A Level English Lit & Lang Terminology

Active voice

The noun is doing something e.g. the CHILD RAN inside

Abstract Noun

Refer to unobservable notions or have no physical quality. e.g. peace, hope.

Adjacency pairings

In conversations sequences often go in pairs creating a structural pattern

Accent

A set of distinctive

pronunciations that mark regional or social identity. Hint: The name of how your voice sounds

Adjective

Describes the noun e.g BEAUTIFUL hills.

Adverb

Adds information to the verb e.g. ran HAPPILY.

Adverbial phrasing

Occur in the same range of positions as a single adverb but does not contain an adverb. Usually answers who, what, when, where or how

Alliteration

Repetition of initial letters of sounds

Anaphora

The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses

Anaphoric Referencing

A word in a text refers back to other ideas in the text for its meaning. e.g. I went out with Jo on Sunday. SHE looked awful.

Antithesis

A rhetorical construction where two words or ideas are placed in opposition to create a contrary or contrasting effect.

Antonyms

Words that are opposite in meaning

Assonance

The repetition of the same or similar verb sounds

Audience

Those being addressed by the speaker or writer of a text.

Auxiliary Verb

e.g. to be, to have to do. He HAS barked all night Hint: think about the name of the cord connecting a phone to a speaker.

Bathos

An effect of anticlimax created by an unintentional lapse in mood from the sublime to the trivial or ridiculous.

Caesura

A pause in the middle of a line of verse. (Full stop, colon, semi-colon)

Cataphoric referencing

A word in a text refers to another later in the text and you need to look forward to understand. e.g. When he arrived, John noticed that the door was open.

Catharsis

Something the audience feels from the main character and learns from.

Chaining

Where adjacency pairs are linked allowing the conversation to proceed like the links of a chain until one speaker initiates a topic shift/ transition or the conversation ends.

Clause

A part of a sentence that has its own subject and verb

Colloquialism

Use of informal language commonly used in speech.

Comparative

e.g. bigger, taller, more believable.

Concrete Noun

Can touch the noun e.g.dog, tree

Conjunction

Joining words - think about where a car turn a corner

Co-ordinating - link units of equal values - and, but, or, neither... nor, either...or

Subordinating - join a subordinate clause to a main clause - when, while, as, because, if, unless, until, although, whereas, where, before, since etc

Connotations

The associations attached to words in addition to its dictionary definition

Consonants

All letters/sounds that are not verbs

Declarative

A sentence that makes a statement

Denotation

The dictionary definition of a word

Determiner

A word which specifies the number and definiteness of a noun. e.g. a, the

Dialect

Specific words related to a location or place

Dynamic verb

Doing it as it was written e.g. sleeping

Ellipsis

A word or words are omitted from a sentence.

Elision

When words are blended together to form one.

End focus

Arranging the sentence so that key information is left until the end.

Exclamative

A bold and reactional statement

False start

Restarting a sentence to clear up a stutter to re-phrase. Hint: what is it called when a competitor begins before the official signal has been given.

Figurative language

Language with a meaning going beyond its literal one, involving comparison or metaphor

Foregrounding

A change in the sequence of sentence elements to put something at the beginning to draw attention to it.

Grice's Maxims

Principles of co-operative conversation:

Quantity

Relevance

Quality

Manner

Hamartia

A mistake the tragic hero makes. Sometimes called the fatal flaw.

Hubris

Excessive pride or self-confidence. Usually a flaw in the tragic hero.

Hyperbole

Obvious and intentional exaggeration not intended to be taken seriously

Idiolect

An individuals way of speaking and writing.

Idiom

An expression, word or phrase that means one thing but imply another. e.g. spill the beans = tell a secret

Imagery

A descriptive or metaphorical use of language which creates a vivid picture.

Imperative

Of vital importance

Interrogative

Having the force of a question

Interuption

Being rude or what someone has to say is more important than the person already speaking.

Irony

(a) When what is said is opposite to what is meant.

(b) When fate or the gods or circumstances seem to mock you (situational irony).

(c) Dramatic irony. When a character in a play or novel doesn't know something that the audience or reader does know.

