Paradiastole

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Paradiastole (Greek, from παρα, para, beyond, and στολη, stole, a sending) is the use of euphemism to soften the force of naming a vice or a virtue.[1] It is often used ironically. In biblical studies it has come to mean the repetition of disjunctive words in a list.

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[edit] Euphemism

Paradiastole can be used to make a negative trait appear a positive one, for instance, calling someone "confident" instead of "vain." This tactic is commonly used in the comic strip Frank and Ernest. The character Ernest will attempt to sell an object which has some flaw (such as a car that doesn't start half the time), Frank will comment on the flaw, and then Ernest will use paradiastole to turn the flaw on its head (in this case, the car has a "very quiet engine").[2]

Paradiastole can also be used disparagingly. For instance, calling someone "frugal" instead of "stingy."

[edit] Biblical Usage

In biblical studies, paradiastole is a type of anaphora (the repetition of one word at the beginning of successive sentences). Paradiastole uses a few words--either, or, neither, not, and nor--used as disjunctions. A disjunction differs from a conjunction because it separates things, where as a conjunction joins them.

An example of this technique can be found in the Gospel of John. John, clarifying the meaning of τέκνα θεοῦ (God's children), writes:

οἳ [πιστεύοντες]
οὐκ ἐξ αἱμάτων
οὐδὲ ἐκ θελήματος σαρκὸς
οὐδὲ ἐκ θελήματος ἀνδρὸς
ἀλλ' ἐκ θεοῦ ἐγεννήθησαν. (John 1.13).[3]
They [the believers],
not of blood,
nor of the flesh's desire,
nor of a man's desire,
but of God were born.

In this passage, οὐκ and οὐδὲ (here translated not and nor) function as the disjunctions. The paradiastole emphasizes that those who believed (οἳ πιστεύοντες) and became "God's children" were not physically ("of blood", etc.) born again, but divinely.

[edit] References

Cuddon, J.A., ed. The Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory. 3rd ed. Penguin Books: New York, 1991.
  1. ^ Silva Rhetoricae (2006). Paradiastole
  2. ^ The Cartoonist Group (2006). Frank and Ernest April 9, 2006
  3. ^ University of York (2006). Greek New Testament

[edit] See also

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