Figure of speech

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Figures of speech" redirects here. For the hip hop group, see Figures of Speech.

Whitehall is a road in the City of Westminster, London used synecdochically to refer to the U.K.
civil service, as many government departments are nearby.

A figure of speech or rhetorical figure[1] is figurative language in the form of a single word or
phrase. It can be a special repetition, arrangement or omission of words with literal meaning, or a
phrase with a specialized meaning not based on the literal meaning of the words.[dubious discuss]
Figures of speech often provide emphasis, freshness of expression, or clarity. However, clarity
may also suffer from their use, as any figure of speech introduces an ambiguity between literal
and figurative interpretation.[dubious discuss]

Contents
1 The four fundamental operations
2 Examples
o 2.1 Schemes
o 2.2 Tropes
3 See also
4 References

The four fundamental operations

Main article: Rhetorical operations

Classical rhetoricians classified figures of speech into four categories or quadripartita ratio:[2]

addition (adiectio), also called repetition/expansion/superabundance

omission (detractio), also called subtraction/abridgement/lack
transposition (transmutatio), also called transferring
permutation (immutatio), also called switching/interchange/substitution/transmutation

These categories are often still used. The earliest known text listing them, though not explicitly
as a system, is the Rhetorica ad Herennium, of unknown authorship, where they are called
(addition), (omission), (transposition) and
(permutation).[3] Quintillian then mentioned them in Institutio Oratoria.[4] Philo of Alexandria
also listed them as addition (), subtraction (), transposition (), and
transmutation ().[5]

Examples
Figures of speech come in many varieties. The aim is to use the language inventively to
accentuate the effect of what is being said. A few examples follow:

"Around the rugged rocks the ragged rascal ran" is an example of [alliteration], where the
consonant r is used repeatedly.

Whereas, "Sister Suzy sewing socks for soldiers" is a particular form of alliteration called
sibilance, because it repeats the letter s.
Both are commonly used in poetry.

"She would run up the stairs and then a new set of curtains" is a variety of zeugma called
a syllepsis. Run up refers to ascending and also to manufacturing. The effect is enhanced
by the momentary suggestion, through a pun, that she might be climbing up the curtains.
The ellipsis or omission of the second use of the verb makes the reader think harder about
what is being said.
"Military Intelligence is an oxymoron" is the use of direct sarcasm to suggest that the
military would have no intelligence. This might be considered to be a satire and an
aphorism.
"An Einstein" is an example of synecdoche, as it uses a particular name to represent a
class of people: geniuses.
"I had butterflies in my stomach" is a metaphor, referring to a nervous feeling as if there
were flying insects in one's stomach.

To say "it was like having some butterflies in my stomach" would be a simile, because it
uses the word like which is missing in the metaphor.
To say "It was like having a butterfly farm in my stomach," "It felt like a butterfly farm in
my stomach," or "I was so nervous that I had a butterfly farm in my stomach" could be a
hyperbole, because it is exaggerated.

"That filthy place was really dirty" is an example of tautology as there are the two words
'filthy' and 'dirty' having almost the same meaning and are repeated so as to make the text
more emphatic.

Scholars of classical Western rhetoric have divided figures of speech into two main categories:
schemes and tropes. Schemes (from the Greek schma, form or shape) are figures of speech that
change the ordinary or expected pattern of words. For example, the phrase, "John, my best
friend" uses the scheme known as apposition. Tropes (from the Greek trepein, to turn) change
the general meaning of words. An example of a trope is irony, which is the use of words to
convey the opposite of their usual meaning ("For Brutus is an honorable man; / So are they all,
all honorable men").

During the Renaissance, scholars meticulously enumerated and classified figures of speech.
Henry Peacham, for example, in his The Garden of Eloquence (1577), enumerated 184 different
figures of speech. Professor Robert DiYanni, in his book "Literature Reading Fiction, Poetry,
Drama and the Essay" [6] wrote: "Rhetoricians have catalogued more than 250 different figures of
speech, expressions or ways of using words in a nonliteral sense.".
For simplicity, this article divides the figures between schemes and tropes, but does not further
sub-classify them (e.g., "Figures of Disorder"). Within each category, words are listed
alphabetically. Most entries link to a page that provides greater detail and relevant examples, but
a short definition is placed here for convenience. Some of those listed may be considered
rhetorical devices, which are similar in many ways.

