beneficiary

Peripheral argument referring to someone who will benefit from an action, as in John wrote the letter for Mary.

bound form

Form which cannot occur alone but must be attached to some other form, e.g. un- in English. Complementary: free form.

boundedness (or telicity)

Grammatical category indicating whether or not an activity has a definite end point; see telic, atelic.

case

A system of nominal inflections, marking the syntactic function of a noun phrase in its clause.

cataphora

A pronoun or demonstrative referring to something which is explicitly stated later in the discourse, such as he in After he stopped smoking, John lived to a ripe old age.

causal

Peripheral argument whose referent is responsible for a state or activity, as in John is sick from eating rotten meat.

causative

Valency-increasing derivation which prototypically operates on an intransitive clause, putting underlying S argument into O function and introducing a causer as A argument.

circumfix

A type of affix made up of one part which precedes the root or stem (like a prefix) and one part which follows (like a suffix).

classifiers

A set of free or bound forms which serve to categorize most nouns of a language, typically in terms of shape, composition, arrangement, or function or use.

clause

The description of some activity, state or property. Consists of an obligatory predicate which requires certain core arguments and may also have peripheral arguments.

clitic

A surface element part-way between a word and an affix in its properties. It is typically a separate grammatical word which is attached to a contiguous phonological word.

cognates

Two forms which are historically related; that is, go back to a single original form.

comitative

An affix generally derivational, sometimes inflectional added to a form with reference X, giving the meaning with accompanied by an X or having an X. Complementary: privative.

comitative applicative

An applicative construction in which an original comitative argument is placed in O function.

common argument

An argument shared, in their underlying structures, by main clause and relative clause within a relative clause construction.

comparative construction

Typically involves comparing two participants the comparee and the standard in terms of some property the parameter, this being marked by an index.

complement clause

Clause which fills a normally core argument slot in a higher clause.

complement-Taking Verb

A verb which may have a complement clause filling one of its generally core argument slots.

complementary Distribution

The occurrence of each of two or more items sounds or forms in mutually exclusive environments.

complementizer

Grammatical form which marks a complement clause.

completion

Grammatical category covering perfect and imperfect.

composition

Grammatical category covering perfective and imperfective.

compounding

Morphological process which joins two roots to form one stem.

concord

When two words for example, noun and modifying adjective within an NP are marked for the same grammatical category.

conjugation

A class of verbs all of which take the same inflectional allomorphs.

conjunct

Grammatical element showing that the subject is 1st person in a statement and 2nd person in a question. Complementary: disjunct.

consanguineal

Kinship relation which does not involve marriage but is entirely through descent blood relation. Complementary: affinal.

constituent

Anything which fills a slot in a syntactic structure.

constituent order

The order in which phrasal constituents occur within a clause.

construction

Type of clause or, sometimes, phrase with specified properties.

content question

Question which enquires concerning a core or peripheral argument including time, place, and manner, or predicate through employing an interrogative word.

copula clause

Indicating a relational meaning between CS copula subject and CC copula complement functions.

copula complement (CC)

The argument in a copula clause which is shown to be in a specified relation to the copula subject.

copula subject (CS)

That argument in a copula clause which is topic for the discourse in which it occurs.

coverb

Word generally non-inflecting which may be combined with an inflecting verb to form a complex verbal lexeme.

dative

A case which typically marks the beneficiary of give, the addressee of tell, and the person to whom something is shown for show.

declarative

Choice from a mood system used in a statement.

deictic reference

Pointing to some participant, activity, or place within the context of speaking.

demonstrative

Grammatical element whose primary function is to point to an object in the situation of discourse; may also have anaphoric and or cataphoric function.

derivation

Optional morphological process which applies to a root or stem and derives a stem; may or may not change word class.

determiner

Grammatical modifier within an NP, typically including demonstratives and articles.

diachronic description

Description of how a language system changes through time.

diphthong

Vowel phoneme which has two or more phonetic components.

direct speech

Verbatim or almost verbatim quotation of what was said.

disjunct

Grammatical element showing that the subject is not 1st person in a statement and not 2nd person in a question. Complementary: conjunct.

dissimilation

Change by which one sound becomes more dissimilar to some neighbouring sound.

dual

Term in a grammatical number system referring to two entities.

durative

Also called continuous or progressive: an event seen as unfolding over a period of time. Complementary: punctual.

