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In linguistics, a feature of a word or phrase is said to be covert if there is no surface evidence of its existence within that word or phrase. For example, many languages have covert grammatical gender in nouns, in that there is no way to tell from the form of a noun which gender it is; gender only becomes apparent in, for example, articles and adjectival agreement, which depend on gender.
Empty categories exist in contrast to overt categories which are pronounced. [1] When representing empty categories in tree structures, linguists use a null symbol (∅) to depict the idea that there is a mental category at the level being represented, even if the word(s) are being left out of overt speech.
[6] [7] There are thus the concepts of overt and covert prestige. Overt prestige is related to standard and "formal" language features, and expresses power and status; covert prestige is related more to vernacular and often patois, and expresses solidarity, community and group identity more than authority. [8]
Another example of a covert category given by Whorf was the Navajo language's system of noun classification by which all nouns were marked for a combination of animacy and shape. [8] Whorf himself used the term "cryptotype" as separate from "covert category" to refer to "a special, highly concealed subdivision of covertness, amounting sometimes ...
Covert prestige refers to the relatively high value placed towards a non-standard form of a variety in a speech community. This concept was pioneered by the linguist William Labov, in his study of New York City English speakers that while high linguistic prestige is usually more associated with standard forms of language, this pattern also implies that a similar one should exist for working ...
Finland has one of the most overt linguistic rights frameworks. [6] Discrimination based on language is forbidden under the basic rights for all citizens in Finland . Section 17 of the Constitution of Finland explicitly details the right to one's language and culture, although these languages are stated as either Finnish or Swedish.
A consequence of the EPP is that clauses that lack an overt subject must necessarily have an "invisible" or "covert" subject; with non-finite clauses this covert subject is PRO. [ 5 ] Motivation for a PRO subject comes from the grammaticality of sentences such as (1) and (2), where the subject of the infinitival to -clause, though not overtly ...
Overt linguistic racism may be expressed in the form of mocking, teasing, laughing, joking, ridiculing, and interrupting. [12] [13] [14] Covert linguistic racism, on the other hand, is expressed through indirect and passive-aggressive acts of social exclusion. [12]