Paralanguage, also known asvocalics, is a component ofmeta-communication that may modify meaning, give nuanced meaning, or convey emotion, by usingsuprasegmental techniques such asprosody,pitch,volume,intonation, etc. It is sometimes defined as relating tononphonemic properties only. Paralanguage may be expressedconsciously orunconsciously.
The study of paralanguage is known asparalinguistics and was invented byGeorge L. Trager in the 1950s, while he was working at theForeign Service Institute of the U.S.Department of State. His colleagues at the time included Henry Lee Smith,Charles F. Hockett (working with him on usingdescriptive linguistics as a model for paralanguage),Edward T. Hall developingproxemics, andRay Birdwhistell developingkinesics.[1] Trager published his conclusions in 1958,[2] 1960[3] and 1961.[4]
His work has served as a basis for all later research, especially those investigating the relationship between paralanguage and culture (since paralanguage is learned, it differs by language and culture). A good example is the work ofJohn J. Gumperz on language and social identity, which specifically describes paralinguistic differences between participants in intercultural interactions.[5] The film Gumperz made forBBC in 1982,Multiracial Britain: Cross talk, does a particularly good job of demonstrating cultural differences in paralanguage and their impact on relationships.
Paralinguistic information, because it isphenomenal, belongs to the external speech signal (Ferdinand de Saussure'sparole) but not to the arbitrary conmodality. Evenvocal language has some paralinguistic as well as linguistic properties that can beseen (lip reading,McGurk effect), and evenfelt, e.g. by theTadoma method.
Speech signals arrive at a listener's ears with acoustic properties that may allow listeners to identify location of the speaker (sensing distance and direction, for example).Sound localization functions in a similar way also for non-speech sounds. The perspectival aspects of lip reading are more obvious and have more drastic effects when head turning is involved.
Thespeech organs of different speakers differ in size. As children grow up, their organs of speech become larger, and there are differences between male and female adults. The differences concern not only size, but also proportions. They affect the pitch of thevoice and to a substantial extent also theformant frequencies, which characterize the differentspeech sounds. The organic quality of speech has a communicative function in a restricted sense, since it is merely informative about the speaker. It will be expressed independently of the speaker's intention.
Paralinguistic cues such as loudness, rate, pitch, pitch contour, and to some extent formant frequencies of an utterance, contribute to the emotive or attitudinal quality of an utterance. Typically, attitudes are expressed intentionally and emotions without intention,[citation needed] but attempts to fake or to hide emotions are not unusual.[citation needed]
Consequently, paralinguistic cues relating to expression have a moderate effect of semantic marking. That is, a message may be made more or less coherent by adjusting its expressive presentation. For instance, upon hearing an utterance such as "I drink a glass of wine every night before I go to sleep" is coherent when made by a speaker identified as an adult, but registers a small semantic anomaly when made by a speaker identified as a child.[6] This anomaly is significant enough to be measured throughelectroencephalography, as anN400. Autistic individuals have a reduced sensitivity to this and similar effects.[7][failed verification]
Emotional tone of voice, itself paralinguistic information, has been shown to affect the resolution oflexical ambiguity. Some words have homophonous partners; some of these homophones appear to have an implicit emotive quality, for instance, the sad "die" contrasted with the neutral "dye"; uttering the sound /dai/ in a sad tone of voice can result in a listener writing the former word significantly more often than if the word is uttered in a neutral tone.[8]
Ordinaryphonetic transcriptions of utterances reflect only the linguistically informative quality. The problem of how listeners factor out the linguistically informative quality from speech signals is a topic of current research.
Some of the linguistic features of speech, in particular of itsprosody, are paralinguistic or pre-linguistic in origin. A most fundamental and widespread phenomenon of this kind is described byJohn Ohala as the "frequency code".[9] This code works even in communication across species. It has its origin in the fact that the acoustic frequencies in the voice of small vocalizers are high, while they are low in the voice of large vocalizers. This gives rise to secondary meanings such as "harmless", "submissive", "unassertive", which are naturally associated with smallness, while meanings such as "dangerous", "dominant", and "assertive" are associated with largeness. In most languages, the frequency code also serves the purpose of distinguishing questions from statements. It is universally reflected in expressive variation, and it is reasonable to assume that it hasphylogenetically given rise to thesexual dimorphism that lies behind the large difference in pitch between average female and male adults.
