English Semantics

There are other ways of using the voice, as part of the spoken utterance, which cannot be considered either signs or part of language. These include laughing, giggling, crying (which need not accompany an utterance); whisper, falsetto, a quavering or ‘breaking’ voice; and other elements that are vocal but not verbal: the relative loudness or softness of the voice, high or low pitch, the modulations of pitch from a near monotone to an exaggerated rising and falling, a nasal quality, a rasping sound, the tempo of speech—the speed at which a whole utterance is delivered or the relative timing of syllables, ranging from clipping to drawling. These ways of using the voice cannot be considered signs—they do not signify—but they may be expressive, communicative in a secondary sense. Speakers may want to create a particular effect with their ways of using the voice; listeners may interpret what they hear in particular ways because of vocal features; but if intentions and interpretations coincide, the coincidence is fortuitous. All these ways of using the voice are together called paralanguage. The failure to use language—silence—at a particular juncture can likewise be expressive.