glossary Flashcards
(165 cards)
1
Q
What is an accent?
A
The way that people pronounce words.
2
Q
What is accent variation?
A
The way that pronunciations vary between different speakers, or the variation a single speaker might produce in different contexts.
3
Q
What is an acrolect?
A
A term used to refer to a standard or official language variety in contexts where creole is spoken.
4
Q
What is an acronym?
A
Initials that can be pronounced as words (e.g., SIM).
5
Q
What is active voice?
A
This is when the person or thing doing the action specified by the verb is the subject of the sentence.
For example, in the sentence ‘I ate a good dinner’, ‘I’ is the subject, doing the eating. ‘A good dinner’ is the object.
6
Q
What is adjacency?
A
The positioning of elements in an interaction, so that one follows on from another, although they don’t have to occur immediately afterwards.
7
Q
What are adjectives?
A
Adjectives give more information about nouns, describing the qualities of people and things.
8
Q
What are adverbs?
A
Adverbs give more information about verbs – typically where, when and in what manner the action of the verb takes place.
9
Q
What are affordances?
A
Things that are made possible.
For example, a website can be read by many people simultaneously.
10
Q
What is aesthetic?
A
How the sounds and appearance of words have an immediate sensory effect or quality.
11
Q
What is an agent in grammar?
A
An alternative word for the subject in a sentence.
12
Q
What is alliteration?
A
The repetition of consonant sounds in a text, often at the beginning of words.
You must always correctly label the exact type of alliteration as listed above.
13
Q
What is an allusion?
A
An indirect reference to something else – this could also be inter-textual in nature.
14
Q
What is amelioration?
A
A process whereby a word or phrase develops more positive connotations.
For example, ‘nice’ used to mean ignorant.
15
Q
What is analogical overextension?
A
Extending a label from one item to another by connecting their functions or how they are perceived.
16
Q
What is an analogy?
A
Explaining something in terms of something else.
17
Q
What is antithesis?
A
When ideas contrast or oppose one another; a semantic contrast in a text.
18
Q
What is anthropomorphism?
A
Imposing human qualities on the animals and objects around us.
19
Q
What does arbitrary mean in language?
A
Having no real connection beyond that of social convention.
20
Q
What is an archaism?
A
A word that, over time, has fallen out of common usage.
21
Q
What is a definite article?
A
The.
22
Q
What is an indefinite article?
A
A or an.
23
Q
What is aspect in grammar?
A
This refers to the way in which certain grammatical markings on verb forms indicate whether an action or state is ongoing.
24
Q
What is assonance?
A
The repetition of vowel sounds.
For example, you should wear a hood while you chop the wood good.
25
What does asymmetrical mean?
Unequal.
26
What is audience construction?
In language study, texts are seen as constructing audiences, not just addressing them.
27
What is an auxiliary verb?
These are verbs that help other verbs and include the verbs ‘be’, ‘do’ and ‘have’.
28
What is a basilect?
A term used to refer to an informal language variety in contexts where creole is spoken.
29
What is behaviourism?
Within studies of language acquisition, a notion of learned behaviour as a set of responses to stimuli.
30
What are binary opposites?
Elements of a text that hold opposite ends of a notional scale.
31
What is blending in language?
Using parts of existing words to form a new word.
32
What is borrowing in linguistics?
Incorporating words and phrases from another language.
33
What is a bound morpheme?
A morpheme that does not exist as an independent word but adds meaning to a free morpheme.
34
What is British Black English?
A wide-ranging label, but often referring to a variety used by some speakers within the Caribbean community in the UK.
35
What is broadening in language?
A process by which words acquire a broader reference.
36
What is a case study?
An in-depth study of a single context that can be used to offer insights for further studies or other cases.
37
What is categorical overextension?
Inappropriately extending the meaning of a label to other members in the same category.
38
What is child directed speech (CDS)?
The speech that parents and caregivers use with children.
39
What does chronological mean?
Structured with reference to time.
40
What is a citation?
A reference to an example of language use or research.
41
What is a clause?
Clauses are grammatical units and can be main clauses or subordinate clauses.
42
What is a clause of condition?
A clause introduced by conjunctions such as ‘if’ or ‘unless’, suggesting that something will happen only if certain conditions are met.
43
What is clipping?
Colloquial omission of parts of words to create a more casual alternative.
44
What is code mixing?
The inclusion of words and phrases from one language in another.
45
What is code switching?
Switching between different languages in a sustained way.
46
What does cognitive refer to?
This refers to thinking processes in the brain.
47
What is cohesion in language?
The way sentences or utterances join together to form a whole text.
48
What is collocation?
The regular occurrence of a word or phrase alongside others.
49
What does colloquial mean?
Colloquial expressions are items of everyday language used in informal situations.
50
What is a community of practice?
A group of people who share understandings, perspectives, and forms of language use as a result of meeting regularly over time.
51
What is the complaint tradition?
A tradition of complaining about the state of a language.
52
What is a complex sentence?
