cambridge AS terms

Acronym

A word formed from the initial letters of two or more successive words (e.g. UNESCO: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation).

Active Voice

Where the subject of a verb is performing the action involved (e.g. She won the race).

Adjective

A word that modifies a noun

Adjunct

An optional or less-important part of a clause or sentence (e.g. on the floor in the sentence I dropped the glass on the floor).

Adverb

A word that modifies a verb

Alliteration

The repetition of the same letter or sounds at the beginning of adjacent or closely related words

Allusion

Reference to another text, often indirectly

Analogy

A comparison of two things which have some element of similarity. The similarity is often used to help clarify an issue or idea.

Anaphora

Deliberate repetition of words for rhetorical effect

Anaphoric reference

Where a word refers back to an earlier part of a text for its meaning (e.g. I recognised David immediately, even though I had not seen him, my oldest friend, in years.)

Antonym

A word with the opposite meaning to another word.

Archaism

A word which is no longer in everyday use, or has lost a particular meaning in current usage.

Aspect

A form of the verb which explains its relation to time, particularly indicating whether an action is completed (e.g. the perfect – had walk ed) or incomplete (e.g. as in the progressive – was walk ing or perfect progressive – had been walk ing). Compare with Tense.

Audience

The readers and/or listeners of a text.

Author

The producer of a text

Autobiography

The story of the writer's life told from his or her point of view

Biography

An account of someone's life told by a third person narrator

Cataphoric reference

Where a word refers to a later part of a text for its meaning (e.g. Although I had not seen her in years, I recognised my old friend Sarah immediately.)

Clause

Part of a sentence, containing (at least) a subject and a verb phrase.

Cohesion

Strategies used by a writer or speaker to ensure that a text is structured with features that will allow it to be followed by a reader or listener

Colloquial

The casual conversation of everyday language.

Compounding

Forming a word from two or more units that are themselves words (e.g. whiteboard from white and board).

Conjunction

A linking word in a sentence, often to join two clauses

Connotation

The range of associated meanings brought to mind by a particular word, beyond its essential meaning (or denotation).

Context

The situation in which a text is produced, including aspects such as social, cultural, political background

Contraction

The omission of letters to make things less formal

Coordination

Connecting two or more independent clauses through the use of coordinating conjunctions.

Deixis

Language whose meaning is determined in part by contextual factors, such as who is using it, when, where and to whom (e.g. this, that, now, you, tomorrow).

Denotation

The primary meaning of a word, not including its connotations.

Derivation

Creating a new word from an existing word, often with the addition of a prefix or suffix (e.g. unwilling derives from will with the prefix un- and the suffix -ing).

Dialectical structure

A three-part argument, moving from thesis (an initial argument) to antithesis (the counterargument) and finally to a synthesis that combines the two.

Dialogue

Interchange between two or more speakers

Direct speech

The use of the exact words spoken by a speaker/character.

Discourse

Any spoken or written language that is longer than a single sentence.

Discourse markers

Words or phrases which mark boundaries between one topic and another, where a writer or speaker wishes to change the subject.

Discursive

A style in which facts and opinions are put forward and explored in order to develop an argument.

Ellipsis

The intentional omission of a word, sentence, or section of text for reasons of economy or effect

Emotive

Arousing intense feelings or emotions

Epiphora

The repetition of the same letter or sounds at the end of successive clauses or sentences

Eponym

The name of something that is also the name of someone credited with inventing or discovering it.

Etymology

A study of the history of a word and its earlier forms and meanings.

Euphemism

A mild, indirect vague term used instead of one considered harsh or offensive

Exophoric reference

Where a word refers to something outside a text for its meaning, typically as a consequence of a writer or speaker’s expectations as to the knowledge already possessed by the text’s intended audience.

Figurative language

Language which expands upon the basic or literal meaning of a word or phrase (e.g. simile or metaphor).

First person narrative

Where a character in a story narrates the events that they are experiencing. Recognised by the use of I, we, us, our.

Foregrounding

Using grammatical or syntactic devices to draw attention to a particular idea in a text.

Form

Generally, the specific type of whatever category is being considered (e.g. textual form, verb form, grammatical form).

Used on its own, the word ‘form’ often refers to textual form. The division of texts into specific forms (e.g. speech, dialogue, poem, novel, website) involves categorising texts according to how their structural elements combine to create a unified and recognisable whole.

Different forms of text can usually be subdivided into genres (e.g. persuasive speech, romantic novel, cooperative dialogue), depending on their content.

Formality

The extent to which spoken or written texts either conform to standard conventions or employ more personal language strategies.

Genre

A subdivision of textual form determined by the text’s content (e.g. fantasy novel, tragic play, ballad, online review, television commercial, formal report).

