HSC Spanish Extension flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Narrador omnisciente

A narrator who knows the thoughts, feelings, and past or future of all characters, and can comment from outside the story world.

Focalización interna

Narrative perspective in which the reader's knowledge is limited to what one character perceives, thinks, or feels at a given moment.

Planteamiento, nudo, desenlace

The three structural phases of a narrative: the opening situation, the development of conflict, and the resolution or final outcome.

Tema central

The main idea or underlying issue a text explores, distinct from its plot; it is expressed through recurring motifs and character conflict.

Acotaciones

Stage directions in a dramatic text, usually in brackets or italics, indicating setting, movement, tone, or gesture for performers and readers.

Yo lírico

The speaking voice in a poem, distinct from the real author; it is a constructed persona whose emotions shape the poem's tone.

Metáfora y símil

A metaphor identifies one thing with another without comparison; a simile compares them explicitly using como or cual.

Tesis y argumentación

A critical response opens with a clear thesis statement, then supports it with textual evidence and reasoned commentary rather than plot summary.

Conectores de contraste

Words such as sin embargo, no obstante, and en cambio that signal opposition between ideas and sharpen the logic of an argument.

Matizar una afirmación

To qualify or nuance a claim, acknowledging limits or exceptions instead of presenting an absolute, unqualified judgement.

Lenguaje atenuador

Hedging expressions like quizás, tal vez, cabe señalar, and en cierta medida that soften claims and signal measured critical judgement.

Registro académico

Formal written Spanish using impersonal constructions, precise vocabulary, and complex syntax, appropriate for extended analytical response.

Refutación

The part of an argument that identifies an opposing view and demonstrates why it is weak, incomplete, or outweighed by stronger evidence.

Conclusión sintética

A closing paragraph that restates the thesis in light of the evidence presented and draws out its wider significance, without new material.

Siglo de Oro

A period of Spanish literary flourishing (roughly sixteenth and seventeenth centuries) encompassing Renaissance and Baroque poetry, drama, and the novel.

Generación del 27

A group of Spanish poets of the 1920s, including Lorca and Alberti, blending avant-garde experimentation with popular and classical traditions.

Generación del 98

Spanish writers, including Unamuno and Machado, who reflected on national identity and decline after the 1898 loss of Spain's last colonies.

Boom latinoamericano

A mid-twentieth-century surge of Latin American fiction, with authors such as García Márquez and Cortázar, marked by experimental narrative techniques.

Memoria histórica

A recurring theme in Spanish texts addressing the Civil War and Franco dictatorship, exploring remembrance, silence, and unresolved trauma across generations.

Lenguas cooficiales

Languages recognised alongside Castilian in Spain, including catalán, gallego, and euskera, often used in literature to express regional identity.

El exilio

The condition of forced displacement from one's country, a central theme in Spanish and Latin American literature exploring loss, identity, and belonging.

Voseo

The use of vos instead of tú as the second-person singular pronoun, characteristic of River Plate Spanish and some Central American varieties.

Lectura atenta

Close reading: careful attention to word choice, syntax, structure, and imagery in order to explain how meaning and effect are produced.

Tono del texto

The attitude the text conveys toward its subject, such as irónico, nostálgico, or reivindicativo, inferred from diction and syntax.

Implícito y explícito

Explicit meaning is stated directly; implicit meaning is suggested through implication, requiring the reader to infer what is not said.

Intertextualidad

Reference within a text to another text, myth, or cultural work, which enriches meaning by inviting comparison with the earlier source.

Campo, tenor y modo

Register analysis categories: the topic, the relationship between participants, and whether the text is spoken or written.

Deixis

Words pointing to persons, places, or times (yo, aquí, ahora) that anchor a text to its speaking situation and guide interpretation.

Subjuntivo tras emoción

Expressions of emotion or value judgement, such as me molesta que or es triste que, require the subjunctive in the dependent clause.

Indefinido e imperfecto

The preterite presents completed, foregrounded events; the imperfect describes background, habits, and ongoing states in past narration.

Oraciones condicionales

Three patterns: si + present → future; si + imperfect subjunctive → conditional; si + pluperfect subjunctive → conditional perfect.

Acento diacrítico

A written accent distinguishing words otherwise identical in spelling, such as él/el, sí/si, más/mas, and aún/aun.