Lexis and Semantics Flashcards
What is low-frequency lexis?
Words that appear more rarely, such as specialist terms from a field e.g. medicine.
What is high-frequency lexis?
Words that often. appear in everyday speech
What is latinate lexis?
Sophisticated lexis often derived from Latin.
What is a colloquialism?
A word or phrase that is not formal or literary and is used in ordinary or familiar conversation.
What is an acronym?
An abbreviation formed from the initial letters of words and pronounced as a word e.g. NASA.
What is taboo language?
Words and phrases that are generally considered inappropriate in certain contexts e.g. swearing.
What is dialect?
A particular form of language from a specific region or social group.
- Non-standard grammar e.g. “we was”
- Regional lexis
What is sociolect?
A variety of language associated with a particular social group.
Produced due to education, occupation, social class, religion etc.
What is a neologism?
A newly coined word or expression.
What is a pun?
Play on words.
What is a diminutive?
A word that has been shortened e.g. veggie.
What is a time adverbial?
An adverb that indicates time.
What is an exophoric reference?
A reference to outside of the text.
-Cultural
What is an antonym?
A word with the opposite meaning to another word.
e.g. high and low
What is a collocation?
A set of words that have become strongly associated with one another.
e.g. fish and chips
