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Spoken Language
When more than one person speaks at a time, an overlap occurs.

Spoken Language

Studying spoken language, how we speak, can be fascinating. When you transcribe recorded speech you become aware of the difference between writing and speech. Spontaneous speech contains repetition, fillers, hesitations, interruptions, unfinished sentences and sentences which appear ungrammatical. A good dialogue, or speaking with others, also involves turn-taking and cooperation.

See how well you understand the technical aspects of spoken language by trying this quiz.

1.
When more than one person speaks at a time, ......... occurs.
an ellipsis
an overlap
a hedge
a filler
Sometimes speakers say the same thing; sometimes they finish each other's sentences; at other times, an overlap might result from a disagreement between the two speakers
2.
In a transcript, which of the following represents a micro pause?
(3)
(.)
...
[...]
As with interruptions, there are many different reasons why a speaker might pause: a change of mind, hesitating to finish the sentence, asking the other person a question, indicating that it is someone else's turn to speak, etc.
3.
People vary their speech according to their audience (or other participants) and the ...... in which they are speaking.
discourse
context
theme
educational level
4.
The words 'um', 'er', 'uh', 'okay', or 'you know' are examples of...
fillers
hedges
ellipsis
pauses
Fillers give the speaker a chance to think - they can also be used to discourage another speaker from taking a turn in the conversation
5.
What is a transcript?
A transcript is exactly the same as a playscript
A transcript is a written conversation which has had all of the errors corrected
A transcript is a recorded conversation which has been written out exactly as it took place
A transcript is a dialogue written in a narrative
A transcript includes the hesitations, interruptions, unfinished sentences, filler words, etc., which are present in spoken language
6.
Someone who speaks without much repetition or many fillers, pauses, or false starts would be described as...
hesitant
incoherent
inarticulate
fluent
7.
What does 'stress' mean in the context of spoken language?
The way a speaker pronounces words
Specialist vocabulary
An emphasis on an individual word
Anxiety
Part of a word might be stressed, rather than the entire word
8.
Which one of the following is a reason why one speaker might interrupt another?
Excitement
Rudeness
Strong disagreement
Any of the above
Speakers frequently interrupt each other, so it's important to be sensitive to the tone of the interruption
9.
Spontaneous speech is the opposite of...
choreographed speech
gifted speech
practised speech
scripted speech
Scripted speech has been written (and probably rehearsed) beforehand; spontaneous speech is unrehearsed
10.
Speaking purely for social purposes or for the sake of interacting is known as...
hedging
informal speech
formal speech
phatic communication
Phatic communication is generally called 'small talk'
You can find more about this topic by visiting BBC Bitesize - Voice

Author:  Sheri Smith

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