Basics of the Whole Course Flashcards
Lexis
The words used in text or spoken data; the vocabulary system of a language - lexical item = word
Lexical field
Where similar types of words are used - e.g. formality of the words
Semantic
The meaning of words that are given in a dictionary and how meaning is created in texts - layers of meaning can be found
Semantic field
Where there are many words that can have a similar meaning or interpretation
Syntax
The study of the way words are arranged in a sentence and the rules that define how words are arranged
Language variation
The process by which a language evolved over time, changing pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar
Phonology
Sounds of words and phrases - how they are pronounced and what impacts this
Etymology
The study of the origins of words
Idiolect
The distinctive language used by a specific individual
Sociolect
The language used by a specific social group that helps distinguish that group from another
Morphology
The study of how parts of words (morphemes) can create different meanings by being rearranged or standing alone e.g. prefix, suffix
Dialect
The distinctive grammar, syntax and vocabulary that marks a speaker’s regional, personal or social identity
Modal verb
A verb that denotes possibility, necessity or obligation
Homophones
Words that have the same pronunciation but have a different spelling and meaning
Discourse
The verbal or written exchange of ideas - and the rules that define this
Pragmatics
The study of how context contributes to meaning
Graphology
The study/analysis of the visual appearance of language or a piece of text
L&S: Lexical words vs functional words
Lexical words - words that have meaning
Functional words - words that have no meaning
L&S: What is needed in sentences for there to be lexical cohesion?
Pronouns - otherwise there is no flow and sentences dont make sense
L&S: Preposition
Time or place
L&S: Proper noun
A place or name, must be capitalised e.g. Europe
L&S: Concrete noun
An object that is tangible and you can see e.g. table
L&S: Abstract noun
Intangible, you cannot see it e.g. love
L&S: Collective noun
A noun that groups other common nouns together e.g. flock
L&S: What do the different nouns used mean?
If a text has more abstract nouns, the text and what is it talking about may be dreamlike
If concrete nouns are the majority, then what the text is talking about may be surface level
Thus, the nouns used can create different connotations within a text
L&S: Pronoun
A pronoun takes the place of a noun or noun phrase
L&S: 5 types of pronouns with examples
Personal e.g. I, you, she
Demonstrative e.g. this, these, that
Relative e.g. who, which, whom
Reflexive e.g. myself, yourself, themselves
Possessive e.g. my, yours, his
L&S: 6 types of nouns with examples
Proper noun e.g. Paris
Concrete noun e.g. shed
Abstract e.g. silence
Collective e.g. swarm
Countable e.g. bug
Uncountable e.g. bread
P: What are the 6 consonant groups?
Plosive
Fricatives
Affricates
Nasals
Approximates
Laterals
P: What are the plosive consonants?
p, b, t, d, k, g
P: What are the fricative consonants?
f, v, th (the), th (think), s, z, sh, s (casual), h
P: What are the affricates consonants?
ch, j/ge(judge)
P: What are the nasal consonants?
m, n, ng
P: What are the approximates consonants?
r, w, y
P: What is the lateral consonant?
l
L&S: Auxiliary
A verb that assists the main verb in a verb phrase, its a helping verb e.g. I WAS running, I MUST go, I SHOULD paint
L&S: What are the two types of auxiliaries?
Primary auxiliary
Modal auxiliary
L&S: Primary auxiliary
Be, do, have - they are often used to distinguish tense BUT can stand on their own and are only auxiliary when there is another verb in the sentence
L&S: Modal auxiliaries
Show possibility, probability, certainty, obligation or necessity like I MUST, I HAVE TO, I SHOULD
L&S: Epistemic modality
Auxiliaries that denote likelihood and certainty and possibility of things being true e.g. YOU MUST be starving
L&S: Deontic modality
Denotes possibility and necessity in terms of freedom to act (including permission and duty) e.g. YOU MUST leave now
L&S: What are the 2 types of modal auxiliaries?
Epistemic modality
Deontic modality
L&S: What are 4 different types of lexical cohesion
Lexical connectors
Referencing with pronouns
Substitution
Ellipsis of certain elements
L&S: Lexical cohesion
Using words to make a text flow
L&S: Examples of lexical connectors
Therefore
Firstly
Later
L&S: What are the 2 types of referencing with pronouns when it comes to lexical cohesion?