Schemes

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Main article: Scheme (linguistics)

accumulation: Accumulating arguments in a concise forceful manner.

adnomination: Repetition of words with the same root word.
alliteration: It is a term that describes a literacy stylistic device. Alliteration occurs when
a series of words in a row have the same first consonant sound.

(E.g.: She sells sea shells by the sea shore).

adynaton: hyperbole It is an extreme exaggeration used to make a point. It is like the

opposite of "understatement".

(E.g.: I've told you a million times).

anacoluthon: Transposition of clauses to achieve an unnatural order in a sentence.

anadiplosis: Repetition of a word at the end of a clause and then at the beginning of its
succeeding clause.
anaphora: Repetition of the same word or set of words in a paragraph.
anastrophe: Changing the object, subject and verb order in a clause.
Anti-climax: It is when a specific point, expectations are raised, everything is built-up
and then suddenly something boring or disappointing happens.

(E.g.: Men, dogs and houses, all are dead).

antanaclasis: Repetition of a single word, but with different meanings.

anthimeria: Transformation of a word of a certain word class to another word class.
antimetabole: A sentence consisting of the repetition of words in successive clauses, but
in reverse order.
antirrhesis: Disproving an opponent's argument.
antistrophe: Repetition of the same word or group of words in a paragraph in the end of
sentences.
antithesis: Juxtaposition of opposing or contrasting ideas.
aphorismus: Statement that calls into question the definition of a word.
aposiopesis: Breaking off or pausing speech for dramatic or emotional effect.
apposition: Placing of two statements side by side, in which the second defines the first.
 assonance: Repetition of vowel sounds.
asteismus: Mocking answer or humorous answer that plays on a word.
asterismos: Beginning a segment of speech with an exclamation of a word.
asyndeton: Omission of conjunctions between related clauses.
cacophony: Words producing a harsh sound.
cataphora: Co-reference of one expression with another expression which follows it, in
which the latter defines the first. (example: If you need one, there's a towel in the top
drawer.)
classification: Linking a proper noun and a common noun with an article
chiasmus: Two or more clauses are related to each other through a reversal of structures
in order to make a larger point
climax: Arrangement of words in order of descending to ascending order.
commoratio: Repetition of an idea, re-worded
conduplicatio: Repetition of a key word
conversion (word formation): An unaltered transformation of a word of one word class
into another word class
consonance: Repetition of consonant sounds, most commonly within a short passage of
verse
dubitatio: Expressing doubt and uncertainty about oneself
dystmesis: A synonym for tmesis
ellipsis: Omission of words
elision: Omission of one or more letters in speech, making it colloquial
enallage: Wording ignoring grammatical rules or conventions
enjambment: Incomplete sentences at the end of lines in poetry
enthymeme: An informal syllogism
epanalepsis: Ending sentences with their beginning.
epanodos: Word repetition.[7][8][9]
epistrophe: (also known as antistrophe) Repetition of the same word or group of words at
the end of successive clauses. The counterpart of anaphora
epizeuxis: Repetition of a single word, with no other words in between
euphony: Opposite of cacophony i.e. pleasant-sounding
half rhyme: Partially rhyming words
hendiadys: Use of two nouns to express an idea when it normally would consist of an
adjective and a noun
hendiatris: Use of three nouns to express one idea
homeoptoton: ending the last parts of words with the same syllable or letter.[10]
homographs: Words we write identically but which have a differing meaning
homoioteleuton: Multiple words with the same ending
homonyms: Words that are identical with each other in pronunciation and spelling, but
different in meaning
homophones: Words that are identical with each other in pronunciation, but different in
meaning
homeoteleuton: Words with the same ending
hypallage: A transferred epithet from a conventional choice of wording.[11]
 hyperbaton: Two ordinary associated words are detached.[12][13] The term may also be
used more generally for all different figures of speech which transpose natural word order
in sentences.[13]
hyperbole: Exaggeration of a statement
hypozeuxis: Every clause having its own independent subject and predicate
hysteron proteron: The inversion of the usual temporal or causal order between two
elements
isocolon: Use of parallel structures of the same length in successive clauses
internal rhyme: Using two or more rhyming words in the same sentence
kenning: Using a compound word neologism to form a metonym
litotes derived from a Greek word meaning simple, is a figure of speech which employs
an understatement by using double negatives or, in other words, positive statement is
expressed by negating its opposite expressions.

