Note: All glossary terms transcribed exactly or adapted from The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Linguistics, copywrite 1997.

Assimilation - Sound change or process by which features of one element change to match those of another that precedes or follows.

Clipping - The process of word-formation in which an existing form is abbreviated. E.g. fan Ôdevotee, enthusiastÕ was formed in the late 19th century by shortening fanatic, hi-fi in the mid-20th century by shortening high fidelity.

Cluster - A sequence of consonants before, after, or between vowels. E.g. [str] is a medial consonant cluster in words like astray.

Consonants - In phonetic terms, most consonants are sounds in whose production the flow of air is obstructed at some point in the mouth, throat, or larynx, at least sufficiently to cause audible friction. Consonants are described using the following three criteria. The state of the glottis determines if a consonant if voiced or voiceless; placement determines if a consonant is bilabial, labio-dental, inter-dental, alveolar, palatal, velar, or glottal; and manner of articulation determines if a consonant is a stop, fricative, affricate, nasal, liquid, or glide. (Link to the International Phonetic Alphabet for more information on consonants.)

Deletion - Usually of deletion, by a syntactic or other process, at some level of representation. E.g., the phoneme [t] might optionally be deleted from the phonological representation [pants], to derive a phonetic representation [pans].

Dialect - Any distinct variety of language, especially one spoken in a specific part of a country or other geographical area.

Fricative - Consonant in which the space between articulators is constricted to the point at which an air flow passes through with audible turbulence.

LInterdental - Consonant articulated with the tip of the tongue protruded between the teeth.

Liquid - Cover for 'r's and 'l's, especially in languages where their roles in phonology are similar.

Morphology - The study of the grammatical structure of words and the categories realized by them.

Nasal - Produced with lowering of the soft palate, so that air may pass through the nose.

Native Language - A language that people have acquired naturally as children, as opposed to one learned later.

Pragmatics - Usually conceived as a branch of semantics concerned with the meanings that sentences have in particular contexts in which they are uttered.

Phonetics - The study of the nature, production, and perception of sounds of speech.

Phonology - The study of the sound systems of individual languages and of the nature of such systems generally.

Semantics - The study of meaning.

Syntax - The study of grammatical relationships between words and other units within the sentence.

Vernacular - A language native to a given community, as opposed to a learned or other second language.

Vowels - In phonetic terms, vowels are sounds in whose production the flow of air is minimally obstructed in the mouth, throat, or larynx. Vowels are described using the following four criteria. Tongue height determines if a vowel is high, mid, or low; tongue advancement determines if a vowel is front, central, or back; musculature tension determines if a vowel is tense or lax; and lip rounding determines if a vowel is rounded or unrounded. (Link to the International Phonetic Alphabet for more information on vowels.)