#spontaneousspeech

[chloeotooleenglish]

http://acl.ldc.upenn.edu/H/H89/H89-1018.pdf

[astrangekitenameddesire]

A Framework For Spontaneous Speech Part Three

Non Verbal Features

These include fillers (Ah So Um) which often signify a pause for thought. Fillers are often conjoined with repairs so if you spot one in the exam you can possibly get two terminology marks in a sentence e.g. "I didnae wann - a::h I shouldn'tve said that". Fillers should not be confused with hedges.

Pauses are similar to fillers in the respect that they can signify a pause in thought. Pauses also allow the listener time to interject and are often used in conversations in order to establish adjacency pairs. Socially awkward people sometimes have problems identifying when to join a conversation and pauses along with use of the interrogative syntax can help integrate them into one. Pauses are also linked to utterances since an utterance is a unit of speech beginning and ending with a pause, utterances usually show outbursts of emotion.

Intonation is very important in spoken spontaneous speech but since in the exam the spontaneous speech is going to be in transcript form,  talking about it in depth would be a waste of time. Intonation is pretty much how the pitch of the voice changes as you speak, for example people generally speak in a higher pitch when they are surprised and a lower tone when they are serious.

Emphasis is used to draw attention to a word, this can be done subconsciously through use of alliteration or saying the word loudly so the listener knows it's important. A speaker might want to use emphasis if they wanted to get a point across quickly.

[astrangekitenameddesire]

A Framework for Spontaneous Speech Part Two

Ft. Vocabulary

Vocabulary features include, onomatopoeia, alliteration, and hedges.

Also consider the attitude and intention of the speaker and how it affects their vocabulary. 

Hedges soften the blow of conversation and are often used to disguise the intentions of the speaker.

Alliteration helps bring attention to phrases (Although this is more apparent in prepared speech, unless you're a poet or a rapper)

xXxX Style XxXx

This is pretty much how the speaker is represented and what makes them individual.

Accent representation is how an accent is represented through paper. To give an example here is a exchange of conversation from Irvine Welsh's trainspotting which represents the Edinburgh accent.

--The only difference is thit ye dinnae git shot at sae often bein a junky. Besides, it's usually you that does the shootin. --That, eh, likesay, seems a bit eh, f*cked up like man. Ken? --Naw but, listen the now. You jist think aboot it. In the army they dae everything fir they daft c*nts. Feed thum, gie the c*nts cheap bevvy in scabby camp clubs tae keep thum fae gaun intae toon n lowerin the f*ckin tone, upsetting the locals n that. Whin they git intae civvy street, thuv goat tae dae it aw fir thumsells.

Note the sociolect present in the speech signified by the unique terminology such as 'Ken' (which is used often as a hedge, it means 'know'), The common replacement of the vowel 'o' with an 'ae' which gives the speakers a slight drawl which is expected of the accent.

If you have any free time, I would recommend reading trainspotting because it is a very interesting read. But you don't have to. Because you know. Its your free time. ya know.

[astrangekitenameddesire]

A Framework for Spontaneous Speech Part 1

FAPC

The main things to consider when writing about spontaneous speech or any speech in general is: Form (How is it structured in terms of presentation?), Audience (Who are the participants?), Purpose (What is the goal of the main speaker?) and Context (Where is this and what is going on? Fancy word, Pragmatics.). Write about how these 4 points appear in the text that you are analyzing, I mean its an easy two paragraphs why shouldn't you?

Oh what? You need more things to talk about? K, I got this.

Structure.

You get to talk about turn taking and expected adjacency pairs which are when people talk one after each other (Although you shouldn't unless the adjacency pairs are being broken because its like saying water's wet if you get me.).

Another thing to discuss are repairs which are like when you repair a thing that you need to clarify. Which is to say, discuss the subject that you just or previously talked about in more detail. You can use repairs to show a speakers enthusiasm about a particular subject.

Interruptions are another feature of spontaneous speech structure that you could ment- They can be used to help identify the social standings of the speakers and can be vital in analysing the relationship between two speakers. This is kinda less important than the other two in a way though, mention it and write that it staggers the flow of the conversation and breaks adjacency pairs, but don't spend too long writing about the actual interruption. The breaking of adjacency pairs is slightly more pertinent in the majority of situations imo.