Neurocognitive models (e.g., Schirmer & Kotz, 2006) have helped to characterize how listeners incrementally derive meaning from vocal expressions of emotion in spoken language, what neural mechanisms are involved at different processing stages, and their relative time course. But how can these insights be applied to communicative situations in which prosody serves a predominantly interpersonal function? This comment examines recent data highlighting the dynamic interplay of prosody and language, when vocal attributes serve the sociopragmatic goals of the speaker or reveal interpersonal information that listeners use to construct a mental representation of what is being communicated. Our comment serves as a beacon to researchers interested in how the neurocognitive system “makes sense” of socioemotive aspects of prosody.

神经认知模型（例如，Schirmer＆Kotz，2006）有助于表征听众如何从口语中的情感语音表达中逐步获取含义，不同处理阶段涉及的神经机制及其相对时程。但是，如何将这些见识应用于韵律主要用于人际交往的交际场合呢？此评论检查了最近的数据，这些数据突出了韵律和语言的动态相互作用，这是因为声音属性服务于说话者的社会实用目标或揭示了听众用来构建所传达内容的心理表征的人际关系信息。对于那些对神经认知系统如何“理解”韵律的社会情感方面感兴趣的研究人员，我们的评论可作为信标。