Examples: not too bad for very good is an understatement as well as a double
negative statement that confirms a positive idea by negating the opposite. Similarly,
saying She is not a beauty queen, means She is ugly or saying I am not as young as
I used to be in order to avoid saying I am old. Litotes, therefore, is an intentional use
of understatement that renders an ironical effect.

merism: Referring to a whole by enumerating some of its parts

mimesis: Imitation of a person's speech or writing
onomatopoeia: Word that imitates a real sound (e.g. tick-tock or boom)
paradiastole: Repetition of the disjunctive pair "neither" and "nor"
parallelism: The use of similar structures in two or more clauses
paraprosdokian: Unexpected ending or truncation of a clause
parenthesis: A parenthetical entry
paroemion: Alliteration in which every word in a sentence or phrase begins with the same
letter
parrhesia: Speaking openly or boldly, in a situation where it is unexpected (e.g. politics)
pleonasm: The use of more words than are needed to express meaning
polyptoton: Repetition of words derived from the same root
polysyndeton: Close repetition of conjunctions
pun: When a word or phrase is used in two(or more) different senses
rhythm: A synonym for parallelism[14]
sibilance: Repetition of letter 's', it is a form of alliteration
sine dicendo: An inherently superfluous statement, the truth value of which can easily be
taken for granted. When held under scrutiny, it becomes readily apparent that the
statement has not in fact added any new or useful information to the conversation (e.g.
'It's always in the last place you look.')
solecism: Trespassing grammatical and syntactical rules
spoonerism: Switching place of syllables within two words in a sentence yielding
amusement
superlative: Declaring something the best within its class i.e. the ugliest, the most
precious
synathroesmus: Agglomeration of adjectives to describe something or someone
 syncope: Omission of parts of a word or phrase
symploce: Simultaneous use of anaphora and epistrophe: the repetition of the same word
or group of words at the beginning and the end of successive clauses
synchysis: Words that are intentionally scattered to create perplexment
synesis: Agreement of words according to the sense, and not the grammatical form
synecdoche: Referring to a part by its whole or vice versa
synonymia: Use of two or more synonyms in the same clause or sentence
tautology: Redundancy due to superfluous qualification; saying the same thing twice
tmesis: Insertions of content within a compound word
zeugma: The using of one verb for two or more actions

Tropes

Main article: Trope (linguistics)

accismus: expressing the want of something by denying it[15]

