Prosodies in Characterization

In this article, based on Gumperz’s (1982) view of prosodies as contextualization tools, we study tone of voice in characterization. First dialogues of an actor (Javad Ezzati) are chosen from Iranian films and series, playing both positive and negative roles. Then the dialogues are transcribed in North American Phonetic Alphabet and are studied based on Jeffersonian conversational analysis symbols to categorize different prosodic characteristics of the actor’s voice in different roles. It is assumed that prosodies are one of the most important tools available to the actors to reconstruct a particular character and enliven the character in order to pursue the narrative. In all, positive roles show low volume, low pitch, breathy quality and distinct pronunciation and negative roles show high pitch, high volume, balancing speed and pause to keep the turn and to represent higher status.