The vocal intensity of turn-initial cue phrases in dialogue

The present study explores the vocal intensity of turn-initial cue phrases in a corpus of dialogues in Swedish. Cue phrases convey relatively little propositional content, but have several important pragmatic functions. The majority of these entities are frequently occurring monosyllabic words such as “eh”, “mm”, “ja”. Prosodic analysis shows that these words are produced with higher intensity than other turn-initial words are. In light of these results, it is suggested that speakers produce these expressions with high intensity in order to claim the floor. It is further shown that the difference in intensity can be measured as a dynamic inter-speaker relation over the course of a dialogue using the end of the interlocutor’s previous turn as a reference point.