Sociocultural influences and prosodic variations

Based on the hypothesis of the interdependence of the different facets of man's activity, this paper stresses the importance of sociocultural and sociohistorical elements in the interpretation of prosodic meaning and more particularly of intonational contour meaning. The first part of the paper provides a review of some main topics concerning the object of our study: prosodic stereotypes in cultural groups, the role of the larger context in speech analysis, and the relationship between intonational variations and group cultural norms. The second part of the paper focuses on the intonation of African-American Vernacular English. After an examination of the sparse research on the subject, an experiment reveals several intonational characteristics of the group which are reported to communicate sense of community, playfulness, and creativity. The importance of such behaviors in that speech community is supported by historical reports and recent observations. They are described as (1) originating from Africa and from the socio-economic changes the group has faced during its short history, and (2) serving to the expression of affirmation of black identity. This analysis confirms the need of a multifunctional approach in speech analysis which would include the larger context, particularly in prosody where these notions have rarely been considered.