LANGUAGE NOTES
CONTENTS
Terminology
Parts of speech (the function of each word in a sentence)
Punctuation
Language devices (writing “tools” used for effect)
Active and passive voice
Concord (agreement)
Types of sentences
Indirect/reported and direct speech
Advertising
Cartoons
Summary writing
Figurative language
Words to describe tone
Types of questions and how to answer them
TERMINOLOGY
Some terms you should know:
Colloquial: everyday language that is widely understood (e.g. the principal spoke to
the parents colloquially)
Slang: language specific to a group of people, time period, area (e.g. it is South
African slang to call a party a “jol”)
Jargon: language specific to a certain profession or hobby (e.g. the golf players kept
using jargon I didn’t understand)
Register: formal or informal (e.g. I used an informal register when speaking to the
child)
Tone: the emotion coming through in writing (e.g. the poet’s tone is one of joy)
Diction: the words used (e.g. the poet used diction such as “glittering” to create a
sense of beauty)
Attitude: the opinion/stance evident in writing (e.g. the writer had an attitude of
disgust)
Abbreviations: shortened words, will sometimes include full stops (e.g. Prof. Brown)
Acronyms: a type of abbreviation spoken like a word (e.g. AIDS is a new word
formed from the first letters of other words, Acquired Immuno-Deficiency Syndrome)
Synonyms: words with similar meanings (e.g. sad/miserable)
Antonyms: words with opposing meanings (e.g. sad/happy)
Prefixes: join the front of words (e.g. unnatural)
Suffixes: join the end of words (e.g. naturally)
Satire: the use of media (e.g. T.V.) to mock political figures and events to create
awareness of social issues (the goals being to create humour and bring about change)
1
, Caricature: a representation (drawing) of someone with exaggerated features for
comic effect
Bias: a strong opinion towards or against something
Subjective: opinion-based, not factual
Objective: factual, no bias involved
Connotation: the ideas associated with certain words/concepts (e.g. red is connoted
with love and anger)
Denotation: the definition of a word (e.g. red is a primary colour)
Allusion: a reference to something
Emotive language: language used with the intention of evoking emotion in the
reader/audience
PARTS OF SPEECH
1.NOUNS: naming words for people, places and objects
COMMON NOUNS: objects/people that you can see and touch…table, woman,
cat, tree, frog
COLLECTIVE NOUNS: used to describe groups…a herd of cattle, a staff of
teachers, a school of fish
PROPER NOUNS: names of places, people…New York, Mary, Hillcrest High
(will begin with capital letters)
PRONOUNS: replace proper nouns…he, she, they, it, us
ABSTRACT NOUNS: concepts, cannot be touched…full of love, the meeting
was at three, loss of appetite
2.ADJECTIVES: words that describe nouns
E.g. The beautiful girl
3.VERBS: doing words (actions)
E.g. He ran.
4.ADVERBS: words that describe verbs, often end in “ly”
E.g. He ran quickly.
5.CONJUNCTIONS: words that join parts of a sentence
E.g. I went to the shop because I needed milk.
6.PREPOSITIONS: words that show position, show the relationships between words in
a sentence
E.g. I left the apple on the table.
2
, 7.ARTICLES:
Definite article: the
Indefinite article: a/an
8.INTERJECTIONS: exclamations, short statements
E.g. “Wow!” he shouted.
