English Language (A-Level)

What is Idiolect?

The variations in language use of an individual. Your linguist fingerprint! (E.g. gender/age)

What is Sociolect?

The language used by a specific social group that helps distinguish that group from another.

What is Phonology?

The study of sounds/speech.

What is Received Pronunciation?

A defaulted accent of English that is typically associated with prestige and high-social status. Often referred as the ”Queen’s Accent”.

What is the definition of Phonemes?

Phonemes are what we call individual speech sounds. There are 44 sounds in the English language.

What is the definition of Graphemes?

The individual letters that we write are called Graphemes. There are 26 letters in the English language.

What is Place of Articulation?

The specific location in the vocal tract where airflow is constricted to produce a constant sound.

What is Manner of Articulation?

Describes how the (lips, teeth etc.) speech organs modify or obstruct the airflow to produce consonant sounds.

What is the definition of “Voicing”?

Describes whether your vocal folds vibrate when you produce a speech sound.

What are Suprasegmental Features?

Suprasegmental features are the melody of language. While you are likely to produce words with the same phonemes each time, the way they sound may be different. (E.g due to having an accent).

What are the main features of Suprasegmental?

• Pitch

• Intonation

• Stress

• Rhythm

• Volume

What is the definition for “Pitch”?

The relative highness or lowness of a person’s voice, determined by the speed at which their vocal cords vibrate.

What is the definition of “Intonation”?

The patten of stressed and unstressed words in a sentence that creates a sense of movement and flow.

What is the definition of “stress”?

The emphasis speakers place on specific syllables within a word to help determine meaning.

What is the definition of “Rhythm”?

The rise and fall of the voice in speaking.

What is the definition of “Volume”?

How loud a speakers voice is during presentation.

What is the definition of “Lexis”?

Lexis is used to describe the vocabulary system of a language. (E.g. a teachers lexis may be words like SIMS or GCSE).

What is the definition of “Semantics”?

This refers to the study of meaning and how meaning is created within texts.

What is the definition of “Connotations”?

An idea or feeling which a word invokes for a person in addition to its literal or primary meaning. (E.g. the noun “snake” evokes ideas of ‘evil’ and ‘danger’).

What is the definition of “Denotations”?

The literal or primary meaning of a word, in contrast to the feelings or ideas that the words suggests. (E.g. the primary meaning of the word “snake” is: any of numerous scaly, legless, sometimes venomous reptiles).

Question (1) - What is the Denotation of “Trash”?

Litter, something that is thrown away and of no use.

Question (1) - What is the connotation of the word “Trash”?

Dirty, irrelevant or useless (can refer to a person).

Question (2) - What is the denotation of the word “Rose”?

A flower that can have thorns, yet is beautiful.

Question (2) - What are the connotations of a “Rose”?

A rose can link to romance, death, or grief.

What is the definition of “Lexical Fields”?

Also known as semantic fields, are groups of words with associated meanings and uses.

What are “Synonyms”?

This simply means words that have similar meaning.

What are “Antonyms”?

Which word you use depends on the context. These are words whose meanings are some way opposite to each other. Many can be adjectives.

What are “Hypernyms” and “Hyponyms”?

Hypernyms - The broad, general category of a term.

Hyponyms - A word that represents a subtype within a broader category.

What is the definition of a “High-Frequency”?

Common every-day words. (E.g. “Man”, “And”)

What is the definition of “Low-Frequency” language?

Words which are less common. (E.g. “Distinguished” & “Esteemed”).

What is the definition of “Low-Register” language?

A more informal version of language. (E.g “Guys” , “Yo”).

What is the definition of a “High-Register” language?

A more formal version of language. (E.g “Assist” & “Depart”).

What is the definition of “Colloquial Language”?

Very informal language that is used every-day (not typically within formal speech or writing).

What is the definition of “slang”?

A type of language consisting of words and phrases that are regarded as very informal, are more common in speech than writing, and are typically restricted to a particular context or group of people.

What is the definition of “Taboo Language”?

Words and phrases that are socially, culturally, or morally unacceptable within a specific context.

What is the definition of “Jargon” language?

The specialised language, terms or phrases used by a particular profession, group, or field of study, such as legal jargon or a medical jardon.

What is the meaning of “Neologism”?

