English Glossary Flashcards
(243 cards)
1
Q
Abbreviation
A
Shortening
2
Q
Accommodation
A
Process of modifying one’s mental processes in order to meet the demands of one’s environment (NB this is Jean Piaget’s definition which is broader than the exclusively linguistic definition coined by Howard Giles and his team)
3
Q
Acronym
A
Initialism which can be sounded as a word
4
Q
Advanced stage (writing)
A
Stage of writing in which the child will comprehend families of words and the ways inflections work and be able to deploy a varied vocabulary, generally appropriately spelled, and a range of sophisticated punctuation including paragraphing
5
Q
Affected RP
A
Traditional, clipped accent and intonation of the upper classes in England
6
Q
Affixation
A
Morphological process where (a) prefix(es) or suffix(es) are added to words to create new ones
7
Q
Affricative
A
Of a consonant, pronounced using a combination of a plosive and a fricative sound as in ch, dge
8
Q
Amelioration
A
Semantic change whereby a word gains a more positive meaning
9
Q
Analogical overextension
A
Overextension in which a term is applied to a person/object/setting/idea which is perceived to be similar because of the role it plays in the speaker’s experience
10
Q
Analytical phonics
A
System of phonics where a child will break down words into the smallest elements. See phonics
11
Q
Angle
A
Particular slant on a news story
12
Q
Anglo-Saxons
A
Collection of peoples, from what are now parts of northern Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark, who settled in England after the Romans left
13
Q
Answering
A
One of John Dore’s taxonomy of functions or primitive speech acts: where language is used to give a direct response to an utterance from another speaker
14
Q
Anthropomorphism
A
Writing about animals as if they were human
15
Q
Antiphrasis
A
Figurative technique whereby an idea or object is referred to in
terms which are contradictory to its actual meaning
16
Q
Antonym
A
Word which is opposite of another word
17
Q
Approximate
A
Of a consonant, voiced like a vowel as in r, j, w
18
Q
Archaic
A
Fallen out of use. See obsolete
19
Q
Assimilation
A
Experience of physical objects which Jean Piaget believed was necessary before children could modify their mental processes in order to meet the demands of their environment
20
Q
Auto-antonymy
A
Word which can be understood in two completely different ways
21
Q
Babbling
A
Repetitions of similar sounds by about 7 months (see reduplications); here the child appears to have some awareness of the purpose of speech and to be intending to make meaning
22
Q
Back formation
A
Imagined process by which supposed affixes have been removed from word (usually nouns) to create (usually) verbs
23
Q
Backronym
A
Word assumed to be acronyms – often false etymologies
24
Q
Behaviourism
A
School of psychology which believes that everything which a person does, even thinking, should be described as a behaviour which can be changed
25
Blend
Word composed of a free morpheme and a part of another free morpheme or of parts of two free morphemes. Also known as portmanteau word
26
Borrowing
Loan word
27
Bound morpheme
Morpheme which cannot stand on its own
28
Breaking news
News which is just being brought into the public domain
29
Break the fourth wall
Of acting, to destroy the illusion that the world on stage is self-contained by speaking directly to the audience
30
Broadening
Process of semantic change whereby a word gains in scope or acquires more meanings
31
Burbling
Crying and burbling
32
Calling
One of John Dore’s taxonomy of functions or primitive speech acts:
where language is used to attract attention by raising the voice
33
Categorical overextension
Overextension in which a term is used to denote a person/object/ setting/idea is used to refer to others in the same category
34
Chancery Standard
Standard of English based on the English spoken and written in the political, religious, academic and commercial triangle linking London, Oxford and Cambridge; imposed in the fifteenth century
35
Child directed speech
Very specific ways in which adults speak to the children whom they encounter or who are in their care
36
Clausal analysis
Division of a sentence into main and subordinate clauses
37
Clipping
Process by which a word is shortened by cutting off its last letters. Also
known as end clipping
38
Cognitivism
Set of theories about the ways children learn
39
Coin
Of a word, to create
40
Coinage
Word which is completely new and which bears no relation to any existing word; often used as a synonym for neologism
41
Complex word
Word made up of more than one morpheme, for instance a base word and an affix
42
Compounding
Morphological process where existing words are joined together to make new words
43
Concrete operational stage
Period, specified by Jean Piaget, from ages 2–7, in which, although children have begun to think logically, they tend to do so in very concrete rather than abstract terms
44
Conditioning
