The idea of periphrasis is used in rhetoric.
Períphrasis is a word that in the field of rhetoric is used as a synonym for circumlocution or circumlocution , a figure that is specified by mentioning with many words what could be designated with fewer. Its objective is to add beauty to the expression or emphasize some of its parts.
Determining the etymological origin of the term is the first step we must take to understand the meaning. In this sense, we have to explain that it derives from the Latin word periphrasis , which can be translated as "explain around" and which in turn derives from Greek. In this case, it is the result of the sum of the following Greek parts: the prefix peri , which is synonymous with "around" ; the verb phrazein , meaning "to explain" ; and the suffix -sis , which is used to indicate "action" .
Uses of periphrasis
Through the rhetorical figure of periphrasis, something can be named indirectly. What is usually done is to list certain properties that end up conveying the meaning of the object in question, although the listener or reader must decode the message on their own.
In literature , periphrasis is very useful to avoid repetition of concepts or to evade common places. It also serves as a resource when the person seeks to express themselves ironically or through euphemisms.
Several examples of periphrasis are linked to God . Expressions such as the "Supreme Being" or the "Almighty" allow divinity to be named through a periphrasis.
Periphrasis can also involve the use of more words than necessary: someone can talk about "the spherical body that produces joy, harbors hopes and awakens passions" instead of simply referring to a ball .
Periphrasis is used for different purposes.
The concept in grammar and syntax
The idea of periphrasis also appears in other fields of grammar and syntax . The verbal periphrasis is given by the union of two verbs, one used in a personal form and the remaining, in a non-personal form: "I have seen more than ten documentaries of this type" , "Juan usually reads until late at night" . It is an association of a minimum of two verbs that form an inseparable syntactic unit (impossible to separate) to communicate a single verbal idea.
Students are in charge of learning everything about verbal periphrases in the classes of the subject of Language and Literature.
The elements that make up the verbal periphrasis are the following:
- An auxiliary form : it provides the construction with modal (indicative, subjunctive, imperative, etc.) or aspectual values (they indicate whether the action has concluded when it is referenced), loses its lexical meaning totally or partially and is the component that has verbal endings (of person, time , number, etc.).
- A link : it is the optional element and it is a conjunction or a preposition .
- An auxiliary or main form : a verb that provides the basis of the lexical meaning of the verbal idea and is presented in a non-personal form (either in a participle, gerund or infinitive).
In the example "You have to study" you can see these elements: "I have" is the auxiliary form , which is presented conjugated in the third person singular, it has lost part of its lexical meaning (since it does not indicate possession) and connotes a meaning of obligation; "that" is the link between both verbs; and "study" , finally, is the auxiliary or main form , which gives the main lexical meaning and is not conjugated (its form is the infinitive).
How to determine the presence of a periphrasis
It must be said that, sometimes, doubts arise about constructions with participles. And it is not known if they are periphrases or not. In that case, what is done is to resort to a series of tricks or tests that will resolve the issue:
- When the participle can be coordinated with another adjective, it is established that it is not periphrasis.
- When the participle cannot be deleted, in those cases it can be said that they are periphrases.
- It will not be periphrasis when the aforementioned verbal form can be replaced by an adverb, an adjective, a circumstantial complement or an adverbial phrase.
Classification according to type
The first classification of verbal periphrases divides them into two large groups: the aspectual ones , which provide nuances about the development or state of the action , in terms of the moment of the action to which reference is made in the message; and manners , which indicate how the speaker sees the action, his attitude towards it.
Within the aspectual periphrases we find the:
- Ingressive : indicate an imminent action ( " I'm going for a walk" , " he's about to die" ).
- Inchoatives : they show the action when it begins ( " I started to think" , " I burst into tears" ):
- Durative : they focus on the development of the action ( " I am traveling , " he continued reading ).
- Terminatives : the action has ended or has been interrupted ( " it stopped moving" , " I managed to knock" ).
- Resultative : they express the result of an action or a set of different acts ( " he was paralyzed" , " we took it for granted" ).
- Habitual : they show the habitual nature of the process or action ( " he usually speaks" , " I usually read" ):
- Reiterative : the action is repeated ( " it appeared again" ).
Modal periphrases include:
- Obligation and necessity : the action must be carried out ( " I must tell him" , " you have to go" ).
- Probability, possibility, conjecture or assumption : the action is not something certain ( " it may appear" ).
- Capacity or authorization : indicate capacity ( " I can run" ) or authorization ( " you can go" ).