AS Level English - Spoken word

[Ash]

Hi there,

Just wondering if anyone can give me any help or tips on this.

Basically, in the exam you get a transcript of spoken english say from a TV show such as Big Brother (reality tv show in the UK) and something completely different, say from a play or story that isn't spoken english; however, you have to pick up on features similar to spontaneous speech. In both you have to pick out word classes such as any superlatives used, verbs or adjectives and what's their effect.

So what sort of things could I pick out from a transcript? I've made another thread on spontaneous speech which is a big part of it, but just wondering if anyone has sat this exam really and if so, any help?!

Exams in May, ekkk.

Cheers guys.

[Tdol]

In spoekn language, we often don't connect things much. 'I went home early...I was tired'- in written language, we use more conjunctions and things to link the language up, so look for examples of that. We often repeat things, so adverbs like very/really etc can be used a lot, where we would look for alternatives in writing. Speech chops and changes- we start of saying something one way the drift to another, often signalling the change with a pause and/or something like 'well'. Look for discourse markers and phatic speech. If it's something like Big Brother, look for slang and swearing.

[Ash]

Thanks a lot!

=]

[Tdol]

You're welcome. I am afraid that I come of an age where we didn't have spoken words in English A Levels and had to focus on Milton not Big Brother.