E

A syntactic function which constitutes an extension to the core in an extended intransitive or an extended transitive clause.

enclitic

Clitic which is attached to the end of a word.

ergative

Case inflection marking transitive subject (A). Complementary: absolutive.

evidentiality

Grammatical system providing information about the evidence on which a report is based.

exclusive

Non-singular first person pronoun, referring to speaker and one or more other people who do not include the addressee. Complementary: inclusive.

extended intransitive

Clause type with two core arguments, in S and E functions. Verb which occurs in the predicate of such a clause.

extended transitive (or ditransitive)

Clause type with three core arguments, in A, O, and E functions. Verb which occurs in the predicate of such a clause.

extent

Grammatical category covering punctual and durative.

fluid-S

System where some verbs may have their S argument marked like A (Sa) or like O (So) with a generally predictable difference in meaning.

focal clause

That clause in a linking construction which carries the mood of the sentence.

focus

An argument accorded prominence within a clause.

formal markedness

If a term in a grammatical system has zero realization or a zero allomorph it is said to be formally unmarked. Other terms in the system are formally marked.

free form

A form which constitutes a grammatical word without any morphological processes having to be applied.

functional load (of a contrast)

The extent to which that contrast is utilized within that language.

functional markedness

A term in a grammatical system which is employed in neutral or unspecified circumstances or when a contrast is neutralized is said to be functionally unmarked. Other terms in the system are functionally marked.

fusional

A type of language whose words involve a number of grammatical elements fused together, not segmentable in surface structure.

gender

Small closed system of noun classes one of whose semantic distinctions is masculine/feminine.

genitive

Marker of an intra-NP possessive relation, which is added to the possessor item. Complementary: pertensive.

glottalic airstream mechanism

Air movement initiated at the glottis.

goal applicative

An applicative construction in which an original goal argument is placed in O function.

grammatical word

A unit on the hierarchy of grammatical units defined on grammatical criteria. Generally coinciding with phonological word.

head

Obligatory nucleus of a phrase which determines the grammatical profile of the whole phrase.

heterorganic

Sequence of sounds which have different place of articulation, for example -nb-.

homorganic

Sequence of sounds which have the same place of articulation, for example -mb-.

ideophone

Word class which generally has special phonology, often involving inherent reduplication and onomatopoeia. Typically relating to manner, colour, sound, smell, action, state, or intensity.

imperative

Choice from a mood system used in a direct command.

imperfect

Something which began in the past and is still continuing. Complementary: perfect.

imperfective aspect

Focussing on the temporal make-up of an event. Complementary: perfective aspect.

inalienable possession

When the possessed has an inherent connection with the possessor, and cannot be given away.

inclusive

Non-singular first person pronoun, referring to speaker and one or more other people who do include the addressee. Complementary: exclusive.

indirect speech

A report of what someone else has said, often cast into the reporter's own words.

inflection

Morphological process which obligatorily applies to a root or derived stem of a certain word class, producing a grammatical word.

instrumental

Case inflection marking the referent of the NP to which it is attached as weapon, tool, or material used in the activity described by the verb.

instrumental applicative

An applicative construction in which an original instrumental argument is placed in O function.

interjection

A conventionalized cry, typically indicating the speaker's emotional response.

internal change

Morphological process which involves changing a vowel or less frequently a consonant in the middle of a word.

interrogative

Choice from a mood system used in a content or polar question.

interrogative word

Word occurring in a content question which establishes it as a question.

intonation

Type of prosody realized by pitch, generally applying over clause or sentence.

intransitive

Clause type with one core argument, in S function. Verb which occurs in the predicate of such a clause.

irrealis

Referring to something that did not happen but could have happened or which might happen. Complementary: realis.

isolating

A type of language most of whose words consist of one morpheme.

labile

Older name for ambitransitive.

language

In the technical sense of linguists, a number of forms of speech are said to constitute a single language if they are mutually intelligible.

lenition

The replacement of a sound by another sound that has weaker manner of articulation involving less muscular tension.

lexeme (or lexical item)

A root or underlying form.

locative

Marker indicating position of rest at, on, or near the referent of the noun phrase to which it is attached.

locative applicative

An applicative construction in which an original locative argument is placed in O function.

logophoric pronoun

Used in a complement clause, this refers back to the subject of the matrix clause.

