affective variable n
see cognitive variable
affirmative adj
a grammatical construction that expresses a positive meaning, in contrast
to a negative construction.
The plane has arrived. (affirmative)
The plane has not arrived. (negative)
affix n
a letter or sound, or group of letters or sounds (=a morpheme), which
is added to a word, and which changes the meaning or function of the
word.
Affixes are bound forms that can be added:
ato the beginning of a word (=a prefix), e.g. English un- which usually
changes the meaning of a word to its opposite: kind – unkind
bto the end of a word (=a suffix), e.g. English-nesswhich usually changes
an adjective into a noun: kind – kindness
c within a word (=an infix), e.g. Tagalog -um- which shows that a verb is
in the past tense: sulat “to write” – sumulat “wrote”
see also combining form
African American English n
also AAE, African American Vernacular English (AAVE), Black English
(BE), Black English Vernacular (BEV), Ebonics
a variety of English spoken by some African Americans, particularly those
living in concentrated urban areas. There are conflicting views on the origin
of African American English. Some claim that is similar to varieties of
English spoken by whites in the southern states (therefore, clearly a dialect
of English), while others consider it to be a creole, independently devel-
oped from Standard English and more deserving of the word language
than that of dialect.
African American English has been the focus of national attention in the US
beginning with the onset of the civil rights movement in the 1960s. AAE
has sometimes been erroneously linked with inferior genetic intelligence,
cultural deprivation, or laziness and viewed as an educational problem.
However, researchers have shown that AAE has a structure and system of
its own, no less complex than other language varieties. Some of the differ-
ences between AAE and Standard American English (SAE) are:
In phonology, AAE makes use of an l-deletion rule, creating identical pairs
such as tolland toe, and a consonant cluster simplification rule that creates
identical pairs such as passand passed.
African American English