Annali di Ca’ Foscari. Serie occidentale

Le tropisme comme trait suprasegmental du discours

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Abstract

This article explores a dimension of speech that pertains to the voice in a more specific way than enunciation or dialogue: it focuses on the intonations the voice may assume and the meaning Nathalie Sarraute attributes to them. Throughout her work, one can identify numerous instances in which the voice – an intonation, an accent, a hesitation in the pronunciation of a word, or a tone, even one paradoxically unmarked – sets off an entire tropismic sequence. By analysing examples drawn from both her narratives and her plays, this study demonstrates how tropisms, though they surface in dialogue through infinitesimal traces, ultimately disrupt the connection between conversational pragmatics and contextual function.


open access | peer reviewed

Submitted: April 18, 2025 | Accepted: June 17, 2025 | Published Sept. 30, 2025 | Language: fr

Keywords Tropism • Suprasegmental features • Perlocution • Intonation • Sarraute

Copyright © 2025 Laura Brignoli. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/AnnOc/2499-1562/2025/14/009