Paralanguages

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A system of non-verbal cues, such as intonation, pitch, and volume, that contribute to communication alongside spoken language
2. The elements of speech that convey emotions and attitudes, including tone and rhythm, which enhance verbal messages
3. The various vocal features beyond words themselves, like emphasis and emotional expression, that influence the interpretation of spoken communication

Etymology: Paralanguage is a compound of two parts, and the second is the older one. "Language" came into Middle English as "langage" from Old French, which had formed it from Latin "lingua" (tongue) with the suffix "-aticum", giving a sense of something belonging to or made by the tongue. The prefix "para-" comes from Ancient Greek "pará", meaning "beside" or "alongside," so the compound literally describes what runs alongside spoken language. That is the whole of the construction: an English word for speech with a Greek prefix meaning "beside" attached to it. The prefix works here much as it does in "parallel," where lines run side by side. The paralanguage is the set of cues that travels beside the words themselves, carried by tone, pitch, and volume rather than by vocabulary.