Noun Adjective Speech language terminology
This chapter is about Noun Adjective Speech language terminology.
Abstract noun
A naming word for an idea, concept, state of being or belief
Accent
The manner of pronunciation in relation to geographical area
Acronym
Words created by the initials of other grouped words
Adjacency pair
Turn taking where one utterance restrains other eg question and answer
Adjective
A describing word that modifies a noun
Adverb
A describing word that modifies a verb
Affixiation
Applying prefixes or suffixes to a word to give new meaning
Alliteration
Repetition of consonant sounds throughout a text
Ambiguity
Where there can be more than one possible outcome- intrigue
Analogy
Explaining something in terms of something else
Anthropomorphism
When an animal takes on human characteristics
Archaism
A word that, over time, has fallen out of common usage
Assonance
Repetition of vowel sounds
Asyndetic list
a list with no conjunctions
Attributive adjective
Adjective placed before the noun it is describing
Audience
Who the text is aimed at
Auxiliary verb
Supporting verb of the lexical verb
back channeling
Supportive terms to show the listener is following
bald on record (politeness strategy)
when a person acts directly without concern for face needs
Articulation
The clear and precise physical production of words
Anaphora
the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses
bilingual
The ability to speak two languages
bound morpheme
A morpheme that does not make sense alone but must be added to a free morpheme
broadsheet
Formal, printed newspaper
Capitalisation
Deliberate use of capital letters to signify importance
Cataphora
Reference to something that comes later in a sentence or in a text.
Cataphoric reference
A word or expression in a text that refers forward to another part of the text.
Child directed speech
Simplified way of talking adults use to speak to young children
Cliché
an overused expression
Code switching
Varying formality/ register in contrast to one another
Collective noun
a word that names a group
Collocation
Words associated being used together eg Bright sunny
Colloquialism
An expression
Colloquial language
Informal, conversational tenor
Common noun
A naming word for something that is tangible
Comparative adjective
An adjective that relates one thing to another
complex sentence
Two clauses brought together by a sub-ordinating conjunction
Compound sentence
Two clauses brought together by a co-ordinating conjunction
compound-complex sentence
A sentence with a co-ordinating and sub-ordinating conjunction
Concrete noun
Things we can experience physically- touch
Conjunction
a word that joins two phrases or sentences
Connotation
the implied or associative meaning of a word
Contraction
Combining two or more words by removing a letter and replacing it with an apostrophe
Convergence
Adjusting your speech patterns to match those around you
Declarative sentence
A statement
Definite article
specific article “the”
Dependant clause
A phrase that can’t stand alone as a complete sentence
Dialogue
conversation between two or more people
Direct address
speaking directly to the audience “you”
Directive utterance
Speaker wants someone to do something
Divergence
Where a speaker deliberately distances themselves from the audience- footing
Double negative
Two negatives which cancel each other out
Dynamic verb
A verb that expresses an action
Elision
the omission of a sound or syllable when speaking
Ellipsis
the omission of a word or phrase which is grammatically necessary but can be deduced from the context
Emoji
a graphical emoticon used to express emotion
Emoticon
Typed symbols that convey emotional aspects of an online message
Emotive language
words used deliberately to create an emotional impact
End focus
Emphasis at the end of a clause or sentence
endophoric reference
referring to another expression within the same text
Euphemism
an inoffensive expression that is substituted for one that is considered offensive
Evaluative adjective
Describes something in terms of the speakers opinion/ evaluation
Exclamative
a sentence that has an expressive function and ends with an exclamation mark
Exophoric reference
Referencing something outside the text
Expressive utterance
expresses speaker’s feelings
Face threatening act
A communicative act that threatens someone’s positive or negative face needs
False start
When a speaker begins to speak, stops and then reformulates it
Field
Subject area
Field specific lexis
Vocabulary associated with a particular topic area
Figurative language
Writing or speech that is not intended to carry literal meaning but used to describe
Footing
The way people align themselves to what they are saying
Foregrounding
Putting emphasis at the beginning of a clause or sentence
Formulaic utterance
utterances that are used frequently in a particular context for a fixed purpose.
Free morpheme
A morpheme that can stand alone and still makes senses
Function
Intention of text
Future tense
shows action that will happen
Genre
a category of literary composition, characterised by similarities in form, style, or subject matter.
Gerund noun
A noun with the suffix -ing
Grammar
a set of rules to ensure meaning is fully understood and makes sense
Grapheme
A written letter
Graphology
Images to assist text
Hedging
Avoiding the point
Hesitation
Pausing
Hierachy
a ranking system
High frequency lexis
Commonly used words
Holophrase
single word that conveys a complete thought
Holophrastic stage
one word communication
Homophone
a word that has the same sound but a different meaning as another word
Humour
Trying to entertain the audience through making them laugh
Hyperbole
exaggeration
Hypernym
a semantic category that names a more general class that contains specific members
Hyphenation
A dash that is used to join words and separate syllables of a single word
Hyphen
dash used to break a word apart or in a compound adj.
