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English Combined Terminology > Terminology > Flashcards

Terminology Flashcards

1
Q

Adjacency pair

A

In conversation, a two-part exchange (e.g. a question followed by an answer).

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2
Q

Adverbial

A

An element in a sentence that usually indicates when, where or how something happened.

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3
Q

Antithesis

A

When words, ideas etc. are directly opposite in meaning.

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4
Q

Archaism

A

A word or expression that has fallen out of use.

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5
Q

Assonance

A

The rhyming of vowel sounds within two or more words.

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6
Q

Auxiliary verb

A

A ‘helping’ verb placed in front of a main verb (e.g. I WILL see you).

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7
Q

Blank verse

A

Unrhymed poetry based on iambic pentameter.

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8
Q

Cohesion

A

The techniques used to link together different parts of a text.

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9
Q

Comparative

A

An adjective that makes a comparison e.g. bigger, worse, better.

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10
Q

Compound sentence

A

Two simple sentences combined to form a single sentence by the use of co-ordinating conjunction (and, but or so).

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11
Q

Contraction

A

A shortened word form such as can’t, she’s etc.

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12
Q

Couplet

A

A pair of rhymed lines.

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13
Q

Deixis

A

‘Pointing’ words (deictic expressions), often referring to place (e.g. over there) or time (e.g. yesterday).

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14
Q

Denotation

A

The straightforward, objective dictionary meaning of a word.

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15
Q

Determiner

A

A word placed in front of a noun to indicate quantity or identity of the noun in some way. The most common determiners are a, an and the.

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16
Q

Dialect

A

A form of language with distinctive features of vocabulary, grammar etc. Usually the term refers to regional dialect (e.g. Geordie, Cockney).

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17
Q

Discourse marker

A

Words that indicate links or divisions between parts of (usually spoken) discourse (e.g. well, anyway).

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18
Q

Elision

A

The omission of a sound or syllable (e.g. o’er instead of over).

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19
Q

Ellipsis

A

When elements are missing from a clause or a sentence.

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20
Q

False start

A

In speech, a change from one grammatical construction to another.

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21
Q

Field-specific lexis

A

Words associated with a particular topic or field.

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22
Q

Filled pause

A

A voiced hesitation (e.g. um, er).

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23
Q

Filler

A

A word or expression with little meaning inserted into speech (e.g. like, you know).

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24
Q

Foregrounding

A

Using word order to highlight part of a sentence.

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25
Q

Iambic pentameter

A

A poetic metre in which a line has five pairs of syllables, with the stress falling on the second syllable in each pair.

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26
Q

Idiolect

A

The way language is used by a particular individual.

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27
Q

Intensifier

A

A word that increases/decreases the strength of a mother word (e.g. very, scarcely).

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28
Q

Irony

A

Saying the opposite of what is meant. Can also refer to an event having consequences that are opposite of those expected or intended.

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29
Q

Neologism

A

A new word or expression.

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30
Q

Non-fluency features

A

Features that interrupt the flow of a person’s speech.

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31
Q

Onomatopoeia

A

When words imitate the sounds they subscribe.

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32
Q

Oral signal

A

An expressive sound such as mmm or a laugh, sigh etc.

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33
Q

Parallelism

A

When parts of sentences (or complete sentences) have a familiar pattern or structure.

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34
Q

Passive voice

A

Using a verb in a way that emphasised the object of an action rather than an person or thing performing the action (e.g. The man WAS QUESTIONED by the police vs The police questioned the man.

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35
Q

Pathetic fallacy

A

A literary technique that uses natural elements (like the weather) to reflect human moods and emotions.

36
Q

Persona

A

In a literary work, a narrator who is a character created by the author.

37
Q

Phatic utterances

A

‘Small talk’ - utterances that mean little but serve a social purpose.

38
Q

Post-modifiers

A

Words that follow other words or phrases, giving us more information (e.g. the house ACROSS THE ROAD).

39
Q

Preposition

A

A word indicating how one thing is related to something else (e.g. The book is ON the table).

40
Q

Prosodic features

A

Phonological aspects of speech such as intonation, pitch and volume.

41
Q

Pun

A

A humorous play on words, dependent on a word or phrase having a double meaning.

42
Q

Received Pronunciation (RP)

A

The accent associated with upper-class speakers of English.

43
Q

Register

A

The form of language appropriate to a particular situation.

44
Q

Repair

A

An utterance that resolves a problem in a conversation (e.g. a speaker correcting themselves).

45
Q

Rhetorical features

A

Traditional devices/techniques used to make writing or speech more powerful and persuasive.

