English Glossary Flashcards
allegory
A story in prose fiction, poetry, drama or visual language that has more than one level of meaning. The characters, events and situations can represent other characters, events and situations.
For example, the witch trials in The Crucible are an allegory or the US HUAC hearings in the 1950s. Allegories are often represent moral or political situations.
allusion
A deliberate and implicit reference to a person or event, or a work of art which draws on knowledge and experiences shared by the composer and responder.
alternative readings
Interpretations of a text that vary from the most widely understood or traditional interpretations. E.g. Wuthering Heights is traditionally read as a novel about intense human relationships but contemporary alternative readings include political readings (seeing it as a novel of social class and bourgeois exploitation in Victorian England) and a gendered reading (seeing it as a novel of gender stereotypes).
analogy
A comparison demonstrating the similarities between two things, people or situations. It is a device to clarify an idea through connection. Analogies are often used in persuading, explaining or arguing a point.
apposition
When one noun group immediately follows another with the same reference, they are said to be in apposition.
E.g. ‘our neighbour, Mr Grasso…’, ‘Canberra, the capital of Australia…’
appreciation
The act of discerning quality, value and enjoyment in imaginative, informative and persuasive texts.
appropriation
Taking an object or text from one context and using it in another context. This process can allow new insights into the original text or object and emphasise contextual differences. Appropriation also gives extra insight into the newly created or used text or object, Texts can be appropriated for a range of purposes, including satirical criticism, consideration of existing ideas in a new context and exploration of cultural assumptions. The mass media frequently appropriate words, images and icons from other cultural contexts. Films and novels are often appropriations of earlier texts.
argument
The reasons and evidence given to support an idea or a proposition
article
There are 3 articles in the ENglish language: a, an, the. The is a definite article, a and an are called indefinite articles
audience
The intended group of readers, listeners or viewers that the writer, designer, filmmaker or speaker is addressing
auxiliary verb
A verb that gives further semantic or syntactic information about a main or full verb. The most common auxiliary verbs are be, do and have. Note that they are only auxiliary verbs when connected to another verb. They can be used on their own. Will and shall are auxiliary verbs used to express future time. Modal auxiliaries such as shall, could and might also operate to adjust verb meanings.
bias
In argument or discussion, to favour one side or viewpoint by ignoring or excluding conflicting information; a prejudice against something.
body language
A form of non-verbal communication which consists of body movements and postures, gestures, facial expressions, and eye and mouth movements, for example crossed arms or leading away from or towards another person
breadcrumb trail
A method for providing ways to navigate through a website, The breadcrumb trail shows where users are, how they got there, and how to move back to places they have been. E.g. Home>Products>Purchase>Checkout
camera angle
The angle at which the camera is pointed at the subject. It is the perspective from which the camera shoots and from which the view ultimately sees the image. Vertical angle can be low, level or high. Horizontal angle can be oblique (side on) or frontal
clause
A clause is a complete message or thought expressed in words. The essential component of a clause is a finite verb or verb group, e.g. ‘she played in the sandpit’, ‘Duc was running home’. There are main, subordinate adjectival, adverbial and embedded clauses.
main clause (also known as a principal or independent clause)
A clause that can stand alone as a complete sentence, though it may be joined with other clauses, e.g. ‘The child came first’.
subordinate clause (also known as a dependent clause)
A group of words that cannot stand alone or make complete sense on its own. it needs to be combined with a main clause to form a complete sentence. They will usually be adjectival or adverbial clauses.
adjectival clause
A clause that provides information which defines the qualities or characteristics of the person or thing named. It usually begins with a relative pronoun and is sometimes called a relative clause, e.g. ‘The child who had the red top came first’.
adverbial clause
A clause that modifies the verb in the main clause, e.g. ‘The gchild came first because he was the fastest runner’.
embedded clause
occurs within the structure of another clause, often as a qualifier to a noun group, e.g. ‘The man who came to dinner is my brother’.
anaphora
A rhetorical device that consists of repeating a sequence of words at the beginnings of neighboring clauses, thereby lending them emphasis.
cohesion
That quality in a text determined by its parts being related and contributing to its overall unity. COhesion is achieved through shaping the form, creating a structure that the responder can recognise and use to navigate the text, and using features of language that link the various parts of the text into a complete whole. These features can include connectives such as ‘furthermore’ and ‘therefore’, cross-references to different parts of the text, and reiteration of the title or terms of the topic or question being addressed in the text.
cohesive links
Those language features that help to develop unity within a text. Cohesion can incolce referring words such as pronouns, e.g. ‘Tony wanted to escape but he couldn’t run’, or content words that are related in various ways, e.g. ‘Tony wanted to escape but was too tired to run’.
colloquial
Informal expression of language, characteristic of speech and often used in informal writing. The register or everyday speech.