allegory: Extended metaphor in which a symbolic story is told
allusion: Covert reference to another work of literature or art
ambiguity: Phrasing which can have two meanings
anacoenosis: Posing a question to an audience, often with the implication that it shares a
common interest with the speaker
analogy: A comparison
anapodoton: Leaving a common known saying unfinished
antanaclasis: A form of pun in which a word is repeated in two different senses
anthimeria: Transforming a word's word class
anthropomorphism: Ascribing human characteristics to something that is not human, such
as an animal or a god (see zoomorphism)
antimetabole: Repetition of words in successive clauses, but in switched order
antiphrasis: A name or a phrase used ironically.
antistasis: Repetition of a word in a different sense.
antonomasia: Substitution of a proper name for a phrase or vice versa
aphorism: Briefly phrased, easily memorable statement of a truth or opinion, an adage
apologia: Justifying one's actions
aporia: Faked or sincere puzzled questioning
apophasis: (Invoking) an idea by denying its (invocation)
appositive: Insertion of a parenthetical entry
apostrophe: Directing the attention away from the audience to an absent third party, often
in the form of a personified abstraction or inanimate object.
archaism: Use of an obsolete, archaic word (a word used in olden language, e.g.
Shakespeare's language)
auxesis: Form of hyperbole, in which a more important-sounding word is used in place of
a more descriptive term
bathos: Pompous speech with a ludicrously mundane worded anti-climax
burlesque metaphor: An amusing, overstated or grotesque comparison or example.
catachresis: Blatant misuse of words or phrases.
categoria: Candidly revealing an opponent's weakness
 clich: Overused phrase or theme
circumlocution: Talking around a topic by substituting or adding words, as in euphemism
or periphrasis
commiseration: Evoking pity in the audience
congeries: Accumulation of synonymous or different words or phrases together forming a
single message
correctio: Linguistic device used for correcting one's mistakes, a form of which is
epanorthosis
dehortatio: discouraging advice given with seeming sagacity
denominatio: Another word for metonymy
diathesis: Articulating silence or mood [16]
diatyposis: The act of giving counsel
double negative: Grammar construction that can be used as an expression and it is the
repetition of negative words
dirimens copulatio: Balances one statement with a contrary, qualifying statement [17]
distinctio: Defining or specifying the meaning of a word or phrase you use
dysphemism: Substitution of a harsher, more offensive, or more disagreeable term for
another. Opposite of euphemism
dubitatio: Expressing doubt over one's ability to hold speeches, or doubt over other
ability
ekphrasis: Lively describing something you see, often a painting
epanorthosis: Immediate and emphatic self-correction, often following a slip of the
tongue
encomium: A speech consisting of praise; a eulogy
enumeratio: A sort of amplification and accumulation in which specific aspects are added
up to make a point
epicrisis: Mentioning a saying and then commenting on it
epiplexis: Rhetorical question displaying disapproval or debunks
epithymonexphrasos: Speak in such a way making others wish to speak, not to oppose
than to join the conversation, exhortation, exoptamus.[16]
epitrope: Initially pretending to agree with an opposing debater or invite one to do
something
erotema: Synonym for rhetorical question
erotesis: Rhetorical question asked in confident expectation of a negative answer
euphemism: Substitution of a less offensive or more agreeable term for another
grandiloquence: Pompous speech
exclamation: A loud calling or crying out
humour: Provoking laughter and providing amusement
hyperbaton: Words that naturally belong together separated from each other for emphasis
or effect
hyperbole: Use of exaggerated terms for emphasis
hypocatastasis: An implication or declaration of resemblance that does not directly name
both terms
hypophora: Answering one's own rhetorical question at length
hysteron proteron: Reversal of anticipated order of events; a form of hyperbaton
 innuendo: Having a hidden meaning in a sentence that makes sense whether it is detected
or not
invective: The act of insulting
inversion: A reversal of normal word order, especially the placement of a verb ahead of
the subject (subject-verb inversion).
imperative sentence: The urging to do something
irony: Use of word in a way that conveys a meaning opposite to its usual meaning
kataphora: Repetition of a cohesive device at the end
litotes: Emphasizing the magnitude of a statement by denying its opposite
malapropism: Using a word through confusion with a word that sounds similar
meiosis: Use of understatement, usually to diminish the importance of something
merism: Referring to a whole by enumerating some of its parts
metalepsis: Figurative speech is used in a new context
metaphor: Figurative language
metonymy: A thing or concept is called not by its own name but rather by the name of
something associated in meaning with that thing or concept
neologism: The use of a word or term that has recently been created, or has been in use
for a short time. Opposite of archaism
non sequitur: Statement that bears no relationship to the context preceding
occupatio: Mentioning something by reportedly not mentioning it
onomatopoeia: Words that sound like their meaning
oxymoron: Using two terms together, that normally contradict each other
par'hyponoian: Replacing in a phrase or text a second part, that would have been logically
expected.
parable: Extended metaphor told as an anecdote to illustrate or teach a moral lesson
paradiastole: Making a euphemism out of what usually is considered adversive
paradox: Use of apparently contradictory ideas to point out some underlying truth
paradiastole: Extenuating a vice in order to flatter or soothe
paraprosdokian: Phrase in which the latter part causes a rethinking or reframing of the
beginning
paralipsis: Drawing attention to something while pretending to pass it over
parody: Humouristic imitation
paronomasia: Pun, in which similar-sounding words but words having a different
meaning are used
pathetic fallacy: Ascribing human conduct and feelings to nature
periphrasis: A synonym for circumlocution
personification/prosopopoeia/anthropomorphism: Attributing or applying human qualities
to inanimate objects, animals, or natural phenomena
pleonasm: The use of more words than is necessary for clear expression
praeteritio: Another word for paralipsis
procatalepsis: Refuting anticipated objections as part of the main argument
proslepsis: Extreme form of paralipsis in which the speaker provides great detail while
feigning to pass over a topic
prothesis: Adding a syllable to the beginning of a word
proverb: Succinct or pithy, often metaphorical, expression of wisdom commonly believed
to be true
 pun: Play on words that will have two meanings
rhetorical question: Asking a question as a way of asserting something. Asking a question
which already has the answer hidden in it. Or asking a question not for the sake of getting
an answer but for asserting something (or as in a poem for creating a poetic effect)
satire: Humoristic criticism of society
sensory detail imagery: sight, sound, taste, touch, smell
sesquipedalianism: use of long and obscure words
simile: Comparison between two things using like or as
snowclone: Alteration of clich or phrasal template
style: how information is presented
superlative: Saying that something is the best of something or has the most of some
quality, e.g. the ugliest, the most precious etc.
syllepsis: The use of a word in its figurative and literal sense at the same time or a single
word used in relation to two other parts of a sentence although the word grammatically or
logically applies to only one
syncatabasis (condescension, accommodation): adaptation of style to the level of the
audience
synchoresis: A concession made for the purpose of retorting with greater force.
synecdoche: Form of metonymy, referring to a part by its whole, or a whole by its part
synesthesia: Description of one kind of sense impression by using words that normally
describe another.
tautology: Superfluous repetition of the same sense in different words Example: The
children gathered in a round circle
transferred epithet: A synonym for hypallage.
truism: a self-evident statement
tricolon diminuens: Combination of three elements, each decreasing in size
tricolon crescens: Combination of three elements, each increasing in size
verbal paradox: Paradox specified to language
verba ex ore: Taking the words out of someones mouth, speaking of what the
interlocutor wanted to say.
verba volitans: A word that floats in the air, on which everyone is thinking and is just
about to be imposed.[16]
zeugma: Use of a single verb to describe two or more actions
zoomorphism: Applying animal characteristics to humans or gods

