Metalanguage Flashcards
definition of phonetics
the study of how we make speech sounds and how we organize these sounds
definition of phonology
phonology is the study of the patterns that speech sounds form within a language
what are prosodics
refers to the pronunciation of syllables, words and phrases. We can emphasize certain words, exaggerate phrases, shout, express our excitement, indicate our doubt and ask questions
what does SPITV stand for
stress, pitch, intonation, tempo and volume
what does stress mean (prosodics)
the emphasis placed on a particular syllable, part of a word, or the whole word
what does pitch mean (prosodics)
the level of sound (low or high)
what does intonation mean (prosodics)
the pattern of the pitch-how the pitch changes across a word or utterance
what does tempo mean (prosodics)
the speed of talking/speaking
what does volume mean (prosodics)
the loudness or softness of sounds
definition of elision
omission (deletion) of a sound in connected speech. May be a vowel, consonant or even a whole syllable
examples of elision
wanna (want to), cuppa (cup of tea), gonna (going to), ‘cos (because) and ol’ man (old man)
function of elision
we elide sounds in rapid everyday speech for ease of pronunciation
definition of vowel reduction
similair to elision but instead of disappearing completely, vowels in unstressed positions are reduced
examples of vowel reduction
n (and) and ya (you)
definition of assimilation
a sound changes or assimilates to become more like a neighboring sound. Flapping is a type of assimilation where the voiceless /t/ becomes the voiced /d/
examples of assimilation including flapping
didju (did you), choona (tuna) and choosday (Tuesday)
flapping examples; kidden (kitten) and budder (butter)
definition of insertion
the addition of sounds (both consonants and vowels) where they don’t strictly belong, eg, souv-e-laki, humb-e-ling and go-wing
definition of morphology
the study of how words are formed or shaped. Each word can be broken down to one or more morphemes, which are the smallest unit of meaning within a word
definition and example of free morphemes
indivisible and can stand alone as a word eg banana
definition and example of bound morphemes
rely on a root/stem to be used in a word. Bound morphemes are referred to as affixes eg dis, pre, ing, est
definition and example of inflectional affix
a bound morpheme that add grammatical information to that word. Eg tense -ed, plurality -s
definition and example of a derivational affix
creates/derives a new word from the root/stem thereby changing the meaning or form of the existing word. Eg, taste (verb) to tasty (adjective)
definition of lexicology
the study of the form, meaning and behavior of words
what are types of nouns with examples
common nouns-refer to things generically eg, beach, wisdom
abstract nouns-eg, love
proper nouns-specific and capitalised eg, Australia
definition of nouns
refers to names of places, people, things, qualities, ideas or concepts. They function as subjects and objects in sentences
definition of verbs
denotes action, processes, states and events
name and describe the two types of auxiliary verbs
primary auxiliaries-modify and change some aspect of main verb such as tense (was dancing, to form negatives (I do not like pumpkin) and to form questions
Modal auxiliaries- express the possibility, ability, intent, obligation or necessity of an action occurring such as can, will, should, might and shall
definition of adjectives
denote properties or states relating to shapes, size, color, evaluation, judgement or degree of comparison. These define or modify nouns
definition of adverbs
help describe, modify or qualify verbs, adjectives other adverbs, word phrases and sentences eg. soon, always, slowly, here, there, completely
definition of preposition
function words that show the relationship between nouns (or pronouns) and other words in a sentence. They position things in space or in time or describe the manner in which and action is performed
definition of pronouns
reduce repetition of nouns making a text more cohesive, eg. me, you, him, her, them, us and it
definition of conjunctions
connect other words, phrases, clauses and sentences together. They allow us to form complex ideas and sentences and also to demonstrate relationship between words or phrases from the same class
definition of coordinating conjunctions
link words, phrases and clauses together that are equal in value, eg. for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so
definition of subordinating conjunctions
can only join clauses together: they introduce subordinate clauses and link the subordinate clause to a main clause
definition of determiners
introduce noun phrases and function as modifiers. Placed in front of a noun and helps clarify the noun
definition of interjections
words or phrases that express a sudden or strong emotion or feeling. They can stand alone or be placed before or after a sentence
definition of neologism (word formation processes)
a newly coined word, expression or usage can be made formation processes (borrowing, blends, compounding)
definition of borrowing (word formation processes)
English has acquired a great deal of it vocabulary by borrowing words from other languages eg. boomerang
definition of commonisation (word formation processes)
involves the development of common, everyday words that began life as proper noun (people, places or brands)
definition of archaism (word formation processes)
words that are no longer used in everyday life. They may have been preserved in special contexts but are no longer common
definition of obsolescence (word formation processes)
refers to a term or phrase becoming obsolete eg, ‘baselard’ (a small sward or dagger)
definition of nominalization (word formation process)
occurs when a noun is created from a different word class, particularly verbs and adjectives. It is often used to create more abstract prose-by eliminating verbs, we also eliminate subjects and objects.