Type of psychological learning whereby the learner changes his/her behaviour by associating the behaviour with a particular stimulus
45
Confirmation and fluency
Stage two of Jeanne Chall’s reading development where the child becomes a more fluent reader and begins to grapple with the meanings of texts – 7–8 years
46
Contraction
Shortening, often by removing letters from inside a word
47
Consolidation
B M Kroll’s second stage of writing where the child writes as s/he
speaks – 7–8 years
48
Construction and reconstruction
Stage five of Jeanne Chall’s reading development where the young person becomes a fully independent reader – 18+
49
Conventional stage
Stage of writing in which the child writes fluently, spelling most words correctly though opting for phonic spelling for difficult or unknown words and sometimes muddling homophones
50
Conversion
Process in language change where a word is used in a word class different from the one where it has previously been seen
51
Cooing
Specific soft, birdlike sounds at about 2 months. See vocal play
52
Critical period
Period somewhere between 7 and 13 years after which non-
| speaking children may never acquire language successfully
53
Crying and burbling
Pre-lexical articulations at 0 to 4 months, probably not true language since although it is communicative, the infant in unlikely to be aware that its sounds have specific meanings
54
Cursive
Of handwriting, joined up
55
Dead metaphor
Metaphor which is so familiar that users are scarcely aware that
it is not literal
56
Deformation
Spelling of a word in a different way by transposing or substituting letters in it, often in order to avoid giving offence
57
Derivational morphology
Change in the meaning of words due to the addition of non-inflectional suffixes
58
Descriptive analysis
Analysis which merely outlines what is obvious
59
Didactic
Of a text, intended to teach
60
Differentiation
B M Kroll’s third stage of writing where the child is conscious of the differences between writing and speech - 9 – 10 years
61
Digraph
Pair of letters used to articulate one discrete sound
62
Dipthong
Sound made up of more than one clear vowel sound
63
Dysphemism
Term which makes an idea or object seem worse than it actually is. Often used humorously
64
Early emergent stage
Stage of writing in which the child becomes more competent at wielding and manipulating a writing implement though writing doesn’t yet represent actual letters
65
Early Modern English
The English spoken and written in Britain from about 1450 to about 1700
66
Early multi-word stage
Telegraphic stage
67
Egocentric
Seeing the world (or able to see the world) from one’s own perspective only
68
Egocentric speech
Talking to oneself, often in order to make sense of the world. According to Lev Vygotsky, this leads to the inner speech of thought; according to Jean Piaget, it dies out
69
Egocentrism
Child’s tendency to talk to him/herself as s/he attempts to make sense of his/her environment; also, according to Jean Piaget, child’s tendency to be more preoccupied with constructing his/her own understanding of the world than in engaging socially with others
70
Elaboration
Paragraphs immediately after the intro which tell readers of a news story more about what occurred
71
Elision
Process by which letters on the middle of words are omitted or two words are collapsed into one
72
Emergent stage
Stage of writing in which the child can write letter strings, sometimes as long as a line, often using real letters learned from her/his own name
73
Enactive stage
Action-based stage of development, up to 3 years, proposed by Jerome Bruner, where the child learns about its environment by seeing, touching , moving
74
End clipping
Clipping
75
Environmental print
Examples of the printed word which appear in the
| environment
76
Epistemologist
Academic who studies epistemology or the study of the nature of knowledge
77
Eponym
Word for an object or idea which is derived from a person
78
Estuary English
Language and accent used by ordinary people living on and around the Thames estuary
79
Etymology
History and background of words
80
Euphemism
Way of expressing an idea which makes it seem more pleasant than it actually is
81
Euphemism treadmill, the
Way that the need for new euphemisms arises as old ones become semantically pejorated
82
Expressive
Of early language, using a greater proportion of action and social words than of naming words. See referential OR First stage of James Britton’s early writing genres where children write in the first person, articulating personal preferences
83
Extrapolate
Infer or imply something unknown from something known
84
Falling out of use
In the process of becoming obsolete
85
False etymology
Process whereby a word, or part of a word, is accorded a meaning or derivation to which it is not entitled
86
Families of fonts
Fonts which are variations of each other
87
Feature article
Article whose scope, though newsworthy, is not restricted to very recent events and which is topic- rather than news-focused