https://literaryterms.net/figures-of-speech/

Prosody (linguistics)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Prosodic" redirects here. For other uses, see Prosody.

In linguistics, prosody (from Ancient Greek: prosid "song sung to music; tone or
accent of a syllable", Attic Greek pronunciation: [pros(i)da]) is concerned with those elements of
speech that are not individual phonetic segments (vowels and consonants) but are properties of
syllables and larger units of speech. These contribute to linguistic functions such as intonation,
tone, stress, and rhythm. Prosody may reflect various features of the speaker or the utterance: the
emotional state of the speaker; the form of the utterance (statement, question, or command); the
presence of irony or sarcasm; emphasis, contrast, and focus; or other elements of language that
may not be encoded by grammar or by choice of vocabulary.

Contents
1 Attributes of prosody
2 Phonology
o 2.1 Intonation
o 2.2 Stress
o 2.3 Tempo
o 2.4 Rhythm
o 2.5 Pause
3 Cognitive aspects
o 3.1 Grammar
o 3.2 Focus
o 3.3 Discourse
o 3.4 Emotion
o 3.5 Child language
o 3.6 Aprosodia
o 3.7 Brain regions involved
4 See also
5 References
6 Further reading
7 External links

Attributes of prosody
In the study of prosodic aspects of speech it is usual to distinguish between auditory measures
(subjective impressions produced in the mind of the listener) and acoustic measures (physical
properties of the sound wave that may be measured objectively). Auditory and acoustic measures
of prosody do not correspond in a linear way.[1] Most studies of prosody have been based on
auditory analysis using auditory scales.

