John Benjamins Publishing Company
The evaluation of intonation: pitch range differences in English and in Spanish
Abstract
This chapter investigates evaluation with respect to the hearer and it shows how evaluation permeates the phonological level of linguistic description. In particular, it examines how interlocutors of different cultural backgrounds, namely, English and Spanish, perceive and evaluate certain utterances as polite or rude based on their pitch range. A perception test was designed by means of which 15 native hearers of each language evaluated different productions of the word mandarins/mandarinas which only differed with respect to their F0 scaling. The results confirmed that pitch range differences have an effect on the evaluation of sentences cross-linguistically. Whereas low pitch range productions were interpreted as “polite” in Spanish and as “rude” in English, utterances with a high pitch displacement were judged as “over-excited” in Spanish and as “polite” in English. The results corroborate the status of intonation as an off-record strategy used to signal attitude.
Abstract
This chapter investigates evaluation with respect to the hearer and it shows how evaluation permeates the phonological level of linguistic description. In particular, it examines how interlocutors of different cultural backgrounds, namely, English and Spanish, perceive and evaluate certain utterances as polite or rude based on their pitch range. A perception test was designed by means of which 15 native hearers of each language evaluated different productions of the word mandarins/mandarinas which only differed with respect to their F0 scaling. The results confirmed that pitch range differences have an effect on the evaluation of sentences cross-linguistically. Whereas low pitch range productions were interpreted as “polite” in Spanish and as “rude” in English, utterances with a high pitch displacement were judged as “over-excited” in Spanish and as “polite” in English. The results corroborate the status of intonation as an off-record strategy used to signal attitude.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents vii
- Acknowledgements ix
- Preface xi
-
Section 1: Introduction
- The many faces and phases of evaluation 3
-
Section 2: Theoretical considerations and approaches to evaluation
- The emergence of axiology as a key parameter in modern linguistics 27
- AFFECT and emotion, target-value mismatches, and Russian dolls 47
- Appraising Appraisal 67
- The evaluative palette of verbal irony 93
- The implementation of the axiological parameter in a verbal subontology for natural language processing 117
- The evaluative function of situation-bound utterances in intercultural interaction 137
- Prosody, information structure and evaluation 153
- The evaluation of intonation: pitch range differences in English and in Spanish 179
-
Section 3: Evaluation in different contexts
- “An astonishing season of destiny!” Evaluation in blurbs used for advertising TV series 197
- Graduation within the scope of Attitude in English and Spanish consumer reviews of books and movies 221
- Register diversification in evaluative language: the case of scientific writing 241
- The role of negative-modal synergies in Charles Darwin’s The Origin of Species 259
- Exploring academic argumentation in course-related blogs through ENGAGEMENT 281
- Multimodal analysis of controversy in the media 303
- The expression of evaluation in weekly news magazines in English 321
- Evaluative phraseological choice and speaker party/gender 345
- Evaluation in emotion narratives 367
- Evaluative discourse and politeness in university students' communication through social networking sites 387
- Index 413
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents vii
- Acknowledgements ix
- Preface xi
-
Section 1: Introduction
- The many faces and phases of evaluation 3
-
Section 2: Theoretical considerations and approaches to evaluation
- The emergence of axiology as a key parameter in modern linguistics 27
- AFFECT and emotion, target-value mismatches, and Russian dolls 47
- Appraising Appraisal 67
- The evaluative palette of verbal irony 93
- The implementation of the axiological parameter in a verbal subontology for natural language processing 117
- The evaluative function of situation-bound utterances in intercultural interaction 137
- Prosody, information structure and evaluation 153
- The evaluation of intonation: pitch range differences in English and in Spanish 179
-
Section 3: Evaluation in different contexts
- “An astonishing season of destiny!” Evaluation in blurbs used for advertising TV series 197
- Graduation within the scope of Attitude in English and Spanish consumer reviews of books and movies 221
- Register diversification in evaluative language: the case of scientific writing 241
- The role of negative-modal synergies in Charles Darwin’s The Origin of Species 259
- Exploring academic argumentation in course-related blogs through ENGAGEMENT 281
- Multimodal analysis of controversy in the media 303
- The expression of evaluation in weekly news magazines in English 321
- Evaluative phraseological choice and speaker party/gender 345
- Evaluation in emotion narratives 367
- Evaluative discourse and politeness in university students' communication through social networking sites 387
- Index 413
