CH 07: Discourse

What is discourse?

Conversational language with its own grammar, learned through social interaction rather than formal rules.

Who are interlocutors?

Two or more people engaged in a conversation.

What is an adjacency pair?

A structured conversational exchange where one speaker’s turn requires a related response (e.g., question → answer).

What are discourse markers?

Words that signal transitions or structure in conversation (e.g., “so,” “well,” “but”).

What is preference organization in conversation?

The tendency to prefer certain types of responses (e.g., quick agreement, delayed disagreement).

Why are negative responses often delayed?

To soften the impact and avoid discomfort or conflict.

What are accounts in conversation?

Explanations given to justify negative responses.

What is the function of conversation fillers?

They buy time for planning speech and can improve listener memory.

What is pragmatics?

The practical use of language based on social and situational context.

What does common ground refer to?

Shared knowledge and assumptions between speakers.

Give an example of pragmatics in action.

Adjusting speech depending on whether you’re talking to friends vs grandparents.

What is the no gaps/no overlaps principle?

Avoid long silences and avoid talking over others.

What are backchannels?

Nonverbal or minimal responses (e.g., nodding) that encourage the speaker.

What are overlaps?

Brief interjections that signal agreement.

What are conversational beats?

Matching the rhythm and pacing of others in group conversation.

What is entrainment?

Synchronizing communication patterns with others in a group.

What is talk-in interaction?

Speech tied directly to a shared task or activity.

What is spouse talk?

What is spouse talk?

What is shop talk?

Work-related conversation that may be hard for outsiders to follow.

What is decontextualization in storytelling?

The ability to tell a story independent of the current environment.

Which brain area is heavily involved in storytelling organization?

The prefrontal cortex.

What is a schema in storytelling?

A mental framework that fills in expected details (e.g., restaurant routines).

What are situation models?

Mental simulations of events in a story.

What is privileged ground?

When some listeners have more knowledge about the story than others.

What is optimal relevance?

Providing just enough detail to be informative without overwhelming the listener.

What is the difference between microstructure and macrostructure?

• Micro: words and sentence-level details

• Macro: overall story structure (beginning → middle → end)

What are the four components of story grammar?

1. Setting

2. Initiating event

3. Attempt

4. Consequence

What are referring expressions?

Different ways of referring to the same entity.

What is the abstract card task used to demonstrate?

How people develop shared understanding (common ground).

Which brain structure supports social processing in discourse?

The amygdala.

What is the repeated name penalty?

Slower processing when the same name is repeated instead of using pronouns.

What is an antecedent?

The original noun being referred to.

What is an anaphor?

A word (usually a pronoun) that refers back to the antecedent.

What is givenness?

How accessible a concept is in the listener’s memory.

Difference between indefinite vs definite determiners?

• Indefinite (a/an): new information

• Definite (the): known information

What is cohesion?

Structural linking of sentences (e.g., via anaphors).

What is coherence?

Overall understanding of the meaning of discourse.

What is a bridging inference?

Connecting ideas to explain causation.

Example of bridging inference?

Blown tire → car swerved off road.

What is a predictive inference?

Anticipating what will happen next.

What is theory of mind?

Understanding others’ thoughts and intentions.

Why do children struggle with discourse?

They lack fully developed theory of mind.

What is locution?

Literal meaning of words.

What is illocution?

Intended meaning.

What is perlocution?

Emotional or social effect of speech.

Who developed the cooperative principle?

Paul Grice

What are Gricean maxims?

Rules for effective communication:

• Quantity

• Quality

• Relevance

• Manner

What are signs someone may be lying?

• Overexplaining

• Using vague pronouns (he, they)

• Using sensory words (see, hear)

What is a protoconversation?

Early turn-taking interaction using gestures and sounds.

What does the neutral face paradigm demonstrate?

Infants expect social responses and react when they are absent.

How does gaze shift in infants over time?

Eyes → mouth → back to eyes

What characterizes late talkers?

Delayed expressive language but no cognitive impairment.

What are indexical gestures?

Pointing to objects.

What are iconic gestures?

Gestures representing meaning (e.g., miming a shape).

What are co-speech gestures?

Automatic gestures that accompany speech.

What is prosody?

Rhythm and tone changes in speech.

What is sound symbolism?

Changing tone to alter meaning (e.g., statement → question).

How does Specific Language Impairment (SLI) affect discourse?

• Simpler narratives

• Difficulty with inference

• Working memory issues

What is pragmatic language impairment?

Difficulty understanding social aspects of communication.