English Language Key Terms

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  • Created by: Robyn
  • Created on: 23-10-12 22:04
Address
the level of formality and authority with which people address each other
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Accent
The way a person pronounces words based on the geographical area they live/are from
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Adjacency Pairs
Pairs of Exchanges, taking turns. e.g, question/answer statement/response
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Adverbials
words such as: So, now then, right, actually, rather, only
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Agenda
The Topic of Conversation
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Archaic Lexis
Wods that are very dated and are rarely used
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Back Channel Features
Show that the listener is paying attention i.e nodding of the head, eye contact, "mmm" "yeah" etc
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Backtracking
Interrupting something you say with another thing that should have come earlier. (Usually this happens when recounting a story or event)
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Colloquialisms
Informal lexis, discouraged in writing i.e "ok" "pretty good"
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Connotations
The extra meanings the words we speak have. can be positive or negative
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Co-Operative Signals
Show that the person is co-operating with the conversation. eg "yeah" "okay" "Carry on" "Well I never!"
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Convergence
The tendency for speakers to reduce the differences in their speech to signal identification & belonging
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Covert Prestige
The Unnoficial prestige which a community attatches to a on-standard variety of language
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Declaratives
Statements
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Deictic References
Made by use of pronouns, adverbs and demonstrative pronouns. The listener must automatically know what is being referred to.
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Dialect
The vocabulary and grammar of a particular regional area
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Discourse
Any extended piece of spoken or written language
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Double Negative
The use of more than one negative word in non-standard verb constructions. eg. "You've never done nothing."
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Divergence
The tendency for speakers to exaggerate the differences in their speech to signal non-identification and distance.
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Elision
Where words are contracted or shortened.
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Ellipsis
Where words are missed out, but understood to be there.
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Exclamations
Often present in dramatic speech
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False Starts
Where the speaker changes their mind about what they were going to say.
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Fillers
A non-fluency feature where speaker utters either a non-verbal noise (er, erm, um) Or a verbal one (sort of, you know what I mean)
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Hedges
Vague language which creates uncertainty. (I think, Kinda, Careful, Sort of)
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Hesitations
A pause during speech lasting for a few seconds.
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Humour
This can completely undermine a conversation, whether it was intended to or not.
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Idiolect
Your own personal language profile.
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Idiom
A saying that can't be taken literally. (Pulling my leg, over the moon. etc.)
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Imperatives
Commands/ Orders.
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Implicatures
These are implied meanings and come under the title of "Pragmatics" They are context dependant
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Interrogatives
Questions
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Interruptions
When someone else starts speaking whilst a person is talking
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Intonation
The tone of voice
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Juncture
The gap between words in speech lasting for only a fraction of a second
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Latching
A direct response to something without overlap, like the person is anticipating what comes next. (Marked by = in a transcript)
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Lexis
Vocabulary/ Language.
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Liason
When two words run together during speech. e.g "Where Rare you?"
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Monitoring talk
When a speaker checks what they say. ("Do you see what I mean?" etc)
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Non-Fluency features
General term for normal pauses, errors and slips in conversation
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Oral Signals
Expressive sounds such as laughter, sighs and gasps
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Overlapping
When someone stars to speak before the original speaker has finished.
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Overt Prestige
The high status openly attatched to Standard English and Recieved Pronounciation. (RP)
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Paralinguistic Features
These include body language and facial expressions.
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Pauses
Indicated in transcripts by () which shows a half a second duration. A number in the backets indicates the number of seconds. i.e (3) = 3 seconds
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Phatic Language
Polite Expressions
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Pragmatics
The implied meanings of what is said. eg. if a person shouts "Taxi!" they do not expect the Taxi driver to shout back "Pedestrian!" they are implying that they want a taxi ride.
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Prosodic Features
These include intonation, stress, emphasis, tempo and pitch.
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Recieved Pronounciation (RP)
A dialect spoken by a small minority including the Queen. Considered the accent of the elite or upper classes.
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Register
The degree of formality or informalityadopted in terms of vocabulary. eg lack of slang = more formal register.
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Self-Corrections
Where a speaker checks/corrects themselves.
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Semantic Field
Words or phrases related to a certain topic.
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Simultaneous speech
When two people say the same thing in unison.
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Slang
Very informal language.
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Sociolect
The distinctive vocabulary and grammar of a particular social group
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Speech act
Refers to what is done when something is said. Eg. Warning, threatening, promising.
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Indirect Speech Act
Means something different from it's implied meaning. ("Is that your sweet wrapper on the floor?" = "Pick it up!")
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Speech markers
Show how the speech is structured.
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Taboo Language
Swearing and non-politcally correct lexis.
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Tag questions
Familar questions tagged onto the end of sentences. ("Isn't it?")
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Vernacular
The native language of a country or nation, usually in it's colloquial form.
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

The way a person pronounces words based on the geographical area they live/are from

Back

Accent

Card 3

Front

Pairs of Exchanges, taking turns. e.g, question/answer statement/response

Back

Preview of the back of card 3

Card 4

Front

words such as: So, now then, right, actually, rather, only

Back

Preview of the back of card 4

Card 5

Front

The Topic of Conversation

Back

Preview of the back of card 5
View more cards

Comments

Jess

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This was so helpful! Thankyou! 

Laura P

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Helped me a lot, thank you :)

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