Phatic rhythm

My boss likes to talk. He doesn’t need an interlocutor, he needs an audience. As there’s not much call to respond during these daily discourses it’s possible to pay attention to how he structures his speech.

Linguistics uses the term phatic communication to describe speech that has a social function rather than an informative one. The Open University describes phatic openings to conversations as an ‘invaluable means of establishing relations before getting down to the real purpose of the encounter’.

Here are some of the phatic openings that my boss and other colleagues use (I live in Portugal so these phrases are in Portuguese; I've put an approximate translation in brackets after each one): Eh pá (Hey), Pá (Hey), Olha (Look), Ora bem (Well then), Pronto (Ready), É assim (It’s like this). These are often the first thing uttered during an exchange. They request the other person’s attention and signal that things are ready to roll. They mean Please listen to me; I have something to say but their vigor and rapidity is also part of their meaning. 

Phatic phrases are used at other points too. Mid-discourse they can cut through distractions and pull the listener’s attention back in. The most common one is a question tag: Estás a ver? (You see?). Although it’s not a question tag, Eh pá is used in this way too, often with some swearing for emphasis: Eh pá, caralho or Eh pá, fode-se.

The linguistics I’ve skimmed through mentions the social function of phatic phrases. I’m struck by the musical function. My boss, in particular, uses these phrases to punctuate and regulate his delivery, to slow it down, speed it up, create a pause. In comparison, my Portuguese is dry: lacking rhythm and dynamics. I need the confidence to riff on one of these phrases.