Hi, my name is Camille Paquette, and I have been studying at Ahuntsic College for the past four years. I used to study Medical Records Management for two years, but I realized I didn't like it. Therefore, I decided to go in another program which is called "Arts, Literature and Communication : Languages". I have been in this program for the past two years, and I like a lot better. In this program we get to learn both Spanish and German. This glossary, will help you learn 20 terms we use while learning new languages. With this glossary, you will learn the definition and the correct pronunciation.
ambiguity
noun
The quality of being open to more than one interpretation; inexactness.
Example: We can detect no ambiguity in this section of the Act.
en: ambiguïté
bilingual
noun
A person fluent in two languages.
Example: The town is virtually bilingual in Dutch and German.
en: bilingue
conjugation
noun
The variation of the form of a verb in an inflected language such as Latin, by which are identified the voice, mood, tense, number, and person.
Example: It was the conjugation of verbs he found most difficult.
en: conjugaison
culture
noun
The customs, arts, social institutions, and achievements of a particular nation, people, or other social group.
Example: Caribbean culture.
en: culture
foreign
noun
Of, from, in, or characteristic of a country or language other than one's own.
Example: A foreign language.
en: étranger
grammar
noun
The whole system and structure of a language or of languages in general, usually taken as consisting of syntax and morphology (including inflections) and sometimes also phonology and semantics.
Example: This conception of the signifier bears only a vestige of its Saussurean ancestry, for there is nothing formalist about it and it is not part of a structural attempt to outline the basic GRAMMAR of any system.
en: grammaire
immersion
noun
A method of teaching a foreign language by the exclusive use of that language, usually at a special school.
Example: Efforts to create bilingualism by means of bilingual schooling - as, for example, in the IMMERSION programme in Canada - are likely to be more successful than conventional language teaching as a subject because the language is treated in school as a medium rather than as a subject.
en: immersion
indo-european
adjective
Relating to the family of languages spoken over the greater part of Europe and Asia as far as northern India.
Example: This can then go on and we can view these, and more, as members of the INDO-EUROPEAN languages group.
en: indo-européen
interaction
noun
Communication or direct involvement with someone or something.
Example: For a shy person, social interaction can be a stomach-churning, anxiety-filled experience.
en: interaction
linguistic
adjective
Relating to language or linguistics.
Example: A child's linguistic ability.
en: linguistique
miscommunication
noun
Failure to communicate adequately.
Example: There was clear evidence of miscommunication between the surgeon and anesthetist.
en: mauvaise communication
morphology
noun
The study of the forms of words.
Example: Grammatical rules are seen as existing independently of the child, and changes in the child's language in the direction of conventional syntax and MORPHOLOGY are seen as indicative of the child acquiring the rules which make up the grammatical system.
en: morphologie
phonetics
noun
The study and classification of speech sounds.
Example: A phonetics laboratory.
en: phonétique
polyglots
noun
A person who knows and is able to use several languages.
Example: Slovenians, being surrounded by many countries, are mostly polyglots.
en: polyglottes
pragmatics
noun
The branch of linguistics dealing with language in use and the contexts in which it is used, including such matters as deixis, the taking of turns in conversation, text organization, presupposition, and implicature.
Example: There is also the approach of PRAGMATICS, which concerns itself with 'how language can be used to do things and mean things in real-world situations'.
en: pragmatique
slang
noun
A type of language that consists of words and phrases that are regarded as very informal, are more common in speech than writing, and are typically restricted to a particular context or group of people.
Example: Lit is used to describe something that is exciting or excellent.
en: argot
syntax
noun
The arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language.
Example: The syntax of English.
en: syntaxe
translation
noun
The process of translating words or text from one language into another.
Example: Constantine's translation of Arabic texts into Latin.
en: traduction
variation
noun
A different or distinct form or version of something.
Example: Hurling is an Irish variation of field hockey.
en: variation
vowel
noun
A speech sound which is produced by comparatively open configuration of the vocal tract, with vibration of the vocal cords but without audible friction, and which is a unit of the sound system of a language that forms the nucleus of a syllable.
Example: The four middle syllables have the same vowel.