Notes by Laura

[notesbylaura]

Lexical Change/Neologisms

Borrowings/Loans: usually from foreign languages (e.g. karaoke, chocolate)

Compounding: putting whole words together (e.g. upbeat, takeover, downsize)

Blending: mixing parts of different words together (e.g. brunch, motel)

Derivation: words formed through acronyms (e.g. scuba-> self contained underwater breathing apparatus)

Abbreviation: shortened forms of words e.g. bike-> bicycle, telly-> television

Root creating/Coinage: where brand new words are invented (e.g. nerd, blurb)

Conversion: words are modified from one word class to another (e.g. a noun to a verb, hammer-> to get hammered)

Affixation: existing words are modified by adding prefixes/suffixes (e.g. non-smoker, malfunction)

Archaism: word falls out of use (e.g. golly, thou)

Back formation: type of shortening where a word of one type is changed to another (e.g. edit from editor)

Eponym: new word is created from a shared cultural meaning to do with a specific person's name (e.g. sandwich from Earl of Sandwich)

[notesbylaura]

Semantics

Denotation: dictionary definition of a word (e.g. 'to fly' denotes to travel by air)

Connotation: cultural/emotional associations (e.g. if you are scared of flying, 'to fly' may connote nausea, fear, anxiety)

Semantic ambiguity: double meanings (e.g. sheep attacks rocket could either mean a vegetable or spacecraft)

Lexical field: deliberate grouping of words with related meanings in a text (e.g. bleak, white, frost)

Synonym: word/phrase with similar meanings to another specific word (e.g. small, tiny, miniature)

Antonym: word with an opposite meaning to a given word (e.g. fast->slow, sharp->blunt)

Metaphor: description of something that is not literal (e.g. 'she's a cow')

Simile: comparing one thing with another (e.g. 'he's like a snake')

Idiom: expression that cannot be understood from the meanings of the individual words that comprise it (e.g. pardon my french, bite off more than you can chew etc.)

Collocation: pair of words commonly found alongside each other (e.g. done and dusted)

[notesbylaura]

Sentence Functions

Declarative sentences: make statements

Interrogative sentences: ask questions

Imperative sentences: give instructions

Exclamatory sentences: emphatic sentences, use (!)

[notesbylaura]

Sentence Types

Simple sentence: contains one clause (e.g. a book fell on John's foot)

Compound sentence: contains 2 or more clauses joined by coordinating conjunctions (e.g. a book fell on John's foot and a book fell on Mary's foot)

Complex sentence: contains two or more clauses where one is a main clause and the other(s) a subordinate clause (e.g. a book fell on John's foot when he pushed past the table)

[notesbylaura]

Verbs

Primary verbs: be/is- indicate when something is happening

have- used to construct questions

do- to add emphasis/construct negatives

Transitive verbs: have an object, e.g. "he whistled a Beatles song"

Intransitive verbs: no object, e.g. "he whistled"

[notesbylaura]

Nouns

Concrete noun: people/objects/places that can be seen and measured (e.g. table, mother, garden)

Abstract noun: processes/ideas/occasions/times/qualities that can't be seen (e.g. marriage, hour, happiness)

Proper noun: a particular person/place/thing, start with a capital letter (e.g. Australia, Friday)

Collective noun: groups of people/animals/things that are regarded as a whole (e.g. jury, family, flock, class)

[notesbylaura]

Phonological Terms

Homonym: same sound, same/different spelling, unrelated meaning

Homophone: same sound, different spelling, unrelated meaning

Homograph: same/different sound, same spelling, unrelated meaning

Heteronym: different sound, same spelling, unrelated meaning