English Language Glossary

• Mode


  The type of communication used in text (written or spoken).
• Register


  a variety of language associated with a specific situation or use.
• Formality


  a type of register usually showing respect and social distance
• Intended purpose


  the writers intended purpose
• Text function


  what the text actually does.
• primary purpose


  main purpose
• secondary purpose


  text's less obvious purpose.
• Multi - purpose text

  text with more than one purpose.
• Text producer


  the person who writes the text.
• Text receiver


  the person / people who read the text.
• Adjacency pairs


  speaker using turns (a pair of turns).
• Dispreffered response

  unexpected response.
• Preffered response

  expected response.
• Agreement


  preferred second part of 'assessment' adjacency pair.
• Acceptance


  preferred second part of 'request' adjacency pair.
• Denial


  preferred second part of 'blame' adjacency pair.
• Non - fluency features

  pauses, false starts, fillers, turn - taking.
• Back channeling


  any verbal / non verbal gesture that shows the participant is listening.
• Delay


  a dispreffered response.
• Waffle


  not being economical with language.
• Filler


  (such as 'well', 'erm').