Intonational settings as markers of discourse units in telephone conversations

A study of business telephone calls provides quantitative evidence suggesti ng "intonational settings": Certain attributes of intonation are sustained throughout discourse units in the calls (openings, business transactions, p reclosures, and final closures), and differentiate one unit from another, a s if phonologically significant aspects of intonation are realized within a space controlled by discourse-related parameters. Two types of parameter e merge, one controlling the midpoint of the F0 contour in frequency space, t he other controlling the way it fluctuates.