Key Linguistic Terms Flashcards
Discourse marker
Words and phrases that link one topic to the next (e.g. ‘Next thing I know…’)
Letter homophone
Words that sound the same but which have different spellings or meaning
Clipping
A word formed by shortening an existing word (e.g. telephone becomes phone)
Closing
The way a conversation ends
Opening
The way a conversation starts
Terms of address
The manner in which someone refers to somebody else, reflecting the nature of their relationship
Slang
Type of language consisting of words and phrases regarded as informal
Non-standard spelling
Spellings written going against traditional grammatical and spellng rules of the English language (e.g. sorta, wiv, dunno, innit, cos)
Phonetic spelling
The spelling of words by how they sound
Informal language
Language with a certain register due to being comfortable with the person you are talking to
Vague language
Language that uses words without precise meanings
Social language
Language used by a particular social grouping
Emoticon
A representation of a facial expression (such as a smile or frown) formed by various combinations of keyboard characters and used in electronic communications to convey the writer’s feelings or intended tone (e.g. :) :( :/ :D :3 )
Accentuation
To give emphasis/prominence to a phrase within an utterance/sentence
Declarative sentence
A sentence that makes a statement
Imperative sentence
A grammatical form conventionally expressing an order in a sentence
Initialism
A word formed from the initial letters of other words (e.g. T.A.R.D.I.S)
Deixis
A term for words or expressions that rely on context to give them meaning
Topic shift
A change in the focus of a communication
Graphology
The study of the visual aspects of a text
Colloquial spelling
Informal, everyday language
Dominant speaker
Person leading the direction of conversation
Ellipsis
Ommission/pause
Hedging
Phrases used to soften what the speaker is saying (e.g. sort of, kind of)
Idioms
Words and phrases found from common expression that do not actually mean literally what they say (e.g. “It’s raining cats and dogs”)
Non-fluency features
Things that halt the flow of a conversations (e.g. fillers such as ‘Um’)
Phatic talk
Small talk with not much purpose other than social conversation
Purpose
Reason for the conversation happening
Register
Formality of a conversation
Transactional talk
Conversation focused on making a transaction/getting something done
Back channelling
Showing response to what someone else is saying through nods and small utterances such as ‘yeah’, or ‘mm-hmm’
Context
The circumstances of the text
Dialect
A form of language with its own distinct choice of words, grammar and pronunciation, often found in a specific region
Idiolect
The term for an individual’s language or speech patterns
Maxims of co-operation
The principles of co-operation by participants to achieve an effective conversation, especially quality, quantity, relevance and manner
Paralinguistic features
The elements of non-verbal communication: a speaker’s gestures, posture and facial expressions
Pragmatics
The study of how meanings are conveyed in the social contexts of language use
Sociolect
The term for a particular social group’s language or speech patterns
Acquisition
A child’s version of language (e.g. mamma, dadda)
Acronym
A word formed from the initial letters of other words (e.g. T.A.R.D.I.S)
Adjacency pairs
A predictable pattern found in conversation, where one utterance warrants a response, such as in question and answer/interview settings
Adverbial
A word/group of words working as an adverb, usually giving information about time, place, or manner
Assonance
Words that have internal rhyming (on a proud round cloud in white high night)
Auxilary verbs
Used with main verbs to construct the verb phrase
Borrowing
A word/expression taken from another language
Coinage
The creation of an entirely new word
Connotation
The associations that a word has
Contraction
When words are combined to form a single, shortened word (e.g. we have becomes we’ve)
Convergence
When the speech styles of two or more people move closely to one another
Denotation
The straightforward, objective meaning of a word (i.e. its dictionary meaning)
Euphemism
A mild or indirect expression used instead of one that may be considered in some way offensive, painful or unpleasant
Field-specific lexis
Vocabulary associated with a particular topic or field
Filler
A non-fluency feature of hesitation (e.g. um, er)
jargon
The specialist vocabulary associated with a particular occupation or activity
Lexical field
A group of words with associated meanings and uses
Lexis
Another term for vocabulary
Monosyllabic words
Words of one syllable
Onomatopoeia
When the sound of a word echoes it’s meaning (e.g. buzz, splash)
Oxymoron
When two words that are opposite are combined (e.g. living death, pretty ugly)
Polysyllabic
Words with 3 or more syllables
Prosodics
Non-verbal aspects of speech such as volume, intonation and pitch
Received pronounciation
The accent associated with upper-class speakers of English
Taboo language
Words that are avoided because they are considered offensive, embarrassing, obscene or unpleasant
Tag question
A question attached to the end of a statement (e.g. You’ve done the project, yeah?)
