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Ambage

Device
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Deliberately indirect or roundabout phrasing used to create mystery, delay revelation, or add rhetorical complexity.

Detailed Definition
Ambage refers to deliberate vagueness, circumlocution, or indirectness in poetic diction, often used to create mystery, suspense, or rhetorical elegance; derived from Latin “ambages,” it appears in prophetic or oracular poetry where meaning is veiled to provoke interpretation or awe.
Example
Example in poetry:
Ambage is indirect or circuitous speech; Shakespeare’s Macbeth uses it: “If it were done when ’tis done, then ’twere well / It were done quickly,” avoiding direct mention of murder.
Additional Notes
Indirect, circuitous expression; intentional wordiness. Related to periphrasis and circumlocution. Can create mystery or confusion. Contrast with plain style. Medieval rhetoric valued elaborate ambage; modernism rejected it.
Also Known As
Circumlocution Roundabout expression Verbal maze Labyrinthine speech
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