9093 A Level English discourse analysis

discourse

any spoken or written language that is longer than a sentence

utterance

a stretch of spoken language which is often preceded with silence or a change of speaker; an alternative to a sentence in conversation analysis

turn-taking

cooperative conversation with participants taking turns

adjacency pairs

dialogue that follows a set pattern (statement and response)

holding the floor

speaking until you have finished what you wish to say or until someone interrupts you

repairing

correcting themselves or using phrases to acknowledge their mistake

topic shift

the point at which speakers move from one topic to another - conversations is dynamic and spontaneous

phatic communication

polite 'ice breakers' we use when greeting people in order to initiate a conversation

voiced pauses

the "ums" and "ers" and "you knows" used when we can't express exactly what we want to say; fillers

false starts

starting again to correct yourself using phrases like "i mean to say", "i should have mentioned"

repetition

deliberately repeat for emphasis or unintentionally to gain thinking time in order to continue the conversation

overlaps and interruptions

participants cut in before their turn

hedges/vague language

strategy used when you want to avoid coming to the point or saying things directly - "kind of", "you know what i mean", "basically"

modality

conversational strategy which allows us to introduce different options and compromises for negotiation - "perhaps", "probably", "may", "might", "could", "normally", "should"

ellipsis

omission or slurring of syllables - "gonna", "wanna"

transactional language

discourse to get things done and with a specific purpose

back-channel

a noise, gesture, expression or word used by a listener to indicate that he or she is paying attention to a speaker

discourse markers

words or phrases which mark boundaries between one bit of conversation and another - "so", "right", "i see", "well", "then", "fine"

non-standard features and forms

often used where a speaker struggles to phrase utterances clearly; unfinished utterances

tag questions

a question added onto the end of declarative statement to engage and elicit a response from the listener

deixis

words which locate the conversation in a particular space or context which non-participant would not be able to make sense of

fixed expressions

routine and patterned utterances that are usually known to whom we speak and so they have an important function of maintaining a shared understanding of the culture around us

vague expressions

operate to soften authoritative requests and to maintain greater engagement between speakers - "sort of", "kind of", "or something"

cooperative principle

the principle that speakers usually mean what they say and that hearers accept this in trying to work out the meaning

Grice's maxims

guideline principles which are generally adopted in conversation

maxims of quantity

1. make your contribution to the conversation as informative as necessary

2. do not make your contribution to the conversation more informative than necessary

maxims of quality

1. do not say what you believe to be false.

2. do not say that for which you lack adequate evidence.

maxims of manner

1. avoid obscurity of expression

2. avoid ambiguity

3. be brief

4. be orderly

maxim of relation

be relevant

conversational face

the image that a person has of themselves as a conversationalist; speaker's sense of his or her own linguistic image and worth

positive politeness

strategies intended to minimize the threat to the hearer's self-esteem; being complimentary to the person they are speaking to before starting a potentially face-threatening act

face-threatening act

acts or words which appear to threaten the self-esteem of a speaker in conversation

negative politeness

strategies intended to avoid giving offense by showing deference; mitigate a request or situation which they wish to impose - "i'm terribly sorry but..", "could you perhaps..", "would you mind.."

phonetics

study of speech sounds

micropause

a very short pause to take breath

tone units

the natural phrases of speech, usually separated by a micropause

paralinguistic features

add to the total meaning of the total discourse, even if the speakers are not consciously aware of them

tone

emotion associated with the utterance

pitch

level of voice production, whether high or low

volume

level of voice production, whether loud or soft

speed

pace at which someone speaks and is related to the circumstances of the social interaction

vocal expressions

giggling, sighing, tutting, oohing

pauses

meaningful in any conversation; indicating unease and tension or when someone is thinking about what to say