Home
/ Dictionary
/ Starting With P
/ Page 66
/ Preformative

Preformative: meaning, definitions and examples

🎙️

Add to dictionary

preformative

[ ˈpriːˌfɔːr.mə.tɪv ]

Noun

^{Context #1 | Noun}

linguistics

A linguistic element that signals the beginning of a speech act or an utterance, such as 'well', 'now', or 'okay'. Preformatives are used to mark the speaker’s intentions or attitudes.

Synonyms

introductory element, speech marker.

Which Synonym Should You Choose?

Word	Description / Examples
preformative	Often used in linguistic studies or grammar to refer to a morpheme added at the beginning of a word that influences its meaning. In Hebrew, the preformative 'm-' indicates the participle form.
introductory element	Used in writing and grammar to describe words, phrases, or clauses that come at the beginning of a sentence to provide background or context for the main clause. Without an introductory element, the sentence might seem abrupt or incomplete. For example: 'Before the meeting starts, let's review the agenda.'
speech marker	Commonly used in linguistics and communication studies to describe words or phrases that indicate the structure or flow of spoken discourse. Words like 'well', 'you know', and 'okay' function as speech markers. In the presentation, she used several speech markers to guide her audience through the points.

Word

Description / Examples

preformative

Often used in linguistic studies or grammar to refer to a morpheme added at the beginning of a word that influences its meaning.

In Hebrew, the preformative 'm-' indicates the participle form.

introductory element

Used in writing and grammar to describe words, phrases, or clauses that come at the beginning of a sentence to provide background or context for the main clause.

Without an introductory element, the sentence might seem abrupt or incomplete.
For example: 'Before the meeting starts, let's review the agenda.'

speech marker

Commonly used in linguistics and communication studies to describe words or phrases that indicate the structure or flow of spoken discourse.

Words like 'well', 'you know', and 'okay' function as speech markers.
In the presentation, she used several speech markers to guide her audience through the points.

Examples of usage

His use of 'well' as a preformative indicated hesitancy before making his point.
The preformative 'now' at the start of her sentence signified a change of topic.

Translations

Translations of the word "preformative" in other languages:

🇵🇹 performativo

🇮🇳 प्रदर्शनात्मक

🇩🇪 performativ

🇮🇩 performatif

🇺🇦 перформативний

🇵🇱 performatywny

🇯🇵 パフォーマティブ

🇫🇷 performatif

🇪🇸 performativo

🇹🇷 performatif

🇰🇷 퍼포머티브

🇸🇦 أدائي

🇨🇿 performativní

🇸🇰 performatívny

🇨🇳 表演性的

🇸🇮 performativni

🇮🇸 performatífur

🇰🇿 перформативті

🇬🇪 პერფორმატიული

🇦🇿 performativ

🇲🇽 performativo

Etymology

The term 'preformative' originates from the field of linguistics, specifically from the study of speech acts and discourse analysis. It was first introduced in the mid-20th century by scholars exploring the ways in which language is used to convey intentions and attitudes in communication. The concept of preformatives has since become a key aspect of understanding the structure and function of spoken language.