Home › Glossary › Letter J

Jargonelle

Sound
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

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

A deliberately obscure or private language used within a poetic school or coterie

Detailed Definition
Jargonelle is a rare, playful poetic form or term sometimes used to describe verse laden with specialized, obscure, or invented lexicon—often for satirical or aesthetic effect; it may mimic technical jargon, dialect, or neologisms to challenge linguistic norms, as seen in the works of Lewis Carroll or contemporary avant-garde poets.
Example
Example in poetry:
Jargonelle: “Ode to the pear-shaped moment” (fruit pun); “Jargonelle: sweet, slightly gritty, poetic” (literal + metaphor); “Her words: jargonelle ripe on the tongue” (sensory); “Not just fruit—also a type of verse?” (playful)
Additional Notes
A light, tinkling verse form. French origin, similar to rondeau but lighter. Creates playful, musical effect. Rare in English. Related to vers de société and occasional verse.
Also Known As
coterie cant private lexicon
Skip to main content