Circumlocution is a speaking strategy where you talk around a word instead of saying it directly. Effective circumlocution uses one or a combination of speaking strategies. Use related vocabulary words to help the listener understand what you are trying to say without saying the exact word. We also do this when we don't know a word, but don't want to stop the flow of conversation to look it up or ask for help. Circumlocution uses context clues to guess meaning. You can review the examples in the lesson Speaking Strategy: Circumlocution.

1. Use synonyms: If a dog knows the word "walk" and you don't want the dog to get overexcited, you might say "I'm going to take the dog for a stroll." The word stroll has a similar meaning to walk, but it is unfamiliar to the dog, so there will be no reaction.
2. Use examples or categories: If I can't remember the name of a state I visited on vacation, I could say "I visited a one of the states on the East Coast." This gives the listener a category to imagine for the story. It is not completely accurate, so I could be even more specific if I am able to be, like "one of the New England states." At this point, the listener would be able to help me remember the word or would have a clear enough idea of the place to understand the context of the story.
3. Describe using the senses: If someone describes an animal as "black and white and it smells terrible." The listener would likely guess skunk very quickly. Just using one sense to describe the animal wouldn't be enough. "Black and white" could be describing many different animals. Using more than one sense can quickly help the listener understand meaning.

Suprasegmentals

Suprasegmentals are the big features of speaking. It is more than just the pronunciation of individual sounds, it is how those individual sounds combine to create natural sounding English. In the lesson Speaking Strategy: Suprasegmentals, we talked about 3 major areas of suprasegmentals.

1. Rhythm: This is the combination of pausing and stress to make a pattern of sound. English stresses important words, giving them more time, clarity, and volume. Function words (the grammatical words) are shortened and unstressed.
2. Intonation: This is the high and low sounds of English words and phrases. It combines with rhythm to make the "music" of language. Intonation patterns help a listener understand if they are being asked a question and how to respond. It can also express emotion.
3. Reductions & linking: An effect of rhythm is that some words combine or change sounds to be shorter and unstressed. This is very common in informal spoken English. Clearly pronouncing each word in these situations can change the meaning or emotion of the statement.

Exercise 2: Circumlocution

Watch this video. This combines the suprasegmentals of questions and emotion along with the use of questions to get more context clues. They are essentially using these questions to circumlocute rather than ask their coworker directly.

 

Transcript

(0:01) How was your weekend?

(0:12) So, Kelly. Is that Scully's wife or his dog? Wait. No one knows Scully's wife's name?

(0:37) So Scully, what do you do at the park with Kelly?

(0:47) Hey, what's Kelly's favorite food?

(0:53) How old is Kelly again?

(1:00) Was she chasing something into the street?

(1:07) Is Kelly your wife or your dog?

(1:10) How can you ask me that?

Transcript Marked

(0:01) How was your weekend? falling (wh-question)

(0:12) So, Kelly. Is that Scully's wife or his dog? falling (two options, rise-fall) Wait. No one knows Scully's wife's name? falling (confirming)

(0:37) So Scully, what do you do at the park with Kelly? falling (wh-question)

(0:47) Hey, what's Kelly's favorite food? falling (wh-question)

(0:53) How old is Kelly again? falling (wh-question)

(1:00) Was she chasing something into the street? rising (falls on "or" two options, rise-fall)

(1:07) Is Kelly your wife or your dog? falling (two options, rise-fall)

(1:10) How can you ask me that? falling (wh-quesiton)

Speaking Practice

• Why were his answers so confusing for the coworkers?
• What additional questions could the coworkers have asked to figure out if Kelly is a person or a dog?

Exercise 3: Review

Watch the short video about future progressive to refresh your memory.

1. You are going to prepare to teach your partner how to do or make something.
2. First, prepare a list of the steps using going to with your verbs to explain what your partner needs to do.
3. Use the notes below to explain the process to your partner in 2-3 minutes.
4. Your partner will ask you questions to make sure he or she understands the steps.