Part I: English Language Skills for the Broadcast Media
1. The nature and primacy of spoken language:
According to Weinert (2010; see also Thorne, 1997), spoken language has the following attributes: It is primary in physiologically and mentally normal human beings, it is usually spontaneous and unplanned and it over laps with written language in some areas but differs substantially from it in structure. Spontaneous spoken language has specific grammatical structures as well as interactional features which can be analyzed in relation to the conditions of spoken language production. Therefore, typical features found in spoken language are not considered deviants because of performance limitations. While written language is complex with long sentences and several subordinate clauses, spoken language tends to have lots of repetitions, incomplete sentences, corrections and interruptions, with the exception of formal speeches and other types of scripted speech, such as news reports and scripts for plays and films.Spoken language is the most dominant mode of communication in any human society as many people use speech to communicate, using an assortment of registers, in different contexts for diverse reasons.
In written language, writers usually do not receive immediate feedback from their readers except in computer-based communication. As a result, they cannot rely on context to explain certain things. This in turn gives rise to the need to explain more clearly and unambiguously than in spoken language. In contrast, speech is usually an active interaction between two or more people. Therefore, context and shared knowledge play a major role. It is therefore possible to leave many things unsaid or indirectly implied. In written texts, writers use devices such as punctuations, headings, layouts, colours and other graphical effects to provide emotional context. Since such things are unavailable in spoken language, emotional context is added through the use of timing, tone, volume, timbre, non-verbal signals and interaction.
Spoken language is usually short-lived, unless it is recorded. Also, speakers can correct themselves and change their utterance as they continue. This is in contrast to writing which is usually permanent and cannot usually be changed once written or printed out. Like written texts, spoken language can have a variety of purposes. It may be informative; in a lecture (that is, referential function); social, in an informal conversation (that is phatic communion); it may be aimed at getting something done, as in a telephone call to an electrician (transactional purpose); or to reveal the speaker’s personal state of mind or attitude at a particular time (expressive purpose). In each instance the context, the audience and the speaker’s intention determine the linguistic and prosodic choices to be made.
2. The supremacy of spoken language
For several centuries, the written language was considered superior to spoken language because it was the medium of literature, and, therefore, the means of establishing standards for linguistic excellence. This was because it was believed that written language gave language performance an authority. Consequently, the rules of grammar were illustrated mainly from written texts. However, there was random disapproval of this perspective throughout the 19th Century.
By the 20th Century, an alternative approach had become common. The new method suggested that speech predates writing by many thousands of years; children develop speech first and do it naturally (but have to learn to write artificially), human beings; during their lifetime, speak much more than they write; and that writing systems are based on speech sounds. It has also been suggested that since speech is the key medium of communication among different nationalities, it should be the major focus of linguistic investigation (Crystal 1997). Syal and Jindal (2010) also argue that language is primarily made up of vocal sounds which are produced by the vocal organs of a speaker and that writing which is the graphic representation of the sounds of a language must have come much later. They argue further that there are several languages in the world which continue to exist in the spoken form only.
3. A check list for analyzing spoken discourse:
The following checklist which can be used to identify key features of a spoken discourse is adapted from Thorne (1997).
General questions:
– Who are the participants and what are their roles?
– Are they equal in status?
– What is the purpose of the conversation?
– How does the context affect the discours?
Register:
– What is the mode? – spoken
– What is the manner? – Is the relationship between participants formal or informal?
– What is the field? – The vocabulary will show the theme of the dialogue
Topic Management:
– Is there one clearly focused topic or are there several unplanned topics?
– How are the topics chosen? – Are they directly linked to the context (job, interview, lecture)? Or are they related to the pursuits or experiences of the participants in the discourse.
– Are there any topic shifts? – Who introduces the new topics? ?
– Are new topics introduced logically from preceding topics or are they unconnected?
– When a speaker tries to return to a previous topic, are there any linguistic signals after an interruption?
– How is the end of a topic marked?
Structure:
– Are they any examples of adjacency pairs? Questions and answers? Greetings? A command and a response?
– What kind of opening is used? – Neutral? Self-related comment? Other-related comment? Social greetings? Hospitality tokery? Are vocatives used to personalize the discourse?
– How is the turn-taking organized? – dominant speaker? equally shared turns? latching on? Overlaps?
– What kinds of speaker moves are used in the main body of the discourse? – framing? initiating? focusing? supporting? challenging?
– What kind of closing is used? – is there reference to something outside the speech encounter? repetition? delaying tactics? formulaic utterances? Self- or other-related remarks?
Prosodic features:
– Does the speaker vary his interaction patterns to show his attitude? to mark the end of grammatical utterances? to distinguish between new and old information? to indicate the end of a turn?
– Is there a link between the interaction and the semantics of an expression? – rising? (question); falling? (statement or completion); rising-falling? (reprimand or denial).
– Does the speaker vary his pitch to indicate his participation in the discourse? – high? (execitment or enthusiasm); low? (formality or seriousness); midway? (everyday conversation)?
– Are key words highlighted with emphatic stress?
– Does the volume change significantly to enhance the meaning of utterances?
– Does the pace change?
– Does the style of delivery change?
– What are the functions of the pauses? – to create emphasis? to dramatise an utterance? to make the conversation informal? to let the speaker search for a word? to mark the grammatical end of an utterance?
– Is the text marked with any vocal effects or para-linguistics? How do these relate to the actual words spoken/
Lexis:
– Is the language formal or informal?
– It is general or focused on a particular subject
– Are there examples of high-frequency conversational clauses such as: you know, I see, I mean, as in
– Are there any colloquial idioms or collocations?
– Is there any evidence of an abbreviated code based on shared knowledge or shared expertise?
– Are there any ambiguities?
– Is modification used to create an atmosphere?
Grammar:
– What kind of clauses are used? – simple? compound? complex? A mixture?
– Are loosely co-ordinated clauses more frequent than subordinated ones?
Are there any minor sentences? – Which clause elements are omitted?
– Are clauses simple or complex? How do they relate to the topic and manner of the speech encounter?
– Are different grammatical structures used to add variety? – direct speech? reported speech? quotations? changes in mood? changes in voice?
– Are there any ungrammatical or incomplete expressions ? do other participants show awareness of these?
– Are there any marked themes?
Normal non-fluency features:
– Are there any overlaps in the speech turns? – For how long do they last? What causes them? How do the participants respond? Do the overlaps mark an intentional challenge, a supportive minimal vocalization, or a misreading of linguistic clues?
– Are they any voiced hesitations? – are they preventing interruptions? prolonging a turn? providing thinking time?
– Are there any false starts? or repetitions?
Dealing with problems:
Are there any repairs? – self corrections or other corrections?
– Is any topic reintroduced? after a minimal response or a negative evaluation? Which topic is reintroduced? Why is it considered a safe topic?
– Is the speaker aware of listener responses?
– Are there any silences? lack of response to a question? failure to introduce a new topic? utterances misheard?
4. Features of spoken language:
The term spoken language refers to various types of verbal co