The concepts behind the conversation
Terms: M
Explore 933 linguistic terms, with definitions, examples, and connections to the bigger picture.
Main Clause
A main clause is a clause that may stand alone as a complete sentence, and expresses the focal predication when occurring in a complex sentence.
Major Entry In A Lexical Database
A major entry is a unit in a lexical database representing a lexeme with its phonological, semantic, grammatical, and anthropological information (where …
Manner As A Semantic Role
Manner is a semantic role that notes how the action, experience, or process of an event is carried out.
Manner Implicature
A manner implicature is a conversational implicature based on an addressee's assumption that the speaker is either observing or flouting the conversational …
Manner Of Articulation
Manner of articulation is the type of closure made by the articulators and the degree of the obstruction of the airstream by those articulators.
Manner Of Discourse
A manner of discourse is an identifiable style of speech that is suitable for a particular type of: addressee social setting subject matter
Marker
A marker is a lexical item that signals a morphosyntactic operation .
Marking Clause
A marking clause is a clause, in a language with the grammatical category of switch reference , that contains an indication as to whether or not one of its …
Masculine Gender
Masculine gender is a grammatical gender that: marks nouns having human or animal male referents often marks nouns having referents that do not have …
Mass Noun
A mass noun is a noun whose referents are not thought of as separate entities. It may have distinguishing features such as the following: The inability to …
Matrix
A matrix is an arrangement of items into labeled rows and columns within a table. It shows the relationship between two categories of features that are …
Matrix Sentence
A matrix sentence is a sentence in which a clause has been embedded as a constituent . The clause may or may not be an immediate constituent , but it must …
Meaning
Meaning is a notion in semantics classically defined as having two components: Reference, anything in the referential realm denoted by a word or …
Meaning And Pragmatic Function
Meaning and pragmatic function is a general heading under which terminology relating to the various areas of study of language use and interpretation is …
Means-Purpose Relation
A means-purpose relation is a causal relation in which: one proposition expresses a state or activity employed so as to bring about the state or event …
Means-Result Relation
A means-result relation is a causal relation in which: one proposition expresses a state or activity employed so as to bring about the state or event …
Measure As A Semantic Role
Measure is a semantic role which notes the quantification of an event.
Medial Clause
A medial clause is any clause in a clause chain which: is not the final clause, and is distinguishable from the final clause by a difference in verb …
Also known as Nonfinal ClauseMediopassive Voice
Mediopassive voice is a passive voice in which the: verb has stative meaning, and actor is not expressed
Meiosis
Meiosis is the minimization of the importance of a referent by the use of an expression that is disproportionate to it.
Metaphor
Here are two senses of metaphor: A metaphor is the expression of an understanding of one concept in terms of another concept, where there is some …
Metaphorical Entailment
A metaphorical entailment is the imparting of a characteristic of the source domain (the metaphorical image) to the target domain (the concept receiving …
Metonymy
Here are two senses for metonymy: Metonymy is, broadly defined, a trope in which one entity is used to stand for another associated entity. Metonymy is, …
Metrical Phonology
Metrical phonology is a phonological theory concerned with organizing segments into groups of relative prominence. Segments are organized into syllables, …
Middle Voice
Middle voice is a voice that indicates that the subject is the actor and acts: upon himself or herself reflexively for his or her own benefit. In the case …
Minimal Pair
A minimal pair is two words that differ in only one sound.
Minor Entry In A Lexical Database
A minor entry is a unit in the lexical database representing a lexeme that is an irregular variant of a major entry lexeme. It contains minimal …
Misplacement Marker
A misplacement marker is a device used in a turn of conversation to indicate that the turn is in some way out of place.
Mixed Metaphors
Mixed metaphors are different metaphors occurring in the same utterance , especially the same sentence, that are used to express the same concept. Mixed …
Mode Of Achievement
A mode of achievement is the means employed by a speaker to accomplish the illocutionary point of an utterance .
Moderate Epistemic Qualification
A moderate epistemic qualification is an epistemic qualification that signals a middle degree of certainty.
Modification
Modification is a morphological process which produces an alteration within a root or stem .
Modifier
A modifier is a constituent , in an endocentric construction , that imparts information relating to the head of the construction.
Mood And Modality
Mood is one of a set of distinctive forms that are used to signal modality. Modality is a facet of illocutionary force , signaled by grammatical devices …
Morph
A morph is the phonetic realization of a morpheme .
Morpheme
A morpheme is the smallest meaningful unit in the grammar of a language.
Morpheme Type
A morpheme type is a category based upon how a morpheme combines with other morphemes to form a word.
Morphological Process
A morphological process is a means of changing a stem to adjust its meaning to fit its syntactic and communicational context.
Morphological Typology
Morphological typology is the categorization of a language according to the extent to which words in the language are clearly divisible into individual …
Morphology
Morphology is the study of the internal structure of words.
Morphophonemic Rule
A morphophonemic rule has the form of a phonological rule, but is restricted to a particular morphological environment.
Morphophonemics
Morphophonemics is the study of phonemic differences between allomorphs of the same morpheme ; a description of variations in a particular language.
Morphosyntactic Operation
A morphosyntactic operation is an ordered, dynamic relation between one linguistic form and another.
Motivation Relation
An interpropositional relation in which the speaker expresses a proposition(s) to increase the addressee's willingness to accept the directive communicated …
Move
A move is a stretch of talk that forms a unit. It has a functional relation to the conversation of which it is a part.
Multiplicative Numeral
A multiplicative numeral is a numeral that expresses how many fold or how many times.
No entries match this filter. Try a shorter word, or search the full collection.
← Return to all terms