Linguistic Concepts: Syntax, Semantics, and Morphology

Substantive Nexuses

• Conjunctions: (which, if - no syntactic function)
• Interrogative Pronouns: (what, who, how - subject)
• Interrogative Adverbs: (where - CCL, how - CCM, when - CCT)
• Interrogative Adjectives: (what, how - determinant)

Adjective Nexuses

• Relative Pronouns: (which, who, where, how much, how many - depends on the sentence)
• Relative Adverbs: (where - CCL, as - CCM, when - CCT)
• Relative Adjectives: (whose, which)

Adverbial Nexuses

Place, time, conditional, causal, consecutive (therefore), concessive (although), and purpose (so that).

Common Latinisms

• In albis: blank, uncomprehending
• Motu proprio: on one's own initiative
• Senso stricto: strictly
• Cum laude: with praise
• In hand: spontaneous
• Roughly: no details
• Ex corpora: with the body unburied
• Ex professo: intentionally
• Sine die: no date given

Semantic Concepts

• Denotative: Objective meaning of a word.
• Connotative: Subjective meaning a word has to a person, group, or culture.
• Homonymy: Two or more words with different origins sharing the same form.
• Taboo words: Words avoided due to social respect.
• Euphemism: A respectful substitute for a taboo word.
• Dysphemism: A derogatory or pejorative term.
• Synonymy: Different signifiers with the same meaning.
• Antonymy: Reciprocity, gradation, or complementarity.
• Hyponymy: Meaning of one word included in another.
• Hypernymy: A word with a broad meaning including others.
• Co-hyponyms: Hyponyms of the same hypernym.

Prefixes and Word Formation

Common Prefixes: Circum (around), co (with), extra (outside), in (lack of), inter (between), intra (within), omni (all), pos (rear), re (repetition), retro (back), sub (below), per (through), ultra (beyond), vice (instead of), a (without), kine (movement), crypto (hidden), derm (skin), dia (through), endo (inside), epi (on), eu (good), hetero (different), histo (tissue), ortho (correct), pan (all), peri (around), poly (many), pro (forward), syn (with).

Word Formation Processes

• Derivation: Creation of new words by adding morphemes to a lexeme.
• Composition: Union of two or more lexemes to form a new word.
• Parasynthesis: Combination of a lexeme with a prefix and suffix simultaneously.
• Acronyms: Words formed from initial letters of several words.
• Abbreviations: Words formed from initial or final syllables of different words.

Functions of Language

Expressive, appellate, referential, aesthetic, metalinguistic, and phatic.