1. I knew hed say that! Aconsideration of thepredictability of language use in filmChristopher Taylor

2. Main topics Three essential premises; Particular scene type and particular languageuse; Distance from day-to-day talk; Translation issues. 3. Three essential premisses Film language differ from everydayspontaneous talk; Genres, subgenres and genrelets categoriesof language that contain compulsory andoptional features that characterize each oneof them; It is possible, due to the first two premises topredict what will be said. 4. Film language Telling stories through the projection of images(Paul and Wells cinema patent of 1985) Even though the advent of cinema brought forthe the first time a storytelling act with picturesthe succeeded one another, flowing in the screen,it did not make movies language as natural asspontaneous talk; Two channels of communication verbal andfigurative. 5. Language features in writen, oral and film dialogLANGUAGEWRITTEN ORAL FILM DIALOGUniformity of turns, clauses, - ++utterancesTendency to monologism+ -+/-Extension of turns, clauses,+ --utterancesOverlapping, fuzziness and- +-other dialogical accidentsPlanning, coherence and + -+cohesionPara and extralinguistic- ++elementsMorphosyntactic complexity+ -+/-Lexical density + -+/-Presence of dialect - ++/- 6. Cobuild Bank of English spokencorpus vs film texts 7. GenreMacrogenres > sub-genres > genrelets 8. Predictability 9. Predictability 10. Conclusion Predictability is genre based; Absolute values are not often seen except forcases as emergency phone calls(p.10); An acceptable range of choices is formed ineach genrelet. It helps to make a group ofoptions for translators to choose the one thatbest fits in a given situation. 11. Reported speech in movies/oralconversation Lotman (1979:56) says Cinema is, by its very nature, narrative. Yule (1999) says that Indirect speechhas the narrative function. 12. Reported SpeechBasic forms: 1. Direct speech (Quoted) 2. Indirect Speech (Reported)Examples:1. She said Ill wait for you.2. She said she would wait for us. (Downings examples) 13. Features of Indirect Speech Quotative Frames: He said / She asked Conjunctions: that/if Shifts: Tense: am -> was/ can -> could/ have -> had Personal pronouns: I -> he/ you -> her/ we -> they/ you -> they Demonstratives: this -> that/ these -> those Place adverbials: here -> there Time adverbials: Tomorrow -> the following day Word order: Can we -> they could/ Have you -> they had 14. Basic meaning:Indirect forms are those typically used to marksomething as distant from speaker. The effectof backshift in tense creates a sense of moreremote.Direct forms are those associated with near tothe speaker. These forms are clearly connectedmore closely to the moment of utterance. 15. Direct speech as Drama:With the use of Direct forms its possible to include manyfeatures that dramatize the way in which an utterance wasproduced.Quotative frames: include verbs indicating speakers mannerof expression (cry, explain, gasp), voice quality (scream,whisper), type of emotion (laugh, giggle).In contemporary novels, there is often no indication of whichcharacter is speaking. Its presented as a dramatic script, oneafter the other. 16. Indirect speech as Narrative:When the speaking event is reported via Indirect speech thereis less drama.Quotative frames: verbs indicating the purpose of theutterance (admit, agree, deny, explain, promise, etc.), whichpresent an interpretation by the reporter of the speech actbeing performed. 17. Drama vs. NarrativeIndirect speech forms tend to be found whenthe reporter is more concerned with conveyingan interpretation of the content of what wassaid (Narrative). Direct speech forms can beused to show the spontaneous nature of howsomething was said. 18. Meanings in Context:Those clear distinctions in form and meaningbetween direct and indirect speech are notalways present in written reports. Theres arange of mixed structures and variations ofthese basic forms and functions. 19. Free indirect discourse:This is defined as a mixture of features from direct and indirectspeech, particularly in narrative.______________________________________________________No quotative framesBackshifted tenses: should, might, could, did, wasShifted (third person) pronouns: she, her/ he, himNon-shifted time/place adverbials: here, nowNon-shifted order in questions: why should she, how could sheInterjections included: heaven forbid, goodness 20. Constructed dialogue:The term constructed dialogue is used in recognition of the factthat, on many occasions in English conversation, speakers do notactually present verbatim (exact word-for-word) reports of whatthey and others have said in previous interactions.These direct speech forms are often introduced by a range ofQUOTATIVE verbs which, in addiction to say, include forms of theverbs to be, to go, and to be like.Zero quotative: Its easy to find direct speech forms reported withno quotative frame. Once the identities of the speakers have beenestablished, their speech can often be reported without attribution. 21. Reported speech told and said 22. Told and sayPragmatically, say is used to report a locution(what is said), while tell typically informs.(Downing, p. 302) 23. Reported speech - be like 24. Be like according to DowningGo and be like are becoming widely used asquotative alternatives to say, both in youngerspeakers conversation and in the popularmedia. Like says and said, go and be like signalthat the speaker is moving into direct speechmode. Normal combinations of tense and aspectoccur with go and be like; however, the presenttense appears to predominate even for pasttime reference (Im like, shes like). 25. Be like according to YuleThe use of be like is a way the reporter see toaproximate reconstruction rather than na exactword-for-word account of what was said. Inaddition, the verb tense used express, in Yulesapproach, that a non-authority person is beingreposted.