英語文體學(xué)Chapter7TheEnglishofConversation課件

1、英語文體學(xué)Chapter7TheEnglishofConversation英語文體學(xué)Chapter7TheEnglishofConveContents7.1 Necessity of Studying Speech7.3 Object of Study7.5 A Sample Text of Casual Conversation7.6 General Features7.7 Stylistic Features in Terms of Levels of Language7.9 Other Kinds of ConversationContents7.1 Necessity of Study

2、7.1 Necessity of Studying SpeechSaussure emphasized speech over writingLanguage is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communicationPeople talk and they communicate their thoughts and feelings by means of oral sounds. Speech is the most basic form of language activityIndian languages,

3、 etc7.1 Necessity of Studying Spee7.2 Necessity of Studying ConversationLanguage is essentially a social activityA teacher, for instance, will talk with his wife at home, with his colleagues at school, with his students in the classroom, with shop assistants when shopping, with friends on the phone,

4、 etc. He is likely to engage in monologue as wellClearly, conversing is the most basic of spoken varieties.7.2 Necessity of Studying Conv7.3 Object of StudyIn terms of field, conversation covers a wide range.In terms of mode, conversation can be spontaneous or non-spontaneous In terms of personal te

5、nor, conversations can be very informal/intimate or more formal; in terms of functional tenor, conversations can be informative or phatic We just take casual conversation as our subject of study.7.3 Object of StudyIn terms of7.5 A Sample Text of Casual ConversationHere is a sample text of a dialogue

6、 between two educated women in their thirties. A: You got a cold?B: No, just a bit sniffy, cos Im Im cold and Ill be all right once Ive warmed up. Do I look as though Ive got a cold?A: No I thought you sounded as if you were. 5B: M - -A: Pull your chair close if you want. Is it - -B: Yes, Ill be all

7、 right in a minute. Its just that I amA: What have you got? 107.5 A Sample Text of Casual Co7.5 A Sample Text of Casual ConversationB: Stupid. I had er about five thousand books - - to take back to Senate House yesterday, - and I got all the way through the college to where the car was at the parkin

8、g meter, at the other end, and realized Id left my coat in my locker. 15 And I just couldntA: M.B: face going all the way back again with this great you know my arms were aching.A: M- 207.5 A Sample Text of Casual Co7.5 A Sample Text of Casual ConversationB: And I thought, well, Ill get it on Tuesda

9、y. Its a bit silly cos I need it.A: M. Its gone very cold, hasnt it?B: M- - - Its freezing.A: M- Im 25B: Youre knitting. (laugh quietly for-) What are you knitting? Thats not a tiny garment?A: No.B: (laughs for-)A: No, its for me. But its very plain. 307.5 A Sample Text of Casual Co7.5 A Sample Text

10、 of Casual ConversationB: Its a lovely colour- - -A: Its nice.B: Yeah. I never di- I could never take to knitting except on these double o needles with string, you know, thats my sort of knitting. 35A: Yeah.7.5 A Sample Text of Casual Co7.6 General Features1) it shows inexplicitness of language, as

11、this great and the other end have to be understood on the immediate extralinguistic context or shared background knowledge. 2) it shows randomness of subject-matter and lack of planning. 3) there is the phenomenon of normal non-fluency, as hesitation, slips of the tongue, overlapping or simultaneous

12、 speech. 7.6 General Features1) it show7.7 Stylistic Features in Terms of Levels of Language7.7.1 Grammatical Features7.7.2 Lexical Features7.7.4 Semantic Features7.7 Stylistic Features in Term7.7.1 Grammatical Features1) Preference for short and loose sentences2) High incidence of elliptical and in

13、complete sentences3) Frequency of interrogative sentences4) Simple nominal and verbal group structure 7.7.1 Grammatical Features1) P1) Preference for short and loose sentences Speakers tend to use short utterances when talking. Keeping with the fact that our short-term memory is only seven or eight

14、words long. The longer sentences are loosely joined together: usually the main clause comes the first, with other clauses of phrases running on behind, very often joined by and or so.1) Preference for short and lo2) High incidence of elliptical sentencesIn order to be brief and informal/intimate, pa

15、rticipants in casual conversation tend to omit parts/elements of an utterance which in formal context are not ellipted. More examples:Want some tea? (Do you want some tea?)You Okay? (Are you Okay?)Got to go now. (I”ve got to go now.)Youve what? (What have you had?)2) High incidence of elliptica2) Hi

16、gh incidence of incomplete sentences3 cases:The speaker may restart a sentence to conform more to what he/she wants to say.Speaker A may want to complete Speaker Bs sentence or vice versaThe two speakers may provide an ending simultaneously.2) High incidence of incomplet3) Frequency of interrogative

17、 sentencesAs a verbal transaction between two people conversing, questions and answers are the basic form. Hence the higher incidence of interrogative sentences. Vocatives are used to call the attention of the addressee (to get him or her involved).3) Frequency of interrogative 4) Simple nominal and

