Transition Subject Terminology Flashcards
Transition Summer work subject terminology
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.
Co-operative signals
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 “can’t - cannot”
Deixis
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 dependent feature of talk.
Dialect
The distinctive grammar and vocab which is associated with a regional use of a language.
Discourse analysis
The study of the rules governing appropriate language use in communicative situations.
Elision
The omission or slurring of one or more sounds or syllables.
False start
This is when the speaker begins an utterance, then stops and either repeats or reformulates it.
Field
The general subject area of a text.
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.
Function
The purpose of a text.
Grammar
The study of the way the sentences of a language are constructed.
Graphology
Any aspect of the form and appearance of a text that modifies meaning in any way.
The factors which affect the physical layout and appearance of a text on the page.
Grice’s Maxims
Conversational ‘rules’ for successful conversation: quantity, relevance, manner and quality.
Hedge
Words and phrases which soften or weaken the force with which something is said - e.g. “perhaps”, “maybe”, “sort of”, “possibly”.
Idiolect
An individually distinctive style of speaking.
Interactional talk
Language in conversation used for interpersonal reasons and/or socialising.
Lexis
The vocabulary of a language, as distinct from its grammar; the total stock of words and idiomatic combinations of them in a language; lexicon.
Mode
Speech or writing. A particular type or form of something. A genre.
Morphology
The branch of linguistics that studies the structure of words.
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 being 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, which stock responses and formulaic expressions.
Phonology
The study of the sound system of a language or of languages in general.
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. Especially, how something is said.
Repairs
An alteration that is suggested or made by a speaker, the addressee, or audience in order to correct or clarify a previous conversational contribution.
Semantics
The study of the meaning associated with words.
Sociolect
A social dialect or variety of speech used by a particular group, such as working-class or upper-class speech.
Syntax
The study of the rules for the formation of grammatical sentences in a language.
Tag question
String of words normally added to a declarative sentence to turn the statement into a question.
Transactional talk
Language to get things done or to transmit content or information.
Turn taking
A time during which a single participant speaks, withing a typical, orderly arrangement in which participants speak with minimal overlap and gap between them. The principal unit of description in conversational structure.
Utterance
A complete unit of talk, bounded by the speakers silence.
Vague language
Statements that sound imprecise and unassertive. e.g. “ and so on” “or whatever”.
