Online encyclopedic English-Slovak and Slovak-English

Linguistics Dictionary

Term
The linguistics
field it belongs to

The conceptualization
in the language of origin

Example
Translation accounting
for the content equivalence

absolute 
synonym

lexicology

a word which has the same or nearly the same meaning as another word agreeing in denotation, connotation and distribution (i.e. being interchangeable in most contexts of use)

kind – sort, stop – plosive, noun – substantive

úplné synonymum (tento koncept je však rozšírenejší v slovenčine)

abbreviation 

word-formation

standardized shortened form of a word or phrase; they are generally divided into acronyms and initialisms

pros,cons, OPEC, VIP

abreviácia; abreviatúra, skracovanie

accent 

stylistics

A manner of pronunciation peculiar to a particular individual, location, or nation.

English in the UK is spoken in a number of social and regional accent.

výslovnostný štýl

accessibility 

stylistics

Understandability, being understandable, illegible.

I can speak English. This is an easily understandable, intelligible utterance.

zrozumiteľnosť

acronym 

word-formation

word formed out of the initial letters of particular phrase read as ordinary word

NATO, AIDS, UNICEF

akronym, iniciálová skratka

acronymization 

word-formation

process of turning a phrase into acronym

North Atlantic Treaty Organization → NATO

akronymizácia

active voice 

morphology

type of voice, a grammatical category of verb; it is more common than passive; the grammatical subject and the doer of the action are one and the same.

Somebody has broken into my car. I painted my apartment.

činný rod (aktívum)

adjective 

morphology

an open word class of lexical units, or a lexical unit describing the qualities, features or states related to a noun or pronoun; it modifies a noun, a linking verb, or a sense verb; in a sentence, it can be part of the subject, object, or adverbial;

nice weather, a huge balloon, a rose garden, the above chart

prídavné meno (adjektívum)

adjunct 

syntax

an optional element in a clause; it modifies, comments on or expands the circumstances of an action or event; it can add information about time, place, manner, reason, frequency

last summer, at home, quickly, out of his will, usually

príslovkové určenie (adverbiále)

adverb 

morphology

an open word class of lexical units, or a lexical unit indicating manner, place, time/duration, frequency, degree, modality, viewpoint, reason, cause, etc.; generally, they function as modifiers of verb (run fast) adjective, full verb, another adverb, or a clause

very tall, to drive westwards, extremely clearly, honestly

príslovka (adverbium)

adverbial 

syntax

a sentence element that brings the meaning of manner, place, time/duration, frequency, degree, modality, viewpoint, reason, cause, etc; it can be one word or several words; it can consist of an adverb or other word classes (like noun, preposition, determiner)

He was speaking fast. He called in the morning.

príslovkové určenie (adverbiále)

affix 

word-formation, morphology

a bound morpheme attached to either the beginning of a word (a prefix) or the end (a suffix)

dis-, un- (prefix), -ly, -ness (suffix)

afix

affixation 

word-formation, morphology

a word-formation and inflectional process that consists in the attaching an affix to a root or a stem to produce a new lexeme (see derivation), or a morphological word form (see inflection)

derivational affixation-: re-do,
re-play, re-make; inflectional affixation-: play-ed
, boy-s, girl’s

v slovenskej lingvistike má tento termín užší význam a označuje slovotvorný proces derivácie - afixácia, derivácia

agent 
(also by-agent,
by-phrase)

syntax

the performer or ‘doer’ of an action. In ‘He kicked the door open’, ‘he’ is the agent. In a passive clause, the agent may be indicated by a noun phrase that follows an optional by-phrase. a noun (pronoun) preceded by a preposition ‘by’ indicating the doer of the action in the passive structure.

I’m having the furniture
tailor-made by a clever handyman.

činiteľ (agens)

agreement
maxim 

pragmalinguistics stylistics

The agremeent maxim involves minimizing disagreement and maximizing agreement between self and other and is in line with Brown and Levinson’s positive politeness strategies of ‘seek agreement’ and ‘avoid disagreement´. It may be verbalized as follows: “Minimize the expression of disagreement between self and other; maximize the expression of agreement between self and other.” It, however, does not state that they are expected to totally avoid disagreement. It is simply claims that they are much more direct in expressing agreement, rather than disagreement.

Compare the two responses to the following statement: “Referendum will satisfy everybody.” “I don´t think I can agree with you.” and : “Referendum will satisfy everybody.” - “Yes, absolutely”. The expression of agreement (the second response) is more direct than the expression of disagreement (the first response).

zásada súhlasu

alliteration 

stylistics

Repetition of identical sounds in two or more successive words. The label itself originated from Latin’s “Latira” meaning “letters of alphabet”. It is a stylistic device in which a number of words, having the same first consonant sound, occur close together in a series.

