Cambridge English A Level: Terminology #6 Features of Spoken Language, Conversational Interaction

Opening greetings

Conversation openings usually have a standard form to help ease participants into conversations.

Turn-taking

Conversation is usually cooperative with participants taking turns, but, quite frequently, speakers overlap.

Adjacency pairs

'Statement' and 'response' form the basis of conversation. These often consist of a question/exclamation/declaration from Participant A followed by a response from Participant B and any others.

Holding the conversational floor

In discourse, the person speaking is said to be (this term). When someone is about to finish their turn we use a variety of strategies to determine who will take over, and when they will do so.

Clashing

When two people start to speak at the same time the clash is acknowledged - one participant must stop while the other continues

Repairing

During the conversation, participants are constantly monitoring themselves and those to whom they are speaking. A speaker may (this term) what they say by correcting themselves or using phrases to acknowledge their mistake.

Topic shift

we talk about all sorts of things, people and ideas and these topics change frequently

Conversation endings

Closing a conversation also has formulaic utterances with standard phrases, such as 'See you later', 'bye', etc.

Adverbs

((This term) phrases) are words and phrases which modify, or add to, adjectives, both in written language and in speech. These words and phrases convey the attitudes and values of the speaker and intensify their feelings and opinions. 'Really, 'absolutely, literally', 'of course', 'extremely' and basically are frequently used to add strength and color to our utterances.

Back-channelling

(channeling in American English) is the term given to a noise, gesture, expression or word used by a listener to indicate that he or she is paying attention to a speaker. These items are often sounds rather than full words (e.g. 'um', 'yeah', right') and are used primarily to reassure the speaker (S) that the listener (L) is following the conversation. Sometimes, (this term) responses merge with speaking turns, though the respondent may not wish to take a turn, as seen in the following example. The brackets indicate breathing pauses.

[S:] I remember how bad it was when I was a kid [L: oh] my dad was working away (.) things were awful and my mum (.) it was so hard for her (.) she (.) she had to sell some jewelry belonging to my gran [L: really] to pay for my clothes and stuff [L: mm] and it was (.) must have been really difficult for her. [L: awful] I didn't realize cos' I was only small [L: mm]

(this term) is particularly important in phone calls. Without it, the call may be uncomfortable!

Contraction

A word or words shortened by placing an apostrophe where letters have been omitted.(ex: isn’t, don’t)

Deixis

refers to words which locate the conversation in a particular space or context which a non-participant would not be able to make sense of. 'This', 'that', 'these' and 'those are important in conversation as they are mutually understood between the participants. For example, We'll move this over here', or We'll have one of these with our coffee' is only clear to those involved in the conversation at the time.

Discourse markers

words or phrases which mark boundaries between one bit of conversation and another, where the speaker wishes to change the subject. For example, 'so', 'right', 'I see', 'well', 'then', 'fine', 'OK - anyway. These can also be used to signal the conclusion of a conversation, particularly where there are no other clues. They are widely used in phone conversations.

Elision

the omission of sounds or syllables which are present in the word. This can happen within a word where an unstressed syllable disappears, for example 'frightening' ('frai.tan.in) can be spoken as 'fright/ning' (frart.nin). It can also occur between two words, where the new form of the word can be marked with an apostrophe, for example fish 'n' chips. The omission of the sound is frequently, although not always, on the edge of the word.

Ellipsis

the omission of a word or words in speech or writing, though the sense is still evident through the context. For example, 'Off home now... Three dots (...) in a transcription can indicate a silence, which is also considered to be (this term).

False starts

when a speaker realizes they have made an error and attempts to repair it through reformulation (e.g. 'I come home/came home very quickly) are another feature of non-fluency.

Fixed expressions

help us to maintain a shared understanding of the culture around us. It is difficult to always be creative in our conversations, and what we say sometimes becomes routine and repetitive. For example, 'As a matter of fact..., 'In my opinion..., 'As far as I can see..., To be honest... Some of these are colloquial and clichéd (e.g. 'driving me mad', 'at the end of the day, 'one fell swoop', 'an awesome time'), but they provide predictability when trying to express many different ideas.

Hedges and vague language

both strategies used when we want to avoid coming to the point or say things directly, for example kind of, you know what I mean', 'actually, basically. These soften the force of what is said, and are useful when we want to negotiate a point of view.

Metalanguage

used when a person realizes that they have made an error. They will sometimes try to correct themselves using (this term) - language which talks about language. For example, 'I mean to say..., 'I should have mentioned... Often, the utterance is reformulated for greater clarity and repairs the conversation.

Modality

allows us to introduce different options and compromises for negotiation between participants. Some of the most common examples are 'perhaps', probably', normally, 'slightly', 'maybe'. We can also reflect this hesitancy in the verb structure by the use of modal - or helper' - verbs. For example, 'may', 'might', 'could', 'should'.

Non-fluency features

fillers which give us time to think and/or to announce that we are going to say something when the sound is extended (e.g. 'mmm...). There is a lot of (this term) in unscripted discourse. For example, a voiceless pause is when there is a silence - these pauses do not have to be very long before participants perceive a break in the conversation. Try a silence of three to four seconds and see how your respondent reacts!

Non-standard English features and forms

commonly used where a speaker struggles to phrase utterances completely. Do you know what the end of your utterance will be when you start to speak? Speech is full of constructions considered to be (this term) in writing. A common (this term) is the lack of agreement between subject and verb (e.g. 'we was really tired') or the incorrect use of tenses (e.g. 'so I sees him yesterday'), and many utterances are unfinished.

Phatic communication

the name for the polite ice-breakers' used when greeting people in order to initiate a conversation. For example how are you?'. Often, both participants will say the same thing and a serious or detailed reply is not usually expected.

Tag questions

occur when a speaker adds a question to prompt a response from the listener. For example, 'It's hot in here, isn't it?', T'm having a difficult time, aren't I?'.

Vague expressions

can soften authoritative requests and maintain greater engagement between speakers. Look at the difference between 'Can you get me a cheese sandwich?' and 'Can you get me a cheese sandwich or something like that?'. Expressions such as sort of, kind of, 'around' or 'so' allow the speaker and the recipient some flexibility. (this term) are not appropriate for travel details and other arrangements where precise information enables cooperation between speakers