AS Revision

Initialism - abbreviation that uses the first letter of a group of words and is pronounced as individual letters

auxiliary verb - a verb that supports or 'helps' another; it shows tense or modality

connotation - an associated, symbolic meaning relying on culturally shared conventions

constraints - ways in which powerful participants may block or control the contributions of less powerful participants, for example through controlling content or interrupting

convention - an agreed or shared convention

covert prestige - a form of high status given to non-standard forms

deixis - lexical items that 'point' towards something and place words in context

denotation - a strict 'dictionary' meaning of a lexical item

descriptive attitude - focuses on how language is actually used

prescriptive attitude - focuses on how language should be used and any other form is 'deviant'

Grammar

The apostrophe

If the possessor is a plural noun ending in s, simply adding an apostrophe after the

final - s.

He found himself lost in Madrid's winding streets.

I cannot understand Tim's point of view.

The building's foundations were very unstable.

The poet's work was highly regarded around the world.

The monk's meals were served in a cold, damp room. (One monk)

The monks' meals were served in a cold, damp room. (Lots of monks)

The comma splice.

The comma splice is one of the most frequent mistakes made when using a comma. The comma splice occurs when a comma is used to connect two independent clauses.

In this example the two clauses make sense on their own. Connecting them with a comma is incorrect

Confusable words.

Poor grammar may affect your essay marks.

Poor grammar had a huge effect on his academic achievements.

The Subjunctive.

If you have learned a foreign language such as French, German or Spanish you may well have had to do battle with the subjunctive. It is little used in English but worth getting to grips with nonetheless.

The subjunctive mood, as it is known, is used to indicate a hypothetical or speculative situation:

In the following examples the subjunctive is given in brackets:

If only I was [were] rich, I would be able to afford to buy a house.

I would like him better if he was [were] more sociable.

If the weather was [were] better, we would be in a better mood.

CLA Revision

AO1 Select & apply a range of linguistic methods, to communicate relevant knowledge using appropriate terminology & coherent, accurate written expression	AO2 Demonstrate critical understanding of a range of concepts and issues related to the construction and analysis of meanings in spoken and written language, using knowledge of linguistic approaches	AO3 Analyse and evaluate the influence of contextual factors on the production and reception of spoken and written language, showing knowledge of the key constituents of language
Lexis and Semantics: ·         lexical fields ·         colloquial choices ·         contractions ·         use of determiners ·         use of pronouns ·         hypernyms and hyponyms  (A hyponym is a word that describes things more specifically. Proper nouns are good examples of hyponyms) ·         use of names Grammar: ·         simple; compound complex; sentences ·         awareness of sentence functions ·         elliptical utterances   (Elliptical utterances assume a context of meaning that is largely closed to outsiders) ·         non-standard constructions / grammatical omissions ·         formation of negatives; ·         use of determiners ·         formation of questions ·         use of morphemes  (Unladylike – un, lady, like) ·         use of passive ·         use of present and past tense, Phonology: ·         omission of certain sounds ·         consonant clusters etc ·         relationship between sound and meaning Discourse: ·         turn-taking ·         questions ·         topic shifts ·         minimal responses ·         tag questions Pragmatics: ·         Non-verbal communication and utterances ·         Use of humour ·         Deixis ·         References to books, tv etc Language of the Caregiver: ·         Pronunciation ·         Pitch ·         Exaggeration ·         Simple lexis ·         Diminutives ·         Concrete nouns ·         Simple constructions ·         Imperatives ·         Questions ·         Names instead of pronouns ·         repetition	Stages of development : ·         Preverbal stage   (pre-linguistic) ·         Holophrastic ·         Two word ·         Telegraphic ·         Post-telegraphic Reaserchers: ·         Katherine Nelson – first 50 words ·         Jean Aitchison -  lexical and semantic development ·         Roger Brown – two word phrases and meaning and morphological development ·         Bellugi – developing use of negatives and use of pronouns ·         Berko – ‘wugs’ experiment – morphological development Phonological development and research: ·         Phonological  errors ·         Alan Cruttenden (1974) ·         Berko and Brown (1960s) ‘fis’ experiment Pragmatics / Functions of language: ·         Halliday ·         Dore ·         Turn-taking Research eg peek-a-boo Politeness / Face theories Power  theories Gender theories Child Directed Speech Theories and Research : ·         Features of CDS ·         Bruner – Language Acquisition Support System CLA Theories: ·         Chomsky LAD / virtuous errors / nativist ·         Skinner – beviourism / positive reinforcement / negative reinforcement ·         Piaget – Cognitive development ·         Vygotsky – play and cognitive development ·         Bruner – social interactionist Other References: ·         Genie ·         Deaf children	·         Who participates? ·         How old are the participants? ·         What is their gender? ·         What is their relationship? ·         Where are they? What is the setting? ·         What are they doing? ·         What is the purpose of their conversation? ·         What are they talking about? ·         What social and cultural references are there?

