Chapter7 The English Of Conversation.pptVIP

Chapter7 The English Of Conversation 7.1Necessity of Studying Speech 7.2 Necessity of Studying Conversation 7.3 Object of Study 7.4 An Adapted Way of Transcription 7.5 A Sample Text of Casual Conversation 7.6 General Features 7.7 Stylistic Features in Terms of Levels of Language 7.8 Summary 7.9 Other Kinds of Conversation 7.1Necessity of Studying Speech Means of communication: talk ----oral sounds (most common) basic ① marks on paper ② hand signals ③ electric dots and dashes ④ semaphore (flag signals) ⑤ smoke signals( e.g. beacon fire used to give border alarm in ancient China) …… Speech is the most basic form of language activity. The necessity of the investigation of the spoken varieties of a language. 7.2 Necessity of Studying Conversation Language is essentially a social activity. All persons will spend most of their speaking time conversing with others. Clearly, conversing is the most basic of spoken varieties. That is why, in the study of functional varieties of the English language, we focus on the characteristic features of conversation first. 7.3 Object of Study In terms of field: a wide range, no end In terms of mode: ① spontaneous, e.g. lover’s tiffs, housewives’ gossip ② non-spontaneous, e.g. a job interview, scholars talking In terms of tenor personal tenor functional tenor Personal tenor informal/intimate--- e.g. sailors exchanging experience on sea, talk between husband and wife formal--- e.g. two strangers talking at a bus stop more formal--- e.g. TV interviews Functional tenor informative --- e.g. the questions and answers carried on between teacher and students, a talk between doctor and patient phatic --- what people say when they meet their acquaintances or friends What kind of conversation, then, should we take as our object of study? One field of discourse The informal in personal tenor Phatic in functional tenor Spontaneou