Anthology Spoken Devices/Techniques
- Created by: apexious
- Created on: 10-01-23 16:46
Accent
The way in which words are pronounced. Accent 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. For example: "How are you?" / "Fine, thanks"
Back-channel
Words, phrases and non-verbal utterances (e.g "I see", "oh", "uh huh", "really") used by a listenerbto give feedback to a speaker that the message is being followed and understood
Contraction
A short form often marked by an apostrophe in writing - e.g can't = cannot; she'll = she will.
SEE ALSO ELISION
Deixis / deictics
Words such as "this", "that", "here", "there", which refer backwards or forwards or outside the text - a sort of verbal pointing. Very much a context dependent feature of talk.
Dialect
The distinctive grammar and vocabulary which is associated with a regional or social use of a language
Discourse marker
Words and phrases which are used to signal the relationship and connections between utterances and to signpost that what is said can be followed by the listener or reader. E.g "first", "on the other hand", "now", "what's more", "so anyway", etc
Elision
The omission or slurring [eliding] of one or more sounds or syllables
e.g gonna = going to; wannabe = want to be; wassup = what is up
Ellipsis
The omission of part of a grammatical structure. For example, in the dialogue: "You going to the party?" / "Might be" - the verb "are" and the pronoun "I" are missed out. The resulting ellipsis conveys a more casual or informal tone.
False start
This is when the speaker begins an utterance, then stops and either repeats or reformulates it. Sometimes called self-correction.
SEE ALSO REPAIRS
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. Examples are "er", "um", "ah". Also called voiced pause.
Functions
Key functions are transactional, representational, interactional, phatic and expressive; other functions are performative and pedagogic (educational).
Hedging
A hedge is a mitigating word, sound or construction used to lessen the impact of an utterance for politeness or soften a blow. Often adjectives or adverbs (e.g just) but may be a clause (e.g a tag question)
Idiolect
An individually distinctive style of speaking
Interactional talk
Language in conversation used for interpersonal reasons and/or socialising
Non-fluency features
Typical and normal characteristics of spoken language that interrupt the "flow" of talk. Some examples: hesitations, false starts, fillers, repetitions [though can be use for emphasis], overlaps and interruptions.
Non-standard English
Colloquial words/slang ("blud"), demotic/taboo (swearing) language, informal grammar (e.g "we was going").
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, with stock responses and formulaic expressions: "How are you?" / "Fine"; "Cold, isn't it?" / "Freezing"
Politeness
Positive politeness involves making your listener feel good.
Negative politeness means not imposing on your listener
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. Essentially, how something is said.
Paralinguistic features - include laughter and non verbal utterances
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.
Sociolect
A variety of a language used by a particular social group; a social dialect
Tag question
Strings of words normally added to a declarative sentence to turn the statement into a question. E.g "It's a bit expensive round here, isn't it?"
Topic Management
Topic Marker - the introduction of a topic at the start of a conversation
Topic Shift - the change to a new topic
Topic Loop - the return to a topic previously discussed
Turn taking
A turn is a time during which a single participant speaks, within a typical, orderly arrangement in which participants speak with minimal overlap and gap between them. The principal unit of description in conversational structure
Utterance
An utterance is a complete unit of talk, bounded by the speaker's silence
Vague language
Statements that sound imprecise and unassertive. E.g - "and so on", "or whatever", "thingummy", "whatsit".
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