LETRS Unit 1 Session 2

Semantics

The study of word and phrase meanings and relationships

Morphology

The study of meaningful units in a language and how the units are combined in word formation

Discourse

Organizational conventions used in longer segments of oral or written language

Phonology

The rule system within a language by which phonemes can be sequenced, combined, and pronounced to make words

Syntax

The system of rules governing permissible word order in sentences

Orthography

A writing system for representing language and the rules that govern it

Pragmatics

The system of rules and conventions for using language and related gestures in a social context

Example of Phonology

No English word begins with the sound /ng/; the sound /p/ and /k/ are never adjacent in the same syllable.

Example of Orthography

Every English word ending in /v/ is spelled with -ve; the letter x is never doubled.

Example of Morphology

Nat- is a root. Nature is a non=in; natural is an adjective; naturalist is a noun; naturally is an adverb.

Example of Semantics

The word rank has multiple meanings. The words order and sequence have similar meanings.

Example of Syntax

"Our district recruits new teachers" is a sentence; " New teachers our district recruits" is not a sentence.

Example of Discourse

Discourse includes paragraph structure, cohesive ties, and genre conventions such as story structure.

Example of Pragmatics

To one person I say, "That is my seat!" To another, I say, "Excuse me, my ticket has that seat number."