A Corpus-Based Analysis of Simultaneous Speech in English Conversation

This is a study of the distribution of 2011 instances of simultaneous speech in a 91,802-word subcorpus from the London-Lund corpus of Spoken English. Five categories of simultaneous speech (successful and unsuccessful turn-bidding, successful and unsuccessful turn-competing, and backchannelling) were analysed in terms of: (a) characteristics of the prosodic, lexical and grammatical context in which simultaneous speech occurs; (b) linguistic devices and strategies in aspects of prosody, discourse and pragmatics which are frequently used to introduce simultaneous speech; (c) variables such as speech domain, degree of familiarity between interlocutors, speakers' status and gender which may influence the frequency of simultaneous speech and affect the occurrence of the linguistic features and devices associated with simultaneous speech. In a complementary case study, 288 instances of simultaneous speech in Chinese (Cantonese) were also analysed in a 10385-word sample of Chinese conversation, and compared with simultaneous speech in English. The findings of the study show: (a) Simultaneous speech is rule-governed and context-constrained. It is most likely to occur at a unit boundary which is prosodically, lexically and syntactically marked. It is often introduced and carried out by a number of prosodic devices, discourse items and repetition strategies. This is particularly the case in turn-bidding and turn-competition. (b) Frequency of simultaneous speech seems to be strongly associated with degree of formality of speech domain and degree of familiarity between interlocutors, but loosely related to speakers' status and gender. However, particular linguistic devices and strategies seem more preferred by interlocutors in a specific speech domain, or with a specific degree of familiarity, or having specific status or gender. (c) Chinese and English simultaneous speech share many similarities in terms of pragmatic functions, and linguistic devices and strategies employed, though equivalents between the two languages are not always found. However social constraints on turn-bidding seem different in the two languages especially in terms of age, status and gender. The descriptive findings of the study help explain why Chinese learners of English find it difficult to take a turn in English conversation, and especially to bid for a turn. Thus the study enhances our awareness of the linguistic features of English conversation and the factors which can affect Chinese students' pragmatic and discourse competence. Moreover, the computer corpus approach adopted in the research provides a way of obtaining rich input for teaching English discourse devices in terms of prosody, lexicon and syntax and suggests further applications of corpus-based research in the study of language teaching and learning.