Features Flashcards
Acronymy
This is a phrase of words that have been abbreviated to just the starting of the word BUT they are pronounced as one whole word, ‘lol’ (laugh out loud).
‘G’ clipping
The removal of G off the ends of words ‘goin’
Greeting sequence
It is used to initiate a shared social space, this may not occur between unequal participants, some do not want/need this shared social space and may go straight to the agenda of the conversation.
Deictic referencing
This has been used in radios and television commentaries, it refers to something that the audience might be able to see or not, ‘here/there’.
Homophonic representation
This is the use of both a letter and a number joined together to create a word, ‘m8’ (mate).
Initialism
This is a phrase of words that have been abbreviated to just the starting of the word, ‘lmk’ (let me know).
Lexical accommodation
This is the way in which speakers mirror each other’s lexical choices as a sign of community membership.
E.g. Amy-haha, that’s hilarious. Clive-I know, I thought that x Amy-yeah x
Metatalk
This draws attention to the act of talking,
‘well it has been great talking to you but…’
Phatic speech acts
These are turns designed to maintain a sense of cooperation or respect for the other participant.
Phonetic spelling
These are words that are spelt like they are pronounced, ‘iluvu’ (I love you).
Pre-closing sequence
This signals that one (or both) speakers wish to end the conversation.
Prosodic features
These are used instead of paralinguistic techniques (hand movements etc. to add more meaning to words), they are used to provide emphasis or other effects. E.g. ‘hmmm/haha!!!!’
Valediction
An item that acts like a farewell.
Variant spelling
This is a different way of spelling a word, ‘wot’ (what).
Vowel omission
This is used in text messages and this is where words have vowels missing, ‘pls’ (please).
Neologisms
New words due to technology e.g. unfriend
Capitalisation
Mimics the prosodic feature of a raised voice from excitement or anger
Jargon / online slang
Language specific to one discourse community
It creates a group identity - establishes a sense of belonging
Non-standard utterances
Utterances which involve non-standard language features
Idiolect
An individuals way of using language - reflects personality
Elision
Merging to words to make one e.g. Want to becomes Wanna
Conversational threads
Visually grouping messages with their replies - helps with organising conversations for better clarity
Blending
Merging to words together to make a brand new word
E.g. Thumb and Print makes thumbprint
Shortenings
The shortening of words e.g. congrats
