There are two main ways to communicate messages linguistically: verbally and non-verbally. In verbal communication, the message is transmitted by means of such devices as stress, intonation and pausing. An example of stress is the word object which has differentmeanings when stresseddifferently, as in obˈject and ˈobject. The first is a verb which means ‘disagree’. The second is a noun which means ‘material thing’. An example of intonation is the expression What a beautiful day! which expresses different feelings when said with different intonations. With a fallingintonation, it is said perfunctorily. With a fall-riseintonation, it is said enthusiastically. With a rise-fall intonation, it is said sarcastically. An example of pausing is the expression Don't eat that honey. When the pause is after that, that refers to an object and honey refers to a person, meaning ‘darling’. When the pause is after honey, honey refers to an object. So, the listener is ordered not to eat the honey. These devices are extensively covered in Roach (2009), Carr (2012), Odden (2014) and Kennedy (2016), among others.

有两种主要的语言交流方式：口头和非口头。在口头交流中，信息是通过重音、语调和停顿等手段传递的。重音的一个例子是当重音不同时具有不同含义的单词object，如object和ˈobject。第一个是动词，意思是“不同意”。第二个是名词，意思是“物质的东西”。语调的一个例子是表达多么美好的一天！用不同的语调表达不同的感受。用降调的语气，敷衍地说。带着秋天的语调，热情地说。用起落的语调，讽刺地说。暂停的一个例子是表达Don't eat that honey。当停顿在那之后，那是指一个物体，而蜂蜜是指一个人，意思是“亲爱的”。当停顿在honey之后，honey指的是一个对象。所以，听者被命令不要吃蜂蜜。这些设备在 Roach (2009)、Carr (2012)、Odden (2014) 和 Kennedy (2016) 等中得到了广泛的介绍。