Spoken Language Revision Mindmap

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  • SPOKEN LANGUAGE REVISION MINDMAP
    • Task & Assessment Objectives
      • Comparative essay, exploring the relationship between three spoken texts
      • A01 - apply language concepts with purpose, use accurate terminology with purpose, write accurately and coherently
      • A02 - analyse how language creates meaning.
      • A04 -make strong links between texts informed by concepts, language and ideas.
    • Key Questions - Analysing Texts
      • What attitudes and ideas are presented in the discourse?
        • Do the participants share the same attitudes and ideas?
      • Who are the speakers?
        • Age?
        • Gender?
        • Ethnicity?
        • Employment Status?
        • Social Status
      • What is the relationship between the speakers?
      • Is one speaker more dominant or powerful?
        • Who manages the conversation?
          • What is the relationship between the speakers?
      • How is the discourse structured?
      • Where is the discourse taking place?
      • What is the purpose of the discourse?
      • How formal is the discourse?
      • What is the tone of the discourse?
    • Functional Categories - Purpose Of Discourse
      • Transactional - getting something done
      • Expressive - giving expression to feelings
      • Instructional - giving information about how to do something
      • Phatic - socialising through small talk
      • Referential - conveying factual knowledge
      • Only a few discourses fit neatly into one category
    • Narratives - Labov's Theory
      • Labov suggests an oral narrative contains:
        • 4. Resolution
    • Lexis In Spontaneous Speech
      • Vocab is often less formal than in written texts
      • Colloquial expressions, slang and contractions may be present
      • Phatic expressions are found in speech (hello, how are you, nice to meet you)
      • Deictic expressions may be used
        • Deictic Expressions
          • Can't be understood unless the context of the utterance is known.
          • Examples are the pronouns I,me,mine, you and your.
          • Other frequently used expressions relate to time such as now, then, yesterday etc.
          • Deictic expressions are found in both speech and writing, especially common in speeches.
          • A single utterance can contain several.
    • Grammar in spontaneous speech
      • Spontaneous speech is not arranged into neatly separated sentences.
      • The structure is loose and it can be difficult to determined where one construction ends and another begins.
      • Grammatical features specifically associated with speech include...
        • Interrupted constructions - one construction abandoned in favour of another
        • Incomplete constructions occur in conversation, notable in sports commentaries
    • Non Fluency Features
      • Broad term referring to a range of features that may interrupt the flow of a person's speech.
      • Occur naturally when a person is speaking on the spot
      • Examples of non-fluency features
        • Fillers - words and expressions that have little meaning but are inserted into everyday speech (give speaker time to think/ soften force/ involve listener)
        • Filled/voiced pauses - hesitations such as 'er' and 'um'
        • Repetition
        • False starts - changing from one grammatical construction to another
    • Structure Of Discourse
      • In the same way that individual utterances are not made up of neat grammatical sentences, longer stretches of speech are not organised into one paragraph.
      • Transcripts of spontaneous spoken English can appear rambling, disorganised and repetitive
        • There may be digressions (deviation from main topic) and ideas and info that may not be present in a logical sequence
      • Some conventions are used to keep conversations ordered to some extent.
    • Openings
      • Most interactions begin with an opening sequence to ease convo.
      • Common exchanges and structures are used or refer to the time of day (phatic conversation)
      • Questions not taken literally
      • introductions often take place - particularly with strangers
      • Use of vocative
      • Openings set based on context
    • Turn-Taking
      • Turn taking is the most important feature of a conversation
      • Conversation has its own rules and conventions
      • We are sensitive to non-verbal and verbal cues which signal if someone is wanting to speak or coming to the end of speaking
      • Prosodic features also give cues about coming to a segment of conversation
      • Most powerful participants manage turn taking and can put constraints on what is said by directing what the subject is - topic shifts.
    • Allocating Turns
      • A question makes it clear that the discourse is being transferred to another person (adjacency pair structure)
        • Other adjacency pair structures include: greeting+  greeting/ apology + acceptance/ greeting+ greeting
      • A vocative can be used to invite someone to speak
      • A non-verbal cue such as pointing or nodding can be used,.
      • Tag questions can be used to invite another speaker into the conversation
      • A person might choose to interrupt if they feel the speaker has been holding the floor too long
        • Interruptions can be co-operative or competitive
      • Back channelling and verbal responses are often used to show a listener is happy - cooperative convo but shows disagreement or boredom too.
