BIO

Caitlin Volante is currently completing her Honors Thesis in Dr. Michael Kaschak's Learning, Memory, and Language Lab. She is interested in psycholinguistics and speech pathology, and is planning on applying to be a doctoral student in Cognitive Psychology programs across the country. She is a winner of the Mark A. Berkley Research Fellowship, and is a member of Women in Math, Science, and Engineering (WIMSE) at FSU.

High Rising Terminals as a Function of Gender, Race, and Social Status

Abstract

High rising terminals (HRTs) occur when speakers raise the pitch of their voice at the end of sentences that would typically use a falling intonation contour. HRTs serve many purposes in conversations, but the use of this prosodic feature is often stigmatized, with speakers being commonly perceived as uncertain or unintelligent. This project examines how the factors of race, gender, and social status influence a listener's impression of speakers who use HRTs.

Keywords: High Rising Terminals, HRT, Gender, Race, Speech