| This study examines empirical and theoretical literature regarding prosody, paralanguage, and vocalics to compile conceptual definitions and assess whether the terms have equivalent research applications across multiple disciplines. Definitions, descriptions and classification schemes are provided.; Prosody has traditionally been treated as a linguistic attribute, comprising the features of pitch, volume, and tempo, which form the melodic pattern of speech. Linguists have primarily examined its syntactic functions, though prosody is also implicated in emotional communication.; Paralanguage represents a wide range of nonverbal, vocal behaviors that endow speech communication with attitudinal and affective import and provide information about the speaker.; Vocalics symbolizes the same vocal features as paralanguage and is often listed as a code of nonverbal communication.; It is concluded that there is extensive overlap among the three terms and that they represent the same primary subject matter; however, distinctions are suggested relating to the functions served by each feature. |
