Speech Terminology

Question 1

Accent

Answer 1

A distinctive manner of pronunciation that marks a regional or social identity.

Question 2

Adjacency Pairs

Answer 2

Structure of spoken language, sequence of utterances that form a recognisable structure.
Follow each other
Produced by different speakers having a logical connection.

Question 3

Common Adjacency Pair Forms

Answer 3

Question & Answer
Command & Response
Greetings & Responses
e.g. A: Hurry up! 
       B: I'll be out in a minute

Question 4

Backchannelling

Answer 4

Words, phrases and non-verbal utterances used by a listener to give feedback to a speaker that the message is being followed and understood.

Question 5

Examples of Backchannelling

Answer 5

e.g. 'i see', 
'oh', 
'uhhuh', 
'really', 
'erm'

Question 6

Chaining

Answer 6

The linking together of adjacency pairs to form a conversation.

Question 7

Closing Sequence

Answer 7

The ‘wrapping up’ of a conversation where typical discourse markers of resolving an issue or making goodbyes takes place.

Question 8

Co-operation

Answer 8

How people normally behave in conversation.
People who obey this make sure that what they say in the conversation furthers its purpose.
(Grice’s Maxims)

Question 9

Dialect

Answer 9

A language variety marked by distinctive grammar and vocabulary, used by people with a common regional or social background.

Question 10

Discourse

Answer 10

Any spoken or written language that is longer than a sentence.

Question 11

Discourse Markers

Answer 11

Recognisable words or phrases which mark the structure of a conversation or signal that conversation is moving on from one topic to the next.

Question 12

Examples of Discourse Markers

Answer 12

'to begin with', 
'right', 
'so', 
'okay then', 
'moving on', 
'to sum up’

Question 13

Elision

Answer 13

A feature of speech or writing, elision is the omission of a sound, letter or unstressed syllable from a word due to its pronunciation.
Words also ‘elide’ when they run into one another and blend, with the result being certain letters or sounds missed out.

Question 14

Examples of Elision

Answer 14

‘fish n’ chips’,
‘ello’
‘shoulda’

Question 15

Ellipsis

Answer 15

The omission of part of a sentence or structure, ellipsis is normally used for reasons of economy in speech, and create a sense of informality.

Question 16

Examples of Ellipsis

Answer 16

A:’Going to the party?’
B:’Might be’.
(‘Are you…’, and ‘i’ are omitted.)

Question 17

Elongation of Sound

Answer 17

A feature of pronunciation by which a sound is drawn out. Elongation of sound can signal that a speaker is unsure about, or are emphasising what they are saying, or are thinking about what to say next.

Question 18

Recognising Elongation of Sounds

Answer 18

Marked in transcripts by a series of colons. e.g.
‘we::::ll’,
‘er::::m’.

Question 19

End Clipping

Answer 19

A kind of elision whereby the end letter (usually a ‘g’) is omitted as a feature of pronunciation or informality.

Question 20

Example of End Clipping

Answer 20

‘Goin’ to the pub?’

Question 21

False Start

Answer 21

A non-fluency feature whereby a speaker begins to say something and changes it. This can be a result of not carefully planning what they wanted to say in advance or changing what they want to say as they are saying it.

Question 22

Fillers

Answer 22

Words or sounds in spontaneous speech which do not carry any conventional meaning but which allow a speaker time to think and to pre-plan an utterance.

Question 23

Examples of Fillers

Answer 23

'er' 
'sort of', 
'i mean', 
'well', 
'y'know'

Question 24

Grice’s Maxims

Answer 24

Based upon the co-operative principle, the maxims are four rules that Grice posits are necessary for co-operative conversation to take place.
(‘Flouting the maxims’ is to purposefully break these rules for certain effects.)

Question 25

The Four Rules of Grice’s Maxims

Answer 25

1. quality (tell the truth),
2. quantity (give the right amount of information),
3. relevance (stick to the point)
4. manner (present the material in an orderly fashion).

Question 26

Hedges

Answer 26

Words and phrases which soften or weaken the force with which something is said.

Question 27

Examples of Hedges

Answer 27

'kind of', 
'maybe', 
'perhaps', 
'sort of', 
'by any chance', 
'as it were', 
'admittedly'.

Question 28

Interruption/overlaps

Answer 28

A speaker is ‘breaking conversational rules’ (see Grice’s maxim’s) by not allowing another to finish their turn, which could signal rudeness or lack or respect,
OR that speakers are relaxed and comfortable with one another and do not mind being overlapped or interrupted

Question 29

Intonation

Answer 29

The rising and falling tones of spoken language which are often used to communicate emphasis or meaning and can be intrinsic elements in terms of communicating meaning in a particular language.