The Case of Negligent Nymph. Dunkin’ Donuts. Coca-Cola. Drip dry. PayPal.

aliterácia

allophone 

phonetics, phonology

An allophone is a pronunciation variant of a phoneme
(a sound
can have several allophones).

later --> [ˈleɪ.tər] (UK)
later --> [ˈ
leɪ.ɚ] (US)
later --> [ˈleɪ.
ʔə] (some social and regional dialects in UK and Australia)
t - t̬ - ʔ are allophones of phoneme [t]

alofóna

allusion 

stylistics

A direct or indirect reference to something that is commonly known, such as an event, book, myth, or place. It is a word or phrase meant to call something to mind, without mentioning that thing explicitly. In poetry this can be anything, from another literary work, a litarary character, to the Bible, to popular events.

“When she lost her job, she acted like a Scrooge, and refused to buy anything that wasn’t necessary.” The allusion is made to an extremely stingy character from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.

alúzia

alphabetism 
initialism

0

0

0

0

ambiguity 

stylistics

The state of being ambiguous. It may be a word, phrase, or statement which contains more than one meaning.

“Flying planes can be dangerous”. This statement exhibits ambiguity since it has double reading: either planes which fly can be dangerous or it can be dangerous to fly planes.

dvojznačnosť, nejednoznačnosť, protichodnosť; dvojzmyselnosť, rozporuplnosť, protichodnosť

ambiguous 

stylistics

Doubtful or uncertain especially due to obscurity or indistinctness; inexplicable; having more than one reading.

“Foreigners are hunting dogs.” 
In this utterance, it is unclear whether dogs are being hunted or foreigners are being spoken of as dogs.

dvojznačný, nejednoznačný, dvojzmyselný; rozporuplný, protichodný

amelioration 

lexicology, historical linguistics

a type of semantic change referring to the improvement of the connotative component of word meaning; a word can acquire a positive sense of approval across the centuries, or it can lose its original sense of disapproval

knight originally referred to a young servant (see similarity with the German lexeme ‘der Knecht’), in the Middle Ages to a man whose duty was to fight for his king and nowadays it refers to a man who has been given the title Sir before his name; mischievous has lost its sense of ‘disastrous’ and now it means ‘playfully annoying’

v slovenskej lingvistike tento koncept nie je, a preto slovenský termín neexistuje; zlepšenie konotatívneho významu slova

analogy 

stylistics

A literary device employed to serve as a basis for comparison. In analogy an idea or a thing is compared to another thing that is quite different from it. Writers rely on analogies because they link an unfamiliar or a new idea with common and familiar objects. Thus, it is easier for readers to comprehend a new idea, which may have been difficult for them to grasp otherwise. Their comprehension of a new idea is enhanced when they observe its similarity to something that is familiar to them. In addition, by employing this literary tool, writers catch the attention of their readers. Analogies help increase readers’ interest as analogies help them relate what they read to their life.

“That’s as useful as rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. “ It looks like you’re doing something helpful but really it will make no difference in the end.

analógia

anaphora 

stylistics

1. The use of a word as a regular grammatical substitute for a preceding word or group of words; backward reference.

2. In writing or speech, the deliberate repetition of the first part of the sentence in order to achieve an artistic effect.

1. The use of do in: A: I like coffee. B: I know you do.

2. “My life is my purpose. My life is my goal. My life is my inspiration.”

anafora, anaforické nadväzovanie

antecedent 

stylistics

The word, phrase or clause to which a pronoun refers.

“While giving treats to children or friends offer them whatever they like.” In this line, children and friends are antecedents, while “them” and “they” are pronouns that refer to friends and children.

predchádzajúci výraz; prvý, predný člen implikácie

anticipatory
structures 

stylistics

Initially and medially positioned subordinate clauses.

In the first sentence below, “it” is an anticipatory subject (the grammatical subject), and in the second sentence “it” is an anticipatory object: It is better to have tried and lost than never to have tried at all. I take it that you agree with me.

anticipačná štruktúra

antonym 

lexicology

a word which has opposite meaning or is contrary in its denotation; most typically it may be an antonym proper (antonym in narrow sense), complementary or converse

long – short (antonyms in narrow sense), permit – forbid (complementary antonyms), precede – follow (converse antonyms)

antonymum, opozitum

antonym  in
narrow sense

lexicology

a type of antonym which is gradable where the denial of one member of the antonymous pair does not necessarily mean the assertion of the other as there is a third possibility

sweet – sour, beautiful – ugly, love – hate

polárne, graduálne, kontrastné, kontrárne antonymum

antonym proper
 
antonym in
narrow sense

0

0

0

0

antonymous
idioms 

phraseology

idioms with the opposite meaning

a hurd nut to crack - a child’s play

frazeologické antonymá

antonymy 

lexicology

the meaning relation of oppositeness

beautiful – ugly, teacher – student, buy – sell

antonymia

applied
linguistics 

general linguistics

A branch of linguistics in which the primary concern is the application of linguistic theories, methods and findings in order to elucidate language problems. A field of study encompassing all applications of linguistic theory and language learning and education.

