Change in Language Terminology

derivation

derivation

forming a new word from an existing word, often by adding a prefix or suffix, such as "—ness" or "un—" (e.g. "happiness" is derived from "happy".

coinage

the creation of a new word, often nouns but they can also be changed to verbs; can also be combining two words into something else. (e.g. "Google" - Noun and "googling" - verb)

neologism

a newly invented word that is not yet widely recognized by society-still in the introduction stage. (e.g. "selfie," in the Oxford Dictionary: society saw value in the word)

eponym

a word which takes the name of its inventor or discoverer. (e.g. Earl of Sandwich - sandwich)

conversion

changing the meaning or function of a word without a change to its form. (e.g. the "green" of a golf course - green means the grass)

telescoping

the contraction or shortening of a phrase, word, or part of a word. differs from blending as the meaning stays the same (e.g. "biologically degradable" - "biodegradable," "romantic comedy" - "romcom")

acronym

initial letters of name or description can form words. (e.g. "LASER", "SCUBA", "ROTC")

compounding

forming a new word from two or more units that are also words. (e.g. black + board = blackboard, hair + spray = hairspray)

blending

forming a new word by joining the beginning of one word to the end of another differs from telescoping as the new word has a different meaning from its parent words (e.g. smoke + fog = smog)

clipping

the shortening of longer words (often informal but function grammatically like the original word.) (e.g. "suspicious" - "sus")

reduplication

where sounds are repeated with identical/only very slightly changes; characteristic of infant speech. (e.g. "chick flick," "ping pong")

amelioration

when a word takes on a more positive connotation over time. (e.g. nice meant foolish, now it means kind)

borrowing

the introduction of specific words, constructions, or morphological elements from one language to another. (e.g. table originally came from French)

broadening

when the meaning of a word becomes broader or more inclusive than its earlier meaning. (e.g. computer used to only mean a literal computer system, now it means anything from laptop to phone)

colloquial

the casual conversation of everyday language

etymology

a study of the history of a word and its earlier forms and meanings

jargon

words and phrases known primarily by a group of people -- often within a particular profession -- which enable them to exchange complex information efficiently. It may be unintelligible to people outside the group who use it.

lexis

the complete vocabulary of a language

narrowing

when the meaning of a word becomes narrower and more exclusive that its earlier meaning (e.g. meat used to mean all food, now it only means flesh)

pejoration

when a word takes on a more negative connotation over time (e.g. silly used to be blessed, now it means amusing/unserious)

Graphology

the writing system of a language, as well as other visual elements on the page; the study of the way people make letters and words (includes decoration, and graphics)

Grammar

the rules for organizing meaning in a language (i.e. "'s" signals possessive or -ed signals past tense)

Orthography

the part of language concerned with letter and spelling; the conventional spelling system of a language

Phonology

the pronunciation and sound patterns which affect understanding of words

Pragmatics

how the context in which words and phrases are used affect their meaning (tone, context)

Morphology

the structure of words with their meaning, the study of the internal construction of words

Semantics

the meaning of the words

Syntax

the order of words in a sentence

Semantic field

Group of words which are related in meaning

Case

grammatical category related to the morphology of nouns, pronouns, determiners, and adjectives

nominative: noun/pronoun is the subject of a verb accusative: noun/pronoun is the object of a verb possessive: noun/pronoun shows possession

Agreement

subject verb agreement, ensuring the verb agrees with the subject's number and gender (i.e. there were cats, the MAN walked to HIS car)

Number

singular or plural of nouns/pronouns

Gender

masculine, feminine, or neuter (prince vs princess)

Antonym

a word with the opposite meaning to another word

Archaism

a word which is no longer in everyday use, or has lost a particular meaning in current usage.

Backformation

the formation of a word from another, from which it appears to be derived (e.g. the verb to 'babysit' from the earlier 'babysitter')

Great Vowel Shift

a change in the pronunciation of English language that took place between 1400 and 1600

denotation

the primary meaning of a word

connotation

the range of associated meanings brought to mind by a particular word, beyond its essential meaning

Inflection

any form or change of form which distinguishes different grammatical functions of the same word (e.g. adding -s to indicate a plural form)

Morpheme

the smallest grammatical unit, from which larger ones can be formed (e.g. unwanted = un + want + ed)

Figurative language

language which expands upon the basic or literal meaning of a word or phrase (e.g. simile or metaphor)

Hypernyms

a word with a broad meaning that more specific words fall under; a superordinate. For example, color is one of red.

Hyponyms

a word of more specific meaning than a general or superordinate term applicable to it. For example, pigeon is one of bird

Idiom

phrases generally understood in a language but do not directly translate (e.g. I caught the train "by the skin of my teeth" = I only just caught the train in time)

Modification

adding words to a head word in order to give it more detail, either before (pre) or after (post)

Intensifier

(provides emotion/intensifies) a word, often an adverb or adjective, which has little meaning by itself but is used to add force to other phrases (e.g. really, very)

Obsolete

in language, relates to words which are no longer in use and often no longer understood

Active voice

where the subject is performing the action involved (e.g. She won the race.)

Passive voice

where the subject receives the action of a verb (e.g. The ball was kicked.)