46
Q

Semantic field

A

A group of words with linked or associated meanings.

47
Q

Soliloquy

A

In drama, an extended speech by a character, heard by the audience but not by the other characters.

48
Q

Sonnet

A

A poem of 14 lines, usually with a traditional rhyme scheme and a rhythm based on the iambic pentameter.

49
Q

Standard English

A

The ‘standard’, formally correct variety of English, used in most written texts and taught in schools.

50
Q

Sub-plot

A

A secondary plot running alongside the main plot, of a play or a novel.

51
Q

Superlative

A

An adjective meaning ‘the most’ of something (e.g. biggest, worst, best).

52
Q

Syntax

A

An aspect of grammar, referring to the ways in which words are put together to form sentences.

53
Q

Tag question

A

A question attached to the end of a statement (e.g. It’s hot, ISN’T IT?).

54
Q

Topic

A

In spoken language, the subject being talked about.

55
Q

Topic marker

A

An utterance introducing the topic.

56
Q

Topic shift

A

A change of topic.

57
Q

Topic loop

A

Occurs when there is a return of an earlier topic.

58
Q

Unvoiced pause

A

A silent pause.

59
Q

Allegory

A

A rhetorical device that creates a close, one-to-one comparison. An allegorical comparison of 21st century Britain to a hive might point out that Britain and the hive have queens, workers and soldiers.

60
Q

Burlesque

A

Satire that uses caricature.

61
Q

Colloquial

A

Colloquial language is the informal language of conversation.

62
Q

Denouement

A

The culmination or result of an action, plan or plot.

63
Q

Diatribe

A

An impassioned rant or angry speech of denunciation.

64
Q

Empiricism

A

As a philosophy means basing knowledge on direct, sensory perceptions of the world. Empirical means seeking out facts established by experience not theory.

65
Q

Foreground

A

To emphasise or make prominent.

66
Q

Form

A

A type of literary expression chosen by an author.

67
Q

Hype

A

Possibly derived from hyperbole, but usually used to indicate an attempt to deceive the public by over-rating the value of a commodity/experience.

68
Q

Intertextuality

A

Describes the many ways in which texts can be interrelated, ranging from direct quotation, or echoing, to parody.

69
Q

Ludic

A

A text that plays games with readers’ expectations/the expectations aroused by the text itself.

70
Q

Meta

A

Often used in compound words: meta text, meta theatre etc. Usually describe moments when a text goes beyond its own fictionality or makes readers/audience aware of the conventions of its fiction.

71
Q

Narrator/Narrative voice

A

Conveys a story. Sometimes the narrator’s presence is emphasised e.g. a first person narrative. Sometimes the story is told by an unseen author e.g. third person narrative. Some stories are told by an unreliable narrator.

72
Q

Oxymoron

A

Language device where two opposite words or meanings are used side by side e.g. ‘sour sweet’.

73
Q

Parody

A

The reducing of another text to ridicule by hostile imitation.

74
Q

Poetic Justice

A

The trapper is caught by the trap in an example of ironic but apt justice. Despite the word ‘poetic’, examples usually turn up in texts which are narrative and not necessarily poems.

75
Q

Point of view/viewpoint

A

Not always interchangeable. A point of view is an opinion; a viewpoint can also be the foundation of which an opinion is based or, literally, a place from which a view can be enjoyed.

76
Q

Postmodernism

A

Postmodern texts tend to be aware of their own artifice, be filled with intertextual allusions, and ironic rather than sincere.

77
Q

Reportage

A

Literally means reporting news but in literary criticism the word often means the inclusion of documentary material, or material which purports to be documentary in a text.

78
Q

Satire

A

A destructive reduction of an idea, image, concept or text. It can employ exaggeration, mimicry, irony or tone.

79
Q

Stream of Consciousness

A

The removal of conventional sentence structures and grammar in an attempt to imitate the free flow of thoughts.

80
Q

Symbol

A

More independent than a metaphor and less specific than an allegory - both of these have precise meanings or are ways of explaining a complex concept, symbols are often elusive in their exact meaning.

81
Q

Transgressive

A

The crossing of a boundary of culture or taste, usually with a subversive intention.

82
Q

Trope

A

Any of the devices (metaphors, similes, rhyme etc.) whereby art language differentiates itself from functional language.

83
Q

Valorise

A

To invest with value.

84
Q

Writing Back

A

A term which describes the appropriation of a text or genre and a rewriting in response. A technique frequently employed by a Post-colonial writers or feminist writers.

85
Q

Allusion

A

To reference somethings popular or known e.g. the Bible.

English Combined Terminology (1 decks)

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