Discourse Flashcards
Discourse
The study of spoken language.
Standard English
A variety of the English language which has prestige which no local base. Used by leading institutions, most widely understood and usually found in print. When it is spoken it is called ‘Received Pronunciation’.
Agenda Setting
It deals with the topics being raised by speakers- who introduces a topic. In an interview the interviewer is likely asking the questions to set the agenda. (A boss usually will in a meeting).
Adjacency Pairs
Parallel expressions used across the boundaries of individual speaking turns. They are usually ritualistic and formulaic socially. E.g. How are you?/ Fine, thanks.
Back-channeling
Words, phrases and non-verbal utterances ‘I see’, ‘Oh’, ‘Uh’ ‘mm, mm’ used by a listener to give feedback to a speaker that the message is being understood.
Contraction
A reduced form often marked by an apostrophe in writing. Basically an abbreviation. E.g. can’t, she’ll. (Elision). It is more casual and informal and most likely found in speech.
Deixis/Deictics
Words like ‘this’, ‘here’, ‘that’ and ‘there’- these refer backwards or forwards or outside a text- a sort of verbal pointing. Context dependent feature of talk (Pragmatics). It is spontaneous so we can speak randomly so this helps to clarify the relationships- the time and place of a subject of an utterance.
Discourse marker
Words and phrases which are used to signal (mark) the relationship and connections between utterances and to signpost that what is said can be followed by the listener or reader. E.g. ‘first’, ‘on the other hand’, ‘now’, ‘what’s more’ and ‘anyway, To clarify and make speech easier to understand and follow.
Elision
The omission of letters to elide words. E.g. it’s, can’t, won’t. Sometimes words are slurred/elided together. E.g. gonna- going to, wassup- what is the matter.
Ellipsis
The omission of part of a grammatical structure to convey a more casual and informal tone. E.g. ‘You going to the party?’ ‘Might be.’- the cut out of ‘Are’ (verb) and ‘I’ (pronoun). I
False start
When the speaker begins an utterance, stops and repeats/reformulates it. Also called self-correction. (Repairs).
Filler/filled pause
Items that have no real conventional meaning, or add anything to the conversation which are inserted into speech to allow time to think, to create a pause to seem calm, collected and professional and to give others time to process and think or to hold a turn in conversation. E.g. ‘er’, ‘um’, ‘ah’. Also called voiced pause.
Also, to show forgetfulness or anxiousness. Context dependant.
Grice’s Maxims
Grice’s 4 Maxims- 4 basic conversational ‘rules’ as criteria for successful conversation. Quantity, Quality, Relevance and Manner.
Hedge
Words/phrases which soften or weaken the force in which something is said. E.g. ‘perhaps’, ‘maybe’, ‘sort of’, ‘possibly’ and ‘I think’. A politeness feature- something women have been known to use.
Interactional talk
Language which is in conversation used for interpersonal reasons (linking to relationships or communicating) and/or socialising.
Mean length of utterance (MLU)
Flags up how much a person speaks- someone with a high MLU conveys they are dominating the conversation/ may be nervous.
Non-fluency features
Typical and normal characteristics of spoken language that interrupt ‘flow’ of speech. E.g. Hesitations and false starts.
Overlap/interruptions
Can occur in an aggressive or co-operative way. Aggressive overlap is an attempt at taking control of the conversation- persona allowed to interrupt- person is successful. Co-operative overlaps support other participant- may help speaker finish sentence.
Paralinguistic features
Related to body language-use of gestures, facial expressions and non-verbal elements (like laughter) to add meaning to the speakers message beyond only the words spoken. (Empathy, sympathy, needs help). Contextual and usually shown in brackets.
Phatic talk
Conversational utterances that have no concrete purpose other than to establish or maintain a personal relationship- related to ‘small talk’. Follows traditional patterns, with stock responses and formulaic expressions. E.g. ‘How are you?’ ‘Fine.’ ‘Cold, isn’t it?’ ‘Freezing.’
Be polite and protect positive face.
Repairs
An alteration that is suggested or made by a speaker, the addressee, or audience in order to correct or clarify a previous conversational contribution. E.g. ‘I was going (.) no, I mean I went’. Breaks Maxim of Quality as it isn’t accurate.
Repetition
Because speech is spontaneous and because we are thinking on our feet it is normal for a speaker to repeat words/phrases in an attempt to articulate (pronounce)
a thought clearly. E.g. ‘I was (.) I was going to town…’
Tag question
Strings of words normally added to a declarative sentence to turn the statement into a question. E.g. ‘It’s a bit expensive round here, isn’t it?’ To start conversation or to make small talk/phatic talk. Sarcastic or to affirm something.
Transactional talk
Language to get things done or to transmit content or information (used when the participants are exchanging goods and/or services). E.g. At a shop till.
Turn taking
A turn in time during which a single participant speaks, within a typical, orderly arrangement in which a participant speaks with a minimal overlap and gap between them. One person speaks, then another. The principal unit description in conversational structure.
Vague meaning
Statements that sound imprecise and unassertive. E.g. ‘and so on’, ‘oh whatever’, ‘thingummy’. ‘whatsit’, ‘thingymagigy’. Shows conversational implicature or the natural forgetfulness in spoken language as we think on our feet.
