What are speech events? Speech events are social situations where people comunicate throughout (más)

What are speech events? Speech events are social situations where people comunicate throughout language. The atmosphere and thus the conversations are quite often determined by the situation which mostly contains a strict program (menos)

Example Imagine yourself having to do an oral exam. The setting probably will be you sitting in a (más)

Example Imagine yourself having to do an oral exam. The setting probably will be you sitting in a classroom with your professor. The mood will be quite stressful, especially for you. During an oral exam you come in, greet the professor and then he asks you some questions. You’ll get some time to prepare your answers and when you’re ready, you tell the professor all you know about the subject. During this oral exam the professor may change the subject to see what else you know, but after the questions you and the professor discuss your performance, and then you’re off. (menos)

Example Now imagine an oral exam, but instead of you answering the professor’s questions, you’re (más)

Example Now imagine an oral exam, but instead of you answering the professor’s questions, you’re both talking about last week’s tennis match, doing this at a bar having a beer. It’s clear that this example doesn’t agree with the norms that a speech event should have in order to be correct (menos)

The components that determine a speech event A speech event is formed by a number of factors which (más)

The components that determine a speech event A speech event is formed by a number of factors which determine or change the whole situation The setting: e.g. at church The persons involved: e.g. a doctor and his patient The mood of the speakers: e.g. happy, stressed, annoyed The medium for conversation: e.g. cell phone, text message, e-mail The type of conversation: e.g. a tutorial, a prayer, a coach yelling out instructions (menos)

The script of the speech event A speech event consists of a specific structure which is carried (más)

The script of the speech event A speech event consists of a specific structure which is carried out almost every time a similar event occurs. The two main parts are the opening and the closing of the event. Between these two there are a number of other “scenes” of the script that may vary from situation to situation (menos)

Example A very clear example is calling for roadside assistance. The speech event is opened by (más)

Example A very clear example is calling for roadside assistance. The speech event is opened by the operator greeting you and you greeting him back. The next part is telling what the problem is. The operator will ask you where you are at the moment, ask for your personal data and maybe what your insurance company is. At the end the operator will send a car for assistance, you will thank him for his help, you will tell each other goodbye and end the speech event (menos)

The script of the speech event The former was a clear example of a speech event where there is a (más)

The script of the speech event The former was a clear example of a speech event where there is a very strict structure that will occur almost every time a similar event takes place. The speakers are only focused on the problem and not talking about other elements that are not relevant for the situation such as the weather. Just like during a wedding or a funeral the speech event stays focused on the situation and doesn’t switch off to another one (menos)

Topic management talks about: Choosing the starting subject of the conversation How to close (más)

Topic management talks about: Choosing the starting subject of the conversation How to close the subject to start another one or to stop the conversation How to change to a related subject or to change to another one How to stray off of the subject How to get back to the subject (menos)

Topic management People manage to do this by using: Brief boundary tokens: e.g. ok, but, (más)

Topic management People manage to do this by using: Brief boundary tokens: e.g. ok, but, anyway,… Meta-comments in order to draw the attention: “You know what happened to me the other day?” “Hey, there’s something I’d like to tell you.” Changes in tempo of speech Pauses: periods of silence or filling the gaps by backchannels: uhuh, mmh (menos)

Example Here’s an example about how the subject is chosen and about how people tend to stray off (más)

Example Here’s an example about how the subject is chosen and about how people tend to stray off and come back to the subject A: Hey Tom! B: Hey Kevin! How are you doing? A: Fine, thanks. How are you? B: I’m fine as well. A: Oh, very good. Hey, guess what I just heard! Bert is dating Susan! B: Susan? I just saw her brother Lewis yesterday. A: Oh, really? How’s he doing? I bet he’ll be mad when he finds out his sister is dating his best friend. B: Yeah, I can imagine! (menos)

Norms of interaction and interpretation By norms of interaction we refer to the way people are (más)

Norms of interaction and interpretation By norms of interaction we refer to the way people are allowed or prohibited to take part in a conversation and to know when to start talking (menos)

Example In Muslim culture woman are prohibited to talk when men are having a discussion. European (más)

Example In Muslim culture woman are prohibited to talk when men are having a discussion. European women, who are always talking, need to know this type of rule that is common in Muslim culture before going to an Arabic country and wanting to interact in a conversation in order not to be frowned upon (menos)

Norms of interaction and interpretation The term ‘norms of interpretation’ refers to the way (más)

Norms of interaction and interpretation The term ‘norms of interpretation’ refers to the way conversation should be interpreted in order to understand it correctly (menos)

Example In Spain it is seen normal to refer to your professor by his first name or to say ‘tú’ (más)

Example In Spain it is seen normal to refer to your professor by his first name or to say ‘tú’ instead of ‘usted’ In more northern European countries such as Belgium the Dutch term for ‘tú’ which is ‘jij’, is only used to refer to people that have a close relation to you such as friends or family. In Belgium, professors are always referred to as ‘u’, which is the Dutch term for ‘usted’. If you want to be respectful towards your professor, acknowledging that he worked hard to achieve the title of professor, you may turn to him using the term ‘professor’ which will always be appreciated. (menos)