Studying Spoken Language Text 17, 18 and 19

1. Assessment Focus: AO 1 Accurate expression and terminology; Literary and linguistic approaches Select and apply relevant concepts and approaches from integrated linguistic and literary study, using appropriate terminology and accurate, coherent written expression. Studying Spoken LanguageText 17, 18 and 19 Lesson Objective: To learn a number of terms and concepts useful for the analysis of speech To develop an approach to analysing conversation

2. Key Terms • Transcript – an exact written representation of speech • Prosodic features – the vocal aspects of speech (volume, stress, intonation, speed) that contribute to meaning • Paralinguistic features – non-verbal aspects of communication such as intonation, pausing which help speakers to convey meaning

3. Text 18 • Get into groups of 4 and work out how to act out Text 18 • There are things that will throw you off track – such as the ‘Pie’ reference. • Act it out – pay attention to: • What is actually happening • Who is who • What are the relationships between each speaker

4. How difficult was that?! • So much of spoken language depends on CONTEXT. In order to make sense of the transcript you need to work out where and when the conversation is taking place, who the participants are and their relationship towards each other. • You need to guess how the words will be spoken – which words would be stressed and how loudly each person speaks (prosodic features) • In your role play you may also have considered body language – how each speaker would look at the other speakers, their gestures, and even where they were positioned (paralinguistic features)

5. Text 18 • An American family of 4 is sitting down to dinner. • In the conversation reference is made to dinner, its accompaniments, to other people, to a household pet (Pie!), to switching off the television and to past meetings. What are the main differences between the transcript and what you would expect to find in a written text?

6. Key Terms • Context-dependent – those aspects of a text whose meanings depend on an understanding of the circumstances in which it has been produced • Ellipsis / elliptical – the omission of part of a sentence, can also be represented by (...) • Non-fluency features – the natural mistakes of speech – hesitation, self-correction and repetition • Discourse Markers – words or phrases that give structure to speech or writing – they allow the speaker to move from one idea to the next • Question Tag – short question at the end of an utterance, don’t you think?

7. Some rules or ‘maxims’ that have been proposed for ‘normal’ conversational behaviour

8. The dos and don’ts of conversation • Read Text 19 • Make a list of the main rules that are being followed in this conversation. • Make a list of rules that they break (eg – overlapping / interruption)

9. Analysis: answer in full sentences using the key terminology and examples from either text • Choose one of the texts and write an explanation about how you brought the transcript to life – what you had to add to the words or how you used your imagination to make the transcript make sense. • Write an overview of each transcript. Explain what the main ideas are that are being discussed, any significant conflicts and the roles of each of the participants. • How is each transcript different from a written text? (make sure you use the key terminology)

10. Homework • By next lesson complete a detailed annotation of the transcript of text 17 • Look for all language features not only the spoken language features.