Referencing backwards - you mention the noun then use a pronoun - anaphoric
Anticipatory - you mention the pronoun and then the nouns - cataphoric
L&S: What is substitution when it comes to lexical cohesion? With an example
Substituting one set of lexical items for another e.g. calling Prince William, the Prince of Wales instead of
L&S: What can be a use of ellipses?
To give the reader information
L&S: What can different lexical connotations (different interpretations of lexical fields) do?
They can imply different things - the words used can create a different atmosphere or or create different imagery
D: Discourse
A continuous stretch of language
D: What are the 2 types of discourse
Written
Spoken
D: Mode continuum
Focuses on whether discourse is more written or more spoken
D: What are the 4 types of discourse structures in written texts?
List/instructions
Problem-solution
Analysis
Narrative
D: Key features of lists/instructions
Logical progressions through stages, use of imperative verbs
D: Examples of list/instructions
Recipes, instructions, guides
D: Key features of problem-solution
Identifies a problem
D: Examples of problem-solution
Product advisements
D: Key features of analysis
Breaks down ideas into key parts, evaluates and explores
D: Examples of analysis
Academic articles, newspaper editorials
D: Key features of narrative
Details a series of events
D: Examples of narrative
Novels, witness accounts
D: What are the 5 functions of spoken language
Transactional
Referential
Interactional
Phatic
Expressive
D: What is the acronym to remember the 5 functions of spoken language?
TRIPE
D: Transactional meaning as a function of spoken language
The main emphasis is on getting something done e.g. asking for directions or buying something in a shop
D: Referential meaning as a function of spoken language
Utterances that provide information, often referring to objects or concepts and relying on context e.g. giving directions
D: Interactional meaning as a function of spoken language
Main emphasis is on social relationship between participants, its often informal e.g. a chat with friends
D: Phatic meaning as a function of spoken language
Phatic communication is also known as small talk - there is no real content but its important for managing relationship e.g. ’lovely day’
D: Expressive meaning as a function of spoken language
Expresses the speakers feelings or judgement, its subjective e.g. ’English Language is by far the best A-level subject’
D: William Labov
Theorist whose research led him to put forward a 6 part structure for oral narrative
D: What was Labovs 6 part structure for oral narrative?
Abstract
Orientation
Complicating action
Resolution
Evaluation
Coda
D: What does abstract mean in relation to Labovs 6 part structure for oral narrative?
An indication that’s narrative is about to start and the speakers wants the listeners attention
D: What does orientation mean in relation to Labovs 6 part structure for oral narrative?
The who, what, why and where - sets the scene
D: What does complicating action mean in relation to Labovs 6 part structure for oral narrative?
The main body of the narrative
D: What does resolution mean in relation to Labovs 6 part structure for oral narrative?
The final events that round off the narrative
D: What does evaluation mean in relation to Labovs 6 part structure for oral narrative?
Any additions to the story, they highlight attitudes or they command attention
D: What does coda mean in relation to Labovs 6 part structure for oral narrative?
A sign that the narrative is complete - it may include a return to the starting point of the narrative
D: What are the 2 types of evaluation in relation to Labovs 6 part structure for oral narrative?
External evaluation - added at the time of recounting the narrative but they aren’t part of the series of events e.g. you wont believe what happened next
Internal evaluation - opinions or thoughts that were made at the time of the narrative e.g. it was so boring
P: Phonology
The sturdy of sounds and how phrases are pronounced, and what affects the sound you make
P: Phonetics
The actual sounds of speech - how they are made, physically articulated and transmitted e.g. using different accents
P: Phoneme
Basic units of sound from which language is constructed - smaller than a morpheme
P: Are sounds evolutionary or a technology? Why?
Sounds are evolutionary because of our voice box
P: Is writing evolutionary or a technology? Why?
Writing is a technology, its a code and is a byproduct of sounds and speaking
L&S: Synonym
Words that have a similar meaning to
L&S: Antonym
Words with an opposite meaning
L&S: Hyponymy
The hierarchal structure of lexical items from more general to more specific
L&S: What is a euphemism?
A mild or indirect expression used instead of one that is considered in some way offensive, painful or unpleasant e.g. ‘dead’ and ‘passed away’
L&S: Dysphemism
A use of language that emphasises unpleasantness e.g. ‘kicked the bucket’
L&S: What are the two types of antonyms?
