Dialogue Dynamics and Noun Phrase Adjective Roles
Dialogue Fundamentals
Dialogue is the exchange of information between two or more persons.
Types of Dialogue
- Spontaneous: Such as informal talks and conversations.
- Planned: Such as political debates or interviews.
Conversation
A conversation is a dialogue that occurs spontaneously between two or more parties in relatively equal and informal situations.
Conversation Structure
The structure of conversations typically includes three parts:
- Opening: Initiates the conversation.
- Body: The main exchange of information.
- Closing: Ends the conversation.
Planned Dialogue Types
The Interview
An interview is a planned dialogue in which one partner (the interviewer) asks questions, and another (the respondent) answers.
It typically has two parts:
- Exhibition: Presentation of the topic and the interviewee.
- Development: The question-and-answer phase of the interview.
The Discussion/Debate
A discussion or debate generally consists of:
- Introduction: Presents the topic and participants.
- Exhibition: Each participant presents their initial opinion or stance on the subject.
- Discussion: Participants argue, defend their positions, and present counter-arguments.
- Conclusion: Each participant summarizes their final position.
- Farewell: The moderator summarizes the opinions expressed and formally ends the debate.
Organization of Dialogue
Dialogue is based on the alternation of turns of speech, performed according to the principles of cooperation and courtesy.
- Cooperation: Partners should contribute meaningfully to the exchange. This involves sharing necessary information not explicitly stated, addressing relevant issues, avoiding falsehoods, and minimizing ambiguity.
- Courtesy: Participants should consider the social context. This includes using appropriate forms of address and language, showing interest in others’ contributions, and avoiding unnecessary interruptions.
The Language of Dialogue
Common linguistic elements in dialogue include ways to address partners, modalized expressions, and deictic expressions.
- Partners are addressed using vocatives (e.g., names, titles) and imperatives (e.g., commands, requests). Fillers (e.g., “um”, “like”) are also common.
- Modalized expressions convey attitude or certainty using specific verbs, adverbs, and types of utterances.
- Deixis (pointing words like “here”, “now”, “this”, “I”, “you”), along with anaphora (referring back) and cataphora (referring forward), help anchor the dialogue in its context.
The Noun Phrase: The Role of the Complement
Within a noun phrase, the main noun can be accompanied by other words or phrases that function as its complement, modifying or specifying it.
The Qualifying Adjective
Qualifying adjectives are words that name variable qualities or circumstances (like state, origin, or relationship) of a noun. They constitute the core of an adjectival phrase.
Functions of Adjectives
- When an adjective directly accompanies a noun (e.g., “a red car”), it serves as a complement to that noun within the noun phrase.
- When an adjective is separated from the noun by a verb (typically a linking verb like ‘be’ or ‘seem’), it performs the function of an attribute (e.g., “The car is red“) or a predicative complement (e.g., “He painted the car red“).
Classes of Qualifying Adjectives
According to Gender Variation:
- Adjectives of one termination: Have the same form for masculine and feminine (e.g., inteligente – intelligent).
- Adjectives of two terminations: Have different forms for masculine and feminine (e.g., bonito/bonita – pretty).
According to Relation to the Noun:
- Specific (or Restrictive): Select the noun based on the possession of a quality, distinguishing it from others (e.g., “I want the red car” – not the blue one).
- Explanatory (or Non-Restrictive): Emphasize a quality considered inherent or characteristic of the noun, without restricting its meaning (e.g., “the white snow”).
Adjective Position
- Specific adjectives usually follow the noun they modify.
- Explanatory adjectives, however, can often be placed either before or after the noun, sometimes with subtle differences in emphasis.
Degrees of the Adjective
The grade or degree of an adjective is the grammatical expression of the intensity of the quality it designates.
- Positive Degree: An adjective is in the positive degree when it simply states the quality without comparison or intensification (e.g., “a tall building”). No adverbs, prefixes, or suffixes indicate intensity.
- Comparative Degree: An adjective is in the comparative degree when it contrasts the quality in two entities or compares the degree to which two entities possess the same quality.
- Superlative Degree: An adjective is in the superlative degree when it attributes the possession of a quality to its highest possible or relative degree within a group.
Classes of Comparative Degree
- Superiority: (e.g., more intelligent than)
- Equality: (e.g., as intelligent as)
- Inferiority: (e.g., less intelligent than)
- (Note: ‘Excellence’ is sometimes listed but usually falls under superlative or specific comparative forms.)
Constructing the Superlative Degree
The superlative can be formed in several ways (examples often language-specific):
- Adding specific suffixes to the adjective (e.g., English -est; Spanish -ísimo, -érrimo).
- Prepending an intensive prefix (e.g., super-, ultra-, extra-).
- Placing an intensifying adverb before the adjective (e.g., very, extremely, most).
Synthetic Comparatives and Superlatives
Some common adjectives have irregular (synthetic) comparative and superlative forms:
- Positive: Good, Bad, Large, Small, High, Low
- Comparative: Better, Worse, Larger/Major, Smaller/Minor, Higher/Superior, Lower/Inferior
- Superlative: Best, Worst, Largest/Maximum, Smallest/Minimum, Highest/Supreme, Lowest/Infimal
Word Families
A word family is the set of words formed from the same base or root word (e.g., act, action, actor, react, enact).
Change in the Root
The original word or root from which another word derives is its etymon. A word family can include terms where the etymological root maintains its original form, but variations can occur due to historical sound changes or morphological processes. Therefore, the same family can contain related terms with different root forms (e.g., foot and pedal share a common Indo-European root but look different in English).