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Part of
Grammar of Spoken and Written English
Douglas Biber, Stig Johansson, Geoffrey N. Leech, Susan Conrad and Edward Finegan
[Not in series 232] 2021
► pp. 1031–1120

Chapter 14
The grammar of conversation

Article outline
  • 14.1Introduction
    • 14.1.1An example of conversation
    • 14.1.2A functional survey of conversation
      • 14.1.2.1Conversation takes place in the spoken medium
      • 14.1.2.2Conversation takes place in shared context
      • 14.1.2.3Conversation avoids elaboration or specification of meaning
      • 14.1.2.4Conversation is interactive
      • 14.1.2.5Conversation is expressive of politeness, emotion, and attitude
      • 14.1.2.6Conversation takes place in real time
      • 14.1.2.7Conversation has a restricted and repetitive repertoire
      • 14.1.2.8Conversation employs a vernacular range of expression
      • 14.1.2.9Lack of functional explanation
  • 14.2Performance phenomena: Dysfluency and error
    • 14.2.1Hesitations: Silent and filled pauses
      • 14.2.1.1Frequency of filled and unfilled pauses
        • corpus findings
        • discussion of findings
    • 14.2.2Repeats
      • 14.2.2.1Multiple consecutive repeats
        • corpus findings
        • discussion of findings
      • 14.2.2.2Frequency of repeats
        • corpus findings
        • discussion of findings
      • 14.2.2.3Repeats of forms with verb contractions
        • CORPUS FINDINGS
        • discussion of findings
    • 14.2.3Retrace-and-repair sequences: Reformulations
    • 14.2.4Utterances left grammatically incomplete
    • 14.2.5Syntactic blends
      • 14.2.5.1Syntactic blends v. semantic gap-filling clauses
  • 14.3The constructional principles of spoken grammar
    • 14.3.1Principles of online production
      • 14.3.1.1Parenthetical structures
      • 14.3.1.2The ‘add-on’ strategy
      • 14.3.1.3Clausal and non-clausal units (C-units)
      • 14.3.1.4Distribution of clausal and non-clausal units
        • corpus findings
        • discussion of findings
    • 14.3.2Prefaces, bodies, and tags
      • 14.3.2.1Prefaces and other utterance launchers
      • 14.3.2.2The ambivalent grammatical status of utterance launchers
      • 14.3.2.3Extending the body
      • 14.3.2.4Tags
    • 14.3.3More on non-clausal units: Inserts
      • 14.3.3.1Interjections
      • 14.3.3.2Greetings and farewells
      • 14.3.3.3Discourse markers
      • 14.3.3.4Attention signals
      • 14.3.3.5Response elicitors
      • 14.3.3.6Response forms
      • 14.3.3.7Hesitators
      • 14.3.3.8Various polite speech-act formulae
      • 14.3.3.9Expletives
      • 14.3.3.10Distribution of inserts
        • corpus findings
        • discussion of findings
    • 14.3.4Syntactic non-clausal units
      • 14.3.4.1Elliptic replies
      • 14.3.4.2Other types of syntactic non-clausal unit
      • 14.3.4.3Elliptic phrasal non-clausal units in their context
    • 14.3.5Ellipsis in clausal units
      • 14.3.5.1Initial (situational) ellipsis
      • 14.3.5.2Initial ellipsis
        • corpus findings
        • discussion of findings
      • 14.3.5.3Final (post-operator) ellipsis
      • 14.3.5.4Medial (operator) ellipsis
      • 14.3.5.5Distribution of initial, medial, and end ellipsis
        • corpus findings
        • discussion of findings
  • 14.4Selected topics in conversational grammar
    • 14.4.1A closer look at vocatives
      • 14.4.1.1The distribution of vocatives
        • corpus findings
        • DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS
    • 14.4.2Conducive yes-no interrogatives
      • 14.4.2.1Negative yes-no interrogatives
      • 14.4.2.2Negative v. positive yes-no interrogatives
        • corpus findings
        • discussion of findings
      • 14.4.2.3Assertive yes-no questions
      • 14.4.2.4Assertive v. non-assertive yes-no questions
        • corpus findings
        • discussion of findings
    • 14.4.3First person imperatives with let’s
      • 14.4.3.1Common accompaniments of let’s
    • 14.4.4Direct speech reporting (quoted speech)
      • 14.4.4.1Using utterance-launchers to open quoted speech
      • 14.4.4.2Repetition of reporting clauses
      • 14.4.4.3Reporting clauses with go
      • 14.4.4.4Opening quoted speech with be + like, all
      • 14.4.4.5The past progressive with reporting verbs
    • 14.4.5Vernacular or non-standard grammar
      • 14.4.5.1Morphophonemic variants
      • 14.4.5.2Morphological variants
      • 14.4.5.3Morphosyntactic variants
      • 14.4.5.4Syntactic variants
      • 14.4.5.5Conclusion