Language Levels Flashcards
What is Deixis?
Pointing to something within a text
What is a personal pronoun?
refers to a particular person, group, or thing (I, You, He, She, it, etc.)
What is a Possessive Pronoun?
takes the place of a noun to show ownership (mine, yours, etc.)
What is a Reflexive Pronoun?
used when the subject and the object of a sentence are the same (myself, yourself, etc.)
What is a Demonstrative Pronoun?
use to talk about something specific (These, Those, This, That)
What is a Relative Pronoun?
pronouns used to introduce a relative clause (who, that, which)
What is intertextuality?
When a text makes reference to another existing text for effect
What is a determiner?
A word that comes before a noun or noun phrase to clarify if the noun is specific or general.
What is the definite article?
The
What is the indefinite article?
A/an
What is a quantifier?
A word to give information about the quantity of a noun
What is a preposition?
Words which show the location of a noun
What is a co-ordinating conjunction?
A linking word which connects independent clauses or phrases, giving equal importance to each section
What is a subordinating conjunction?
A linking word which connects an independent clause with a subordinate clause
What is an abstract noun?
The lexis which refers to states, feelings and concepts that do not have a physical existence
What is a concrete noun?
The lexis which refers to things with a physical existence
What is a verbal verb?
The lexis which is linked to the process of making sounds
What is a material verb?
The lexis which refers to a physical action
What is a mental verb?
The lexis which shows internal processes e.g. thinking
What is a relational verb?
The lexis which describes states of being e.g. be, appear, seem
What is a dynamic verb?
The lexis which describes actions we can take, or things that happen; they have a continuous form (Chis is kicking the ball)
What is a stative verb?
The lexis which describes states/conditions unlikely to change (possession, feeling, perception, mental processes, identity); typically, they do not have a continuous form (Chris is having a car)
What is an attributive adjective?
Adjectives placed before the head noun e.g. the dangerous animal
What is a predicative adjective?
Adjectives placed after the head noun e.g. the day was good
What is a superlative adjective?
Adjectives that express the highest quality of something
What is a comparative adjective?
An adjective that makes a comparison between two things
What is amelioration?
A process where a word or phrase develops more positive connotations
What is pejoration?
A process where a word or phrase develops more negative connotations
What is archaic language?
Old fashioned language which isn’t typically used any more
What is broadening?
A type of semantic change where the meaning of a word becomes broader or more inclusive
What is narrowing?
A type of semantic change where the meaning of a word becomes narrower or less inclusive
What is a neologism?
New words that enter the language
What is an Acronym?
An abbreviation consisting of initial letters which then create a new word
What is an initialism?
An abbreviation consisting of initial letters pronounced separately
What is an eponym?
A person after whom a discovery, invention, place, book, etc., is named
What is a compound word?
A word which is caused by two or more full words being joined together
What is a blend word?
Where two or more words are joined together but parts are omitted E.g. Skort
What is Truncation?
Shortening a polysyllabic word by deleting one or more syllables e.g. Deli (delicatessen)
What is affixation?
When an affix is added to create a new word
What is denotation?
The literal meanings of words
What is an antonym?
Words which mean opposite things
What is a synonym?
Words which mean the same thing
What is a collocation?
Routinely placing words or phrases together (it sounds natural to a native speaker) e.g. Home and Dry
What is an idiom?
An expression where the meaning is not predictable from the usual meanings of its constituent elements
What is a Euphemism?
Using a more socially acceptable word or phrase
What is a Dysphemism?
Using a blunt or direct word instead of a more polite or indirect alternative
What is Anaphora?
The deliberate repetition of the first part of a clause/sentence
What is Epistrophe?
The deliberate repetition of the last part of a clause/sentence
What is Morphology?
The smallest unit of language – this could be a root word or a collection of letters
What is an inflectional morpheme?
A type of suffix which shows either plurality or verb tense
What is a derivational morpheme?
A type of affix which changes the meaning of the root word
What is a Noun Phrase?
A noun with adjectives and/or determiner
What is a Verb Phrase?
A verb with an auxiliary or modal verb
What is an Adverbial?
A phrase which adds further information to the verb, typically specifying place or time
What is a Fronted Adverbial?
An adverbial phrase which has been moved to the front of the sentence and is usually separated from the main clause with a comma E.g. All night long, we danced.
What is an Auxiliary Verb?
A verb which precedes the main verb to form part of a verb phrase – they can be categorised as primary and modal E.g. Have, Might
What is a Modal Auxiliary Verb?
A verb which shows degrees of certainty, desirability obligation – they cannot occur alone
What is Deontic Modality?
Expressions that highlight a sense of obligation or necessity
What is Epistemic Modality?
Expressions that highlight degrees of possibility
What is Boulomaic Modality?
Expressions that highlight wishes and desires
What is the Perfect Aspect?
An inflection of a verb which shows the action is completed – shown through have + past participle
What is the Progressive Aspect?
An inflection of a verb which shows the action is ongoing or habitual – shown through be + -ing
What is a Subordinate Clause?
A clause which is not complete by itself and as such, cannot form an independent sentence
What is a Conditional Clause?
A specific type of subordinate clause which express an imagined situation or condition and the possible result of that situation – it is usually introduced with either if or unless
What is a Relative Clause?
A specific type of subordinate clause which adds more information to the noun and is usually introduced with a relative pronoun
What is Pragmatics?
Exploring how contextual factors such as background knowledge influence meaning
What is a Tag Question?
A short question added at the end of a sentence, often inviting agreement with the speaker. Sometimes seen to be used as seeking reassurance
What is Hedging?
A word or phrase that makes a statement less forceful or assertive.
What is a Schema?
The bundle of knowledge about a concept, person or event
What is Presupposition?
Any information which is taken for granted within discourse
