Guadalupe Garza Pulido

Objetivo

To look more closely at what in many ways is the most familiar aspect of language in use, “spoken discourse.”

Crystal (1987: 178) comments that the perceived higher status of writing has often made people believe that spoken language was an inferior medium, lacking what was seen as the greater organization and more careful construction of writing.

Spoken and Written

Crystal (1987:178) says, however, that believing that either spoken or written language is “better” than the other would be a false position. Two systems have been developed by societies for different purposes and arguments as to which is the “superior” medium are beside the point.

Spoken exchanges

• face-to-face exchanges (private ormore public and ritualized)

• Non-face-to-face exchanges(telephone calls)

• Broadcast materials (TV chatshow or radio programme)

Functions of spoken language

Referential: utterances that provide information.

Expressive: utterances that express the speaker’s feelings.

Transactional: utterances where the main purpose is to get something done or acquire something.

Interactional: utterances where the main emphasis is on the social relationship between the participants.

Phatic: utterances devoid of any serious content ‘small talk’, usually conducted with strangers or people only slightly known.

DIALOGUE

Monologue: One-way interaction (or non-reciprocal) events as a TV news programme now incorporate two-way

Dialogue: Two ways interaction (reciprocal) interviews during the programme, where the news presenter asks questions to a studio guest or one in a studio linked to the programme via technology.

 

DIALOGUE

Cook (1989:59) calls dialogue “one of the fundamental structuring principles of all discourse, written and spoken alike.”

”Paradoxically, this is as true in discourse which appears to be created by one person alone (monologue) as in discourse which is created by two or more (dialogue).”

How can we have a dialogue when only one person is speaking?

 

Reciprocal communication is, for example, two-way talk such as casual conversation in which two or more people typically take turns talking and listening.

Non-reciprocal communication is If you have been involved more as a listener, you have been involved in a one-way communication situation. Other examples of non-reciprocal or “one-way communication” are a priest giving a sermon or a judge summing up a case in court.

What is conversation? What is conversation? Cook (1989:51) says that what we term as conversation usually means the talk is less formal. Conversation tends to have the following characteristics:

1.A way of using language socially, of “doing things with words”.

2.An interaction of two or more participants.

3.The length of contribution to the conversation can vary.

4.It has the potential to develop in any way.

5.Conversation is not unruled.

6.Rules people use are like any rules used in a social activity.

What does a conversation consist of

Spoken language

Speech is–spontaneous–temporary–made permanent through recording and transcription

Conversation is more than words

Body language Prosodic features

– intonation– speed– stress– volume– silence– laughter

Instinctive structure

Spoken language = spontaneous there is no conscious plan to build a conversation.

However……speakers with similar knowledge

work together at structuring and building the various types of conversation that we use daily.

DIALOGUE

Cook (1989:59) calls dialogue “one of the fundamental structuring principles of all discourse, written and spoken alike.”

”Paradoxically, this is as true in discourse which appears to be created by one person alone (monologue) as in discourse which is created by two or more (dialogue).”

How can we have a dialogue when only one person is speaking?

 

What is conversation? What is conversation? Cook (1989:51) says that what we term as conversation usually means the talk is less formal. Conversation tends to have the following characteristics:

1.A way of using language socially, of “doing things with words”.

2.An interaction of two or more participants.

3.The length of contribution to the conversation can vary.

4.It has the potential to develop in any way.

5.Conversation is not unruled.

6.Rules people use are like any rules used in a social activity.

Components

Turn taking

Turn taking and structure

Don’t interrupt me while I’m speaking

Speak when you are spoken to

These two remarks target to a basic rule of conversation:

PEOPLE TAKE TURNS

In British culture, you need to know when to talk and how to gain a turn.

Only 5% of the speech stream isdelivered in overlap.

It’s not just a matter of goodmanners!

Think about silence.

How can we interpret silence in thefollowing situations?

• Parents confronting their children, andchildren remaining silent.

• Somebody saying „Hello!‟ and not getting areply.

• Cook saying “food is on the table” and notreceiving any acknowledgement

These three situations mightlead to:•Forgiveness vs. punishment•Confrontation, fight, offence•Feedback request “Did you hearme?”

