Language features - Lexis and Semantics

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  • Created by: N221002
  • Created on: 20-08-20 11:50

Jargon

Specialist vocabulary related to a specific occupation such as;

  • 'composition' a term used in photography. 
  • 'summative' a summary of what has been learned over time, used in childcare assessments.
  •  'triage' a term used by medical proffessional to treat patients in order of urgency. 
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Slang

Language consisting of words and phrases considered as informal, often associated with young people;

  • 'Quid' to refer to money instead of pounds.
  • 'Gutted' to be let down or disappointed.
  • 'Bunk' refering to skipping class or truancy.
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Neologisms

A newly coined word or expression such as;

  • Selfie
  • Google
  • COVID-19
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Archaic language

Language that is old-fashioned and is not used in everyday speech, such as;

  • 'Thee' archaic or dialect form of you, as the singular object of a verb or preposition.
  • 'Thou art' meaning you are.
  • 'Thine' archaic form of yours; the thing or things belonging to or associated with thee.
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Colloquialism

Informal words and phrases used in eveyday speech, examples include;

  • Trolly.
  • Pub.
  • Whatever.
  • What's up?
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Taboo language

Words considered as swearing, informal and forbidden language. Often not acceptable in the work  or school environment, it can also be seen as offensive or rude.

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Lexical field

Words or expression that relate to one another and can be grouped together as they refer to a specific subject:

  • Happy - 'bright', 'cheerful', 'joy', 'pleased', 'family', 'yellow'.
  • Computers - 'software', 'modem', 'mouse', 'cursor', 'monitor'.
  • Scared - 'dark', 'frightened', 'black', 'fear', 'shaking', 'spiders'.
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Denotation and Connotation

Denotation - The literal or primary meaning of a word;

  • Discipline - the practice of training people to obey rules or a code of behaviour, using punishment to correct disobedience.
  • Home - the place where one lives permanently, especially as a member of a family or household.
  • Snake - a long limbless reptile which has no eyelids, a short tail, and jaws that are capable of considerable extension. Some snakes have a venomous bite.

Connotation - Associations the word has, an idea or feeling which a word invokes for a person in addition to its literal or primary meaning.

  • 'Discipline' has unhappy connotations of punishment and repression.
  • 'Home' has positive connotations of warmth and safety.
  • 'Snake' has negative connotations of being secrective and bad. 
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Hyponym and Hypernym

Hyponym - a word with a more specfic meaning like;

  • Red
  • Ant 
  • Rose

Hypernym - A word with a more generalised meaning like;

  • Colour
  • Insect
  • Flower
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Antonym and Synonym

Antonym - a word opposite in meaning to another; 

  • Good and bad
  • Hello and goodbye
  • Centre and outskirts

Synonym - a word similar in meaning to another;

  • Accomplish and achieve
  • End and finish
  • Depart and leave
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