(d) Socratic irony. A type of (a) above when a person feigns ignorance in order to expose the weakness of the opponent's argument

Jargon

The language associated with a particular profession or group. e.g. doctors, athletes

Juxtaposition

The placing of two things close together with contrasting effects

Kinesics

Body language and movements

Latinate

Formal, 'educated' words e.g. conspiracy, intellect, inferior.

Litotes

Deliberate understatement.

Metaphor

A figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object that it cannot physically be applied to.

Minor sentence

A sentence that lack a subject or verb

Modal verb

something that might happen e.g. may, will go

Noun

Name of a thing

Onomatopoeia

Words that sound like they mean e.g. whizz, bang, whoosh

Oxymoron

a figure of speech where opposite terms appear together.

Paralinguistic

Verbal and non-verbal signals showing more than they say

Parallelism

Pairs of sounds, words or structures to create a sense of balance and logic

Parenthesis

A word or phrase inserted as an explanation or afterthought (usually in brackets, dashes or commas)

Passive voice

The noun has something done to it e.g. the child was called inside.

Personification

Giving inanimate objects or animals human feelings and responses.

Pathos

A moment of great sympathy or sadness that the audience feels.

Peripeteia

A catastrophic reversal of fortune experienced by the tragic hero.

Phatic talk

Idle talk that has no real meaning but is socially important.

Plosives

Sound words e.g. bang, pow

Polysyndetic list

E.g. blue and red and yellow.

Possessive determiner

shows possession e.g. yours, mine, hers.

Pragmatics

Implied meaning to what the speaker is saying/meaning behind words. https://www.mytutor.co.uk/answers/13047/A-Level/English-Language/What-are-Pragmatics

Prosodic features

The use of pitch, volume, pace and rhythm to draw attention to key elements of spoken language and to create variation in meaning and emphasis.

Pronoun

Replaced the noun

Prolepsis

Flash forwards (Foreshadowing)

Proxemics

Space between characters on stage.

Received Pronunciation

An English accent which has a high social status and is not connected to a specific region.

Relative clause

Gives additional information about something without starting a new sentence e.g. who, that, which, where, when. Hint: Another name for family member plus the name of part of a sentence.

Repair

The correction of a mistake or misunderstanding in a conversation.

Rhetoric

The use of dramatic or persuasive words and structures in speech and written language to manipulate the intended audience. e.g. "he is using a common figure of rhetoric, a hyperbole."

Rhetorical question

A question that does not require an answer.

Simile

When something is compared to something to create a vivid image e.g. 'like' or 'as'

Sociolect

The specific way of speaking and language used in a type of social group e.g. teenagers, occupations such as doctors or Lawyers.

Strong verb

A verb that does not follow the regular pattern, but instead changes a vowel to mark a past tense. e.g. Hang - Hung, swim - swam.

Subordinate clause

A clause that cannot stand as a sentence on its own, but needs another clause to complete its meaning. Hint: what is the name of someone below your rank in the army?

Synonyms

Different words with the same or similar meaning e.g. Intelligent: Smart, bright, clever.

Syntax

Grammatical relationships between words in a sentence.

Stative verb

Something you've done e.g. agreed.

Syntactic Parallelism

A rhetorical device that consists of repetition among clauses. This provides a emphasis on a central theme.

Syndetic list

Commas through the sentence with an and before the final word. E.g. Blue, red and yellow.

asyndetic list

Only commas between words e.g. blue, red, yellow

Superlative

Highest degree of quality e.g. Bravest, nicest, kindest

Solilioque

an act of speaking ones through aloud when alone or regardless of others e.g. Mothers speech in 'All my sons'

Tag question

A question that encourages a response from the listener e.g. "Trumps repulsive, isn't he?

Term of address

The way someone is named e.g. doctor

Turn-taking

The organisation of speakers contribution to a conversation. This can reveal much about the levels of co-operation between speakers.

Verbal noun

A noun derived from a verb e.g. the DRIVING was hard.

Verb

Label of an action e.g. run

Vocative

The words used to name or refer to people when talking to them. e.g waiter, doctor