Linguistic terminology terms | LETTER - H

What is habitual aspect?

Definition

Habitual aspect is an imperfective aspect that expresses the occurrence of an event or state as characteristic of a period of time.

Example (English)
  • He used to live here.
  • Generic
    Habitual aspect is a kind of
    Sources

    Comrie 1976a 27–28

    Dahl 1985 97

    Hartmann and Stork 1972 21

    Crystal 1987 422

    What is a head?

    Definition

    A head is a constituent of an endocentric construction that, if standing alone, could perform the syntactic function of the whole construction .

    It may govern the

    • agreement of grammatical categories, such as person and number , or
    • occurrence of other constituents.
    Examples (English)
    • In the following construction, the noun chair heads the noun phrase . It also determines number on the verb:

    • The wooden chairs in the corner are finished.
    • In the following construction, the verb given heads the verb phrase would have given. It also determines the occurrence of a direct object and indirect object later in the clause:

    • Mary would have given Bill a dictionary.
    Generic
    A head is a kind of
    Sources

    Crystal 1985 146

    Hartmann and Stork 1972 34, 102

    Pei and Gaynor 1954 89

    Mish 1991 557

    Pike and Pike 1982 25–26

    What is the head of a phrase?

    Definition

    The head of a phrase is the element that determines the syntactic function of the whole phrase.

    Example (English)

    In a noun phrase, the head is the noun that refers to the same entity that the whole phrase refers to, such as:

    'hat' in 'the man in the brown suit’s hat'

    Note:

    The head of an English noun phrase usually comes after the dependents (the non-head elements in the phrase).

    What is a headword?

    Definition

    A headword is the form which introduces an entry in a printed dictionary. It is the form by which a

    dictionary

    is sorted.

    Depending upon the language, the headword for an entry may be the

    • base form, or
    • citation form.
    Also known as:
    • entry form
    • entry word
    • lemma
    • lexical item

    What is a hedged performative?

    Definition

    A hedged performative is an indirect illocution whose illocutionary force is expressed directly by a performative verb but is given an additional illocutionary force by some device, such as modalization or subordination.

    Examples (English)
    • May I ask if you're married? has the indirect force of I ask if you're married.
    • I must warn you not to discuss this in public has the indirect force of I warn you ...
    • We regret to inform you that the aspidistra stands are no longer obtainable has the indirect force of We inform you ...
    • I want to thank you for the gift has the indirect force of I thank you ...
    Generic
    A hedged performative is a kind of
    Source

    Leech 1983 139–140

    What is a hesitation pause?

    Definition

    A hesitation pause is conversational silence that occurs within a turn .

    Generic
    A hesitation pause is a kind of
    Source

    McLaughlin 1984 111

    What is hesternal past tense?

    Definition

    Hesternal past tense is a past tense that refers to a time that is located somewhere in the span beginning with the period defined culturally as "yesterday" and extends back through some period that is considered nonremote.

    Generic
    A hesternal past tense is a kind of
    Sources

    Comrie 1985b 87–88

    Dahl 1985 126

    What is a hierarchical lexical relation?

    Definition

    A hierarchical lexical relation is an association between lexical units that have a system of arrangement into levels of increasing

    • size, or
    • complexity.
    Examples (English)
    • Geopolitical boundaries

      • {county, state, country}
      • {province, country}
    • Sets related to analytic paradigms

      • {morpheme, word, phrase, clause, sentence, discourse}
    Underlying structure

    A hierarchical set has the structure of a scale.

    See:

    What is a lexical relation with a scale structure for other examples of similar lexical relations in English.

    What is hodiernal future tense?

    Definition

    Hodiernal future tense is a future tense that refers to a time that is located after the moment of utterance within the span culturally defined as "today."

    Generic
    Hodiernal future tense is a kind of
    Source

    Dahl 1985 125–126

    What is hodiernal past tense?

    Definition

    Hodiernal past tense is a past tense that refers to a time as located before the moment of utterance within the span culturally defined as "today."

    Generic
    Hodiernal past tense is a kind of
    Sources

    Comrie 1985b 87

    Dahl 1985 125–126

    What is a homograph?

    Definition

    A homograph is word that has the same spelling as another. Homographs differ from each other in

    • meaning
    • origin, and
    • sometimes pronunciation.
    See also:

    the closely related terms homonym and homophone

    Examples
    • bow, the front part of a ship
    • bow, to bend
    • bow, a decorative knot
    Source

    Neufeldt 1991 646

    What is a homonym?

    Definition

    Here are three senses of homonym.