88
Feedback
Fourth stage of Bruner’s set of carer-child interactions in the pre- reading phase: getting the child to look at a picture: responding to the child’s utterance(s)
89
Formal operation stage
Period, specified by Jean Piaget, from ages 11 and 16 onwards, when abstract reasoning develops
90
Framework for Teaching
2006 initiative which continues to advocate the daily teaching of literacy though, increasingly, encouraging a greater variety of approaches and extending this teaching across the curriculum rather than focusing on texts traditionally studied in English lessons
91
Free morpheme
Morpheme which can stand on its own
92
Fricative
Of a consonant, pronounced so that the air stream is partially blocked
so that some air moves through the lips as in f, h, s, sh, th, v, z
93
Full alphabetic writing
Phase 3 of J Richard Gentry’s writing stages where the child writes simple stories with beginning-middle-end and some grasp of genre
94
Gaining attention
Initial aspect of Bruner’s set of carer-child interactions in the pre-reading phase: getting the child to look at a picture
95
Gestalt word
Term made up of two or three words which is heard by a child as one word. See pivot word
96
Great Vowel Shift, the
Change in the pronunciation of words which occurred between about 1400 and about 1650
97
Greeting
One of John Dore’s taxonomy of functions or primitive speech acts: where the child speaks or shouts to welcome or start conversation
98
Heuristic function
One of Michael Halliday’s taxonomy of functions: where language is used to learn about and to explore the environment
99
Holophrastic stage
Stage at which a child expresses itself in one word minor sentences with context, paralinguistics and especially intonation conveying much of its meaning
100
Hyperbole
Exaggeration
101
Hypothesis
Proposition put forward to be tested in an experiment or
| investigation
102
Iconic stage
Image-based stage of development, from 3 years, proposed by Jerome Bruner, where the child begins to imagine events and actions and where visual memory is formed
103
Idiom
Figure of speech or extended metaphor which cannot readily be translated into another language
104
Imaginative function
One of Michael Halliday’s taxonomy of functions: where language is used to develop the imagination
105
Indo-European
Language believed to have existed thousands of years ago, the putative ancestor of languages from India to Iceland
106
Inflectional morphology
Change in the meaning of words due to inflection
107
Informalisation
Process by which a more informal language register becomes
| acceptable in a particular context
108
Initialism
Abbreviation consisting of (usually) initial letters of a series of words; occasionally used to refer to blends which consist of initials and part-words
109
Initial reading and decoding
Stage one of Jeanne Chall’s reading development where the child recognises the link between sounds and letters and reads simple texts – between 6 and 7
110
Initial Teaching Alphabet (ITA)
Phonetic alphabet invented in the 1960s by Sir James Pitman and designed as a stepping stone to help children to read
111
Insertion
Type of spelling error where unnecessary letters are added to a word, sometimes by analogy with a known word
112
Instrumental function
One of Michael Halliday’s taxonomy of functions: where language is used to fulfil the speaker’s needs
113
Integration
B M Kroll’s fourth stage of writing – where the young person develops a personal voice – mid-teens
114
Internalisation
Process by which, for example, cultural values and information can be used for the child’s own purposes
115
Interactional function
One of Michael Halliday’s taxonomy of functions: where language is used to initiate, develop and maintain social relationships
116
International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)
Alphabet devised so as to represent the sounds in all the world’s languages phonetically
117
Intransitive
Of a verb, that cannot take a direct object
118
Intro
First and introductory paragraph of a news story which often outlines the
whole story
119
Jargon
Language, particularly of a technical or occupational nature, exclusive to a small group of language users
120
Key Stages
Stages in the British education system by which children are expected to have reached certain objectives. Key stage 1 extends from Reception to Year 2 (4–7); Key Stage 2 extends from Year 3 – Year 6 (7–11)
121
Labelling
One of John Dore’s taxonomy of functions or primitive speech acts: where language is used to give a name to a person, object, behaviour or experience OR in Jean Aitchison’s semantic model, a category of language usage where a child will understand the concept of labels, reliably associating sound with objects and linking words to things OR third stage of Bruner’s set of carer-child interactions in the pre-reading phase: telling the child what the object is
122