In text-only communication such as email, chatrooms andinstant messaging, paralinguistic elements can be displayed byemoticons, font and color choices, capitalization and the use of non-alphabetic or abstract characters. Nonetheless, paralanguage in written communication is limited in comparison with face-to-face conversation, sometimes leading to misunderstandings.
Agasp is a kind of paralinguisticrespiration in the form of a sudden and sharpinhalation of air through themouth. A gasp may indicate difficulty breathing and a panicked effort to draw air into the lungs. Gasps also occur from anemotion ofsurprise,shock ordisgust. Like a sigh, ayawn, or amoan, a gasp is often an automatic and unintentional act.[10] Gasping is closely related to sighing, and the inhalation characterizing a gasp induced by shock or surprise may be released as a sigh if the event causing the initial emotional reaction is determined to be less shocking or surprising than the observer first believed.[11]
As a symptom of physiological problems,apneustic respirations (a.k.a. apneusis), are gasps related to the brain damage associated with a stroke or other trauma.
Asigh is a kind of paralinguistic respiration in the form of a deep and especially audible, singleexhalation of air out of the mouth or nose, that humans use to communicate emotion. It is a voicedpharyngeal fricative, sometimes associated with a guttural glottal breath exuded in a low tone. It often arises from anegative emotion, such as dismay, dissatisfaction, boredom, or futility.[10] A sigh can also arise from positive emotions such asrelief,[12] particularly in response to some negative situation ending or being avoided. Like a gasp, ayawn, or amoan, a sigh is often an automatic and unintentional act.[10]
Scientific studies show that babies sigh after 50 to 100 breaths. This serves to improve the mechanical properties of lung tissue, and it also helps babies to develop a regular breathing rhythm. Behaviors equivalent to sighing have also been observed in animals such asdogs,monkeys, andhorses.
In text messages and internet chat rooms, or in comic books, a sigh is usually represented with the word itself, 'sigh', possibly withinasterisks, *sigh*.
Sighing is also a reflex, governed by a fewneurons.[13]
Moaning and groaning both refer to an extended sound emanating from the throat, which is typically made by engaging in sexual activity.[14][15] Moans and groans are also noises traditionally associated withghosts, and their supposed experience of suffering in the afterlife. They are sometimes used to indicate displeasure.
Throat clearing is a metamessagingnonverbal form ofcommunication[16] used in announcing one's presence upon entering the room or approaching a group. It is done by individuals who perceive themselves to be of higher rank than the group they are approaching and utilize the throat-clear as a form of communicating this perception to others.[17] It can convey nonverbalizeddisapproval.[18][19]
Inchimpanzeesocial hierarchy, this utterance is a sign of rank, directed byalpha males and higher-ranking chimps to lower-ranking ones and signals a mild warning or a slight annoyance.[20]
As a form ofmetacommunication, the throat-clear is acceptable only to signal that a formal business meeting is about to start.It is not acceptablebusiness etiquette to clear one's throat when approaching a group on an informal basis; the basis of one's authority has already been established and requires no further reiteration by this ancillarynonverbal communication.[21]
Mhm is between a literal language and movement, by making a noise "hmm" or "mhm", to make a pause for the conversation or as a chance to stop and think.
The "mhm" utterance is often used in narrative interviews, such as an interview with a disaster survivor or sexual violence victim. In this kind of interview, it is better for the interviewers or counselors not to intervene too much when an interviewee is talking. The "mhm" assures the interviewee that they are being heard and can continue their story. Observing emotional differences and taking care of an interviewee's mental status is an important way to find slight changes during conversation.[22]
"Huh?", meaning "what?" (that is, used when an utterance by another is not fully heard or requires clarification), is an essentially universal expression, but may be a normal word (learned like other words) and not paralanguage. If it is a word, it is a rare (or possibly even unique) one, being found with basically the same sound and meaning in almost all languages.[23][better source needed][24]
Several studies have used thefMRI paradigm to observe brain states brought about by adjustments of paralinguistic information. One such study investigated the effect ofinterjections that differed along the criteria of lexical index (more or less "wordy") as well as neutral or emotional pronunciation; a higher hemodynamic response in auditory cortical gyri was found when more robust paralinguistic data was available. Some activation was found in lower brain structures such as the pons, perhaps indicating an emotional response.[25]
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