Publisher's Synopsis
The study examines the intonation resources used in German and Italian conversation to constitute and/or contextualize speech acts. It transpires that speakers modify the intonation contours of referential utterances to accord with the logic of their intended (speech) actions. The regulated procedures used to this end are described in an intonation model tracing the production of a target contour as a context-sensitive process. The matching of the intonation procedures with the action-logic categories selected for comparison reveals a high degree of identity between German and Italian.