command (or imperative)
A sentence that gives direction or seeks an active response, e.g. ‘Leave now!’, ‘Go!’ Commands always end with an exclamation mark.
composing
Composing typically involves:
- The shaping and arrangement of textual elements to explore and express ideas, emotions and values
- The processes of imagining, organising, analysing, drafting, appraising, synthesising, reflecting and refining
- Knowledge, understanding and use of language forms, features and structures of texts
- Awareness of audience and purpose
composition
The combination and integration of the various elements of an image into a whole text
comprehension strategies
Strategies and processes by which readers bring meaning to and extract meaning from texts. Key comprehension strategies include:
- Activating and using prior knowledge
- Identifying literal information explicitly stated in the text
- Making inferences based on information in the text and their own prior knowledge
- Predicting likely future events in the text
- Visualising by creating mental images of elements in the text
- Integrating ideas and information in texts
- Critically reflecting on content, structure, languages and images used to construct meaning in a text.
conjunction
A word that joins other words, phrases or clauses together in logical relationships such as addition, time, cause or comparison
coordinating conjunctions
Conjunctions that link words, phrases and clauses in such a way that the elements have equal status in meaning. E.g. and, or, but, either/neither, so, then
subordinating conjunctions
Conjunctions that introduce certain kinds of subordinate clauses and serve to mark the kind of subordinate clause introduced. E.g. that, whether (or if), while, after, when, because, if (in the conditional sense).
connective
Words which link paragraphs and sentences in logical relationships of time, cause and effect, comparison or addition. They relate ideas to one another and help to show the logic of the information. Connectives are important resources for creating cohesion in texts. The logical relationships can be group as follows:
- temporal - to indicate time or sequence ideas, e.g. first, second, next
- causal - to show cuase and effect, e.g. because, for, so
- additive - to add information, e.g. also, besides, furthermore
- comparative - e.g. rather, alternatively
- conditional/concessive - to make conditions or concession, e.g. infact, for example
connotation
The nuances or shades of meaning attached to words, beyond that of their literal or dictionary meanings. They may be positive, negative or neutral.
context
The range of personal, social, historical, cultural and workplace conditions in which a text is responded to and composed.
contraction
A contraction is a shortened form of one or two words (one of which is usually a verb). Ina contraction, an apostrophe takes the place of the missing letter or letters. E.g. I’m, can’t, how’s, and Ma’am
convention
An accepted language practice that has developed over time and is general used and understood, for example use of punctuation
create/compose
Develop and/or produce spoken, written or multimodal texts in print, visual, oral, digital or graphic forms
creativity
The dynamic process of using language to conceptualise, interpret and synthesise ideas in order to develop a ‘product’
critical
Exploration of the quality of argument, content, analysis, information or persuasion in oral, visual or written text, to assess the way in which themes, issues or ideas are presented for the audience and purposes intended
cultural assumption
Beliefs or attitudes about such things as gender, religion, youth, age, disability, secuality, social class and work that are taken for granted as being part of the fabric of the social practices of a particular culture. Cultural assumptions underlie cultural expressions in texts and may be embedded in texts in various ways.
cultural expression
The articulation or representation of beliefs, practices or attitudes pertaining to a particular culture
culture
The social practices and ways of thinking of a particular people or group, including shared beliefs, values, knowledge, customs, lifestyle and artefacts.
decode
the process in which knowledge of letter-sound relationships, including knowledge of letter patterns, is used to identify written words.
design
The way particular elements are selected organised and used in the process of text construction particular purposes. These elements might be linguistic (words), visual (images), audio, gestural (body language), spatial (arrangement on the page, screen or 3D), and multimodal (a combination of more than one).
dialect
The terms of a given language which differ from one another, usually to be found in particular region or social class.
digital texts
Audio, visual or multimodal texts produced through digital or electronic technology which may be interactive and include animations and/or hyperlinks. e.g. includes DVDs, websites, e-literature (e-books) and apps.
diagraph
Two letters that represent a single sound (phoneme). Vowel digraphs are two vowels (oo, ea). Consonants digraph have two consonants (sh, th). Vowel/consonant digraph have one vowel and one consonant (er, ow).
e-literature
The electronic publication of literature using the multimedia capabilities of digital technologies to create interactive and possibly non-linear texts, through combining written text, movement, visual, audio and spatial elements. It may include hypertext fiction, computer art installations, kinetic poetry and collaborative writing projects allowing readers is to contribute to a work. This also includes texts where print meanings are enhanced through digital images and/or sound and literature that is reconstituted from print texts, e.g. online versions of the Little Prince or Alice in Wonderland. In the form of e-books they are instructed to be read through e-readers and electronic tablets.
electronic media
Media technology, such as television, the Internet, radio and email, that communicates with large numbers of people. Much electronic media will be interactive.
ellipsis
Ellipsis is the emission of words where:
- Words repeat what has gone before and these terms are simply understood, e.g. ‘The project will be innovative. To be involved (in the project) will be exciting.”
