Litota is an understatement trope

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

The richest Russian language contains many turns of speech, expressions that allow you to give any saying the desired emotional color, make it more or less vivid. Litota is far from the last place among such terms. This is a deliberate artistic understatement that can be applied to the qualities of a person or an object, a certain phenomenon or event. As a rule, such a figure of speech is used if the narrator doubts that the action has been completed to the full, or that the person is perfect in certain qualities.

Features of artistic technique

Litota in Russian is the exact opposite of hyperbole, which, in turn, is an exaggeration of the qualities and properties of an object or some human abilities. The trope we are considering is formed by using double negation in speech if it is necessary to indicate the negative side of any aspect, for example:not without reason. If, on the contrary, it is required to emphasize dignity, but not to praise too much, then the litote trope is formed with the help of negatively colored words, for example: not bad, not devoid of warmth, and so on.

Where to find litotes

Most often, such turns in literature and in everyday speech are used to turn the denial of something into morality. An example is the phrase: "I'm not sure that you can cope with the task." Its meaning lies in the fact that the speaker is sure that his interlocutor will not cope with the task. However, with the help of denials, he stated this in the exact opposite way. In this case, a litote is a softening that is used in speech in order not to openly declare one's disagreement, but to do it in a more polite way.

This downplaying and denying trope is very common in fiction, as well as in educational articles. They make the text more colorful, interesting, often forcing the reader to return to the lines they read in order to better understand their meaning. Litota is also used during communication at work. Often, in order to politely hint to a boss or a higher-ranking employee about his possible mistakes, it is intentional understatement in speech that is used. Hearing it, any person will involuntarily think about the correctness of their actions. If you tell him about the mistake openly, an argument will begin.

Artistic image of the trail

Also, litote is a technique thatvery often found in fairy tales and folk art. Understatement here is achieved not as a result of denying an object or phenomenon, but by identifying it with something small, tiny. An example would be the name of the proverb “a boy with a finger” or the fairy tale “A man with a fingernail”. Examples can also be the expressions "a few steps away", "three inches from the pot", "be back in a second" and the like.

It is generally accepted that litotes are all comparisons that are used to emphasize the insignificance, small size, refinement of something. For example, it can be applied to a female figure: “the waist is as thin as a birch tree.”