Chapter 9

Question 1

an idea that is not currently actively focused on in a discourse, but which has been mentioned earlier and/or is in the periphery of the addressee’s consciousness

Answer 1

accessible activation state

Question 2

an assumption that a particular referent or idea is given, new, or accessible in the mind of the interlocutor

Answer 2

activation state

Question 3

the culmination of a narrative plot, typically at the end of a narrative; something unusual or unexpected which makes the narrative worth listening to and telling

Answer 3

climax

Question 4

a sequence of events in a narrative which are told after the introduction and which lead to the climax

Answer 4

complicating action

Question 5

an index of all the words in a corpus along with their immediate linguistic contexts and some information about the frequency and location of each

Answer 5

concordance

Question 6

a stretch of speech which intends to quote or reproduce the speech of another person, but does not necessarily repeat the exact words of the quoted person

Answer 6

constructed dialogue

Question 7

database containing collected recordings of spoken or written language

Answer 7

corpus (pl. corpora)

Question 8

a stretch of language larger than a phrase or sentence, such as a narrative or conversation; the study of spontaneous speech in its natural context

Answer 8

discourse

Question 9

analysis of how speakers use linguistic structures in stretches of language larger than the sentence for the purposes of communication; includes language and interaction, conversational analysis, information structuring, etc.

Answer 9

discourse analysis

Question 10

a particle with discourse‑interactional functions, such as oh, hmm, or yeah

Answer 10

discourse particle

Question 11

an intonation unit which is not completed, such as when interrupted or when restarting a word or phrase; also known as fragmentary phrases

Answer 11

fragmentary intonation units/fragmentary phrases

Question 12

the rate of vocal fold vibration, perceived as pitch

Answer 12

fundamental frequency

Question 13

a variety of discourse; includes written or spoken, fiction, nonfiction, story‑telling, conversation, interviews, e‑mail, text messaging, newspaper articles, etc.

Answer 13

genre

Question 14

information that is activated in the listener’s mind because it has just been mentioned or is obvious in context; therefore it is information that the speaker assumes to be already in the focal consciousness of the addressee

Answer 14

given information

Question 15

whether the speaker assumes an idea is given, accessible, or new to the addressee

Answer 15

identifiability

Question 16

the strength of a sound wave, perceived as loudness

Answer 16

intensity

Question 17

a segment of speech characterized by a single coherent pitch contour, often by declining pitch, volume, and/or rapidity, as well as by preceding and following pauses

Answer 17

intonation unit/prosodic phrase

Question 18

the relation of a sequence of events, traditionally following a narrative schema

Answer 18

narrative

Question 19

a pattern of story‑telling that introduces characters, places elements in space and time, and progresses through events towards the climax

Answer 19

narrative schema

Question 20

information a speaker assumes is not already in the focal consciousness of the addressee

Answer 20

new information

Question 21

the process in which conversation partners articulate their thoughts and navigate social interaction in real time

Answer 21

on‑line creation of natural discourse

Question 22

the perception of a sound on a scale of low to high; correlates with fundamental frequency

Answer 22

pitch

Question 23

in prosody, a pitch pattern characterized by rises and falls

Answer 23

pitch contour

Question 24

particular prosodic patterns associated with particular individuals or with particular speech usages such as oratory or acting

Answer 24

prosodic styles

Question 25

the variations in pitch, volume, timing, and voice quality that overlay linguistic utterances

Answer 25

prosody

Question 26

the “real world” objects of thought and language; people, objects, and situations that exist independently of human language, but toward which human language may be directed

Answer 26

referents

Question 27

intonation unit containing an utterance that regulates the flow of information in discourse, such as okay, yeah, and hm; also known as regulatory phrases; contrasts with substantive intonation unit

Answer 27

regulatory intonation unit

Question 28

distribution of speech elements through time, including acceleration, deceleration, and pausing

Answer 28

speech timing

Question 29

intonation unit where the utterance conveys referential information, i.e. ideas of events, states, people, or objects; also known as substantive phrases; contrasts with regulatory intonation unit

Answer 29

substantive intonation unit

Question 30

a new topic of conversation which is related to or slightly shifted from a previous topic

Answer 30

subtopic

Question 31

a pitch contour associated with the final portion of an intonation unit

Answer 31

terminal pitch contour

Question 32

a sequence of related ideas expressed through substantive intonation units

Answer 32

topic of conversation

Question 33

a single instance of speech

Answer 33

utterance

Question 34

a cover term for various modifications of a normal speaking voice

Answer 34

voice quality