Hyponym
a more specific word within a category or under a hypernym
Hypophora
raising a question then proceeding to answer it
Hypothetical
based on an assumption or guess
Identity
Personality
Idiolect
The way of speaking individual to one person
Idiom
A common, often used expression that doesn’t make sense if you take it literally.
Imaginative function
use of language to express oneself artistically or creatively
Imperative sentence
gives a command
Indefinite article
Unspecific article eg “an” or “a”
independant clause
expresses a complete thought and can stand alone as a senctence
Influential power
The power of influence- social media, celeb culture
Informal
Casual, speech like
Instrumental power
The power of the law- legal, politics
Intensifier
an adverb that emphasises an adjective or adverb
Interpersonal exchange
Socialising
Jargon
Subject specific lexis
Joke
something said or done to cause laughter
Journalese
a type of jargon used by journalists that wouldn’t be used in everyday speech
Juxtaposition
Placing two contrasting concepts beside one another
Labelling
To match the name of an object to the object.
language acquisition device
Chomsky’s concept of an innate, prewired mechanism in the brain that allows children to acquire language naturally
Language acquisition support system
factors in the social environment that facilitates the learning of language
Lexical set
A group of words or phrases that are about the same content topic or subject, e.g. weather – storm, to rain, wind, cloudy.
Lexis
Word
Linguistic variable
a feature of language use that distinguishes one group of speakers from another
Low frequency lexis
Uncommonly used words
Maxim of manner
avoid ambiguity and obscurity; be brief and orderly
Maxim of quality
to be truthful
Maxim of quantity
don’t say too much or too little
Maxim of relevance
Stick to to the point
Metaphor
a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable.
Minor sentence
Incomplete sentence which can be fully understood and doesn’t have a ver
Modal verb
An auxiliary verb that expresses necessity or possibility
Mode
What form is used
Modelling
the process of observing and imitating a specific behavior
Modifier
a word, phrase, or clause that qualifies or describes another word, phrase, or clause
More Knowledgeable Other
A person who has a better understanding or a higher skill level than the learner. (Vygotsky)
Morpheme
in language, the smallest unit that carries meaning
Morphology
units of meaning involved in word formation
Motherese
child-directed speech
Multimodal
Uses more than one form
Negation
Using no or not to make a positive statement negative
Negative face
The desire to be free from imposition or intrusion
Negative face needs
Desire to be autonomous
Negative politeness
politeness strategy based on the speaker’s minimizing imposition on the addressee
negative reinforcement
Increasing behaviors by stopping or reducing negative stimuli.
Neologism
New words
Network building
Making connections between words, understanding similarities and opposites in meanings.
Non-count noun
a noun that only has a single form does not need to be changed to make it plural
Noun phrase
A noun and an adjective phrase
object permanence
the knowledge that an object exists even when it is not in sight
occupation
a job or profession
Occupational dialect
Words specific to an occupation/job area
Occupational register
A technical vocabulary associated with a particular occupation or activity
Off-record (indirect) strategy
Insinuating
Onamatopoeia
words that imitate sounds
Orthodoxy
authorized or generally accepted theory
Oxymoron
conjoining contradictory terms
Pace
Speed of speech delivery
Parallelism
Phrases or sentences of a similar construction/meaning placed side by side, balancing each other
Parentheses
Added information added but not interrupting the main sentence
Paraphrase
to restate in other words
Paralinguistic features
Body language – shrugging, facial expressions
Particle
Word that has grammatical function but does not add meaning
pathetic fallacy
The attribution of human emotions or characteristics to inanimate objects or to nature; for example angry clouds; a cruel wind.
Perlocutionary act
the effect on the listener
Personification
the attribution of a personal nature or human characteristics to something nonhuman
Phoneme
smallest unit of sound
Phonemic contraction
the sounds a child can make are reduced so that they can only make the sounds of their own language
Phonemic expansion
An increase in the variety of sounds a child can produce
Phonology
the study of speech sounds in language
Phrasal verb
A verb made up of a main verb and a preposition, adverb, or both. The phrasal verb usually has a meaning completely different to its main verb, which can confuse
Plural
more than one
Politically correct
conforming to socially acceptable boundaries
positive politeness
Social behavior which expresses positive attitudes to other people
positive reinforcement
Increasing behaviours by presenting positive stimuli, such as food.
Postmodified noun phrase
Adjective comes after noun it is describing
Post telegraphic stage
period of time when a child’s language will include both content and grammatical words and more closely resemble adult speech
Prepostition
shows the relationship between a noun and another word in the sentence.
