JN

Key Terms in Linguistics

Key Terms in Linguistics

  • 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 (languages include Greek, Latin, Anglo-Saxon).

Etymology

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

Word Formation Elements

  • Prefix

    • The affix that comes before the base/root.

    • Changes the meaning of the word.

  • Base / Root

    • The word part that gives meaning.

  • Suffix

    • The affix that comes after the base/root.

    • Often indicates the part of speech.

Types of Speech Sounds

  • Consonant

    • A speech sound produced by stopping or shaping the airflow from the mouth.

  • Vowel

    • A speech sound produced by the vibration of the vocal cords.

Syllable Types

  • Syllable

    • A unit of spoken language that contains one vowel sound.

  • Short Vowel

    • A term used to describe a quick vowel sound.

  • Long Vowel

    • A term used to describe an elongated vowel sound.

  • Closed Syllable

    • A syllable in which the vowel is closed in by one or more consonants.

    • The vowel is typically short.

  • V-e Syllable

    • A syllable in which the vowel is followed by a consonant and then an "e".

    • The vowel is long.

  • Open Syllable

    • A syllable that ends with a vowel.

    • The vowel is long.

  • R-Controlled Syllable

    • A syllable in which the vowel is followed by "r".

  • Consonant-le Syllable

    • A syllable type that ends with a consonant followed by "-le".

    • This syllable occurs only at the end of a word.

  • Vowel Team Syllable

    • A syllable that contains a vowel pair such as "ey," "ai," or "ou".

  • Breve

    • A symbol used to identify a short vowel sound.

  • Macron

    • A symbol used to identify a long vowel sound.

  • Blend

    • A combination of two or more consonants that are blended together while retaining their individual sounds (e.g., "bl," "str").

  • Consonant Digraph

    • A combination of two or more consonants that produce a single sound (e.g., "wh," "th," "sh").

  • Trigraph

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

  • Welded Sounds

    • Sounds that stick together, like "ink," "ong," and "am."

  • Bonus Letters

    • Specific letters that often double (e.g., F, L, S, Z).

Word Part Definitions

  • Base / Root

    • The core part of a word that provides its fundamental meaning.

  • Prefix

    • The affix that precedes a base/root and alters the meaning of the word.

  • Suffix

    • The affix that follows the base/root and may modify the meaning and/or part of speech of the word.

  • Affixes

    • General term for prefixes and suffixes that modify base/root meanings.