Reber2020

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Reber2020
BibType ARTICLE
Key Reber2020
Author(s) Elisabeth Reber, Elizabeth Couper-Kuhlen
Title On “Whistle” Sound Objects in English Everyday Conversation
Editor(s)
Tag(s) EMCA, Nonlexical vocalization, Liminal, Response Cries, Interactional phonetics, Pitch contour
Publisher
Year 2020
Language English
City
Month
Journal Research on Language & Social Interaction
Volume 53
Number 1
Pages 164-187
URL Link
DOI 10.1080/08351813.2020.1712966
ISBN
Organization
Institution
School
Type
Edition
Series
Howpublished
Book title
Chapter

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Abstract

In this article we study the forms and functions of whistling in social interaction. Our analysis identifies two basic forms of conversational whistling, (a) melodic whistling, when participants whistle the tune of, e.g., a familiar song; and (b) nonmelodic whistling. The focus in this article lies on nonmelodic whistles, which come in two contours linked to specific actions: (a) the tonal whistle deployed for summoning (e.g., a domestic animal but also human participants); and (b) the gliding whistle used for affect-laden responses to informings that breach a norm, often ones containing a numerical reference. The pitch contour used on the latter type of whistle matches those found for more lexical sound objects, e.g., oh, ah, and wow. The data base for the study comprises a wide range of audio and video recordings of mundane American and British English telephone and face-to-face conversations.

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