Entertainment / Literature Glossary

Speculative Fiction: Also called 'alternative history,' speculative fiction is science fiction that explores how the 'real world' we live in today might be different if historic events had unfolded with slight c . . . View Full Definition

Speech Act Theory: An idea set forth by J. L. Austin's How to Do Things with Words, which argues that language is often a mode of action rather than a means of communication or conveying information. Language- . . . View Full Definition

Speech Prefix: Often abbreviated 's.p.,' this term in drama refers to a character's name or an abbreviated version of a character's name which indicates what actor is speaking subsequent words in the text . . . View Full Definition

Spelling Pronunciation: An unhistorical way of pronouncing a word based on the spelling of a word.

Spelling Reform: Any effort to make spelling closer to actual pronunciation.

Spenserian Stanza: A nine-line stanza rhyming in an ababbcbcc pattern in which the first eight lines are pentameter and the last line is an alexandrine. The name spenserian comes from the form's most famous us . . . View Full Definition

Spirant: Another term in linguistics for a fricative.

Spirit Guide: A conventional figure in mythology, in the medieval visio and in shamanistic myths that serves as (1) a guide to a lost or wandering soul or to (2) a guide to the dreaming psyche of another . . . View Full Definition

Spiritual Autobiography: An autobiography (usually Christian) that focuses on an individual's spiritual growth. The plot is typically chronological in structure, and it usually focuses on inner struggles within the . . . View Full Definition

Spondaic: The adjective spondaic describes a line of poetry in which the feet are composed of successive spondees. See spondee, below.

Spondee: In scansion, a spondee is a metrical foot consisting of two successive strong beats. The spondee typically is 'slower' and 'heavier' to read than an iamb or a dactyl. Some words and phrases . . . View Full Definition

Spoof: A comic piece of film or literature that ostensibly presents itself as a 'genre' piece, but actually pokes fun at the clichés or conventions of the genre through imitative satire. Examples . . . View Full Definition

Spoonerism: The comic (and usually unintentional) transposition of two initial consonants or other sounds. For example, saying 'the queer old dean' when one means to say, 'the dear old queen,' or speaki . . . View Full Definition

Sprachbund: (Ger. 'speech bond'): A group of languages--often technically unrelated to each other otherwise--that are spoken in the same geographic area or shared by members of the same occupation. Sinc . . . View Full Definition

Spread Vowel: Also called an unrounded vowel, in linguistics, a vowel made with the corners of the lips retracted so the lips are against the teeth. See unrounding.

Sprechspruch: This charming alliterative term refers to a short lyrical poem set to music common among the German Minnesingers. The term is usually used in contrast with the Spruch (the original gnomic ve . . . View Full Definition

Sprezzatura: An Italian term that doesn't translate well into English, the word embodies both the appearance of reckless spontaneity and its opposite quality, careful and practiced preparation. Sprezzatu . . . View Full Definition

Sprung Rhythm: Also called 'accentual rhythm,' sprung rhythm is a term invented by the poet-priest Gerard Manley Hopkins to describe his personal metrical system in which the major stresses are 'sprung' fr . . . View Full Definition

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