Subsystems — for the Year 12 metalanguage SAC

VCE English Language · Subsystems cheat sheet · 6 flashcards, free to study.

Boundaries and examples for each subsystem. Examiner-friendly definitions.

Five subsystems of language: Phonetics/phonology, morphology, lexicology, syntax, semantics. (Discourse + pragmatics often treated separately.)
What is a phoneme?: Smallest unit of sound that distinguishes meaning (e.g. /b/ vs /p/ in 'bat' vs 'pat').
Morpheme — definition: Smallest meaningful unit of language. Free ('dog') or bound ('-s', 'un-').
Difference between lexis and semantics: Lexis: words themselves. Semantics: their meaning.
What does syntax study?: How words combine into phrases, clauses, sentences.
Pragmatics — example: 'Can you pass the salt?' — literally a question about ability, but pragmatically a request.