When good cliches go bad: developing a poetics of malapropism in the field of contemporary public rhetoric
Clark, Tom (2009) When good cliches go bad: developing a poetics of malapropism in the field of contemporary public rhetoric. AUMLA (spec.). pp. 103-113. ISSN 0001-2793
Abstract
The malapropism is a composite phrase made up of two or more cliché or platitude elements that do not belong together. It has much in common with catachresis, the combining of metaphorical elements that are at odds with one another—so much so that catachresis often manifests as malapropism. The distinction is that malapropism is a splicing-together of phrase formulas. And because it is recognisably constructed out of formulaic elements that do not belong together—or not analytically speaking, at least—a close observation of malapropism can give us a powerful insight into the language practices and grammatical pathologies of public figures.
Item type | Article |
URI | https://vuir.vu.edu.au/id/eprint/4225 |
Official URL | http://aulla.com.au/AULLA%202009,%20Proceedings.pd... |
Subjects | Historical > Faculty/School/Research Centre/Department > School of Communication and the Arts Historical > FOR Classification > 2003 Language Studies Historical > SEO Classification > 9502 Communication |
Keywords | ResPubID17041. malapropism, public rhetoric |
Citations in Scopus | 0 - View on Scopus |
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