Linguistic terms A-level

Question 1

What is grammar?

Answer 1

The study of the classes of words, their inflections and their functions and relations in a language
Subject, Verb, Object = I want that ball

Question 2

What is orthography?

Answer 2

Spelling, the conventional spelling system of a language

Question 3

What are pragmatics?

Answer 3

The context in which w sentence is being said

Question 4

What is morphology?

Answer 4

The structure and combination of words to change meaning. dog + s = dogs

Question 5

What is phonology?

Answer 5

The sound/ Pronunciation of words

Question 6

What is lexis?

Answer 6

Vocabulary

Question 7

What is syntax?

Answer 7

The arrangement of words

Question 8

What are semantics?

Answer 8

The meaning of words

Question 9

What is graphology?

Answer 9

The ways in which characters are written

Question 10

What is amelioration?

Answer 10

Semantic elevation, negative words turned positive

Question 11

What is coinage?

Answer 11

The inventing of a new word or phrase in a language. Neologism( creation of a new word) & ePONYM(NAMED AFTER AN INVENTOR

Question 12

What is telescoping?

Answer 12

The contraction of a phrase, word, or part of a word. “sitcom”- situation comedy

Question 13

What is pejoration?

Answer 13

When a word develops a negative meaning overtime.

Question 14

What is etymology?

Answer 14

The study and investigation of the origin of words.

Question 15

What is borrowing?

Answer 15

The word in a language is “borrowed” from another language.

Question 16

What is narrowing?

Answer 16

When the meaning of a word becomes less generalized overtime.

Question 17

What is compounding?

Answer 17

The act of combining two words to make a new word.

Question 18

What is blending?

Answer 18

Joining the beginning and end of two words to make a new word.

Question 19

What is coalescence?

Answer 19

When two phonemes are substituted but still has similar features( children do this in their early ages of speaking, foon instead of spoon, baba instead of bottle)

Question 20

What is back formation?

Answer 20

Creating a new word by removing affixes.

Question 21

What is clipping?

Answer 21

Shortening longer words- Mathematics to Maths

Question 22

What is the functional theory of language change

Answer 22

Created by Michael Halliday & David Crystal.
Language changes for functional reasons/everyday use to meet the communicative needs of its speakers

Question 23

what is the cultural transmission theory of language change

Answer 23

This was created by Bandura and Mackintosh.
Language development takes place in a social context and is impacted by social & cultural learning as well as cross-cultural interactions.

Question 24

What is the random fluctuation theory of language change?

Answer 24

This was theorized by Charles Hockett.
Language changes happen due to mistakes or random events in communication

Question 25

What is the substratum theory of language change?

Answer 25

This was theorized by William Lalou.
When speakers of one language come into contact with another, their native language influences the dominant language. this can be through invasion, immigration of media.

Question 26

What is the theory of lexical gaps in language change?

Answer 26

This was theorized by Michael Halliday.
Is explains how language evolves by filling in “gaps” in its vocabulary. A lexical gap refers to a concept or meaning for which a language lacks a specific word.