Key Terms

Question 1

Semantic Shift

Answer 1

Meaning of words change
(Same word)

Question 2

Lexical Shift

Answer 2

Word itself changes (orthographically)

Question 3

Archaic

Answer 3

Obsolete

Question 4

Compounding

Answer 4

Creating words by joining existing words which together have the meaning of the newly coined word
E.g. Teamwork

Question 5

Affixation

Answer 5

Creating new words by adding morphemes onto them
E.g. run + ing = running

Question 6

Romance Langauges

Answer 6

Languages which focus on recreation
Culture / Cuisine / Fashion / Arts / Religion
Latin derived: French / Spanish / Italian / Portuguese

Question 7

Germanic Languages

Answer 7

Languages which focus on function
Things needed to survive: building / town / house
German derived: Anglo-Saxon / Old Norse / Scandinavian languages

Question 8

Closed-class words

Answer 8

Purely grammatical purpose
(Add no true meaning)

Question 9

Open-class words

Answer 9

Add to meaning / context
(Don’t typically add grammatical meaning)

Question 10

Split-infinitive

Answer 10

Infinitive marker ‘to’ + adverb + verb
Latin derived
[Traditional English grammar doesn’t allow this]
E.g. to quickly run

Question 11

Diachronic change

Answer 11

Change within a singular time period

Question 12

Synchronic Change

Answer 12

Change over multiple time periods

Question 13

Etymological Change: Orthographic Change (5)

Answer 13

Change in spelling
Letter interchange / inflected e / phonetic spelling / double or single consonants / prefixes

Question 14

Etymological Change: Grammatical Change (13)

Answer 14

Change in grammar
Verb endings / pronouns / syntax / definite & indefinite articles / omission of auxiliary verbs / sentence types / symbols / parenthesis / speech marks / elision / apostrophes / capitalisation

Question 15

Definite Article

Answer 15

Used before a noun to indicate the identity of the noun
(THE)

Question 16

Indefinite Article

Answer 16

Used before a noun that’s general or when the identity is unknown
(A / AN)

Question 17

Elision

Answer 17

The omission of sounds / syllables / words in speech
- Makes language easier to say & faster
E.g. ‘I don’t know’ -> ‘/I duno/’

Question 18

Tenor: Personal texts

Answer 18

No requirement for standardised writing
- Writer will not be judged on spelling
Letters / diaries / journals
(PERSONAL PREFERENCE USED)
[consistent non-standard spelling]

Question 19

Etymological Change: Semantic Change

Answer 19

Change in meaning

Question 20

Etymological Change: Syntactic Change

Answer 20

Change in word order
my dog -> dog min

Question 21

Etymological Change: Phonological Change

Answer 21

Change in phonology (sound / pronunciation)

Question 22

Morphology: Agent Nouns

Answer 22

A noun created from derivational morphology
[the addition of suffix ‘er’ ‘ar’ ‘or’ onto words]
GERMANIC: ‘er’ / ‘ar’ - teahcer
FRENCH: ‘or’ - pastor

Question 23

Morphology: 12 Word Formation Processes

Answer 23

Affixation
Clipping
Neologisms
Blending
Compounding
Conversion
Acronym
Initialism
Broadening
Narrowing
Amelioration
Pejoration

Question 24

Clipping

Answer 24

Shortening a word to just a free morpheme
- Swagger > swag

Question 25

Blending

Answer 25

Joining morphemes / syllables from an existing word to form a new one [2 bound morphemes / 1 free & 1 bound morpheme] - Amazeballs

Question 26

Conversion (word formation)

Answer 26

Creating a new word by using an existing word for a different purpose - Hoover = brand name / Hoover = verb

Question 27

Acronym

Answer 27

When abbreviations create words [acronym is pronounced as a word] NASA / LASER

Question 28

Initialism

Answer 28

Pronouncing the initials of abbreviations to form words BBC / WJEC

Question 29

Broadening

Answer 29

When words take on an additional meaning but still retains a part of their old meaning Holiday = Holy Day

Question 30

Narrowing

Answer 30

When a word gains a more specific meaning over time OE: mete (meat) = food / now refers to food from an animal

Question 31

Amelioration

Answer 31

When a word acquires a more positive meaning over time [pretty used to mean sly / cunning]

Question 32

Pejoration

Answer 32

When a word acquires a more negative meaning over time [villain used to mean peasant]

Question 33

Elision

Answer 33

The omission of sounds / syllables / words in speech E.g. I don't know < I duno

Question 34

Idiosyncratic Lexis

Answer 34

Inconsistent spelling by one writer

Question 35

Minimal Pair

Answer 35

Same phonological outcome

Question 36

Loaded Lexis

Answer 36

Passionate language - Language used to reflect emotions / opinions / biases

Question 37

Morphological Patterns

Answer 37

An inflection which always changes meaning in the same way E.g. word class suffixes ('ence' = noun)

Question 38

Patterns in suffixes

Answer 38

Verb - ed / s / ing Adverb - ly Noun ian Adjective al

Question 39

Inverted Syntax

Answer 39

Syntactic pattern has become inverted (swapped) - 'loves not' = 'does not love'