U3AOS1 Flashcards
Informal Spoken Language
Discourse
Written or spoken texts that are longer than a sentence.
Pragmatics
How study is used within a given context, how context contributes to meaning.
“Were you raised in a barn?”
Pragmatically: a command to close the door
Openings and Closings
Can be formulaic and a quick marker of register.
Highlight the end of an interaction.
Adjacency Pairs
Turns in spoken discourse that relate to each other.
Expected response.
Functions are to facilitate turn-taking, promotes social harmony.
Overlaps
Functions include:
-Accidental as we think the other person has finished speaking.
-When we are excited.
-Agreeing with or echoing someone’s thoughts.
Can also be deliberate with the function to contradict, interject, or take the floor.
Interrogative Tags
A statement which uses a tag at the end to create an interrogative.
Functions include:
-To signal a speaker is relinquishing the floor to another person.
-To check the other person is listening, understanding/agreeing, and thereby holding the floor.
Discourse Particles/ Markers
Little words/phrases which are used in our speech for a particular purpose.
Mark changes in the discourse/ express a particular emotion/emphasis.
Hedges
A type of discourse particle.
Reduce the force of what we’re saying.
Uncertainty/modesty creating a more friendly, less authoritative utterance.
Non-Fluency Features
Reflect spontaneous discourse.
Not necessarily the best features to show register (informality), instead link them to the mode.
Strategies in Spoken Discourse
Help speakers to achieve successful communication and create a harmonious social environment.
Topic Management
Strategies in Spoken Discourse
Refers to the methods speakers use to manage a topic within a conversation or monologue.
Initiation
Strategies in Spoken Discourse
Introducing a new topic in a conversation, explicitly or implicitly.
Development
Strategies in Spoken Discourse
Expanding upon initial conversation topics.
Shift
Strategies in Spoken Discourse
Conversation moves coherently from one topic to another.
Change
Strategies in Spoken Discourse
Transition from one topic to a different topic during a conversation, naturally or deliberately.
Loop
Strategies in Spoken Discourse
Returning or revisiting to a previously discussed topic.
Termination
Strategies in Spoken Discourse
The closure of a topic in conversation.
Taking The Floor
Turn Taking
Otherwise known as getting your turn.
Passing The Floor
Turn Taking
Giving someone else a turn.
Holding The Floor
Turn Taking
Maintaining your turn.
Management of Repair Strategies
Repair management refers to the process by which speakers identify and correct communication problems.
Self-Initiated Self Repair
The speaker realises their own mistake and corrects it immediately without intervention from the listener.
Self-Initiated Other Repair
The speaker notices their own mistake and invites the listener to correct it.
Other-Initiated Self Repair
The listener indicates a problem and the speaker makes the correction. This indicates a cooperative speech exchange and familiarity or rapport with the listener.
Other-Initiated Other Repair
The listener indicates a problem and provides the correction. It may cause offense if not appropriate to the context.
Referential
Functions
Sharing information with an audience. The information may or may not be true, but is presented as factual and objective.
Emotive
Functions
Speaker expresses emotions or desires. This function is about the speaker and their emotion
Conative
Functions
Directions, questions and commands. The conative function aims to cause the audience to react in some way.
Phatic
Functions
Creating and maintaining social connection. The message tends to be somewhat meaningless outside of a social connection.
Metalinguistic
Functions
Describes language itself. This function allows the speaker to check whether they have been understood or are using the right type of language for the conversation.
Poetic
Functions
Focuses on the message itself rather than the communicators. It is aesthetic in nature, referring to texts which are created for beauty and wit.
