Intonation in Partner Accomodation for Aphasia: A Descriptive Single Case Study

• Published in: Journal of communication disorders Vol. 35; no. 1; pp. 11 - 30
• Main Authors: Ferguson, Alison, Peterson, Peter
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.01.2002
• ISSN: 0021-9924

Previous research has suggested that speaking partners adjust their intonation when conversing with people who are ill or elderly. In the descriptive case study presented in this paper we ask, what adjustments in intonation might be made by the communication partner of an aphasic speaker? A sociolinguistic, semantic analysis of intonation was used to describe the intonation pattern used by the neighbor of an aphasic speaker, during a 15-min natural interaction with the aphasic speaker, his wife, & the first author. The neighbor was found to make more use of two dimensions of intonation that reflected differences in her relationship to the information conveyed, when addressing the aphasic speaker in contrast to when addressing his wife. Firstly, she made proportionally more use of pitch movements associated with referring to shared information, & secondly, she made more use of marked tones (rising-falling, & rising tones). We discuss whether the observed differences may represent an accommodation to speaking to a person with aphasia. 4 Tables, 1 Appendix, 40 References. Adapted from the source document