SAC specifics Flashcards
Paralinguistic features
Paralinguistic features are non-verbal elements of speech that convey meaning, beyond words themselves. They include:
Prosodic Features → Variations in speech sound, such as:
Pitch (how high or low a voice is)
Intonation (rising or falling tone in speech)
Stress (emphasizing certain words)
Tempo (speed of speech)
Volume (loudness or softness of speech)
Vocal Effects → Sounds that influence meaning, such as:
Laughter (signals amusement or nervousness)
Sighing (indicates frustration, sadness, or relief)
Gasping (expresses surprise or shock)
Body Language & Facial Expressions → Includes gestures, posture, and eye contact that shape communication.
what is cultural contexts
Cultural context: This refers to the extralinguistic circumstances that will influence language use, including the values, attitudes and beliefs of the speaker, writer and/or interlocutor(s) or audience.
>VIBA
values, identity, beliefs, attitudes
In-group Language → Words and phrases unique to a specific group (e.g., slang, jargon, ethnolects).
Social Norms & Values → Expectations that guide politeness, directness, and informality.
Technology’s Influence → How online communication (e.g., emojis, abbreviations) affects language.
Multicultural Influences → How code-switching, borrowings, and hybrid English varieties impact communication.
Discourse strategies
Openings: how a speaker opens a conversation and sets the topic of exchange.
Closings: how a speaker indicates a conversation is finishing.
Adjacency pairs: sets of phrases that come one after the other. E.g. greetings and response, or question and answer. They can: build rapport, make participants feel included; meet face needs.
Minimal responses/backchannels: short utterances and cues that acknowledge the speaker without taking the floor. They maintain conversational flow, signal understanding or show engagement. Can include laughter and non-verbal cues.
Overlapping speech: multiple participants speak at the same time -cooperatively or uncooperatively. Cooperative overlaps in informal discourses indicate reduced social distance and can stem from excitement or meeting face needs. Uncooperative overlaps are disruptive.
Building rapport
a sense of friendliness, harmony and shared understanding is developed through informal authentic and relaxed interactions. Colloquialisms, slang and swearing support this in appropriate situational and cultural contexts by demonstrating trust and connection. In The wrong contexts, these features can cause offence
purposes: Equality
language that is used to blur hierarchies and create a sense of shared participation and mutual respect, regardless of social status, role or power. Colloquial language and slang are equalising features and present a image of authenticity and relatability. As above, collective pronouns support. Inclusive interrogatives (questions) work to include participants. Nicknames and informal use of first names are markers of equality
purposes: Solidarity
a sense of shared purpose or unity can be developed through use of collective language and focus of common experiences. Words of encouragement foster solidarity as does drawing on shared knowledge and experiences (including inside jokes and references).Use of collective pronouns create a sense of inclusivity. Emotive function can be used to foster a sense of emotional connection and unity
purposes: intimacy
the authentic and personalised results of informal language can work to develop a sense of closeness, familiarity and personal connection. Colloquialisms and slang establish shared understanding and connection between interlocutors
Tenor
The relationships between the participants of a communicative exchange. This is informed by the situational and cultural contexts of the text and is informed by:
Social status
Professional roles
Personal relationships
Social distance
Overall, we are referring to how this relationship shapes the way language is used.
turn taking
Adjacency Pairs
These are two-part exchanges where one speaker’s utterance prompts a predictable response.
Example:
Speaker A: “How are you?”
Speaker B: “Good, thanks! You?”
In analysis: This shows cooperative turn-taking, where both speakers follow a natural structure.
Pauses and Hesitations
Silence, fillers (“um,” “uh”), or long pauses can signal hesitation, uncertainty, or a struggle to hold the floor.
Example:
Speaker A: “So, uh… I was thinking we could maybe—”
Speaker B: “(interrupts) Yeah, let’s just do it.”
In analysis: Speaker A hesitates, possibly showing uncertainty or nervousness, while Speaker B interrupts to take control of the conversation.
Interruptions and Overlaps
When one speaker talks over another or cuts them off before they finish.
Example:
Speaker A: “I think we should—”
Speaker B: (cuts in) “No, that won’t work.”
In analysis: Frequent interruptions may indicate dominance or urgency, while a lack of interruptions suggests respect and cooperation.
Holding the Floor vs. Passing the Floor
Holding the floor → A speaker keeps talking without giving others a chance to respond (e.g., through long monologues, ignoring turn-yielding signals).
Passing the floor → A speaker signals that someone else can talk next (e.g., using rising intonation, direct address, or pausing).
Example:
Speaker A: “So I was at the shops, and—wait, you won’t believe this! So then I saw—”
Speaker B: (tries to respond but can’t get a word in)
In analysis: Speaker A dominates the conversation by holding the floor, preventing equal turn-taking.
