To study relations between speech and emotion, it is necessary to have methods of describing emotion. Finding appropriate methods is not straightforward, and there are difficulties associated with the most familiar. The word emotion itself is problematic: a narrow sense is often seen as “correct”, but it excludes what may be key areas in relation to speech–including states where emotion is present but not full-blown, and related states (e.g., arousal, attitude). Everyday emotion words form a rich descriptive system, but it is intractable because it involves so many categories, and the relationships among them are undefined. Several alternative types of description are available. Emotion-related biological changes are well documented, although reductionist conceptions of them are problematic. Psychology offers descriptive systems based on dimensions such as evaluation (positive or negative) and level of activation, or on logical elements that can be used to define an appraisal of t…