A rhetorical device uses “psychological persuasion, rather than reason, to persuade others to accept a particular position.” There are four common rhetorical devices: euphemism, dysphemism, hyperbole, and sarcasm. Two forms I have used within the past few weeks are hyperbole and euphemism.
A hyperbole is a form of rhetoric that uses focuses exaggeration. As a student in Psych 01, the psychology department requires students to participate in 4 study hours. Students are able to choose from a list of surveys, and experiments to fulfill these hours. One study I participated on measured the psychological effect of various cognitive activities; one of which was a five minute speech in front of two emotionless people and a video camera. It was so horrifying because public speaking is by far my biggest fear when it comes to school. The experimenter gave me three minutes to prepare in a room by myself. I briefly thought about the consent form, which said I could stop my participation at any moment without penalization. After the whole ordeal was done with, I was at home telling my mom about my experience. I explained to what had happened and how I had “seriously considered” running out of the study when I was to be preparing my speech. This is the hyperbole because in reality I only briefly considered leaving.
When using a euphemism, one replaces a term with negative association with a more neutral or positive one. A new friend and I were having a conversation about life experiences and he/she mentioned to me that they were once a stripper. He/she explained that it was a choice that he/she does not regret but an experience to learn from. Going into further detail revealed that it was more than just stripping, occasionally leading to “taking it further.” There are two euphemisms to this story. The first is that we were using the term “stripper” instead of “prostitute.” The second euphemism is the phrase “taking it further,” which was used to replace “sex.”
The use of hyperboles frequently leads to more interesting stories, but in excess can diminish your credibility. The use of euphemisms greatly reduces the awkwardness of conversations because terms like “sex” and “prostitution” are perceived in a very negative manner. Also, through the use of euphemisms, the speaker can be less specific before approaching a topic head on to gauge ones reactions.
I usually use the devices hyperbole and euphemism a lot more than I think. Many people don't realize that they use these devices a lot throughout the day. Especially talking about "sex" and other topics that are similar, a lot of people like to say less diminishing comments like "stripper" and "taking it further". Also, when people are talking about their weight to others, many people try to say comments that sound the nicest as possible to not hurt their feelings. Also, exaggeration is very common in society because everyone wants to exaggerate the truth like how they “knocked that guy's jaw out during the fight”.
ReplyDeleteThere are several different methods of communication styles and techniques. One of them is the rhetorical device like you discussed above. Just like you, I use hyperbole as a form of persuasion when I communicate with other people. I think it brings a different vibe to what someone is trying to say. I also like your example because it could easily be related to most students. I also liked how you explained euphemism. It is very common for us to label items or people certain names because of our culture's slang or lingo. It is good that you brought this to our attention so that it would be recognized as either something good or bad, depending on the person.
ReplyDeleteI really loved your example for euphemism :) It actually made me laugh because I was not at all expecting it, but it was a really good example. We use euphemisms a lot when discussing details as such. No one EVER comes out and says the real thing in this context. Someone might say, “One thing led to another" or "He invited me over for to watch a movie" and I believe we both know what those statements really mean. Even in the musical "MaMa Mia" they used an euphemism when the daughter was reading her mother’s diary, instead of writing that she had sex, the mother wrote "...".
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