Paralinguistics: Meaning Beyond Words
Words provide the data, but paralinguistics provide the manual on how to interpret them. This article explores how volume, pitch, and prosody can completely alter the meaning of a sentence,…
Tag: suprasegmentals
Shadowing: The Secret to Native Pronunciation
Shadowing is a powerful language learning technique that moves beyond "listen and repeat" by forcing you to speak simultaneously with native audio. By bypassing your brain's tendency to filter sounds…
AI’s Tone Shift: The Linguistics
The startlingly human new AI voices are more than a programming feat; they represent a breakthrough in computational prosody. Linguistics teaches us that the "music" of our speechβits rhythm, stress,…
Tone vs. Intonation Explained
Ever wondered why saying 'mΔ' in Mandarin can mean 'mother' while 'mΗ' means 'horse'? Or how the exact same words, "You're leaving", can be a statement or a question in…