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.
inference
The process of drawing conclusions based on evidence from a text.
interpretive
Responding to a text in order to draw meaning from it.
intertextuality
The associations or connections between one text and other text. Intertextual references can be more or less explicit and self-conscious. They can take the form of direct quotation, parody, allusion or structural borrowing.
intonation
The pattern of pitch changes revealed in speech.
irony
A clash between what the words to say and what they mean. Irony have three forms:
- Rhetorical irony - Saying something contrary to what is meant, e.g. ‘I had a great time’ (I was bored)
- Dramatic irony - Stating or doing something unaware of its contrast with the real situation, e.g. Where the reader or what chart knows disaster is about to before a character who says ‘I’ve never been happier’
- Situational irony - Where events are opposite to expectations
juxtaposition
The placement of two or more ideas, characters, action, settings, phrases or words side-by-side for a particular purpose, e.g. To highlight contrast or for rhetorical effect
language features
The features of language that support meaning, e.g. sentence structure, vocabulary, illustrations, diagrams, graphics, punctuation, figurative language. Choices in language features and text structures together define a type of text and shape its meaning. These choices very according to the purpose of the text, its subject matter, audience and mood or media of production.
language modes
Listening, speaking, reading, writing, viewing and representing. These modes are often integrated and interdependence activities used in responding to and composing texts in order to shape meaning. It is important to realise that:
- Any combination of the modes may be involved in responding to or composing print, sound, visual or multimedia texts
- The refinement of the skills in any one of the modes develops skills in the others. Students need to build on their skills in all language modes
language patterns
The arrangement of identifiable repeated or corresponding elements in a text. These include patterns of repetition or similarity (e.g. the repeated use of verbs at the beginning of each step in a recipe or the repetition of the chorus in a song). The patterns may repeat, alternate (to and fro of a dialogue or call and response of a song) or contrast (opposing viewpoints in a discussion or contrasting patterns of imagery in poem). The language patterns of the text contribute to the distinctive nature of its overall organisation and shape its meaning.
layout
The spatial arrangement of prints and graphics on a page or screen, including size of the font, positioning of illustrations, inclusion of captions, labels, headings, bullet points, orders and text boxes.
lexical cohesion
The use of word associations to create links in texts. E.g. links are the use of repetition of words, pronouns, synonyms, antonyms and words that are related such as by class and subclass.
linking devices
Devices that link words, phrases and sentences, often used interchangeably with conjunctions or text connectives.
literacy
A synthesis of language, thinking and contextual practices through which meaning is shaped and also involves interactions in a range of moods and through a variety of media.
literary texts
Texts that fall within the definition or accepted class of literature.
mass media
Technology used to communicate information to large numbers of people over distances.
media
Means of communication, e.g. print, digital. Plural of medium.
memory
Recognition, retention, recall and learning. The time is used to describe spelling strategies that draw on ‘known’ or ‘remembered’ words. Memory may be visual, auditory, kinaesthetic (by writing), tactile (feel of words), articulatory (the way the word is made in the mouth).
metalanguage
Language (which can include technical terms, concepts, Ideas or codes) used to describe and discuss the language.The language of grammar and the language of literary criticism are two examples of metalanguage.
metaphor
A resemblance between one thing and another is declared by suggesting that one thing is another, e.g. ‘My fingers are ice’. Metaphors are common in spoken and written language and visual metaphors are common in still images and moving images.
metonymy
The use of the name of one thing or attribute of something to represent something larger or related, e.g. Using the word ‘crown’ to represent a monarch of the country or That time for an event as in ‘9/11’ when referring to changed global relations.
modal verb
A verb that expresses a degree of probability attached by a speaker to statements (e.g. ‘I might come home’) or a degree of obligation (e.g. ‘You must give it to me’)
modality
Aspects of language that suggest a particular perspective on events, a speaker or writer’s assessment of possibility, probability, obligation, frequency and conditionality. Modality forms and continuum from high modality (e.g. obliged to, always, must) to low modality (e.g. might, could, perhaps, rarely).
Mentality is expressed linguistically in choices for modal verbs (e.g. can, may, must, should), modal adverbs (e.g. possibly, probably, certainly, perhaps), modal nouns (e.g. possibility, probability, certainty) and modal adjectives (e.g. likely, possible, certain).
mode
The various processes of communication: listening, speaking, reading, writing, viewing and representing. Loads are also used to refer to the semiotic (meaning-making) associated with communicative processes, such as sound, print, image and gesture.
mood
- In literature the emotive attitude or feeling carried by a particular text, e.g. happiness, excitement, doom. It has much In common with time.
