“Everything Happened So Quickly?” HRT Intonation in New Zealand Courtrooms

Abstract

High rising terminal intonation (HRT) has been the focus of considerable research in New Zealand since the mid-1980s, much of which is based on interviews. In this article, I build on that work by examining the role of HRTs in naturally occurring discourse in courtrooms, where a number of different role relations are represented. The courtroom provides an ideal testing ground for examining the relationship between HRTs and the powerless language style with which they have often been associated by providing an environment involving power differentials. The findings lead to the conclusion that although HRTs certainly have some association with power, it is more accurate to describe them in terms of discourse function, role, and goals than as a stable social attribute of speakers.

This article is a development of one area of the research done for my PhD thesis. I would like to thank Fay Wouk, Susan Phillips, Chris Lane, Donna Starks, Allan Bell, Robin Hooper, and the late Scott Allan for taking the time to offer their most helpful comments on my thesis and earlier drafts of this article. I also thank the reviewers for their most useful comments.

Notes

This article is a development of one area of the research done for my PhD thesis. I would like to thank Fay Wouk, Susan Phillips, Chris Lane, Donna Starks, Allan Bell, Robin Hooper, and the late Scott Allan for taking the time to offer their most helpful comments on my thesis and earlier drafts of this article. I also thank the reviewers for their most useful comments.

The following transcription conventions are used in the article: . = falling intonation; ? = rising intonation; figures in brackets denote pause length in seconds; (xxx) denotes an unclear word or portion of an utterance; bolding indicates the utterance in which the HRT occurs; = indicates latched turns; underlining indicates higher volume. Names and places have been changed.