Grammar

Has a wide meaning, but generally relates to rules for the organisation of meaning in a language.

Head word

The main word in a phrase (e.g. the noun boy in the noun phrase the happy boy).

Idiom

Phrases generally understood in a language but which do not directly translate (e.g. I caught the train by the skin of my teeth = I only just caught the train in time)

In medias res

Beginning a narrative in the middle of the events without any build-up or initial explanation.

Inference

The act of deducing implied meanings.

Infinitive

The basic, dictionary form of a verb when not associated with a tense.

Intensifier

A word, often an adverb or adjective, which has little meaning by itself but is used to add force to other phrases (e.g. really, very).

Intertextuality

Where a text produces additional meaning by referring in some way to another text.

Irony

When the intended meaning of a text or utterance differs radically from its literal interpretation.

Jargon

Words and phrases known primarily by a group of people – often within a particular profession – which enable them to exchange complex information efficiently. This may be unintelligible to people outside the group who use it.

Lexical field

A set of words grouped by meaning around a specific subject- law or medicine, for example

Lexis

The complete vocabulary of a language.

Metalanguage

Language which is used to describe or comment on language (e.g. This translates as… or I meant to say...).

Modality

This refers to the attitude a speaker or writer takes to the idea being expressed (e.g. certainty, possibility, obligation, ability). this is usually conveyed by the use of the appropriate grammatical mood.

Mode

The format through which ideas or content are communicated to an audience. these include spoken (e.g. a conversation, a spontaneous speech), written (e.g. a novel, the text of a leaflet), electronic (e.g. an email, a blog), and image (e.g. a photograph), and can be combined in a variety of mixed modes (e.g. a prepared speech, a podcast).

Modifier

A word or phrase-that qualifies or describes (usually an adverb/adverbial phrase or adjective/adjective phrase)

Monologue

Discourse entirely spoken or written by one person

Mood

A grammatical feature through which a speaker or writer can express modality (i.e. an attitude towards the content of an utterance), usually involving modal verbs such as can, ought or might. these include the indicative/declarative (making a statement), the interrogative (asking a question), the imperative (making a command), and the subjunctive (expressing wishes or uncertainty).

Alternatively, this can also refer to the emotion or feelings evident in a text and the language used to create these feelings.

Multimodal

Consisting of more than one mode.

Narrative

A spoken or written account of connected events

Narrative structure

The way in which a story is constructed.

Narrative voice

The voice of the person telling the story

Netspeak

The language of the internet

Noun

A word that identifies people, places, or things

Noun phrase

A word (or group of words working together) which names a person, place or thing.

Object

In grammar, this is the thing or person acted upon by the subject (e.g. the phrase the meal in the sentence The girl ate the meal).

Omniscient narrator

Where the narrator in a story knows all the thoughts, actions and feelings of the characters.

Passive voice

Where the subject receives the action of a verb (e.g. The ball was kicked).

Personification

Attributing human characteristics to nonhuman things

Perspective

Point of view.

Phrase

A group of words that do not constitute a complete sentence.

Point of view

A writer or speaker's choices about how to present information, ideology

Pragmatics

A branch of linguistics concerned with the ways in which meaning can alter according to the context of utterance.

Prefix

A group of letters, usually conveying a particular meaning, which are added to the front of a word to give a new meaning (e.g. un-, pre-, and with-).

Preposition

A word governing a noun or pronoun to demonstrate a relationship between it and other elements

Pronoun

A word used to substitute for a noun already mentioned

Prose

Ordinary language, without a rhyming pattern or rhythmic structure.

Protagonist

The main character in a literary work.

Purpose

A writer or speaker’s main aim when producing a text.

Register

The variety of language used in a particular situation, particularly with regard to levels of formality.

Rhetoric

Devices/language used to persuade or convince

Rhetorical Question

A question posed by a writer or speaker for emphasis or dramatic effect

Second person narrative

When the reader is addressed directly, typically through the use of you, your, yours, etc.

Semantic

Related to the meaning of words.

Semantic field

A group of words that relate to a shared area of meaning (e.g. needle, nurse and antibiotic could be grouped within the semantic field of medicine).

Sentence

Generally, a set of words that is grammatically complete, consisting of a main clause and sometimes one or more additional subordinate clauses.

Sentence Structure

How a sentence is composed from different building blocks. Simple, compounds, complex. compound-complex

Setting

The time, place and atmosphere in which the action of a piece of writing takes place

Simile

A figure of speech which makes a comparison between two different things which have one point of likeness, usually using the words like or as (e.g. she was as fast as lightning).

Situation

The location, time, circumstances within or text or the circumstances in which the text is received

Slang

Informal words or expressions