Intonation

INTONATION

In linguistics, intonation is variation of pitch while speaking which is not used to distinguish words. It contrasts with tone, in which pitch variationdoes distinguish words. Intonation, rhythm, and stress are the three main elements of linguistic prosody. Intonation patterns in some languages, such as Swedish and Swiss German, can lead to conspicuous fluctuations in pitch, giving speech a sing-song quality. Fluctuations in pitch either involve a rising pitch or a falling pitch. Intonation is found in every language and even in tonal languages, but the realisation and function are seemingly different. It is used in non-tonal languages to add attitudes to words (attitudinal function) and to differentiate between wh-questions, yes-no questions, declarative statements, commands, requests, etc. Intonation can also be used for discourse analysis where new information is realised by means of intonation. It can also be used for emphatic/contrastive purposes.

All languages use pitch pragmatically as intonation — for instance for emphasis, to convey surprise or irony, or to pose a question. Tonal language ssuch as Chinese and Hausa use pitch for distinguishing words in addition to providing intonation.

Generally speaking, the following intonations are distinguished:

• Rising Intonation means the pitch of the voice increases over time [↗];
• Falling Intonation means that the pitch decreases with time [↘];
• Dipping Intonation falls and then rises [↘↗];
• Peaking Intonation rises and then falls [↗↘].

 The use of pitch or tone in a sentence to convey meaning or emotion. Although the term when strictly used applies only to the pitch of speech, it is sometimes used loosely to indicate also the emphasis and pacing used in the spoken language.

Intonation

Intonation contours in English

Not all rises and falls in pitch that occur in the course of an English phrase can be attributed to stress. The same set of segments and word stresses can occur with a number of pitch patterns.

Consider the difference between:

• You're going. (statement)
• You're going? (question)

The rise and fall of pitch throughout is called its intonation contour.

English has a number of intonation patterns which add conventionalized meanings to the utterance: question, statement, surprise, disbelief, sarcasm, teasing.

An important feature of English intonation is the use of an intonational accent (and extra stress) to mark the focus of a sentence. Normally this focus accent goes on the last major word of the sentence, but it can come earlier in order to emphasize one of the earlier words or to contrast it with something else.

Questions

In questions,The normal intonation contours for English is:

• final rising pitch for a Yes/No question
  • Are you coming today?
• final falling pitch for a Wh-question
  • When are you coming? Where are you going?

Using a different pattern typically adds something extra to the question. E.g., falling intonation on a Yes/No question can be interpreted as abruptness. Rising intonation on a Wh-question can imply surprise or that you didn't hear the answer the first time and are asking to have it repeated.




ACTIVITY


Which answer describes the following feeling?


"Hi honey, I'm Home!"


(A) Worried about being home
(B )Angry to be home
(C) Excited and Happy To be Home
(D) Sad to be home


"There's something i need to tell you"


What does the intonation of this sentence suggest about the speaker's feelings
(A) Nervous and sad
(B) Sad and worried
(C )Sad and afraid
(D) Nervous and afraid