- Complementary antonyms - represent true opposites e.g. true and false
- Gradable antonyms - can be considered in terms of degree e.g. long and short
L&S: Example of hyponymy?
Animal
Mammal
Dog - this is the basic level (the one used normally)
Spaniel
English cocker spaniel
L&S: Are synonyms exact equivalents?
No
L&S: How can synonyms be somewhat different?
If they are:
Stronger or weaker
More or less formal
Dialect, sociolect or slang
Taboo or polite
L&S: Give synonyms of man where one is more formal and the other is less formal?
Formal: gentleman
Informal: chap
L&S: Conceptual metaphor theory
Metaphors are a way of understanding the world - we understand one thing in terms of another - theory created by Lakoff and Johnson
L&S: What is an example of a conceptual metaphor?
Arguments are war - they can be attacked or defended, won or lost
P: What does voiced and unvoiced mean?
Refers to the vibration of vocal cords - voiced means the vocal cords vibrate and unvoiced means they dont vibrate
P: What letters are voiced in English?
All of the vowels and some of the consonants - the vocal cords vibrate when the sounds are produced
L&S: What are the 7 types of verbs?
Material
Relational
Mental
Dynamic verb process
Stative verb processes
Transitive verbs
Intransitive verbs
L&S: material verb
Describes actions or events e.g. hit, run, eat
L&S: relational
Describes states of being or used to identify e.g. be, appear
L&S: mental verb
Describes perception, thought or speech e.g. think, love
L&S: dynamic verb process
There is a change in state over time e.g. paint, remove
L&S: stative verb process
The situation remains constant e.g. hold, love
L&S: transitive verb
Requires an object e.g. give, see
L&S: intransitive verb
Don’t require an object e.g. die, sleep
D: What are the 14 features of spoken discourse
- Back channelling
- Discourse marker
- Fillers
- Hedging
- False starts/repairs
- Skip connectors
- Fixed expressions
- Vague expressions
- Ellipsis
- Tag questions
- Deixis
- Non fluency features
- Adjacency pair
- Transition relevance point
D: back channelling def - with example
Non verbal or verbal communication from the listener to show support to the speaker - shows you’re actively listening e.g. mhm, nodding head, shrugging shoulders
D: discourse marker def - with example
Signals a shift in conversation and topic areas, can also introduce a counter argument e.g. okay, so, but
D: filler def - with example
Sounds that have no meaning, create pause and that are used during speech to remember information, show feeling e.g. er, um
D: hedging def - with example
Strategies to avoid directness or minimise a potentially face threatening act e.g. kind of, sort of, maybe
D: false starts/repairs def - with example
When a speaker begins to speak pauses, then recommences, repairs are corrections to something previously stated e.g. sorry
D: skip connectors def - with example
A discourse marker indicating a return to a previous topic e.g. anyways, back to what we were saying
D: fixed expressions def - with example
Conventional and routine expressions - often metaphorical like idioms e.g. at the end of the day
D: vague expressions def - with example
Similar to hedging - deliberately non committal expressions e.g. something, anything
D: ellipsis def - with example
Phrases that dont make grammatical sense, they’re the shortest possible sentence that still put across meaning e.g. ‘just seen jack’, ‘drink?’
D: tag questions def - with example
Questions that are usually said after a statement to double check information, they contain negative, past pronoun and auxiliary e.g. ‘we weren’t supposed to were we?’
D: deixis def - with example
Pointing words - instead of a fixed referent, the meaning depends on context e.g. yesterday, here, you
D: non fluency feature def - with example
A catch-all term for pauses, hesitations and repetition e.g. um, er
D: adjacency pair def - with example
Conversational turn taking - the back and forth of a conversation e.g. ‘hello how are you?’ Followed by ‘fine thanks’
D: transition relevance point def
A point where it is natural for another speaker to take a turn
D: What are the 3 types of indicators that someone has finished speaking?
Explicit indicators
Subtle indicators
Non verbal indicators
D: Explicit indicator
Direct questions and tag questions are obvious invitations to speak and also using the persons name and it can be done through someone managing the conversation
D: Subtle indicator
Grammatical construction may be finished (if one doesnt finish the grammatical construction it shows they dont want to be interrupted), concluding statement may be used and a change in intonation (usually a downwards inflection)
D: Non verbal indicators
Eye movements (you look more at people when listening rather than speaking, but look at listener when nearing end of speech), listeners indicate their wish to speak by increasing body tension, leaning forwards or nodding heads rapidly
D: examples of adjacency pairs?