There is no agreed number of prosodic variables. In auditory terms, the major variables are

the pitch of the voice (varying between low and high)

length of sounds (varying between short and long)
loudness, or prominence (varying between soft and loud)
timbre (quality of sound)

in acoustic terms, these correspond reasonably closely to

 fundamental frequency (measured in hertz, or cycles per second)
duration (measured in time units such as milliseconds or seconds)
intensity, or sound pressure level (measured in decibels)
spectral characteristics (distribution of energy at different parts of the audible frequency
range)

Different combinations of these variables are exploited in the linguistic functions of intonation
and stress, as well as other prosodic features such as rhythm, tempo and loudness.[1] Additional
prosodic variables have been studied, including voice quality and pausing.

Phonology
Prosodic features are said to be suprasegmental, since they are properties of units of speech
larger than the individual segment (though exceptionally it may happen that a single segment
may constitute a syllable, and thus even a whole utterance, e.g. "Ah!"). It is necessary to
distinguish between the personal, background characteristics that belong to an individuals voice
(for example their habitual pitch range) and the independently variable prosodic features that are
used contrastively to communicate meaning (for example, the use of changes in pitch to indicate
the difference between statements and questions).[2] Personal characteristics are not linguistically
significant. It is not possible to say with any accuracy which aspects of prosody are found in all
languages and which are specific to a particular language or dialect.

Intonation

Some writers have described intonation entirely in terms of pitch, while others propose that what
we call intonation is in fact an amalgam of several prosodic variables. The form of English
intonation is often said to be based on three aspects:

The division of speech into units

The highlighting of particular words and syllables
The choice of pitch movement (e.g. fall or rise)

These are sometimes known as Tonality, Tonicity and Tone (and collectively as "the three
T's").[3][4]

An additional pitch-related variation is pitch range: speakers are capable of speaking sometimes
with a wide range of pitch (this is usually associated with excitement), at other times with a
narrow range. English has been said to make use of changes in key: shifting one's intonation into
the higher or lower part of one's pitch range is believed to be meaningful in certain contexts.

Stress

From the perceptual point of view, stress functions as the means of making a syllable prominent;
stress may be studied in relation to individual words (named "word stress" or lexical stress) or in
relation to larger units of speech (traditionally referred to as "sentence stress" but more
appropriately named "prosodic stress"). Stressed syllables are made prominent by several
variables, singly or in combination. Stress is typically associated with the following:

pitch prominence, that is, a pitch level that is different from that of neighbouring
syllables, or a pitch movement
increased length (duration)
increased loudness (dynamics)
differences in timbre: in English and some other languages, stress is associated with
aspects of vowel quality (whose acoustic correlate is the formant frequencies or spectrum
of the vowel). Unstressed vowels tend to be centralized relative to stressed vowels, which
are normally more peripheral in quality[5]

These cues to stress are not equally powerful. Cruttenden, for example, writes "Perceptual
experiments have clearly shown that, in English at any rate, the three features (pitch, length and
loudness) form a scale of importance in bringing syllables into prominence, pitch being the most
efficacious, and loudness the least so".[6]

When pitch prominence is the major factor, the resulting prominence is often called accent rather
than stress.[7]

There is considerable variation from language to language concerning the role of stress in
identifying words or in interpreting grammar and syntax.[8]

Tempo

Rhythm

Although rhythm is not a prosodic variable in the way that pitch or loudness are, it is usual to
treat a language's characteristic rhythm as a part of its prosodic phonology. It has often been
asserted that languages exhibit regularity in the timing of successive units of speech, a regularity
referred to as isochrony, and that every language may be assigned one of three rhythmical types:
stress-timed (where the durations of the intervals between stressed syllables is relatively
constant), syllable-timed (where the durations of successive syllables are relatively constant) and
mora-timed (where the durations of successive morae are relatively constant). As explained in
the isochrony article, this claim has not been supported by scientific evidence.