- Grammatically, a verb form conveying the speaker’s attitude towards the subject. Traditionally classified as indicative (statements and questions), imperative (commands) or subjunctive (hypothetical or conditional). The subjunctive involves the use of auxiliaries such as could, made, should, might.
morpheme
In the smallest meaningful grammatical unit in language. Morphemes are not necessarily the same words. The word cat has one morpheme, while the word cats has two morphemes: cat for the animal and s to indicate that there is more than one. Similarly, like has one morpheme, while dislike has two: like to describe appreciations and dis to indicate the opposite.
multimedia
Those texts that is more than one medium, e.g. combining visual media, such as words and images, with sound. The Internet and developments in computer and digital technology have resulted in multimedia texts becoming increasingly rich and complex. Multimedia texts now generally feature moving images, sophisticated and complex graphics, and interactivity. E.g. Music videos, cartoons, video games and Internet texts.
multimodal
Comprising more than one mode. A multimodal text uses a combination of two or more communication modes for example print, image and speaking text as in film or computer presentations.
myths
Important stories that began in the early times of the culture and remain within the culture. They may be the basis of other pieces of literature.
narrative
The story of events or experiences, real or imagined, Narrative includes the story (what is narrated) and the discourse (how it is narrated)
neologism
The creation of a new word expression. Words which were neologisms quickly become mainstream e.g. robot, email.
nominalisation
Process for forming nouns from verbs (reaction from react) or adjectives (length from long). Also a process for forming noun phrases from clauses. Nominalisation is often a feature of the texts that contain abstract ideas and concepts.
micro
Refers to small things in text analysis such as dialogue.
macro
Refers to large things in text analysis such as themes.
onomatopoeia
The formation of the name or word by imitating the sound associated with the object designated.
onset/rime
The phonological units of the spoken syllable. A syllable can normally be divided into two parts: The onset which consists of the initial consonant or consonant blend and the rime which consists of the vowel and any final consonants. E.g. bark b(onset), ark (rime) OR inside (no onset, in (rime), s (onset), ide (rime).
parody
A work intended to ridicule or mock through imitating the ideas, tone, vocabulary and stylistic features of another work.
personification
Attributing human characteristics to abstractions such as love, things (e.g. The tree sighed and moaned in the wind) or animals (e.g. The hen said to the fox)
perspective
A way of regarding situations, facts and texts.
phoneme
The smallest sound unit in a language that is capable of conveying a distinct meaning.
phrase
A group of words that forms part of the sentence and does not include a finite verb.
adjectival phrase
A group of words (usually at beginning with a proposition) that gets more information about an hour, e.g. ‘The girl with brown curly hair sat at the front’, ‘The flowers in the vase were wilting’
adverbial phrase
A group of words that provides information about where, when, with what, how far, how long, with whom, about what, as what, e.g. ‘She swept on the floor with an old broom’, ‘Throughout time people have attempted to halt old age’.
poetic devices
Particular patterns and techniques of language used in poems to create particular effects based in the use of sound, the creation of images and other sensory inputs. They include devices such as metaphor, simile, metonymy, rhyme, rhythm, onomatopoeia, alliteration and assonance. Note to that poetic devices may also be used in prose writing and drama scripts to obtain such effects.
poetic forms
Fixed forms within poetry that must comply with certain requirements, such as ballad, sonnet, elegy, ode, dramatic monologue. The format will often be determined by the tone and subject matter. Note that some poets may deliberately subvert that the fixed form.
point of view
- The particular perspective brought by a composer, responder or character within a text to the text or to matters within the text.
- Narrative point of view refers to the ways and narrator may be related to the story. The narrator, for example, might take the role of first of third person, omniscient or restricted in knowledge of events, reliable or unreliable in interpretation of what happens.
popular culture
Cultural experiences, widely enjoyed by the members of various various groups within the community, that are popular with in their own time, e.g. Shakespearean drama in Elizabethan England.
positioning
The composing technique of causing the responder to adopt a particular point of view and interpret a text in a particular way. Composers position responders by selectively using detail or arguments, by carefully shaping focus and emphasis and by choosing language that promotes a particular interpretation and reaction.
prediction
And informed presumption about something that might happen. Predicting at the text level can include working out what it text might contain by looking at the cover, or working out what might happen next in a narrative. Predicting at the sentence level is identifying what word is likely to come next in a sentence. It is a useful technique when teaching reading or when engaging with a text dealing with matters not previously known.
