Linguistic resources: characteristics, examples and types

Beyond the simple use of words, we have many strategies to communicate verbally.

Linguistic resources are some of the components that make up a discourse. They are the procedures and elements that we use in specific ways in order to communicate. As such, linguistic resources exist in both written and spoken discourses.

In this text we will see in more detail what linguistic resources are, as well as some types and examples of them.as well as some types and examples of them.

What are linguistic resources?

Language can be defined as the system of communication that we use to exchange different types of information.. As a system, it is characterized by a set of elements that are intertwined and have particular uses.

In turn, these uses vary according to the context in which they are presented and according to the communicative purpose: each element can be used in one way or another depending on the objective of the message to be conveyed.

In other words, for a discourse to communicate something, it is necessary to make use of the codes offered by the communicative context.. This use occurs through the procedures or means at our disposal to satisfy the need to communicate.

In fact, the latter is what we understand by the word "resource". Thus, we see that a "linguistic resource" is a procedure or means at our disposal to satisfy the need to communicate something. These resources are also known as "literary resources" or "literary figures". The name varies according to the genre of the discourse and the specific use of the resource..

Moreover, language is not only a means of expression and reflection of our ideas. It is also an element that intervenes and conditions the constitution of a social reality (Santander, 2011, cited by Rubio, 2016).

This means that, beyond helping us to transmit and exchange information, linguistic resources can give us important guidelines to understand a social reality. For the same reason they are elements frequently studied in discourse analysis in different contexts.

In the same sense, depending on the genre and the objectives of the text, linguistic resources can go hand in hand with strategies that help to fulfill a given communicative purpose. Examples of these strategies are persuasion, generalization, evaluation, naturalization, authorization, among others. Finally, linguistic resources are also considered to be those material supports that allow us to access discourses.

Types and examples

Now, what elements do we use to give readability or coherence to a discourse, whether oral or written? Below are some types and examples of linguistic resources applied to discourse, as well as some examples according to the medium that contains them.

1. Phonetic resources

These are elements that help us to highlight a specific part of the message by means of its sounds.. This is why they are known as "phonetic" devices. Among the most common subtypes are the following:

• AlliterationProduction of sound effects by the repetition of one or several phonemes, e.g. "The noise with which the rock rolls" or "three sad tigers swallowed wheat".
• Onomatopoeiaimitating natural noises to convey a message or idea, which can be converted into words, e.g. "meow" and "meow".
• Paronomasiasimilarity of sounds between words that are almost the same but different, for example "horse" and "hair".
• Palindromy or palindromePalindrome: words that read the same from left to right and from right to left, e.g. "anita washes the bathtub".

2. Semantic resources or rhetorical elements

These are the elements that show the relationship between the meaning and the signifier, i.e., that allow establishing a specific meaning for each concept. Among the most representative are

• ComparisonComparison: to relate an idea or word with another one that is clearer, more expressive or more concrete and whose meaning is similar to the one we are introducing.
• Metaphor: to identify a word or phrase with another word or phrase that is different but shares the same meaning, e.g. "the windows of the soul" to refer to the eyes. The difference with comparison is that in the case of metaphor it does not make explicit the relationship between the two ideas.
• Metonymyis to name something with a different but related concept. For example, "to take a bottle of..." (substituting the liquid for the container).
• Allegoryis the sequential use of metaphors within a literary text.
• Antithesis: to contrast a phrase with another phrase that has an opposite meaning, e.g. "a child of age".
• HyperboleExaggeration : exaggerating or minimizing qualities or actions, e.g. of characters in a text.
• Prosopopoeiaconsists of attributing human properties to inanimate beings.

3. Morphological resources

Morphological resources are those that allow us to make use of the composition of words, their forms and their internal structures. Some examples of this are the following:

EpithetEpithet: using qualifying adjectives to highlight natural qualities, even if they do not add extra information, e.g. "the white snow". EnumerationUse a series of nouns whose meaning is similar to describe or emphasize a meaning.

4. Syntactic resources or cohesive elements

Syntactic resources are those that refer to the specific order of each word within a sentence, so that it is possible to highlight ideas. They also allow speeches to be organized in a certain way, generating a logical order of these ideas. Some of the most common are:

• Anaphorarepeating the same word at the beginning of each sentence or verse.
• HyperbatonHyperbaton : modifying the grammatical order of words in such a way as to emphasize an idea, e.g. "of green willows there is a thicket".
• Connectorsthose grammatical elements that indicate hierarchy, opposition, relationship or temporality, e.g. "at the beginning", "nevertheless", "in sum", "in continuation".
• Referenceindicates a relationship between the elements of the text mentioned above, or establishes a relationship between an idea just stated and the specification of the elements to which it alludes.
• Asyndeton: intentionally suppressing conjunctions or nexuses to join several words, for example, substituting them with commas: "acude, corre, vuela".
• PolysyndetonPolysyndeton : contrary to the previous one, it consists of superimposing several conjunctions, for example using "and" repeatedly: "and runs, and jumps, and grows, and throws".
• AdverbsThey serve to modify, specify or exalt the meaning of a verb, an adjective or another adverb, e.g. "he lives far away", "he is extraordinarily active", "he is very unpleasant".

5. Resources according to the medium

On the other hand, depending on the medium, the following can also be examples of linguistic resources all those devices which allow us to access certain information. That is, archives and tools for consultation or access to any information element. Examples of this are dictionaries, encyclopedias, translators, online consultation applications or platforms, and so on.

Bibliographic references:

• Literary Resources (2018). Definition.de. Retrieved September 25, 2018. Available at https://definicion.de/recursos-literarios/.
• Linguistic resources (2018). Elhuyar. Retrieved September 25, 2018. Available at https://www.elhuyar.eus/es/site/servicios/teknologias/recursos-linguisticos.
• Rubio, T. (2016). Analysis of linguistic resources used by reader advocates for the trust of press users. Journal of Linguistic Research, 19: 295-322.
• Salas, C. (2011). Cohesive elements in written academic discourse: an experience from a university context. Legenda, 15(13): 29-55.
• TsEdi (2018). Literary resource classes. Retrieved September 25, 2018. Available at http://blog.tsedi.com/clases-de-recursos-literarios/.