EngLang Metalnaguge

1.0 Phonetics/Phonology

The study of sounds in human speech, including their physical properties and linguistic functions.

1.1 Phonetic Alphabet

A set of symbols depicting each distinct sound (phoneme) in a language.

Monophthongs

Vowel sounds with one place of articulation.

Diphthongs

Vowel sounds with two places of articulation.

1.2 Prosodic Features

Features of speech that relate to the rhythm, stress, and intonation in language.

Pitch

How high or low a sound is.

Intonation

Variation in pitch when speaking, often indicating questions or emotions.

Volume

The loudness or softness of a speech sound.

Stress

Emphasis placed on certain syllables or words in speech.

Tempo

The speed or pace of speech.

1.3 Connected Speech Processes

Processes that occur in fluent speech, impacting phoneme pronunciation.

Assimilation

A process where phoneme pronunciation changes to harmonize with surrounding sounds.

Vowel Reduction

A process in which vowel sounds are weakened and often pronounced as a schwa.

Elision

The omission of a phoneme to simplify articulation.

Insertion

Adding a sound to aid pronunciation, often seen in informal speech.

Place of Articulation

Where the airflow is constricted to create sound in the vocal tract.

Manner of Articulation

The way in which airflow is constricted to produce sounds.

Flaps

A quick contact of the tongue with the roof of the mouth, as in 'ladder'.

1.4 Phonological Patterning

Patterns and structures related to phonemes in language.

Alliteration

Repetition of the same phoneme at the start of adjacent words.

Assonance

Repetition of a vowel phoneme within a sequence of words.

Consonance

Repetition of a consonant phoneme within a sequence of words.

Onomatopoeia

Words that phonetically mimic the sounds they describe.

Rhythm

The pattern of stresses in spoken language.

Rhyme

The occurrence of similar sounds at the ends of words.

2.0 Morphology

The study of the structure and formation of words.

Bound Morphemes

Morphemes that cannot stand alone (e.g., 's', 'ing').

Free Morphemes

Morphemes that can stand alone as words.

Root

The base part of a word to which morphemes can be added.

Stem

A form of a word used to create new words with affixes.

Affix

A morpheme that can be added to a root or stem word.

Inflectional Morpheme

Morpheme that adds grammatical meaning but does not change the meaning of the word.

Derivational Morpheme

Morpheme that creates a new meaning through affixation.

2.1 Word Formation Processes/Morphological Patterning

Various methods through which new words are formed.

Affixation

The process of adding an affix to a free morpheme.

Abbreviations

Words with missing letters (e.g., 'tmrw' for tomorrow).

Shortening

A specific type of abbreviation where part of the word is removed (e.g., 'mic' from microphone).

Compounding

Joining two words together to form a new word (e.g., 'sunflower').

Blending

Creating new words by merging parts of existing words (e.g., 'brunch').

Backformation

Creating new words by removing affixes from existing words (e.g., 'burgle' from 'burglar').

Conversion of Word Class

Changing a word from one class to another without altering the form (e.g., 'google' as a noun and verb).

Initialisms

Words formed by the initials of phrases (e.g., FBI).

Acronyms

Words formed from the initials of words and pronounced as one word (e.g., NASA).

Contractions

Words formed by omitting letters and adding an apostrophe (e.g., 'can't' for cannot).

2.2 Hypocoristic

A nickname form, often ending in 'ie' or 'o', indicating familiarity.

3.0 Lexicology

The study of the vocabulary of a language.

3.1 Word Classes

Categories of words differentiated by their functions in sentences.

Noun

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

Verb

A word that expresses an action or state of being.

Linking Verb

A verb that connects the subject with more information (e.g., 'is', 'seems').

Adjective

A word that describes or modifies a noun.

Adverb

A word that modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb.

Preposition

A word that shows the relationship of a noun or pronoun to another word.

Determiner

A word that modifies a noun to clarify which one is being referred to.

Possessive Determiner

Words that indicate ownership (e.g., my, her).

Interjection

A word that expresses emotion (e.g., 'wow', 'ouch').

3.2 Word Formation Processes

Methods through which new words are created in a language.

Neologisms

Newly coined terms or expressions.

Borrowings

Words adopted from other languages into English.

Commonization

A proper noun that becomes a normal noun (e.g., 'Hoover').

Nominalization

Turning a word from another class into an abstract noun.

4.0 Syntax

The set of rules that governs the structure of sentences.

4.1 Phrases

Groups of words that function as a single unit.

Noun Phrase (NP)

A phrase that includes a noun and its modifiers.

Verb Phrase (VP)

A phrase that includes a verb and any related adverbs or adjectives.

Intransitive Verb

A verb that does not require an object.

Transitive Verb

A verb that requires a subject and an object.

Ditransitive Verb

A verb that requires a subject and two objects.

Copular Verb

Verbs that connect the subject with a subject complement.

Catenative Verb

Verbs that require a complement in the form of an adjective.

Complex Transitive Verb

A verb that requires a complement and an object.

Prepositional Phrase

A phrase that includes a preposition and its object.

Adjective Phrase

A phrase that includes an adjective and its modifiers.

Adverb Phrase

A phrase that contains only an adverb.

Adverbial

A syntactic unit that provides information about the verb.

4.2 Clauses

Parts of a sentence that include a subject and a predicate.

Subject

The noun or noun phrase that the sentence is about.

Predicate

The part of the sentence that tells something about the subject.

Object

A noun or noun phrase that receives the action of the verb.

Direct Object

The object that directly receives the action of the verb.

Indirect Object

The object that indirectly receives the action of the verb.

Complement

A word or phrase that completes the meaning of the subject or verb.

Adverbials

Words or phrases that provide additional information about the action.

4.22 Subordinating and Coordinating Clauses

Types of clauses that define relationships between ideas.

Subordinating Clause

A clause that cannot stand alone and depends on a main clause.

Coordinating Clause

A clause that can stand alone, connected by conjunctions.

4.3 Sentences

Grammatical structures that express complete thoughts.

Simple Sentence

A sentence with one independent clause.

Compound Sentence

A sentence with two or more independent clauses.

Complex Sentence

A sentence with one independent clause and one or more subordinating clauses.

Compound Complex Sentence

A sentence with two or more independent clauses and at least one subordinating clause.

Fragments

Incomplete sentences that do not express a complete thought.

4.3.2 Types of Sentences

Categorization of sentences based on function.

Declarative Sentence

A sentence that makes a statement.

Imperative Sentence

A sentence that gives a command.

Interrogative Sentence

A sentence that asks a question.

Exclamative Sentence

A sentence that expresses strong emotion.

4.4 Active vs Passive Voice

Ways of structuring sentences based on the subject's role.

Active Voice

A sentence structure where the subject performs the action.