Couper-Kuhlen2001
Couper-Kuhlen2001 | |
---|---|
BibType | ARTICLE |
Key | Couper-Kuhlen2001 |
Author(s) | Elizabeth Couper-Kuhlen |
Title | Interactional prosody: High onsets in reason-for-the-call turns |
Editor(s) | |
Tag(s) | EMCA, IL, Prosody, Reason-for-a-call, intonation, conversational interaction, radio talk, onset level, contextualization, theory, multi-unit turn construction, spoken paratone) |
Publisher | |
Year | 2001 |
Language | |
City | |
Month | |
Journal | Language in Society |
Volume | 30 |
Number | 1 |
Pages | 29–53 |
URL | Link |
DOI | 10.1017/S0047404501001026 |
ISBN | |
Organization | |
Institution | |
School | |
Type | |
Edition | |
Series | |
Howpublished | |
Book title | |
Chapter |
Abstract
The present study demonstrates how prosody – specifically, onset level – is deployed in situated interaction to cue frames of interpretation for talk. It shows not only that final pitch level in intonational contours is a relevant parameter, but also that, under certain conditions, initial pitch level may provide a situationally specific contextualization cue. In calls to radio phone-in programs, for instance, there is a so-called anchor position where callers can be expected to announce the reason for their calls. Close empirical analysis of data from such a program reveals that it is here that the first turn-constructional unit is routinely formatted with high onset. The studio moderator displays an orientation to this kind of prosodic formatting by withholding further talk until the caller has made a recognizably complete statement of the reason for the call. On occasion, turn-constructional units in anchor position are heard to lack a high onset. When this happens, the moderator responds in a way that shows he is not treating callers' talk as the reason for the call, but rather as a preface to the statement of reason.
Notes