A Grammar of Speech

Abstract

Acknowledgements The author and series editors Foreword Transcription notations Introduction An exploratory grammar Starting assumptions Why do we want a linear grammar? Discourse analysis What is a sentence grammar? Product and process Why speech? Who is it for? 1. The argument and organization of the book Communicating in time Immediate constituent grammars Finite state grammars Summary of the argument Development of the description 2. Used language Sample of data Used speech is purposeful - Going through the motions - Interaction - What can be told or asked? - Communicative need Participants co-operate - Dealing with mismatches - Projecting a need Existential values - Meaning and value - Existential antonyms Scholarly background Process and product - The purposeful increment 3. Telling and asking exchanges The telling increment Minimum requirements for telling: syntactic Minimum requirements for telling: intonational 4. The simple chain Initial, Intermediate, and Target States - Three-element chains Four- and five-element chains A set of sequencing rules Some implications of the sequencing rules The simple chain Sample of data 5. Non-finite verbal elements Non-finite forms Extensions - Chains representing more than one telling increment Suspension Suspension in simple chains - Characteristics of suspensions - Suspensive non-finite verbal elements - Suspensive elements before chain-initial N Extensions and suspensions compared Sample of data 6. The relationship between elements The relationship among constituents Post-verbal and post-nominal functions Indeterminacy and ambiguity Non-significant differences Indeterminacy in chains with non-finite verbal elements Unrestricted reference A finite-state account Non-finite verbal elements as suspensions 7. The timing of events The two time continua Event time and moment of utterance Differentiated and undifferentiated time reference Perfective and imperfective verbs Exploitation Non-finite verbal elements - Event time with the -ing form - Event time with the to form - Event time with the pp form Linearity The effect of suspension Non-finite verbal elements with post-nominal function 8. Selection and communication Prominence and selection Existential values Tone units with two prominent syllables The nature of prominence Selection in two-prominence tone units Sample of data 9. More on verbal elements Analysis of multi-word elements Selectional possibilities of auxiliary have - Communicative deficiency - Auxiliary have followed by non-finite forms Auxiliary be - Events and conditions - Auxiliary be followed by non-finite forms Longer verbal sequences 10. Modals and the plain infinitive Modals Base form of non-finite elements Modals in sequence with non-finite forms Conversational use of modals Verbal element do Plain infinitives following other verbal elements Sample of data 11. More extensions and suspensions Reduplication - The + symbol Preposition/nominal elements Indeterminacy resulting from reduplication Same or different referent? Reduplicative N as extension or suspension Finite second predication Summary 12. Zero realization Second mention The O symbol Zero realization in finite second predications Who Optional elements Uses of zero realization compared 13. Open selectors The pertinence of selection Open selectors in telling increments Functional indeterminacy of open selectors Selection by equation Prominent and non-prominent W Selection by predication Suspensions Slot-filling who Sample of data 14. Nominal elements Events and things Characterizing and identifying Speaker's choice Post-nominal specification - Other kinds of post-specifiers Pre-nominal specification - Ordering of adjectival elements - Intonation of pre-specified nominal elements 15. Talk about talk What does the discourse count as? Retrospective labelling Unlabelled intentions Essential and incidental items Secondary purposes of increments Illocutionary force Explicit and implicit purposes What is the discourse about? Discrete labelling 16. More talk about talk Non-discrete labelling Pre-empting the purpose Tone choice Suspensions at the beginning of the chain Theme Temporal precedence 17. Asking exchanges Who knows what? Initiating increments - Finding out or making sure? Question types Responses Extended responses 18. What can go wrong? Chains that do not occur Categories of constraint Absolute constraints Probable constraints associated with particular words Category 3 constraints On-line amendments 19. A version of the story analysed A linear analysis - Comments 20. Uses of a linear account of grammar Principles The sentence A user's model? Psychological reality? Purposeful language and psycholinguistics Language acquisition Language learning and teaching - Seeing the wood for the trees - Learning to use a language or learning about it? Appendix Glossary Bibliography Index

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