definition of phrases
a group of that have some sort of grammatical relationship with one another and convey meaning. Do not contain both a subject and a verb, so they require other phrases or words to make a complete sentence
definition of noun phrase
a group of one or more words and contains a noun as the head of the phrase as well as modifies the noun. Occurs before or after the noun to give extra meaning to help describe or specify the noun
definition of noun phrase modifiers
modifiers of a noun phrase that can occur before or after the noun. Modifiers occurring before the noun are usually determiners or adjectives. Modifiers that occurring after the noun can be adverb phrases, prepositional phrases or whole clauses.
definition of verb phrase
consists of a main verb and another word that may modify. Further illustrates the verb tense, action and tone
definition of prepositional phrase
consists of a preposition and noun phrase that is considered to be its object. the preposition must come before the noun phrase.
definition of adjective phrase
consists of an adjective at its head and may include modifiers to that adjective. Provide extra descriptions within a sentence and enable more complex descriptions of nouns
definition of adverb phrases
consists of an adverb at its head and may include modifiers to that adverb. Help to describe time, place, manner, frequency, degree
list the 5 sentence structures
simple
compound
complex
compound-complex
fragment
definition fragments
these are incomplete sentences-missing either the subject or the predicate. However, the fragment still makes sense within the text as a whole.
definition of simple sentence
contains a single clause that consists of a subject and a predicate
definition if compound sentence
consists of two or more independent clauses that are joined together using a coordinator
definition of complex sentence
a complex sentence consists of one independent clause and at least one dependent clause joined using a subordinator
definition of a compound-complex sentence
a combination of compound sentence and complex sentences. These contain at least two independent clauses that have been joined by a coordinator and at least one dependent clause that’s been joined by a subordinator
definition of a clause
a clause is a set of phrases that must, as a minimum, contain both a subject and a predicate. Some clauses can stand alone as a sentence (independent clauses). Some clauses form part of a sentence and can’t stand alone as a sentence (dependent clause)
list the 4 sentence types
declarative
imperative
interrogative
exclamative
definition of declarative sentences
declarative sentences function to provide information, observations or statements
definition of imperative sentences
imperative sentences give a direct order or instruction. Begin with a verb but may include a politeness marker
definition of interrogative sentences
interrogative sentences pose a question. This type of sentence often begins with who, what, where, when, why, how or do.
definition of exclamative sentences
exclamative sentences is a sentence that expresses high levels of emotion such as excitement, surprise, happiness, and anger
definition of ellipses
ellipses is where part of grammatic structure is omitted without affecting understanding. The function is to make the tone of the discourse more casual
definition of syntax
the structure of phrases, clauses and sentences to communicate meaning
definition of sentence
sentences convey thoughts, ideas and statements of fact. They must contain at least one subject (implicit or explicit) and at least one predicate
definition of subject
the subject of a clause is the noun or noun phrase within a sentence that takes the action indicated by the predicator
definition of predicate
the predicate consists of the main verb of the clause and all its modifiers
definition of object
if there is an object in a sentence, it can be found by looking for the noun or NP that has not carried out the action
