Prosody comes from Greek word prosodia, it is rhythmic and intonational aspects of speech as pitch, duration, volume, and so on. In linguistic prosody language sounds that can just be heard by ear, but cannot be explained through written symbols. It also sees changes to the length of a syllable, tone volume and some things related to the structure of the speech sound are pronounced.
In writing punctuation marks such as full stop, comma, colon, semicolon, exclamation mark, question mark, indicates many things for readers something. Same in the case, In the spoken language we use certain sounds in words, phrases, clauses and sentences to get the listener’s attention.
Features of prosody are commonly called suprasegmental features, such as as syllables, words, phrases, and clauses. This means prosodic and supra segmental features in common. Features that used to mark prosodic speech is as follows:
Functions of Intonation In Prosody:
Intonation is a powerful communication tool, so its main function is communicative. This function can be realized as follows:
Structuring the content of the text fragment to show which part of the information is new, and which cannot be taken as a matter of course; and what information the listener already has, or may be learned from the context.
Features:
Prosodic features include pressure, intonation, and length and limit signals. Some phoneticians also include stylistic and personal characteristics such as speech rate and voice quality for prosodic conditions.
Benefits of study Prosody:
Prosody aims to find out the knowledge gaps by studying the characteristics that are essential and which occur only in conversation. It also investigates prosodic features in conversations between people and the effect of using these features in conversation.
Do you know what prosody is ? You use it every time you speak and it has an essential function so that you can be understood. Next, we explain in detail its characteristics and other complementary aspects. And remember that you can dedicate yourself to the linguistic sector through the Master’s Degree in Correction of Style and Spelling .
Index of contents
- What is prosody and what is it for?
- types of prosody
- linguistic prosody
- emotional prosody
- prosody alterations
- prosodic alteration
- echolalia
- Talk alone
What is prosody and what is it for?
Linguistic prosody is understood as the part of grammar that is responsible for teaching the stress and correct pronunciation of each word. It belongs to phonology. Its rules are created after studying the sound of each word and its relationship with non-segmental units and larger than the phoneme.
In addition, it is composed of prosodic parameters of physical origin. In other words, each word is also analyzed paying attention to acoustic and phonetic factors, to the frequency, intensity and duration of each word.
Thus, we can conclude that:
- This part of the grammar is responsible for explaining how you should say each word. If you are reading you use the orthographic stress to guide you, but there are also non-segmental features that allow you to know which syllable is stressed.
- Prosody is present in your brainevery time you speak. In fact, you have learned to speak properly thanks to her.
Types of prosody
Experts distinguish two. Both are complementary and equally important. Do you want to know what they are?
Linguistic prosody
It is the one that is governed by the rules of accentuation and by the etymology of each word . Since you learn to speak, they teach you how to pronounce a word, how to accentuate it and when to breathe when reading, to name a few examples.
The combination of punctuation marks with your knowledge of the language is effective for you to continue learning progressively. To improve it, you must read more, review the new terms that are added to the language and expand your vocabulary as much as possible.
Emotional prosody
Changes in the tone you use to speak are also included in prosody . For example, if you are asking questions you use an ascending one, if you want to underline your opinion you bet on raising your voice and so on.
Therefore, it is not only about communicating with another person by sending them a message, but also about using complementary elements that allow the other party to better understand what you want to know or how you feel when speaking.
Whenever you issue a message, you do so with a specific context and in an emotional state that can affect how what you want to say is understood. To improve this type of prosody, it is recommended that you stop to think about how you speak.
We all use a specific tone when doing this, but reviewing it is important, as it can turn any phrase into an order, a joke, or something completely different from what you originally meant. Listen to yourself to avoid these interpretation problems.
If you want to improve it, we advise you to read aloud, speak in public or record yourself to really know how you speak. You will surely find some errors that you can easily correct.
Prosody Alterations
While all of the above is done automatically in your brain, there are some important things you need to know. Prosody is made up of:
- The lexical accent. It is the one that allows you to distinguish between words with the same sound (like, how).
- The emphatic accent. It is used when you want to underline a part of your message. (Paco is very smart, you are referring exclusively to Paco).
- The intonation. It allows you to prevent your sentence from being misunderstood. (Rosa buys the bread. You can say it in an affirmative, imperative or interrogative tone).
Regarding the alterations of these three concepts , medical studies confirm that patients with lesions in the right cerebral hemisphere have problems speaking correctly. Likewise, it is important to bear in mind that there are other alterations that occur during cognitive development, such as the ones we are now discussing.
Prosodic Alteration
It happens when a boy or girl speaks imitating the voice of another person and does so using an intonation that is too forced. Imitation is a game that should not become the norm. We recommend that you play at imitating different voices, but always emphasizing that it is a game and that each child must develop their own way of speaking about it.
Echolalia
Some children repeat the last sentence they heard, also imitating its intonation. There are two main types:
- Functional echolalia. The repetition of a word or phrase may be because they have not understood its meaning. It would be advisable to indicate to them that it is more appropriate to comment that they have not understood the question or the phrase they have heard instead of repeating it.
- Nonfunctional echolalia. The words are repeated but not because they are not understood, but because they have become a kind of game. It usually occurs when repeating the chorus of a song or a phrase from an advertising campaign. Playing with the language is positive, but not so much that the habit interferes with the correct communicative function. It can be eliminated by encouraging children to avoid their habit or to limit it as much as possible.
Talk alone
There is a certain division of opinion among specialists. Most think it’s a good thing, as it increases prosody awareness and makes it easier for you to correct it if you hear something wrong. Some experts suggest that it should not occur after the age of six.
Others think the opposite and consider this custom as very positive to be able to regulate language, especially in stressful situations that require some kind of skill. A good example is when you hear a little one say: “Now I put the paste on the brush, I brush, I rinse…etc.” Its function is to mentally review the steps to follow, so it contributes positively to cognitive development.
Prosody is the essential complement to choose the nuances you want to give to your messages. Now that you know its usefulness, we are convinced that you will pay more attention to it and that you will do everything possible to correct the possible errors of intonation or stress that you could make when talking to other people.
