DISCOURSE: Features of how speech is structured

Question 1

Adjacency pair…

Answer 1

Used in conversations.
1st part - raises expectation of a response, the 2nd part.
e.g. greetings:
1. Hi, how are you?
2. Fine thanks
Offers:
1. Would you like a coffee?
2. Oh yes please
Prompt and response:
1. So you must be pleased with your results
2. Yes, I'm delighted

Question 2

Insertion sequence…

Answer 2

Fits in between an adjacency pair.
e.g. 
Offer: Would you like a coffee?
Insertion sequence: Is there any tea? No, sorry.
Acceptance: Coffee is fine, thanks.

Question 3

Interruptions…

Answer 3

Can occur frequently in conversations. Can signal desire of a speaker to dominate conversation.

Question 4

Overlapping…

Answer 4

Speakers talking at the same time as others.

Question 5

Discourse markers…

Answer 5

“Well” or “so” might initiate a topic.

“Anyway” might signal a topic shift or the end of a topic.

Question 6

Topic shifts…

Answer 6

Speakers move from one topic to another.

Question 7

Topic loops…

Answer 7

Reintroducing an earlier topic.

Question 8

Anaphoric reference…

Answer 8

Where a pronoun, noun or noun phrase points backwards to something mentioned earlier, e.g.
“THE FILM was breathtaking and the audience watched IT in silence.”

Question 9

Ellipsis…

Answer 9

Omission of a word without hindering clarity. “(I’m) nearly finished.”

Question 10

Typography/graphology…

Answer 10

• Font (bold, italics, underlined, capitalisation)
• Layout
• Pictures
• Use of colour