ALDS Exam 2022

Mentalese

the concept of abstract language of thought in the mind (what we are consciously or unconsciously thinking)

Discourse studies

language analysis on the basis of texts (spoken and written); views language as a tool

Focus of ALDS

how language serves as a key mediating tool that shapes who we are, how we think, and what we perceive

Inner speech

spoken or signed language that doesn't get expressed

Child-directed speech/sign

the tone or word choice often used with babies and young children. Often higher pitch is used or more

Code-switching

the ability to form utterances using elements of multiple languages in real-time discourse, and the practice of doing so

General linguistics

describes and theorizes about language and languages. Analyzes sound systems, grammar, vocabulary, etc. to help identify domestic and international patterns within language

Descriptive linguistics

documents and describes what people say, sign, and write, and the grammatical, lexical, and phonological systems they use to do so

Theoretical linguistics

builds theories about the nature and limits of grammatical, lexical, and phonological systems

Sociolinguistics

the study of language variation and its use in social contexts

Psycholinguistics

the study of the psychological mechanisms and processes involved in language development, knowledge, and use

Neurolinguistics

studies the development, representation, functioning, and impairment of language in the brain

Applied linguistics

focusses on the role language and languages play in perceived problems of communication, social identity, education, health, economics, politics and justice, and in the development of ways to remediate or resolve these problems

Epistemology

the study of forms of knowledge and how we come to know them

Critical applied linguistics

the practice of applied linguistics grounded in a concern for addressing and resolving problems of inequality

Language

any form of action, whether verbal or nonverbal, that has a communicative function or conveys meaning

Utterance

a unit of communication

Discourse

language in use

(a) Text

a chunk or sample of discourse used for analysis. It does not have to be written

Social constructionism

the theory that knowledge, and many aspects of the world around us, are not real in and of themselves. They only exist because we give them reality through social agreement. Often criticized because it does not take into account the effect natural phenomena has on society

Weak social constructionism

the theory that social constructs are dependent on brute facts which are the most basic and fundamental facts that don’t rely on other facts to give them credibility

Institutional facts

created by social conventions and rely on other facts to make them true

Strong social constructionism

the theory that the whole of reality is dependent on language and social habits (there are no brute facts)

Multimodal interaction analysis

a methodological approach for the analysis of social interaction. Views interaction as social actions, meaning making as mediated, and people as social actors. Focusses on what individuals express and others react to

Embodied modes

all actions carry interactional meaning when perceived by an individual

Disembodied modes

all interactions are multimodal, constructed

Multimodal analysis

provides a holistic understanding, facilitates a deep insight, and presents many avenues for inquiry

Interaction

all are multimodal. Can be communicative without the use of language

Multimodal interaction analysts

wish to describe and understand what is going on in a given interaction. View consciousness as the analysis of another social actor’s awareness

Linguistic variation

the way a message in an utterance is influenced by the speaker’s age, gender, ethnicity, social class, occupation, ideological affiliation(s), etc.

Diglossia

the use of different languages, varieties, or registers of differing levels of prestige for different situations and/or purposes

Idiolect

the speech habits peculiar to a particular person

Sociolect

a dialect of a particular social class

Global Englishes

the phenomenon of English used as an international language (could be part of a bilingual or multilingual repertoire)

Variety

term used by linguists to describe the systematic ways in which an identified group uses a language’s sounds, structures, and senses

Received Pronunciation (RP)

a way of pronouncing English that emerged in the late19th century as the accent of England’s privileged classes. It is considered by many to have high prestige and is still used as a target for teaching and a benchmark for phonetic description of other accents, despite its rarity

Phonology

the system of sounds used by a spoken language

Dialect

a variety of language determined normally or geographically by social factors. Can include accents and can make up a language. Often associated with non-linguistic group identities

Register

a way of using the language in certain contexts and situations, often varying according to formality of expression, choice of vocabulary, and degree of explicitness

Codification

the metalinguistic process in which the norms of a privileged variety are established and perpetuated through print technology

Glottographic writing systems

use symbols that represent sounds, either individual phonemes or syllables

Logographic writing systems

use symbols that represent whole words or ideas.

Second languages

other languages spoken in a country beyond the official one

Issues with language proficiency testing

how to create a universal test that is fair for all English speakers, what to test for, how to make a test seem like it isn’t another trick of colonization

Lingua franca

a language used as a medium of communication between users of different first languages

Pidgins

basic linguistic systems that sometimes emerge in situations in which users of different languages find themselves in frequent contact and need to communicate. Can develop through trade (esp. at ports), slavery, and multilingual states formed by colonial invasion or postcolonial union

Creoles

complete languages that have evolved from more basic pidgin languages, in some cases, in a matter of two or three generations. Can develop through trade (esp. at ports), slavery, and multilingual states formed by colonial invasion or postcolonial union

Superstrate language

language used by the politically and socioeconomically dominant group in a language contact situation

Substrate language

language used by a less powerful group in a language contact situation.

