Comparatio
Encyclopedia
Comparatio is a rhetoric
al strategy that uses comparison
to persuade people. Comparatio relies upon people's knowledge
or belief
s about a phenomenon, and then discursively "links" that phenomenon to a different phenomenon about which the speaker/writer wishes to make a claim.
For example, if someone wanted to persuade an audience of the merit of putting in a new freeway system, they could use comparatio as a rhetorical strategy. They might compare the new freeway system to a "river of life flowing through our community" or they could call it a "path to commercial vibrance."
Comparisons can also be made to phenomena about which an audience could be expected to have negative feelings. For example, if you were opposed to the new freeway because of the environmental damage it would do to waterfowl nesting areas, you might compare the new freeway to "a corridor of death for our bird species."
The rhetorical success of comparatio hinges upon comparing your claim to a phenomenon that is:
It would not, for example, work well to call the freeway a "ham sandwich lodged in the throat of the community." The freeway seems more logically related to the throat (a passageway or throughway) than an obstacle in that passageway.
Alternative meaning: Compa-ratio, sometimes spelled compa ratio or comparatio is a term used in the human resources specialty area of wage and compensation management. In its simplest form it is the ratio of an employee’s current wage to the organization’s benchmark rate, usually the salary grade midpoint. Compa-ratios are normally expressed as a percent of the benchmark. For example: An employee earns $45,000 per year in a job with a salary grade midpoint of $50,000. The equation is $45,000/$50,000 = 0.9. The employee is said to have a compa-ratio of 90%. Variations include: market compa-ratio or market ratio, target compa-ratio, group compa-ratios, wage index, competitive wage ratio. Compa-ratios are frequently used as one factor in wage increase matrixes used to determine annual salary adjustment.
Rhetoric
Rhetoric is the art of discourse, an art that aims to improve the facility of speakers or writers who attempt to inform, persuade, or motivate particular audiences in specific situations. As a subject of formal study and a productive civic practice, rhetoric has played a central role in the Western...
al strategy that uses comparison
Comparison
Comparison may refer to:-Language:* Comparison , a feature of many languages* Degree of comparison, an English language grammatical feature* Mass comparison, a test for the relatedness of languages-Mathematics:...
to persuade people. Comparatio relies upon people's knowledge
Knowledge
Knowledge is a familiarity with someone or something unknown, which can include information, facts, descriptions, or skills acquired through experience or education. It can refer to the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject...
or belief
Belief
Belief is the psychological state in which an individual holds a proposition or premise to be true.-Belief, knowledge and epistemology:The terms belief and knowledge are used differently in philosophy....
s about a phenomenon, and then discursively "links" that phenomenon to a different phenomenon about which the speaker/writer wishes to make a claim.
For example, if someone wanted to persuade an audience of the merit of putting in a new freeway system, they could use comparatio as a rhetorical strategy. They might compare the new freeway system to a "river of life flowing through our community" or they could call it a "path to commercial vibrance."
Comparisons can also be made to phenomena about which an audience could be expected to have negative feelings. For example, if you were opposed to the new freeway because of the environmental damage it would do to waterfowl nesting areas, you might compare the new freeway to "a corridor of death for our bird species."
The rhetorical success of comparatio hinges upon comparing your claim to a phenomenon that is:
- familiar to the audience
- likely to evoke emotional feelings
- adequately similar to your claim to seem logical
It would not, for example, work well to call the freeway a "ham sandwich lodged in the throat of the community." The freeway seems more logically related to the throat (a passageway or throughway) than an obstacle in that passageway.
Alternative meaning: Compa-ratio, sometimes spelled compa ratio or comparatio is a term used in the human resources specialty area of wage and compensation management. In its simplest form it is the ratio of an employee’s current wage to the organization’s benchmark rate, usually the salary grade midpoint. Compa-ratios are normally expressed as a percent of the benchmark. For example: An employee earns $45,000 per year in a job with a salary grade midpoint of $50,000. The equation is $45,000/$50,000 = 0.9. The employee is said to have a compa-ratio of 90%. Variations include: market compa-ratio or market ratio, target compa-ratio, group compa-ratios, wage index, competitive wage ratio. Compa-ratios are frequently used as one factor in wage increase matrixes used to determine annual salary adjustment.