Spoken Language

Question 1

Accelerando

Answer 1

A term used to describe speech that is getting faster (marked accel on transcripts)

Question 2

Accommodation

Answer 2

A term used to describe the changes people make to their speech, prosodic features and gestures in order to emphasise or minimise the differences between them

Question 3

Adjacency pair

Answer 3

A sequence of two connected utterances by different speakers one after the other. This may take a range of forms: question/answer; greetings; complaint/explanation or remedy; statement/affirmation; command/action etc.

Question 4

Assimilation

Answer 4

The way in which the sounds of one word can change the sounds of neighbouring words in connected speech

Question 5

Back channelling

Answer 5

Interactive features such as minimal responses (e.g. mm, yeah, ahh) that demonstrate the participant is listening and paralinguistic features (e.g. laughter) that show affirmation, but which do not disrupt the speaker’s turn

Question 6

Comment clause

Answer 6

A commonly occurring clause in speech which adds a remark to another clause, e.g. I mean…, I think…

Question 7

Convergence

Answer 7

A process in which two speakers adapt their language and pronunciation to reduce the differences between them

Question 8

Discourse markers

Answer 8

Words or phrases that stand outside the clause and act as fillers, topic changers, hedges, etc. E.g. well, right, y’know, I mean, basically

Question 9

Divergence

Answer 9

A process in which two speakers adapt their language and pronunciation to increase the differences between them

Question 10

Elision

Answer 10

The omission of sounds in connected speech

Question 11

Emphatic stress

Answer 11

Stress placed upon syllables or words in spoken discourse

Question 12

False start

Answer 12

An utterance that is started, left incomplete, and then restarted with a different grammatical structure

Question 13

Filled pause

Answer 13

A voiced hesitation

Question 14

Filler

Answer 14

Words, usually with no semantic value, which are inserted into speech either from habit or to give a participant thinking time as they search for a word, e.g. er, um, ah

Question 15

Hedging

Answer 15

The use of mitigating words or sounds to lessen the impact of an utterance, e.g. I think, I’m not an expert, but…

Question 16

Hesitation

Answer 16

The repetition of the initial sound of a letter, e.g. th. um (.) the very obvious

Question 17

Implicature

Answer 17

What a hearer infers from an utterance

Question 18

Interactive

Answer 18

Distinctive non-verbal utterances that’s affirm (e.g. mm, yes), show agreement (e.g. laughter), add reinforcement (e.g. echo utterances)

Question 19

Interruption

Answer 19

The ending of one speaker’s turn by the intervention of another speaker, which may be a non-cooperative challenge, or may be the result of multiple participants with equal status in a conversation

Question 20

Intonation

Answer 20

The quality or tone of voice in speech, which can stay level, rise or fall

Question 21

Latch-on

Answer 21

A smooth link between different speakers in a spoken exchange

Question 22

Liaison

Answer 22

It changes the pronunciation of words at boundaries, usually inserting /r/

Question 23

Monitoring features

Answer 23

Expressions which allow a speaker to check that the hearer is still listening, has understood etc. E.g. if you remember…, would you believe…, you know.

Question 24

Normal non-fluency

Answer 24

Commonly occurring features of spoken language such as hesitations and false starts which break up the flow of speech

Question 25

Overlap

Answer 25

Participants speak at the same time, but the dominant speaker’s turn has not ended–this can mark positive feedback where one speaker provides backchannel affirmation or support; the misjudgement of the end of a turn; or an additional point or comment on what is being said

Question 26

Paralinguistics

Answer 26

The study of non-verbal communication, e.g.vocal effects (laughing, sighing), gesture, posture and facial expressions

Question 27

Pauses

Answer 27

Breaks in spoken language which can be minimal (micro pause), often marking the end of utterances, or timed (in seconds)

Question 28

Phatic speech

Answer 28

Words, phrases and clauses that have a social function, e.g. good morning; lovely day; thanks

Question 29

Phoneme

Answer 29

The smallest unit of sound

Question 30

Phonetics

Answer 30

The study of spoken sounds and the ways in which they are produced

Question 31

Phonology

Answer 31

The study of sounds and the ways in which they are combined to create meaning

Question 32

Pitch

Answer 32

The level of a sound, which can be lowered or raised

Question 33

Prosodic features

Answer 33

The use of pitch, volume, pace and rhythm to draw attention to key features of spoken language

Question 34

Rallentando

Answer 34

Speech that is getting slower (marked rall on transcripts)