Child Language Acquisition Key Definitions Flashcards
Discourse
Any spoken or written language that is longer than a sentence
Utterance
A section of spoken language
which is often preceded by silence and followed by silence or a change of speaker
Body Language
communication which uses all forms of non verbal gestures to put across meaning
Turn-Taking
In conversation, people usually wait their turn to speak
Adjacency Pair
Dialogue that follows a set pattern of an utterance from one speaker and
a response from the other
Conversational Floor
Speaking until you have finished what you wish to say, or until someone interrupts you
Status
The perceived position of a person’s authority and influence in relation to those around them
Topic Shift
The point at which speakers move from one topic to another
Tone
- The emotion associated with the
utterance - Can generally tell whether someone is irritated, angry, happy, sad, excited or bored by the expression they use when speaking
Pitch
- Means whether the voice is high or
low - Closely associated with the sounds we
make and the emotion we are feeling.
Volume
- Level of voice production, whether
loud or soft - Everyone has their own characteristic volume level when they speak, and volume may change according to the
circumstances
Speed
The pace at which someone speaks and again this is related to the circumstances of the social interaction
Feedback
A group of verbal and non-verbal signals given by the listener to show they are following the conversation
Back-Channelling
- Feedback in words and sounds which a listener gives a speaker to show they
are listening - e.g. ‘u m’, ‘agreed’
Elision
The omission of a sound or syllable
from a word, in speech
Ellipsis
The intentional omission of words from a text, usually indicated by three dots
Transcription (Transcript)
A written record of spoken
language which uses symbols and markings to represent the distinctive nature of speech
Culture
All the values and information for
life in a society
Colloquial
The casual conversation of everyday language
Deixis
- Words which locate the conversation in a particular space or context which
a non-participant would not be able to make sense of - E.g. ‘This’, ‘that’, ‘these’ and ‘those’ are important in conversation as they are mutually understood between the participants
Contraction
A word or words shortened by placing an apostrophe where letters have
been omitted
Hedges and Vague Language
- Used when we want to avoid coming to the point or say things directly
- E.g. ‘kind of’, ‘you know what I mean’, ‘actually’,’basically’
- These soften the force of what is said, and are useful when we want to
negotiate a point of view.
Metalanguage
language used to describe language
E.g. ‘noun’; ‘ I should
have said .. .’
Modality
- Often used in conjunction with hedges, and allows us to introduce different options and compromises for negotiation between participants
- E.g. ‘perhaps’, ‘probably’, ‘normally’, ‘slightly’, ‘maybe’
