Metonymy or Synecdoche? That is the question.
Recently, whilst having dinner with my family, I raised the question of metonymy or synecdoche. Usually enlivened by the opportunity to discover and use new words, these ones were met with blatant disinterest. And I get it! The argument is entirely academic, but as I thrive on the academics of English… I couldn’t help myself.
So, for everyone who loves the minutiae, or just really wants to do well in ATAR academic English, down the rabbit hole we go…
I confess it took me a while to be able to pronounce both of these terms (I’ve been saying them incorrectly for a year), having to “just Google it”, after my son’s advice, but now I feel confident that:
Metonymy, (sounded met-on-im-E) is the use of an attribute of, but not an actual attachment of a thing, to describe the whole thing, whereas Synecdoche (sounded sin-ek-doh-key) is the use of either a small part of the whole to refer to the whole, or the use of the whole to refer to small parts of the whole, or the use of a material to refer to the whole.
Phew! That’s a lot of technical. Let me break it down…
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Metonymy alludes.
If I was a businesswoman, I might be refered to as a “suit”.
If I were an electrician, I might be referred to as a “sparky”.
Neither the suit, nor the sparks, are attached to me and are yet still an essential element of the particular job I had, therefore those terms are examples of metonmy.
For example, I often use Metonymy for character names, such as Winsome the mouse, in Say Cheese and The Custard Effect, named so for his personality. I very nearly called my cat “Trouble” for the same reason. Generally, Metonymy are colloquial slang terms that inject a little humour for, and require a little brain power from, your reader.
Metonymy is essentially simple metaphor that alludes rather than making a direct comparison. Regardless, I still like them.
Synecdoche is also fundamentally metaphorical.
Ever heard of an orange cat called Ginger? Marmalade? Chilli? How about a cat simply called Whiskers?
The whiskers and the orange fur are small parts of the whole cat but are used to refer to the whole cat, therefore are examples of synecdoche. In my books I have a character called Custard, which refers to this cat’s ginger fur and slightly tubby tummy.
The inverse is also true. If I refer to the whole thing but mean only a small part of it, such as “ I went shopping with friends”, then this is also synecdoche. Here “shopping” is the whole activity even though I meant specific shops rather than all the shops. Also, “friends” is the whole though I didn’t mean all my friends, just the ones I shopped with.
Brands too are often used in synecdoche. Every marketer drools over the idea of being a synecdoche household name such as Panadol or Coke.How often do you ask for Band Aids rather than sticking plaster? This kind of branding is an example of synedoche.
I very famously, in my family at least, once went into a rural IGA, having forgotten to take my cutlery camping with me (fun trip), and asked the blank-expressioned cashier where they kept their eating irons! (This I can probably blame on my Dad whose sense of humour loves a good synecdoche). My use of “iron” to refer to the knives and forks, not only left the poor shop assistant speechless, but also demonstrated synecdoche. “Eating irons” is actually a doubly impressive phrase though as the “eating” is also an example of metonymy.
So, how do you tell which is which?
Well, a characteristic of the whole experience, for example “ride” meaning car, would be a metonym, as in “check out my new ride”.
A synecdoche would refer to something specific about the thing itself, such as wheels, as in “I took my wheels for a spin”. Conversely, “spin” is a metonym for car ride rather than a synecdoche, as it refers to the tuning of the wheels rather than to the wheels themselves. Yes, I know, minutiae.
So… my would-be academics and scrabble players, the distinction, whilst fascinating, is, merely academic! Does all this information change life as we know it and create a mind-blowing reality shift to wisdom and enlightenment?
No… probably not…
Unless….
…like me, you thrive on the details, or just love a new scrabble word, or, you’re studying ATAR English or Academic Writing!
Understanding these distinctions helps you write more sophisticated analysis in your ATAR essays and narratives. The more devices you can identify and name, the more precise and impressive your essay writing becomes because you are using metalanguage and your work is more detailed. When you can identify whether an author is using metonymy or synecdoche, you can discuss their specific effects more precisely and connect it with the author’s intentions, and, if you can do more than just spot them, but also use them in your own penmanship with flair and accuracy, you’ll have that academic edge all students crave…
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