Greeting then greeting
Question then answer
Apology then acceptance
Farewell then farewell
Statement then (dis)agreement
D: topic marker
Display the central focus of the conversation - like ‘could you tell me something about this computer?’
D: topic shifters
Shift the focus of the conversation when there is a topic shift - like ‘by the way, yesterday I went to the shop…’
D: what were the 5 key theories?
- Accommodation theory
- Cooperative principle
- Face
- 2 different types of face needs: positive and negative
- Politeness principle
D: who developed the accommodation theory?
Giles
D: what is the accommodation theory?
A theory developed by Giles that states the idea that we change our speech to accommodate the person we are addressing in 2 ways - convergence and divergence
D: what does convergence mean in relation to the accommodation theory?
Moving closer to the other persons style, decreasing the social distance between speakers
D: what are the 3 types of convergence in the accommodation theory?
Downward convergence (like RP speaker toning down their accent)
Upward convergence (like a strong regional accent moving closer to RP)
Mutual convergence (RP = Received Pronunciation)
D: what does divergence mean in relation to the accommodation theory?
Emphasising differences between people and their accents
D: who developed the cooperative principle?
Grice
D: what does the cooperative principle state?
The idea that conversation works because we follow rules - Grice argued that conversations proceed as we have common goals and ways of achieving them - he came up with 4 maxims (rules for a successful conversation)
D: what are the 4 maxims?
- Quantity - say neither more nor less than required
- Relevance - be relevant to the ongoing context of the conversation
- Manner - avoid ambiguity, obscurity or disorder
- Quality - be truthful
D: conversational implicature
Where, out of context, the reply to a question may seem out of context
D: who developed the theory of face?
Goffman
D: what does the theory of face state?
The idea that in different interactions, we present different images of ourselves that we try to uphold
D: what is a face threatening act?
When we reject or threaten the face that someone presents e.g. catching out someone on a lie - threatens reputation
D: who came up with the theory that we have 2 different types of face needs?
Brown and Levison
D: what are the 2 different types of face needs?
Positive
Negative
D: what is meant by a positive face need?
The need to be liked and admired and you do things to be liked and admired
D: what is meant by a negative face need?
The need not to be imposed upon, not imposing in issues as they have their own lives
D: politeness
Having regard for another persons face
D: what may politeness involve?
Using correct terms of address
speaking appropriately to the social relationship
speaking with formality depending on the occasion
understanding the conventions of language associated with the situation and understanding conventions of turn taking
D: how many types of politeness are there?
2 types
D: what are the 2 types of politeness?
Positive politeness
Negative politeness
D: what is meant by positive politeness?
showing people they are liked and admired, making it clear we enjoy their company like through back channeling, paying compliments or taking an interest and inviting particular terms of address - actively being polite to ones positive face
D: what is meant by negative politeness
Avoiding or intruding on others, not imposing or intruding on their privacy, indirect or apologetic and regretful language, saying excuse me before asking a question and using formal terms of address - actively trying to not be impolite
D: who developed the idea of the politeness principle?
Lakoff
D: what does the politeness principle state?
Politeness must be defined in the terms of 3 basic rules: dont impose, give options and make your receiver feel good
P: when one breathes normally, where is the soft palate? Why?
The soft palate is low to allow air to pass through the nose
P: what are the 3 positions of the soft palate?
Raised
Lowered
Lowered but mouth remains closed
P: what is meant by the soft palate being raised?
The air only escapes through the mouth to create oral sounds - all vowels and most consonants in English
P: what is meant by the softa palate being lowered?
Allows air to escape through mouth and nose - nasal sounds
P: what is meant by the soft palate being lowered but the mouth remains closed?
All air escapes through the nose - nasal consonants
P: what 6 criteria are consonants usually described in reference to?
- The source of the air
- Direction of the air stream
- Vibration of the vocal cords
- Position of the soft palate
- Place of articulation in the vocal tract
- Manner of articulation
P: what is meant by the source of the air as a criteria of how consonants are normally described?
Whether the source of air is in the lungs or not (pulmonic or non pulmonic)
P: what is meant by direction of the air stream as a criteria of how consonants are normally described?