A sentence involving at least one main or independent clause and a subordinate clause.
53
What is compounding?
Adding two existing words together to create a new word.
54
What is a compound sentence?
Two main clauses joined by a connective.
55
What is comprehension?
The ability to understand language, which might differ from how much an individual can produce.
56
What is computer-mediated communication (CMC)?
Human communication that takes place via the medium of computers.
57
What is a concordance line?
A line of text from a corpus, showing where the searched item occurred within a sentence or utterance.
58
What is a connective?
A word that joins elements together, such as ‘and’ and ‘or’.
59
What is connotation?
The associations we have for a word or phrase.
60
What is consonance?
The repetition of double consonants in the middle of words.
61
What is constructed dialogue?
Dialogue that is artificially created rather than occurring naturally.
62
What is construction in language acquisition?
Ready-made chunks of language that can be used productively to express many ideas.
63
What is convergence in language study?
Changing one’s language to move towards that of another individual.
64
What is conversation analysis?
A field of analysis focusing on the routines that occur in spoken language.
65
What is the co-operative principle?
An idea that in conversations, speakers expect others to share certain basic rules of co-operation.
66
What is co-ordination?
Joining elements together by using a co-ordination conjunction.
67
What is a corpus?
A collection of searchable language data stored on a computer.
68
What is covert prestige?
Status gained from peer group recognition, rather than public acknowledgement.
69
What is a creole?
A language variety that has developed from a ‘pidgin’ or trade language to become a stable language used by speakers as their mother tongue.
70
What is critical discourse analysis?
A type of text analysis that tries to reveal the power structures that are maintained in society through the discourses used.
71
What is a critique?
A critical analysis that pays attention to all aspects of a text or topic.
72
What is a declarative sentence?
A clause or sentence that has a statement function.
73
What is diclinism?
The idea that language is in constant decline.
74
What is a deficit model?
An assumption that something is lacking or deficient.
75
What is deixis?
The act of pointing to something by using certain language items.
76
What is denotation?
The literal meaning of the words.
77
What does density refer to in social networks?
The number of connections that people have.
78
What is descriptivism?
The belief that correctness is dependent on context and should be defined by what is appropriate in any context.
79
What is a determiner?
Helps to determine what a noun refers to.
80
What is determinism?
The idea that language determines the way we think and behave.
81
What is diachronic variation?
Variation through time.
82
What is a dialect?
A style of language used within a particular geographical region.
83
What is dialect levelling?
The way in which dialect terms have been dropping out of use.
84
What is diaspora?
The dispersal of people (and their languages) to different parts of the world.
85
What is directed writing?
A writing activity where you are asked to write to a specific brief.
86
What is discourse?
A stretch of language considered in its context of use.
87
What is a discourse community?
An alternative term for a community of practice.
88
What is discourse structure?
The internal structure of a text.
89
What is a disjunct?
An adverb that expresses a writer’s or speaker’s attitude.
90
What is distribution in language?
Where a feature is used, within the language inventory of an individual or group.
91
What is divergence in language study?
Changing one’s language in order to move away from that of another individual.
92
What is dysphemistic language?
A direct form of language that doesn’t attempt to disguise sensitive or difficult topics.
93
What is elaborated code?
An idea that middle-class speakers use context-free, complex forms of language.
94
What is ellipsis?
When parts of a written structure are missing.
95
What is an emoticon?
A blend word, consisting of ‘emotion’ and ‘icon’, which refers to symbols that express the attitude of a writer.
96
What is an endearment?
A term used to address someone without using the person’s name.
97
What does endonormative mean?
Looking within the immediate community for the norms of language use.
98
What is English as a lingua franca?
The role of English as a bridging language in interactions where it is not everyone’s first language.
99
What is English as an additional language?
The use of English where it is not the person’s first language.
100
What is epizeuxis?
Spoken repetition of the same word in immediate succession for vehement effect.
101
What is Estuary English?
A recent accent variety used in south east England which combines RP with some aspects of regional southern accents.
102
What is ethnic identity?
Feeling connected with people who have similar cultural backgrounds, heritage, or family ties.
103
What is ethnography?
The study of how a group of people communicate.
104
What is an ethnolect?
A style of language thought to be characteristic of a particular ethnic group.
105
What is etymology?
The study of word origins.
106
What is euphemistic language?
An indirect form of language that enables speakers to avoid mentioning something unpleasant or offensive.
107
What is an exclamatory sentence?
When a sentence conveys a strong sense of emotion, sense of alarm or overly strong emphasis.
108
What does exonormative mean?
Looking beyond the immediate community for the norms of language use.
109
What is an external factor in language?
A factor to do with external forces.
110
What is eye dialect?
Using the regular alphabet to represent sounds, rather than a phonetic or phonemic alphabet.
111
What is face theory?
The idea that we all have a public self-image that we need to project and protect.
112
What is a face-threatening act?
In face theory, something that threatens a person’s self-image.
113
What is facework?
The effort we put in to manage our public image.
