Child Language Acquisition

Discourse

Any spoken or written language that is longer than a sentence (in this section, it applies primarily to spoken language)

Utterance

A section of spoken language which is often preceded by silence or a change of speaker. This term is commonly used as an alternative to ‘sentence’ in conversational analysis, as it is difficult to apply traditional characteristics of a written sentence to spoken language

Body language

Communication which uses all forms of nonverbal gestures to put across meaning

Turn-taking

In conversation, people usually wait their turn to speak. Some may interrupt, out of eagerness or rudeness, but the norm is for one speaker to yield

Adjacency pair

Dialogue that follows a set pattern (e.g. when speakers greet each other) of an utterance from one speaker and a response from another

Conversational floor

Speaking until you have finished what you wish to say, or until someone interrupts you

Status

The perceived position of a person’s authority and influence in relation to those around them

Topic shift

The point at which speakers move from one topic to another

Feedback

A group of verbal and nonverbal signals by the listener(s) to show they are following the conversation