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18
Terminology: ambiguity
There are, unfortunately, many terms in linguistics which mean one thing in
one place and another in another. These are not terms like phoneme and morpheme
which mean (subtly or considerably) different things to different scholars,
but words which are used as technical terms in different sub-areas of
linguistics. In principle, these terms are rendered unambiguous by the sub-area
of linguistics in which they are used, but in practice the use of the same term
can cause transient or even long-term problems of understanding. Detailed
definitions are not attempted in table 18.1: as is the case with phoneme and
morpheme the precise definition may depend upon the individual writer.
However, a rough guide is given to the meanings, as well as the sub-area of linguistics
where the term is used. It should be noted that, especially with adjectives,
the particular use may be made clear by the linguistic environment:
natural means one thing in natural language and another in natural phonology,
and these meanings may be largely predictable from the collocations in which
the word occurs.
Table 18.1 Ambiguous terminology
Term Area 1 Area 2
abstract syntax: of a noun, denoting phonology: making reference
a quality to elements which are not
found in the phonetic record
accent phonetics: frequently sociolinguistics: the phonetic
equivalent to stress, qualities of the speech
sometimes another form of of a particular group
prominence of people