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chip

Craft Terms
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

Chip means to remove small pieces by cutting or breaking; in poetry, it can suggest gradual shaping, fragmentation, or the work of refining a rough surface.

Detailed Definition
In literal craft use, chip refers to breaking off small bits from a material. In poetry, it may carry the sense of forming through subtraction, where meaning emerges by taking away rather than adding. It belongs to craft language because it reflects the artisan’s process of shaping by small adjustments.
Example
Example in poetry:
A poet may describe paint chipping from an old house as an image of decaying memory; Chipped pottery imagery often symbolizes imperfection that still holds beauty, echoing wabi-sabi aesthetics; A poem about aging might describe a chipped tooth or chipped stone step as a marker of time's passage; A poet could use chipping ice from a windshield as a small ritual opening a winter poem; Chipped paint on a childhood swing set can evoke nostalgia and loss in a memory poem; A poet describing quarry work might use chipping stone to explore themes of labor and extraction.
Additional Notes
Chip suggests small, incremental damage or removal, making it a useful term for discussing poems about gradual loss, erosion of identity, or the slow accumulation of small hurts; unlike more dramatic terms like shatter or break, chip implies a process that occurs over time and often goes unnoticed until the cumulative effect becomes visible, which makes it especially apt for poems about aging, decay, or long-term emotional wear; instructors might pair this term with hollow or dent to discuss a family of craft terms describing subtle, cumulative damage to surfaces and structures.
Also Known As
chip away nick flake break off
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