AS ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Unit 3Spoken Interaction

Conversation analysis

Features of Spoken Language

Lexis: More colloquial (informal)

expressions will be found eg. “I gave him a quid”.

More slang eg. “Let’s play tig in the ten foot”.

More contractions eg. “I’ll come home”.

Features of Spoken Language

Lexis: Phatic expressions eg. “Hello”, “How’s

things?”Deictic expressions: Expressions which cannot be

understood unless the context of the situation is known. Language which points. For example, the pronouns I, we, you, he/she/it.

Features of Spoken Language

Deictic expressions: Deictic expressions can refer

equally to time eg. Yesterday, now, then, tomorrow, etc.

Features of Spoken LanguageGrammar Speech is not structured into neatly

composed sentences. Interrupted constructions: one construction

is abandoned in favour of another eg. I could have (.) We should have

Disrupted constructions: For example, he knows about computers (.) how to fix them.

Features of Spoken LanguageGrammar Incomplete constructions: eg. Beckham

to Owen instead of Beckham passes the ball to Owen.

Non-standard grammar reflects the informality of speech eg. “We was going to get something to eat”.

ELLIPSIS: omission of words eg. ‘want to go out?’ instead of ‘Do you want to go out?’

Features of Spoken Language

Non-fluency features Fillers inserted into everyday speech eg.

‘you know’, ‘sort of’, ‘I mean’. The purpose of a filler may give the speaker time to think, soften the force of statement or involve the listener.

Filled pauses: hesitation eg. ‘erm’ and ‘um’. Repetitions: ‘yes, yes the one with the blue

handle’. False starts: Changing from one

grammatical structure to another eg. “you could eat (.) no we will eat”.

TYPES OF SPOKEN LANGUAGE Monologue: Single speaker

addressing one or more listeners (eg. Lectures, sermons, speeches, plays, etc).

Dialogue: involves interaction between two or more speakers (eg. Informal conversations, business meetings, debates, telephone conversations, etc).

Functions of Spoken LanguageA single utterance could have more than one function: Referential (utterances providing information): ‘The

train leaves at half past twelve’. Expressive (express speaker’s feelings): ‘I’m very

tired.’ Transactional (emphasis on getting something

done): ‘Please complete this conversational analysis’. Interactional (these utterances are social in nature):

‘Hi, how are you doing?’ ‘Not too bad, thanks’. Phatic (phatic communion or ‘small talk’): ‘Lovely

day today, isn’t it?’

Influences on Spoken LanguageSPEAKER IDENTITY/SPEAKER RELATIONSHIPSThe following aspects of a speaker’s identity may

affect their speech patterns/utterances: Regional origin. Social class. Gender. Ethnic identity. Age. Membership of a particular social group. Relationship between speakers.

Influences on Spoken LanguageCONTEXT: different aspects surrounding

the situation in which the conversation takes place.

Audience: Consider the persons being addressed and the speaker’s relationship with them. Consider differences in status, age, gender, etc, between the different speakers. Do the speakers’ styles converge (on the same wave length) or do they diverge (different wave lengths).

Influences on Spoken LanguageCONTEXT Setting (formality or informality): living

room, pub, football terraces, offices, classrooms, etc.

Topic (semantic fields): semantic field of linguistics in a English Language lesson; semantic field of domesticity first thing in the morning at home, etc.

Purpose: Refer to the functions of spoken language.

STRUCTURE OF CONVERSATIONSMost conversations start with an opening

sequence. Common openings are: Exchanges of greetings: “Hi”. “How are

you?” Times of day: “Good morning”. Self-identification in more formal contexts

eg. “Hi, I’m Dave Green from Wyke College”. Formality and informality is crucial in

respect of the ‘closeness’ and ‘distance’ between the speakers in a conversation.

STRUCTURE OF CONVERSATIONS

TURN-TAKING Speakers take turns during a conversation. Estimated that overlaps in conversation

only account for 5% of speech. We are skilled pragmatically in knowing

when to complete a turn and when to start a turn (judging the TRANSITIONAL RELEVANCE PLACE).

We are sensitive to a range of verbal and non-verbal cues as to when to take turns.

STRUCTURE OF CONVERSATIONS

The mechanism of turn-taking In formal contexts eg. Committee meeting controlled

by a Chairperson. In an interview situation, question & answer dictates

the turn-taking between interviewer and interviewee. Q&A adjacency pairs may also be found in informal

conversations. Tag questions may also be used to invite a response

eg “We’re going to the cinema tomorrow, aren’t we?”

A speaker’s pitch in voice may decrease, deepen, as they draw near the close of an utterance.

Eye movements are an important non-verbal clue. Body movements from a listener may be useful.

Structure of Conversations

Adjacency pairs: These are two-part exchanges between speakers which follow a predicted pattern.

Question & Answer – A: What’s the time? B: Ten past three.

Greeting & Greeting – A: Hi. B: Hi. Summons & Answer – A: Dad! B: What

now? Apology & Acceptance – A: Sorry. B:

That’s okay. Invitation & Acceptance/Refusal – A:

Would you like some tea? B: No thanks.

Structure of ConversationsThree-part exchange: This is where

the second speaker’s utterance generates a response from the first speaker. For example:

A: Who wrote ‘Trainspotting’?B: Irvine Welsh.C: That’s right.

Structure of ConversationsTopic shifts The topic (subject matter or semantic field)

gives a conversation structure and coherence.

Utterances will either be relevant to the same topic or will attempt to change the topic by using a topic shifter eg. By the way….. or Something else has been bothering me……

A topic loop sees a conversation return to an earlier topic.

Structure of ConversationRepairs: Self-repair: where a speaker realises they

have made a mistake and ‘repair’ it themselves. For example: We started driving down the M62(.) sorry the A63.

Other repair: when a speaker is corrected by another speaker. For example: A: The Lecture starts at 11.30 pm. B: Don’t you mean 11.30 in the morning?

Structure of the Conversation

FeedbackThis is the means by which a speaker can tell

whether someone is paying attention to them when they are making a turn.

Verbal responses: ‘I know’, ‘Absolutely’. Back channel noises: ‘mm’, ‘huh huh’. Non-verbal responses: eye contact, nodding

the head, smiling. Non-verbal communication can be positive, but it can also be negative, suggesting boredom eg. When students look out of the window instead of at the teacher!

Structure of a Conversation

CLOSING A CONVERSATION Ritual exchange of farewells. A: Bye. B: Bye. (pre-

closing signal). The topic being discussed may be summarised in some

way. ‘I think that just about covers everything’. Arrangements may be made for a further meeting. A:

I’ll see you next Tuesday then. B: Yes, okay, see you Tuesday.

Closure on a phatic expression. ‘Nice seeing you again’.

Non-verbal pre-closing signals: turning away, rising from one’s seat, collecting belongings, etc.