Language Acquisition Device (LAD)
Neurological mechanism (proposed by Noam Chomsky to be present in all human brains) which helps infants subconsciously to deduce the grammatical rules of their own languages without being explicitly taught them
123
Language Acquisition Support System (LASS)
Variety of structures, provided by carers, which help children to acquire language
124
Lateral
Of a consonant, pronounced with the tongue placed on the ridge of the teeth so that air moves up through the side of the mouth as in l
125
Leader article/column
Article which offers editorial opinion usually on one or more specific news stories of the day
126
Literacy Hour, the
Government programme launched in 1998 which established a specifically structured hour-long English lesson in primary schools daily
127
Litotes
Understatement
128
Loan word
Word which has come into English from overseas. Also known as
borrowing
129
Look and Say
Reading approach which focuses on teaching children complete words at a time so that they learn the shape of words and do not necessarily break them down into individual graphemes and phonemes. Also known as the whole word or whole language approach
130
Look, say, cover, write and check
Complementary reading and spelling strategy
131
Magical thinking
Type of reasoning which expects some causal, seemingly
| illogical or irrational relation between acts/utterances and events
132
Masthead
Title of regular publication, usually in distinctive font
133
Meaning relation
Relationship between words based on meaning rather than grammar
134
Mean length of utterance (MLU)
System of classification, introduced by Roger Brown, calculated by the number of morphemes uttered by a child per 100 words
135
Metonymy
Figurative technique in which ideas or objects are expressed by using ideas or objects which are related to them
136
Middle English
The English of mediaeval times, from about 1000 to 1450, a hybrid of Anglo-Saxon and Norman French
137
Miscue
Mistake made by a child when learning to read
138
Mismatch
Mismatch Overextension which occurs when the child is trying to convey some more abstract information – for example, Rescorla’s instance of a child who labelled an empty cot doll referring to the doll which was not there. Also referred to as predicate statement
139
Morpheme
Smallest element of meaning
140
Multiplicity and complexity
Stage four of Jeanne Chall’s reading development where the child attempts more complex material, analysing it, and often finds reading comprehensions easier than listening ones – 14–16 years
141
Narrative
Fourth stage of Joan Rothery’s early genres where the child adopts an orientation-complication-resolution-coda structure to her/his fiction
142
Narrowing
Word which has lost some of its meanings or which finds its scope restricted
143
Nasal
Of a consonant, pronounced so that air is sent through the nose as in m, n, ng
144
Nativism
Acquisition theory, associated with Noam Chomsky, which suggests that human brains possess a set of linguistic principles which are inborn and which help them to pick up their own language
145
Negative reinforcement
obvious
146
Neologism
New word
147
Network building
Jean Aitchison’s semantic model, a category of language usage where a child will make connections between the labels she has developed, can grasp the concepts of opposites and similarities and begin to explore relationships between and contrasts in words
148
News values
Criteria by which journalists decide what will appeal to their audiences
149
Newsworthy
Of news, that audiences will find interesting
150
NIBs
Acronym for ‘news in brief’, small snippets of news
151
No letter use
Phase 0 of J Richard Gentry’s writing stages where the child draws, scribbles and pretends to write
152
Non-alphabetic writing
Phase 1 of J Richard Gentry’s writing stages where the child attempts to label, often using random letters
153
Non-U
Term coined in the 1950s and used of language and culture to denote ‘lower class’,‘unsophisticated’. See U
154
Object permanence
Realisation that an object does not cease to exist just because one cannot see it
155
Observation/comment
First stage of Joan Rothery’s early genres where the child makes an observation and links it with an evaluative comment
156
Obsolete
Fallen out of use. See archaic
157
Omission
Type of spelling error where letters are left out
158
Onset and rime
Method for the teaching of reading where monosyllabic words are split into two and the initial consonant sound is considered separately from and then combined with the rest of the word
159
Orthographical
To do with spelling and punctuation
160
Overextension
Inaccurate labelling where a term is used to refer to a lexical
field wider than it should do. See underextension
161
Overgeneralisation
Application of a perceived rule where it should not be used
162
Packaging
In Jean Aitchison’s semantic model, category of language usage where a child will start to explore the extent of labels. At this stage over- and underextensions will frequently occur