Minimal Responses (Backchannelling)
Short utterances like “mhm,” “yeah,” or “right” to show active listening without taking a full turn.
Example:
Speaker A: “Then she just walked out!”
Speaker B: “Oh wow. Mhm. Yeah, I see.”
In analysis: Speaker B uses backchannelling to encourage Speaker A to continue talking.
Self-initiated; Self repair
Self-initiated; Self repair
Speaker notices mistake and corrects - most common
Other initiated; Self repair
Other initiated; Self repair
Listener indicates a problem; speaker corrects.
Mostly indicative of cooperation, familiarity and rapport; can be face-threatening
Other-initiated; Other repair
Listener indicates problem and corrects. Can cause offence. If not offence, indicates familiarity and rapport.
Self-initiated; Other repair
Speaker notices mistake - other participant corrects.
Shows cooperation, rapport and familiarity
Politeness strategies: Metalanguage
Politeness strategies are used to mitigate face-threatening effects and maintain rapport, harmony and politeness.
Positive politeness: Language strategies that reflect how another person is valued and positively regarded by others.
Face needs: the aspect of the listener that is being acknowledged through politeness strategies
Positive face: The desire to be seena s competent and liked by others. Need for social recognition, appreciation and inclusion
Negative face: the desire to be free from imposition and constraints on autonomy. A need for independence, privacy and freedom to act.
Face threatening acts: a
Positive politeness strategies
Emphasising similarities:
Highlighting shared characteristics, interests or values to create camaraderie.
Showing interest:
Expressing interest in opinion, experiences or emotions through questioning, listening attentively and responding empathetically
Using humour:
Making jokes, witty remarks and light hearted banter to create a relaxed and friendly atmosphere
Offering compliments:
Complimenting the audience’s appearance, achievements or abilities to boost their self-esteem
Using inclusive language:
Using personal inclusive pronouns (we, our, us) to create a sense of belonging and establish common ground.
Semantic patterns
Figurative language: words or phrases used for non-literative meanings. Features of semantic patterning are forms of figurative language - use the most specific metalanguage you can.
Metaphor: a figure of speech in which one thing is said to be another
Simile: a figurative comparison using ‘like’ or ‘as
Personification: attributing human characteristics to non-human entities or inanimate objects.
Animation: bringing inanimate objects to life using motion and expression. E.g., The words leapt off the page.
Irony: a speaker of writer states one things, but means another, usually the opposite. Includes sarcasm, understatement or backhanded compliments.
Oxymoron: combining contradictory words or phrases for contrasting effect, evoking humour, irony or emphasis. E.h., bittersweet, virtual reality.
Hyperbole: exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally. E.g., I’ve told you a thousand times.
Lexical ambiguity: existance of two or more possible meanings of a single word
Puns: exploitation on lexical ambiguity for humorous or rhetorical effect. Relies on phonological, orthographical or semantic similarity
Syntactic patterning
Listing: collection of three or more related elements, separated by commas or bullet points. E.g., I like reading, cats and eating cake; We invited the strippers, Hitler, and Stalin.
Parallelism: Two or more phrases, clauses or sentences that are structurally similar; repetition of syntactic structure. E.g., it takes ones to know one; I came, I saw, I conquered.
Antithesis: parallelism using contrasting elements, often antonyms, e.g., easy come, easy go;, the long and the short of it.
Morphological patterns (word formation processes)
Abbreviation: umbrella term for processes of shortening a word including
Shortening: removal of syllables to shorten the word, i.e. influenza > flu
Contraction: combining two or more words, usually by deleting letters and adding an apostrophe, e.h. Cannot > can’t
Initialism: abbreviation formed by initials, each pronounced, e.g., By The Way > BTW
Acronym: abbreviation formed by initials, pronounceable as a new lexeme, e.g., NASA, laser
Affixation: addition of bound morphemes, including prefixes, suffixes and infixes, e.g., abso-bloody-lutely
Compounding: formation of a word by combining words or stems, e.g., greenhouse, viewpoint
Blending: combining words with phonemic overlap (overlap of syllable sounds), or eliminating phonemes, e.g, brunch, smog
Backformation: formation by removing actual or supposed affixation e.g., Editor > edit
Conversion of word class: changing clas of a word, such as using a noun to represent a verb, e.g., google, email
Phonological patterns
Alliteration: repetition of initial phonemes
Consonance: repetition of consonant sounds within words
Assonance:repetition of vowel sounds in words
Onomatopeoia: words created from the sounds they represent
Rhyme: repetition of similar phonemes at the end of words
Rhythm: repeated patterns of intonation across phrases, clauses or sentences