114
What is a familect?
A style of language used within a family.
115
What is field specific lexis?
The language of a certain area, such as computing or English Language.
116
What is a first language (L1)?
The first language learned by an individual, usually in childhood.
117
What is focus in language?
The area where most attention is concentrated.
118
What is formal language?
Designed for use on serious or public occasions.
119
What is framing in communication?
The idea that speakers mark their understanding of the context they are in.
120
What is a free morpheme?
A morpheme that can exist as an independent word.
121
What does functional mean?
Emphasising what something is for, its purposes.
122
What is functional theory?
The idea that language changes because society does.
123
What is gender in language?
The social expectations that arise as a result of being one sex or another.
124
What is genderlect?
A style of language thought to be distinctive of either men or women.
125
What does generic mean?
For general use or application.
126
What is framing in communication?
The idea that speakers mark their understanding of the context they are in.
## Footnote
For example, by smiling or laughing to show they are being playful.
127
What does functional mean in language?
Emphasising what something is for, its purposes.
128
What is gender in a social context?
The social expectations that arise as a result of being one sex or another.
129
What does generic refer to?
For general use or general reference.
130
What is genre in language study?
A type of text in any mode which is defined by its purpose, its features or both.
## Footnote
In literary fields, genre tends to refer primarily to the literary genres of prose, poetry, and drama but it can also refer to types of content (for example, crime or romance).
131
What is genre theory?
How different genres of writing are structured and how people learn to produce them.
132
What is gestalt expression?
Refers to the way in which children at certain stages can compress a string of words into a single utterance.
## Footnote
For example, while an adult would say ‘what is that?’ a child might say ‘wassat?’
133
What is Global English?
The idea of English as a worldwide language.
134
What is a glottal stop?
A closure of the vocal cords, which can be used to replace /t/ in some regional accents.
135
What is grammar?
The structural aspects of language that tie items together, including syntax and morphology.
136
What is syntax?
The arrangement of words in a sentence.
137
What is morphology?
The elements added to words to show their grammatical role, such as ‘ed’ for past tense.
138
What is a grapheme?
Visual symbols, for example, alphabetic letters.
139
What is graphology?
All the visual aspects of textual design, including colour, typeface, layout, images, and logos.
140
What does grapho-phonemic refer to?
The relationship between symbols and sounds.
141
What does hegemonic mean?
Culturally dominant.
142
What is a heterodiegetic narrator?
A narrator who is not an active participant in the story.
143
What is heteronormativity?
A set of norms or expectations based on heterosexuality.
## Footnote
For example, the idea that in a gay couple, one partner should be ‘masculine’ and the other ‘feminine’.
144
What is a holophrase?
A stage of language acquisition where whole phrases can be expressed via a single word, also called the one-word stage.
145
What is a homodiegetic narrator?
A narrator who is an active participant in the story.
146
What is a homonym?
A word that has multiple meanings, e.g., ‘great’ can mean both size and positivity.
147
What is a homophone?
Different words that sound exactly the same when said out loud, e.g., ‘new’ and ‘knew’.
148
What is a hybrid?
Blends of two or more elements.
## Footnote
For example, new forms of communication are often seen as having some of the characteristics of both spoken and written language.
149
What is hyperbole?
Deliberate over-exaggeration of things for effect.
150
What is a hypernym?
The name of a category.
## Footnote
For example, ‘vegetable’ is a hypernym, and ‘carrot’, ‘cabbage’, and ‘onion’ are all hyponyms.
151
What is a hyponym?
The name of a category member.
## Footnote
For example, ‘carrot’ is a hyponym of the category ‘vegetable’.
152
What is hypophora?
When an interrogative is immediately followed by an answer in a text.
## Footnote
For example, “Is this the best film ever? You bet it is!”
153
What is a hypothesis?
A proposed explanation for how something will work.
154
What is an idiolect?
The speech patterns of an individual.
155
What is an idiom?
An expression whose meaning is not dependent on the meanings of the words it contains.
## Footnote
For example, saying that someone ‘has a chip on their shoulder’ or that something costs ‘an arm and a leg’.
156
What is illiteracy?
Failure to become literate – the ability to read and write.
157
What is an imperative?
A sentence that issues a command.
158
What is inference?
Using assumed knowledge to determine meaning.
159
What is an inferential framework?
Knowledge built up over time to understand meanings that are implicit.
160
What is an infix?
A particle added to the middle of a word.
161
What is inflection?
A morpheme on the end of a word to indicate grammatical relationship or category.
## Footnote
For example, many nouns in English add an ‘s’ to indicate plurality.
162
What is an informant?
Someone who offers information to a researcher.
163
What is an initialism?
Initials that cannot be pronounced as words, e.g., DVD.
164
What does innate mean?
Something in-built, already in place.
165
What are intensifiers?
A word, usually an adverb, designed to intensify the emotional content of a phrase.
## Footnote
For example, “I was SO lucky!” “That’s BLOODY nonsense!”
