COMD/LING 2050 Study Guide: Grammar, Syntax, Semantics, and Pragmatics

Vocabulary flashcards covering the core concepts, definitions, rules, and lexical categories across grammar, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics for COMD/LING 2050.

Grammar

The set of rules for arranging words, clauses, and parts of speech in phrases and sentences.

Agreement

The grammatical requirement that words must match in number, person, tense, and gender.

Prescriptivism

A top-down, rules-based approach to grammar that focuses on 'grammaticality' and 'proper' use.

Descriptivism

A bottom-up, usage-based approach to grammar that focuses on 'acceptability' and actual language use.

Constituent analysis

The process of breaking a sentence into phrases, each of which is headed by a single word.

Subject

The grammatical role denoting the main actor or topic, positioned before the main verb.

Object

The grammatical role denoting the recipient, positioned after the main verb.

Adjunct

A grammatical role providing extra information in a sentence, typically taking the form of a prepositional phrase (PP) or an adverbial.

Syntax

The set of rules for forming grammatical sentences, derived from the Greek 'syntaxis' meaning 'arrangement.'

Generative grammar

The concept proposed in Chomsky's Syntactic Structures (1957) stating that a finite set of rules can generate infinitely many unique sentences.

T-move

A syntactic operation where questions are formed by moving T (tense) to the front of the sentence.

Complementizer phrase (CP)

An embedded phrase introduced by a complementizer (such as 'that') that embeds one sentence inside another and cannot stand alone.

Semantics

The study of meaning: a shared understanding of what linguistic units signify, in context.

Referential meaning

Dictionary or objective meaning that is widely agreed upon.

Associative/emotive meaning

Speaker-defined meaning that varies widely depending on individual feelings and attitudes.

Componential analysis

An analytical method that describes concepts using semantic features marked with positive and negative values, such as [+animate] or [-human].

Hyponymy

A hierarchical lexical relationship where one word belongs to a broader category (e.g., chair < seats < furniture).

Prototype

The most typical member of a conceptual category in a hyponymic hierarchy.

Homophones

Words that share the same sound but have different meanings and spellings, such as 'guessed' and 'guest.'

Homonyms

Words that have the exact same word form but carry different, unrelated meanings, such as 'seal.'

Polysemy

A lexical relation where a single word has multiple related senses, such as the key to a door versus the key to a relationship.

Metonymy

A lexical relationship where a related term stands in for the thing itself based on shared familiarity, such as using 'The White House' to refer to an administration.

Agent

The semantic (thematic) role assigned to the entity performing the action (the 'do-er').

Theme/patient

The semantic (thematic) role assigned to the entity affected by or undergoing the action (the 'do-ee').

Experiencer

An animate semantic role representing an entity that feels or perceives something.

Pragmatics

The study of meaning in context, focusing on speaker meaning or what is implied rather than just said.

Deixis

The linguistic practice of pointing to context through temporal (now, yesterday), spatial (here, there), or personal (me, yours) expressions.

Antecedent

The initial mention of an entity in discourse, serving as the basis for subsequent references.

Anaphora

Later references in discourse that refer back to an already introduced entity (the antecedent).

Presupposition

An assumption made by the speaker that the listener already shares specific background knowledge.

Pragmatic markers

Expressions such as 'you know,' 'I mean,' or 'like' that signal statement qualities, including shared knowledge, informality, or intensification.