163
Parallel play
Phenomenon in which children play side by side but do not really engage with each other socially
164
Partial alphabetic writing
Phase 2 of J Richard Gentry’s writing stages where the child writes simple narratives of 3–6 lines
165
Pejoration
Semantic change whereby the meaning of a word becomes more negative
166
Personal function
One of Michael Halliday’s taxonomy of functions: where language is used to express the speaker’s personal preferences and promote the speaker’s identity
167
Phonetic spelling
Type of spelling error where the child spells a word as s/he hears it, using the grapheme which s/he has most frequently associated with the sound
168
Phonetic stage
Stage of writing in which the child will include first and last consonants in most of her/his words and spell some familiar words correctly, though phonetic spelling predominates
169
Phonics
System for teaching reading where the child is systematically taught the letters of the alphabet and then combinations of these and how these correspond to sounds (phonemic-graphemic correspondence)
170
Pivot word
Key word or gestalt expression which is used by a small child very frequently and in a versatile way so that utterances seem to revolve around it
171
Plosive
Of a consonant, pronounced so that the air stream is briefly blocked in various parts of the mouth as in b, d, g, k, p, t
172
Poetic
Second stage of James Britton’s early writing genres where children consciously craft their work
173
Polite
Good mannered, considerate and gracious; mostly archaic: refined and upper/upper middle class
174
Political correctness (PC)
Principle by which words are consciously selected to avoid giving offence
175
Positive reinforcement
obvious
176
Poverty of the stimulus
Seemingly inadequate amount of linguistic experience – i.e. limited number of actual words heard in and often fragmented syntax of ordinary conversation – to which children are exposed before they start to speak and understand language
177
Practising
One of John Dore’s taxonomy of functions or primitive speech acts: where language is used and repeated when no adult is present – egocentric speech
178
Predicate statement
Mismatch
179
Prefix
Affix, or free/bound morpheme, which is added to the beginning of a
word
180
Preliterate stage
Stage just before writing where the child scribbles in a way which resembles true writing
181
Pre-operational stage
Period, specified by Jean Piaget, from ages 2–7 in which children are not able to think logically about causes and effects. See magical thinking
182
Preparation
B M Kroll’s first writing stage where the child acquires basic necessary motor skills needed to manipulate a writing implement and learns simple spelling – up to six years
183
Pre-reading and pseudo-reading
Stage zero of Jeanne’s Chall’s reading development where children pretend to read and recognise/write some letters – up to 6 years
184
Prescriptivism
Insistence that language norms are adhered to and that language does not change
185
Progressive verb
Form of the verb which implies a continuous action
186
Projection
Part of a news story which tells the reader what might happen next
187
Protesting
One of John Dore’s taxonomy of functions or primitive speech acts: where language is used to object to requests, behaviour, moods
188
Protoconversation
Early form of conversation in which an infant may play a turntaking role, even initiate, though without necessarily using actual words
189
Protoword
Very early sound intended to be (and often sounding like) an actual word
190
Querying
Second stage of Bruner’s set of carer-child interactions in the pre- reading phase: asking the child what the object in the picture is
191
Quotes
Abbreviation of ‘quotations’ used in the media
192
Reading for learning
Stage three of Jeanne Chall’s reading development where reading becomes a tool, not an end in itself 9–13 years
193
Received pronunciation (RP)
Overtly prestigious accent associated with educated people who live in the south-east of England
194
Recount
Second stage of Joan Rothery’s early genres where the child makes a (usually chronological) account
195
Reduplications
Sequences of similar or repeated sounds by about 7 months
196
Register drfit
Movement which occurs when language which is generally considered appropriate for a situation becomes more or less formal than before
197
Regulatory function
One of Michael Halliday’s taxonomy of functions: where language is used to influence others’ behaviour
198
Reinforcement
Response to a subject’s behaviour which makes it more likely, according to behaviourists such as B F Skinner, that the subject will repeat it; can be positive or definitely affirming, such as praise or a treat or negative, consisting in the withdrawal of something unpleasant
199
Referential
Of early language, using a greater proportion of naming words than of action and social words. See expressive
200
Repeating