Language Change Revision

                                                                                                

AO1 Select & apply a range of linguistic methods, to communicate relevant knowledge using appropriate terminology & coherent, accurate written expression	AO2 Demonstrate critical understanding of a range of concepts and issues related to the construction and analysis of meanings in spoken and written language, using knowledge of linguistic approaches	AO3 Analyse and evaluate the influence of contextual factors on the production and reception of spoken and written language, showing knowledge of the key constituents of language
Lexis and Semantics : ·         borrowed/loan words ·         compounds (grandmother, toothpaste) ·         blends  (workaholic – work + alcoholic) ·         acronyms  ·         eponyms/proprietary words (giving something name -Alois Alzheimer) ·         conversion/grammatical shift ·         pejoration/amelioration ·         broadened/narrowed ·         metaphor/hyperbole ·         semantic shift ·         archaisms/obsolete words ·         Americanisms  (diaper, takeout) Grammar: ·         syntax/word order ·         sentence structure: use of subordination and coordination. ·         dummy auxiliary ‘do’ used in negative and interrogative constructions ·         double negatives ·         inflections  (extra letters – watch and watches) ·         plurals ·         prepositions ·         pronouns – personal (thou, thee, one)relative- who, which, whom ·         verb tenses/irregular verbs/modal/auxilliary verbs ·         punctuation Pragmatics: ·         implied meanings/humour/shared knowledge/taboo language/formality/political correctness Graphology : ·         look at images/font and relate to context Discourse Structure: ·         written/spoken language and the conventions of such texts. Phonology : ·         alliteration, assonance (is the repetition of vowel sounds ·          in nearby words. It is used to reinforce the meanings of ·         words or to set the mood), rhyme, onomatopoeia, accent/dialect, ·         Received Pronunciation, assimilation (a sound becomes identical with or similar to a  neighbouring sound), omission, Estuary English, dialect levelling, Black English Orthography: ·         spelling and problems with spelling	Background theories of: ·         gender ·         power ·         technology Standardisation and Codification of language: ·         Printing Press – William Caxton 1476 ·         Dictionaries – Dr Johnson’s dictionary 1755 ·         Robert Lowth’s ‘Introduction to English Grammar’ 1762 Prescriptive/Descriptive attitudes: ·         John Humphreys - Prescriptive ·         David Crystal - Descriptive ·         Stephen Fry - Descriptive ·         Jean Aitchison: Language Web – Damp Spoon/Crumbling Castle/Infectious Disease ·         Dennis Freeborn (phonology): incorectness view/ugliness view/impreciseness view ·         Phonology : ·         Great Vowel Shift ·         convergence ·         divergence ·         Labov’s ‘Martha’s Vineyard Study’ Informalisation Worldwide Englishes: ·         bidialectalism Causes of language change: ·         history and Invasions ·         changing personal and social identity ·         influence of social groups ·         changing attitudes ·         social trends ·         new technologies ·         intellectual activities	·         Genre ·         Audience ·         Subject ·         Purpose ·         Who is the text producer/ receiver ·         What are the expectations of the text receiver? Descriptivist – set rules of language Prescriptivist – different variations