Turn takingturn: basic unit of conversationturn: basic unit of conversation

→→ may contain many illocutions, is everything a speaker may contain many illocutions, is everything a speaker

communicates during a unit of conversationcommunicates during a unit of conversation

turn-taking: basic form of organization for conversationturn-taking: basic form of organization for conversation

→→ speaker-change occursspeaker-change occurs

→→ mostly, one speaker talks at a timemostly, one speaker talks at a time

→→ transition from one turn to the next without gap or overlaptransition from one turn to the next without gap or overlap

→→ turn order and size not fixedturn order and size not fixed

Transition Relevance PlacesTransition Relevance Places

• • transition: a relay of the right to speak to the next speakertransition: a relay of the right to speak to the next speaker

→ → mechanisms of selection (self- or other-)mechanisms of selection (self- or other-)

→ → TRP can be exploited by the speaker holding the floor…TRP can be exploited by the speaker holding the floor…

Directly, for the purpose of allocating the right to Directly, for the purpose of allocating the right to

speak to a next speaker of his/her choicespeak to a next speaker of his/her choice

Indirectly, by throwing the floor wide open to whoeverIndirectly, by throwing the floor wide open to whoever

speaker may just ignore the TRP and continue pastspeaker may just ignore the TRP and continue past

Previewing TRPsPreviewing TRPs

• • Why are we often able to predict the end of somebody’s Why are we often able to predict the end of somebody’s

speech?speech?

→ → Adjacency PairsAdjacency Pairs

→ → changes of speed deliverychanges of speed delivery

→ → intonationintonation

→ → word-choice patternsword-choice patterns

• • two subsequent utterances constituting a conversational two subsequent utterances constituting a conversational

exchange. exchange.

Adjacency Pairs are characterized by their type, e.g.Adjacency Pairs are characterized by their type, e.g.

→→ greeting-greetinggreeting-greeting

→→ question-answer, question-answer,

→→ complaint-acceptance/denial, complaint-acceptance/denial,

→→ invitation-acceptance/denialinvitation-acceptance/denial

→ → offer-acceptance/rejectionoffer-acceptance/rejection

Adjacency Examples

Complaint/denialComplaint/denial

Ken : Hey yuh took my chair by the way an’ I don’t think Ken : Hey yuh took my chair by the way an’ I don’t think

that was very nicethat was very nice

Al: Al: II didn’t take yer chair, it’s didn’t take yer chair, it’s mymy chair. chair.

• • Compliment/rejectionCompliment/rejection

A:A: I’m glad I have you for a friend. I’m glad I have you for a friend.

B:B: That’s because you don’t have any others. That’s because you don’t have any others.

•• Can you find Turns, Transition Relevance Places and Can you find Turns, Transition Relevance Places and

Adjacency Pairs? Adjacency Pairs?

A : Are you doing anything tonight?A : Are you doing anything tonight?

B: Why are you asking?B: Why are you asking?

A:A: I thought we might see a movie. I thought we might see a movie.

B:B: Well, no, nothing in particular. What do you want to see? Well, no, nothing in particular. What do you want to see?

Speech acts

The term “speech act” was coined by the linguist philosopher Austin (1962) and developed by another, Searle (1969).

Speech act is a functional unit in communication. It is an act that the speaker performs when he makes an utterance.

Utterances have three kinds of meaning

Locutionary: Meaning, namely the literal meaning of an utterance.

Illocutionary: it is related to the social function that the utterance or the written text has.

Perlocutionary: It is the result or effect that is produced by the utterance in the given context.

Suppose that a bartender utters the words: “The bar will be closed in 5 minutes”.

Locutionary: Saying that the bar will be closed in 5 minutes.

Illocutionary: The act of informing the customers of the bar the imminent closing and perhaps also the act of urging them to order a last drink.

Perlocutionary: The bartender intends to be performing this act by causing the customers to believe the bar is about to close, and of getting them to want and to order one last drink.

In the example “I am thirsty” the propositional meaning is what the utterance says about the speaker’s physical state. (locution)

The illucotionary force is the effect the speaker wants the utterance to have on the listener. It may be intended as a request for something to drink.

A speech act is a sentence or utterance which has both propositional meaning and illucotionary force.

