Prosodies in Conversation

Richard Ogden

Prosodies in Conversation

Language and Linguistic Science

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Other chapter contribution

Abstract

In the Firthian conception, prosodies are phonological units with a structural domain. They are defined syntagmatically, and do not straightforwardly correspond with aspects of the speech signal that are normally thought of as prosodic in modern phonology, such as pitch, voice quality or tempo. It is implicit in Firth’s (and his colleagues’) work that prosodies are limited to the utterances of a single speaker. In this paper, we argue that prosodies can be extended to embrace consistent and meaningful relations between turns at talk in conversation: at least in some places in conversation, the phonetic format – or ‘design’ – of one speaker’s talk stands in a meaningful relation to the talk of another. This conception of prosodies is not an original Firthian one, but is consistent with Firth’s concern that meaning is primarily social, because it is shared by people in society and contextualised by social settings.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Understanding Prosody
Subtitle of host publication	the role of context, function and communication
Editors	Oliver Niebuhr
Place of Publication	Berlin/New York
Publisher	De Gruyter
Pages	201-218
ISBN (Print)	3110301253, 978-3110301250
Publication status	Published - 30 Nov 2012

Keywords

prosody
conversation
construction
phonology
J R Firth

Access to Document

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/3110301253/ref=rdr_ext_tmb

Presentation: Prosodies in Conversation
Richard Ogden (Invited speaker)
25 Mar 2014
Activity: Talk or presentation › Invited talk

File

Cite this

@inbook{08c168bb9e1f4e66bd555cc0ff09f045,

title = "Prosodies in Conversation",

abstract = "In the Firthian conception, prosodies are phonological units with a structural domain. They are defined syntagmatically, and do not straightforwardly correspond with aspects of the speech signal that are normally thought of as prosodic in modern phonology, such as pitch, voice quality or tempo. It is implicit in Firth{\textquoteright}s (and his colleagues{\textquoteright}) work that prosodies are limited to the utterances of a single speaker. In this paper, we argue that prosodies can be extended to embrace consistent and meaningful relations between turns at talk in conversation: at least in some places in conversation, the phonetic format – or {\textquoteleft}design{\textquoteright} – of one speaker{\textquoteright}s talk stands in a meaningful relation to the talk of another. This conception of prosodies is not an original Firthian one, but is consistent with Firth{\textquoteright}s concern that meaning is primarily social, because it is shared by people in society and contextualised by social settings.",

keywords = "prosody, conversation, construction, phonology, J R Firth",

author = "Richard Ogden",

year = "2012",

month = nov,

day = "30",

language = "English",

isbn = "3110301253",

pages = "201--218",

editor = "Oliver Niebuhr",

booktitle = "Understanding Prosody",

publisher = "De Gruyter",

address = "Germany",

}

TY - CHAP

T1 - Prosodies in Conversation

AU - Ogden, Richard

PY - 2012/11/30

Y1 - 2012/11/30

N2 - In the Firthian conception, prosodies are phonological units with a structural domain. They are defined syntagmatically, and do not straightforwardly correspond with aspects of the speech signal that are normally thought of as prosodic in modern phonology, such as pitch, voice quality or tempo. It is implicit in Firth’s (and his colleagues’) work that prosodies are limited to the utterances of a single speaker. In this paper, we argue that prosodies can be extended to embrace consistent and meaningful relations between turns at talk in conversation: at least in some places in conversation, the phonetic format – or ‘design’ – of one speaker’s talk stands in a meaningful relation to the talk of another. This conception of prosodies is not an original Firthian one, but is consistent with Firth’s concern that meaning is primarily social, because it is shared by people in society and contextualised by social settings.

AB - In the Firthian conception, prosodies are phonological units with a structural domain. They are defined syntagmatically, and do not straightforwardly correspond with aspects of the speech signal that are normally thought of as prosodic in modern phonology, such as pitch, voice quality or tempo. It is implicit in Firth’s (and his colleagues’) work that prosodies are limited to the utterances of a single speaker. In this paper, we argue that prosodies can be extended to embrace consistent and meaningful relations between turns at talk in conversation: at least in some places in conversation, the phonetic format – or ‘design’ – of one speaker’s talk stands in a meaningful relation to the talk of another. This conception of prosodies is not an original Firthian one, but is consistent with Firth’s concern that meaning is primarily social, because it is shared by people in society and contextualised by social settings.

KW - prosody

KW - conversation

KW - construction

KW - phonology

KW - J R Firth

M3 - Other chapter contribution

SN - 3110301253

SN - 978-3110301250

SP - 201

EP - 218

BT - Understanding Prosody

A2 - Niebuhr, Oliver

PB - De Gruyter

CY - Berlin/New York

ER -

Prosodies in Conversation

Abstract

Keywords

Access to Document

Activities

Presentation: Prosodies in Conversation

Cite this