Cadence may be subjectively experienced by the listener (an auditory, not acoustic
measurement) by speech that shifts back-and-forth between words perceived as being grouped
together, and words perceived as isolated or not grouped.

Pause

Although pausing is a natural phenomenon related to breathing, it is claimed that pauses may
also carry some contrastive linguistic information. In English, pausing is more likely before a
word carrying a high information content. Defining pause is not easy: it is necessary to
distinguish between silent pauses and "filled" pauses where a hesitation is perceived but the
speaker continues to emit sound. In the study of conversational interaction it is normal to note
different lengths of pause.

Pausing or its lack is a factor in creating the perception of words being grouped together into a
phrase, phraseme, constituent or other multi-word grouping, often highlighting lexical items or
fixed expression idioms. For example, pausing before and after a multi-word grouping, but not
within, groups words together and separates them from nearby words. Also, within a multi-word
grouping, blending the sound of adjacent words together or speaking them faster than words
outside the grouping contributes to the perception of the words as part of a group. A well-known
example in English is "Know what I mean?" being said rapidly as if it is a single word ("No-
whuta-meen?")

Cognitive aspects
Intonation is said to have a number of perceptually significant functions in English and other
languages, contributing to the recognition and comprehension of speech.[9]

Grammar

It is believed that prosody assists listeners in parsing continuous speech and in the recognition of
words, providing cues to syntactic structure, grammatical boundaries and sentence type.
Boundaries between intonation units are often associated with grammatical or syntactic
boundaries; these are marked by such prosodic features as pauses and slowing of tempo, as well
as "pitch reset" where the speaker's pitch level returns to the level typical of the onset of a new
intonation unit. In this way potential ambiguities may be resolved. For example, the sentence
They invited Bob and Bill and Al got rejected is ambiguous when written, although addition of
a written comma after either "Bob" or "Bill" will remove the sentence's ambiguity. But when the
sentence is read aloud, prosodic cues like pauses and changes in intonation will reduce or remove
the ambiguity.[10] Moving the intonational boundary in cases such as the above example will tend
to change the interpretation of the sentence. This result has been found in studies performed in
both English and Bulgarian.[11] Research in English word recognition has demonstrated an
important role for prosody.[12][13]

Focus

Intonation and stress work together to highlight important words or syllables for contrast and
focus.[14] This is sometimes referred to as the accentual function of prosody. A well-known
example is the ambiguous sentence "I have plans to leave", where if the primary accent is placed
on "plans" the meaning of the sentence is usually taken to be "I have some plans (drawings,
diagrams) to leave" but if the main accent is on "leave" the typical interpretation is "I am
planning to leave".[15]

Discourse
Prosody plays a role in the regulation of conversational interaction and in signaling discourse
structure. David Brazil and his associates studied how intonation can indicate whether
information is new or already established; whether a speaker is dominant or not in a
conversation; and when a speaker is inviting the listener to make a contribution to the
conversation.[16]

Emotion

Main article: Emotional prosody

Prosody is also important in signalling emotions and attitudes. When this is involuntary (as when
the voice is affected by anxiety or fear), the prosodic information is not linguistically significant.
However, when the speaker varies her speech intentionally, for example to indicate sarcasm, this
usually involves the use of prosodic features. The most useful prosodic feature in detecting
sarcasm is a reduction in the mean fundamental frequency relative to other speech for humor,
neutrality, or sincerity. While prosodic cues are important in indicating sarcasm, context clues
and shared knowledge are also important.[17]

