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The style of such messages is somewhere between that of phone and letter communication.
The system itself may automatically generate a memo-style opening as it "mails" the message.
Date: Tue, 05 Jan 88 12:24
To: Evelyn Hatch icm2erh>
From: David Walter <ihwlabc>
TESL and Applied Linguistics
3300 Roife, UCLA
Los Angeles, CA 90024
Subject: ANOVA
No automatic closing, however, is provided. The sender may or may not provide an
additional opening, but will have to generate a closing. Frequently the sender's message has
openings and closings that more closely emulate phone messages than written memos.
2. Backchannel or feedback signals show that a message is getting through. Eye
contact, head nods, smiles, and body alignment help to tell us whether or not the recipient has
answered our summons and is attending to our message.
During conversations, even when it is not our turn at talk, we may nod or make noises
like "umhmm," "uhhuh," "yeh," "yerright" – backchannel feedback that encourages the speaker
to continue. The listener does not capture the communication channel – does not get a full talk
turn – with these contributions.
Teachers give feedback signals, but they also watch for and interpret the feedback their
students offer them. When a student does not offer feedback, silence ensues and the teacher
diagnoses a problem.
The actual verbal or nonverbal forms used to signal message reception differ according
to setting. The signals used by friends in conversations differ from those given by students in
classrooms.
In some settings, feedback has become ritualized. An example of this is in religious
services. The congregation may give choral feedback responses. In some services, individual,
spontaneous responses may be possible, but when they can occur and the form they will take
are usually set. Ritualized feedback is also part of most spectator events such as a symphony
concert, a ballet, or a basketball game. Performance events have space and time built in for
audience feedback.
Backchannel or feedback signals differ across settings and according to the roles of
speakers. Cultures may differ in the type or placement of the feedback, but all cultures and
languages have a backchannel component in their system of communication.
3.Turnover signals
In communication, there must be a set of signals that allow for a smooth exchange of
turns. Sometimes these signals are ritualized, as in the "roger" and "over" signals of airline
communication or the GA (go ahead) of TDD phone calls of the deaf. In face-to-face
communication, speakers have a variety of signals to project the end of a turn. The signals cue
the next speaker to begin a turn. Since speakers must come in on cue, they must be able to
recognize the signals that show that the previous speaker is ending a turn. Slowing of tempo,
vowel elongation, and falling intonation all help to signal the end of a turn, a place for an
exchange in turns. This is sometimes called a transition-relevant place, or TRP (Schegloff's