Question 30

Example of Intonation

Answer 30

Rising intonation (at the end of a word or sentence) signals a question being asked

Question 31

Liason

Answer 31

When two words are spoken at speed and the running together of these words creates a new sound.

Question 32

Example of Liason

Answer 32

There ris someone at the door

Question 33

Minimal Responses

Answer 33

Signals that a speaker is listening and participating in a conversation while the other speaker is talking most, or ‘holding the floor’. (See ‘back channelling’.)

Question 34

Examples of Minimal Responses

Answer 34

'mm,' 
'yeah', 
'yep', 
'yes', 
'ok', 
'mm-hm',

Question 35

Non-fluency Features

Answer 35

These are common features of conversation that mark its spontaneous nature and structure. Fillers, false starts, repetition, hesitation and interruption are all non-fluency features.

Question 36

Non-standard English

Answer 36

Any variety of language use that does not conform to the standard, prestige English: the form of English accepted as the norm by society.
(See ‘standard English’ and ‘received pronunciation’.)

Question 37

Non-verbal Sounds

Answer 37

Any sound present in a transcript or sound recording which does not form a word. These can be laughs, coughs, splutters, murmurs, mumbles, burps, farts or background noise and often signal mood, or that some kind of activity is occurring during the conversation.

Question 38

Opening Sequence

Answer 38

The preamble at the start of a conversation where greetings and introductions usually take place and the business of the conversation may be established.

Question 39

Paralinguistic Features

Answer 39

Body language and facial expression which accompanies speech.
The non-verbal element of communication.

Question 40

Examples of Paralinguistic Features

Answer 40

Posture,
gesticulation,
nodding etc.

Question 41

Participants

Answer 41

The speakers involved in a conversation.

Question 42

Pauses

Answer 42

Pauses are natural in conversation. They provide breathing time and time to think of what to say next. They are usually described as ‘micropauses’, which last for a second or less, and ‘timed pauses’ which last for a number of seconds.

Question 43

Silences

Answer 43

Silence is and important element of conversation. It can signal that another activity is taking place and that talk is ‘subordinated to function’, or can have a deeper, pragmatic meaning.

Question 44

Prosodic Features

Answer 44

Features such as stress, rhythm and intonation which are used by speakers to mark out key meanings in a message.

Question 45

Received Pronunciation

Answer 45

An accent common to educated, upper class speakers. Often referred to as ‘Queens English’ or ‘BBC English, it is the only accent which is based upon education and class rather than region and has the highest social status of any accent.

Question 46

Setting the Agenda

Answer 46

The act of establishing what the topic of the conversation will be. This has implications for who is in control of a conversation and is often done by the dominant speaker.

Question 47

Side or ‘Insertion’ Sequence

Answer 47

Insertion sequences take place where the original conversation is suspended because of an interruption caused by a speech sequence from another source. When the interruption has been dealt with, the original speech sequence resumes.

Question 48

Standard English

Answer 48

The form of English considered to be accepted as the norm in society and used as the medium of government, education, law etc. Language that differs from this standard is known as ‘non-standard’.

Question 49

Stealing the Floor/Stealing a Turn

Answer 49

This occurs when a participant cuts in to a conversation when it is not their turn. It can signal a lack of politeness depending upon the relationship between the speakers.

Question 50

Stress

Answer 50

Emphasis placed on a word, usually meaning it is spoken louder to emphasise its importance or the feelings of the speaker.

Question 51

Tag Question

Answer 51

Strings of words which are normally added to a declarative sentence to turn the statement into a question. For example ‘It’s very expensive to live there, isn’t it?’.

Question 52

Three Part Exchange

Answer 52

The idea that any piece of conversation requires three, distinct, ordered sections: an initiation or beginning utterance, a reply and a response to the reply, or feedback.

Question 53

Topicality/Topic Management

Answer 53

In a loose sense, this simply means the subject of the conversation and who controls it. The topic of a spoken encounter is directly related to its manner and its participants. The topic can determine the level of formality.

Question 54

Topic Shifts

Answer 54

Topic shifts can occur when speakers move from one topic to another. These mark key points in the discourse.

Question 55

Turn-taking

Answer 55

Organisation of speakers’ contributions in a conversation. Turns may be fairly equal, or one of the participants may dominate.

Question 56

Utterance

Answer 56

A piece of spoken language. Also used to describe a spoken ‘sentence’ since it can be difficult to apply the normal rules of a written sentence to speech.

Question 57

Vague Language

Answer 57

Written language is usually precise. Vague language, such as ‘something’ or ‘whatever’, occurs deliberately in spoken language to soften the impact made by the speaker.

Question 58

Voiced Pauses

Answer 58

Rather than silent pauses, voiced pauses often signal natural pauses which are filled with a non-verbal sound such as ‘er’, ‘um’ and ‘ah’. These can signal that a speaker is thinking what to say next.