Before proceeding to fully enter into the meaning of the term gradation, let's know its etymological origin. In this case, we can establish that it is a word that derives from Latin, specifically from “gradatio, gradationis”, which can be translated as “step”, “step” or “staircase”.
The concept of gradation refers to the development or organization of something through successive degrees , whether descending or ascending. The term can also refer to a quantification or to a series of elements that are ordered in degrees (that is, according to values, states or levels).
Among the synonyms of gradation we find words such as ladder, hierarchy, progression, succession, series, scale or graduation, for example.
In the field of grammar , gradation is linked to the intensity of an adjective . Qualifying adjectives, for example, can have a superlative degree. The adjective “poor” , to cite one case, can be given more intensity and given a superlative degree, turning it into “very poor” . There is, therefore, a gradation since the adjective can be more or less intense.
For rhetoric , gradation is the ordering of expressions or words in a discourse so that, within the framework of their meaning, they descend or ascend by degrees to express something less or more than the preceding element.
Gradation is linked to how elements are ordered according to semantics so that ideas are chained and generate a certain specific meaning. If someone writes “I feel satisfied, happy, filled with plenitude…” , they will be using an ascending gradation . “I was devastated, sad, anguished…” , on the other hand, reflects a descending gradation .
In the same way, we cannot ignore the fact that in the field of Human Resources the use of the term in question is also used. Specifically, in this case we speak of a prior grading method, also called classification, which consists of assigning each position in a company a grade. That is, what we choose to do is divide the company's jobs into categories.
Of this mentioned method, it should be noted that it is used, above all, in companies where there are not many jobs, that it is a way of organizing the structure or hierarchy within them and that it has the great advantage that it is quick and easy to use. carry out.
In order to put it into practice, it is necessary to follow these series of steps:
-Set the degrees that may exist in the company.
-Each of these aforementioned degrees must be given a name and specific characteristics. In the same way, it is important that an ordinal numbering of them is established.
In the field of music , gradation is the harmonic period that, with the aim of accentuating the expression of an affection, rises gradually.
The idea of vowel gradation , finally, alludes to apophony: the change of vowel timbre by the rules of phonetic evolution in terms that have the same root.