Although spoken fluency is traditionally conceptualized as speed and smoothness, normal spontaneous speech is fragmented into short runs and normally contains many so-called dysfluencies, such that there is no obvious way to define "perfect fluency" (Rühlemann, 2007). It has been suggested that the notion of fluency, particularly as smooth and flowing speech, is better conceptualized as something that is co-constructed by both participants in a dialogue, with the sum of their speech creating what McCarthy calls "confluence" (2009).
The present study takes an interactional view of fluency by investigating how fluent conversation is co-constructed through a parallel case study of two Japanese learners of English-one of higher and one of lower proficiency. Non-native speakers were chosen in order to be able to examine when confluence breaks down as well as when it is successfully constructed. Subjects were recorded in conversations with native speakers of English. The data was multi-modal (including video) in order to include all relevant aspects of the conversations, such as hand gestures, facial expressions, and eye contact.
A major factor that emerged as contributing to the co-construction of fluent conversation was alignment between the speakers in rhythm. Rhythm is constructed by the timing of stressed words in speech. This results in turn transitions where the following speaker's stressed words continue the previously established rhythm, with usually one or no silent beats between turns, as seen in previous research with native speakers (Auer, Couper-Kuhlen, & Müller, 1999). Gestures also appear to be aligned to this rhythm. The Japanese learners appeared to prioritize rhythmic alignment even when it resulted in more "dysfluencies" or less accuracy. This suggests that rhythm may not be a necessary property of English, but rather one method that speakers use to construct interactive alignment (see Atkinson, 2011) in conversation.
Atkinson, D. (2011). A sociocognitive approach to second language acquisition: How mind, body, and world work together in learning additional languages. In D. Atkinson (Ed.), Alternative approaches to second language acquisition (1st ed, pp. 143–166). London ; New York: Routledge.
Auer, P., Couper-Kuhlen, E., & Müller, F. (1999). Language in time: The rhythm and tempo of spoken interaction. New York: Oxford University Press.
McCarthy, M. (2009). Rethinking spoken fluency. Estudios de Lingüística Inglesa Aplicada, 9, 11–29.
Rühlemann, C. (2007). Conversation in context: A corpus-driven approach. London & New York: Continuum.
