Spoken Language Features Flashcards
Adjacency pairs
Conversational turn-taking between speakers (e.g how are you? fine thanks).
What is ‘accent’?
The way in which words are pronounced. Accent differs according to region and social class of the speaker.
Back-Channel
Words, phrases and non-verbal utterances given from the listener to the speaker as feedback (e.g I see)
Contraction
Reducing a words original form (e.g can’t)
Deixsis/deictics
Verbal pointing in or outside a text (e.g this/that)
Discourse marker/ topic loop
Words used to alternate from an off topic subject back to the original subject (e.g so/anyway)
Elision
Merging two words into one (e.g wanna)
Ellipsis
Disturbing grammatical structure to shorten sentences (e.g ‘you going to the party?’ might be’)
False start
When a speaker begins to talk and then stops to either correct or repeat themselves.
Filler
Words that allow the speaker to keep his/her place in the conversation whilst thinking (e.g er/urm)
Hedge
Words use to soften the meaning of something (e.g perhaps)
Idiolect
An individually distinctive style of speaking
Interactional talk
Conversational language
Non-fluency features
Characteristics of spoken language that interrupt the flow of conversation (e.g pauses)
Paralinguistic features
body language- the use of gens tires and facial expressions
Phatic talk
small talk
Pragmatics
Focusing on the context and purpose of why people speak instead of focusing on structures
Prosodic features
How something is said
Sociolect
Speech used by particular group (e.g working/upper class)
Tag question
String of words added to a declarative sentence to turn it into a question (e.g isn’t it?)
Turn taking
Taking turns to talk in a conversation
Utterance
Complete unit of talk bounded by the speakers silence
Vague language
Imprecise and un assertive statements (e.g and so on)