prefix
A word part that is attached to the beginning of obese word to change the meaning or form, e.g. unhappy, dislike
preposition
Word that begins an adverbial phrase or an adjectival phrase indicating time, place, manner, causality, e.g. in, on, after, before, by, under, over, of, through.
prepositional phrases
Units of meaning within a cause that begin with the proposition .They indicate how, when, where or why, e.g. ‘She ran into the garden’, ‘He is available from nine o’clock’.
pun
A figure of speech where there is a play on words. Puns are usually humorous and rely on more than one meaning of the word to emphasise the point, which may be serious.
purpose
The purpose of a text in broad terms, is to entertain, to inform or to persuade different audiences in different contexts. Composers use a number of ways to achieve these purposes: persuading through emotive language, analysis or factual recount; entertaining through description, imaginative writing or humour, and so on.
question
A sentence that seeks information.
quoted speech/direct speech
Speech in a text that quotes what someone has it, Giving the exact words. It is represented in tax by being contained within quotation marks.
reading path
The manner in which the eye of the view is led around an image, usually by drawing the viewer to the most salient or important element in the composition.
recount
A type of text that records events in the sequence in which they occurred. The speaker/writer has often been personally involved in these events.
reference
A means of keeping track of objects, words and illustrations in written and spoken texts. In spoken language the references maybe two items in the surrounding environment. In a written language the references are usually two words in the text or two illustrations or other graphical images.
reflection
The thought process by which students develop an understanding and appreciation of their own learning. This process draws on both cognitive and affective experience.
reported speech/indirect speech
Speech in a text used to communicate what someone else has said, but then without using the exact words. In reported speech the tense of the verb is often changed, e.g. She said that she was going to leave (indirect speech), ‘I am going to leave’, she said (direct speech).
representation
The way ideas are portrayed and represented in texts, using language devices, forms, features and structures of text to create specific views about the characters, events and ideas. Representation applies to all language modes: spoken, written, visual and multimodal.
representing
The language murder that involves composing images in visual or multimodal texts. These images and their meanings are composed using code and conventions. That can include such activities as graphically presenting the structure of a novel, making a film, composing a webpage or enacting a dramatic text.
responding
The activity that occurs when students read, listen to all view texts. It encompasses the personal and intellectual connections and student makes with the text. It also recognises that students and the texts to which they respond reflect social contexts. Responding typically involves:
- Reading, listening and viewing that depend on, but go beyond, the decoding of texts
- Identifying, comprehending, selecting, articulating, imagining, critically analysing and evaluating.
rhetorical devices
Strategies used by writers and speakers to achieve particular effects, e.g to stimulate the audience’s imagination or thought processes, to draw attention to a particular idea, or simply to display with and ingenuity in composition. Examples of rhetorical devices are irony, paradox, rhetorical question, contrast and appropriation..
salience
The strategy of emphasis, highlighting what is important in a text. In images, salience is created to strategies like placement of an item in the foreground, size, and contrast in tone or colour. In writing, salience can occur through positioning what is important at the beginning or at the end of a sentence or paragraph or through devices such as underlining or italics.
satire
The use of one or more exaggeration, humour, parody, irony, sarcasm or ridicule to expose, denounced and deride folly or vice in human nature and institutions. The emphatic feature of these human devices draws attention to what is being criticised.
saturation
The depth of field or purity in colour or light.
semantic knowledge/information
Semantic information, and knowledge of it, is the broad, generalised knowledge of the world, of words and their meanings and word associations that allows responders to make sense of text beyond literal decoding and application of syntactic knowledge to text.
sentence
A unit of written language consisting of one or more courses that are grammatically linked. Written sentence begins with a capital letter and ends with a full stop, question mark or exclamation mark. A sentence contains a finite verb.
simple sentence
A single main clause and expresses a complete thought. It has a subject and a finite verb and may also have an object, e.g. ‘Mary is beautiful.’, ‘The ground shook.’
compound sentence
A sentence that contains two or more courses that are coordinated or linked in such a way as to give each clause in equal status. In the following example and is the coordinating conjunction: ‘We went to the movies and bought an ice cream.’
complex sentence
A sentence that contains a main (or independent) clause and one or more subordinate (or dependent) clauses. The subordinate clause is joined to the main clause through subordinating conjunctions like when, while and before, as in the following examples: ‘We went outside when the sun came out.’, ‘Because I am reading a long book, my time is limited.’