One of John Dore’s taxonomy of functions or primitive speech acts: where language is used to echo something said by another speaker
201
Representational function
One of Michael Halliday’s taxonomy of functions: where language is used to exchange information
202
Report
Third stage of Joan Rothery’s early genres where the child writes a strictly dispassionate, usually not chronological description of something that has taken place or of a person or object
203
Requesting action
One of John Dore’s taxonomy of functions or primitive speech acts: where language requires that something be done
204
Requesting answer
One of John Dore’s taxonomy of functions or primitive speech acts: where language is used to ask a question which needs an answer
205
Salient sounds
Most significant sounds of a word
206
Sans serif
Type of font whose letters lack a serif or thickened edge
207
Scaffolding
Term coined by Jerome Bruner to describe the way adults help children in their learning by gradually withdrawing their support as children become more competent
208
Semi-phonetic stage
Stage of writing in which the child is consciously using specific letters to match sounds though s/he may write ‘words’ which consist simply of one or two letters
209
Sensori-motor stage
Period, specified by Jean Piaget, from birth to age 2 where children experience the world through their five senses
210
Seriation
Sense that many objects or ideas have a place in a sequence
211
Social interactionism
Belief that interaction between people in necessary for the learning process
212
Sound it out
Say letters or blends of letters out loud
213
Stages
Periods of development – a better ways of classifying children’s progress than by ages
214
Structural analysis
Analysis based on structure, whether grammatical or semantic, of a text
215
Substitution
Type of spelling error where one letter takes the place of another letter or digraph
216
Suffix
Affix, or free/bound morpheme, which is added to the end of a word
217
Symbolic stage
Language-based stage of development, proposed by Jerome Bruner, at which point the child’s language is capable of representing and organising what has been learnt and of dealing with abstract concepts
218
Synecdoche
Figurative technique in which an object or idea is expressed by a term which refers to part of it
219
Synonym
Word which has the same or a very similar meaning to that of another word
220
Synthetic phonics
System of phonics whereby a child learns longer phoneme- grapheme correspondences – up to 44 of them – rather than single letters
221
Tally
Count items which are similar in a text
222
Telegraphic stage
Stage of language acquisition where children express themselves using the key (usually lexical rather than functional) words in a sentence only. Also termed early multi-word stage
223
Tools of intellectual adaptation
Mental processes, techniques and habits, as termed by Lev Vygotsky
224
Transactional
Third stage of James Britton’s early writing genres where children write from a detached, third person perspective
225
Transitional stage
Stage of writing in which the child’s writing is quite fluent and spellings and punctuation are often correct though s/he will invent his own spellings when s/he is unsure
226
Transitive
Of a verb, that can take a direct object
227
Transposition
Type of spelling error where the correct letters are used but in the wrong order
228
U
Term coined in the 1950s and used of language and culture to denote ‘upper class’, ‘sophisticated’
229
Underextension
Inaccurate labelling where a term is used to refer to a lexical field of people/objects/settings/ideas which is too small. See overextension
230
Universal Grammar
The innate set of linguistic principles believed by Noam Chomsky to be shared by all humans
231
Unvoiced
Of a consonant, articulated in such as way that the vocal chords do not vibrate
232
Variable
Attribute which can differ within a context such as a text
233
Virgule
/; used as a minor stop in mediaeval times
234
Virtuous error
Logical mistake
235
Vocabulary spurt
Sudden rapid acquisition of lexis
236
Vocal play
Gurgles, squeals, giggles and growls by about 4 months; as with cooing the child may not mean anything specific here but seems to be taking pleasure in the sounds s/he can make
237
Voiced
Of a consonant, articulated in such a way that the vocal chords vibrate
238
Wh-questions
Questions introduced by where, what, when, who, why and how
239
Whole language
See look and see
240
Whole word
See look and see
241
Wug test
Test, formulated by Jean Berko and using her invented word to describe an imaginary creature , to show how children extract and use grammatical rules
242
Writing in chunks of spelling patterns
Phase 4 of J Richard Gentry’s writing stages where the child writes more elaborate stories using first-then-next- last structure
243
Zone of proximal development (ZPD)
Distance between the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or collaboration with more capable peers
