Questions tagged [linguistics]
This tag is for questions about linguistics, the scientific study of language and its structure. It can involve areas like phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and phonetics.
381
questions
27
votes
6
answers
10k
views
Is English really a non-tonal language?
The British Council Teaching English site says:
English is not a tonal language – i.e. pitch changes in words do not change meanings. Patterns of pitch changes (intonation patterns) are [instead] ...
0
votes
0
answers
30
views
What is considered to be a "topic element"?
I can't make out clearly what could be defined as a "topic element".
In "A Communicative Grammar of English", Geoffrey Leech has written:
Fronting is often accompanied by ...
- 1
2
votes
1
answer
190
views
What is the recent etymology of the American expression "mosey''?
The two Spanish prevailing explanations that get repeated are the Spanish vamos and the British dialectical mose about. These explanations are at least two decades old and predate the internet ...
- 61
4
votes
2
answers
360
views
What is the word for the fusing of, for example, "-ed" and the final consonant "d" to give the ending (with voice removed) of "bent"?
Instead of giving the past tense form bended, the verb bend fuses together bend and -ed and removes voice, producing bent.
Lent and sent are produced in similar fashion.
What's the word for the fusion ...
- 151
0
votes
4
answers
110
views
How should this English sentence be parsed linguistically?
On p173 of Section "Subjective Truth and the Problem of Relativism" of The Big Questions by Solomon:
Rationality is tying our knowledge and our lives together in the most coherent and ...
- 9,973
1
vote
1
answer
106
views
Is "went off in search of her hedgehog" a VP, and can it be broken down further?
I am new to linguistics and am currently learning how to figure out phrase markers for sentences.
I am unsure about this sentence:
She went off in search for her hedgehog.
I know that "she" ...
- 19
1
vote
0
answers
48
views
Is there a term for when the verb and the object it is acting upon are the same word? [duplicate]
Examples:
I can throw a good throw.
I want to run a long run today.
Scoop me a scoop, please.
She gave me drinks to drink.
I really like these simple sorts of sentences, but I've never seen any ...
0
votes
0
answers
38
views
lo + adjective/adverb + que + clause in Spanish VS the adjective (superlative) + (that) + clause in English
Recently I learned a Spanish grammar "lo+adjective/adverb+que+clause" to translate"how ..." (indicative) of English.
But I found the structure unusual because "lo+adjective&...
- 1
0
votes
0
answers
23
views
Why did contractions (elimination of “e”) at the end of verbs disappear? [duplicate]
commonly seen in Early Modern English e.g. trimm’d, poliʃh’d
extracted from a passage written in 1737
we are curious about why these verbs used to be spelled this way but aren’t anymore
- 1
12
votes
2
answers
671
views
Has the conception of prepositions broadened?
When I studied linguistics 40-some years ago, it was understood that
PP → Prep NP
But I’ve discovered sources that suggest that the class of prepositions is (now?) understood much more broadly.
...
- 2,044
0
votes
0
answers
18
views
Is there a word to describe languages that are read/written from right to left? [duplicate]
Are there words that describe the directionality of languages? I only see compound words, such as left- to- right or top-to-bottom. I would have thought a human practice so ancient as language would ...
5
votes
2
answers
188
views
"Look, lady", "Listen, lady" – lady as a pejorative
This question is inspired by the wonderfully-named subreddit r/IDontWorkHereLady.
When a proficient English speaker addresses someone as "lady" (as opposed to "ma'am"), it seems to ...
- 151
4
votes
1
answer
97
views
Is the expression "to hire help" a euphemism for "to employ servants"?
When reading about the differences in the language used by upper-class speakers and middle-class speakers in the 1940s in the US in Philadelphia Gentlemen: The Making of a National Upper Class, I ...
- 41
1
vote
0
answers
41
views
If silent is an adjective, what are silence(n), silenced (verb), silently (adv) called? The cognate of silent? [duplicate]
I'm trying to find the term to describe a group of words in different forms (noun, verb, adjective, adverb) that is derived from the same word.
I found that cognate refers to the derivation of a word ...
- 11
0
votes
0
answers
24
views
History of the pronunciation and spelling of the singular/plural forms "woman" and "women" [duplicate]
Is it true that the spelling of the plural women with wo- is purely an orthographic analogy to the singular woman? When did the spelling women become common (same question with respect to the spelling ...
10
votes
1
answer
268
views
Is there a regular phonological explanation for the diphthong in the infinitive of the verb "to say" becoming a monophthong in "he says"?
The infinitive form shows a diphthong /seɪ/, while the typical pronunciation of the third-person singular "simple present" form has /ɛ/ as the nucleus /sɛz/. Wiktionary suggests that the ...
