Spoken Language

Suitable for CIE A Level English Language (9093)

discourse

spoken or written langauge longer than a sentence

utterance

a section of spoken language often preceded by silence and is followed by silence or a change of speaker

opening greetings

usually standard greetings such as hello, how are you? etc. that may include paralinguistic features

turn taking

when speakers take turns, often by pausing or by paralinguistic features, to speak

adjacency pairs

question/exclamation/declaration followed by a response

conversational floor

speaking until a speaker has finished what they want to say, or until someone interrupts, uses paralinguistic and prosodic features

clashing

when two speakers start speaking at the same time

repairing

speaker goes back on what they said and correct themselves

topic shift

when speakers move from one topic to another

conversation endings

standard phrases e.g see you later, bye - can indicate intentions

paralinguistic

unspoken features of language e.g facial expressions, body language, gestures

prosodic

features of communication that are heard e.g intonation, tone, stress, and speed

feedback

a group of verbal and non-verbal signs given by the listener to show they are following the conversation

verbal responses

responses made as feedback e.g really, I know

back-channeling

noises made as feedback e.g mhm, ah, oh

pauses

a stop in the conversation due to silence, may indicate unease and tension; can be used for a range of effects

vocal expressions

a sound expression that is brought through by physical actions e.g laughing, sighing; linked to intentions of the speaker

fillers

words we throw into our speech to buy thinking time e.g sort of, like

interruption

where one speaker jumps in and seizes the topic, overriding another speaker

emphasis

when words need to stand out

overlapping

where speakers know each other so well that they continue to complete each other’s speech

accent

how you say or pronounce words

dialect

regional words and phrases

jargon

specific technical vocabulary

slang

everyday informal language

context

the situation in which the speech takes place

tag questions

strings of words normally added to a declarative sentence to turn the statement into a question

false starts

when a speaker realizes they have made an error and attempt to repair it through reformulation

phatic expressions

conversational utterances that have no concrete purpose other than to establish or maintain personal relationships

deictic expressions

word or phrase that refers to a person, location, or time

adverbs

used to modify/add to adjectives; conveys values and attitudes of the speaker

contraction

words shortened by placing an apostrophe where letters have been omitted

discourse markers

words or phrases which mark boundaries between one bit of conversation and another, especially when changing the subject

elision

omission of sounds or syllables

ellipsis

omission of a word or words in speech or writing; …

fixed expressions

used to help maintain a shared understanding of the culture around us

hedging

vague language that avoids coming to the point

metalanguage

used when a person realises they have made an error

modality

used in conjunction with hedges to allow other opinions and compromise for negotiation

non-standard English features

where a speaker struggles to phrase utterances completely; often has incorrect grammar i.e tenses

repetition

words that are repeated deliberately for a certain purpose

phonetics

the study of speech sounds in the way they are spoken and pronounced

phoneme

the smallest unit of distinguishable sound which distinguishes one word from another in a language

intonation

the rise and fall of the voice while speaking, which can alter the meaning of the word

micropause

a very short pause to take a breath; (.)

tone units

the natural phrases of speech, usually separated by a micropause

pitch movement

the physical way the voice quality changes when people speak

tonic syllable

the main stress in a tone unit

Maxims of Conversation

a set of principles people intuitively follow in order to guide their conversations; these principles make their communicative efforts effective

who developed the maxims?

Paul Grice, 1970s

Maxim of Manner

* clear
* brief and concise
* orderly - processed easily
* avoid being ambiguous
* avoid being obscure

Maxim of Quantity

* be informative as required
* avoid providing too much information

Maxim of Quality

* what you believe to be true
* avoid saying what you believe to be false
* avoid saying what you lack evidence for

Maxim of Relation

* be relevant
* avoid including what is irrelevant to the exchange