Spoken Language Features I

Question 1

Adjacency pairs

Answer 1

Parallel expressions used across the boundaries of individual speaking turns. Usually ‘ritualistic’ and ‘formulaic’ socially. For example ‘How are you?/ Fine thanks’

Question 2

Back-channel

Answer 2

Words, phrases and non-verbal utterances [e.g I see, oh, mhm, really] used by a listener to give feedback to show they are listening and understanding

Question 3

Contraction

Answer 3

A reduced form often marked by an apostrophe in writing e.g cannot= can’t

Question 4

Deixis

Answer 4

Words such as ‘this’ ‘that’ ‘here’ ‘there’ which refer backwards or forwards or outside a text, ‘a sort of verbal pointing.’

Question 5

Dialect

Answer 5

The distinctive grammar and vocabulary associated with a regional or social use of a language

Question 6

Discourse marker

Answer 6

Words and phrases used to signal the relationship between utterances (sentences) and to signpost that what is said can be followed by the listener or reader E.g. ‘First’, ‘now’, ‘so anyway’

Question 7

Ellision

Answer 7

The omission or slurring (eliding) of one or more sounds or syllables- e.g. Gonna= going to etc.

Question 8

Ellipsis

Answer 8

The omission of a part of a grammatical structure. ‘You going to the party?’ The word ‘are’ has been missed out

Question 9

False

Answer 9

When a speaker corrects themselves by repeating or reformulating at the beginning of an utterance

Question 10

Filler

Answer 10

Items that do not hold conventional meaning but they are inserted in speech to allow time to think, create a pause or hold a turn in conversation. E.g. ‘Um’ ‘er’ ‘ah’

Question 11

Grice’s Maxims

Answer 11

Trice had four basic conversational rules for a successful conversation
Quantity- Don’t say too much or too little
Relevance- Keep to the point
Manner- Speak in a clear, coherent and orderly way
Quality- Be truthful

Question 12

Hedge

Answer 12

Words and phrases which soften or weaken the force which something is said- e.g. ‘Perhaps’, ‘maybe’, ‘kind of’, ‘I think’

Question 13

Idiots the

Answer 13

An individually distinctive style of speaking

Question 14

Interaction talk

Answer 14

Language in conversation used for interpersonal reasons/ socialising

Question 15

Non-fluency features

Answer 15

Typical and normal characteristics of spoken language that interrupt the flow of talk E.g.: hesitations, false starts, fillers, repetitions, overlaps and interruptions

Question 16

Paralinguistic features

Answer 16

The use of gestures, facial expression and other non-verbal elements[such as laughter] to add meaning to speakers message beyond the words being spoken

Question 17

Phatic talk

Answer 17

Conversational utterances that have no concrete purpose other than to establish or maintain personal relationship. Related to small talk, follows traditional patterns, with stock responses and formulaic expressions: ‘How are you?’/ ‘Fine’, ‘Cold, isn’t it?’/ ‘Freezing’

Question 18

Pragmatics

Answer 18

Related to discourse analysis in which focuses more on contexts and purposes of people talking to each other.

Question 19

Prosodic Features

Answer 19

Includes features such as stress, rhythm, pitch, tempo and intonation, used by speakers to mark out key meanings in a message.

Question 20

Repairs

Answer 20

An alteration that is suggested or made by a speaker, the addressee or audience in order to correct or clarify a precious conversational contribution.

Question 21

Sociolect

Answer 21

A social dialect or variety of speech used by a particular group, such as working class or upper class speech

Question 22

Tag Questions

Answer 22

Strings of words normally added to a declarative utterance to turn the statement into a question E.g. ‘It’s a bit expensive round here, isn’t it’

Question 23

Transactional talk

Answer 23

Language to get things done or to transmit content or information [used when the participants are exchanging goods/ or services]

Question 24

Turn taking

Answer 24

A turn is a time during which a single participant speaks with minimal overlap and gap between them. The principal unit of description in conversational structure

Question 25

Utterances

Answer 25

An utterance is a complete unit of talk, bounded by the speakers silence

Question 26

Vague language

Answer 26

Statements that sounds imprecise and unassertive E.g.- ‘and so on’, ‘or whatever’, ‘thingummy’

Question 27

Accent

Answer 27

The ways in which words are pronounced. Depends on the region or social class of a speaker

Question 28

Synthetic Personalisation

Answer 28

is the process of addressing mass audiences as though they were individuals through inclusive language usage