Spoken Language Techniques

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 (relating to the rhythm/ sound of speech) 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 another. This may take the forms: question/answer complaint/explanation or remedy(correcting something) statement/affirmation command/action etc

Question 4

Assimilation?

Answer 4

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

Question 5

Back channeling?

Answer 5

Interactive features such as minimal responses (e.g mm, yeah, ahh) that demonstrate a participants is listening and paralinguistic (non verbal) features that show affirmation, but which do not disrupt the speakers turn

Question 6

Comment clause?

Answer 6

A commonly occurring clause in speech which adds 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 or hedges e.g well, right, y’know, I mean, basically

Question 9

Divergence?

Answer 9

A process by 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 again with a different grammatical structure

Question 13

Filled pause?

Answer 13

A voiced hesitation in spoken language

Question 14

Filler?

Answer 14

Words 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 migrating words or sounds to lessen the impact of an utterance e.g I think, I’m not an expert but, somewhat, it’s possible that

Question 16

Hesitation?

Answer 16

The repetition of the initial sound of a letter

Question 17

Implicature?

Answer 17

A term used to describe what a hearer infers from an utterance

Question 18

Interactive?

Answer 18

Distinctive non-verbal utterances that affirm (e.g mm, yes) show agreement (e.g laughter) or 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

A process that changes the pronunciation of words at boundaries marked by /r/

Question 23

Monitoring features?

Answer 23

Expressions which allow a speaker to check that the hearer is still listening, has understood ect e.g would you believe

Question 24

Normal non-fluency

Answer 24

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

Question 25

Overlap?

Answer 25

Participants speak at the same time, but the dominant speaker’s turn is 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

Micro pause: A minimal break in spoken language
Timed paused: in seconds in brackets at the end of speech

Question 28

Phatic speech?

Answer 28

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

Question 29

Phonetics?

Answer 29

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

Question 30

Phonology?

Answer 30

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

Question 31

Pitch?

Answer 31

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

Question 32

Prosodic features?

Answer 32

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

Question 33

Rallentando?

Answer 33

A term that is used to describe speech that is getting slower (marked rall on transcripts)

Question 34

Self-correction?

Answer 34

A speaker’s repair to an utterance e.g Steve. Sir Stephen

Question 35

Spontaneity markers?

Answer 35

Distinctive features of spoken language that mark speech as spontaneous and unscripted, including comment clauses, fillers, hesitations ect

Question 36

Turn-taking?

Answer 36

The organisation of participants in a spoken interaction, where the turns may be equal or where one speaker may be dominant

Question 37

Utterance?

Answer 37

A grammatical structure made up of one or more clauses, often preceded by a micro pause and followed by another pause or a change of speaker in spoken language

Question 38

Unintentional repetition?

Answer 38

The accidental repetition of a monosyllabic word in spoken language