PAPER 1 TERMINOLOGY Flashcards
Euphemism
Polite expressions replacing harsher terms (eg “passed away” for “died”)
Dysphemism
Blunt or harsh expressions (eg “croaked for “died”)
Hyperbole
Exaggeration for effect
Idiom
Phrases with cultural or contextual meanings (eg “spill the beans”)
Neologisms
Newly coined words or expressions
Semantic fields
Groupings of related words to establish themes
Archaisms
Words or phrases no longer in common use
Asyndetic listing
Lists without conjunctions for impact
Polysyndetic listing
Repeated use of conjunctions for emphasis
Ellipsis
Omission of parts of sentences for informality or ambiguity
Non-standard grammar
Regional or cultural grammatical variations
Inversion
Reversing standard word order for emphasis (eg “Rarely had she felt so alone”)
Minor sentences
Incomplete sentences used for dramatic effect.
Parenthetical structures
Additional information within brackets, dashes, or commas.
Anaphora
Repetition of words or phrases at the beginning of sentences for emphasis
Intertextuality
References to other texts, events, or cultural artifacts
Code-switching
Alternating between languages, dialects, or registers
Turn-taking
Dynamics in dialogue reflecting power or cooperation
Adjacency pairs
Structured conversational exchanges
Topic shifts
Changes in conversation focus reflecting relationships or identity
Alliteration
Repetition of initial sounds
Assonance
Repetition of vowel sounds
Consonance
Repetition of consonant sounds within words
Onomatopoeia
Words imitating sounds
Rhythm
Patters of stressed and unstressed syllables creating mood or tone
Implicature
Implied meaning beyond what is explicitly stated
Politeness strategies
Language used to mitigate face-threatening acts
Deictic expressions
Words dependent on context
“You and me are going to sit here”
eg personal deictics “you” and “me”
eg temproral deictics “Going to”
eg spatial deictics “Here”
What is social proximity?
How language constructs and shapes social relationships - influencing whether speakers feel close or distant.
High social proximity - When people use intimate, informal, and familiar language, they reinforce a sense of social closeness.
Low social proximity - When people use formal, structured, or detached language, they establish social distance. This might be intentional (e.g., maintaining professionalism) or unintentional (e.g., unfamiliarity).
What is schematic knowledge?
The mental frameworks or structures that individuals use to understand and produce language.
These schemas are cognitive blueprints that help speakers organise linguistic information based on prior experiences, cultural norms, and contextual expectations.
What is presupposition?
Information that is implicitly assumed in a statement, rather than being explicitly stated.
It is background knowledge that both the producer and reader must accept as true for the utterance to make sense.
What is implicature?
Meaning that is implied rather than explicitly stated in an utterance. It arises from context, shared knowledge, and conversational principles, allowing speakers to communicate more than what is directly said.
What is Semin’s Social proximity theory?
Interpersonal relationships are either “Self versus the other” in socially distant relationships or “Self and the other” in intimate relationships.
They are the strategic regulation of interpersonal proximity.
