Tautology (language)
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
| Revision as of 18:04, 3 September 2018 Jahsonic (Talk | contribs) (Tautology (rhetoric) moved to Tautology (language)) ← Previous diff |
Revision as of 19:56, 3 September 2018 Jahsonic (Talk | contribs) Next diff → |
||
| Line 7: | Line 7: | ||
| {{Template}} | {{Template}} | ||
| - | In [[rhetoric]], a '''tautology''' is an unnecessary or unessential (and sometimes unintentional) repetition of meaning, using different and dissimilar words that effectively say the same thing twice (often originally from different languages). It is often regarded as a fault of [[stylistics (linguistics)|style]] and was defined by [[Fowler's Modern English Usage|Fowler]] as "saying the same thing twice." It is not apparently necessary or essential for the entire meaning of a phrase to be repeated. If a part of the meaning is repeated in such a way that it appears as unintentional, clumsy, or lacking in dexterity, then it may be described as tautology. On the other hand, a [[Repetition (rhetorical device)|repetition of meaning]] which improves the style of a piece of speech or writing is not necessarily described as tautology because it improves the style of a piece of speech or writing. | + | In [[literary criticism]] and [[rhetoric]], a '''tautology''' is a statement which [[Repetition (rhetorical device)|repeat]]s the same idea, using near-[[synonym]]ous morphemes, words, or phrases, that is, in the words of ''[[Modern English Usage]]'', "saying the same thing twice". Tautology and [[pleonasm]] are not consistently differentiated in the literature. |
| - | A [[rhetorical]] tautology can also be defined as a series of statements that comprise an argument, whereby the statements are constructed in such a way that the truth of the propositions is guaranteed or that the truth of the propositions cannot be disputed by defining a term in terms of another self referentially. Consequently, the statement conveys no useful information regardless of its length or complexity making it [[unfalsifiable]]. It is a way of formulating a description such that it masquerades as an explanation when the real reason for the phenomena cannot be independently derived. A [[rhetorical]] tautology should not be confused with a [[tautology (logic)|tautology]] in propositional logic, since the inherent meanings and subsequent conclusions in rhetorical and logical tautologies are very different. | + | Like [[pleonasm]], it is often considered a fault of [[stylistics (linguistics)|style]] when unintentional. On the other hand, an intentional repetition may be an effective way to emphasize a thought, or help the listener or reader understand a point. |
| + | |||
| + | Sometimes [[tautology (logic)|logical tautologies]] like "Boys will be boys" are conflated with language tautologies, but in general, a rhetorical tautology is not inherently true. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==Etymology== | ||
| + | |||
| + | The word was coined in Hellenistic Greek from ταὐτός 'the same plus λόγος 'word/idea'., and transmitted through 3rd-century Latin ''tautologia'' and French ''tautologie''. It first appears in English in the 16th century. The use in the term [[tautology (logic)|logical tautology]] was introduced in English by [[Wittgenstein]] in 1919, perhaps following [[Auguste Comte]]'s usage in 1835. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==Examples== | ||
| + | * "With malice toward none, with charity for all," from [[Abraham Lincoln's second inaugural address]]. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==Discussion== | ||
| + | Intentional repetition of meaning intends to amplify or emphasize a particular, usually significant, fact about what is being discussed. For example, a [[gift]] is, by definition, free of charge; using the phrase "free gift" might emphasize that there are no hidden conditions or [[fine print]], be it the expectation of money or reciprocation, or that the gift is being given by [[volition (psychology)|volition]]. | ||
| + | |||
| + | This is related to the [[rhetoric]]al device of [[hendiadys]], where one concept is expressed through the use of two descriptive words or phrases. For example, "goblets and gold" meaning wealth, or "this day and age" meaning the present time. Superficially these expressions may seem tautological, but they are stylistically sound because the repeated meaning is just a way to emphasize the same idea. | ||
| + | |||
| + | The use of tautologies is, however, usually [[unintentional]]. For example, the phrases "mental telepathy", "planned conspiracies", and "small dwarfs" imply that there are such things as "physical telepathy, spontaneous conspiracies, and giant dwarfs." | ||
| + | |||
