Module 2 Blog Post: Linguistics Language Glossary- Courtney Frisch and Alexandra Hawk

Linguistics Language Glossary

1. Linguistics: The study of language.
2. Morpheme: the smallest meaningful part of a word
3. Prefix: Units that are added to the beginning of a word, giving it a new meaning
4. Suffix: Units that are added to the end of a word, giving it a new meaning
5. Root: the base of a word in which prefixes and suffixes are added to
6. Variety: a way of using language that can be defined based on some set of common properties
7. Dialect: a variety whose features are associated with a group of speakers
8. Regional dialect: the features are associated with a geographic areas
9. Social dialect (sociolect): the features are associated with a cultural category
10. Idiolect: the features are associated with an individual speaker
11. Phonetics: the study of the physical properties of speech sounds  
12. Phenology: the study of language specific organization of speech sounds
13. Morphology: the study of how words are formed, and the the organization of words
14. Syntax: the study of how we organize words into sentences
15. Semantics: the study of meaning in language
16. Noun: a word that is a person, place, or thing
    1. Ex. cat
17. Adjective: a word that describes or clarifies a noun
    1. Ex. a fuzzy cat
18. Adverb: a word describing or modifying a verb
    1. Ex. quickly ran
19. Verb: an action word
    1. Ex. Run
20. Metalanguage: The language used to discuss language
21. Metaphor: A figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action that is not literally applicable
22. Onomastics: The linguistic study of names, both personal and place names.
23. Synchronic: A reference to a point of time in a language. Can be present but doesn't have to be.
24. Taxonomic: A reference to linguistics in which the main aim is to list and classify features and phenomena.
25. Zoosemiotics: The investigation of communications systems used by animals.
26. Alphabet: A system of units intended to represent the sounds of a language in writing.
27. Alveolar: A classification of sounds which are formed at the alveolar ridge. The alveolar ridge is the bone plate behind the upper teeth.
    1. Ex. “T”, “D”, “S” sound
28. Alveolo-palatal: A classification of sounds that are formed with the hard palate as a passive articulator.
29. Bilabial: Any sound produced using both lips.
    1. Ex. Palm
30. Dental: A place of articulation characterised by the tip of the tongue being held against the back of the upper teeth.
    1. Ex. “T”, “D” sound
31. Diphthong: A vowel which is articulated with a change in tongue position between the beginning and end.
    1. Ex. “Ai” sound
32. Fricative: A type of sound which is characterised by air passing a constriction somewhere between the glottis and the lips.
    1. Ex. “X”, “S”, “F” sound
33. Nasal: A sound which is produced by opening the nasal cavity.
34. Phone: Any human sounds that has not been classified in the phonology of a language.
35. Plosive: A sound which is produced with a complete blockage of the pulmonic airstream.
    1. Ex. “P”, “T”, “K” sounds
36. Rhythm: all the patterns of strong and weak syllables in a language.
37. Segment: A unit of speech which is identifiable and separate from others.
38. Stress: The acoustic prominence of a syllable in a word.
39. Voiced: Spoken with simultaneous vibration of the vocal folds.
40. Voiceless: Spoken without the vocal folds vibrating.