English Language Unit 1 AOS 1 - SAC

Semiotics

The study of how meaning is created through signs, symbols, and signification.

Sign

Something which stands to somebody for something.

Signifier

A sign's physical form (such as a sound, printed word, or image) as distinct from its meaning.

Signified

The resulting notion of a signifier.

Metalanguage

A form of language or set of terms used for the description or analysis of another language.

Subsystem

A system that forms part of a larger system.

Phonetics

The study and classification of the speech sounds occurring in language.

Phonology

The study of how speakers of a particular language systematically use speech sounds to express meaning.

Morphology

The study of the internal structure of words and the processes by which words are formed.

Morphemes

The smallest unit of linguistic meaning or function.

Lexicology

The study of words within a specific language.

Lexeme

Unit of meaning in a language, typically one word.

Lexicon

The vocabulary of a language.

Syntax

The study of the conventions and processes by which words are ordered to create grammatically well-formed phrases, clauses, and sentences.

Discourse/Pragmatics

The study of how meaning is related to the context in which language occurs.

Semantics

The study of linguistic meaning in language.

Affix

Added to the beginning or end of the root or stem word.

Prefix

An affix added to the beginning of a word.

Suffix

An affix added to the end of a word.

Free Morpheme

Can stand on their own as words.

Bound Morpheme

Cannot stand on their own; need to be attached to other morphemes.

Inflectional Morpheme

Gives us information.

Derivational Morpheme

Changes the class of the word.

Word Root/Stem

A word in its simplest form.

Conversion

Words change class without the addition of an affix.

Compounds

Combining two or more lexemes together to form a new word.

Blends

The combining of a part of one word with part of another word.

Acronyms

Words formed from the initial letters of existing words.

Initialisms

An abbreviation consisting of initial letters pronounced separately.

Hypocoristic Suffixation

Shortening words and ending them in a vowel sound.

Noun

A word that names a person, place, thing, or idea.

Verb

A word that describes an action, condition, or experience.

Adverb

A word that modifies or describes a verb.

Auxiliary verb

A verb used with another verb in a verb phrase.

Modal verb

A verb that shows possibility or necessity.

Adjective

A word that modifies or describes a noun or pronoun.

Preposition

A word that shows direction, time, place, or location.

Conjunction

A word used to connect words, phrases, and clauses.

Pronoun

A word used instead of a noun or noun phrase.

Determiner

A word that modifies, describes, or introduces a noun.

Interjection

A word or phrase that expresses a feeling or reaction.

Register

Stylistic variation of language defined by its use.

Tenor

The relationships between participants in a communicative exchange.

Audience

The intended listener/s or reader/s of a text.

Function words

Words that convey grammatical relationships.

Content words

Words that convey real world meaning and provide content.

Situational context

Everything outside a text that shapes the language used within the text.

Field

The subject matter being discussed.

Language mode

The medium of the text, whether it is written or spoken.

Setting

Where a text is placed in relation to time.

Text type

The type or nature of a text.

Cultural context

Aspects of the context that relate to culture.

Authorial intent

What an author intends to accomplish with a text.

Preparedness

The amount of preparation involved in a text’s construction.

Noun phrases

A group of words making up the noun, including adjectives and determiners.

Adjectival phrases

A group of words that describe a noun.

Verb phrase

A phrase made up of the main verb and its auxiliaries.

Adverb phrases

Phrases that tell us more about the verb.

Adverbial phrase

Adverb phrases that tell us more about the time, place, or manner of a verb.

Prepositional phrases

A phrase starting with a preposition, followed by a noun phrase.

Declarative

A sentence that makes a statement.

Interrogative

A sentence that asks a question.

Exclamatory

A sentence that shows strong feelings.

Imperative

A sentence that gives a command.

Simple

A sentence containing one main clause.

Complex

A sentence with one independent and one or more dependent clauses.

Compound-complex

A sentence with two or more main clauses and one or more subordinate clauses.

Sentence fragments

A sentence missing its subject or main verb.

Pitch

The relative height of auditory sound.

Intonation

Patterns of pitch variation across phrases, clauses, and sentences.

Stress

The intensity placed upon a syllable within a word.

Tempo

The pace (speed) with which an intonation unit is delivered.

Volume

The relative increase or decrease in decibels across an intonation unit.

Paralinguistic features

Features of speech that are hard to transcribe.

Tenor

The relationship between author and audience