Intonation in partner accommodation for aphasia:: A descriptive single case study

Abstract

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, and 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, and secondly, she made more use of marked tones (rising–falling, and rising tones). We discuss whether the observed differences may represent an accommodation to speaking to a person with aphasia. Learning Outcomes: The reader will be able: (1) to recognize the role of intonation in discourse as a resource for the exchange of interpersonal meaning; and (2) to identify when speakers are using intonation as part of their speech accommodation for aphasia.