paralinguistic
Tone, not content
Paralinguistic describes the vocal features of speech that fall outside the words themselves—tone, pitch, volume, pace, sighs, laughter, hesitation sounds.
These cues convey meaning alongside language: sarcasm lives in tone, urgency in speed, doubt in a trailing voice.
Her paralinguistic cues suggested she didn't believe a word he said.
Study of verse rhythm
- intonationPitch variation in speech
- pitchFrequency of sound
- toneQuality of sound
- cadenceRhythmic pulse or pattern
inflection · stress · rhythm · timbre · modulation · accentuation · volume · tempo
Visible emotional displays
- microexpressionsBrief involuntary facial signals
- eye contactDirect visual connection
- gazeFixed, intent look
- smilePleased facial expression
frown · eyebrow raise · nose wrinkle · smirk · grimace · pupil dilation · pursed lips
Body position, alignment
- kinesicsStudy of gesture meaning
- hapticsScience of touch feedback
- stanceStanding posture or viewpoint
- leaningTendency toward something
crossing arms · touch · mirroring · body tension · head tilt · shoulder shrug · fidgeting · territoriality
prosody
Study of verse rhythm
- intonationPitch variation in speech
- pitchFrequency of sound
- toneQuality of sound
cadence · inflection · stress · rhythm · timbre · modulation · accentuation · volume · tempo · pauses
facial expressions
Visible emotional displays
- microexpressionsBrief involuntary facial signals
- eye contactDirect visual connection
- gazeFixed, intent look
smile · frown · eyebrow raise · nose wrinkle · smirk · grimace · pupil dilation · pursed lips
posture
Body position, alignment
leaning · crossing arms · touch · mirroring · body tension · head tilt · shoulder shrug · fidgeting · territoriality
um
Spoken hesitation marker
hmm · well · like · you know · so · I mean · basically · actually · right · okay
nod
Brief head tilt
- waveOscillating motion through medium
- shrugShoulder gesture of uncertainty
- pointingDirecting attention somewhere
thumbs-up · handshake · bow · beckoning · eye-roll · fist-bump · salute · wink · clapping · finger-wagging
paralinguisticlinguistic
Concerning language study
verbal · lexical · semantic · textual · propositional
paralinguisticexplicit
Clearly and directly expressed
coded · symbolic · conventional · arbitrary
paralinguisticdenotative
Pertaining to explicit meaning
literal · explicit · referential · direct
language, linguist, bilingual, linguistic, linguistics, multilingual, linguistically, paralanguage