The Expression of Emotion Considered in the Framework of an Intonation Model

Studying intonational variation conveying the expression of emotion in speech is presented here as being particularly attractive when the pitch variation is represented in the theoretical framework of a model of intonation. Using such a framework while considering the meaning associated with these variations in terms of identification of emotion in speech facilitates a generalization of study results. Moreover, such an approach provides the opportunity to test the adequacy of the model for processing such extreme variations as the ones occurring in emotional speech. The model can be evaluated and could eventually be extended or fine-tuned. Ultimately, interpreting data in the framework of such a model provides a methodological background for investigating intonation phenomena conveying emotion in speech against the background of intonation phenomena relevant to speech communication. The approach proposed is discussed and illustrated by reporting how it has been applied, in particular to own work, using a specific model of intonation. Using this approach while investigating how prosody conveys meaning would stimulate us to consider the power of existing intonation models for modeling expressiveness. Hence, such an approach helps shedding light on functionality of intonation in terms of conveying meaningful information in the oral communication stream. From this point of view, studies on emotional speech contribute to developing and refining theories concerned with prosody.