English 351 - Definitions

Comparative Grammar
Click the card to flip 👆
1 / 40
Terms in this set (40)
Comparative Grammar
a study of related languages for the light which the knowledge of each one of them throws on the phenomenon of all the others.
Obsolete Expression
One that is no longer in use.
Archaic Expression
One that has the characteristics of a much earlier period and is on the way out of use. Any word is archaic if it is too old to be generally used. To determine whether a word is archaic or obsolete, consult an up-to-date dictionary.
Colloquialisms
Expressions used in ordinary conversation. They admist words, phrases, forms, and constructions that would be out of place in formal oral or written speech. Their use should be restricted to informal communications.
Barbarism
A word or phrase that is not in good use. It may be a newly coined word, a slang expression, a vulgarism, a provincialism, or any illiterate or unauthorized expression, such as ain't, irregardless, attackted, nowheres, unbeknownst, complected.
Solecism
A term used to describe a blunder in grammar or a construction not sanctioned by good usage. Any word or combination of words deviating from the idiom of the language or from the rules of syntax may be called a solecism, such as he don't or between you and I.
Idioms and idiomatic phrases
Terms used by grammarians to explain or classify the unusual, the illogical, or the peculiar expressions in a language. Idiomatic expressions frequently defy grammatical analysis and are, therefore, not easily translated into other words and phrases in the same language, or into other languages word for word, without losing some of their highly specialized meaning. Some idioms are had better and How do you do?
Usage
A term employed by linguists to classify speech habits or language peculiarities, to show what is or has been practiced at a given time by a stated group of users of a language.
Noun
the name of a person, place, or thing.
Pronoun
a word that takes the place of a noun.
Antecedentthe word that the pronoun takes the place of.Adjectivea word describing a noun or a pronoun and answering which one, what kind, how many, or whose.Adverba word describing a verb, an adjective, or another adverb, and answering how, when, where, how much, why, or to what extent.Verba word that shows action, being, or state of being.Prepositiona word "placed before" to show relation between words; to show the relationship between a noun (or pronoun) and the rest of the sentence.Conjunctiona word that yokes or connects elements of a sentence.Syntaxsentence structure; the orderly arrangement, relation, agreement of parts of the sentence in accordance with usage or custom; the relation of words to other words in phrases, clauses, and sentences.Morphologythe study of the shape of words and the meanings and relationships that may result from inflection; the study of inflections.Inflectionthe change, or modification, in the form of a word to indicate a change in its meaning.Conjugationthe inflection of a verb.Comparisonthe inflection of an adjective or an adverb.Declensionthe inflection of a noun or a pronoun.Function, Form, or Empty Words, or Morphemesterms for words and phrases that have lost their original or individual meaning and serve only to show the relationship or the structure of full words. Some function words are more, most, and of.Full Wordswords that have independent meanings of their own.Declarative Sentencestates a fact or makes an assertion and closes with a periodInterrogative Sentenceasks for information; always ends with a question mark. The question may be introduced by the verb or by an interrogative pronoun, an interrogative adjective, or an interrogative adverb; or it may have the form of a declarative sentence, especially if an affirmative answer is expected or inferred. This kind of interrogative sentence may end with a tag, such as You will be on time, won't you?Imperative sentenceissues a command, a request, or an imprecation. It closes with a period. The sentence is addressed to some person or some group of persons. The subject is usually implied (an understood you).Exclamatory Sentenceexpresses strong emotion: surprise, relief, grief, fear, hate, delight, and so forth. It ends with an exclamation mark. It is often expressed in the form of an indirect (and sometimes a direct) question: How could someone be so cruel!Clausea group of related words containing a subject and a predicate (verb).Main or Independent Clausea group of related words containing a subject and a predicate that expresses a complete thought and that can stand by itself.Subordinate or Dependent Clausea group of related words containing a subject and a predicate that does not express a complete thought and that cannot stand by itself.Phrasea group of related words without a subject or a predicate, acting as a single part of speech.Subjecta word or a group of words denoting that of which something is said.Predicatea word or a group of words denoting that which is said of the subject.Grammarthe study of words and their function.Phonologythe study of pronunciation.Semanticsthe study of the meanings of words.Historical Grammara systematic study of the changes occurring in a language or a group of languages as they vary from generation to generation, from century to century.Historical English Grammara study of the nature, the origin, and the growth of the English language from its earliest written form to the present time. It describes the characteristics of Old English (Anglo-Saxon), Middle English, and Modern English, and analyzes the variations and changes that occur in these three periods.Descriptive Grammara study of established facts and usages as they exist at a given time in a given language.