Word Glossary
There are currently 12 names in this directory beginning with the letter O.
observer's paradox
Sociolinguists strive to observe 'unobserved' or natural speech (the vernacular). However to do so requires observation in natural settings, not artificial ones. As soon as an individual is aware of being observed, the setting becomes 'unnatural.'
obstruent
Obstruents are a class of sounds in which airflow is somehow obstructed during production.
Example: stops, fricatives, affricates
Occam's Razor
Occam's Razor is a principle formulated by the 14th century logician and Franciscan monk, William of Occam that states "Entities should not be multiplied unnecessarily." .
onomasiology
Onomasiology is an element of lexicology, which starts from a concept (i.e. an idea, an object, a quality, an activity, etc.) and then asks for its names.
Thus, an onomasiological question would be, "What are the names for long, narrow pieces of potato that are deep-fried?"
(The Answer: French Fries in the US, Chips in the UK, etc.)
The opposite approach is known as semasiology.
open class
The term 'open-class' refers to a lexical class of words to which new words can be added.
Example: nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs
opposition
A term first formulated in the Prague School of Phonology (Nikolai Trubetzkoy) which is used to describe phonetic contrasts in sets of phonemes. The four main types ofopposition are:
1. bilateral/multilateral
2. proportional/isolated
3. privative/gradual/equipollent
4. constant/neutralisable
(See terms for more detailed explanations.)
Optimality Theory
Optimality Theory, or OT, is a framework for conducting linguistic analyses, formulated by Prince, Smolensky, and McCarthy (1993), which ranks universal and language-specific constraints to an 'input' in order to account for any given 'output'.
oral (sound/stop)
An oral stop (sometimes referred to as a plosive) is a sound produced in 3 stages. 1. The 'catch' or 'implosion' or 'closing' in which the airflow in the oral cavity is completely obscured by the articulators 2 The 'blockage' or 'closure' in which the air builds up behind the articulators 3. The 'release' or 'explosion'
Example: /p, t, k/
oral cavity
The oral cavity area in the mouth through which air passes in the production of sounds (as opposed to the nasal cavity).
output
The output of a linguistic element is the realization of its form after any language-specific rules have been applied. This term is used primarily when conducting analysis within the framework of Optimality Theory (OT).