| + | [[Parallelism (rhetoric)|Parallelism]] is not tautology, but rather a particular stylistic device. Much [[Old Testament]] [[poetry]] is based on [[Parallelism (rhetoric)|parallelism]]: the same thing said twice, but in slightly different ways (Fowler puts it as [[pleonasm]]). However, modern biblical study emphasizes that there are subtle distinctions and developments between the two lines, such that they are usually not truly the "same thing." Parallelism can be found wherever there is poetry in the Bible: [[Psalms]], the [[Books of the Prophets]], and in other areas as well. | ||
| ==See also== | ==See also== | ||
| - | * [[English language]] | + | * [[Pleonasm]] |
| - | * [[English usage]] | + | |
| * [[Figure of speech]] | * [[Figure of speech]] | ||
| - | * [[Fowler's Modern English Usage]] | ||
| * [[Grammar]] | * [[Grammar]] | ||
| - | * [[Hyperbole]] | ||
| - | * [[Language]] | ||
| - | * [[Law of identity]] | ||
| - | * [[List of tautological place names]] | ||
| * [[No true Scotsman]] | * [[No true Scotsman]] | ||
| * [[Oxymoron]] | * [[Oxymoron]] | ||
| - | * [[Pleonasm]] | + | * [[Parallelism (rhetoric)]] |
| - | * [[Redundancy (language)]] | + | * [[Redundancy (linguistics)]] |
| - | * [[Rhetoric]] | + | |
| - | * [[Vacuous truth]] | + | |
| {{GFDL}} | {{GFDL}} | ||
Revision as of 19:56, 3 September 2018
|
“In the illusory babels of language, an artist might advance specifically to get lost, and to intoxicate himself in dizzying syntaxes, seeking odd intersections of meaning, strange corridors of history, unexpected echoes, unknown humors, or voids of knowledge… but this quest is risky, full of bottomless fictions and endless architectures and counter-architectures… at the end, if there is an end, are perhaps only meaningless reverberations.” --Robert Smithson in " A Museum of Language in the Vicinity of Art" (1968) "It is clear that the world is purely parodic, in other words, that each thing seen is the parody of another, or is the same thing in a deceptive form. --"The Solar Anus" by Georges Bataille |
|
Related e |
|
Featured: |
In literary criticism and rhetoric, a tautology is a statement which repeats the same idea, using near-synonymous morphemes, words, or phrases, that is, in the words of Modern English Usage, "saying the same thing twice". Tautology and pleonasm are not consistently differentiated in the literature.
Like pleonasm, it is often considered a fault of style when unintentional. On the other hand, an intentional repetition may be an effective way to emphasize a thought, or help the listener or reader understand a point.
Sometimes logical tautologies like "Boys will be boys" are conflated with language tautologies, but in general, a rhetorical tautology is not inherently true.
Contents |
Etymology
The word was coined in Hellenistic Greek from ταὐτός 'the same plus λόγος 'word/idea'., and transmitted through 3rd-century Latin tautologia and French tautologie. It first appears in English in the 16th century. The use in the term logical tautology was introduced in English by Wittgenstein in 1919, perhaps following Auguste Comte's usage in 1835.
Examples
- "With malice toward none, with charity for all," from Abraham Lincoln's second inaugural address.
Discussion
Intentional repetition of meaning intends to amplify or emphasize a particular, usually significant, fact about what is being discussed. For example, a gift is, by definition, free of charge; using the phrase "free gift" might emphasize that there are no hidden conditions or fine print, be it the expectation of money or reciprocation, or that the gift is being given by volition.
This is related to the rhetorical device of hendiadys, where one concept is expressed through the use of two descriptive words or phrases. For example, "goblets and gold" meaning wealth, or "this day and age" meaning the present time. Superficially these expressions may seem tautological, but they are stylistically sound because the repeated meaning is just a way to emphasize the same idea.
The use of tautologies is, however, usually unintentional. For example, the phrases "mental telepathy", "planned conspiracies", and "small dwarfs" imply that there are such things as "physical telepathy, spontaneous conspiracies, and giant dwarfs."
Parallelism is not tautology, but rather a particular stylistic device. Much Old Testament poetry is based on parallelism: the same thing said twice, but in slightly different ways (Fowler puts it as pleonasm). However, modern biblical study emphasizes that there are subtle distinctions and developments between the two lines, such that they are usually not truly the "same thing." Parallelism can be found wherever there is poetry in the Bible: Psalms, the Books of the Prophets, and in other areas as well.
See also
- Pleonasm
- Figure of speech
- Grammar
- No true Scotsman
- Oxymoron
- Parallelism (rhetoric)
- Redundancy (linguistics)
