What do you understand by Paralanguage?

Nonverbal means of communication, such as tone of voice, laughter, and, sometimes, gestures and facial expressions, that accompany speech and convey further meaning.

The set of nonphonemic properties of speech, such as speaking tempo, vocal pitch, and intonational contours, that can be used to communicate attitudes or other shades of meaning.

Paralanguage is nonverbal communication such as your tone, pitch or manner of speaking.

An example of paralanguage is the pitch of your voice.

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Language: Linguistics · Semiotics · Speech

Paralanguage refers to the non-verbal elements of communication used to modify meaning and convey emotion. Paralanguage may be expressed consciously or unconsciously, and it includes the pitch, volume, and, in some cases, intonation of speech. Sometimes the definition is restricted to vocally-produced sounds. The study of paralanguage is known as paralinguistics.

The term ’’paralanguage’’ is sometimes used as a cover term for body language, which is not necessarily tied to speech, and paralinguistic phenomena in speech. The latter are phenomena that can be observed in speech (Saussure's parole) but that do not belong to the arbitrary conventional code of language (Saussure's langue).

The paralinguistic properties of speech play an important role in human speech communication. There are no utterances or speech signals that lack paralinguistic properties, since speech requires the presence of a voice that can be modulated. This voice must have some properties, and all the properties of a voice as such are paralinguistic. However, the distinction linguistic vs. paralinguistic applies not only to speech but to sign language as well, and it is not bound to any sensory modality. Even vocal language has some paralinguistic as well as linguistic properties that can be seen (lip reading, McGurk effect), and even felt, e.g. by the Tadoma method.

One can distinguish the following aspects of speech signals and perceived utterances:

Speech signals that arrive at a listener’s ears have acoustic properties that may allow listeners to localize the speaker (distance, direction). 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.

The speech 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 the voice and to a substantial extent also the formant frequencies, which characterize the different speech 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.

The properties of the voice and the way of speaking are affected by emotions and attitudes. Typically, attitudes are expressed intentionally and emotions without intention, but attempts to fake or to hide emotions are not unusual. Expressive variation is central to paralanguage. It affects loudness, speaking rate, pitch, pitch range and, to some extent, also the formant frequencies.

These aspects are the main concern of linguists. Ordinary phonetic 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 its prosody, are paralinguistic or pre-linguistic in origin. A most fundamental and widespread phenomenon of this kind is known as the "frequency code" (Ohala, 1984). 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 has phylogenetically given rise to the sexual dimorphism that lies behind the large difference in pitch between average female and male adults.

In text-only communication such as email, chatrooms and instant messaging, paralinguistic elements can be displayed by emoticons, 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.

Linguistics

The Greek prefix Para means beside, near, or alongside. Paralanguage describes the nonverbal communication that accompanies verbal communication. For example, something as simple as a wink in conjunction with a spoken phrase can alter the meaning of that phrase.

See also

External links

References

• Robbins, S. and Langton, N. (2001) Organizational Behaviour: Concepts, Controversies, Applications (2nd Canadian ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-H

Paralanguage is the technical term for the voice cues that accompany spoken words. It is concerned with the sound of the voice and the range of meanings that people convey through their voices rather than the words they use.

The meaning of what you express is contained, in part, in the words you say, but how you say it also contains powerful meanings. For example, the word “Yes”, can completely convey different meanings, even in the exact same sentence, depending on how it is said—whether it is spoken sincerely or sarcastically. The “how”—you say something—is referred to as paralanguage, which includes your conscious or unconscious intonation, accent, pitch Opens in new window, pace, pause, silence, emphasis, word and syllable stress.

Basically, paralanguage is your voice minus the words you speak. Again, it denotes the tone (sound) of your voice. The sound of your voice communicates, revealing to others your emotional state, attitudes, status, personality, etc.

The tone of your voice can help you communicate what you mean to convey, or it can reveal thoughts you mean to conceal. It can reinforce or negate the words you speak. How you speak influences how others interpret your intentions, as well as how credible, intelligent, or attractive they judge you to be. With this in mind, you may assess yourself by responding to the following questions:

• Does my voice enhance or detract from the impression I make?
• Does my voice support or contradict my intended meaning?
• If I were interacting with me, would I want to listen to the sound of my voice?

Paralanguage, in brief, is a nonverbal code for the way we say something rather than what we say. The two main categories of paralanguage are vocal characteristics and vocal interferences.

1. Vocal characteristics are the pitch (the highness or lowness of your voice), volume (how loudly or softly you speak), rate (the speed at which you speak) and voice quality (how pleasant or unpleasant your voice sound). Each of these characteristics plays a part in the impression others have of you. For example, a loud voice is usually associated with aggressiveness; people who speak quickly are said to be nervous.
2. Vocal interferences are the sounds and words we use when we hesitate or are not sure of the right word. We all use the occasional “uh”, “er”, “well”, and “you know” to indicate that we are searching for the right word. But such interferences may become a problem when they pop up too frequently as they can interrupt your listener’s concentration and comprehension.

Paralanguage may be considered a type of nonverbal communication Opens in new window, in its broadest sense, as it can suggest many emotional nuances.