PUNCTUATION
1.FULL STOP. ends a sentence, indicates abbreviation
2.COMMA, creates a pause in a sentence, divides objects in a list, comes before direct
speech
3.EXCLAMATION MARK! shows something is spoken loudly, passionately, as a
command
4.QUESTION MARK? indicates that the sentence is a question
5.INVERTED COMMAS/QUOTATION MARKS “” indicate direct speech, quotes,
titles, sarcasm
6.APOSTROPHES ‘
Possession (singular or plural): to indicate ownership
E.g. singular possession: Mary’s car, e.g. plural possession: the boys’ drinks
Omission: to indicate that letters have been removed (omitted)
E.g. It is raining = It’s raining
7.COLON: introduces something (e.g. names in a list, a quotation)
8.SEMI-COLON; between two full, related sentences (replaces a conjunction)
9.HYPHEN-used to form compound nouns/adjectives
10.DASH – different to a hyphen, longer and has spaces on either side. If used alone, it
can introduce something, create a dramatic pause leading to a climax/anti-climax, or
show a break in thought
11.ELLIPSIS…indicates that information has been left out
12.CAPITAL LETTERS indicate the start of a sentence, a proper noun
3
CONTENTS
Terminology
Parts of speech (the function of each word in a sentence)
Punctuation
Language devices (writing “tools” used for effect)
Active and passive voice
Concord (agreement)
Types of sentences
Indirect/reported and direct speech
Advertising
Cartoons
Summary writing
Figurative language
Words to describe tone
Types of questions and how to answer them
TERMINOLOGY
Some terms you should know:
Colloquial: everyday language that is widely understood (e.g. the principal spoke to
the parents colloquially)
Slang: language specific to a group of people, time period, area (e.g. it is South
African slang to call a party a “jol”)
Jargon: language specific to a certain profession or hobby (e.g. the golf players kept
using jargon I didn’t understand)
Register: formal or informal (e.g. I used an informal register when speaking to the
child)
Tone: the emotion coming through in writing (e.g. the poet’s tone is one of joy)
Diction: the words used (e.g. the poet used diction such as “glittering” to create a
sense of beauty)
Attitude: the opinion/stance evident in writing (e.g. the writer had an attitude of
disgust)
Abbreviations: shortened words, will sometimes include full stops (e.g. Prof. Brown)
Acronyms: a type of abbreviation spoken like a word (e.g. AIDS is a new word
formed from the first letters of other words, Acquired Immuno-Deficiency Syndrome)
Synonyms: words with similar meanings (e.g. sad/miserable)
Antonyms: words with opposing meanings (e.g. sad/happy)
Prefixes: join the front of words (e.g. unnatural)
Suffixes: join the end of words (e.g. naturally)
Satire: the use of media (e.g. T.V.) to mock political figures and events to create
awareness of social issues (the goals being to create humour and bring about change)
1
, Caricature: a representation (drawing) of someone with exaggerated features for
comic effect
Bias: a strong opinion towards or against something
Subjective: opinion-based, not factual
Objective: factual, no bias involved
Connotation: the ideas associated with certain words/concepts (e.g. red is connoted
with love and anger)
Denotation: the definition of a word (e.g. red is a primary colour)
Allusion: a reference to something
Emotive language: language used with the intention of evoking emotion in the
reader/audience
PARTS OF SPEECH
1.NOUNS: naming words for people, places and objects
COMMON NOUNS: objects/people that you can see and touch…table, woman,
cat, tree, frog
COLLECTIVE NOUNS: used to describe groups…a herd of cattle, a staff of
teachers, a school of fish
PROPER NOUNS: names of places, people…New York, Mary, Hillcrest High
(will begin with capital letters)
PRONOUNS: replace proper nouns…he, she, they, it, us
ABSTRACT NOUNS: concepts, cannot be touched…full of love, the meeting
was at three, loss of appetite
2.ADJECTIVES: words that describe nouns
E.g. The beautiful girl
3.VERBS: doing words (actions)
E.g. He ran.
4.ADVERBS: words that describe verbs, often end in “ly”
E.g. He ran quickly.
5.CONJUNCTIONS: words that join parts of a sentence
E.g. I went to the shop because I needed milk.
6.PREPOSITIONS: words that show position, show the relationships between words in
a sentence
E.g. I left the apple on the table.
2
, 7.ARTICLES:
Definite article: the
Indefinite article: a/an
8.INTERJECTIONS: exclamations, short statements
E.g. “Wow!” he shouted.
PUNCTUATION
1.FULL STOP. ends a sentence, indicates abbreviation
2.COMMA, creates a pause in a sentence, divides objects in a list, comes before direct
speech
3.EXCLAMATION MARK! shows something is spoken loudly, passionately, as a
command
4.QUESTION MARK? indicates that the sentence is a question
5.INVERTED COMMAS/QUOTATION MARKS “” indicate direct speech, quotes,
titles, sarcasm
6.APOSTROPHES ‘
Possession (singular or plural): to indicate ownership
E.g. singular possession: Mary’s car, e.g. plural possession: the boys’ drinks
Omission: to indicate that letters have been removed (omitted)
E.g. It is raining = It’s raining
7.COLON: introduces something (e.g. names in a list, a quotation)
8.SEMI-COLON; between two full, related sentences (replaces a conjunction)
9.HYPHEN-used to form compound nouns/adjectives
10.DASH – different to a hyphen, longer and has spaces on either side. If used alone, it
can introduce something, create a dramatic pause leading to a climax/anti-climax, or
show a break in thought
11.ELLIPSIS…indicates that information has been left out
12.CAPITAL LETTERS indicate the start of a sentence, a proper noun
3
