aeolistic , adj.

anecdotalism

1. the writing or telling of short narratives concerning an interesting, amusing, or curious incident or event.

2. an excessive use of anecdotes, as sometimes in the conversation of the aged. —anecdotalist , n.

archaism

the deliberate use, for effect, of old-fashioned terminology in literature.

Asiaticism

a manner of speech, writing, or architecture distinguished by excessive ornamentation or floridity. —Asiatical , adj.

barbarism

the use of terms or constructions feit by some to be undesirably foreign to the established customs of the language. —barbarian , n., adj.

battology

futile repetition in speech or writing.

bureaucratese

language characteristic of government bureaucracy, characterized by excessive use of jargon, convoluted construction, and periphrasis.

businessese

language typical of that used by business people or the world of business, characterized by use of jargon and abbreviation.

causticism, causticity

a sharp, tart wittiness. Also causticness . —caustic , adj.

cinemese

language typical of the cinema, as that used in film dialogue or in film criticism.

collegese

language typical of that used by college students, characterized by use of slang and neologisms.

computerese

language used by those in the business of manufacturing, selling, servicing, or using electronic computers, characterized by many abbreviations and acronyms, excessive use of technical jargon, and, frequently, lack of concern for traditional spelling and grammar.

concettism

1. any writing characterized by conceits, i.e., elaborate and fanciful figures of speech, as in the opening lines of T.S. Eliot’s “Prufrock.”

2. the use of conceits in writing.

economese

language and jargon typical of economists and the field of economics.

epigrammatism

1. the composition of brief witty, ingenious, or sententious statements.

2. the composition of short, concise poems, often satirical, displaying a witty or ingenious thought. —epigrammatist , n. —epigrammatic , adj.

federalese

language typical of the federal government, especially bureau-cratie jargon.

fustian

a high-flown, bombastic style of writing or speaking. —fustianist , n.

journalese

language typical of journalists and newspapers or magazines, characterized by use of neologism and unusual syntax. Also called newspaperese .

laconicism, laconism

a tendency to use few words to express a great deal; conciseness. —laconic , adj.

legalese

language typical of lawyers, laws, legal forms, etc., characterized by archaic usage, prolixity, and extreme thoroughness.

lexiphanicism

Archaic. 1. the use of excessively learned and bombastic terminology.

2 . an instance of this language style. —lexiphanic , adj.

literaryism

1. the habitual use of literary forms.

2. an expression belonging to a literary language.

lucidity

the quality, state, or art of clarity in thought and style. —lucidness , n. —lucid , adj.

macaronicism

a style of language in which Latin forms and words are mixed with vernacular words, as skato, slippere, falli, bumptum. —macaronic , n., adj.

macrology

an excessive wordiness.

newspaperese

journalese.

officialese

language characteristic of officialdom, typified by polysyllabism and much periphrasis.

paragraphism

the system of writing paragraphs in newspaper-journalism style. —paragraphist , n. —paragraphically , adv.

parrhesia

a tendency to boldness and frankness of speech; freedom of expression, as in much modern literature.

pedagese

the language of pedagogues or language typical of pedagogues, characterized by pedanticism. Also called academese .

pedestrianism

the use of a style lacking in vitality, imagination, or distinction; prosiness. —pedestrian , adj.

pellucidity

the quality, state, or art of writing or speaking in a fashion that is easy to understand. —pellucidness , n. —pellucid , adj.

Pentagonese

language typical of the Pentagon or the U.S. defense establishment, characterized by use of acronyms, neologisms and the use of nouns as verbs and adjectives.

postclassicism

a written or spoken expression characteristic of the period following the classical period of a language. —postclassical , adj.

sardonicism

a style of speaking or writing characterized by bitter, contemptuous, or scornful derision.

sensationalism

yellow journalism.

societyese

language typical of high society, characterized by affectation.

sociologese

language or jargon typical of sociology or sociologists.

stagese

language typical of the stage and stage people, characterized by affectation, hyperbole, and melodramatic effects.

stichometry

the practice of expressing the successive ideas in a prose composition in single lines corresponding to natural cadences or sense divisions. —stichometric, stichometrical , adj.

telegraphese

the brief, sometimes cryptic language used in telegrams.

Varietyese

language typical of the entertainment journal Variety, characterized by a staccato, idiomatic, and neologistic style, with much use of abbreviation.

Wall Streetese

language typical of that used on Wall Street and in the financial markets, characterized by use of technical financial terms and arcane stock-market jargon.

Washingtonese

federalese.

yellow journalism

the practice of seeking out sensational news for the purpose of boosting a newspaper’s circulation, or, if such stories are hard to find, of trying to make comparatively innocuous news appear sensational. Also called sensationalism . —yellow journalist , n.