Terminology Flashcards
Deixis
The phenomenon wherein understanding the meaning of certain words and phrases in an utterance requires contextual information. e.g. “Look at THIS”.
Personal pronoun
Refers to a particular person, group or thing e.g. You, He I, She, It etc
Possessive pronoun
Takes the place of the noun to show ownership e.g. mine, yours
Reflexive pronoun
The subject and the object are the same thing e.g. yourself, myself
Demonstrative pronoun
Used to talk about something specific e.g. these, those,this,that
Relative Pronoun
Pronouns used to introduce a relative clause e.g. who, that, which
Intertextuality
When text makes a reference to another text for effect.
Determiner
A word that comes before a noun or noun phrase to clarify if the noun is specific or general. e.g. ‘THE chicken’
Indefinite article
Determiner- Introduces a general version of a noun e.g. “AN ostrich would beat A chicken in A race”
Definite article
Determiner- Introduces a specific noun e.g. “we went to THE best restaurant in town”
Quantifier
Determiner- Indicates how much/little or a noun e.g. “Do you want THIS piece of chicken”
Demonstrative
Determiner- Provides information about which specific noun e.g. “She liked ALL desserts equally”
Possessive
Determiner- Introduces a noun that belongs to somebody e.g. “This is HIS house”
Preposition
Words to show the location of a noun
Co-ordinating conjunction
A linking word which connects independent clauses or phrases, giving equal importance to each section (FANBOYS)
Subordinating conjunction
A linking word which connects an independent clause with a subordinate clause e.g. because, before, despite, even though
Abstract noun
The lexis which refers to states, feelings and concepts that do not have a physical existence
Concrete noun
The lexis that refers to things with a physical existence
Material verb
The lexis that refers to a physical action
Mental verb
The lexis that shows an internal process e.g. thinking
Relational verb
The verb which shows state of being e.g. be, appear, seem
Dynamic verb
The lexis which describes actions we can take, or things that happen; they have a continuous form e.g. Chis is KICKING the ball”
Stative verb
The lexis which describes states/conditions unlikely to change (possession, feeling, perception, mental processes, identity); typically, they do not have a continuous form e.g. “Chris is HAVING a car”
Attributive adjective
Adjectives placed before the head noun e.g. the dangerous animal
Predicative adjective
Adjectives placed after the head noun e.g. the day was good
Superlative adjective
Adjectives that express the highest quality of something e.g. most beautiful
Comparative adjective
An adjective that makes a comparison between two things e.g. more beautiful
What is amelioration?
A process where a word or phrase develops more positive connotations
What is pejoration?
A process where a word or phrase develops more negative connotations
What is archaic language?
Old fashioned language which isn’t typically used any more
What is broadening?
A type of semantic change where the meaning of a word becomes broader or more inclusive
What is narrowing?
A type of semantic change where the meaning of a word becomes narrower or less inclusive
What is a neologism?
New words that enter the language
What is an Acronym?
An abbreviation consisting of initial letters which then create a new word
What is an initialism?
An abbreviation consisting of initial letters pronounced separately
What is an eponym?
A person after whom a discovery, invention, place, book, etc., is named
What is a compound word?
A word which is caused by two or more full words being joined together
What is a blend word?
Where two or more words are joined together but parts are omitted E.g. Skort
What is Truncation?
Shortening a polysyllabic word by deleting one or more syllables e.g. Deli (delicatessen)