18、 verbal group structureNominal groups tend to be “Det+(Adj)+Noun”; with not much postmodification or adjective sequenceRelative clauses omit an optional relative pronoun and the prep. is put at the endObject forms as subjects (Me too)Verbal groups are composed of one verb or of “Aux+Verb”Contracted

19、verbal formsInformal filler verbs such as gotPassives are few; less modal verbs4) Simple nominal and verbal g7.7.2 Lexical FeaturesPreference for short words and vague expressionsFrequent use of colloquial items and idioms and a great many phrasal verbs.Use of lexical hyperbole and slang7.7.2 Lexica

20、l FeaturesPreferen1) Preference for short words and vague expressionsThe words are short. The vocabulary reflects the relative domesticity of the subject matter: weather, health, car, knitting; words having to do with phatic communication, and vocal sounds such as “m”, “mhm”, etc to keep the convers

21、ation going. For example,- Id like fifty pence, Dad.- Why?- Because we want some things from the shops. (cf need to buy)Its been very nice having you. (cf to have your company)1) Preference for short words 1) Preference for short words and vague expressionsSpecialized terms and formal phraseology ar

22、e generally kept to the minimum, and whenever they have to be used their force is played down either through the use of hesitation, or the use of parenthetic structures like you know, sort of, kind of, and so on. For example,This s syou know, its a sort of - out-dated policy which just goes on and o

23、n.And it is even possible to replace a special lexical item with a vague terms; as in I cant screw up the whats-it. Will you try?Mary gone out with whats-his-name- you know, the boy with a curly beard?1) Preference for short words 2) Frequent use of colloquial items and idioms and a great many phras

24、al verbsCertain items such as yeah, cos, got, just, a bit, all right, OK, fed up, sort of, kind of, well, I mean, you see, thing; and idioms such as in a minute, just couldnt face, the simple truth is, the thing to do, as far as I can gather are very frequently used in conversation. For example,- Ar

25、e you ready for the driving test?- Well, I dont know. Kind of.Phrasal verbs are used in place of one-word verbs. For example,The prisoner finally broke down. (collapsed)She turned up unexpectedly. (appeared)Theyve call off the strikes. (cancelled)2) Frequent use of colloquial 2) Use of lexical hyper

26、bole and slangPeople often make use of a great number of lexical items for emphasis. Our sample gives us a glimpse of this: (I am) stupid, about five thousand (books), (its) freezing, all the way (through the college), etc. Other favorite emphatics are possible, e.gThe performance was superb.My pain

27、 was awful.What marvelous weather!2) Use of lexical hyperbole anslang- Didnt you, I mean, didnt you give the impression that you were actually dying to go to Malaysia?- Im not a very good liar actually. God. I put my foot in it. He had some prizeblerk, and afterwards he took me aside and said, um, y

28、ou did put your foot in it at least three times, but we didnt hold it against you. And, you know, at one stage some old geezer in the corner who mustve been at least a hundred and eighty says, er,In this dialogue, we see slang words or expressions: prizeblerk for No. 1 idiot, old geezer for old man.

29、slang- Didnt you, I mean, di7.7.3 Phonological FeaturesFrequent use of some basic prosodic patternsProsodic variation within the tone-unitFrequency of pause and uneven tempoFree occurrence of paralinguistic effects7.7.3 Phonological FeaturesFre1) Frequent use of some basic prosodic patternsThere is

30、a high proportion of simple falling tonesThe tone units tend to be shortEnd-of-utterance pauses are not commonA narrow pitch range1) Frequent use of some basic 2) Prosodic variation within the tone-unitIn order to avoid mechanic repetitiveness, the speaker often uses prosodic contrasts at various po

31、ints within the tone-unitContrastive tonicity is extremely frequent, often occurring with compound tones2) Prosodic variation within t3) Frequency of pause and uneven tempoThere is frequent silence for a contrastive pause. Voiceless hesitation is frequent, and can occur anywhere, not just at places

32、of major grammatical junction; voiced hesitation is frequent with some speakersTempo is flexible; on the whole, conversation tends to be quite fast3) Frequency of pause and unev4) Free occurrence of paralinguistic effectsLaugh, sob, cry, breathiness, falsetto and body language4) Free occurrence of p

33、araling7.7.4 Semantic FeaturesSemantically the most important feature is randomness of subject matter and general lack of planning, as the speaker is in the position of having “to think on his/her feet”, of having to encode the message under pressure of time, and hence the occurrence of markers of a

34、ll kinds of spontaneous effects, such as simultaneous start, A supplying Bs end of speech, afterthoughts (as is shown above in the sample); and the loose string of ideas, rough synonyms (eg a good school, a beautiful school, very nice). 7.7.4 Semantic FeaturesSemanti7.7.4 Semantic FeaturesWhat is mo

35、re, in everyday conversation, there is often the appearance of “illogicality”; as in My watch is half past nine. ( Its half past nine by my watch.)Its a better job than you have now. (Its a better job than the one you have now.)7.7.4 Semantic FeaturesWhat is7.7.4 Semantic Features Jumps in the train of thought, as in:- In the Spring when it is nice, you could