shot
In the film or television, an uninterrupted image which can last for several seconds up to several minutes between two edit. The term also refers to the camera angle and/or what position such as a close up, high angle or long shot.
simile
A figure of speech that compares two usually dissimilar things. The comparison starts with like, as or as if.
social distance
Culturally determined boundaries which suggest different relations between the represented participant and the viewer, for example intimate distance (close-up), public distance (longshot).
sound effect
Any sound, other than speech or music, used to create a mood, feeling or response to a text such as a film or drama.
spoonerism
A slip of time where the initial sounds of a pair of words are transposed. Generally used for humour, for example ‘a blushing crow’.
statement
A sentence that provides information, e.g. ‘I am leaving now’, as contrasted with the question.
stereotype
A circumstance where a person or thing is judged to be the same as all others of its type. Stereotypes are usually formulaic and oversimplified. In literature, stereotype is a character representing generalised racial or social traits, with no individualisation,
storyboard
The series of drawings which approximate to a sequence of images used for planning a film text.
structures of texts
The relationships of different parts of a text to each other into the text as a complex whole. The structure of the text can refer to the internal organisation of ideas, as in an argument or story, the development of parallel plots in a novel or play, or the overarching framework of the text.
stylistic features
The ways aspects of texts, such as words, sentences, and images, are arranged, and how they affect meaning. Styled can distinguish the work of individual authors as well as the work of a particular period. E.g. narrative viewpoints, structure of stanzas, juxtaposition, use of figurative language and tone.
subject matter
The topic or content of the text. In literary texts, the subject matter is often different from the ideas of the text. For example with the subject matter of George Orwell’s Animal Farm is animals running the farm, while the idea Orwell is exploring is totalitarianism.
subvert
To compose respond to a text in ways that are different from the widely accepted reading or different from the conventional genre. The purpose of producing a subverted reading of a text might be to entertain or to raise questions about the meaning or inherent values in the original text.
suffix
A word part that is attached to the end of a base word to change the meaning or form, e.g. jeweller, eating
sustained
When referring to texts, maintaining consistency of style, form, language features, argument and other unifying characteristics across the entire text.
symbol
An object, animate or inanimate, which represents something else do the use of association, intentional analogy and convention.
symbolism
Use of a symbol that represents a something else, particularly in relation to a quality or concept developed and strengthened through repetition. E.g. freedom can be symbolised by a bird in flight in both the verbal and visual texts.
synonym
A word or word group with the same or similar meaning as one another word or word group.
syntax
The way in which sentences and causes are structured. Syntax is often described in terms of such element as subject, verb and object.
synthesise
Combine elements of language or ideas or parts of characters, and so onto complete more complex wholes.
tense
The elements that determines the when the action or condition of the verb form is located in time. In broad terms the tents will be past, present or future.
text connectives
Often called conjunctions, these words for signposting the development of a text and helping it hold together. They can sequence ideas (firstly, secondly), add information (furthermore, also), show cause and results (therefore, accordingly) or introduce conditions or concessions (however, nevertheless).
text processing strategies
Strategies for reading a text. These involve drawing on contextual, semantic, grammatical and phonic knowledge in systematic ways to work out what a text says.
text structure
The ways information in organised in different types of texts, for example chapter headings, subheadings, tables of contents, indexes and glossaries, overviews, introductory and concluding paragraphs, sequencing, topic sentences, taxonomies, cause and effect. Choices in text structures and language features together define a text type and shape its meaning.
textual form
The conventions specific to a particular type of text often signalling content, purpose and audience, e.g. letter form, drama script, blog, film.
theme
- Refers to the central or one of the main underlying ideas or messages of a text.
- Grammatical theme - in a sentence the theme is the clause that comes in first position and indicates what the sentence is about. Theme is important at different levels of text organisation. The topic sentence serves as the theme for the points raised in a paragraph. A pattern of themes contributes to the method of development for the text as a whole.
tone
- The voice adopted by a particular speaker to indicate emotion, feeling or attitude to subject matter.
