Paralinguistic Communication

Communication via the spoken word yields a vast amount of information in addition to the actual meaning of the words used. This is paralinguistic communication. Even the meaning of spoken words is open to interpretation; sarcasm, for instance, relies heavily on saying one thing and meaning another. It is impossible to produce spoken language without using some form of communication beyond the literal meaning of the words chosen.

Our skill in communicating what we wish to say is determined not only by our choice of words, but also by the accent we use, the volume of our speech, the speed at which we speak, and our tone of voice, to name but a few paralinguistic features. Furthermore, we sometimes miscommunicate because the ability to interpret correctly what is being said to us varies greatly with each individual.

Clearly, certain people are better at communicating than others, yet it is important to realize that the possession of a wide vocabulary does not necessarily mean one has the ability to effectively communicate an idea.

Each one of us speaks with an accent. It is not possible to do otherwise. Our accent quickly tells the listener where we come from, for unless we make a conscious effort to use another accent, we speak with the accent of those with whom we grew up or presently live amongst.

Accents, then, inform us first about the country a person is from. They may also tell us which part of a country the person lives in or has lived in, or they might reveal the perceived “class” of that person. In England, there are many regional accents—the most obvious differences begin between people who live or come from the north and those hailing from the south. It is usually the vowel sounds which vary the most.

Accents give us direct information about the speaker, but the information we decipher is, unfortunately, not always accurate. Accents tend to reflect existing prejudices towards people we hear using them. All of us tend to judge each other in this way, whether it is a stereotypical response—positive, negative or neutral—to the place we assume a person is from, or a value we hold based on our perception of that person’s status in society (Wilkinson, 1965).

Another instantly communicable facet of a person’s conversation is the degree of loudness employed. We assume, perhaps correctly in the majority of instances, that extroverts speak louder than introverts, though this is not always the case. Also, men tend to use more volume than women. A person speaking softly might be doing so for any number of reasons—secrecy, tenderness, embarrassment, or even anger. People who are deaf tend to shout because they overcompensate for the lack of aural feedback they receive. And foreigners often complain of being shouted at by native speakers. Oddly, the latter must suppose that speaking loudly will somehow make up for the listener’s apparent lack of comprehension.

The speed at which an individual speaks varies from person to person. The speech rate tells the listener a great deal about the speaker—his or her mood or personality, for instance—in addition to providing clues about the speaker’s relationship to the listener, and the interest taken in the topic of conversation. Nonetheless, variations in talking speed are less a matter of context than of the speaker’s basic personality (Goldman-Eisler, 1968).

There are three more non-verbal features of the voice to consider, each of which send paralinguistic messages to the listener: voice quality, the tone of voice used, and continuity of speech, that is, the deliberate or non-deliberate use of pauses, hesitations, repetitions, etc. Voice quality tells us about the physical attributes or health of the speaker; voice tone informs us of the speaker’s feelings towards either the topic of conversation or the listener; and continuity of speech is particularly revealing of the speaker’s nervous state of mind, as well as indicating familiarity with the listener and the language spoken.

All paralinguistic messages provide much useful information about the speaker; information which is either consciously or subconsciously received. In most cases people appear to interpret the messages appropriately, except where there is interference because of prejudice.

It is relatively easy to judge a person’s age, sex and feelings from the paralinguistic clues they leave behind in their speech, but people are less able to correctly determine such detailed characteristics as, say, intelligence (Fay and Middleton, 1940).

The volume at which we speak is a paralinguistic feature of our speech.

A speaker’s accent always indicates the country or place he or she comes from.

Personality is a greater determinant of talking speed than other factors in a person’s speech.

The study of paralinguistics includes “reading between the lines” in written communication.

People from the south of England are sometimes prejudiced against the accents of people from the north.