Glossary

Refers to a lowering of air pressure in a vocal cavity due to an increase in the size of the space.

A morphological and syntactic term: In syntax, a reciprocal construction refers to a type of relationship that is shared between noun phrases. In reciprocal constructions, each N occupies both the thematic role of agent and patient with respect to the other. For example: 'John and Mary understand each other'. In morphology, reciprocal affixes, particles, words and phrases are the elements that create reciprocal action. In English, the phrase 'each other' is used for this purpose.

The ability to embed certain types of phrases indefinitely to embellish a sentence. This is the creative aspect of forming sentences. ex. The German Shepard [digging a hole [in the garden] [under the tree]], loves to play [in the snow] [with his ball]]. All phrases which are bracketed are embedded inside the NP and VP and are added as embellishment. We could continue to add such phrases to make the sentence as long and as creative as desired.

A vowel which has lost phonetic 'weight' due to the application of a phonological rule such that the sound has changed. In English all vowels are reduced to schwa in unstressed syllables.

A morphological process in which part of or an entire morpheme/word is repeated to show inflection or a morphological derivation.

The real-world entity which a word represents.

A pronoun which refers back to itself, usually in the same sentence. In English these pronouns end in 'self.'

A style of speaking which varies according to social context.

A pair of antonyms which describes the relationship between two entities. ex: king/subject

A sound produced by curling the tip of the tongue back against the hard palate.

A term which in the past would have been redundant but due to technological advances, comes to have meaning on its own. ex: silent movie, British English

Auditory stimuli are more accurately identified when presented to the right ear than the left due to left hemispheric dominance of speech. This is reversed in the case of right hemispheric dominance.

The element of a syllable which is composed of the nucleus and coda. ex: trade

The basic morpheme to which other morphemes are added. ex: un - believe - able

A node which is at the top of a syntactic tree with nothing above it.

A vowel sound which is produced by the rounding of the lips. ex: [o] [u] [y]