Cambridge English Language Glossary Overview

A comprehensive glossary of key terms, rhetorical devices, and linguistic frameworks for Cambridge AS/A Level English Language study.

Lexis

The complete vocabulary of a language; lexical choices shape tone, register, and implied attitudes.

Denotation

Literal, dictionary meaning of a word (e.g. red = a colour).

Connotation

Associated or implied meanings beyond denotation (e.g. red = danger, love, anger); crucial in analysis of tone.

Morphology

Study of word forms and how morphemes (smallest grammatical units) combine (e.g. un + want + ed).

Syntax

The way words are ordered in a sentence; different syntax can foreground information or create emphasis.

Register

Variety and level of formality appropriate to context, ranging from ultra-formal to ultra-colloquial.

Discourse

Spoken or written language that is longer than a sentence; includes essays, conversations, blogs, speeches.

Pragmatics

How meaning changes with context, speaker intention, shared knowledge, and implicature.

Locutionary act

The surface utterance of a speech act.

Illocutionary act

The intended act of a speech act, such as requesting.

Perlocutionary act

The effect a speech act has on the listener.

Semantic change processes

Processes that alter connotations over time, including amelioration, pejoration, broadening, narrowing, and telescoping.

Corpus linguistics

Study of language data in a corpus using concordances, frequency counts, collocation, n-gram and Mutual Information scores.

Affixation / Derivation

Adding prefixes and suffixes (un-, pre-, -ing, -ness) to roots to create new words or meanings.

Compounding

Combining full words to create new lexis (whiteboard, football); often signals new concepts.

Blending / Telescoping

Merging parts of words or phrases (motel, brunch, biodegradable) to compress meaning.

Clipping

Shortening words, such as "advert" for advertisement.

Conversion

Changing a word’s class without altering form (e.g., to Google from Google).

Clause

A linguistic unit that has a subject and finite verb.

Phrase

A linguistic unit that lacks a finite verb and functions as part of a clause.

Aspect

Grammatical category (progressive, perfect, perfect progressive) that shows the completeness or duration of an action.

Agreement (concord)

Subject–verb and pronoun–antecedent agreement in number and person.

Loose sentence

A sentence that places the main clause first.

Periodic sentence

A sentence that delays the main clause to the end for suspense or emphasis.

Litotes

Deliberate understatement for emphasis, humour, or irony.

Antithesis

The juxtaposition of balanced opposites used to sharpen ideas.

Deixis

Terms (this, now, you, there) that rely on context and audience knowledge, categorized as anaphoric, cataphoric, and exophoric reference.

Phatic communion

Small talk and politeness strategies used to maintain social relationships.

GRASP

A planning and analysis tool standing for Genre, Register, Audience, Style, and Purpose.

Ethos

Using credibility to strengthen an argument and writer persona.

Pathos

Using emotion to strengthen an argument and writer persona.

Logos

Using reasoning and logic to strengthen an argument and writer persona.

Hypophora

A rhetorical strategy where a question is asked and immediately answered by the writer to guide the reader’s thinking.

Anaphora

The repetition of words or patterns at the start of clauses for emphasis and memorability.