Linguistics Key Terms

Linguistics

The scientific study of language and its structure.

Morphology

The study of the forms of words.

Morpheme

The smallest meaningful unit of language.

Derivation

The origin of a word (Greek, Latin, Anglo-Saxon).

Etymology

The study of the origin of words and the way in which their meanings have changed throughout history.

Prefix

The affix that comes before the base/root; changes the meaning of the word.

Base / Root

The word part that gives meaning to the word (Anglo, Greek & Latin).

Suffix

The affix that comes after the base/root; often tells you the part of speech.

Consonant

A speech sound that is produced by stopping or shaping the air from the mouth.

Vowel

A speech sound produced by vibration of vocal cords.

Syllable

A unit of spoken language that has 1 vowel sound.

Short Vowel

Word to describe a quick vowel sound.

Long Vowel

Word to describe an elongated vowel sound.

Closed Syllable

The syllable in which the vowel is closed in by 1 or more consonants, resulting in a short vowel.

V-e Syllable

The syllable in which the vowel is followed by a consonant and then an e, resulting in a long vowel.

Open Syllable

The syllable that ends with a vowel, resulting in a long vowel.

R-Controlled Syllable

A syllable in which the vowel is followed by r.

Consonant-le Syllable

The syllable type that ends with a consonant and -le, only at the end of a word.

Vowel Team Syllable

The syllable that contains a vowel pair (e.g., ey, ai, ou).

Breve

Symbol to identify a short vowel.

Macron

Symbol to identify a long vowel.

Blend

Two or more consonants together keeping their individual sounds (e.g., bl, str).

Consonant Digraph

A combination of two or more consonants that make one sound (e.g., wh, th, sh).

Trigraph

A combination of three letters that make one sound (e.g., dge, tch).

Welded Sounds

Sounds that stick together (e.g., ink, ong, am).

Bonus Letters

Letters that double: F, L, S, Z.

Affixes

Prefixes and suffixes.

voiced sound

made by the vibration of the vocal cords; your throat will vibrate!

unvoiced sound

made without the vibration of vocal cords; sound is made by restricting airflow; no vibration in your throat!

fricative sound

consonant sounds made by narrowing the vocal tract, creating audible friction: /f/, /s/, /v/, /sh/ are examples

affricate sound

consonant sounds made by stopping the airflow and then releasing it, creating a burst of sound: /ch/, /j/ are examples

dictation

the action of saying words to be written down - this is our SPELLING practice!!!

assimilations or chameleon prefixes

when a final consonant changes to match the beginning sound of a word: in, com, ad are examples. This helps to make the word easier to say. Con = col + lect = collect

connectives

letters that help connect a base and a suffix; i, u, ul, ol, e are most common for Latin roots

fixed or bound morphemes

smallest morphemes that cannot stand alone and must connect with a base to create meaning; -ed is an example

free morphemes

smallest morphemes that can stand along as words; they, cat, book are examples