Spoken Language Terms

Question 1

Accent

Answer 1

Distinctive way of speaking that is regionally or geographically determined

Question 2

Adjacency pairs

Answer 2

Conversational structure that results in turn taking-question and response etc

Question 3

Back-channel

Answer 3

Offering support to a speaker-eye contact,affirmative noises,nodding

Question 4

Discourse marker

Answer 4

Words used to indicate the direction of the communication-similarly,however,so right,okay

Question 5

Deixis

Answer 5

Using words or actions that rely on context of communication rather than lexis itself

Question 6

Elision

Answer 6

The joining of two or more words omitting certain sounds

Question 7

Ellipsis give e.g

Answer 7

To indicate something is missing-a phrase or sentence that omits certain words : “cinema tomorrow?”

Question 8

False start

Answer 8

Beginning an utterance and then starting again

Question 9

Filler

Answer 9

Words used to fill gaps-giving time to think, filling silence-they have no significant meaning

Question 10

Idiolect

Answer 10

The speech habits particular to an individual

Question 11

Intonation

Answer 11

The rise and fall of the voice in speech

Question 12

Non-fluency features

Answer 12

Pauses,voice pauses,or fillers in speech

Question 13

Paralinguistic features

Answer 13

Physical gestures or actions that go alongside the spoken language being used

Question 14

Prosodic features

Answer 14

Changes in pitch,volume,emphases,tone

Question 15

Received pronunciation

Answer 15

The non regionally defined accent in the yk that is indicative of power and high social status(posh people) who are usually politicians,newsreaders

Question 16

Tag question

Answer 16

A question that is added on at the end of a statement- “it’s cold today, Isn’t it?”

Question 17

Tone

Answer 17

The sound you create when you speak depending on your intention

Question 18

Turn-taking

Answer 18

Conversational structure whereby one person speaks after another

Question 19

Utterance

Answer 19

An interrupted chain of spoken language

Question 20

Voice paused give e.g

Answer 20

Errr,ermmm,ahhhh-a voice hesitation in spoken language

Question 21

Colloquialism

Answer 21

An informal word, phrase or pronunciation, often associated with informal speech

Question 22

Emphatic stress

Answer 22

Stress placed upon syllables or words in spoken discourse

Question 23

Hedging

Answer 23

The use of mitigating 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 24

Hesitation

Answer 24

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

Question 25

Interactive

Answer 25

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

Question 26

Interruption

Answer 26

The ending of one speakers turn by the intervention of another speaker

Question 27

Overlap

Answer 27

Participants speak at the same time, but the dominant speaker’s turn is not ended

Question 28

Pauses

Answer 28

Breaks in spoken language , often marking end of utterance

Question 29

Phatic speech

Answer 29

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

Question 30

Phoneme

Answer 30

The small unit of sound

Question 31

Phonetics

Answer 31

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

Question 32

Phonology

Answer 32

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

Question 33

Pitch

Answer 33

The level of sound, which can be lowered or raised