Acutezza ([akuˈtettsa]) is the act or use of wordplay.[1] It is an Italian derived word. Therefore, the direct translation from Italian to English is acuteness, shrewdness or shrillness.[2]
In rhetoric edit
Writers most commonly use wordplay to give the audience a sense relevance to themselves and a sense of likability. Writers also use acutezza to mask an unpleasant-sounding phrase as a means of persuasion.[3] At times acutezza can seem clever or witty [4] as if the writer is trying to "put one over" on the audience similar to an enthymeme, which can be the case. More often than not the speaker is only trying to make their case sound better and as positive as possible.[5] In addition to speech, acutezza can be seen visually as well. This is done through positioning words in a certain manner on the page to reflect the actual content of the sentence or phrase, yet, still giving it the illusion of positiveness.[6]
References edit
- ^ "Acutezza." Acutezza. Changing Minds, 2014. Web. 21 Oct. 2014.
- ^ "Translation of Acutezza in English:." Acutezza: Translation of Acutezza in English in Oxford Dictionary (Italian-English) (US). Oxford University Press, 2014. Web. 21 Oct. 2014.
- ^ Ernesto Grassi and John Michael Krois Philosophy & Rhetoric, Vol. 19, No. 2 (1986), pp. 131 Published by: Penn State University Press Article Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/40237470
- ^ Alexander A. Parker The Modern Language Review, Vol. 77, No. 4 (Oct. 1982), pp. xxiv Published by: Modern Humanities Research Association Article DOI: 10.2307/3726577 Article Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/3726577
- ^ The New Map of the World: The Poetic Philosophy of Giambattista Vico by Giuseppe Mazzotta; Vico's Axioms: The Geometry of the Human World by James Robert Goetsch Review by: Mark Williams Eighteenth-Century Studies, Vol. 35, No. 2 (Winter, 2002), pp. 303 Published by: The Johns Hopkins University Press. Sponsor: American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies (ASECS). Article Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/30054190
- ^ Anderson, Holly, and Morgan Styles, eds. Teaching Through Texts: Promoting Literacy Through Popular and Literary Texts in the Primary Classroom. N.p.: Routledge, 2002. 99-100. Web. 21 Oct. 2014.