Blog Archives
Wh-Movement
A wh-phrase moves to Spec, CP. (syntax)
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Wh-Parameter
Overt or covert wh-movement. (syntax)
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Whine/Wine Merger
Dialects of English where “whine” and “wine” are pronounced the same ([waɪn]) have undergone the ‘whine/wine merger.’ (sociolinguistics)
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Whole Language
A pedagogical method and philosophy, where the focus is on recognizing the whole word as a unit for pronunciation and how that unit works within a whole text, i.e., the semantics of the word within the pragmatics of the context. This contrasts with a more phonics-based instruction method. (language acquisition)
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Word
The smallest unit of speech that can be used to answer a question. (morphology) The letters between two white spaces. (orthography) The smallest unit of language that can be moved. (syntax)
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Word Order
The surface, linear realization of phrases and clauses. This is often topologically characterized by the canonical order of a language’s major constituents (i.e. SVO, SOV VSO etc…) (syntax)
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Word Order Correlations
Phrases in a given language tend to be consistently head-initial or consistently head-final. (typology)
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X
Units on the timing tier in autosegmental phonology. (phonology)
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X-Bar Theory
A theory originating after Government and Binding and before Bare-Phrase Structure, it allows one or more intermediate nodes to be placed between the head and maximal projection of a syntactic phrase. These intermediate nodes are termed X-Bars. They can be used to show how adjuncts relate differently than complements in…
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X-Ray Photography
X-Rays are taken of the vocal apparatus in real time to give a picture of speech production. (phonetics)
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