Alliteration the use of the same consonant or vowel in consecutive words.
Allophone the variant forms of a particular phoneme under the influence of other sounds around it.
Anaphora use of, for example, a pronoun to refer back to a noun already expressed.
Antithesis juxtaposition of contrasting ideas or words to create balance.
Appropriateness a language variety or form that is considered appropriate in a particular situation or context.
Assimilation the influence of one sound segment on another, so the sounds become more alike.
Assonance use of same vowel with different consonants or vice versa.
Audience the hearer or reader of a text.
Codification the setting down of rules of grammar for a language.
Coherence the proper presentation of a text.
Cohesion the proper flow and unity of a text.
Cohesive ties devices to signpost the way through the text for the reader.
Collocation the habitual co-occurrence of individual lexical items-for example, spick collocates with span.
Consonance having similar consonants but not vowels-for example, as between the s and t in sweet, silent thought.
Context the situation or circumstance in which a text is written or spoken.
Creole a pidgin that develops into a first language of a speech community.
Deixis refers to who, where or when of the context in which a text is spoken or written- I/you, this/that, here/there are examples of deixis.
Dialect a distinctive variety of a language usually associated with a particular geographical area.
Dialogue speech between two or more people.
Domain the setting or field to which a text relates.
Dysphemism an expression felt to be impolite or unpleasant by the general community-for example, kick the bucket for 'die'. (See euphemism)
Elision sounds left out of connected speech.
Ellipsis the leaving out of a word or words in a sentence, which would make it complete or correct.
Ethnolect a variety of language spoken by members of a common ethnic group.
Euphemism a pleasant expression substituted for a taboo or unpleasant one-for example, passed away for 'died'.
Function the purpose served by the spoken or written text.
Function the role of language in the context of society or the individual.
Hyperbole a deliberate exaggeration used for effect-for example, he embraced her a thousand times.
Hyponymy the relationship between general and specific lexical items-for example, cat is a hyponym of animal.
Idiolect an individual's idiosyncratic speech features.
Irony the humorous use of words to imply the opposite of what they usually mean-for example, Shelley's Ozymandias provides an example of irony in the lines inscribed on the base of the crumbling statue Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!
Jargon a specialised vocabulary, usually for a particular field of endeavour.
Lingua franca the language of first contact between two different speech communities.
Metaphor a non-literal interpretation of a phrase-for example, the sky wept.
Metonymy a word or phrase extended to refer to something closely associated with its meaning-for example, crown for king, lend me your ears for listen.
Mode the form in which you choose to communicate-speaking, signing and writing are all possible modes.
Monologue a long speech by one person.
Non-standard variety any variety of a language that deviates from the standard.
Onomatopoeia formation of words from sounds that resemble the action or object-for example hiss, smash, sludge.
Overstatement exaggeration or over-emphasis.
Oxymoron contradictory terms used in conjunction-for example, a gentle tyrant.
Paradox a statement (true or false) that is contrary to popular belief or that seems absurd-for example, Hitler was a vegetarian and animal lover; Astronauts are afraid of confined spaces.
Personification giving human characteristics to things or abstract ideas-for example, the walls have ears.
Pidgin a common