Spoken Language Features Flashcards
Accent
The ways in which words are pronounced - can vary according to the region or social class of a speaker
Adjacency pairs
Parallel expressions used across the boundaries of individual speaking turns. They are usually ritualistic and formulaic socially. For example “How are you?” / “Fine thanks”
Back-channel
Words, phrases and non-verbal utterances used by a listener to give feedback to a speaker that the message is being followed and understood
Contraction
A reduced form often marked by an apostrophe in writing e.g cannot -> can’t
Deixis / deictics
Words such as ‘this’, ‘that’,’ here’, ‘there’ which refer backwards or forwards or outside a text - a sort of verbal pointing. Very much a context dependant feature of talk.
Dialect
The distinctive grammar and vocabulary which is associated with a regional or a social use of language
Elision
The omission or slurring of one or more sounds or syllables e.g. going to = gonna, want to be = wannabe, what is up = wassup
Ellipsis
The omission of a word or phrase which is grammatically necessary but can be deduced from the context
False Start
This is when the speaker begins an utterance, then stops and either repeats or reformulates it. Sometimes called self-correction
Filler
Items which do not carry conventional meaning but which are inserted in speech to allow time to think, to create a pause or to hold a turn in conversation. Examples are ‘er’, ‘um’, ‘ah’. Also called voiced pause
Pragmatics
An approach to language which focuses on the contexts and purposes of people talking to each other
Interactional talk
Language in conversation used for interpersonal reasons and/or socialising
Non-fluency features
Typical and normal characteristics of spoken language that interrupt the ‘flow’ of talk. Some examples: hesitations, false starts, fillers, repetitions, overlaps and interruptions
Paralinguistic features
Related to body language - it is the use of gestures, facial expressions + other non-verbal elements to add meaning to the speakers message beyond the words spoken
Phatic talk
Conversational utterances that have no concrete purpose other than to establish or maintain personal relationships. It’s related to small talk - and follows traditional patterns, with stock responses and formulaic expressions: ‘How are you?’ / ‘Fine’; ‘Cold isn’t it?’ / ‘Freezing’
Prosodic Features
Includes features such as stress, rhythm, pitch, tempo and intonation - which are used by speakers to mark out key meanings in a message. Essentially how something is said.
Repairs
An alliteration that is suggested or made by a speaker, the addressee, or an audience in order to correct or clarify a previous conversational contribution
Sociolect
A social dialect or variety of speech used by a particular group, such as working-class or upper-class speech
Tag Questions
String of words normally added to a declarative sentence to turn the statement into a question e.g. “It’s a bit expensive round here, isn’t it?”
Transactional talk
Language to get things done or to transmit content or information [used when the participants are exchanging good and/or services]
Turn-taking
A time during which a single participant speaks, within a typical, orderly arrangement with minimal overlap and gap between them. The principal unit of description in conversational structure
Utterance
A complete unit of talk, bounded by the speaker’s silence.
Vague Language
Statements that sound imprecise and unassertive e.g ‘and so on’, ‘or whatever’, ‘whastit’
