English language: Language framework: Spoken language

Literary devices: Spoken language

Main two purposes

1. Convey meaning - Language as a means of clarification, so someone will understand you. Eg explain something or give orders or instructions.
2. Demonstrate attitudes and values - Offer opinions on subjects or get your point of view across.

External features that affect the spoken language 

1. Audience/ Person being addressed - Affects formality and content eg. friends = informal
2. Speaker's background - Affects word choices, accent, grammatical constructions, etc.
3. Location and purpose of text - Where the conversation is taking place and what's being talked about eg. speech at university about biology = formal 

• Formal: Used in situations such as talking to people you don't know well, at formal events (eg. job interview or tea party). Common for prepared and planned speeches. Uses more complex and mainly complete grammatical structures.
• Informal: Among friends or casual talk. Mainly colloquial language (spoken only), which is casual and familiar. Simpler and incomplete grammatical structure, simpler vocabulary and dialect features.

Individual speech

• Monologue: Conveys opinions, inner thoughts or experiences
• Can be scripted performance (speech, show) or individual speaking for longer than normal.
• Can be directed at individuals with no spoken contribution
• Prepared or spontaneous

Dialogue

• Conversation involving two or more people
• Use language to interact with each other
• Scripted: Actors in a movie/ tv show
• Spontaneous: Between friends - dialogue speakers respond to different cues and contexts that come up in the conversation to keep it going

5 Functions of spoken language

1. Interactional language: Language of informal speech, Has a social function. Purpose is to develop relationships between speakers. eg exchanging personal information and asking questions to keep the interaction going.
2. Referential language: Provides reader with information. Refers to objects and abstract concepts. Speaker assumes knowledge from listener, and the listener has to understand the context eg. The car will pick you up there at 5. 
3. Expressive language: Highlights speakers emotions, feelings and attitudes. Shows speakers judgement or feelings about a person, situation or event.
4. Transactional language: Getting information or making a deal eg. buying or selling. Specific purpose = driven by needs or wants instead of sociability eg. how much are those shoes
5. Phatic language: "Small talk", Used for social purposes instead of conveying serious information eg. asking about the weather to initiate a conversation.

Prepared speech

• Planned 
• Lexis: Standardised and formal, words choices are sophisticated and technical. 
• Grammar: Follow standard grammar rules, don't have many contractions (corrections), pauses controlled by punctuation.
• Formality/ Audience: Aimed at an audience, usually language chosen to persuade audience in some way or create an impact. Usually address audience directly (inclusive pronouns eg, we or you) to maintain interest. Often formal to create feeling of prestige (higher profile).
• Examples: political speeches

Spontaneous speech

• Unplanned
• Lexis: Non-standard, includes slang and dialect forms.
• Grammar: Non-standard agreements, non-standard/ irregular tenses, double negatives (eg. we done it, we was planning to)
• Formality/ Audience: Only meant for speakers involved. Formality dependent on situation (eg. strangers = more formal)

Similarities: 

• Non verbal communication eg. body language
• Discourse: Themes and ideas, beginning, middle and end

Features of spontaneous speech

• Ellipses: Part of the grammatical structure removed from the sentence without affecting the understanding eg. (Are) You coming?
• Phatic expression: Initiating conversation eg. Nice weather we have
• False start: Speaker changes train of thought halfway through conversation, and begins utterance again eg. On saturday er tomorrow night
• Back-channelling: Feed back from the listener to show the speaker he's understood eg. I see or can be non verbal eg. nodding your head
• Deitic expression: Pointers that refer the listener backwards or outside the text . Listener needs to understand the context. eg. this, that, here, there
• Non-fluency features: Interrupt the flow of speech. Hesitation, repetition, interruptions and overlaps eg. er, um 
• Elision: Slurring words together eg. gonna instead of going to
• Hedging: Uncertainty in conversation or weaken force of what you're saying eg. probably,
• maybe, perhaps

Conversation features

All conversations

• Opening
• Response
• Adjacency pairs: Short exchanges of speech that follow predictable patterns eg. How are you? I'm fine thanks
• Signalling closure: Verbal or non verbal gestures that close the conversation eg. Bye

Individual speakers

• Switching and turn taking: Speaker invites other people to talk switching the conversation by pausing or making a emphatic statement eg. How about you? Domineering speakers might ignore this meaning other speakers have to interrupt or stay silent.
• Tag questions: Attached to the end of statements and invite responses or feedback from listeners. eg. right? isn't it? Could be because the speaker is trying to control the conversation or feels awkward.
• Topic shift: Changing the subject of the conversation to control conversation
• Feedback: Listeners give verbal/ non-verbal signs to show that they're listening eg. mm-hmm, yeah, nodding

Techniques at different stages of a conversation

1. Initiating conversation: Showing an interest, offering contributions, phatic expressions and questioning for unfaimiliar people eg. tag questions to initiate response
2. Sustaining conversation: Following adjencency patterns and turn taking rules, giving feedback sustain the conversation and show speaker empathy by shared interests and opinions.
3. Ending conversation: Phatic expressions are used to signal closure so people do not appear rude eg. I should get going. There are also non verbal ways such as standing up or increasing the distance.

• Techniques in formal situations: Defined power relationship eg. interviews. Prepared situations with a specific subject and level of formality.
• Techniques in informal situations: Less prepared and involve a variety of topics but still controlled by domineering speakers than inhibited speakers.