Understanding Spoken Language: Key Features and Oral Genres

Key Features of Colloquial Language

Suprasegmental Elements

Intonation, accents, tone, and rhythm are critical elements in conveying meaning.

Word Order Flexibility

Speakers often rearrange words to emphasize items of interest, leading to a more logical flow.

Statement Complexity

Colloquial language often involves elaborations, anacolutha (shifts in grammatical construction), mixed styles, and syntactic displacement. For example, "The keys, where did I put them?"

Contextual References (Deixis)

Frequent use of deictic elements like "I," "you," and "now" that rely on the shared context for interpretation.

Discourse Markers

Increased use of discourse markers such as "then," "well," "okay," and "man" to structure conversation.

Relaxed Enunciation

Characterized by incomplete sentences, word elisions, hesitations, repetitions, and simultaneous speech.

Condensation

Frequent use of exclamations, ellipses, and single-word statements like "No way!" or "Ouch!".

Lexical Choices

Preference for idioms, catchphrases, and slang terms such as "something," "okay," "chorizo," and "painful."

Speaker's Expression

Prominent use of personal pronouns, phatic elements (used to maintain social contact), and mitigating expressions like "horrible" or "hallucinations."

Oral Genres: Different Forms of Spoken Communication

Conversation

The primary and most typical form of oral communication.

Characteristics

• Lack of Planning: The topic is not predetermined and can encompass various subjects.
• Alternation and Influence: Participants switch roles between speaker and listener, and contributions are modified or completed by others.
• Conversational Principles: Interventions and turn-taking are guided by cooperation and courtesy.
• Immediacy: Nonverbal cues play a significant role.
• Informal Register: Marked by improvisation and unpredictability.
• Structure: Consists of successive interventions that build the dialogue.

Debate

A structured conversation where two or more people present and argue their views on a predetermined topic. A moderator introduces the topic and regulates turn-taking, resulting in a less spontaneous and more formal register.

Tertulia

A conversation among a group of attendees who meet for this purpose. It is necessary to establish the theme beforehand, and it typically involves a colloquial register.

Symposium

A dialogue where attendees ask questions to one or more specialists on a specific area of knowledge, characterized by a formal register.

Interview

A conversation where one person asks questions to obtain information or opinions from another person.