What is intonation ?

What is intonation ?

Intonation is a complex system of

meaning communicated through the rise
and fall of a speaker's voice. English
speakers use it to communicate many
different types of meaning:
 Why do we use intonation
?
grammatical
meaning e.g. different types of questions
and statements

statusof information e.g. main or subordinate, finished

or unfinished

attitudee.g. whether we're certain or not, have doubts

or reservations
 Why do we use intonation
?

feelings
e.g. whether we're confident, happy,
enthusiastic, sad or bored etc.

relational
e.g. how 'open', friendly or 'closed' we are
towards a listener.
 English has two basic intonation
patterns :

- Rising intonation - Falling

intonation
 Rising intonation

Rising intonation is when we raise the pitch of our

voice at the end of a sentence. We use this kind of
intonation in questions that are answered with yes or
no (these are called yes/no questions). Check out some
examples:

Are you hungry ?

Does he eat meat ?
Do you like pizza ?
 Falling intonation

Falling intonation is when we lower our voice at the end

of a sentence. This usually happens in statements and in
questions that contain words likewhere, when, what, why,
how,andwho(these are called information questions).
Here are some examples:

What is your favourite pizza?

How are you hungry ?
Why doesnt he eat meat?