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Signifyin' (sometimes written "signifyin(g)") is a practice in African-American culture involving a verbal strategy of indirection that exploits the gap between the denotative and figurative meanings of words. A simple example would be insulting someone to show them affection.
- The Signifying Monkey
The Signifying Monkey: A Theory of Afro-American Literary...
- Signifying monkey
Signifying monkey. The signifying monkey is a character of...
- The Signifying Monkey
Gary John Norman/Getty Images. By. Richard Nordquist. Updated on January 29, 2019. Signifying is a combination of rhetorical strategies employed in African American speech communities--in particular, the use of irony and indirection to express ideas and opinions. Read More.
Mar 9, 2024 · Signifyin’ is the practice of representing an idea indirectly, through a commentary that is often humourous, boastful, insulting, or provocative. Gates argued that the pervasiveness and centrality of signifyin’ in African and African American literature and music means that all such expression is essentially a kind of dialogue with the ...
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Sep 6, 2023 · Dive deep into Henry Louis Gates Jr.'s The Signifying Monkey with extended analysis, commentary, and discussion.
Signifyin’ is the practice of representing an idea indirectly, through a commentary that is often humourous, boastful, insulting, or provocative. Gates argued that the pervasiveness and centrality of signifyin’ in African and African American literature… Read More. Home Literature Literary Criticism. Arts & Culture. Henry Louis Gates, Jr.