An Introduction to Old English Edinburgh University Press

phoneme – the minimal unit in the sound system of a language. Collectively, the
contrasting sounds in any given language.
phonology – area of grammar concerned with how speech sounds function
to distinguish words in a language (and in languages generally). The scope
of phonology includes how sounds are related, how they are combined to
form syllables and larger units, and how relationships between syllables are
indicated by features such as stress.
prefix – bound morpheme that immediately precedes the root or stem.
present – see tense.
preterite – a morphological form usually expressing past tense.
plural – see number.
prefix – bound morpheme that precedes the root or stem.
register – the varieties of language used in particular social situations, for
example formal vs. colloquial.
relative particle – an element which has the function of a complementiser
used to introduce a relative clause.
resolution – the feature in Old English poetry where two light syllables have
the same effect as one heavy syllable.
schwa – the reduced vowel found, for example, in the first syllable of ‘about’ or
the last syllable of ‘butter’.
GLOSSARY OF LINGUISTIC TERMS
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singular – see number.
standard language – an regularised and institutionalised variety of a language
used in administration, education, etc.; see also focussed.
stem – term used for the base of the word forms of a lexeme (involving the
addition of inflectional affixes only, not derivational ones).
stranding – when an element is left unattached to or moved out of its con-
struction.