The young pastor's voice was tremulously sweet, rich, deep, and broken. The feeling that it so evidently manifested, rather than the direct purport of the words, caused it to vibrate in all hearts, and brought the listeners into one accord of sympathy . Voice quality . The manner in which a verbal statement is presented, e.g., its rhythm, breathiness, hoarseness, or loudness. Those qualities of speaking and vocalizing not usually included in the study of languages and linguistics.
Tone of voice reflects psychological arousal, emotion , and mood.
It may also carry social information, as in a sarcastic, superior, or submissive manner of speaking. Persons with damage to the right frontal lobe speak in flat or monotone voices devoid of normal inflection. Around the world, e.g., adults use higher pitched voices to speak to infants and young children. With each other, men and women use higher pitched voices in greetings and in courtship , to show harmlessness and to invite physical closeness. In almost every language, speakers use a rising intonation to ask a question.