analysing dialogue terminology Flashcards
what is genre?
a style or category of art, music, film or literature that can be identified by its conformity to specific conventions (eg melodrama/ tragedy)
what is characterisation?
the process of building an impression of a character through their speech and actions (eg lexical choices, non-fluency, tone, body language)
what are adjacency pairs?
a pair of utterances from different speakers where the second speaker is controlled by the first speakers utterance. (question/ answer)
what are insertion sequences?
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)
what is the locutionary act?
the utterance itself
what is the illocutionary act?
the significance and pragmatic force of the utterance
what is the perlocutionary act?
the actual effort of the utterance on the hearer
what are directives?
speech acts that trigger the hearer to take a particular action, such as commands or requests
what are commissives?
speech acts that pledge the speaker to a future action, such as promises (i promise i won’t forget)
what are declarations?
speech acts that make a pronouncement that change the reality of the situation (‘i now pronounce you man and wife’)
what are assertives?
speech acts that commit the speaker to the truth of what they are saying (eg ‘it is going to rain today’)
what are expressives?
speech acts that express the speakers feelings and attitudes towards the proposition (eg ‘i’m really sorry i can’t be there’)
what are positive face needs?
a universal human need to feel valued and appreciated
what are negative face needs?
a universal human need for independence and not to be imposed upon
what is a face-threatening act?
a speech act that has the potential to damage someone’s self-esteem in terms of either positive or negative face needs
what is agenda-setting?
this refers to the person who takes the initiative and chooses the topic being talked about
what does colloquial mean?
an everyday form of language which is informal and may include slang words
what is demotic language?
everyday, ordinary language.
what are ellipses?
the omission part of a sentence for economy or emphasis (eg ‘need any help?’ rather than ‘do you need any help’)
what are fillers?
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’)
what is a gatekeeper?
a person with the power to control the discourse governing the taking-turn or the ritual
what is a hedge?
a softening phrase used to weaken the impact of a statement or an utterance (‘as far as i know’)
what is idiolect?
an individuals particular way of speaking
what are interactional features?
features of spoken discourse which are commonly seen when people interact, such as someone being dominant
what is length of turn?
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
what are non-fluency features?
pauses, breaks and fillers in a person’s speech
what are overlaps and interruptions?
where two or more speakers speak at the same time
what are pragmatics?
how we interpret the intentions of a speaker in a particular context
what is register?
the features that are characteristic of a particular use of language ranging from formal to informal
what is a rhetorical question?
a question that is intended to make the listener reflect, rather than expecting them to provide an answer
what is a schema?
a set of expectations in any given situation. for example, in buying and selling there is an expected ‘schema’ which governs behaviour
what is a triple structure?
also knows as triplets. repeating words or
phrases three times.
what is turn-taking?
in spontaneous conversation, when people take turns to speak. scripted turn taking is more orderly.
what are the 4 main types of utterances?
•interrogatives (questions)
•declaratives (statements)
•imperatives (commands)
•exclamatives
