A Grammar of Speech

A Grammar of Speech

Author: David Brazil

Using authentic, naturally-occurring data, this book provides and innovative analysis of the grammar of spoken English.

It proceeds from and understanding that speaker and listener bring to every piece of purposeful discourse a complex background of shared understandings which inform their interaction.

This study seeks to account for the functional increments of discourse produced in response to understood conversational needs.

Priority is given to the step-by-step manner in which speakers seem to assemble discourse, and to how real-world knowledge is likely to interact with knowledge of a notional language system in the production and interpretation of speech.