    • Closings
      • Set rituals and language for farewells
      • There are pre-closing signals such as 'I think that's it', 'there isn't much more to say'
      • Speak of meeting again - 'see you soon' - like openings but not literal (phatic expressions)
      • Non-verbal signals include standing up, gathering stuff together and turning away
    • Co-Operative Principle
      • When we take part in conversations we abide by certain rules and conventions
      • H.P Grice put forward the idea that co-operation was the fundamental principle underlying in conversation.
      • Grice argued that conversations work because those who take part have common assumptions about the ways in which conversations work.
        • based on the conventions of the co-operative principle
    • Grice's Four Maxims
      • Maxim of quantity - you should say neither more or less than what is required.
      • Maxim of relevance - what you say should be relevant to the conversation, otherwise the conversation is disrupted and will not make sense.
      • Maxim of manner - you should speak in an ordered and clear manner and avoid ambiguity
      • Maxim of quality - you should be truthful and not say anything that is false.
      • Flouting The Maxims
        • We seem to be very aware of these maxims or rules of speech as we have phrases when we think we are flouting them 'I'm not being clear'
        • When we flout the maxims conversation can break down
          • We do not like when people go on for too long, dominate convos, lie, refuse shifts
        • When maxims are flouted we have to think about implied meanings
        • Sometimes conversations can become competitive rather than co-operative if flouted
    • Robin Lakoff's Politeness Principles
      • Robin Lakoff (1973) argued that a lot of conversation is determined by the politeness principle
      • For her, there are three maxims to determining a successful conversation
        • Don't impose (e.g. through phrases such as 'would you mind', 'sorry to bother you'.
        • Give options (e.g. through ensuring that your listener is not backed into a corner, 'it's up to you')
        • Make listener feel good (e,g. through flattery and showing appreciation)
    • Face Theory
      • Irving Goffman presented the concept of FACE.
      • FACE is the image we present of ourselves in any given situation - can change depending on context.
      • Conversation is co-operative and to be co-operative suggests that we tend to accept the face others present.
      • Sometimes we reject the face that is presented by challenging them - face threatening act.
      • Saving Face
        • Through most conversation we work to save the face of others and this is done through being polite and showing respect.
        • We use correct forms of address - use of vocative
        • We use language appropriate for the situation we are in
        • We respect the formality of a situation
        • We understand the rules of conversation (turn taking, beginnings and endings of convos)
    • Positive and Negative Politeness
      • This is a theory developed by researchers Brown and Levinson
      • Positive politeness is when we show others that they are liked, respected and admired. We offer gestures of friendship etc through paying attention and compliments etc.
      • Negative politeness is about showing tact. It is about not imposing on someone. This is done through being indirect, apologising etc.
    • Accommodation Theory
      • This is primarily associated with Howard Giles and developed in the 70s.
      • He suggests that we alter how we speak depending on who we are addressing and this can link to how powerful we want to appear to be.
      • He researched accents in particular but has been expanded to include a range of linguistic features even non-verbal communication
    • Convergence
      • This is when we adapt our style so that our language becomes closer to that of the other person - used to save face sometimes
      • It can decrease the social positions between people - can be done upwardly, downwardly or mutaly
      • It is more likely that someone of a lower status will upwardly converge to seem a more powerful participant in a conversation
    • Divergence
      • Opposite of convergence
      • Used when speaker wants to create distance in some way from the other participant,
      • Can reinforce regional identity
    • Prepared Speeches
      • These are intended to be heard but are constructed like written language and discourse
      • They are often designed to persuade the audience to adopt a particular point of view
      • There are a range of formal rhetorical devices that can be used to maximise impact
    • Key Rhetorical Devices
      • Allusion
      • Parallelism
      • Triadic Structure
      • Hyperbole
      • Juxtaposition
      • Metaphor
      • Simile
      • Listing (Asyndetic, Polysyndetic)
      • Imperative
      • Modality
      • Rhetorical Questions
      • Collective Pronouns
      • Assonance
      • Direct Address
      • Emotive Language
      • Alliteration
      • Abstract concepts
      • Dynamic Verbs
      • Anaphora
      • Climax
      • Pre-modification
      • Polite Imperative
      • Antithesis
      • Elevated Lexis
      • Dynamic Words
  • Grammatical features specifically associated with speech include...
    • Interrupted constructions - one construction abandoned in favour of another
    • Incomplete constructions occur in conversation, notable in sports commentaries
  • KEY
    • CONCEPTS
    • VIEWING TEXTS (WHAT TO CONSIDER ETC.)
    • DEFINITIONS/EXAMPLES ETC.
      • SPECIFIC EXAMPLES ETC
    • STRUCTURE/TECHNIQUE/LANGUAGE/  ETC.

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