Denotative and connotational meanings
the literal (denotative) and associated (connotational) meanings of words.
figurative language
language used in a non-literal way in order to describe something in another’s terms (e.g. simile or metaphor).
semantic field
groups of words connected by a shared meaning.
synonyms
words that have equivalent meanings
antonyms
words that have contrasting meanings
hypernyms
words whose meanings contain other words : animal = dog, cat, fish
hyponyms
words that can be included in a larger, more general category - e.g car,bus,aeroplane - TRANSPORT
socioloect
language style associated with a particular social group
morpheme
smallest grammatical unit - root or affix
active voice
a clause where the agent of an action is the subject
passive voice
a clause where the patient (the entity affected by an action) is in the subject position, and the agent either follows or is left out.
irony
using language to signal an attitude other than what has been literally expressed.
implicature
an implied meaning that has to be inferred as a result of a conversational maxim being broken.
speech acts
communicative acts that carry meaning beyond the words and phrases used within them, for example, apologies and promises.
discourse markers
words, phrases or clauses that help to organise what we say or write (e.g. OK, So, “As I was saying…”).
Adjuncts
non-essential elements of clauses (usually adverbials) that can be omitted (e.g. “I’ll see you in the morning”).
Disjuncts
sentence adverbs that work to express an attitude or stance towards material that follows (eg “Frankly, I’m appalled at what she said” or “Sadly, not one of them survived”).
anaphoric reference
making reference back to something previously identified in a text (often using pronouns to refer to an already established reference point eg “The woman stood by the door. She made detailed notes of what she could see”)
cataphoric reference
making reference forwards to something as yet unidentified in a text. Eg “It was warm. It was living. It was Uncle George.”
indescursivity
the use of discourses from one field as part of another (eg the use of science discourses in the selling of beauty products, or the use of commercial discourses in education)
declarative sentences
make statements ‘i am hungry’
interrogative sentences
ask questions
imperative sentences
give direct commands ‘go make me a sandwich’
noun phrase
a noun on its own, or in a group with it’s modifiers
common noun
a naming word for something that is tangible / chair, penguin, man
asbstract noun
a naming word for an idea, concept, state of being or belief / MARXISM, love, pain
proper noun
a naming word for a specific example of a common noun - EIFFEL TOWER, LONDON, WAYNE ROONEY
verb
a word that represents an action or process
active verb
a word that represents a physical action - jump,run,kill,slap,kiss
stative verb
a word that represents a process that’s often mental ‘think, feel, ponder, believe’
auxiliary verb
a verb that is used with another verb in order to create present participles / future tense ‘DID you GO’ ‘i AM GOING’ ‘i WILL GO’
modal verb
an auxiliary verb that creates a degree of neccesity or posibility
adjective
a describing word, which modifies a noun
adverb
a describing word that modifies all types of words EXCLUDING nouns
superlative
an adjective which displays the most extreme value of it’s quality - MOST, BIGGEST, SMALLEST, WORST
comparative
an adjective that relates things in one way or another
elipsis
the omission of part of a grammatical structure eg ‘you okay?’ conveys a more casual tone
elision
the omission or slurring of one or more syllables eg ‘gonna’ - it lowers formality and speeds up the interraction
deixis
devices that ensure a listener knows what, where and to whom an utterance refers to ‘this, that, there’
discourse markers
words and phrases that signal the relationship and connection between utterances ‘first, now, on the other hand’
false start
when a speaker begins an utterance, then either repeats or reformulates it. It indicates self-correction and monitoring.
hedges
vague words or phrases used to soften the force of how something is said ‘perhaps, maybe, sort of’ - indicates politeness, uncertainty and co operation
phatic talk
formulaic utterances with stock responses used to establish or maintain personal relationships. Examples include: ‘How are you?’, ‘Fine, thank you.’ It indicates politeness and co-operation, and keeps conversation flowing.
vague language
statements that sound imprecise and unassertive e.g. ‘and so on’, ‘whatever’, ‘and stuff’. Often indicates uncertainty and usually lowers formality.