Paper 3, Child language acquisition, Spontaneous Speech Notes

Verbal Fillers

Words and phrases which have very little lexical or grammatical function but instead act as a means for the speaker to ‘hold the floor’ to signal that he/she intends to continue speaking, but need to organise their thoughts E.g. umm, err

Turn-taking

The mechanism by which conversations and other spoken interactions are continued, a speaker who has been ‘holding the floor’ yields the turn to another speaker

Adjacency Pairs /

Standard interactions that take place between people, often related and may be in the form of question and answer, functioning to maintain social relationships.

False starts

When a speaker realises that he/she has made an error and they stop mid-speech and attempt to repair the conversation

Overlaps and Interruptions

When participants either begin speaking at the same time or one participant overrides or interrupts another

Co-operative overlap

When a speaker speaks at the same time as another in order speech to show agreement, support, or encouragement

Competitive overlap

A situation in conversation where one speaker interrupts another to assert dominance or take control of the dialogue, often leading to a breakdown in communication.

Elision

When the meaning of an utterance is generally understood between the participants and can be shortened to focus on the topic, this is done by omitting parts of the conversation while speaking if the meaning is implied or mutually understood

Ellipsis

The omission or slurring of syllables most commonly associated with informal use of language

Modality

A conversational strategy that allows for the introduction or suggestion of different options and compromises for negotiations between participants by expressing levels of certainty

Repetition

When a word or utterance is repeated in order to place emphasis upon it or to gain additional thinking time before moving the conversation forward

Hedges

Words or phrases used to express uncertainty or to soften a statement, often making it less direct, e.g. ‘you know that I mean’, ‘basically’

Non-standard features

A common form of speech where a speaker struggles to phrase utterances clearly, either due to thinking too fast or lacking a strong concept of grammar in some cases. This often makes the speaker repair or reformulate the sentence. e.g. “I was really tired so I seen him yesterday”

Back-channel

Often sounds rather than full words that reassure the speaker that the listener is following the conversation and it still listening, such as "mm-hmm" or "uh-huh". These vocalizations help maintain conversational flow.

Deixis

Words which locate the conversation in a particular space or context which a non-participant would not be able to comprehend but are mutually understood between participants, such as pronouns like "this," "that," "here," and "there." Deixis is essential for understanding references within the discourse.

Discourse markers

Words or phrases which mark transitions or boundaries between one part of the conversation and another where the speaker wishes to change the subject, these can be used as transitions or conversation conclusions, e.g. so, right, I see, well then, fine, anyway)

Tag questions

Short questions added to statements to elicit a response from the listener, like "It's nice, isn't it?" They encourage respondent participation and check understanding.

Transactional language

Discourse with a specific purpose, spoken to get things done, e.g. “I’d like a hamburger, please”, “Pass the potato salad, please”

Phatic communion

Polite ice-breakers used when greeting people in order to initiate a conversation