LETRS Glossary Volume 1 Units 1-4

academic language - - - written or spoken language that is more stylistically formal than spoken conversational language; language that is most often used in academic discourse or text. adjective - - - A part of speech that describes a noun or person (e.g., windy, blue). adverb - - - A part of speech that describes a verd, adjective, or adverb (e.g., sadly, crookedly). affricate - - - A speech sound with features of both a fricative and a stop; in English, /ch/ and /j/ are ________. allophones - - - Slight alterations to pronunciation of phonemes resulting from phonemes overlapping with one another in a spoken word; these variations of pronunciation are predictable and unconscious, as most speakers make them. allophonic variation - - - The slightly different pronunciation of a phoneme, depending on its place in a word; for example, automatic nasalizing of a vowel before a nasal consonant. alphabetic principle - - - The concept that letters are used to represent individual phonemes in the spoken word; insight into this principle is critical for learning to read and spell. antonym - - - A word that overlaps with another word, but which has the opposite meaning. automaticity - - - The ability to read quickly and accurately without conscious effort. background knowledge - - - Preexisting knowledge of facts and ideas necessary to make inferences. base words - - - Words that can stand on their own, or can serve as part of another word, as a free morpheme