Decreolization

when a creole begins to merge with varieties of superstate language through renewed contact with it

Homesign

the sign language equivalent to a pidgin or creole; less sophisticated version of sign language

Accommodation

the ability to modify your style of speaking as a way of attending to your interlocutor’s presumed interpretive competence, conversational needs, and role/status

Convergence in talk

when a person changes the way they speak in order to sound more like the person they are talking to

Divergence

when a person changes the way they speak to sound less like the person they are talking to

Studying aims of discourse analysts

the description of contextualized language use, the explanation of how discourse is processed in the mind, the consideration of how discourse can both reflect and create a particular version of events, objects, or people

Repair

in conversation analysis, this refers to the ways in which interlocutors correct unintended forms and non-understandings, misunderstandings, or errors during a conversation

Self-initiated repair

when someone corrects themselves during a conversation

Phatic communication

a term used by Malinowski to refer to communication that is not intended to convey information but that functions as a way of creating or maintaining social contact. For example, small talk

Corpus/corpora

a digital collection of authentic spoken, written, or signed language, used for the analysis of grammatical patterns and estimations of the frequency of words, word combinations, and grammatical structures

Corpus linguistics

aims to explore the extent to which certain features of language are associated with contextual features by use of collections of texts.

Systemic functional linguistics (SFL)

interested in the social context of language. It explores the systematic relationship between the contexts of everyday life and the functional organization of language. Language is analyzed as a resource used in communication.

Field of discourse

what is happening? What is the nature of the social action that is accomplished by text?

Tenor of discourse

who is taking part? What kinds of temporary and permanent status and roles do the participants have in the interaction and in other interactions in which they take part in?

Mode of discourse

what part does language of the text play?

Ideational function

how the semantic content of a text is expressed

Interpersonal function

how the semantic content is exchanged or negotiated

Textual function

how the semantic content is structured in the text

Communicative competence

not only the ability to form utterances using grammar, but also the knowledge of when, where, and with whom, it is appropriate to use these utterances in order to achieve a desired effect

Speech situations

sports events, ceremonies, trips, evenings out, etc.

Speech events

ordering a meal, making a political speech, giving a lecture, etc.

Speech acts

utterances that operate as a functional unit in communication. Example, promises, requests, etc.

The communicative approach

in additional language teaching, this stresses that the aim of learning a language is communicative competence

Ethnographic approach

used to understand the discourse of specific communities or groups

Conversation analysts

interested in the organizational structures of spoken interaction

Conversation analysis (CA)

looks at short segments of conversation as well as institutional forms of talk to show the ways in which interlocutors mutually organize their talk and what this tells us about socially preferred patterns of interaction

Critical discourse analysts

study the ways in which social power, dominance, and inequality, are enacted, reproduced, and resisted by text and talk in social and political contexts

Critical discourse analysis (CDA)

a way of thinking about texts, talk, and visual imagery that is sensitive to the relationship between discourse and our beliefs about ourselves, other people, relationships, and things that surround us. Committed to exposing social and political unfairness

Heteroglossia

a theory created by Mikhail Bakhtin that suggests that a text can’t be reduced to a single, fixed, self-enclosed, “true” meaning that is determined by the intention of its author. The meanings are linked to conditions of cultural production and reception

Context

comprises the linguistic, proximal, temporal, geographical, interpersonal, and ideological dimensions of the situation in which a text is produced and interpreted

Praxis

educational jargon for “practice” or “enaction”

Cross-Cultural Communication (CCC)

involves comparing and contrasting the communication patterns of people of one culture with patterns observed in people of a different culture with the aim of finding some similarity and difference. Considers the cultural level and individual level

Intercultural communication

deals with the interaction between people of different cultures or culturally distinctive groups, organizations, and/or nations. Considers cultural, individual, and interactional levels

Conversation openings

how one starts a conversation

Conversation endings

how one ends a conversation

Adjacency pairs

answering a greeting with the same greeting, responding to a question, etc.

Response tokens

the ways we let people know we are engaged in what they are saying. A feedback strategy

Generic listener responses

responses that convey understanding. A feedback strategy

Specific listener responses

very specific responses to the exact words being said. A feedback strategy

Discourse markers

discursive items which act as signposts of discourse coherence

Pragmatics

studies the meaning of discourse and context. How do we know what people mean? How does context define what is appropriate? How and why does our language change wen we speak to different people? And in different contexts?

Locutionary act

the actual physical words being produced in a speech act

Illocutionary act

the meaning behind the words in a speech act

Perlocutionary act

the effect the utterance has on the other person’s thoughts or actions in a speech act

Felicity conditions

there are certain things that must be met for a speech act to work

Cooperative principle

created by Grice and based on his four maxims: quality, quantity, relation, and manner

Maxim of quality

we should say only what we believe to be true and what we have evidence for

Maxim of quantity

we should make our contribution as informative as is required for the situation, not more or less

Maxim of relation

we should make our contributions relevant or at least indicate how it isn’t relevant

Maxim of manner

we should be clear in what we say; avoid ambiguity or obscurity

Floating a maxim

when you break a maxim without the intention of deceiving anyone