analysing dialogue terminology

Question 1

what is genre?

Answer 1

a style or category of art, music, film or literature that can be identified by its conformity to specific conventions (eg melodrama/ tragedy)

Question 2

what is characterisation?

Answer 2

the process of building an impression of a character through their speech and actions (eg lexical choices, non-fluency, tone, body language)

Question 3

what are adjacency pairs?

Answer 3

a pair of utterances from different speakers where the second speaker is controlled by the first speakers utterance. (question/ answer)

Question 4

what are insertion sequences?

Answer 4

an exchange that adds extra information/ goes off on a tangent before the sequence of the adjacency pairs is resumed (eg a question is answered)

Question 5

what is the locutionary act?

Answer 5

the utterance itself

Question 6

what is the illocutionary act?

Answer 6

the significance and pragmatic force of the utterance

Question 7

what is the perlocutionary act?

Answer 7

the actual effort of the utterance on the hearer

Question 8

what are directives?

Answer 8

speech acts that trigger the hearer to take a particular action, such as commands or requests

Question 9

what are commissives?

Answer 9

speech acts that pledge the speaker to a future action, such as promises (i promise i won’t forget)

Question 10

what are declarations?

Answer 10

speech acts that make a pronouncement that change the reality of the situation (‘i now pronounce you man and wife’)

Question 11

what are assertives?

Answer 11

speech acts that commit the speaker to the truth of what they are saying (eg ‘it is going to rain today’)

Question 12

what are expressives?

Answer 12

speech acts that express the speakers feelings and attitudes towards the proposition (eg ‘i’m really sorry i can’t be there’)

Question 13

what are positive face needs?

Answer 13

a universal human need to feel valued and appreciated

Question 14

what are negative face needs?

Answer 14

a universal human need for independence and not to be imposed upon

Question 15

what is a face-threatening act?

Answer 15

a speech act that has the potential to damage someone’s self-esteem in terms of either positive or negative face needs

Question 16

what is agenda-setting?

Answer 16

this refers to the person who takes the initiative and chooses the topic being talked about

Question 17

what does colloquial mean?

Answer 17

an everyday form of language which is informal and may include slang words

Question 18

what is demotic language?

Answer 18

everyday, ordinary language.

Question 19

what are ellipses?

Answer 19

the omission part of a sentence for economy or emphasis (eg ‘need any help?’ rather than ‘do you need any help’)

Question 20

what are fillers?

Answer 20

words or sounds people use to fill in time while they think of what to say next, or to show hesitation or reluctance ( ‘uh’ ‘like’ ‘er’)

Question 21

what is a gatekeeper?

Answer 21

a person with the power to control the discourse governing the taking-turn or the ritual

Question 22

what is a hedge?

Answer 22

a softening phrase used to weaken the impact of a statement or an utterance (‘as far as i know’)

Question 23

what is idiolect?

Answer 23

an individuals particular way of speaking

Question 24

what are interactional features?

Answer 24

features of spoken discourse which are commonly seen when people interact, such as someone being dominant

Question 25

what is length of turn?

Answer 25

this refers to the length of a participants speech. the person with the higher status, because of their power or knowledge, will usually have the longest turn

Question 26

what are non-fluency features?

Answer 26

pauses, breaks and fillers in a person’s speech

Question 27

what are overlaps and interruptions?

Answer 27

where two or more speakers speak at the same time

Question 28

what are pragmatics?

Answer 28

how we interpret the intentions of a speaker in a particular context

Question 29

what is register?

Answer 29

the features that are characteristic of a particular use of language ranging from formal to informal

Question 30

what is a rhetorical question?

Answer 30

a question that is intended to make the listener reflect, rather than expecting them to provide an answer

Question 31

what is a schema?

Answer 31

a set of expectations in any given situation. for example, in buying and selling there is an expected ‘schema’ which governs behaviour

Question 32

what is a triple structure?

Answer 32

also knows as triplets. repeating words or
phrases three times.

Question 33

what is turn-taking?

Answer 33

in spontaneous conversation, when people take turns to speak. scripted turn taking is more orderly.

Question 34

what are the 4 main types of utterances?

Answer 34

•interrogatives (questions)
•declaratives (statements)
•imperatives (commands)
•exclamatives