    • A word that has the same pronunciation as another. Homonyms differ from each other in

      • meaning
      • origin, and
      • usually spelling.
      Also known as:

      homophone (sense 2)

    • Loosely, a homograph
    • Either of two people with the same name
    Examples

    Here are some examples of homonyms in English listed according to sense:

    • Words with the same pronunciation but different in meaning:

      • bore and boar
      • two and too
    • Homographs (words with the same spelling but different in meaning):

      • bow 'to bend'
      • bow 'a decorative knot'
    Sources

    Neufeldt 1991 647

    What is a homophone?

    Definition

    A homophone is a

    • group of two or more letters representing the same speech sound, or
    • homonym (sense 1).
    See also:

    homograph

    Examples

    Here are some examples of homophones in English listed according to the senses above:

    • Letters with the same speech sound:

      • c in city
      • s in song
    • Homonyms:

      • two
      • too
    Sources

    Neufeldt 1991 647

    What is homophora?

    Definition

    Homophora is reference that depends on cultural knowledge or other general knowledge, rather than on specific features of a particular context.

    Examples (English)
    • The use of the President in the U.S.
    • The use of the sun
    • The use of the baby between parents to refer to their own baby
    • The use of bees to refer generically to the class of bees in Bees make honey
    Source:

    Halliday and Hasan 1976 71

    Generic
    Homophora is a kind of
    Sources

    Gutwinski 1976 68

    Halliday and Hasan 1976 71

    What is an honorific?

    Definition

    An honorific is a grammatical form, typically a word or affix, that is socially deictic It expresses, as at least part of its meaning, the relative social status of the speaker with .

    Examples (French)
  • The second-person pronoun forms tu and vous indicate, as part of their meaning, the speaker’s social status relative to the addressee.
  • Kinds
    Here are some kinds of honorifics:
    Generic
    An honorific is a kind of
    Sources

    Crystal 1985 149

    Levinson 1983 62, 90–91

    Comrie 1976b

    Mish 1991 580

    What is horizontal deixis?

    Definition

    Horizontal deixis is a type of place deixis that has no component of meaning indicating location upward or downward, in a system of place deictic expressions that make such distinctions of verticality.

    Source

    Denny 1978 74

    What is hortatory discourse?

    Definition

    Hortatory discourse is a discourse that is an attempt to persuade the addressee to fulfill commands that are given in the discourse.

    Discussion

    A hortatory discourse typically consists of

    • one or more commands that are logically related to each other, and
    • expressions offering motivation in support of the respective commands.
    Features
    • Commands are supported by reasons.
    • Second person pronoun forms are used.
    • Texts are oriented toward an agent.
    • Tests are not organized chronologically.
    Examples
    • Guidelines for newlyweds
    • A political speech
    • Warnings to children
    • A sermon
    Generic
    A hortatory discourse is a kind of
    Sources

    Longacre 1990 2

    Longacre 1983 3, 5, 10, 39

    Larson 1984 366, 376

    What is hortatory text?

    Definition

    Hortatory text is a text which represents an attempt on the part of the speaker to get the addressee to do something or to act in a certain way.

    Sources

    Larson 1984 366

    Longacre 1983 5

    What is a host?

    Definition

    A host is the preceding or following word to which a clitic is phonologically joined.

    Source

    Zwicky 1977 9

    What is a human class?

    Definition

    A human class is a noun class that has human referents .

    Discussion

    In some languages, human class is a grammaticalized noun class.

    Generic
    A human class is a kind of
    Sources

    Lyons 1968 286–288

    Andrews, A. 1985 77

    Bolinger 1968 114–115

    What is hyperbole?

    Definition

    Hyperbole is deliberate exaggeration for emotional effect. The addressee is not expected to have a literal understanding of the expression.

    Example (English)
  • In the Bible, the following expression from Matthew 23:24 contains examples of hyperbole:

  • Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.
  • The words gnat and camel are hyperbolic expressions of smallness and largeness.

    Source:

    Beekman and Callow 1974 118

  • Kind
    Here is a kind of hyperbole:
    Generic
    A hyperbole is a kind of
    Sources

    Beekman and Callow 1974 118–119

    Mish 1991 592

    What is hypothetical mood?

    Definition

    Hypothetical mood is an epistemic mood that signals that the speaker evaluates a proposition as counterfactual, but otherwise possible.

    Example (Lakhota)
  • The word tkha signals hypothetical mood, as in the following construction (diacritical markings are not reproduced here):

    lehayela ma -t?a tkha
    now lps-die HYPOTHETICAL
    ‘I could have/ almost died.’
    Source:

    Boas and Deloria 1941 112, cited by Chung and Timberlake 1985 243

  • Generic
    Hypothetical mood is a kind of
    Sources

    Noonan 1985 95

    Chung and Timberlake 1985 243

    Boas and Deloria 1941 112