- A word that one is substituted for an hour or noun group, as in ‘There are lots of apples in the bowl. Can I have one?’ (of them)
- A cohesive resource binds text together and is commonly used in dialogue for speed of response, e.g. (Do you) ‘Want a drink?’
- Three dots (also known as points of ellipsis) Are used to indicate such things as surprise or suspense in a narrative text or that there is more to come in and on-screen menu
- The points of ellipsis take the place of sections of text when quoting from a source
emotive language
Language that creates a emotional response.
etymology
The origins of, and changes to, words in relation to meaning, e.g. words derived from earlier or other languages, place names, words derived from people’s names, coinages (e.g. googling)
evaluative language
Positive or negative language that judges the worth of something. It includes language to express feelings and opinions, to make judgements about aspects of people such as their behaviour, and to assess the quality of objects such as literary works. It includes evaluative words. The language used by the car or writer to give a text particular perspective (e.g. judgemental, emotional, critical) In order to influence how the audience will respond to the content of the text.
epistrophe
The repetition of a word which occurs at the end of a phrase, sentence, or clause, rather than the beginning (anaphora).
figurative language
Words or phrases used in a way that differs from the expected or everyday usage. Figurative language creates comparisons by linking the senses and the concrete to abstract ideas. Words or phrases are used in a non-literal way for particular effect, e.g. simile, metaphor, personification. Figurative language may also use elements of other senses, as in hearing with onomatopoeia, Or in combination as in synaesthesia.
finite verbs
Verbs that have a specific tense and a subject with which they must grammatically agree. A complete sentence must contain a finite verb.
fluency
Ease of flow, for example in talking, reading, handwriting and spelling.
framing
The way in which elements in a still moving image are arranged to create a specific interpretation of the whole. Strong framing creates a sense of enclosure around elements while weak framing creates a sense of openness.
gaze
The directed look of either a viewer or figure in an image, including demand and offer.
gender
- In text study, Exploration of the way notions of gender identity of constructed by the language and values of the text.
- In grammar, a requirement for agreement between nouns, adjectives, verbs and pronouns that must agree when they are referring to males or females.
genre
The categories into which texts are grouped. The time has a complex history within literary and linguistic theory and is often used to distinguish texts on the basis of, e.g. Their subject matter (detective fiction, romance, science fiction, fantasy fiction) and the form and structure (poetry, novels, short stories).
grammar
The structure of the language we use and the description of the a system.In describing language, attention is paid to both structure (form) and meaning (function) at the level of the construction of words (graphemes), the word, the sentence and the text.
grammatical/syntactical information
Information about language structure in comprehending text, e.g. sentence structure, word organisation and word order.
grapheme
A letter or combination of letters that corresponds to or represents phonemes, e.g. the f in frog, The ph in phone, The gh in cough.
home language
A language acquired and used in the home or community by members of the family, e.g. Speaking Mandarin at home in an English speaking country.
homograph
A word with the same spelling as another, but of different origin and meaning, e.g. wind (the wind blows), wind (wind the clock).
homonym
A word having the same sound and same spelling, but different meaning, e.g. strike (verb), strike (noun).
homophone
Word having the same sound as another but different spelling and meaning, e.g. bear, bare.
hybrid texts
Composite text result in mixing elements from different sources or genres (e.g. infotainment). Email is an example of an hybrid text, combining the immediacy of talk in the expectation of a reply with the permanence of print.
icon
Image or likeness like carries meaning beyond its literal interpretation. E.g. the cross is an icon that represents Christianity, the Sydney Opera House is a icon that represents Sydney or Australia. The meaning of ‘icon’ has also broadened to refer to an image on likeness that is admired in value to because of the qualities inherent in what it represents. E.g. Leading figures in pop culture enjoy iconic status when they are seen as representing admired qualities such as intelligence, creativity, leadership, courage, talent, physical strength, grace or endurance.
iconography
The visual images and symbols associated with a particular person, place, event, situation or concept.
idiom
And expression particular to a language, that cannot be taken literally, e.g. ‘I’ve got a frog in my throat’.
idiomatic expressions
Words or ways of speaking which are peculiar to a language or area. The users of this text understand it to mean something other than its literal translation. Idiomatic expressions give the distinctive flavour to speech of writing, e.g. ‘on thin ice’, ‘fed up to the back teeth’.
imagery
The use of figurative language or illustrations to represent objects, actions or ideas.
imaginative
The ability to use the mind for a wide array of purposes. These purposes include, but are not limited to, creating and forming images, ideas and thoughts, developing new insights, reflecting on one’s own self and others, and solving problems.