The name given to newly coined (created) words. (E.g. “hangry”, “staycation” & “rage-bait”).

What is “compounding”?

When two words are put together to form a new word (e.g. ice-cream & breakfast).

What is “Affixing”?

When a prefix or suffix is added to a word. (E.g. Fix > Fixing).

What is “Blending”?

When parts of words are put together to form a new word (e.g “Brunch” = Breakfast + Lunch)

What is “Conversion”?

When a word changes its word class. In other words, a noun turns into a verb. (E.g Instagram → Instagramming).

What is the definition of an “Acronym”?

When a word is formed through the initial letters of existing words and it can be said as a word. (E.g. Radar/Scuba/Laser).

What is the definition of “Clipping”?

When the ending of the word is taken off. (E.g. “Gym” is short for Gymnasium).

What is the definition of “Initialism”?

Same as an acronym but you spell out each letter in the pronunciation. (E.g. BBC and NSPCC).

What is the meaning of “Eponyms”?

A word formed from a name often of the inventor. (E.g. Disney & Netflix).

What is the definition of “Morphology”?

Is the study of the structure of words. Examines how words are built from morphemes, which are the smallest units of meaning (e.g “Friend”).

What is a “Morpheme”?

The smallest unit of meaning. Morphemes can be free and stand alone as words (E.g. “Book” & “Run”).

What are “Free Morphemes”?

Words that can function by itself, (E.g. “<Friend>”).

What is a “Bound-Morpheme”?

Words that cannot function by itself and can alter the meaning of the “free morpheme”. (E.g. <unfriendly>).

What is a “Suffix”?

A bound morpheme at the end of a word. (E.g “Jumped”).

What is a “Prefix”?

A bound morpheme at the start of a word. (E.g “Disfigure”).

What are “Personal Pronouns?”

Refers to a person. (“I” / “He”/ “She” / “You”).

What are “Possessive Pronouns”?

Shows ownership. (Mine/His/Hers/Theirs).

What are “Demonstrative Pronouns”?

Points to something. (That/Those).

What are “Indefinite Pronouns”?

Makes non-specific references. (Anything/Everything/Someone/Nothing).

What are “Reflexive Pronouns”?

Refers back to a person or thing. (Myself/Themself/Himself).

What are “Reflective Pronouns”?

Introduces a relative clause. Answers a question. (Who / Whom / Which / Whose).

What are “Preposition” words?

Used to describe the place of a noun.

(In / On / Between / Under / Beside / In-front)

What are “Possessive Determiners”?

Shows the possession of an object. (“My” / “His” / “Hers” / “Ours”).

What are “Quantifiers”?

Shows the number of an object (the quantity).

(“Many”, “Few”, “Several” , “All”)

What are “Cardinal Determiners”?

One - Two - Three

(E.g “I have three pairs of shoes”)

What are “Ordinal Determiners”?

First - Second - Third

(“The third pair of shoes”)

What’s are “Interrogative Determiners”?

Helps to construct a question. (“Which” / “What” / “Whose”).

What are “Demonstrative Determiners”?

Identifies an object or noun. (“Those” , “That” , “This” , “These”)

What is a “Hyperbole”?

An exaggerated statement or claims not to be taken literally. Evokes strong emotions or a point.

(E.g “This bag weighs a ton!” & “I’m literally obsessed”).

What is a “Proper Noun”?

The name of a specific person, place, or organisation. (E.g “Harry” & “Manchester”).

What is a “Common Noun”?

The name of non-specific objects, people, or concepts. (E.g “sock” or “dog”).

What is a “Prefix”?

A bound morpheme at the start of a word. (E.g “Unfair”).

What are “Concrete Nouns”?

Refers to objects that have a physical form. Things that you can touch. (E.g “Guitar” & “Pizza”).

What are “Abstract Nouns”?

Refers to events, states, feelings, and concepts that have no physical entities, (E.g “Love”, “Birth”).

What are “Descriptive Adjectives”?

They add more detail and depth of an object. They express objective, measurable physical properties like colour/size. (E.g ”The blue bike”).

What are “Evaluation Adjectives”?

Adjectives that express opinions or value judgements that cannot be proven. The writers opinion. (E.g “That burger was delicious” - this would be subjective to vegans).