Whether the direction is outwards (egressive) or inwards (ingressive)
P: what is meant by the vibration of the vocal cords as a criteria of how consonants are normally described?
Whether the vocal cords vibrate (voiced) or if they dont (unvoiced)
P: what is meant by the position of the soft palate as a criteria of how consonants are normally described?
Whether the soft palate is raised (oral) or lowered (nasal)
P: what are the 6 places of articulation?
- Bilabial
- Labio dental
- Dental
- Alveolar
- Velar
- Glottal
P: what is meant by bilabial? With examples
Both lips are involved e.g. /p/ /b/
P: what is meant by labio-dental? With examples
Lower lip meets upper teeth e.g. /f/ /v/
P: what is meant by dental? With examples
Tongue meets upper teeth e.g. /th/
P: what is meant by alveolar? With examples
Blade of the tongue meets alveolar ridge e.g. /t/ /s/
P: what is meant by velar? With examples
Back of the tongue meets soft palate e.g. /g/ /k/
P: what is meant by glottal? With examples
Vocal cords come together to cause friction e.g. /h/
P: what are the 4 manners of articulation?
- Total closure
- Intermittent closure
- Partial closure
- Narrowing - where the mouth is closing
P: what is meant by manners of articulation?
Ways that the mouth is positioned when making sounds
P: what sounds are made when there is a total closure?
Plosive
Nasal
Affricate
P: what is meant by a plosive consonants?
A complete closure is made somewhere on the vocal tract, causing air to build up which is then released
P: what is meant by a nasal consonant?
The mouth is closed so air escapes through the nose
P: what is meant by an affricate consonant?
The mouth is closed, air us built up but released more slowly than a plosive - there is a sharp plosive like release, followed by an audible friction
P: what sounds are made when there is an intermittent closure?
Roll or trill e.g. the /r/ in german
Flap e.g. /d/ in ladder
P: what sounds are made when there is a partial closure?
Lateral e.g. /l/
P: what sounds are made when there is narrowing?
Fricative
P: what is meant by a fricative consonant?
When two vocal organs come close together causing friction
P: what is meant by an approximant consonant?
Articulated in the same way as a vowel
P: do sounds have meaning?
No
P: what is sound symbolism?
When speakers develop sounds that reflect or symbolise properties of the world and therefore ‘have meaning’ e.g. schwoop
P: what are the 2 types of onomatopoeia?
Lexical onomatopoeia
Non lexical onomatopoeia
P: what is meant by lexical onomatopoeia?
Onomatopoeia that comes from lexical items and words which have meaning which sounds like an action, they have a function within language and draw similarities between the sound and the real world e.g. crash, bash
P: what is meant by non lexical onomatopoeia?
It has no meaning but is just the sound associated with the action, they also work on the basis of similarities and rely on a sound or a cluster of sounds that are not lexical items e.g. vroom, grr
P: alliteration
When sounds that are similar are used at the beginning of words
P: assonance
Repetition of vowel sounds
P: consonance
Repetition of consonant sounds
P: sibilance
Repetition of s and ch or sh or t sounds - its a manner of articulation of fricative and affricate consonants made by direction a stream of air with the tongue towards the sharp edge of the teeth, which are held close together
P: what are examples of reasons why words can appear symbolic?
For example, closed sounds in words like chip and little can suggest smallness, while open vowel sound sin words like vast and grand can suggest largeness
BUT there are also words like big that are closed sounds but insinuate largeness and how small is an open voweled sound attached to a word indicating smallness
P: rhythm
When stress falls on the most important words (focuses on a key word)
P: what can rhythm suggest?
It can focus on the most important bits - simplifies texts
It can imply peace, tranquility, familiarity
P: what is meant by strong and weak forms of words?
Some words have different pronunciations depending on how they are said - whether they are emphasised, or said in isolation e.g. ‘and’ is a weak word
P: what often happens with weak forms of words?
They merge together with the sounds that surround it - connected speech
P: connected speech
Where words are connected together to make them easier to pronounce and make sentences flow
P: what are the 3 forms of connected speech?
