Spoken Language

Spoken Language Types

  • Formal: Structured communication used in speeches or news presentations.
  • Semi-Formal: Casual opportunities like chat show interviews.
  • Informal: Everyday conversations amongst friends and family.

Interaction Types

  • Phatic: Maintains relationships, small talk.
  • Interactional: Focused on personal/social engagement.
  • Transactional: Aims to convey information or complete tasks.
  • Conative: Seeks to influence behavior or opinions.

Informal Conversation Example

  • Speaker's Role: Utilizes extended turns, allowing for storytelling.
  • Structure: Loose, creative use of conjunctions (e.g., "and", "so").
  • Key Features:
    • Uses deictic phrases (e.g., "over there") to contextualize.
    • Employs emphatic stress on important words to emphasize meaning.
    • Informal pronunciations characteristic of connected speech (e.g., /juːstə/, /ən/).
    • Unique speech patterns termed as an idiolect (e.g., /pɑːti:::klə/).

Turntaking in Speech

Characteristics
  1. Dominant Speaker: Determines the topic of conversation.
  2. Transition Relevance Places: Marks changes in speech turns.
  3. Back-channel Features: Provide feedback (e.g., affirmations).
  4. Overlaps: Instances where speakers talk simultaneously.
  5. Interruptions: Prevent one speaker from completing their turn.
  6. Latch-ons: Continuation of a turn without gaps.

Grammatical Features of Spoken Language

Distinctive Structures
  1. Loose Structures: Commonly used (e.g., "I was there and I saw you and then I…").
  2. Elliptical Utterances: Omission of subjects (e.g., "Don’t blame you.").
  3. Deixis: Referring contextually to the physical environment (e.g., "It’s over there.").
  4. Comment Clauses: Stand-alone opinions (e.g., "you know", "I think").
  5. Non-Fluency Features: Include fillers, pauses, repetition, and repairs.

Pronunciation in Spoken Language

Key Aspects
  1. Regional Accents: Influence pronunciation (e.g., Birmingham style for "cut").
  2. Idiolects: Unique personal speech traits (e.g., "ve:::ry").
  3. Informal Pronunciations: Regional features like glottal stops (e.g., forget [fɔːgeʔ] vs. RP).
  4. Assimilation: Sound changes when words connect (e.g., /kæŋgəʊ/ for cannot).
  5. Elision: Omission of sounds in words (e.g., /prhæps/ for perhaps).

Prosodics in Speech

Vocal Cues and Their Functions
  1. Emphatic Stress: Highlights important words, clarifies the speaker's intention.
  2. Pitch Variation: Indicates mood changes (raised for excitement, lowered for sadness).
  3. Intonation Patterns: Reflects emotional tone or grammatical structure (e.g., rising for questions).
  4. Pace of Speech: Fast for excitement or slow for drama; utilizes pauses effectively.
  5. Volume Adjustments: Can signal emotions like anger or frustration.