Morphosyntactic Features: Categories, Phi-Features, and Syntax
Morphosyntactic Features and Word Classes
Morphosyntactic features affect the semantics of words. Minimal sets: nouns can be singular or plural. Two ways of thinking of morphosyntactic features: car [-plural] vs. cars [+plural]. A feature is present or absent in a word = privative features. Or binary valued: car [number: singular] vs. cars [number: plural]. A feature has one of two values. Not all features have the same properties (semantic effect or morphology). Category features: allow us to classify
Read MoreEnglish Sentence Structure and Phrase Types: A Comprehensive Analysis
1. English Phrases
Every phrase is a combination of at least two words, which enter into certain relations, but these relations do not comprise a grammatical form. Structuralists Bloomfield and Hockett divide phrases into two definite types: endocentric phrases and exocentric phrases. This distinction, which is made on the basis of their respective distributional properties, defines the whole sum of every linguistic environment in which a certain element of the language can appear. Because of this,
Read MoreUnderstanding the Fundamentals of Linguistics
1. The Concept of Function
The objective of a function is to meet someone or something. If language is a communication tool, the role to be fulfilled is to enable the communication link between sender and receiver, i.e., its objective is to establish communication. All the elements of a language play this mission and will be called functional elements. The language that focuses its efforts on studying the elements of the language from the perspective of the role, with the main axis of communication,
Read MoreAdjectives, Language Functions, and Punctuation Marks
Adjectives: Describing Words
The adjective is a kind of word that indicates a quality of the noun. Regarding gender, many adjectives are marked by morphemes, but others do not support change. The number is formed with -s and -es. Expressing a quality can be done with more or less intensity; this is called the degree. There are three degrees: positive, comparative, and superlative. The adjective is classified according to the meaning it contributes to the noun: specifying and explanatory.
Language
Read MoreUnderstanding Different Types of Verbs in English
Verb – (Action Word)
A verb shows an action or state of being. A verb shows what someone or something is doing.
Examples: go, speak, run, eat, play, live, walk, have, like, are, is
Example sentences: I like Woodward English. I study their charts and play their games.
Transitive Verbs
Transitive verbs always receive a direct object:
- Richard annoys his boss so much that he’ll never get a promotion.
(His boss is the direct object of annoys and a promotion is the direct object of get) - Jenna brings Mrs. Smith
Textual Features: Exposition, Argumentation, and Linguistic Nuances
Exposition
Purpose
Exposition objectively explains a theme, providing knowledge to the audience. Its purpose is purely informative, focusing on the referential function.
Classification by Audience
Texts can circulate as general or specialized expositions.
Lexical Features
- Monosemic and Denotative Words: Words have a single meaning to avoid different interpretations.
- Technicalities: Specialized vocabulary is common, especially in technical texts.
- Neologisms and Acronyms: New words and abbreviations are frequently