The linguist John Searle (1969) termed these layers locution and illocution. The literal meaning is known as the locution and the meaning we are really trying to get across is known as the illocution.

See if you can guess what this feature is from this short exchange in a novel by the English writer, Virginia Woolf

 -You’ll come, won’t you?-Oh, you’ve been preparing the party for so long-I’ll take that as a yes, then (Virginia Woolf, “Mrs Dalloway”)

Answer

The feature we are concerned with in this section is how what we say and write can be intended and/or understood at more than one level. We could comment on the Virginia Woolf exchange like this

 -You’ll come, won’t you? (a question is asked)-Oh, you‘ve been preparing the party for so long(rather than answering Yes or No there is an answer that on the

surface seems unrelated to the question)-I’ll take that as a yes, then(the questioner tries to confirm how he should interpret what he has

heard )

(husband and wife are sitting in front of a TV which is switched off)

 Is there anything on TV? there is a difference between the literal meaning of what we

say (What programmes are on now) what we are intending is (Can you turn on the TV).

A : A wife tells her husband:“Darling, there isn’t anything to eat in the

house”.

Dalia and I are doing our servicio social with Dr. Izquierdo but I have the keys of the office.

Dalia asks me: are you going to the office today?

A pregnant wife tells her husband:- “Your baby is hungry”.

Openings In these two conversations, a regular customer goes into

the village

Which of the following conversations seems the more natural?

A.A: (customer enters) I need three kilos of potatoes and a

kilo of carrots, please

B: Three kilos of potatoes and a kilo of carrots. Right away.

A :(enters) Wet, isn’t it?

B: Yes, tipping down! What can I do for you today, Clive?

A: Er, three kilos of potatoes and a kilo of carrots, please.

B: Right away. Is Sheila over her cold yet?

A: Nearly

Which of these aspects are included in the opening in conversation

above? How is each aspect realised in the language of the

conversation?1. The Ideational aspectRefers to the ideas people will talk about2. The Interpersonal aspectRefers to how formal the relationship will be in the conversation3. The Textual aspectIndicates what kind of communication it is (e.g. face-to-face talk, phonecall, email, letter, etc.) and also what we would call the “formatting” of

the text

AnswersThe ideational aspect is only indirectly represented as the initial

“interactional” talk is about the weather, not buying vegetables. The interpersonal aspect is represented as an informal register is

established by  -Elliptical language (Wet, isn’t it?)-Contractions (same)-Colloquial language (tipping down for raining hard) The textual aspect is present in the situation as face-to-face talk 

When we listen to the opening of the interaction we are involved in, we usually get an idea of the speech genre it is going to be. This may be a casual conversation a sales promotion or a request for information and we can often identify this in the opening moves of the interaction.

These are openings in various types of communication. Match the type of opening to the type of communication

A.(verbal or non-verbal, e.g. handshake, smile, wave)b. Follow-up social formulaec. Headlined. Outline of all the news storiese. Outline of what aspects of the topic are to be coveredB.1 Newspaper2 Lecture3 First speaker in a conversation4 Second speaker in a conversation5 TV news broadcast

 The matches here are: 1c, 2e, 3a, 4b, and

5d

ClosingsProficient speakers of a language usually know

how to close interactions.

We must ensure that the relationship we have established or reaffirmed during the interaction is at the close “primed” for the next meeting.

The language we use to close an interaction reflects this need.

We use pre-closing signals as warnings that we intend to bring the interaction to an end.

Is important for the relationship between the interlocutors that there is a mutual consent in the way the interaction is ended.

Learners may in a psycholinguistic sense know and use the strategies in their L1 but not know how to “say it” in the language they are learning

ExamplesAnywayWell, there you go and Oh well, that`s life.

People take so long to finish a conversation. This seems to be because it is important for the relationship between the interlocutors that there is mutual consent in the way the interaction is ended.

According to McCarthy and Carter, there is still room for materials to offer more practice in this area.

A girl says to her boyfriend:

“that icecream looks so good”

It starts raining and my mother says: There are some clothes hanging in the backyard

A dad tells her daughter:

- Are you going to school now?- Yes, but my pockets are empty.