Prestige form
the form of English which is socially prestigious i.e. held as being higher than others.
Active voice
The subject of the sentence performs the action
Cooperative feedback
A verbal/ non-verbal response that shows you are listening
Deictic reference
Words such as “this”, “that”, “there”- context dependant- refer forwards, backwards or outside the text
Discourse marker
/ topic shift when an individual moves the discussion in a different direction
Monolingual
Speaking only one language
Monologue
One person speaking either to themselves of to an audience
Monosyllabic lexis
Words with one syllable
Smooth latch
Utterances by different speakers which follow directly on
Vague language
Statements that sound imprecis
Prestige form
The form of English which is socially prestigious
lingua franca
a language used among speakers of different languages for the purposes of trade and commerce
Forensic Rhetoric
a type of rhetoric that pertains to speakers prompting feelings of guilt or innocence from an audience- speech or writing that considers the justice or injustice of a certain change or an accusation
epideictic rhetoric
the type of rhetoric that reaffirms cultural values through praising and blaming
deliberative rhetoric
the type of rhetoric used to argue what a society/ the audience should do in the future
Nominalisation
The term used when you transform the verb to an abstract noun
Instrumental power
Used by people or groups to exert hierarchical authority over others.
Influential power
Influencing or persuading others, rather than using an kind of actual authority.
Wareing
1999 types of power
Wareing types of power:
Political, legal, personal, social group
Political power
Power held by people or groups conferred on them by the law (eg politicians)
Legal power
Specific subdivision of political power
Personal power
Power that is held because of an individual’s occupation or role
Social group power
The power someone has because of the social group they belong to, often owing to social class
Knowledge power
Where a participant clearly has knowledge that other participants do not, and so takes control of the conversation
Normal Fairclough power
2001 Asymmetrical power
Asymmetrical power
The normal rules of turn taking and topic management do not apply. Power/ status is not equal.
Unequal encounter
A discussion in which there is power asymmetry with some participants more or less powerful than others.
Powerful/ less powerful participants
In asymmetrical conversation one/ some participants have more power than others. More powerful participants place constraints on what the rest can say and when, often through interruptions.
Hierachy
Pecking order
Status
The level of authority or significance someone has within a conversation, group or organisation.
Role
The function of a person within a conversation, group or organisation.
Authority
The level of power a person has either because of their role or other factors (eg expert knowledge)
Power in discourse
Norman Fairclough
Fairclough Power in discourse:
The ways in which the language is used in a text exerts/ enforces/ exercises power
Fairclough Power behind discourse
The context that enables the text to exert/ enforce/exercise power
Accomodation theorist
Howard Giles
Accomodation
The tendency of speech patterns to converse, to reduce social differences or diverge, increase social differences
Speech community
A group of people sharing a common language
Age grading
A form of social organisation based on age
Age set
Individuals remain permanently to their age set as the set itself becomes progressively more senior
Age specific language
Changing language used during the lifespan of an individual. There are some age exclusive features (consider child language acquisition stage) Jenny Cheshire
Generation specific language
The language if different cohorts of individual living within the same speech community. Jenny Cheshire
Chronological age
number of years since birth
Biological age
Physical maturity
Social age
Linked to life events and experiences
Sociolinguistic maturation
Paul Kerswill. It states that as you grow older you become less susceptible to the influences of slang on your spoken language.
Traditionalists or silent generation
-1945
Baby boomers
1946-1964
Generation X
1965-1976
Generation Y (Millennials)
1977-1995
Generation Z, iGen, centennials
1995-
Age specific
The changing language used within the lifespan of an individual
Generation specific
The language of a different cohorts of individuals living within a speech community
Labov 1994
Individuals tend to preserve speech patterns as they move through their lifespan
Eckert 1997
Chronological age, biological age, social age
Chronological age
Years since birth
Biological age
Physical maturity
Social age
Tied to life events and family status
Ota, Harwood, Williams, Takai 2000
Age more meaningful in different cultures- 18-19 year olds stronger identity for Americans than Japanese
Giles 2000
Middle aged people have greater ethnolinguistic vitality than younger/ older people
Middle aged
31-52
Hockett 1950
Language repeated with generations
Age exclusive
Used only by one generation at a certain age
Helfrich 1979
Some age exclusive features may be due to maturational factors reflecting age
Holmes 1995
Address terms aimed at children show their inferior status, many non-reciprocal forms used such as “dear”
Downes 1998
Less Prestigious variants used more frequently by younger and older speakers. Prestige variants used more frequently by middle- aged speakers
Wolfram and Fasold
Detroit study
Detroit study Wolfram and Fasold
Multiple negation more common in young people. More influenced by social pressures
Cheshire and Milroy
Young people will be more influenced by their friends than anyone else