anacoluthon
1
9.9
- noun
- /ˌænəˈkɒlʊθən/
- Specialized
- Anacoluthon is a device of vehemence: we often do not speak in calm, linear syntax when upset.
Examples
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The author skillfully employed anacoluthon to convey the character's frantic thoughts during the climactic scene.
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In fact, Gilman's oppressed, mentally distraught narrator does exhibit derailing and other symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia, but the anacoluthon is early evidence of her.
Academic text (1997) -
Later, the poor woman provides an even more acute instance of anacoluthon:
Academic text (1997) -
This would do away with anacoluthon and present a catachretic metaphor in which a head stands.
Academic text (1997) -
In his speech, the politician's use of anacoluthon confused many listeners due to its unexpected structure.
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An example of anacoluthon can be found in the way she started a sentence and abruptly shifted the topic halfway through.
Synonyms
1
9.9
A sudden break in a sentence that stops its expected structure
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Etymology
The word anacoluthon comes from Greek parts an- 'not' and akolouthos 'following', and you can think of akolouthos like the English word 'follow'. So, an anacoluthon is a sudden 'not following' in a sentence, a break where the grammar or idea stops following what came before and the sentence jumps to something else.