2
votes
1
answer
467
views
Why does the word "experience" have a different initial vowel from that in "expert" and "expertise"?
In American English, the pronunciation of the words "experience", "expert", and "expertise" can be transcribed as /ɪkˈspɪr.i.əns/, /ˈɛk.spɚt/, /ˌɛk.spɚˈtiːz/ respectively....
1
vote
1
answer
84
views
When is the "all" in "all right" an intensifier?
I'm currently analysing intensifiers/amplifiers, and I have some trouble with the word "all". If used as in "I'm all fine, thanks", it's an intensifier, indicating the extent in ...
- 21
-1
votes
2
answers
44
views
"Be ready to embrace your skin color"- is this an imperative sentence? [closed]
"Be ready to embrace your skin color" is a slogan from local beauty ads in my country and I wonder if this clause is an imperative or not? If so, does "be ready" function as a verb?...
- 1
1
vote
1
answer
134
views
Cot caught merger - /ɔɪ/ or /ɑɪ/ in boy, choice...?
Here is the pronunciation guide from Oxford American English dictionary:
Some speakers only use the sound /ɔ/ when it is followed by /r/ (as in horse /hɔrs/) and use /ɑ/ in all other words that are ...
- 65
0
votes
0
answers
28
views
Spatial and Non-spatial Domain [duplicate]
I go home.
Why is home a preposition in this example?
0
votes
1
answer
118
views
L-epenthesis in “both” and other words
I’m a younger speaker from Chicago with some version of a General American accent. I’ve noticed that a small number of words seem to have a nonstandard pronunciation with an inserted lateral sound, ...
- 890
0
votes
0
answers
103
views
Can "must have + past participle" ever express obligation (deontic modality)?
Can a sentence using a must have + past participle construction ever express deontic modality?
These are all epistemic:
He must have showered.
Someone must have eaten the apple.
The laundry must have ...
- 3,350
-2
votes
1
answer
32
views
Can nouns take more than one argument?
In semantic analysis, are n-predicate nouns, n>1, a formally accepted thing?
When could a noun be n-predicate?
I think of Friend as a 2-predicate noun: friend'(x, y) means that x thinks of y as a ...
- 3,350
0
votes
0
answers
109
views
What is the name of the ambiguity in "he loves a woman"?
What Are Scope Ambiguities? has the example
Every man loves a woman.
And says that it is scopally ambiguous because these two possible readings exist:
"for every man, there is a woman, and it'...
- 3,350
0
votes
1
answer
101
views
Syntax of pre-head noun complements to nouns
In these kinds of NPs:
a flower seller
an income tax advisor
(from The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language, 2002)
Are the emphasised nominal complements meant to be raw Ns sibling to the head ...
- 3,350
-1
votes
1
answer
74
views
Term for words that don't have a meaning on their own [duplicate]
Is there a term for words, phrases, etc. that on their own don't add any semantic information to a sentence.
For example "Well" in "Well, I'm about to tell you" or "I mean&...
0
votes
1
answer
64
views
(Cognitive Linguistics) Is Morse Code an example of a sign, a symbol or an index? [closed]
Would Morse Code be an example of a symbol or an icon (or an index)?
We had a lesson on it last week, and it made more sense as an icon to me (auditory input -> image representation; dots are ...
0
votes
2
answers
53
views
Opposite of "capped at" [duplicate]
If something like a score or a price is capped at 100, it means that if that score or price is higher than 100 it will be lowered down to 100.
Now my question is, is there an opposite expression which ...
0
votes
1
answer
98
views
Is the verb usage of "ladle" considered verbing?
She ladled water instead of soup...
In this sentence, is "ladled" considered verbing or was it a regular and real verb before?
I know informal English allows things like: "I'll ...
3
votes
1
answer
268
views
What do we call minimal pairs (words differ by only a single sound) that have similar meanings?
What is the term for minimal pairs that have minimal differences in sound as well as meaning?
Per Wikipedia:
In phonology, minimal pairs are pairs of words or phrases in a particular language, spoken ...
- 35
19
votes
7
answers
3k
views
Word for heavily foreign-influenced speech?
Is there a word for when someone uses words wrongly, or uses outright nonexistent words, due to influence from foreign languages? Examples:
I thought she loved me, but she bedragged me. (<- bedra(...
- 193
2
votes
1
answer
223
views
How can you 'test' for grammatical properties in A Student's Introduction to English Grammar?
According to the book, grammatical terms, e.g., subject, object, noun, verb, adjective, etc. should not be defined by meaning, but by grammatical properties.
