ACADEMIC ORACY QUESTIONS FOR REVISION


1a As gradation of position of words in a sentence creates gradation of meaning (when there are no
interfering factors), the speaker/writer must arrange the sentence so that the most important meani
ngs (the most dynamic elements) come as the first or as the last items in both languages? That is,
what comes first in a sentence (and is therefore the stressed element): the theme or the rheme?
1b What is the biggest mistake the Czechs make regarding their (our) identification of the peak of
greatest prominence in a distributional field? That is, where are words which the Czechs stress mos
tly placed within a sentence?

2a   Which areas is gobbledygook realized in?
2b Which talk is characteristic of the overused expressions such as cutting-edge, effective, eco-fr
iendly and so on?

3a Name at least 3 aspects of a naming unit.
3b What are the two parts of an act of speech?

4a Explain the term deixis, name its basic types and provide examples for those.
4b Name and explain the cooperation principles, on which conversation is based, and provide example
s for each of the principles.

5a What is a shibboleth? Provide an example.
5b What are some of the stereotypical features of English lower-class and upper-class speech (vocab
ulary / pronunciation)?

6a What TV show does the most famous split infinitive ("TO BOLDLY GO where no man has gone before)
come from?
6b Which of the following is an example of a catch phrase:
a)Life is like a box of chocolates
b)go commando
c)It's gonna be legen... wait for it... dary!!!

7a Why did Upton feel that RP needed to be redefined?
7b What two forms of RP did he identify?

8a What is the difference between "dialect" and "patois"? Name at least 3 differences.
8b Where do slang words originally come from and how are they usually formed?

9a Which social movement was closely connected to the spreading of politically correct language in
the 1970's?
9b Which of these terms should be avoided in politically correct language? Choose one term in each
line.
a) Physically Challenged, Disabled, Person with a Dissability
b) Person of Colour, African American, Black

10a Try to say (approximately) how many per cent in modern English represent the words of Romanic o
rigin and how many represent the words of Greek origin.
10b How is  “ch” pronounced in Greek/Roman words, eg. in
“chameleon”?
How is “x” pronounced in names Xerxes, Xantipe, Xenopon and the word “exhibitor”?

11a Name the four operations/principles detected by classical rhetoric upon which the figures of sp
eech are based.
11b Name the two main groups into which figures of speech are divided. What is the difference betwe
en the two?

12a What are the four pillars of a presentation?
12b The presenter should know how to work with his/her voice. What are some of the characteristics
of a presenter‘s voice?

13a Explain what is paronomasia and give 2 examples.
13b Name at least four translation procedures which can be applied when translating humour and expl
ain what using these procedures means in practice.