Linguistic terminology terms | LETTER - U

What is an ultimate constituent?

Definition

An ultimate constituent is one of the grammatically irreducible units that constitutes a construction .

Examples (English)
  • In the construction the dog that killed the cat, the following are ultimate constituents:

    • the
    • dog
    • that
    • kill
    • -ed
    • the
    • cat
  • Generic
    An ultimate constituent is a kind of
    Sources

    Crystal 1985 68

    Quirk, Greenbaum, Leech, and Svartvik 1985 38

    Mish 1991 281

    What is an unbound root?

    Definition

    An unbound root is a root which can occur by itself as a separate word. Another morpheme need not be affixed to it in order for it to be a word .

    See also

    What is an unbound stem?

    Definition

    An unbound stem is a stem which can occur by itself as a separate word. Another morpheme need not be affixed to it in order for it to be a word .

    See also

    What is unbounded deixis?

    Definition

    Unbounded deixis is a distinction in place deixis that indicates the lack of a defined border.

    Example (English)
  • The use of the word there in contrast to in there and out there indicates unbounded deixis.
  • Generic
    Unbounded deixis is a kind of
    Source

    Denny 1978 74

    What is a universal?

    Definition

    A universal principle is something that exists everywhere; something characteristic of all languages.

    What is an unproductive affix?

    Definition

    An unproductive affix is a derivational affix which is no longer used to form new words.

    Generic
    An unproductive affix is a kind of
    Source

    Pei and Gaynor 1954 224

    What is an unratified participant?

    Definition

    An unratified participant is a person present at, but not a recognized participant of, a conversation or other speech event.

    Generic
    An unratified participant is a kind of
    Source

    Goffman 1976 260

    What is an unused entity?

    Definition

    An unused entity is a referent referred to for the first time in the discourse, but assumed to be already a part of the addressee 's knowledge.

    Generic
    An unused entity is a kind of
    Source

    Prince 1981 233, 235–236

    What is an upgrade?

    Definition

    An upgrade is a move that is intended to strengthen a previous utterance .

    Examples (English)
    • Insistence on a request
    • The addition of a reason for fulfilling a request

      Get in; the water’s warm.

    Generic
    An upgrade is a kind of
    Source

    Moerman 1988 76–77

    What is a usage type?

    Definition

    A usage type is a classification for lexical units on the basis of sociolinguistic and historical factors.

    Kinds

    Usage type

    This type indicates the lexical unit is …

    Archaic

    Rarely used today, except in certain restricted contexts, but occurs in earlier writings

    Colloquial

    In widespread use and is generally characteristic of conversation and informal writing

    Historical

    Refers to something that no longer exists and to which no term that is more current applies

    Obsolete

    No longer used but occurs in earlier writings

    Old-fashioned

    Not yet considered archaic but has the connotation of being spoken by an older generation of people

    Rare

    Not often used or has never been common

    Slang

    Not generally regarded as conventional or standard, but is used in highly informal contexts or for special effect

    Register

    A variety of language chosen by a user in a particular social context

    Honorific

    Used to confer honor or show respect

    Nonstandard

    A form that does not conform to the norm of speaking or the prestige dialect

    Restrictive

    Used only in certain limited contexts and may be highly inappropriate or offensive if used in other contexts

    What is an utterance?

    Definition
    1. An utterance is a natural unit of speech bounded by breaths or pauses.
    2. An utterance is a complete unit of talk, bounded by the speaker 's silence.
    Discussion

    Utterance does not have a precise linguistic definition. Phonetically an utterance is a unit of speech bounded by silence. In dialogue, each turn by a speaker may be considered an utterance.

    Linguists sometimes use utterance to simply refer to a unit of speech under study. The corresponding unit in written language is text .

    Sources

    Arnoff and Rees-Miller 2001 157, 618

    Crystal 1991 405

    Crystal 1985 322

    Pei and Gaynor 1954 225

    What is an utterance act?

    Definition

    An utterance act is a speech act that consists of the verbal employment of units of expression such as words and sentences .

    Generic
    An utterance act is a kind of
    Source

    Searle 1969 23–25