For example, an adjective has combinations ...
- 21
4
votes
0
answers
161
views
How can I distinguish between supplements and modifiers as proposed in The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language (CGEL)?
In CGEL, the authors use the term 'adjunct' as an umbrella term to cover an element that is either modifier or supplement. On page 1350, the authors explain the properties of supplements to ...
- 41
0
votes
2
answers
59
views
If you know that all of something is true, is saying some of them is true, incorrect? [duplicate]
For example, suppose that it is a known fact that all the pens I have are blue.
Statement 1: All my pens are blue
Statement 2: Some of my pens are blue
Similarly,
Statement 1: All dogs are animals
...
- 11
3
votes
0
answers
111
views
Reverse Tensing of the /æ/ Phoneme in American English?
I am a native speaker of a General American sociolect that realizes the /æ/ phoneme as [ɛə] before nasal consonants (e.g. 'fan,' 'stand,' 'ram'), and I've recently noticed that I've begun un-raising (...
0
votes
0
answers
42
views
How does one differentiate a "conceptual metaphor" from other kinds of metaphor?
There is a rather long list of metaphors: standard (stock) metaphors, extended metaphors,
visual metaphors, implied metaphors, mixed metaphors, allegorical metaphors, absolute metaphors
dead metaphors,...
- 53
0
votes
2
answers
223
views
Word for the phenomenon of pronouncing the noun & verb (with like spelling) differently? [duplicate]
Some words are both nouns and verbs (or rather, there are words with like etymology and spelling but one is a noun and the other a verb) but in at least some standard dialects are pronounced ...
- 318
1
vote
0
answers
49
views
How do you figure out the prepositional object with a clause final preposition? [closed]
First time asking a question, sorry for any weirdness.
The best way for me to illustrate might be with some examples. I believe all 4 of the following are both grammatical and would be commonly used ...
- 11
1
vote
1
answer
97
views
Could a comma be used after a question mark? [duplicate]
I'm unsure if this is the appropriate community to ask this question, but it is related to punctuation (:-)). I'm currently doing research for a city council in my state, where I and my colleagues are ...
2
votes
0
answers
198
views
Can I really follow the theoretical framework proposed in the Cambridge Grammar of the English Language?
In the book 'the Cambridge Grammar of the English Language (CGEL)', the authors propose the theoretical framework used to describe the English sentences as shown below:
Text version:
Clause:
...
- 29
1
vote
2
answers
46
views
What is the term for a noun or phrase that is used in place of a longer list of nouns?
For example, I could refer to 'the big five', instead of listing the five animals considered dangerous to hunt. I've replaced the list of animals with the noun phrase 'the big five'.
I know this could ...
- 13
0
votes
0
answers
58
views
How and why were different inflections applied to third-person singular verbs in the Early Modern period?
I can't get my head around why and how inflections were used in Early Modern English. I know that they were used to mark person, number and tense and so on but how and why exactly?
- 1
0
votes
0
answers
36
views
Word Order with Geographical Places [duplicate]
I can't find a general textbook or a thread on internet with grammar rules for word order regarding the names of Geographical places, for example:
Mount Everest vs Rocky Mount
River Nile vs Colorado ...
3
votes
1
answer
106
views
What are words and phrases called collectively?
Is there a term for simply "a unit of language"?
- 115
3
votes
2
answers
250
views
Origin of stating indirect object by sentence structure and no pronoun
Background
Consider the following from The Punisher season 2, with names replaced to avoid spoilers:
― Where is Donna, Jim? You tell me where she is, maybe I can pull your ass out of the fire with ...
- 804
2
votes
0
answers
72
views
Are there any collections of "autological cycles"? (e.g. calque -> loanword) [closed]
I am interested in a natural generalization of autological words: cycles of words that each describe their successor (but not themselves).
e.g. an autological 3-cycle is a set of of words "A"...
- 129
3
votes
3
answers
213
views
What's the synonym of "Module"? [closed]
I want to know the synonym of the word "module" in the context of university.
What is another way to call a module of a university course? can I call it a subject ?
- 31
3
votes
1
answer
166
views
What is the correct linguistic term for names that are statements?
What is the linguistic term for names, that are actually statements? examples for this type of names are ancient egyptian names such as Neferkare, meaning Perfect is the Ka of Ra, or Indigeneous ...
- 195
0
votes
0
answers
35
views
What do you call it when people say 'like' a lot? [duplicate]
So like, I like, have like, a like, question, like, you know!
Like, is there a, like, term, for, like, when someone, like, talks, like, like this, you know?
PS: I'm also curious to know what other ...
- 195