minimal

Pronoun paradigm in which me and you is a term on a par with 1st person singular and 2nd person singular. Complementary: augmented.

modal verb

A verb which indicates a modality.

modality

One of a number of choices within irrealis referring to some aspect of the future.

mood

Grammatical system indicating the pragmatic function of a sentence, covering indicative, interrogative, and imperative.

mora

Unit between phoneme and syllable, variously defined.

morpheme

The minimum meaningful unit of speech.

morphological process

Process which applies to a root, forming a stem.

morphology

That part of grammar which studies the structure of words. Complementary: syntax.

neutralization

A grammatical or phonological contrast does not apply in a certain environment.

nominal hierarchy

A hierarchy of items which may function as head of an NP, ordered according to the likelihood of occurrence in A rather than O function.

nominalization

Morphological derivation forming a noun stem from a verb or adjective root or stem.

nominative

Case inflection marking intransitive subject (S) and transitive subject (A). Complementary: accusative.

non-canonical marking of core arguments

Situation in which most instances of a core argument receive one marking but a minority receive another marking.

non-spatial setting

A set of grammatical parameters describing the setting of an activity or state other than spatial location.

noun

Word class whose primary function is as head of an NP.

noun classes

Grouping of all nouns in a language into a number of small classes forming a closed grammatical system.

noun incorporation

Incorporation of a noun typically in underlying S or O function into a verb, creating a compound stem.

noun phrase (NP)

A constituent which may fill an argument slot in clause structure.

number

A grammatical system referring to quantity of referents, one term being singular.

O

Object of a transitive verb; a syntactic core argument.

passive

Valency-reducing derivation which puts the underlying O argument into derived S function and places the underlying A argument into a peripheral function.

paucal number

A relatively small number greater than two in a number system including singular, dual, paucal, and plural.

perfect

Something completed in the past but still having present relevance. Complementary: imperfect.

perfective aspect

An event regarded as a whole, without attention to its internal temporal structure. Complementary: imperfective aspect.

peripheral argument

A non-core argument which is optional. Typical peripheral arguments include instrument, accompaniment, recipient, beneficiary, time, place, and manner.

person

Grammatical category relating to participants in the speech act.

pertensive

Marker of an intra-NP possessive relation added to the possessed item. Complementary: genitive.

phase of activity

Grammatical category referring to whether an activity is beginning, continuing, ending, or at some other stage.

phoneme

The minimum segmentable unit of phonology.

phonetics

The articulatory and or acoustic study of speech sounds.

phonological word

A unit on the hierarchy of phonological units above syllable defined by phonological criteria.

phonology

Description of the phonetic contrasts used to distinguish words in a language.

phonotactics

Statement of which consonants and vowels may occur in each structural position of syllables and words.

phrase

A constituent which may fill a slot in clause structure.

pivot

A topic recognizable through its grammatical properties.

plural

Term in a grammatical number system whose interpretation depends on the structure of the number system in the language concerned.

pochal

A relatively small number greater than one in a number system including singular, pochal, and plural.

polar interrogative

Question enquiring whether or not a proffered statement is correct.

polarity

A grammatical system whose terms are positive and negative.

polysynthetic

Highly synthetic; a language type in which words may contain many morphemes and express information that would require an entire clause in other languages.

possessive phrase

A type of NP embedded within a larger NP and indicating the possessor relative to the possessed head noun.

postposition

An adposition which follows the constituent it marks.

pragmatics

The study of the practical consequences of language use.

predicate

The central and obligatory structural element of a clause, generally realized by a verb phrase with verb as head.

prefix

An affix which precedes a root or stem.

preposition

An adposition which precedes the constituent it marks.

primary verb

A verb referring directly to an activity or state. Complementary: secondary concepts.

privative

An affix added to a form with reference X, meaning without X. Complementary: comitative.

proclitic

A clitic attached to the beginning of a word.

pronoun

A small closed class of grammatical items relating primarily to person and usually also number.

prosody

A system of phonological contrasts whose scope extends over sequences of segments rather than individual segments.

proto-language

The hypothesized common ancestor language of a group of genetically related languages.

pulmonic airstream mechanism

Air movement initiated in the lungs.

punctual

An event occurring more or less instantaneously. Complementary: durative.

quasi-applicative

An applicative construction for which there is no corresponding underlying construction in which the applicative argument appears as a peripheral argument.

realis

Referring to something which is believed to have happened, or is believed to be happening. Complementary: irrealis.

reality status

Grammatical category covering realis and irrealis.

reciprocal construction

Clause describing a number of instances of an activity such that the A argument in one instance is the O argument in another.

reduplication

Morphological process involving repetition of all or part of a root, stem, or word.

reflexive construction

Clause in which underlying A and O arguments have identical reference.

relative clause

Clause which modifies the head of an NP. Relative clause and main clause share, in their underlying structures, a common argument.

root

An unanalysable lexical element.

