Glossary of Metalanguage for VCE English Language

Acronym

word formed from initial letters of multiple words (e.g. SCUBA)

Active voice

subject performs the action of the verb

Adjective

word that describes a noun

Adverb

word that describes a verb, adjective, or adverb

Alliteration

repetition of initial consonant sounds for effect

Antonyms

words with opposite meanings

Conjunction

word that joins words, phrases, or clauses

Euphemism

mild or indirect expression for something unpleasant

Hyperbole

deliberate exaggeration for effect

Idiom

phrase whose meaning is not literal

Irony

contrast between expectation and reality or meaning

Jargon

specialised language used by a group or profession

Metaphor

comparison where one thing is said to be another

Noun

word for person, place, thing, or idea

Onomatopoeia

words that imitate sounds

Oxymoron

combination of contradictory terms

Passive voice

subject receives the action of the verb

Personification

giving human traits to non

Pronoun

word that replaces a noun

Pun

play on words with multiple meanings

Rhyme

repetition of similar sounds

Rhythm

pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables

Semantics

study of meaning in language

Simile

comparison using "like" or "as"

Verb

action or state word

Phoneme

smallest sound unit in language

Diphthong

two vowel sounds in one syllable

Monophthong

single vowel sound

Tripthong

three vowel sounds in one syllable

Schwa

unstressed vowel sound in English

Coalescence

two sounds merge into a new sound

Elision

omission of sounds in speech

Assimilation

sound influenced by another nearby sound

Progressive assimilation

influenced by a following sound

Regressive assimilation

influenced by a preceding sound

Liaison

linking of sounds between words

Epenthesis

insertion of an extra sound

Yod coalescence

/t/ or /d/ + /j/ merge into affricates

Prosodic features

stress, pitch, intonation, volume, tempo

Plural

more than one (

Past tense

verb form showing past action (

Present participle

verb form ending in

Past participle

verb form used in perfect/passive tenses

Comparative

higher degree of quality (

Superlative

highest degree of quality (

Compound word

two words joined into one meaning

Blend

word formed from parts of other words

Borrowing

adopting words from other languages

Affixation

adding prefixes or suffixes to a base word

Backformation

word created by removing perceived affix

Neologism

newly created word

Initialism

abbreviation pronounced letter by letter

Acronym

abbreviation pronounced as a word

Conversion

change of word class without changing form

Commonisation

proper noun becomes common noun

Abstract noun

non

Concrete noun

tangible thing

Common noun

general name of a class

Proper noun

specific name (capitalised)

Modal verb

expresses necessity/possibility (can, must, will, etc.)

Auxiliary verb

helping verb (be, have, do)

Coordinating conjunction

joins equal elements (and, but, or)

Subordinating conjunction

introduces dependent clause

Noun phrase

group of words with a noun as head

Verb phrase

verb plus related elements

Phrasal verb

verb + particle (idiomatic meaning)

Prepositional phrase

phrase starting with preposition

Adjective phrase

phrase describing a noun

Adverb phrase

phrase functioning as an adverb

Complement

extra information about subject/object

Adverbial

word/phrase giving when, where, how

Independent clause

can stand alone

Subordinate clause

cannot stand alone

Simple sentence

one independent clause

Compound sentence

two independent clauses

Complex sentence

independent + subordinate clause

Compound

complex sentence

Declarative

statement

Interrogative

question

Imperative

command

Exclamative

exclamation

Colloquialism

informal language

Elevation

word gaining positive meaning over time

Lexical ambiguity

word with multiple meanings

Animation

giving life