sotto voce

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2009)

Sotto voce (Italian pronunciation: [ˈsotto ˈvoːtʃe], literally "under voice") means intentionally lowering one's voice for emphasis. The speaker gives the impression of uttering involuntarily a truth which may surprise, shock, or offend. Galileo Galilei's (probably apocryphal) utterance "Eppur si muove" ("Nonetheless, [the Earth] does move"), spoken after recanting his heliocentric theory, is an example of sotto voce utterance.

In music, sotto voce denotes a dramatic lowering of the vocal or instrumental volume — not necessarily pianissimo, but a definitely hushed quality. An example of sotto voce occurs in the Lacrimosa from Mozart's Requiem Mass in D Minor. The singers lower their volume for emphasis.

In literature, drama, and rhetoric, sotto voce is again used to denote emphasis attained by lowering one's voice rather than raising it, similar to the effect provided by an aside. For example, in Chapter 4 of Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë uses the term sotto voce to describe Mrs. Reed's manner of speaking after arguing with Jane:

'I am not your dear; I cannot lie down. Send me to school soon, Mrs. Reed, for I hate to live here.'

'I will indeed send her to school soon,' murmured Mrs. Reed, sotto voce; and gathering up her work, she abruptly quitted the apartment.^[1]

In law, "sotto voce" on a transcript indicates a conversation heard below the hearing of the court reporter.

Use of the "sotto voce" can also accompany the art of sarcasm, that is, "ridicule or mockery is used harshly, often crudely and contemptuously, for destructive purposes."^{[citation needed]} "Sotto voce" can also bespeak of a passive-aggressive nature. Person A makes a statement. Person B says, "Yeah, I agree. – sotto voce -- ‘’(what a game)"

References