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Definition
The study of how sounds are organized and used in natural languages.
Analyzes the sound patterns of a particular language by determining which phonetic sounds are significant. |
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Definition
The study of the internal structure of words.
A system of adjustments in the shapes of words that contribute to adjustments in the way speakers intend their utterances to be interpreted. |
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Definition
The smallest meaningful unit in the grammar of a language.
Unladylike
The word unladylike consists of three morphemes and four syllables.
un- 'not'
lady '(well behaved) female adult human'
like 'having the characteristics of'
The word dogs consists of two morphemes and one syllable:
dog, and
-s, a plural marker on nouns |
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Term
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Definition
The smallest contrastive unit in the sound system of a language.
Here are examples of the phonemes /r/ and /l/ occurring in a minimal pair:
rip
lip
The phones [r] and [l] contrast in identical environments and are considered to be separate phonemes. |
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Definition
| A pair of letters representing a single speech sound, such as the ph in pheasant or the ea in beat. |
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Definition
A monosyllabic vowel combination involving a quick but smooth movement from one vowel to another, often interpreted by listeners as a single vowel sound or phoneme.
-as in house
-as in kite
-as in same
-as in tone
-as in join |
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Term
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Definition
Reference by means of an expression whose interpretation is relative to the extralinguistic context of the utterance, such as
-who is speaking
-the time or place of speaking
-the gestures of the speaker
Examples of deictic expressions:
I
You
Now
There |
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Definition
| A noun or pronoun that receives the action of a (transitive) verb or shows the result of the action. |
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Term
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Definition
An action or linking verb that has a direct object.(Shown as v.t.)
Intransitive: He runs around the block daily. There is no direct object.)
Transitive: He runs a large corporation. (The verb runs has a direct object, corporation.) |
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Term
| Subordinate (dependent) clause |
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Definition
A subordinate clause is usually introduced by a subordinating conjunction or relative pronoun. It depends on the rest of the sentence for its meaning. It does not express a complete thought, so it does not stand alone. It must always be attached to a main clause that completes the meaning.
Subordinate clauses normally act as a single part of speech. They can be either noun clauses, adjective clauses, or adverb clauses. |
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Term
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Definition
A subordinate clause that modifies a verb, adjective, or adverb. It answers one of four questions: how, when, where, and why.
An adverb clause always begins with a subordinating conjunction. |
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Term
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Definition
A subordinate clause that modifies a noun or pronoun.
Most of the time adjective clauses begin with the relative pronouns that, which, who, whom, or whose. |
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Term
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Definition
| The antecedent of a pronoun is the word which the pronoun stands for. In the previous sentence, the pronoun "which" is taking the place of "word." Therefore, word is the antecedent. |
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Term
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Definition
Thevowel sound in many lightly pronounced unaccented syllables in words of more than one syllable. Shown by an upside-down "e":
The a is schwa in adept.
The e is schwa in synthesis.
The i is schwa in decimal.
The o is schwa in harmony. |
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Term
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Definition
Word that joins words, phrases, or sentence parts. There are 3 kinds of conjunctions.
1. Coordinate conjunctions join similar words, phrases, or clauses to each other: and, or, for, but, nor, so and yet.
2. Correlative conjunctions act in pairs. The main correlative conjunctions are either/or, neither/nor, both/and, whether/or, not/but and not only/but also.
3. Subordinating conjunctions join a subordinate clause. |
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Term
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Definition
Adverbs that act as a transition between complete ideas.They usually occur between independent clauses or sentences. The following words are common conjunctive adverbs:
-accordingly, again, also, besides consequently, finally, furthermore, however, etc. |
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Term
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Definition
Two adjectives that modify a noun in the same way. You must place a comma between the two adjectives!
eg: Did you read about Macomber's short, happy life?
Two tests:
(1) Can you replace the comma with the word and?
(2) Can you reverse the order of the adjectives and keep the same meaning? |
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Term
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Definition
Paired adjectives that are NOT interchangeable (fail the two-part test for coordinate adjectives) NO COMMA is used. This shows that they must remain in a certain order to make sense.
eg: The former overweight woman told us how she lost fifty-five pounds. |
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Term
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Definition
The form of a verb where the subject is not the "doer" of the action:
-Passive Voice: The project was reviewed by the committee. (vs. the committee reviewed the project). |
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Term
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Definition
The form of a verb where the subject is the "doer" of the action.
-Active Voice: The committee reviewed the project. (vs. The project was reviewed by the committee). |
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Definition
| A complex sentence is a sentence made up of one main clause and at least one subordinate clause. |
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| Compound-complex sentence |
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Definition
| A compound-complex sentence is a sentence made up of more than one main clause and at least one subordinate clause. It is the combining of a compound sentence with a complex sentence. |
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Definition
| A compound sentence is a sentence made up of two or more independent clauses but no subordinate clauses. (The clauses in a compound sentence are usually joined by conjunctions and/or some kind of punctuation). |
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Term
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Definition
| Structure of sentences & the rules governing writing sentences. "Tws brillig and the slithy toves did gyre and gimble in the wabes" has syntax with no viable morphemes. |
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Term
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Definition
A morpheme (unit of language) that "stands alone" in its meaning.
"car" & "bite" are free morphemes. |
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Term
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Definition
| A morpheme (unit of language) that only has meaning when linked to another morpheme. Prefixes and suffixes, as well as modifiers (like "-er" and "-est" are bound morphemes. |
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Term
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Definition
The study of meanings of individual words and of larger units (phrases, sentences).
Components include:
ambiguity
contradiction
redundancy
connotation
specificity
etc. |
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