Key Term Definitions Flashcards
(31 cards)
What are Archaic Lexis?
Older Language e.g. Thus, Thine
What are Elevated Lexis?
Formal and Posh Language e.g. Enquire
What are Colloquial Lexis?
Informal and Conversational Language e.g. Brilliant
What are Synonyms?
Words with the same meaning.
What are Antonyms?
Words that have the complete opposite meaning.
What are Loan words?
Words that are taken from a foreign language and are not directly translated e.g. café means coffee in French.
What are Neologisms?
The creation of new words, two words put together or a new meaning for an already existing word.
What are Compound Words?
A word that is made up of two or more already existing words to form a new meaning e.g. snow + man = snowman
What are Informal Lexis?
Informal language. Relaxed and conversational. e.g. Hey! What’s up?
What are Formal Lexis?
Formal language. Impersonal and professional. e.g. Good Morning! How are you?
What are Lexis of Spoken Word?
Language of spoken word e.g. slang and abbreviations
What are Lexis of Written Word?
Language of written word e.g. slang and abbreviations
What is a Semantic Field?
A lexical set of words grouped together that refer to a specific subject e.g. medicine, biology, animals, architecture.
What is a Conversion?
The assignment of an existing word to a different word class e.g. noun - verb , e.g. email - to email and access - to access
What is a Hypernym?
A word that has a broad meaning and names a broad category e.g. dog is a hypernym for dachshunds, poodles, pugs and chihuahuas.
What is a Hyponym?
A word or phrase which is more specific that it’s hypernym e.g. purple, red, blue is a hyponym of the hypernym colour.
What is Etymology?
The history and development of a word over time.
What is a Connotation?
Something that is suggested by a word e.g. He’s such a dog, connotes shamelessness.
What is a Denotation?
The literal meaning of a word e.g. Hollywood = glitz. glamour, celebrity.
What are Collocations?
A group of words that are likely to be and go together e.g. strong tea and heavy drinker.
What is a Euphemism?
A mild word or expression that is substituted for one that is considered too harsh. used to make something sound positive e.g. passed away instead of died and she’s getting on instead of she’s old.
What is a Dysphemism?
An unpleasant word or expression that is substituted for one that is pleasant. used to make something sound negative e.g. nutcase instead of mental illness and pig for policeman.
What are Hyperboles?
A form of deliberate exaggerated statements that aren’t meant to be taken literally e.g. There’s enough food in the cupboard to feed an entire army!
What are Litotes?
A form of deliberate understatements to make a point e.g. It’s not the cheapest… meaning it’s expensive.
