On The Analysis of Prosodic Turn-Taking Cues

Abstract

The prosodic structure of speech comprises variation in three dimensions–fundamental frequency, duration and amplitude. All three dimensions exhibit specific effects which are dependent upon utterance position. Prosodic turn-yielding cues would have to be overlaid upon this characteristic utterance-final prosodic pattern. Very closely related to this prosodic configuration are certain voice quality features–example creaky voice–which may function as turn signals. When a conversation breaks down, the problem can often be traced to a failure in the turn-taking procedure that is the smooth interchange of speaking turns between conversational partners. External to the text, there exists a considerable range of cues which speakers may employ–consciously or not–to inform hearers where the current turn will end. Some of these cues are paralinguistic in nature-that is not part of the speech signal at all. The chapter concludes that neither the perceptual effectiveness of prosodic end-of-turn cues nor even their existence has been unequivocally established by Duncan's work.

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