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speak‟. Paralanguage is also known as vocalics. It is associated not with the content of verbal
message but with other attributes of speaking, which include the pitch, tone, volume, tempo,

rhythm, articulation, resonance, nasality and even the accent of the speaker. Paralanguage is
thus the study non-verbal cues of the voice.

George L. Ttrager a noted linguist, categorized vocal cues into three sets – the voice set,

voice qualities and vocalization.

The Voice Set

Voice set is defined as the context in which the speaker speaks. The elements that
influence this context are the situation, gender, mood, age or even person‟s cultural
background.

Voice Quality

Voice quality is marked by factors like volume, pitch, tempo, rhythm, articulation, resonance,
nasality and accent. These factors give each individual a unique „voice print‟. Tone of voice is

indicative of its pitch. The pitch can be high or low, shrill or subtle.

 High pitch voice indicates authority; sometimes it signifies anger, disagreement and
rudeness.

 Low pitched voice reflects humility, a balanced state of mind and satisfaction, but
sometimes it also indicates nervousness, fear, hesitation, inferiority complex and
indecisiveness.

3.6.1.1. VOICE VOLUME

Volume is the power of your voice. It refers to the degree of loudness or softness of your
voice when communicating, which could affect perceptions of intended meaning.

Someone who is typically loud may alienate others; such a person is often viewed as
overbearing or aggressive. In contrast, if you are soft-spoken, others may interpret your

behaviour to be timid. Thus, your volume can overwhelm or underwhelm others' impression of
you and might cause them to turn you down or to lose interest in your words simply because
they cannot comfortably hear you out.

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