Forms and functions of self-repetitions in spoken discourse: A corpus linguistics analysis of L1 and L2 English (original) (raw)

Repetitions as self-repair strategies in English and German conversations

Journal of Pragmatics, 2003

This is a sociolinguistic study of conversational self-repair strategies used by English-German bilinguals, focusing mainly on repetitions as self-repair strategies. Repetitions of one or several lexical items are considered part of the self-repair organization when their function is to gain linguistic and/or cognitive planning time for the speaker or when used to postpone the possible transition-relevance place. In conversations, English-German bilinguals use repetitions as self-repair strategies differently depending on the language they speak. They repeat more pronoun-verb combinations, more personal pronouns, and more prepositions in English than in German, and they recycle more demonstrative pronouns in German than in English. These differences are explained by structural differences in English and German, demonstrating that the structure of a particular language shapes the repair strategies of language users because it creates opportunities for recycling and thus, that repetition as a self-repair strategy is an orderly phenomenon. #

Saying it again: enhancing clarity in English as a lingua franca (ELF) talk through self-repetition

Text & Talk, 2012

Recent research into the use of English as a lingua franca (ELF) in international settings reveals that its multilingual, multicultural participants rely on various interactional practices to negotiate meaning and arrive at shared understanding. In this regard, repetition, which has been identified as a widely used multifunctional procedure that facilitates the production, comprehension, and interaction processes in communication, has been shown to play a crucial role both in pre-empting and resolving understanding problems. This paper reports on a study conducted to investigate further how same-speaker repetition in an ongoing turn may be used to manage the lingua-cultural diversity inherent in the ELF situation and promote effective communication. Fifteen hours of audio-recorded naturally occurring ELF conversations in an academic setting were analyzed using conversation-analytic procedures. Fine-grained analyses of the data show that speakers repeat their speech in ways that can ...

Repetition in Conversation: A Look at "First and Second Sayings

Research on Language and Social Interaction, 2000

Repetition has been described as one of the most misunderstood phenomena in psycholinguistics . Indeed, repetition is a human, social activity, clearly part of our everyday conduct and behavior and not just a marker of a "disfluent" or "sloppy" speaker . Using the framework of conversation analysis, I discuss one form of repetition found in ordinary conversation, a form in which a speaker produces a "first saying" and, subsequent to that, a "second saying" within the same turn. Moreover, an inserted element comes between the first and second sayings. I propose that this particular form of repetition is used by speakers as a storytelling technique in the accomplishment of the action of resumption. What might be at stake in this form of repetition is something that might be referred to as unspoken repair (or unspoken repair projection). By extension, if one considers this form of repetition as an oral practice of everyday conversation , one might consider what lies in store in the second language acquisition context. I conclude this article with some reflections on implications for the nonnative speaker environment, based on an examination of nonnative speaker English conversation in which this form of repetition does not occur.

Task Repetition and Second Language Speech Processing

Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 2016

This study examines the relationship between the repetition of oral monologue tasks and immediate gains in L2 fluency. It considers the effect of aural-oral task repetition on speech rate, frequency of clause-final and midclause filled pauses, and overt self-repairs across different task types and proficiency levels and relates these findings to specific stages of L2 speech production (conceptualization, formulation, and monitoring). Thirty-two Japanese learners of English sampled at three levels of proficiency completed three oral communication tasks (instruction, narration, and opinion) six times. Results revealed that immediate aural-oral same task repetition was related to gains in oral fluency regardless of proficiency level or task type. Overall gains in speech rate were the largest across the first three performances of each task type but continued until the fifth performance. More specifically, however, clause-final pauses decreased until the second performance, midclause pa...

Evolution of Self-Repair Behaviour in Narration Among Adult Learners of French as a Second Language

Canadian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 2017

Self-repairs, or revisions of speech that speakers themselves initiate and complete (Salonen & Laakso, 2009), have long been associated with second language (L2) development (e.g., Kormos, 2000a). To our knowledge, however, no research has looked at the evolution of self-repair correctness patterns, that is, the correctness of elements targeted for repair and the correctness of the repair outcomes. Consequently, the present study sought to investigate changes in the self-repair behaviour of English-speaking L2 learners of French over the course of a 5-week period and to verify whether any changes occurred over time. Speech samples of the L2 were collected from 50 adult participants through an elicited narration task at the beginning (Time 1) and the end (Time 2) of a 5-week immersion program. Overall, the results showed that there were qualitative and quantitative changes in self-repairs types, and that correctness of the element being repaired increased significantly over time.

(2017) Task Repetition and Second Language Speech Processing

Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 2017

This study examines the relationship between the repetition of oral monologue tasks and immediate gains in L2 fluency. It considers the effect of aural-oral task repetition on speech rate, frequency of clause-final and mid-clause filled pauses, and overt self-repairs across different task types and proficiency levels and relates these findings to specific stages of L2 speech production (conceptualization, formulation and monitoring). Thirty-two Japanese learners of English sampled at three levels of proficiency completed three oral communication tasks (instruction, narration and opinion) six times. Results revealed that immediate aural-oral same task repetition was related to gains in oral fluency regardless of proficiency level or task type. Overall gains in speech rate were the largest across the first three performances of each task type, but continued until the fifth performance. More specifically, however, clause-final pauses decreased until the second performance, mid-clause pauses to the fourth, and self-repairs decreased only after the fourth performance indicating that task repetition may have been differentially related to specific stages in the speech production process.

Repetition in Nonnative Speaker Writing

Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 1995

This paper presents an empirical study of repetition in expository essays written by 24 nonnative speakers (NNS) and 16 native speakers (NS) of English. Repetition is coded according to three categories: the degree of particular types of repetition, the interaction between instances of repetition, and the location of these interactions (Hoey, 1991). Four quantitative measures devised for this study show no significant differences between the two groups. A qualitative comparison of three essays from each group, however, shows that the NSSs do not match their degree of repetition to the development of the argument structure of the text in the same way as the NSs. These examples from NNS texts show that when considering the significance of repetition the content of what is being repeated is as important as the quantity.