What are “Proper Adjectives”?

Words that originate from proper nouns. (E.g “The Victorian mid-terrace house”).

What are “Syntactical (Positional) Attributes”?

Refers to the specific position of a word or phrase within a sentence that determines the grammatical function and meaning. When an adjective is positioned before a noun. (E.g “The large bunny”).

What are “Predicative Attributes”?

An adjective that comes after a linking verb to describe the subject or object of the sentence. (E.g “The essay was brilliant”.

What is the definition of “Morphological Base Form”?

The Base Form refers to the smallest unit of meaning that a word can stand alone as. It is often referred to the root or base word as it carries the core meaning of the word. (E.g “Happy” & “Big”).

What is “Morphological Comparative”?

The comparative form is used to indicate a greater degree or extent of a word. (E.g “happy” becomes “Happier”).

What is “Morphological Superlative”?

The superlative form is used to indicate the utmost degree or extent of something. For example, the word “Happy” becomes “Happiest”.

What are “Participle Adjectives”?

Adjectives that are derived from the participles of verbs, which are the past or present participles of words. (E.g “The barking dog woke the neighbours” & “I received a sealed note”)

What is a “Modified Noun Phrase”?

A group of words that builds on a noun to give it more detail or description. Making the noun more specific or precise. (E.g “The small cat with green eyes”)

What are “lexical verbs”?

The main verb in the sentence that expresses an action or state. (E.g “The boy ran through the field”)

What are “Auxiliary Verbs”?

Also known as “helping verbs” do not carry the main meaning of the sentence on their own but support the main verb to express the mood or tense (past or present). (E.g “She is running fast”)

What are “Primary Auxiliary Verbs”?

The primary auxiliary verbs in English are “To be”, “To Have”, and “To Do”. They are used to form different tenses, voices, and questions.

(E.g “You can run through the field”)

What are “Stative Auxiliary Verbs”?

Stative auxiliary verbs, also known as modal verbs, are used to express the possibility or ability of the speakers stance or the situations state. (E.g “Must”, “Might”, “Shall”, “Will”, “Would” ,“Should”)

What are “Dynamic Auxiliary Verbs”?

Verbs that’s are used to show actions. They are physical, observable, tangible experiences (e.g “Jump”, “whisper”, “shout”).

What are Adverbs of “Time”?

Describes when an action took place. (E.g “Yesterday” or “Tomorrow”).

What are Adverbs of “Place”?

Describes where an action took place. (E.g “Towards” or “There”).

What are Adverbs of “Manner”?

Describes how an action took place. (E.g “Quickly” or “Slowly”

What are Adverbs of “Frequency”?

Describes how often an action took place. (E.g “Often”, “Always” ,“Never”).

What are Adverbs of “Degree”?

Describes the intensity of strength of an action or feeling. (E.g “Much”, “So”, “Slightly”, “Greatly”).

What is a “Subject”?

The person or thing that performs the action. It is the “doer” or the focus of the sentence. (E.g “The cat chased the mouse”).

What are “Predicative Verbs”?

Tells you what the subject does. It is an action or state of the sentence. (E.g “The cat chased the mouse”).

What is an “Object”?

The object is the noun or pronoun that receives the action of the verb.

What does “Direct” mean in terms of Basic Structure?

When the object is directly affected by the verb. (E.g “The cat chased the mouse”).

What does “Indirect” mean in terms of Basic Structure?

When the object receives the action of the verb. Also answers the “Whom?” Question.

(E.g <The airline gave me a discount>)

What is a “Complement” in terms of Basic Structure?

A complement gives more information about the object or subject. It is a word, phrase, or clause that completes the meaning of a sentence. (E.g “They elected him president”).

What are “Dependent (subordinate) Clauses”?

A clause which cannot stand by itself not function as a complete sentence. (E.g “The singer, who sold out across their tour, won the award”).

What is an “Independent (Main) Clause”?

A clause which can stand by itself and function as a complete sentence. (E.g “The singer won the award”).

What is a “Relative Clause”?

Adds additional information to the noun of the main clause. (E.g “I know a lot of great restaurants in London”).

What are “Conditional Clauses”?

Often refers to a situation which the main clause depends upon. (E.g “If it is sunny, we will have a picnic”).