- The author’s attitude towards the subject and audience, e.g. playful, serious, ironic, formal, etc.
theoretical perspectives and models
- Theoretical perspectives and models present significant views on the teaching of English. They incorporate different ways of, and relationship between, meaning and texts. They include various teaching methods. Perspectives and models include personal growth (developing person responses to texts, enjoyment and fostering creativity), critical literacy (ability to question, challenge and evaluate the meanings and purposes of texts), cultural heritage (transmitting the established knowledge and values of high culture), cultural literacy (knowledge and understanding of texts as cultural artefacts) and social view of language (the acts of communication (texts) are socially constructed).
imaginative texts
Texts that represent ideas, feelings and mental images in words or visual images, An imaginative text might use metaphor to translate ideas and feelings into a form that can be communicated effectively to an audience. Imaginative texts also make new connections between established ideas or widely recognised experiences in order to create new ideas and images. Imaginative texts are characterised by originality, freshness and insight. These texts include novels, traditional tales, poetry, stories, plays, fiction for young adults and children, including picture books and multimodal texts such as film.
informative texts
Texts whose primary purpose is to provide information through explanation, description, argument, analysis, ordering and presentation of evidence and procedures. These texts include reports, explanations and descriptions of natural phenomena, recounts of events, instructions and directions, rules and laws, news bulletins and articles, websites and text analyses. They include texts which are values for their informative content, as a store of knowledge and for their value as part of everyday life.
persuasive texts
Texts whose primary purpose is to put forward a point of view and persuade a reader, view or listener. They form a significant part of modern communication in both print and digital environments. Persuasive texts seek to convince the responder of the strength of an argument or point of view through information, judicious use of evidence, construction of argument, critical analysis and the use of rhetorical, figurative and emotive language. They may be written, spoken, visual or multimodal.
value systems
The set of personal, social and cultural beliefs that underpin a text. E.g. in the western genre a clear line is drawn between good and evil and great value is placed on rugged masculine individualism as a means of keeping order.
values
These are the ideas and beliefs in a text. They may be reflected in characters, through what they do and say; through the setting of the text, reflecting particular social views; and through the setting of the text, reflecting particular social views; and through the narrative voice of the text, perhaps through authorial comment. Values are specific to individuals and groups, and a text may contain a number of conflicting values.
vector
An item that directs our eyes towards a focal point, e.g. when the subject in a visual text is pointing or looking in a certain direction. As a reader or viewer, our eyes will follow the direction in which they are pointing or looking..
verb
A verb states what is happening in the sentence. Finite verbs locate the condition or action of the verb in a specific time frame: past, present or future. Verbs create the relationship between the subject and the object of the verb. Verb types include: action, relating (are, is), thinking (forgot, thought), feeling (likes, enjoys), possessing (has, had) verbs.
viewing
Observing and comprehending a visual text, e.g. diagram, illustration, photograph, film, television documentary, multimedia. This sometimes involves listening to and reading accompanying written text.
visual features
Visual components of a text such as placement, salience, framing, representation of action or reaction, shot size, social distance and camera angle.
visual language
Language that contributes to the meaning of an images or the visual components of a multimodal text and are selected from a range of visual features like placement, salience, framing, representation of action or reaction, shot size, social distance and camera angle. Visual language can also include elements such as symbol, colour, scene and gram composition, setting and landscape, lighting and use of editing.
visual literacy
The ability to decode, interpret, create, question, challenge and evaluate texts that communicate with visual images as well as, or rather than, words. Visually literate people can read the intended meaning in a visual text, interpret the purpose and intended meaning, and evaluate the form, structure and features of the text.
visual texts
Texts in which meaning is shaped and communicated by images rather than words. Visual texts use techniques such as line, shape, spacem, scolour, movement, perspective, angle and juxtaposition to shape meaning, Examples include cartoons, billboards, photographs, film, TV.
voice
- In reference to a text, voice means the composer’s voice 0 the idea of a speaking consciousness, the controlling presence or ‘authorial voice’ behind the characters, narrators and personas in a text. It also described as the implied composer. The particular qualities of the composer’s voice are manifested by such things as her or his method of expression (e.g. an ironic narrator) and specific language.
- Grammatically, voice refers to the way of indicating who is doing the action. Stylistically, active voice (Ann broke the vase) is usually preferred in writing, as it places the agent of the verb at the start of the sentence and has a sense of immediacy, whereas passive voice (The vase was broken by Ann) creates a sense of detachment between subject and verb and is not so easily read and understood.
word play
Experimenting with and manipulating language (often in humour), usually for entertaining effect, e.g. spoonerisms, double meanings, puns.
youth cultures
The shared beliefs, knowledge, creative activities, customs and lifestyle of young people within a culture.
writing
Plan, compose, edit and publish texts in print or digital forms.
