Change in expression
The change in expression , also variation in expression , is a rhetorical style figure that is intended to avoid monotony caused by repetition. Avoidance takes place, for example, by using synonyms , an abstraction or paraphrases ( periphrases ) instead of repetition. More comprehensive generic terms that contain the alternation of the term are the terms variatio and inconsistency .
In the following example, the term "moon" is replaced by "earth satellite" instead of a second mention:
"Even many years after people first landed on the moon, the satellite still holds many secrets."
In scientific texts (including in an encyclopedia), changing the expression is usually undesirable because it makes understanding difficult. Because paraphrases and metaphors have to be recognized as such, which takes time, often requires context knowledge and reduces accuracy: Real synonyms that completely correspond to one another in terms of style and meaning are rare.
The change in expression as a stylistic device is also controversial outside of academic texts. Prominent stylists such as Wolf Schneider and Ludwig Reiners reject it for two reasons:
- It often leads to howlers like "hump animal" (instead of "Camel"), "polls" (instead of "choice"), "stripes" (instead of "film") or "earth satellite" (instead of "moon").
- The works of great authors such as Luther , Goethe and Lessing show that repetition is a stylistic device that gives a text strength and rhythm.
In English there is the similarly used term "Elegant variation" coined by Henry Watson Fowler (1858–1933).
Individual evidence
- ↑ Wolf Schneider: German for connoisseurs. 2nd edition, Munich 2006, p. 142.
literature
- Wolf Schneider : German for professionals . Goldmann, Munich 2001, ISBN 978-3-442-16175-1 .