Emotional prosody was considered by Charles Darwin in The Descent of Man to predate the
evolution of human language: "Even monkeys express strong feelings in different tones anger
and impatience by low, fear and pain by high notes."[18] Native speakers listening to actors
reading emotionally neutral text while projecting emotions correctly recognized happiness 62%
of the time, anger 95%, surprise 91%, sadness 81%, and neutral tone 76%. When a database of
this speech was processed by computer, segmental features allowed better than 90% recognition
of happiness and anger, while suprasegmental prosodic features allowed only 44%49%
recognition. The reverse was true for surprise, which was recognized only 69% of the time by
segmental features and 96% of the time by suprasegmental prosody.[19] In typical conversation
(no actor voice involved), the recognition of emotion may be quite low, of the order of 50%,
hampering the complex interrelationship function of speech advocated by some authors.[20]
However, even if emotional expression through prosody cannot always be consciously
recognized, tone of voice may continue to have subconscious effects in conversation. This sort of
expression stems not from linguistic or semantic effects, and can thus be isolated from traditional
linguistic content. Aptitude of the average person to decode conversational implicature of
emotional prosody has been found to be slightly less accurate than traditional facial expression
discrimination ability; however, specific ability to decode varies by emotion. These
emotional[clarification needed] have been determined to be ubiquitous across cultures, as they are
utilized and understood across cultures. Various emotions, and their general experimental
identification rates, are as follows:[21]

Anger and sadness: High rate of accurate identification

Fear and happiness: Medium rate of accurate identification
Disgust: Poor rate of accurate identification

The prosody of an utterance is used by listeners to guide decisions about the emotional affect of
the situation. Whether a person decodes the prosody as positive, negative, or neutral plays a role
in the way a person decodes a facial expression accompanying an utterance. As the facial
expression becomes closer to neutral, the prosodic interpretation influences the interpretation of
the facial expression. A study by Marc D. Pell revealed that 600 ms of prosodic information is
necessary for listeners to be able to identify the affective tone of the utterance. At lengths below
this, there was not enough information for listeners to process the emotional context of the
utterance.[22]

Child language

Unique prosodic features have been noted in infant-directed speech (IDS) - also known as baby
talk, child-directed speech (CDS), or motherese. Adults, especially caregivers, speaking to young
children tend to imitate childlike speech by using higher and more variable pitch, as well as an
exaggerated stress. These prosodic characteristics are thought to assist children in acquiring
phonemes, segmenting words, and recognizing phrasal boundaries. And though there is no
evidence to indicate that infant-directed speech is necessary for language acquisition, these
specific prosodic features have been observed in many different languages.[23]

Aprosodia

An aprosodia is an acquired or developmental impairment in comprehending or generating the

emotion conveyed in spoken language. Aprosody is often accompanied by the inability to
properly utilize variations in speech, particularly with deficits in ability to accurately modulate
pitch, loudness, intonation, and rhythm of word formation.[24] This is seen sometimes in persons
with Asperger syndrome.[25]

Brain regions involved

Producing these nonverbal elements requires intact motor areas of the face, mouth, tongue, and
throat. This area is associated with Brodmann areas 44 and 45 (Broca's area) of the left frontal
lobe. Damage to areas 44/45 produces motor aprosodia, with the nonverbal elements of speech
being disturbed (facial expression, tone, rhythm of voice).

Understanding these nonverbal elements requires an intact and properly functioning right-
hemisphere perisylvian area, particularly Brodmann area 22 (not to be confused with the
corresponding area in the left hemisphere, which contains Wernicke's area).[26] Damage to the
right inferior frontal gyrus causes a diminished ability to convey emotion or emphasis by voice
or gesture, and damage to right superior temporal gyrus causes problems comprehending
emotion or emphasis in the voice or gestures of others. The right Brodmann area 22 aids in the
interpretation of prosody, and damage causes sensory aprosodia, with the patient unable to
comprehend changes in voice and body language.

References
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 Crystal, D.; Quirk, R. (1964). Systems of Prosodic and Paralinguistic Features in English.
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Halliday, M.A.K. (1967). Intonation and grammar in British English,. The Hague: Mouton.
J.C. Wells (2007). English intonation. CUP.
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Resource Book for Students (3rd ed.). Routledge. p. 129. ISBN 978-0-415-50650-2.
Cruttenden, A. (1997). Intonation (2nd ed.). Cambridge. p. 13.
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