Intonation

Definition The rise and fall of the voice in speaking.

Listening to (correct) English speech easily shows that: In the course of a clause or sentence, the pitch of the voice is (nearly always) continually changing; and that At the end of a clause or sentence (that is on the last important syllable, technically called the nucleus) the pitch of the voice falls in some cases and rises in other cases.

The forms of intonation Five types, the first two are most common: A. A fall, or falling nuclear tone, often indicated ( ), which may be from a very high or mid pitch to a low or very low pitch;

B. A rise, or rising nuclear tone, often indicated , which may be from low to mid or from mid to high;

The functions of intonation Sethi & Dhamija (2002): grammatical, attitudinal and accent functions.

Grammatical: three roles. Firstly: sentence types:

Secondly, intonation helps the speaker divide longer sentences:

Thirdly, intonation signals the precise kind of grammatical subordination of a relative clause to its main clause.

In the attitudinal function intonation could be said to be the chief means by which the speaker conveys his attitudes and emotions.

Intonation used to differentiate sentences types Falling tone: Statements which are complete and definite

b) Wh - questions which are matter-of-fact (unemotional and practical) and intended to be neither polite nor impolite.

c) Commands

d) Invitations

e) Exclamations

f) Tag-questions forcing the listener to agree with the speaker

Falling Statements which are complete and definite Wh - questions which are matter-of-fact and intended to be neither polite nor impolite. Commands Invitations Exclamations Tag-questions forcing the listener to agree with the speaker

9.3.2 Rising tone a) Yes/no type questions

b) Statement intended to be a question

c) Non-terminal tone group

d) Terminal utterance said as an afterthought

e) Request

f) Command intended to sound like a request

g) Wh-question showing politeness, friendliness, warmth and personal interest

h) Repetition-question which repeats someone else's question, or wants him to repeat some information.

9.3.3 Falling-rising tone a) Incomplete statement leading to a following statement

b) Statement intended to be a 'correction' of the information received

c) Statement intended to be a warning/reproach or to express concern

d) Imperative meant to be a pleading request

e) Statement which shows a kind of reservation on the part of the speaker

9.3.4 Rising-falling tone a) Statement showing enthusiastic agreement

b) Question showing suspicion, indignation or mockery

c) Imperative expressing petulance or haughtiness

d) Exclamation expressing sarcasm, irony

When a plain statement of fact is said in a sentence of more than one clause: (a) A fall is the normal intonation for the last tone group (and a rise for the first tone group) such as in:

(b) A fall is used in both groups if the speaker thinks of them as two cumulative statements of fact, or if he adds the second as an afterthought such as in:

(c) The two groups are said with a single intonation pattern and hence not marked for tone if the speaker thinks of it as an undivided statement; such as in:

(d) A fall is used for the first group and a rise for the last if the speaker thinks of the first as the real remark, to which he adds the second as a reservation of afterthought such as in:

9.4 Tones in relation to attitudes Wh-questions With falling tone signal matter-of-fact enquiries which are neither polite nor impolite such as in:

(b) Tag-questions

(c) Statements With falling tone could signal matter-of-fact statements such as in: She's 'very 'beautiful.

Continuation next class