Key Concepts in Language, Logic, and Reading Comprehension

Language

A system of communication using sounds, symbols, or words that enables people to express thoughts, feelings, and ideas.

Semantics

The branch of linguistics and logic concerned with meaning. It studies the meaning of words, phrases, and sentences.

Pragmatics

The branch of linguistics dealing with language in use and the contexts in which it is used. It studies how context contributes to meaning, considering factors like time, place, and social situation.

Metalinguistics

The study of language and its relationship to other cultural behaviors. It involves using language to talk about language itself.

Thinking

The process of using one's mind to consider or reason about something. It involves forming ideas, mental images, and understanding existence, life, things, and circumstances.

Reasoning

The action of thinking about something in a logical, sensible way to form conclusions or judgments. It is the mental ability to connect ideas according to certain rules to solve problems.

Argument

A reason or set of reasons given with the aim of persuading others that an action or idea is right or wrong, or that a statement is true or false. It is reasoning used to convince others of what is affirmed or denied.

Proposition

A statement or assertion that expresses a judgment or opinion, which can be true or false. It often forms the basis of an argument or proof, intended to demonstrate a truth.

Premises

Propositions from which a conclusion is drawn in an argument. For example:

• All men are mortal.
• Socrates is a man.
• Therefore, Socrates is mortal.

Informational Reading

Reading primarily to gain knowledge or understand information about a topic, often without deeply evaluating the content during the initial read. For example: Reading about snow.

Expressive Reading

Reading that conveys emotion, feeling, or the physical state of the speaker or characters. Literary reading often emphasizes expressive qualities, focusing on the beauty and artistry of the language.

Appellative Reading (Persuasive Reading)

Reading or communication intended to provoke a specific reaction, response, or action from the recipient.

Phatic Communication

Using language primarily to establish or maintain social contact and keep communication channels open, rather than conveying information. Uses phrases like tag questions (e.g., '...isn't it?', '...right?') or conversational fillers.

Metalecture (Reading about Reading)

The act or process of reading or analyzing texts about the nature of reading itself.

Description

A spoken or written representation or account of a person, object, or event. In literary analysis, it involves detailing parts of a work's content and noting its style.

Novel

A fictitious prose narrative of considerable length, typically representing character and action with some degree of realism, set within an invented world accessible to the reader, created through the author's inventiveness.

Essay

A short literary text dealing with diverse topics (e.g., scientific, literary, political, religious) from a purely subjective or personal point of view.

Story

A narrative involving fictional or real facts, events, and characters, told for entertainment. While often aimed at children, stories appeal to all ages.

History

An account or narrative of true events or facts that have occurred in a specific time and place.

Plot (Argument/Storyline)

The thematic development and sequence of events within a text (like a novel, film, or play). This structure is often developed for media like cinema, press, or TV. (Note: Poetry often cultivates the beauty of language blended with depth of thought, rather than focusing primarily on plot).

Literal Reading

Understanding text exactly as it is written, interpreting words according to their most basic or common meaning, letter by letter and word by word.

Inferential Reading

Reading between the lines to understand underlying meanings, implications, conclusions, or the intentions of the writer that are not explicitly stated.

Critical Reading

Actively analyzing and evaluating a text to judge its merits, highlighting both strengths (the good parts) and weaknesses (the bad parts) of the arguments, evidence, or presentation regarding a person, animal, thing, or circumstance.

Note on Censorship vs. Critique

Censorship is the suppression of communication. A critical review, even a negative one ('bad review'), is an evaluation and is distinct from censorship.