Terminology

• Phonetics, phonology and prosodics


  • Students can study:
  • the phoneme as a basic distinct unit of sound
  • the different types of vowel phonemes (long, short and diphthongs)
  • how consonant phonemes are formed in terms of voicing, place of articulation and manner of articulation
  • how individual phonemes combine to form syllables
  • how variations of the same phoneme may occur in pronunciations of certain words
  • variations in speech patterns of individuals and groups in terms of regional accent, and as a result of accommodation
  • the representation of the speech patterns of individuals and groups in different discourses
  • the use of sound iconicity (e.g. onomatopoeia, alliteration, assonance, consonance) for effect
  • how speakers use variations in pitch, intonation, volume and speed depending on situational aspects
  • how the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) can be used to represent and talk about the different aspects of the sound system
• Key terms related to Phonetics, phonology and prosodics

  • Phoneme: the basic unit of sound
  • Diphthong: a vowel sound that is the combination of two separate sounds, where a speaker glides from one to another
  • Voicing: the act of the vocal cords either vibrating (voiced) or not vibrating (unvoiced) in the production of a consonant sound
  • Place of articulation: the position in the mouth where a consonant sound is produced
  • Manner of articulation: the extent to which airflow is interrupted by parts of the mouth in the production of consonant sounds
  • Syllable: a sound unit with a vowel at its centre
  • Accent: a regional variety of speech that differs from other regional varieties in terms of pronunciation
  • Accommodation: the ways that individuals adjust their speech patterns to match others
  • Sound iconicity: the use of the sound system to mirror form or meaning
  • International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA): an internationally recognised system of phonetic transcription
• Lexis and Semantics

  • Students can study:
  • the denotative and connotational meanings of words
  • how meanings are constructed through the use of figurative language such as metaphor
  • sense relationships between words through the concepts of semantic fields, synonyms, antonyms, hypernyms and hyponyms
  • how individuals and groups vary vocabulary choices according to audience and purpose, and how levels of formality may vary according to these contextual factors
  • how speakers may use specialist registers and examples of jargon
  • how speakers’ sociolects and
• Concepts related to language variation

  • Semantic fields
  • Synonyms
  • Antonyms
  • Hypernyms
  • Hyponyms
  • Levels of formality
  • Jargon
  • Sociolect
  • Dialect
  • Neology
  • Semantic change
• Individuals and groups vary vocabulary choices according to audience and purpose
• Levels of formality may vary according to contextual factors
• Speakers may use specialist registers and examples of jargon
• Speakers' sociolects and dialects reflect variations according to group membership and geographical region
• Variation in text design reflects variation in language use between individuals, groups, communities, and nations
• New words are formed through neology processes such as blending, compounding, and forming acronyms, initialisms, and eponyms
• Words and their meanings change over time through processes like narrowing, broadening, amelioration, pejoration, and semantic reclamation
• Key terms related to language variation

  • Denotative and connotational meanings
  • Figurative language
  • Semantic fields
  • Synonyms
  • Antonyms
  • Hypernyms
  • Hyponyms
  • Levels of formality
  • Jargon
  • Sociolect
  • Dialect
  • Neology
  • Semantic change
• Grammar concepts

  • Morpheme
  • Root morpheme
  • Affix
  • Phrase
  • Head word
  • Modification
  • Clause
  • Active voice
  • Passive voice
  • Tense
• Students can study word formation (morphology) and order and structure within phrases, clauses, and sentences
• Root morphemes combine with affixes for inflectional or derivational functions
• Head words in phrases are modified to provide more detail
• Elements are arranged in clauses to support meaning and achieve different effects
• Point of view can be grammatically realised through the active or passive voice
• English verbs show time through tense and aspect
• Single clauses form multi-clause structures through co-ordination and subordination
• Clauses and sentences function in different ways to form statements, questions, commands, or exclamations
• Active voice


  • A clause where the agent (doer) 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
• Tense


  • How the time of an event is marked (usually through verb inflection): past, present & future
• Aspect

  • Another element of marking the time of an event, by specifying whether they are progressive (ongoing) or perfective (completed)
• Coordination


  • The joining of two or more independent clauses via co-ordinating conjunctions
• Subordination

  • The joining of two or more clauses where only one is independent (the main clause) and the others dependent (subordinate clause/clauses)
• Sentence


  • A larger unit of meaning, which may be formed of a single clause (simple sentence) or several clauses (compound or complex sentences)
• Sentence function

  • The purpose a sentence fulfils in communication: as a statement, question, command or exclamation
• Word class


  • Noun
  • Adjective
  • Verb
  • Adverb
  • Determiner
  • Pronoun
  • Preposition
  • Conjunction
• Pragmatics: Students describe and explore the implied meanings of English and how language use creates meanings in interactional contexts
• Pragmatics topics students can study

  • Implied meanings of words, utterances and speech acts in specific contexts
  • Face, politeness and co-operation in language interaction
  • How text receivers draw inferences from others’ language uses
  • Influence of different contexts on the meanings of communicative acts
  • How attitudes, values and ideologies can be signalled through language choices
  • How language is used to enact and reflect relationships between people
• Implicature


  An implied meaning that has to be inferred as a result of a conversational maxim being broken
• Inference


  The understanding of implied meanings
• Irony


  Using language to signal an attitude other than what has been literally expressed
• Deixis


  Words that are context-bound where meaning depends on who is using them, and where and when they are being used
• Speech acts


  Communicative acts that carry meaning beyond the words and phrases used within them, for example, apologies and promises
• Politeness


  The awareness of others’ needs to be approved of and liked (positive politeness) and/or given freedom to express their own identity and choices (negative politeness)
• Face


  The concept of how all communication relies on presenting a ‘face’ to listeners and audiences, and how face-threatening acts (the threat to either positive or negative face) and the management of positive and negative face needs contribute to interaction
• Cooperative principles in conversation


  How interaction is generally based upon various kinds of cooperative behaviour between speakers