Vocabulary (ESL 154)

Vowel

• speech sound produced by open, unobstructed vocalization, with vibration of the vocal cords but without audible friction

• consonant sound produced with some degree of obstruction in the vocal tract

• sound that is produced without the use of vocal cords

• speech sound that is always voiced and never silent

Phonetics

• the study of language meaning

• the physical production of speech sounds

• the rules governing sentence structure

• the psychological aspects of language acquisition

Phoneme

• a single “unit” of sound that has meaning in any language

• a group of sounds that form a word

• a type of written symbol in a language

• a grammatical structure used in sentences

Manner of articulation

• how speech organs, such as the tongue, lips, & palate, are moved when making a speech sound

• the speed at which speech sounds are produced

• the volume of speech sounds during articulation

• the emotional tone conveyed through speech sounds

Semantic Ambiguity

• The individual meaning of words has been resolved, but the context is needed for understanding

• Words have multiple meanings that can lead to confusion

• The meaning of a word is clear and unambiguous

• Context is irrelevant to understanding the meaning of words

Grapheme

• the written symbol that represents a unit of sound

• a type of phoneme

• a visual representation of a word

• a grammatical structure in a sentence

Antonyms

• words that are similar in meaning

• words that are opposite in meaning

• words that are used in the same context

• words that are derived from the same root

Intimate

• private, body language and intonation often more important than the verbal message

• formal communication in business settings

• communication through written messages only

• public speaking in large gatherings

Morpheme

• A unit of sound in a language

• Each unit of meaningful language that comprises a word and cannot be further divided without losing meaning

• A type of sentence structure

• A grammatical rule for verb conjugation

Morphology

• study of sentence structure and grammar

• study of words, how they are formed, and their relationship to other words in the same language

• study of sounds and their patterns in speech

• study of meaning in language