UNIT 1 + 2 Key Terminology

morphology

study of word structure and formation

synonyms

words that have the same meaning

antonyms

words that have contrasting meanings (opposites)

hypernym

words that label categories (e.g. 'animals' for dogs, cats, rabbits, etc.)

hyponym

words that are part of a larger, more general category (hyponyms car, bus, van, etc. under the hypernym 'vehicles')

informal language

slang, taboo, etc

colloquial language

common language; conversational

occupational register

specialist terminology, jargon, associated with a particular occupation

jargon

technical language

sociolect

language, a variety of speech, associated with/used by a particular social group (such as one defined by class)

lexis

words

pragmatics

contextual aspects of language use

brevity devices

vowel omissions, letter substitution, emoticons, acronyms, non-standard spelling

semantics

study of meaning and interpretation

syntax

study of sentence structure and grammar

phonology

study of sounds and pronunciation

denotative meaning

the literal meanings of words

connotative meaning

associative meanings of words

figurative language

non-literal language

semantic field

group of words connected by a shared field of reference/association

dialect

language style associated with particular geographic regions

neologism

newly coined word or phrase

neology

process of new word formation + includes blends, compounds, acronyms, initialisms and eponyms

initialism

abbreviation consisting of initial letters (FBI)

eponym

person after which a discovery or invention is thought to be named

semantic change

the process of words changing meanings through narrowing, broadening, amelioration, prejoration, or semantic reclamation

amelioration

upgrading of words, where a word with a negative sense of meaning acquires/develops a positive meaning (more positive over time)

prejoration

where a word acquires unfavourable connotations (develops a negative meaning over time)

compound words

a word made up of parts of 2 or more other words (e.g. firefighter, up-to-date, etc.)

informal lexis (vs formal lexis)

generic term for words used in a relaxed environment

taboo

a word that is said to be forbidden or prohibited

pathos

(emotive language, sad stories, etc.) a quality that evokes pity or sadness

ethos

creator of text demonstrating that they are a trustworthy source of information; informed and factual

logos

appeal to logic, the principle of reason and judgement

anthropomorphism

the attribution of human characteristics or behaviours to an animal (like personification)

personification

giving human qualities to an object or idea

alliteration

repetition of sounds at the beginning of consecutive words

consonance

repetition of consonant sounds in the middle or ends of successive words

sibilance

soft and involves a quick release of air; S, CH, SH, Z, J

fricative alliteration

hissing sounds; F, Z, S, V

plosive alliteration

B, P, D, T, K, G

assonance

rhyming within the word as opposed to the word endings ("mellow wedding bells")

declarative sentence

statement

declarative function

to state something

imperative sentence

command

imperative function

to command something

interrogative sentence

question

exclamative sentence

emotional expression

hypophora

use of rhetorical question followed by its answer

pre-modifier

a word, especially an adjective, that is placed before a noun and adds to or limits its meaning

post-modifier

a word (adjective) or phrase that is used after another word (noun) to add to or limit its meaning

false start/self correction

speaker begins an utterance then stops to either repeat or reformulate

tag question

words usually added to a declarative statement to turn it into a question

hedge

words/phrases which soften the blow, weaken the force with which something is said (perhaps, maybe, possibly, i think)

transactional talk

language to get things done + to transmit information (when people are exchanging goods or services)

interactional talk

language used in conversation, used for interpersonal reasons/socialising

prosodic feature

stress, rhythm, pitch, tempo and intonation which are used by speakers to mark out key meanings in a message

idiolect

an individually distinctive style of speaking

euphemism

a mild or indirect word/expression substituted for one considered to be too harsh or blunt when referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing (passed away; died)

synecdoche

(physical aspects) a part is made to represent the whole (sails = ship, england = english cricket team, wheels = car)

metonym

(abstract concepts) an attribute used to refer to the whole ("the word from number 10 is..." = prime minister's adddress as a metonym for the government)

graphology

layout, text boldness, largeness, images, etc.

litotes

ironic understatements in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of its contrary (you won't be sorry, meaning you'll be glad)

discourse markers

a word or phrase whose function it is to organise discourse into segments ("well" or "i mean")

discourse

written or spoken communication or debate

complement

gives more information (completes) the subject or adjective

noun phrase

include the noun and all its modifiers ("the big red bouncy ball")

verb phrase

the part of a sentence containing the main and helping verbs ("had been waiting")

adjective phrase (adjectivials)

modifies the noun

adverb phrases (adverbials)

information about time, place, manner

independent clause

the main clause, a sentence in its own right

dependent clause

relies on a main clause to be complete

coordinate clause

follows the initial main clause, is also a main clause

relative clause

shows the relationship between things + will often begin with wh- words or 'that'

causal clause

the reason for something (shows cause) (“as you’ve been upset, i thought we could …”)

temporal clause

reference to time

concessional clause

concedes a fact or some information (“despite your hard work, the results were dismal.”

conditional clause

gives a condition of something happening (typically using 'if')

noun clause

a subordinate clause used as a noun (“she said that she was tired”)

adjecive clause

modifies a noun or pronoun

adverb clause

modifies verb, adjective or other adverbs

active voice

subject is the actor of a sentence

passive voice

subject and object change positions (the sentence is happening to the subject)

accent

distinctive features of pronunciation that often mark an individual's regional, personal or social identity

homophones

same pronunciation but different spellings and meanings

heteronym

same spelling, different pronunciation and meaning

etymology

study of origins of words (villain used to refer to low born which reveals previous attitudes + how the word is used today)

register

refers to the way language is defined according to its use (formal, informal register, all depends on situation)

homonym

refers to a word with the same form but two different meanings (reserved = shy OR the act of holding a table, room, place, etc.)

collocation

refers to two or more words that go together as a set phrase ("fish and chips," tea and biscuits," "pay attention")

prefix

beginning of a root word (dis- un- anti-)

suffix

end of a root word (-tion -ment -ing)

modes of communication

written, spoken, telephone, face-to-face, non-verbal

genre

format of text (tv sho, article, transcript, etc.)

triadic structure

three parallel clauses (structured paragraphs of equal length and importance) OR tripling/rule of three

parallel phrasing

same pattern of words ("to cook and to run" instead of "to cook and running")

juxtapositioning

placing two opposites next to each other; two things with contrasting effects seen or placed close to each other

definite article

the

indefinite article

a, an

numerals: cardinals

one, two, three