A ‘descriptive’ (rather than a ‘prescriptive’)
grammar of Talk
‘For many centuries dictionaries and grammars of the English
language have taken the written language as a benchmark for
what is proper and standard in the language, incorporating written
and other literary examples to illustrate the best usage.
Accordingly, the spoken language has been downgraded and has
come to be regarded as relatively inferior’.
‘The Grammar of Talk: Spoken English, Grammar and the
Classroom’, Professor Ron Carter, School of English Studies,
University of Nottingham (in Conference papers: New Perspectives
on Spoken English in the Classroom, QCA, 27th June 2002)
‘Spoken English grammar’ describes the characteristic features of
the rich and fluid nature of speech, and identifies specific features
that mark spoken language out from written language. The term
‘Grammar’ is used deliberately to emphasise that spoken English
is just as rule-governed and patterned as written language, but in
many different ways. To describe spoken language as
‘ungrammatical’ misses the point, and is an example of a
decontextualised view of language.
No authoritative, complete ‘grammar’ of spoken English exists yet,
although Ron Carter is busy compiling one.
Some characteristic features of ‘the grammar of Spoken
English’
It is usually interactive. Speakers and listeners share the
construction of the discourse. Common features include
‘interrupting’ and ‘back-channelling’ - providing supportive
feedback through the use of features of language such as ‘Yeah’,
‘Mm’ etc.
It is multi-modal. Spoken texts ‘exist beyond the words’. This
includes use of eye contact, gesture, facial expression, pausing,
pacing, silence…
The distinctive features of spoken English at word and
sentence level

Heads – (also known as left dislocations) occur at the
beginning of clauses to help listeners orientate to the topic:
That girl, Jill, her sister, she works in our office.
The white house on the corner, is that where she
lives?

Tails – (also known as right dislocations) occur at the end
of clauses - to echo and reinforce what has been said:
I’m going to that film tonight, I am.
She’s a very good swimmer, Jenny is.

Ellipsis - where subjects and verbs are omitted because
the speaker assumes the listener knows what is meant:
A: Are you going to the meeting in Birmingham?
B: Yes, of course (I’m going)
Sounds good to me (It/That)

Discourse markers - where particular words or phrases
are used as ‘punctuation’ to mark boundaries in
conversation between one topic and the next. They’re a
signal to move on and have no real meaning in themselves:
Anyway, give Jean a ring and see what she says.
Right, now, okay, we’d better phone and see what
they say.
 Adverbs and adverbials are often used more flexibly in
casual conversation where the most important utterance
comes first in a sentence and less important information is
stacked at the end:
You know which one I mean probably.
Spanish is used more widely, isn’t it, outside of
Europe.
 Vague language often has the function is of softening
expressions so that they don’t appear too assertive or direct.
In this way the speaker appeals to listeners and encourages
them to participate.
A: I could sort of mail the stuff over to you.
B: Yeah, tomorrow, whatever.
 Modal expressions - which play a part in generally
softening utterances so that they don’t sound so definite or
authoritative:
I don’t know, I think I should, don’t you, perhaps?
I suppose it must sort of be difficult for you or
whatever.
 Deixis - orientational features of language which point out
features of the immediate situation:
Could we just move this into that corner over there?
As with ellipsis, this is a consequence of the shared
knowledge between speakers providing the context.
 Spoken clause structure. The sentence is not the main
grammatical unit in speech. Speakers often use single words
or self-contained phrases to convey meaning (a sort of
brevity or shorthand), or chain clauses together in a
sequence, one clause being added to another in a linear
way. Speakers do not usually have time to construct
elaborate patterns of main and subordinate clauses:
Well, no, Melanie’s still a student and she still has ten
hours of lectures a week, so she works in McDonald’s
in her spare time, cos she needs the money, and she
works in McDonald’s in Hatfield…
When they do occur, subordinate clauses often stand alone
to reinforce a topic:
And then we went to theirs’ for dinner, and had smoked
salmon. Which was nice.
“The main point is that speech, as a system, is mobile, in a
constant state of flux, alert to context, and responsive to the
smallest and most subtle changes in its contextual
environment.
But it is used systematically, nonetheless.”
Alan Howe
As teachers, it is important to remember that, just as we seek to extend
the pupils’ repertoire of written skills so that they are able to adapt their
writing for a range of purposes and audiences, we need to do the same
with spoken English. The teaching principles are the same: explicit
teaching in a well-defined context, modelling and supported
opportunities for practice, followed by reflection and evaluation.