Learner resource 8 Features of spoken English

Utterances People do not speak in sentences. They speak in utterances. These utterances are composed of sounds (vowels, consonants, monophthongs and diphthongs etc) which are created by the lips, palate, vocal chords and tongue. Spoken language is ephemeral – written is (semi) permanent. Utterances serve different functions, some of which might be: referential, transactional, expressive, interactional or phatic. More later.

Other features C, P, R: context, purpose, receiver = a branch of pragmatics. Monologic or dialogic Adjacency pairs Addressee or interlocutor Body language, expression = paralinguistic features Phonology – phonological features: pitch, timbre, volume, tempo Deixis and deictic expressions. Anaphoric deixis and cataphoric deixis. More later. Hedges Vague language

More… Tag questions. Overlaps, interruptions, seizing the floor and the politeness principle Non-standard variation/grammar/constructions Verbal and non-verbal fillers Hesitation Slips Repetition False starts Digressions

More… Turn-taking Agenda-setting Upwards and downwards accommodation Accent, dialect, sociolect, idiolect RP and SE Prestige dialects – S.E. Topic shifters – ‘by the way’ Back-channel behaviour Taboo language Elision and ellipsis Grice’s maxims: quantity, relevance, manner, quality (truthfulness)

More… Labovian structure of conversational narratives: abstract, orientation, complication, resolution, evaluation, coda Prosodic elements: intonation, tone, pitch, pace, pauses, volume, stress Spoken lang less structured than written version We learn to speak before we learn to read and write: spoken lang has a slightly ‘lesser’ status in the eyes of many people Subject-specific lexis or occupational dialects = same as sociolect = signifier of class, occupation etc

Compare - contrast Written: “Right then my friend – I would like for you to assault your opponent in a very forthright manner. Strike him here and then manage it so that your right hand comes through to make contact with his person in this manner. You can also feint by skipping to one side and parry his incoming blows.” Spoken [from transcript]: Yeah I want you to do to make the first move so the jab comes BAM and you can slip in there [pretends to box] like yeah you know the right hand comes I can skip outside and I can go straight down the level so.

What comments can you make about the differences? Permanent versus impermanent Phonological features Prosodic features Register and formality Ellipsis Script itself: punctuation Fillers Paralinguistic features CPR

Listen . . . Spoken English is made up of sounds. Listen to the following recording and make a LIST of all the SPOEKN FEATURES you can spot Work with a partner Try also to comment on DIALECT AND ACCENT Try to guess the SOCIAL CLASS Try to work out the gender

Lol speak…ROFL  I IS TEN NINJAS

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