Longman Dictionary of

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manualist
learned these codes. Those who have learned a manual method of communication
normally cannot speak, and therefore have difficulty communicating
with those who cannot use their particular sign language.
A third group of manual codes, e.g. Amerind, are based on universal gestural
codes.
manualist n
see SIGN LANGUAGE
mapping n
see BRAINSTORMING
marginalized voices n
the voices of those who are left out of the DOMINANT DISCOURSE. These
may include women, immigrants, and minority language speakers.
markedness theory n
the theory that within and across languages, certain linguistic elements
can be seen as unmarked, i.e. simple, core, or prototypical, while
others are seen as marked, i.e. complex, peripheral, or exceptional.
Some markedness relations are binary. For example, vowels can be
either voiced or voiceless. Voiced vowels are considered unmarked,
while voiceless vowels (which occur in fewer languages of the world)
are marked. Other markedness relations are hierarchical. For example,
the NOUN PHRASE ACCESSIBILITY HIERARCHY refers to a range of relative
clause structures that can be ordered from least to most marked.
Markedness has sometimes been invoked as a predictor of acquisition
order or direction of difficulty in second and foreign language learning.
In this view, if the target language contains structures that are marked,
these will be difficult to learn. However, if the target language structures
are unmarked they will cause little or no difficulty, even if they
do not exist in the learner’s native language. This has been called the
markedness differential hypothesis.
marker n
see SPEECH MARKER
masculine adj
see GENDER 2
mass noun n
see COUNTABLE NOUN
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