U1AoS1 - Nature and Functions of Language Flashcards
Clause
- Larger unit than a phrase
- Must have at least a subject and verb
Phrase
- Clusters of words that form a grammatical unit but are smaller than clauses
- Named after word class of most important word
Affix
Morphemes attached to a stem
- Prefix
- Suffix
- Infix
Function words
Structural functional words
Help grammatical structure
Closed class words
- Pronouns
- Determiners
- Conjunctions
- Prepositions
- Auxiliary verbs
- Modal verbs
Articles
“a”, “an”, “the”
Determiner if a word is a noun
Preposition
Express spatial information such as position or place.
Assimilation
When sounds change to be more like neighboring sounds.
- Makes sequences of sounds easier to produce.
Insertion
Inserting extra sounds or syllables making sequences of sounds easier to produce.
Vowel reduction
Omission of unstressed vowels in everyday speech.
Sounds become a schwa.
Phonetics
The study of speech sounds, the individual speech sounds.
Independent Clause
- Can stand on own
- Main clause
- Must have the subject and verb phrase
- Grammatically complete
Compound - complex sentences
Two or more independent clauses and one or more dependent.
Joined by coordinators and subordinators.
Dependent clause
- Cannot stand alone
- Subordinate clause
- Must connect to the main clause
- Grammatically incomplete
How are sentences classified?
Structure or communicative function
Types of clauses
subject + verb
subject + verb + object
subject + verb + adverb
subject + verb + object + adverb
Types of sentences
Simple, compound, complex, compound - complex
Simple sentence
Contains a single independent clause
Compound sentence
Two or more independent clauses joined by coordinators and semi-colons
Complex sentence
One independent clause and one or more dependent clauses.
Joined by subordinators only
Exclamative
Express with strong emotion.
Begin with how or what
!
Phrasal verbs
- verb + adverb
- verb + preposition
- verb + adverb + preposition
Meaning is different to the original meaning
Prepositional verb
Verb + preposition
- Cannot stand alone, must be followed by noun phrase
- Cannot be separated
eg. “Listen to”
Elision
Phonological speech process in which sounds are omitted in connected speech.
Ensures natural flowing speed, more efficient
Direct object
Receives the action of the verb
Displacement
- talk about things remote from the here and now
- animals are stimulus bound
- do not exhibit displacement
- humans not restricted
Manner of articulation
How air flow from the lungs is restricted/obstructed in some way.
Types of morphemes
Free and bound
What are connected speech processes?
Changes/modifications/alterations made to pronunciation of words when they are in context.
Indirect object
Precede and receive the object in a sentence.
Object
Noun phrase impacted by the action of the verb
Direct/indirect
Root morpheme
Semantic base or center of word
Smallest unit in which new words are built.
Morphology
The study of the internal structure of word and how they are forced.
Modal verbs
Allow use to vary meaning of lexical verbs to include necessity, obligation or probability of an action
- could
- would
- should
- shall
- must
- may
- will
- might
- can
- shall
Auxiliary verbs
Used to construct different timescales, questions, add emphasis or give information or mood
- to do
- to have
- to be
Interjections
Emotive, single words
Syntax
How words relate to each other and combine to form sentences
Adjectival phrases
Adjective is the main word
Premodifiers = precede noun
Verb phrase
Generally has a lexical verb as its main verb. This carries the main meaning of the verb phrase.
Noun phrase
Usually begins with a determiner and has a noun as its most important word
Order of sentence parts
Morphemes
Lexemes
Phrases
Clauses
Inflectional morphemes
Do not change the meaning or word class
Provide additional grammatical information such as plurality, possession or tense.
