Many people know of the common linguistic devices such as the metaphor and sarcasm, but many more exist and are used on an almost daily basis. Linguistic devices are any combination of words, or the augmentation of those words, used to define, describe, or emphasize a particular situation or prove a point. Some of these devices are strictly used in written language while others can be used in both written and spoken literary applications.

Aphaeresis: an omission at the beginning of a word; 'coon' instead of raccoon.

Apocope: an abbreviation of a word by leaving off the last sounds; 'pud' from pudding.

Aposiopesis: a rhetorical device where the sentence is stopped or broken off in the middle - used to note an unwillingness to continue; typically used in dialogue in a novel or story.

Dystmesis: the insertion of a word into another word at an unlikely place.

Elision: an omission of a sound between two words - typically a vowel that makes it easier for the speaker to pronounce.

Ellipsis: an omission or suppression of parts of words or sentences.

Eponymy: the derivation of a common name from that of a famous person.

Holonym: a word that names the whole of which the given name is a part; 'head' is a holonym for skull, eyes, and nose

Hypernym: a generic term used to define a class of specific instances.

Hypocorism: a term of endearment, a pet name.

Hyponym: a word or phrase whose semantic range is included in another.

Kenning: a conventional metaphoric name for something used predominantly in Norse and Old English literature.

Litotes: a figure of speech in which a speaker expresses his/her feelings more effectively by denying its opposite.

Meronym: a word that names a part of a larger whole; laces and sole are meronyms of shoe.

Metonymy: a figure of speech in which one word is substituted for another that it is closely associated; 'the pen is mightier than the sword.'

Paronomasia: a phrase that deliberately exploits confusion through the use of similar sounding words for a humorous effect.

Periphrasis: a characteristic of language which tends to avoid inflection; most beautiful as opposed to loveliest.

Procatalepsis: a figure of speech in which a speaker raises an object to his/her own argument and answers it.

Syllepsis: the use of a single word to modify separate words indifferent ways resulting in humor.

Syncope: the loss of sounds form within a word.

Synecdoche: a part of something substituted for the whole, the meaning is inferred through the use of the part.

Tmesis: the insertion of one or more words into a compound word; the splitting of a word into two parts with other words placed between them.

Zeugma: describes the joining of two or more parts of a sentence with a single common verb or noun.

These linguistic devices are actually used by those who do not realize they are using them and are used in conjunction, in most cases, with more well known linguistic devices to achieve better results in speeches and literary writing. Linguistic devices and the understanding of their uses allows for a better understanding of language and communication which is imperative in public speaking and professional journals alike.

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