Sentence

generally, a set of words that is grammatically complete, consisting of a main clause and sometimes one or more additional subordinate clauses

Phrase

a group of words that do not constitute a complete sentence

Subordination

connecting two or more clauses, only one of which is independent

Clause

part of a sentence, containing (at least) a subject and a verb phrase

Coordination

connecting two or more independent clauses through the use of coordinating conjunctions

Noun phrase

a word (or group of words working together) which names a person, place, or thing

Head word

the main word in a phrase (e.g. the noun 'boy' in the noun phrase 'the happy boy.'

Adjunct

an optional or less-important part of a clause or sentence (e.g. 'on the floor' in the sentence 'I dropped the glass on the floor.')

Object

in grammar, it is the thing or person acted upon by the subject (e.g. the phrase 'the meal' in the sentence 'The girl ate the meal.')

Analogy

a comparison of two things which have some element or similarity. the similarity is often used to help clarify an issue or idea.

Anaphoric reference

where a word refers back to an earlier part of a text for its meaning (e.g. 'I recognized "David" immediately, even though I had not seen "him," "my oldest friend" in years.)

Mode

The format through which ideas or content are communicated to an audience. It includes spoken (e.g. conversation, spontaneous speech), written (e.g. novel, leaflet), electronic (e.g. email, blog) , and image (e.g. photograph), and can be combined in a variety of combinations (e.g. prepared speech, podcast)

Asynchronous communication

Where the medium of communication causes a delay between utterance and response (e.g. letter, email, online forum)

Cataphoric reference

Where a word refers to a later part of a text for its meaning (e.g. Although I had not seen "her" in years, I recognized "my oldest friend," "Sarah" immediately)

Computer-mediated discourse

the specialist form of language between online users

Deixis

Language whose meaning is determined in part by contextual factors, such as who is using it, when, where, and to whom (e.g. this, that, now, you, tomorrow)

Dialectical structure

a three-part argument, moving from thesis (initial argument) to antithesis (counterargument) and finally to a synthesis that combines both

Discourse

Any spoken or written language that is longer than a single sentence

Discourse markers

words or phrases which mark boundaries between one topic and another, where a writer or speaker wishes to change the subject

Discursive

a style in which facts and opinions are put forward and explored in order to develop an argument

Exophoric reference

where a word refers to something outside a text for its meaning, typically as a consequence of a writer's/speaker's expectations as to the knowledge already possessed by the text's intended audience

First person narrative

Where a character in a story narrates the events that they are experiencing. recognized by "I," "we," "us," "our"

Formality

The extent to which spoken or written texts either conform to stand conventions or employ more personal language strategies

Foregrounding

using grammatical or syntactic devices to draw attention to a particular idea in a text

Genre

a subdivision of textual form determined by the text's content (e.g. fantasy, tragedy, ballad, online review, television commercial, formal report)

In media res

beginning a narrative in the middle of the events without any build-up or initial explanation

Inference

the act of deducing implied meanings

Intertextuality

where a text produces additional meaning by referring in some way to another text

Irony

when the intended meaning of a text or utterance differs radically from its literal interpretation

Metalanguage

language which is used to describe or comment on language (e.g. "This translates as...." or "I meant to say...."

Narrative structure

the way in which a story is constructed

Modality

refers to the attitude a speaker or writer takes to the idea of being expressed (e.g. certainty, possibility, obligation, ability). Is usually conveyed by the use of the appropriate grammatical mood.

Form

Generally, the specific type of whatever category is being considered (e.g. textual, verb, grammatical).

Used on its own, it often refers to the textual. The division of texts into these categories (e.g. speech, dialogue, poem, novel) involves categorizing texts according to how their structural elements combine to create a unified and recognizable whole.

Different versions of text can usually be subdivided into genres, depending on content.

Implicature

a meaning that is suggested by an utterance, rather than being explicitly stated or directly entailed by the words used.

Omniscient narrator

where the narrator in a story knows all the thoughts, actions, and feelings of the character

Perspective

Point of view

Prose

ordinary language, without a rhyming pattern or rhythmic structure

Protagonist

the main character in a literary work

Purpose

a writer/speaker's main aim when producing a text

Register

the variety of language used in a particular situation, particularly with regard to levels of formality

Second person narrative

when the reader is addressed directly, typically through the use of "you," "your," "yours," etc

Slogan

a short, direct, and memorable phrase, frequently used in advertising

Structure

the way in which a text is ordered and organized

Style

the distinctive overall effect produced by interactions between form, structure, and language

Third person narrative

where the narrator of a story is not directly related to the events being narrated, and typically uses third-person pronouns (e.g. he, she, they) to refer to the characters involved

Tone

the emotion or attitudes associated with a spoken or written utterance

Topic sentence

a sentence which contains the essence of the entire paragraph. it is usually at the beginning of the paragraph and signposts the pattern of information and ideas which follow

Topic shift

the point at which speakers move from one topic to another in conversation

Transactional

writing or speech which aims to complete a transaction and produce a particular outcome (e.g. a letter claiming a refund; giving spoken directions to a destination)

Typography

the visual aspect of written language, including the size, color, and type of font used