Stylistic Terminology Flashcards
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The formality of language
Lexis
Words
Semantics
The meaning of words
Paralinguistics
The aspects of spoken communication that do not involve words: body language, gestures, facial expressions, tone and pitch of voice etc
Syntax
Sentence structure/ order of words in a sentence
Discourse features
Discourse is any written or spoken communication/ expected aspects of interaction between people
Non-fluency features
Aspects of spoken language where spontaneity is suggested … fillers, hesitation,restarting and pausing etc
Spontaneous speech
Speech that is not planned/ scripted
Suprasegmental features
Relating to a speech feature, such as stress or pitch that affects more than one speech sound / where the stress in the line is
Standard/dominant dialect
The form of language most commonly used in a specific region or social group
Non-standard English
Not conforming to the normal grammar, language or pronunciation used
Received Pronunciation
The standard form of English pronunciation based on educated speech in southern England
Grices Maxims
The maxim of quantity, quality, relation and manner
The maxim of manner
Where one tries to be as clear and brief as one can be in what one says and where one avoids ambiguity
The maxim of relation
Where one tries to be relevant and says things that are pertinent( relevant) to the discussion
The maxim of quality
Where one tries to be truthful and does not give information that is false or that is not supported by evidence
The maxim of quantity
Where one tries to be as informative as one possibly can, giving as much information as is needed but no more
Modality
Where a speaker or writer expresses certainty, possibility, willingness etc through the use of modal words
Provenance
The provenance of something is the place that it comes from or that it originally came from
Pragmatics
The way in which context contributes to meaning, e.g what someone might find funny another might find offensive because of context
Social-historical context
Relating so social or historical events/ factors
Production
The action of making something
Reception
The way in which an audience receives a text/ react to it
Audience
The people watching, listening or reading a text
Purpose
The reason why the text exists
Utterance
A spoken word, statement or vocal sound
Adjacency pairs
Turn-taking in speech / speaking one after the other
The first utterance provokes a resounding utterance
Gate keeping
The activity of controlling or filtering what you say in speech and writing
Idiom
A common word or phrase high means something different from its literal meaning but can be understood because of its popular use
‘Mad’ = literally means clinically insane but used as positive in contemporary language
Idiolect
An individuals distinctive and unique use of language
Hedging
A word or statement used that makes a statement less forceful or assertive
Extempore
Spoken or does without preparation
Amelioration
They act of making something better/ improvement
E.g - ‘sick’ = used positively now but means illness
Covert prestige
Not the traditionally accepted way of speaking
Overt prestige
Traditionally accepted speech, such as RP (received pronunciation)
Logos
The reasoning/ logic behind an argument
Pathos
A quality that evokes pity or sadness
Ethos
A person’s set of beliefs, ideas, morals etc
Constitute statement
Declaring something to be the case
Perjoration
Downgrading or depreciation of a words meaning
When as word with a positive meaning develops a negative one
E.g - ‘Silly’ = used to mean happy, innocent, harmless but now means foolish, senseless
