Prosody is the rhythm, stress and intonation of speech, which encodes information that is not encoded by the syntax or words of an utterance. Prosody is critical for parsing speech, constructing syntactic structure, and building a representation of the conversational discourse model, among other linguistic functions. In 2008, researchers from linguistics, psychology and computer science gathered at the inaugural meeting of the conference on Experimental and Theoretical Approaches to Prosody at Cornell University. The papers in this volume represent the cutting edge of the prosody work presented at that conference. The articles in this special issue tackle a number of key questions: What type of information about syntax, semantics, and context is reflected in prosody and intonation? How much of that information can a listener retrieve from the signal? How does this information facilitate language processing in online conversations? How can this information be used to parse corpora, and how can corpora be used to test theories on prosody?

Based on the Workshop on Prosody and Meaning in Barcelona on September 17-18, 2009, this volume brings together researchers working on issues of the prosodic encoding and expression of sentence-level meaning. The contributions to the book result from a vivid exchange of research ideas and research methodologies on issues related to the relationship between prosody and meaning and from stimulating discussions and collaborative work between researchers coming from different perspectives.

The theory of prosodic hierarchy, proposed and developed by a series of work by Elisabeth O. Selkirk, has been one of the most important areas of research in the past few decades. The current volume puts together papers that address issues surrounding the theory of prosodic hierarchy, from its bottom (mora) to the top (utterance). The topics addressed in this volume include, but are not limited to, prosodically-defined phonological processes, phonetics-phonology interface, syntax-phonology interface, semantic-prosody interface, the nature of phonological grammar, and the origins of phonological patterns. Evidence is drawn from languages as diverse as Arabic, Berber, Chadic, Dutch, English, French, German, Japanese, Korean, and Russian. All contributors are colleagues, or former students/collaborators of Elisabeth O. Selkirk. The volume will be of interest to all linguists working on all areas of linguistics, as well as to advanced undergraduate students and graduate students.

How can we capture the words, gestures and conduct of study participants? How do we transcribe what happens in social interactions in analytically useful ways? How could systematic and detailed transcription practices benefit research? This book demonstrates how best to represent talk and interaction in a manageable and academically credible way that enables analysis. It describes and assesses key methodological and epistemological debates about the status of transcription research while also setting out best practice for handling different types of data and forms of social interaction. Featuring transcribing basics as well as important recent developments, this book guides you through: Time and sequencing Speech delivery and patterns Non-vocal conduct Emotive displays like laughter, tears, or pain Talk in non-English languages Helpful technological resources As the first book-length exposition of the Jeffersonian transcription conventions, this well-crafted balance of theory and practice is a must-have resource for any social scientist looking to produce high quality transcripts.

This book provides a state-of-the-art survey of intonation and prosody from a phonological perspective, for advanced students and researchers in phonology.

When making the transition to adulthood, young people with Autism Spectrum Disorder can find their opportunities limited by their impaired prosody. Through a program of evidence-based lessons and resources, this book helps to develop verbal and nonverbal skills essential to adult life, particularly in the context of looking for a job or social situations. It is a complete curriculum, covering everything from self-calming to fluency and conversational skills, and includes lesson plans, handouts, and homework. The program has been successfully used by the authors in their work with people on the autism spectrum and will be a life-changing resource for professionals as well as for parents and people on the autism spectrum wanting to improve their ability to communicate well.

Breathing is not a common subject in feminist studies. Breathing Matters introduces this phenomenon as a forceful potentiality for feminist intersec-tional theories, politics, and social and environmental justice. By analyzing the material and discursive as well as the natural and cultural enactments of breath in black lung disease, phone sex work, and anxieties and panic attacks, Breathing Matters proposes a nonuniver salizing and politicized understanding of embodiment. In this approach, human bodies are conceptualized as agential actors of intersectional poli-tics. Magdalena Górska argues that struggles for breath and for breathable lives are matters of differential forms of political practices in which vulnera-ble and quotidian corpomaterial and corpo-affective actions are constitutive of politics. Set in the context of feminist poststructuralist and new materialist and postconstructionist debates, Breathing Matters offers a discussion of human embodiment and agency reconfigured in a posthumanist manner. Its interdisciplinary analytical practice demonstrates that breathing is a phenomenon that is important to study from scientific, medical, political, environmental and social perspectives.