Spoken Language Flashcards
Tag Questions
Extra phrases added to the end of sentences in order to make it a question.
May be a sign of speaker support, uncertainty, or a request for clarification.
(…, wasn’t it? …., didn’t you?)
Back-channelling
A feature to show the listener is supporting or paying attention to the speaker
(Mmm, yeah, okay)
Fillers
Non-verbal sounds that can act as pauses in speech, either naturally or to give the speaker some thinking time, which may signal uncertainty
(Er, um)
Skip connectors
Return to a previous topic of conversation and act as a discourse marker
(Anyway, …)
Hedging
A strategy used by a speaker to avoid directness or to try to avoid a face-threatening act
(kind of, sort of, perhaps, possibly)
Discourse Markers
Words that signal a shift in conversation and topic areas, could also announce a counter-argument
(Okay, right then, so, but)
False Starts
Used when a speaker begins to speak, pauses, and then starts again
Non-fluency Features
Parts of speech that are not made of actual words
(Pauses, hesitations, repetitions)
Ellipsis
Leaving out words in spoken language because they are not needed
Adjacency pairs
Made up of two utterances by two speakers, one after the other.
The first utterance provokes a responding utterance.
Repairs
Used when a speaker returns to correct a previously stated phrase or sentence
(He, sorry, she broke the glass)
Vague Expressions
Deliberately non-committal expressions
(Anything, something, whatsit, thing)
Fixed Expressions
Conventional and routine expressions in colloquial communication, sometimes metophorical
(As a matter of fact, Over the moon)
Deixis
Pointing words in a perceptual, temporal or spatial dimension
(Now, here, there, that, this)
What are the 5 reasons for speech?
- Referential talk
- Interactional talk
- Expressive talk
- Transactional talk
- Phatic talk
Referential talk
Gives information
Interactional talk
Developing social relationship
Expressive talk
Showing feelings
Transactional talk
Getting something done
Phatic talk
Small talk