Child Language Acquisition Key Definitions

Question 1

Discourse

Answer 1

Any spoken or written language that is longer than a sentence

Question 2

Utterance

Answer 2

A section of spoken language
which is often preceded by silence and followed by silence or a change of speaker

Question 3

Body Language

Answer 3

communication which uses all forms of non verbal gestures to put across meaning

Question 4

Turn-Taking

Answer 4

In conversation, people usually wait their turn to speak

Question 5

Adjacency Pair

Answer 5

Dialogue that follows a set pattern of an utterance from one speaker and
a response from the other

Question 6

Conversational Floor

Answer 6

Speaking until you have finished what you wish to say, or until someone interrupts you

Question 7

Status

Answer 7

The perceived position of a person’s authority and influence in relation to those around them

Question 8

Topic Shift

Answer 8

The point at which speakers move from one topic to another

Question 9

Tone

Answer 9

• 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

Question 10

Pitch

Answer 10

• Means whether the voice is high or
  low
• Closely associated with the sounds we
  make and the emotion we are feeling.

Question 11

Volume

Answer 11

• 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

Question 12

Speed

Answer 12

The pace at which someone speaks and again this is related to the circumstances of the social interaction

Question 13

Feedback

Answer 13

A group of verbal and non-verbal signals given by the listener to show they are following the conversation

Question 14

Back-Channelling

Answer 14

• Feedback in words and sounds which a listener gives a speaker to show they
  are listening
• e.g. ‘u m’, ‘agreed’

Question 15

Elision

Answer 15

The omission of a sound or syllable
from a word, in speech

Question 16

Ellipsis

Answer 16

The intentional omission of words from a text, usually indicated by three dots

Question 17

Transcription (Transcript)

Answer 17

A written record of spoken
language which uses symbols and markings to represent the distinctive nature of speech

Question 18

Culture

Answer 18

All the values and information for
life in a society

Question 19

Colloquial

Answer 19

The casual conversation of everyday language

Question 20

Deixis

Answer 20

• 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

Question 21

Contraction

Answer 21

A word or words shortened by placing an apostrophe where letters have
been omitted

Question 22

Hedges and Vague Language

Answer 22

• 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.

Question 23

Metalanguage

Answer 23

language used to describe language
E.g. ‘noun’; ‘ I should
have said .. .’

Question 24

Modality

Answer 24

• 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’

Question 25

Non- Fluency features

Answer 25

• Fillers which give us time to think and/or to announce that we are
  going to say something when the sound is extended (e.g. ‘mmm … ‘)

Question 26

False Starts

Answer 26

• When a speaker realises they have made an error and attempts to repair it through reformulation
• E.g. ‘I come home/came home very quickly’ (another feature of non-fluency)

Question 27

Non-Standard English

Answer 27

Features and forms are commonly used where a speaker struggles
to phrase utterances completely

Question 28

Phatic Communication

Answer 28

• The name for the polite ‘ice-breakers’ used when greeting people in order to initiate a conversation
• E.g. ‘how are you?’
• Often, both participants will say the same thing and a serious or detailed reply is not usually expected

Question 29

Repetition

Answer 29

• Deliberately repeat for
  emphasis, or unintentionally to gain thinking time in order to continue the conversation

Question 30

Tag Questions

Answer 30

Occur when a speaker adds a question to prompt a response from the
listener