Euphemism. Euphemistic language often uses circumlocution to avoid saying words that are taboo or considered offensive. For example, “Holy mother of Jesus!” is a circumlocution of “Mary!”, but “heck”, while still euphemistic, is not a circumlocution of “hell”.

For example, “the cat ate my kit-kat” – here, cat and kat have different starting letters but make the same sound so the sentence is an alliteration.

Assonance most often refers to the repetition of internal vowel sounds in words that do not end the same. For example, “he fell asleep under the cherry tree” is a phrase that features assonance with the repetition of the long “e” vowel, despite the fact that the words containing this vowel do not end in perfect rhymes.

Chiasmus is a rhetorical device in which two or more clauses are balanced against each other by the reversal of their structures in order to produce an artistic effect. Let us try to understand chiasmus with the help of an example: “Never let a Fool Kiss You or a Kiss Fool You.”

Polysyndeton is a stylistic device in which several coordinating conjunctions are used in succession in order to achieve an artistic effect. For example, in the sentence, “We have ships and men and money and stores,” the coordinating conjunction “and” is used in quick succession to join words occurring together.

The repetition of words in Lincoln’s address and Cobain’s song are examples of a literary device called “epistrophe.” Derived from the ancient Greek word meaning “turning back upon,” epistrophe is the repetition of phrases or words in a set of clauses, sentences, or poetic lines.

For example, “I like a smuggler. He is the only honest thief.” However, pleonasm is a combination of two or more words which are more than those required for clear expression. For example, “I saw it with my own eyes.”

Circumlocutions are often used by persons with aphasia when having difficulty recalling or retrieving a word. Circumlocutions can represent a positive symptom of anomia in which, upon failure to retrieve a word, the subject talks around the word by defining it, describing a referent, or even making sound effects.

The three most common types of aphasia are:

• Broca’s aphasia.
• Wernicke’s aphasia.
• Global aphasia1

Primary progressive aphasia (uh-FAY-zhuh) is a rare nervous system (neurological) syndrome that affects your ability to communicate. People who have it can have trouble expressing their thoughts and understanding or finding words. Symptoms begin gradually, often before age 65, and worsen over time.

A neologism may be considered an extreme form of a literal paraphasia, and is associated most often with Wernicke’s or fluent aphasia. When neologisms constitute a large proportion of verbal output, speech output may be characterized as neologistic jargon.

We typically expect that jargon (which can be defined as “babbling with intent”) will begin to fade at about 18 months and completely dissipate by 24 months. If a toddler has an expressive language delay or disorder, his intelligibility will be affected as he will often continue to use a lot of jargon in lieu of words.

Jargon aphasia is a type of fluent aphasia in which an individual’s speech is incomprehensible, but appears to make sense to the individual.

Some examples of jargon include:

• Due diligence: A business term, “due diligence” refers to the research that should be done before making an important business decision.
• AWOL: Short for “absent without leave,” AWOL is military jargon used to describe a person whose whereabouts are unknown.

Aphasia is the medical term for full loss of language, while dysphasia stands for partial loss of language. The word aphasia is now commonly used to describe both conditions.

Symptoms of Wernicke’s aphasia include:

• Saying many words that don’t make sense.
• Unable to understand the meaning of words.
• Able to speak well in long sentences but they don’t make sense.
• Using the wrong words or nonsense words.
• Unable to understand written words.
• Trouble writing.
• Frustration.

Your doctor will need to perform tests to determine what has caused Wernicke’s aphasia. This will likely include brain imaging tests such as an MRI or CT scan. These test can also help your doctor determine if other parts of your brain have been affected.

A ‘spoonerism’ is when a speaker accidentally mixes up the initial sounds or letters of two words in a phrase. The result is usually humorous.

Strategies include:

1. Use gestures when you speak.
2. Write down key words while speaking.
3. Talk about things that are relevant to “right now”.
4. Don’t shout if the person isn’t hard-of-hearing.
5. Slow your speech a little when talking.
6. Be close enough to maintain eye contact.