S

Subject of an intransitive verb; a syntactic core argument.

S = A ambitransitive

An ambitransitive verb whose S argument corresponds to A when the verb is used transitively.

S = O ambitransitive

An ambitransitive verb whose S argument corresponds to O when the verb is used transitively.

Sa

An intransitive subject marked in the same way as a transitive subject (A).

secondary concepts

Provide modification for a primary verb. May be realized as an affix or as a verb. Complementary: primary verb.

semantic role

Type of participant associated with verbs of a given semantic type, for example, agent, patient, recipient, experiencer.

semantic type

A set of words sharing similar meanings and grammatical properties.

semantics

Study of meaning relations conveyed by grammatical systems and lexical contrasts.

sentence

No simple definition is feasible.

serial verb construction

Construction in which two or more verbs occur together in a single predicate and describe one overall event, sharing at least one argument.

shifter

A grammatical item whose reference changes according to speaker, place, or time of utterance.

So

An intransitive subject marked in the same way as a transitive object (O).

split-S

System in which some S arguments are marked like A and others like O. Also called active/stative.

stative/active

Label covering split-S and fluid-S systems.

stem

The nucleus of a word to which inflectional processes apply.

stress (accent)

A contrastive type of prosody generally applying to a word and characterized by differences in loudness, vowel quality, pitch, and or duration.

subgroup

A set of languages within a language family which descend from a single intermediate ancestral language.

subtraction

Morphological process involving deletion of material from a root or stem.

suffix

An affix following a root or stem.

suppletion

Situation in which a lexeme has two or more forms that are not historically related.

supporting clause

That clause in a linking construction which does not carry the mood of the sentence.

syllable

A phonological unit centred on a nucleus and optionally accompanied by consonants.

synchronic description

Description of a language at a particular point in time, without reference to historical development. Complementary: diachronic description.

syntax

That part of grammar concerned with the organization and interrelation of grammatical components above the word level. Complementary: morphology.

synthetic

A type of language whose words generally contain many grammatical components. Complementary: analytic.

telic

An event which is bounded and has a definite end point. Complementary: atelic.

temporal extent

Grammatical category covering punctual and durative.

tense

Grammatical category referring to time through shifting reference from the moment of speaking.

topic

An argument recurring through a succession of clauses and helping bind them together into a coherent discourse.

transitive

Clause type with two core arguments, A and O. Also refers to a verb occurring in the predicate of such a clause.

trial

Term in a grammatical number system referring to three entities.

tripartite marking

System in which A, S, and O each receive distinct surface marking.

valency

The number of core arguments required by a verb.

valency-changing

Derivational processes that alter the number of core arguments associated with a verb. Valency-increasing processes include causative and applicative; valency-decreasing processes include passive, antipassive, reflexive, and reciprocal.

verb

Word class whose primary function is as head of a predicate.

verb phrase

Constituent which fills the predicate slot of a clause and is typically headed by a verb.

verbalization

Morphological derivation forming a verb stem from a noun or adjective root or stem.

verbless clause

Clause lacking an overt predicate but expressing a relational meaning between subject and complement.

verbless clause complement (VCC)

The argument in a verbless clause which is shown to be in a specified relation to the verbless clause subject.

verbless clause subject (VCS)

That argument in a verbless clause which functions as topic for the discourse in which it occurs.

word

The result of applying optional derivational processes to a root and then any obligatory inflectional processes to the resulting stem. It is the unit at the intersection of morphology and syntax.

word order

The order in which words occur within a phrase, clause, or sentence.

zero

Absence of overt marking in a grammatical system; a grammatical category may be represented by zero realization.

zero anaphora

Anaphoric reference expressed through omission rather than an overt pronoun or demonstrative.

zero derivation

A derivational process changing word class without any overt morphological marking.