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English Quiz - Spoken Language (Questions)

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. 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
2. Spontaneous speech is the opposite of...
[ ] choreographed speech
[ ] gifted speech
[ ] practised speech
[ ] scripted speech
3. The words 'um', 'er', 'uh', 'okay', or 'you know' are examples of...
[ ] fillers
[ ] hedges
[ ] ellipsis
[ ] pauses
4. Which one of the following is a reason why one speaker might interrupt another?
[ ] Excitement
[ ] Rudeness
[ ] Strong disagreement
[ ] Any of the above
5. In a transcript, which of the following represents a micro pause?
[ ] (3)
[ ] (.)
[ ] ...
[ ] [...]
6. Speaking purely for social purposes or for the sake of interacting is known as...
[ ] hedging
[ ] informal speech
[ ] formal speech
[ ] phatic communication
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
8. When more than one person speaks at a time, ......... occurs.
[ ] an ellipsis
[ ] an overlap
[ ] a hedge
[ ] a filler
9. People vary their speech according to their audience (or other participants) and the ...... in which they are speaking.
[ ] discourse
[ ] context
[ ] theme
[ ] educational level
10. Someone who speaks without much repetition or many fillers, pauses, or false starts would be described as...
[ ] hesitant
[ ] incoherent
[ ] inarticulate
[ ] fluent

You can find more about this topic by visiting BBC Bitesize - Voice

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English Quiz - Spoken Language (Answers)
1. 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
[x] 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
2. Spontaneous speech is the opposite of...
[ ] choreographed speech
[ ] gifted speech
[ ] practised speech
[x] scripted speech
Scripted speech has been written (and probably rehearsed) beforehand; spontaneous speech is unrehearsed
3. The words 'um', 'er', 'uh', 'okay', or 'you know' are examples of...
[x] 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
4. Which one of the following is a reason why one speaker might interrupt another?
[ ] Excitement
[ ] Rudeness
[ ] Strong disagreement
[x] Any of the above
Speakers frequently interrupt each other, so it's important to be sensitive to the tone of the interruption
5. In a transcript, which of the following represents a micro pause?
[ ] (3)
[x] (.)
[ ] ...
[ ] [...]
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.
6. Speaking purely for social purposes or for the sake of interacting is known as...
[ ] hedging
[ ] informal speech
[ ] formal speech
[x] phatic communication
Phatic communication is generally called 'small talk'
7. What does 'stress' mean in the context of spoken language?
[ ] The way a speaker pronounces words
[ ] Specialist vocabulary
[x] An emphasis on an individual word
[ ] Anxiety
Part of a word might be stressed, rather than the entire word
8. When more than one person speaks at a time, ......... occurs.
[ ] an ellipsis
[x] 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
9. People vary their speech according to their audience (or other participants) and the ...... in which they are speaking.
[ ] discourse
[x] context
[ ] theme
[ ] educational level
10. Someone who speaks without much repetition or many fillers, pauses, or false starts would be described as...
[ ] hesitant
[ ] incoherent
[ ] inarticulate
[x] fluent