Discourse Features (Spoken Texts)

Openings

Ways to open up a discourse or chat

Differ depending on text type, setting and relationship between participants

Opening Types

Neutral/Phatic Opening

Focused on building social rapport than to provide information

Low risk conversation starters

e.g. “How’s the weather today?”

Vocatives/Nicknames

• Using someone’s name or nickname to get attention

• “Hey, Jono” → shows familiarity and closeness

• The note about hypocristic suffixation means changing a name (e.g. Jon → Jono)

Vocatives - reflective of a close social distance and intimate tenor - colloquial nature may imply familiarity and endearment

Social greetings

• Standard greetings used to acknowledge someone

• “Hi”, “Hey”, “How are you?”

  • These are often phatic (social, not informative)

Hospitality tokens

• Polite offers that show friendliness

• “Do you want a drink?”, “Grab a seat”

  • Common when someone enters a space

No opening

• Conversation starts straight into content

• “Did you finish the assignment?”

• Common between close friends or in urgent contexts

Indicative of intimacy and close distance

Closings

Summary Of Exchange

a brief restatement of what has been agreed, decided, or discussed, used to close the interaction and allow participants to disengage.

e.g. “So, I’ll see you at three?” - the conversation was regarding this - it summarizes the verdict of the conversation

Reference To Outside The Text (Unclear)

Refers to something beyond the contents of the discourse, and uses it as a closure

e.g. “I’ll message you later”

Repetitive

Using repeated words to ease out of a conversation

e.g. “Yep, yep, cool.” - Marks end of conversation

e.g. “Alright alright.”

Avoids abrupt ending - softly disengages - verbal fade-out

No closing

No marked closing - is abrupt and uncalled for

• Speakers are very familiar

• The interaction is interrupted

  • The context is urgent or casual

Unplanned/Spontaneous Closing/Opening

Informal - often more close and intimate

Rehearsed (Robotic) and Practiced Openings/Closings

Formal - Is more distant

No opening/closing (example)

In online group chats

Is culturally understood that there is no distinct need for a distinct opening or ending

Non-Fluency Features (FOPPRR)

False Starts, Overlaps, Pauses, Pause Fillers, Repairs & Repetition

False Starts

A speaker starts a phrase, but suddenly switches up in between to complete another sentence/phrase

e.g. “I am (.) We are very sorry for your loss".”

The “I am” is incomplete

Signals spontaneity and is a mistake

Overlaps

One speaker talks over another (is indicated by [ ] )

Cooperative Overlaps

The other speaker talks over them but is in agreement of what the other speaker is saying

e.g. “Bro the person in the far right - [I know yeah!] - is so weird.” - Complements the speaker

Attends to positive face

Non-cooperative Overlaps (Interruptions)

Forceful interruptions to take over the floor - one wants to control the conversation

Reflects social hierarchy

e.g. Being interrupted by the teacher

Can challenge positive face/challenge negative face

Pauses

(.)

For hesitation, tentativeness, shyness and indication for someone else to speak

Pause Fillers

Uhh, ummm, ah, ermmm

Trying to hold onto the floor, or think aloud

Hinting that the speaker has more to say

Repairs (Self-initiated)

Acknowledging that the phrase/word/utterance was incorrect - apologizing (or similar) - and recorrecting it

e.g. “I could have (.) Sorry - I have bought flowers for you.” - Acknowledging error

Repair (other-initated)

When listener asks for clarification

Doesn’t have to be incorrect - just simply for clarification

e.g. “I went to the thing” - “What thing?”

Repetition

When a word of phrase is repeated

e.g. “I just, I just don’t know!” - hesitation, anxiety

Adjacency Pairs

Are sentences that are coupled together

e.g. question and answer, greeting, response, apology and acceptance

Can be indicative of text type - e.g. interviews (question and answer) or in a FAQ - Q&A Format

Interrogative Tags

Question markers at end of declarative sentences (mostly) to keep audience engaged (a check of engagement)

Invites audience to backchannel and attends to their positive face needs (shows that the speaker values the audience’s involvement)

Back-channeling - cooperation

Audience shows approval to the speaker through minimal responses or non-verbal cues

Wants the speaker to “hold the floor”

e.g. “Mhm”, “Yeah”, Nodding, Smiling, Laughter, agreement, discourse particles (okay, right, yep)

Minimal Responses

Small/short replies from the audience to show their engagement to the speaker without interruptions

E.g. Radio hosts

Often backchannel with guest callers, symbolizing their engagement and attend to their positive face needs

Discourse Particles

Words used by the speaker for many different purposes

Are words, not sounds (Pause fillers)

e.g. Well (Topic shift), I guess (hedging), yeah (backchannel), anyway (topic shift)

Prosodics (Already Covered)