Under- and overstatement

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Under- and overstatement발음듣기

[Rosie] Hello, grammarians, hello David.발음듣기

[David] Hello, Rosie!발음듣기

[Rosie] So today, we're going to talk about understatement and overstatement.발음듣기

[David] And I could not be more excited.발음듣기

This is like the coolest thing that's happened to me all week!발음듣기

[Rosie] Oh my gosh. Really~? (laughs)발음듣기

[David] Uh, uh, uh, no. I mean, I'm excited.발음듣기

This is a really interesting topic but I was deliberately overstating.발음듣기

[Rosie] Yeah, I mean, it's pretty cool but that is, that does that is a perfect example, David of what overstatement is.발음듣기

So we're gonna look at a couple examples of what writers will do sometimes to I would say, both understatement and overstatement really help to drive a point home.발음듣기

We're gonna start with understatement.발음듣기

So David, you wanna read this sentence?발음듣기

[David] Sure. So you kidnapped my dog, drove to New Orleans without telling anyone, and ate the last cookie that I was saving?발음듣기

Yeah, I'm like, vaguely unhappy. (Rosie laughs softly)발음듣기

[Rosie] This is a horrible thing that just happened.발음듣기

So when you said, "Yeah, I'm like vaguely unhappy," after this huge list of horrible things that this supposed friend has done you know, it's clear that that you're more than just a little, vaguely unhappy.발음듣기

[David] To be clear, grammarians Rosie did not do any of these things.발음듣기

(Rosie laughs softly) [Rosie] Thank you, David.발음듣기

[David] This sentence is a work of fiction.발음듣기

[Rosie] Thank you for letting me off the hook there.발음듣기

[David] You're welcome.발음듣기

So what we're trying to express in this sentence is that this is something that should make the speaker or the writer quite unhappy.발음듣기

But what we're doing here is deliberately understating the case to further drive home the point that this is actually quite serious.발음듣기

[Rosie] Exactly.발음듣기

[David] So, ironically, while the writer is using minimizing language, saying, "I am vaguely unhappy," or, "like vaguely unhappy," which serves to further qualify that statement the fact that they're saying that after such a litany of sins like, the coo.발음듣기

Really serve to drive home the opposite effect.발음듣기

So this is a textbook example of understatement.발음듣기

[Rosie] All right, so we've seen an example of understatement.발음듣기

Let's take a look at what an overstatement might look like.발음듣기

[David] "My life is over.발음듣기

I got a D on the midterm.I am dead; I am literally a skeleton."발음듣기

[Rosie] Hooo, wow. (laughs) So this is a great a great example of overstatement.발음듣기

[David] So we know this isn't true, right?발음듣기

Made a D on your midterm, not great.발음듣기

But is it truly and actually the end of someone's life?발음듣기

No, and this author, this writer knows that knows what they are saying because skeletons can't write.발음듣기

[Rosie] Exactly. You might have also heard of hyperbole which is what this is.발음듣기

It's just like, way exaggeration.발음듣기

But it serves to drive home this person's point that they feel really bad that they got a D on this midterm.발음듣기

And this is a very effective way of conveying to us how upset they are even though they're not literally a skeleton and they don't think they're literally a skeleton.발음듣기

[David] I think the emotional impact of this is much more effective than it would be if I just said, "I am very upset, because I got a D on my midterm."발음듣기

Like, I think this is more expressive.발음듣기

And certainly it's not true but I think there's an interesting way to play with over and understatement in order to get feelings across.발음듣기

I think there's like, a little bit of a taboo in American English speaking culture to too literally say the state of your emotions.발음듣기

And so we've discovered these cultural idioms through which we transmit emotion.발음듣기

So like, compare the following two examples delivered by Rosie.발음듣기

[Rosie] 'Kay. I'm very angry."발음듣기

Or, "Yeah, you could say I'm a little upset."발음듣기

[David] Now Rosie is using understatement that I think, and I feel that the statement that uses understatement actually conveys more anger.발음듣기

Because it's more socially acceptable in the United States to somewhat publicly repress your emotions.발음듣기

[Rosie] Yeah, exactly. I mean, you could hear somebody say.발음듣기

Yeah, I think I'm pretty upset about that.발음듣기

And they're kind of laughing, but they're upset.발음듣기

[David] You can see the glorious subtlety of these language techniques.발음듣기

And I understand, this can make English a minefield for people trying to learn the language because the subtext of what you're saying with overstatement and understatement is more important than the text itself.발음듣기

[Rosie] Exactly.발음듣기

[David] It's very difficult to learn to interpret those cues.발음듣기

There are plenty of native speakers who have trouble with it.발음듣기

[Rosie] It's true. And it's just something that you can keep an eye out for when you're reading and also when you're talking to people.발음듣기

It may start to, you may start to spot them more as you listen.발음듣기

[David] And I suspect that, if you listen and you study I have this sneaking minute suspicion that you can learn anything.발음듣기

David, out.발음듣기

[Rosie] Rosie, out.발음듣기

[David] That was awesome.발음듣기

[Rosie] That was fun!발음듣기

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