How discrete or independent are ''affective prosody'' and ''linguistic prosody''?

Abstract

Background: Research on sentence- or phrase-level pitch (intonation) production and perception in brain-damaged populations has traditionally been guided by the assumption that intonation is a dichotomous phenomenon with discrete affective and linguistic categories. To date, however, no strong evidence has emerged in support of this notion. Aim: The current paper is an attempt to caution that because it is only an assumption without strong empirical foundation, the “dichotomous intonation theory” (DIT) is potentially misleading as a framework for the conceptualisation of the nature of intonation disorder. Main Contribution: The thesis of the paper centres on the premise that the understanding of the nature of any communication disorder depends on sound knowledge about the normal form of that aspect of communication. Shortcomings in the DIT are highlighted, and the need for re-evaluation of conceptualisations of the nature of intonation disorder based on this notion is brought into focus. In particular, the terms, “affective prosody” and “linguistic prosody” are shown to be misnomers. It is argued that intonation, like segmental information, is subject to phonetic influences, and it may undergo modification secondary to changes in the state (nonemotional vs emotional) of the speaker. Conclusion: One possibility that emerges is that rather than being an independent category that is unique to the signalling of emotions, “affective prosody” may actually be emotionalised intonation. However, this possibility must be determined empirically.