Terminology Flashcards
Lexis
The term used in linguistics to refer to vocabulary.
Lexical field
Vocabulary which is related by topic.
E.g. lexical field of weather: mist,fog,snow,rain
Semantic field
Vocabulary related by meaning.
E.g. semantic field of size: big,large,small,tiny
Pronouns
Substitutes for a noun e.g. he,she,they
Determiner
Goes before a noun e.g. the, a
Preposition
Shows place or time e.g. in, on, under
Conjunction
Connects parts of sentences or utterances e.g. and, but, because
Proper noun
Names of people or places e.g. Winterbourne
Abstract noun
States, feelings, or concepts that are not physical e.g. love, anger
Concrete noun
Objects that have a physical existence e.g. dog, table
Material verb
Show actions or events e.g. hit, jump
Relational verb
Show states of being e.g. appear, seem, become
Mental verb
Show internal processes such as thinking e.g. think, believe, wish
Verbal verb
Show external processes of communicating through speech e.g. shout, uttered, whisper
Comparative adjective/adverb
Uses -er e.g bigger, shorter
Superlative adjective/adverb
Uses -est e.g. smallest, largest
Personal pronoun
I (1st person)
You (2nd person)
He, she, they, it (3rd person)
Demonstrative pronoun
These, this, those, that
Indefinite pronoun
Refers to something non-specific e.g. someone, anyone, everything
Articles
Can be definite or indefinite e.g. the (definite) and a/an (indefinite)
Possessive determiner
Shows ownership e.g. my, their, her
Quantifiers
Show specific or non - specific qualities of a noun e.g. one, two, some, any
Co-ordinating conjunction
Link words or larger structures together to show that they are equal e.g. and, or
Sub-ordinating conjunction
Show that one clause depends on the other e.g. because, although
Clauses
Groups of words centred round a verb phrase.
Coordinated clauses
Joined by coordinating conjunctions and they stand on their own to make complete sense.
Main clause
A unit that can stand on its own and make complete sense.
Subordinate clause
A clause that depends on the addition of a main clause to make complete sense.
Synonyms
Different words words which have largely the same or similar meanings e.g. happy, joyful, elated
Antonyms
Different words which have opposite meanings e.g. bad, good
Hypernym
The general term for a set of words e.g. dog
Hyponyms
The more specific words related to a hypernym e.g. labrador, poodle
Euphemisms
A polite way of expressing something e.g. passed away instead of died.
Dysphemisms
A blunt or direct way of saying something close to taboo language e.g. bog rather than toilet.
Common collocations
Words used commonly together such as “cosmetic” and “surgery” and “salt” and “pepper”
Deviant collocations
Words put together that don’t normally go together.
Semantics
Meanings of words and expressions (connotations)
Pragmatics
The ways in which social conventions and implied meanings are encoded in spoken and written language. Pragmatics relates to the inferences a reader can make from a text.
Phonetics, Phonology and Prosodics
How speech, sounds and effects are articulated and analysed; including aspects of prosodics (aspects such as rhythm and intonation in spoken texts). A study of the sound systems that make up language.
Discourse
Extended stretches of communication occurring in different genres, modes and contexts.
Graphology
The layout and visual elements of a text.
Register
How language varies in relation to situation (audience, purpose and context) Register explores the continuum of formality, as well as the tone of the text.
Tenor
The relationship between the text producer and text receiver. The tenor will often determine the register of a text.
Mode
The type of text. It will determine the lexical and grammatical choices made by the producer.
Multimodality
Using more than one mode within a text.
Unbound morphemes
Can stand alone and make sense on their own e.g. in “cars” the unbound morpheme is car because it makes sense by itself.
Bound morphemes
A morpheme that can only appear as part of a larger expression e.g. the plural “s” in cars is the bound morpheme.
Common nouns
All other nouns that are not proper nouns.
Collective nouns
Refer to groups of people, animals or objects e.g. family, herd, flock
Attributive adjectives
Pre-modifying - the sudden noise (comes before the noun)
Predicative adjectives
Post-modifying - grammar is brilliant (comes after the noun)
Dynamic verbs
Denote a physical action e.g. running, sleeping
Stative verbs
Denote a state of mind e.g. thinking, wondering
Transitive verbs
Dynamic verbs that require an object e.g. She kicked the ball.
Intransitive verbs
Dynamic verbs that don’t require an object e.g. sneeze, laugh, arrive
Finite verb
A verb with a subject or a tense.
Non-finite verbs
Verbs without a subject or tense, typically infinitive forms.
Reflexive pronouns
Indicate object of a verb is the same as the subject of the sentence e.g. self/selves in themselves
Interrogative pronouns
Used when asking a question e.g. who, whose, which, what
Relative pronouns
Act as linking words in a sentence always placed immediately after the noun they refer to e.g. whom, who, whose, which, that
Correlative conjunctions
Used in pairs to join alternatives or equal elements e.g. either/or, neither/nor, not only/but also
