paralanguage

[par-uh-lang-gwij]

par·a·lan·guage

[par-uh-lang-gwij]
noun Linguistics.
vocal features that accompany speech and contribute to communication but are not generally considered to be part of the language system, as vocal quality, loudness, and tempo: sometimes also including facial expressions and gestures.
Compare body language.


Origin:
1955–60; para-1 + language
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Paralanguage is always a great word to know.
So is hierarchy. Does it mean:
one of the alternate contextually determined phonological shapes of a morpheme; ox, oxen
the system of levels according to which a language is organized, as phonemic, morphemic, syntactic, or semantic
Collins
World English Dictionary
paralanguage (ˈpærəˌlæŋɡwɪdʒ)
 
n
linguistics nonverbal elements in speech, such as intonation, that may affect the meaning of an utterance

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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