Glossary: morphology and phonology

A word borrowed from one language into another, e.g., English words laissez-faire from French and cognoscenti from Italian.

(of vowels) The part of the tongue (front, centre, or back) that is raised highest in the oral cavity for the production of a vowel sound.

The case that expresses location.

Of a writing system, such as that of Chinese, where the symbols used represent whole words, rather than the sounds of syllables that make up the word.

A vowel of relatively long duration when compared to a vowel of similar or identical quality in the same vowel system.

The subjective impression of the magnitude of a sound. Loudness corresponds to the amplitude of the waveform of the sound.

Sounds produced with a lowered tongue: vowels like [a] and pharyngeal consonants.

See mid.