key (n.)

A term used by some SOCIOLINGUISTS as part of a classification of variations in spoken interaction: it refers to the tone, manner or spirit in which a SPEECH ACT is carried out, e.g. the contrast between mock and serious STYLES of activity. In a more restricted sense, the term is used by some LINGUISTS to subsume the various LEVELS of FORMALITY found in speech. One proposal analyses speech in terms of five such keys: ‘frozen’, ‘formal’, ‘consultative’, ‘casual’ and ‘intimate’.