| Term | Definition |
|---|
| side sequence | a sequence of utterances inserted into a conversation, which causes the main topic of conversation to be temporarily suspended. |
| tag questions | a phrase tagged on to the end of a statement to turn it into a question, e.g. 'We're going to the zoo today, aren't we?' words like 'right', 'yeah' or 'OK' can be used for the same function, e.g. 'See you at sevenish, yeah?' |
| repair | a self-correction in spontaneous speech |
| hedge | a word or phrase such as 'maybe', 'perhaps' or 'sort of' used to soften the impact of what is being said or to make speech sound more polite. |
| dialect | a variety of a particular language characterised by distinctive features of accent, grammar and vocabulary and used by people from a particular geographical area or social group. |
| accent | the characteristic pronunciation, features and speech rhythms of a speaker, usually related to regional and social influences. |
| ellision | the running together of words or the omission of parts of words, e.g. 'gonna' for 'going to' or y'know' for 'you know'. |
| ellipses | the omission fo part of a sentence. 'Hope you get well soon' is an example as the pronoun 'I' has been left out. It can also be represented by three dots (...) to indicate a missing part of a sentence. |
| adjacency pair | a pattern of speech in which one utterance is followed by an appropriate linked response. |
| chaining | the linking of a series of adjacency pairs to build up to a conversation. |
| closed question | a question phrased in a way that offers the respondent with a limited choice of possible responses, usually with yes or no, or one word answers, e.g. 'Do you like cheese?' |
| cohesion | the grammatical and lexical devices, such as repetition and the use of pronouns and ellipsis that link the parts of written or spoken text. |
| fillers | sounds such as 'erm', 'um' and 'er' that speakers use to fill pauses in speech. Many speakers also use expressions such as 'y'know' and 'like' |
| open question | a question that is phrased in an open-ended way so that the respondent can answer in a wide range of ways; for example, 'What sort of food do you like?' |
| overlap | when a speaker begins to talk before the previous speaker has finished, perhaps because of their enthusiasm to join in the discussion or to show support for the speaker, an overlap is generally more cooperative and supportive and less competitive than an interruption. |
| interruption | when a speaker begins to talk before the previous speaker had finished, in an attempt to take over the conversation and gain control |
| paralinguistic features | non-verbal aspects of communication such as intonation or pausing, which work alongside language to help speakers to convey meaning effectively. |
| phatic utterance | words spoken to establish social contact and express friendly intentions towards another person rather than to convey significant information, e.g. 'nice day today' |
| register | a type of language defined in terms of its appropriateness for the type of activity or context in which the language is used, including the purpose, audience and situation of a piece of speech or writing. |
| repetition or replacement | a text pattern in which some words or phrases are repeated and others replace, for example, 'We must plan for a strong economy, we must plan for full employment, and we must plan for a healthy nation |
| semantic or lexis field | a groups of words within a text relating to the same topic e.g. tyre, brake pedal, starter motor and exhaust are from the same semantic field of cars. |
| syntax | the study of the way words are combined to form sentences |
| utterance | a unit of spoken language, the end of which is indicated by a pause or a change of speaker. This term is often used to describe a 'spoken sentence' as an utterance may not follow the expectations and grammatical conventions of a written sentence. |
| idiolect | a combination of habitual language choices which is unique to an individual speaker, seen in such features as pronunciation, choices of vocabulary, phrasing and grammatical patterns. |
| rhetoric | the technique of using language persuasively in order to influence the opinions and behaviour of an audience. |
| triplet | a pattern of three repeated words or phrases |
| antithesis | the juxtaposition of contrasting words or phrases to create a sense of balance or opposition between conflicting ideas |
| bathos | a sudden descent from elevated language or subject matter to the ordinary or the commonplace. Often used for comic effect |
| rhetorical question | a question that implies its own answer and is used not to elicit information but to achieve a persuasive effect, e.g. 'Are we to sit idly by while our rights are trampled by a dictator?' |
| antonym | a word or phrase that is the opposite in meaning to another e.g. hot and cold, fat and thin. |
| oxymoron | when apparently contradictory terms are place together e.g. bitter sweet. |
| synedoche | a part is substitued for the whole ('a suit entered the room') or when the whole is substituted for the part (when a policeman is called 'the law'') |
| parellellism | the repetition of a phrase in successive sentences for rhetorical effect |
Combine with other sets
Share on Facebook
Share on MySpace
!