- Elision
- Assimilation
- Liaison
P: elision
They are used in rapid speech, sounds may be left out, or elided, especially when they occur as part of a consonant cluster - in english it is typically alveolar consonants (e.g. t, s) that are lost, particularly at the end of words e.g. library is pronounced libry, everything is pronounce evrythng
P: assimilation
When sounds that are next to each other become more alike adjacent sounds often influence each other so they become more similar, or assimilate. Happens in rapid speech - because it makes words easier to say quickly e.g. in the word handbag, hand becomes ham, to make it easier to pronounce the syllable bag
P: what are the 3 types of assimilation?
- Regressive/anticipatory
- Progressive
- Coalescent/reciprocal
P: what is meant by regressive/anticipatory assimilation?
The sound is influenced by the following sound e.g. ten bikes
P: what is meant by progressive assimilation?
Influenced the preceding sound e.g. lunch score
P: what is meant by coalescent/reciprocal assimilation?
Mutual influence or fusion e.g. don’t you
P: liaison
When a sound is inserted between words or syllables to help them run together more smoothly, in Received Pronunciation, this is most common in the linking of ‘r’ where the ‘r’ is not normally heard at the end of the word unless it is followed by a vowel - if it is heard then the ‘r’ and the vowel usually connect e.g. ‘mother ate’ or ‘mother knew’
P: hiatus
A gap between words
P: when may there be an /r/ sound added?
To make it easier to link the word (usually if 2 vowel sounds are next to eachother) e.g. media interest
P: homophone
Words that sound the same but are spelt different and have a different meaning - distinct definitions but share sounds
P: phonological manipulation
Sounds that are used to create humour, relies on homophones and is where text producers play with sounds for effect (puns)
P: phonological substitution
Sounds used to create humour, doesn’t rely on homophones and is when text producers play with sounds. E.g. when do astronauts eat? Launch time. - sound the same but aren’t homophones
D: what would you find in a scripted dialogue?
Few fillers unless they’re purposeful
May use more complex language
Will follow structure of language
Will follow theories of language better
D: what would you find in speech from a story book?
Will follow the structure of conversation more clearly
Back channelling wont be recorded
May use more expressive language
Less Phatic language
May be more internal evaluation
D: what would you find in informal spontaneous speech?
May steer away from Labovs structure of conversation
More back channeling
More small talk/phatic
More external evaluation
Larger use of non fluency features and fillers
May not follow conventions of language
G&S: descriptivism
Focuses on actual usage of words and describes how language operates in real life contexts rather than on rules - focuses on the way language has been used and explains or analyses but doesnt judge
G&S: prescriptivism
Views varieties of english other than standard english as incorrect or bad - focuses on having a correct use of English and wants a language that doesnt deviate from standard English, it does judge
G&S: what is the linguistic rank scale?
Morpheme
Lexical item
Phrase
Clause
Sentence
Utterance
Text
G&S: determiner
Positioned in front of nouns to add detail or clarify
G&S: noun phrase
Phrases centred around a noun which is noun as the head noun of the phrase
G&S: morpheme
The smallest unit of grammatical meaning
G&S: lexical item
Words made up of one or more morphemes
G&S: phrase
A group of words e.g. noun phrase, verb phrase
G&S: clause
A group of words centred around a verb phrase
G&S: sentence
Contains one or more clauses
G&S: utterance
A group of spoken words - roughly same as sentence
G&S: text
A longer stretch of speech or writing
G&S: morphology
The study of the make up of words and the rules that define this
G&S: syntax
The study of how sentences are made and the rules - deal with phrases, clauses and sentences
G&S: verb phrase
Phrases centred around a verb which has a verb that is the main verb of the phrase
G&S: [aux]
Auxiliary verb
G&S: [neg]
Refers to the negating particle
G&S: [mv]
Main verb
G&S: what are the 7 verbs? With quick definitions.
Material - action
Mental - thoughts, feeling and mouth
Relational - states of being
Dynamic - change of state
Statute - something remains the same
Transitive - requires another object
Intransitive - doesnt require object
G&S: primary auxiliaries
Distinguish tense e.g. be, do, have
G&S: modal auxiliaries
Never appears on its own, expresses possibility, probability, certainty, necessity or obligation e.g. could, should
G: what does graphology cover?
Typography
Orthography
Multimodality
Discourse structure
Use of space
Colour
Semiotics
G: typography
Font
G: orthography
Writing systems
G: Multimodality
Images and photographs
G: discourse structure
Shape of the type of text
G: semiotics
The study of signs
G: a sign
Anything that signifies something else e.g. a word or an image
G: what relationship do most words have?
