Spoken Language Terminology

Here is some is imporant terminlogy to revise from when you are looking at a spoken language text like a trasncript for CLA, Language Change or both.

Spoken Language – Genres of Speech

Referential Interaction – These are utterances communicate facts, such as the passing on of information in the classroom. 

Planned speech – almost always written down first with the intention of being spoken later. Charcteristics are: fewer non-fluency features, in ‘conversations' there are fewer overlaps and interruptions, the words that are used are very carefully chosen and in many cases the register is more formal

Unplanned Speech - When conversation is free-flowing. Characteristics are: the register is informal, there's a lot of interaction, there are a number of deictic expressions and there are interruptions and overlaps

Phatic Utterances – These are short greetings or exchanges that show that we are being polite or that we want to begin a conversation. They don't contain much meaning in themselves – but as indicators of our feelings and intentions, they are very important.

A deictic expression - It cannot be understood unless the context of the utterance is known. Examples are ‘here’ and ‘there’.
 

Active Voice - When the subject in a sentence is doing the action, the verb is said to be in the active voice.

Passive Voice - When the subject of the sentence is not doing the action but is the recipient of the action, the verb is said to be in the passive voice.

Interactions for writing - Writers have to use different approaches e.g using the interrogative mood and/or the second person.

Colloquial - Characteristic of informal spoken language or conversation. 

Rhetorical - A persuasive variety of language (speech and writing) often used in the public/political arena.

Pattern of three – This is a rhetorical technique.

Connotation - The association(s) suggested by a word. The subjective or personal part of lexical meaning - which may include individual emotional associations.

Overlapping - Where two or more speakers speak simultaneously.

Spoken Language – Conversation analysis

Verbal Cues - asking a direct question; mentioning the name of the person you want to talk next, using tag questions to prompt a response, dropping the volume of speech and elongating a final syllable.

Non-Verbal Cues – These are when the speaker wishes to stop talking. 
Examples are: leaning back in a chair, adopting a relaxed pose and looking at a listener.

Conversational Dominance - where one participant has more control over what is said than others.

The cooperative principle - A linguist called H.P.Grice developed the idea that there are 4 maxims for successful conversation: The maxim of quantity - Say just the right amount for the situation. The maxim of relevance - What you say should be relevant to the topic being discussed. The maxim of manner - You should speak in a clear, orderly way. The maxim of quality - What you say should be truthful.

Face - Irving Goffman developed the idea of ‘face needs' in the 1950s. He felt that we present a particular image of ourselves to others in our conversations and that we try to approach the person we are talking to in the ‘right' way – we adjust what he termed our conversational ‘footing' to suit the individual.

Positive face - It means that we want to be liked and approved of. We show an awareness of a person's positive face needs when we greet or address them appropriately or offer compliments.

Negative face - It is not the opposite of positive face! It means that we know that someone doesn't want to be imposed on or threatened. We show a sense of someone's negative face needs by beginning a request with ‘I'm sorry to bother you, but...' or we soften potentially unpleasant remarks by saying, ‘I don't like to mention it, but...'.

The Politeness Principle - Robin Lakoff maintained that speakers usually try to follow three rules when talking to others. These rules were: don't impose, give options and make your receiver feel good.

Brown and Levinson – Positive politeness is shown when we: show people that we like/admire/have sympathy with them and make jokes (that we know the person will like), avoid disagreements – e.g. by choosing ‘safe' topics to talk about, or by softening our own disagreements and assert what we have in common and are in agreement. 

Negative Politeness is shown when we: are indirect to avoid intrusion, use hedges or questions, defer to someone by giving a superior form of address – e.g. ‘sir' and are apologetic.

Systematic frameworks for analysis, Exam techniques 

Assonance – The repetition within successive words of similar vowel sounds.

Semantic Field ­– This is a grouping of words with related and similar meanings by being connected through a certain context.

Determiner – A words used before a noun to indicate quality, identity and significance.

Preposition – A word that relates one words to another

Spoken Language, Exam techniques 

Utterance - a spoken word, statement, or vocal sound.

Unvoiced Pauses – a silent pause in speech.

Tag Questions – A question attached to the end of a statement. 

Direct Speech - This term is used to refer to the exact words spoken by a speaker. The words are given between quotation marks (" ") in writing.

Non – fluency Features - Features which demonstrate that speech is spontaneous rather than planned such as hesitation, repetition, fillers.

Click on this link for more terminolgy: http://xtlearn.net/CCache/2/epic_FK2_Spoken%20language,%20Genres%20of%20speech/html/glossary.htm