Discourse Strategies (Spoken Texts)

Strategies

Turn-taking, Holding/Ceding the floor, Topic Management

Purpose Of Strategies

Help maintain the flow and direction of the discourse, and aid in meeting a certain agenda

Turn-taking

How often speakers swap turns to talk

How is it done does anyone control it and how

Can be disorderly, controlled or spontaneous

Reflects power hierarchy, setting and text type

Examples of turn taking

Interviews (controlled turn-taking, where the interviewer will often use the name of the other person, signaling them to speak/interrogative)

Radio programs - control when and what to speak (have set agenda)

How is discourse controlled

Turn-taking - how it is done

Holding the floor

Topic management

How is the conversation cooperative (how does it establish flow)

Turn-taking

Back-channeling

Floor holding strategies

How often there are interruptions (if less interruptions - cooperative - speakers respect each other, and support each others speech - backchanneling)

Proportion of turn-taking (one person talking more - imbalance of power)

Explicit vs. Subtle Turn-taking

Explicit - Raising hand - clear signalling through words or expression

Subtle - Is done indirectly through pauses, falling intonation, taking in breath

Holding the floor

Topic management

Can be ordely managed (formal) or spontaneous (informal)

Topic shifts, topic loops, topic development

Topic shifts

Changing the topic (often done by discourse particles)

e.g. “Well, what do you think about the new zoo?” - Indicates a new topic change

Whoever changes the topic may hold more power in coversation

Topic Loops

When the speaker returns to a previous topic (often using a discourse marker)

May be as they strayed away from set agenda

e.g. “So, as we were saying” or “Anyway, lets get back to work.”

Topic Development

How topics are developed and expanded within the discourse itself

Development can be non-linear

Can be done through a discourse particle (e.g. “Well, what’s our experience on this…”)