Second Language Teaching, Second Language Learning, Contrastive Linguistics.

aplikovaná lingvistika

apposition 

syntax

a clause element specifying the subject, divided by commas from the rest of the sentence

The first US president, George Washington, was born in Virginia, USA.

prístavok (apozícia)

approbation maxim 

pragmalinguistics stylistics

The maxim stating the following: “Minimize the expression of beliefs which express dispraise of other; maximize the expression of beliefs which express approval of other.” It is preferred to praise others and if this is impossible, then you had better sidestep the issue, give some sort of minimal response (possibly through the use of euphemisms), or just remain silent.

The following stretch of language follows this maxim: I heard you singing at the karaoke last night. It sounded like you were enjoying yourself!”

zásada schválenia

appropriate 

stylistics

The adjective refers to a linguistic variety or form which is considered suitable or possible in a given situation/context.

Contracted forms of verbs are appropriate in everyday conversations.

vhodný

arbitrariness 

lexicology

basic property of human language and the main feature of the inguistic sign which means that there is no inherent connection between a linguistic form and its meaning

There is nothing in the English word table which reflects the shape etc.of the thing.The relationship between the form (sound) and the meaning is said to be arbitrary as there is no causal connection between the two. As a result, there are different forms (signifiants) for the same meaning (signifié) in different languages: stôl – table – Tisch.

arbitrárnosť, nemotivovanosť

archilexeme 
hyperonym

0

0

0

0

argot 

stylistics

A specialized idiomatic vocabulary peculiar to a particular class or group of people, especially that of an underworld group, devised for private communication and identification.

Thieves commonly have their secret language their - argot.

argot

articulation 

phonetics, phonology

In a broader sense articulation is an intentional movement of the primary articulators for the speech production (including organs involved in the airstream mechanism and phonation, while in a narrow sense it is a restriction of the airstream by the tongue or the lips.

The tongue approaches alveolar ridge when pronouncing [s], or the lips are rounded when [o] is pronounced.

artikulácia

articulator 

phonetics, phonology

An articulator is any specific part of the vocal tract involved in the production of a sound (articulation) (articulators are active and passive.)

e. g. lips, tongue, alveolar ridge, velum, etc.

artikulátor (rečový orgán) Slovenská definícia v širšom ponímaní taktiež zahŕňa orgány sluchu, pričom anglická definícia v širšom ponímaní zahŕňa aktívne a pasívne artikulátory.

aspect 

morphology

one of grammatical categories of a verb; it mainly indicates how a speaker views an activity expressed by the verb: whether it is completed, in progress, habitual; in English, four aspects are known: simple, progressive, perfect, perfect-progressive.

He called in the morning.
He
is speaking fast.
He speaks fast.

tento koncept je blízky gramatickej kategórii “vid” (aspekt)

aspiration 

phonetics, phonology

Aspiration is the hissing sound following voiceless plosives (p, t, k) at the beginning of a word in majority English accents.

In the word pay [pheɪ], [p] is followed by a short hissing sound similar to [h].

aspirácia (prídych)

assertives 

pragmalinguistics stylistics

Speech acts that commit a speaker to the truth of the expressed proposition.

The following stretch of language is an example of a personal creed: Each day, live and love to your fullest.

asertívny rečový akt

assimilation 

phonetics, phonology

Assimilation is an articulatory adaptation of one sound to a nearby sound (often on a word boundary I) with regard to one or more features on the level of consonants (manner and place of articulation).

consonant 1 I consonant 2
i
n I the
ɪ
n I ðə
ɪ
nnə (nn - assimilation)

asimilácia

associative 
meaning →
connotation

0

0

0

0

assonance 

stylistics

Assonance takes place when two or more words, close to one another repeat the same vowel sound, but start with different consonant sounds. Writers rely on this device in order to enhance a musical effect in the text by using it for creating internal rhyme. This consequently enhances the pleasure of reading a literary piece. In addition, it helps writers to develop a particular mood in the text that corresponds with its subject matter.

Try to light the fire. the dipthong /ai/ is repeated

asonancia

attributive
adjective 

syntax

most commonly, it is an adjective preceding a noun in a noun phrase (see a); in some cases, it can follow a noun (see b); applies to an adjective or other premodifier in a noun phrase.

a) a cold coffee, a summer dress

b) all means available, Asia Minor, the doctor concerned

zhodný prívlastok (adjektívny atribút, kongruentný atribút)

auditory signs 

phonetics stylistics

Signs perceived through or resulting from the sense of hearing. In communication, auditory signs are the signs related and perceived by hearing.

vocal (the sounds of language that are combined into syllables, feet, stress-groupes and utterances) non-vocal (whistle)

sluchové, auditívne znaky

auxiliary verb 

morphology, syntax

a subclass of verb; a small group of verbs that are followed by a full verb (i.e. a verb with a full lexical meaning); they are called auxiliary because they do not bring meaning by themselves (see a); typically, morphological categories of a verb are reflected in them. They precede subject in questions (see b) and they take ‘not’ to make negative forms (see c).

a) is working, has seen, has been working, can see, must go;

b) Where is he?;

c) He is not here.

pomocné sloveso