Most words in English have a symbolic, or arbitrary relationship to the thing they signify - the link is a cultural convention and therefore will vary across cultures and languages
G: what is an example of an arbitrary relationship between words?
The fact that the word ‘cat’ relates to a domestic feline is arbitrary, in different languages, its a different word, it could just be as easily be called a ‘box’
G: iconic sign
A sign that directly reflects and resembles an object or action, it is simple and offers a straightforward representation of what it stands for e.g. bridge road-sign that directly resemble a bridge
G: symbolic sign
A sign that must be interpreted and understood to get meaning out of it, it is usually defined by cultural convention, every society can make different or the same associations with the image e.g. dove as a symbol of peace
G&S: h
Head noun
G&S: d
Determiner
G&S: m
Modifier e.g. adverb or adjective
G&S: prep p
Prepositional phrase
G&S: p
Preposition
G&S: deontic modality
Denotes possibility and necessity in terms of freedom to act (including permission and duty)
G&S: epistemic modality
Auxiliaries that denote likelihood and certainty and the possibility of things being true
G&S: actor
The person/object completing an action
G&S: active voice
There is an actor clearly identified, the ‘who’ is identified, where the subject performs the action on the objects, stated by the verb
G&S: passive voice
No actor identified, avoids specifying the agency, subject is acted upon by the verb
G&S: why is the passive used?
Used in register of academic writing and formal written texts, journalism, where the agency is less important than the process and its results
Least common in spoken texts where the speaker is the doer and is presenting his or her perspective
G&S: agency
Subject performing the action
G&S: what are the 4 functions of passive voice?
- Remove the subject (agency) - to allow us to hide who carries out an action
- Information flow - to allow us to strategically organise the information according to our objectives
- Politeness/more formal/objective
- Distance/less personal/less blame
G&S: object
The element affected by the action of the verb phrase
G&S: verb
Verb phrase
G&S: subject
The element that carries out the verb phrase
G&S: adverbial
The circumstances of the action or event
The where, when or how
G&S: compliment
An attribute - more information about the subject or the object
G&S: what are the 5 key components of clause elements?
Object
Verb
Subject
Adverbial
Compliment
G&S: 4 types of adverbs?
Adverbs of manner
Adverbs of time
Adverbs of place
Adverbs of frequency
G&S: what types of verbs don’t have an object?
Intransitive verbs dont have an object
G&S: key facts about adverbials?
Don’t always contain adverbs, its about function not word class
Adverbials tell us about circumstances of the action/event (where, when, who) and may come in any of the guises: adverbs, noun phrases and prepositional phrases
G&S: what is the SVO structure?
The basic structure of English, can be modified by removing or replacing a functional element, or by adding another functional element to this structure
G&S: what are the 5 structures that SVO can be changed to?
- SVO structure can be reduced to SV structure but NOT if they are intransitive as they are not capable of taking an object
- SVA structure can also replace SVO where the adverbial provides further detail about an event or action, these are optional that provide information relevant to manner, time, location or clause
- SVC structure, where there is a subject and compliment
- SVOC structure
- SVOA structure
G&S: what are the 2 subsections of transitive verbs?
- Ditransitive - verbs which require 2 objects where one object is direct and the other is indirect
- Monotransitive - verbs which require one object
G&S: what are the 4 sentence structures?
Compound
Simple
Complex
Compound-complex
G&S: compound sentence
Two or more simple sentences joined together by a coordinating conjunction
G&S: simple sentence
One clause and a single main verb
G&S: complex sentence
Two or more clauses, one is independent (main) and the other is dependent (subordinate)
G&S: compound-complex sentence
Two independent clauses, one dependent clause and two conjunctions
G&S: what are the 4 sentence moods?
Declarative
Interrogative
Imperative
Exclamatory
G&S: What is meant by a declarative sentence mood? Example? Structure?
Tells information e.g. she drove to the shops
Structure = S + V
G&S: What is meant by a interrogative sentence mood? Example? Structure?
Asking for information e.g. why did you kill her?
Structure: V + S
G&S: What is meant by a imperative sentence mood? Example? Structure?
Instructs, demands or invites e.g. you must do the shopping
Structure: V + S
G&S: What is meant by a exclamatory sentence mood? Example? Structure?
Similar to declarative as it tells information but it does so with enthusiasm e.g. we won!
Structure: S + V
