Chapter 15

Intonation
 The difference between segmental and suprasegmental
phonology

• Segmental phonology deals with the segments( phonemes).

• Suprasegmental phonology deals with stress and intonation.
 What is Intonation

• Intonation is the rise and fall of the pitch of the voice.

• When people talk, the pitch of their voice is constantly changing.
• The concentration is not on all aspects of a speaker’s pitch but only on
those that carry some linguistic information.
 Form and Function of Intonation
Important terms to know:
Utterance: is a continuous piece of speech beginning and ending with a
clear pause.
Tone: Is the overall behavior of the pitch.
There are two main forms of intonation: level and moving.
Moving intonation would be of four types: fall, rise, fall- rise, and rise-
fall.
The function of intonation is the meaning the tone conveys.
 Tone Languages
• Tone language is that language in which the change of tone will
change the meaning of the word eg; Mandarin Chinese.

• Note: Each speaker has his or her own normal pitch range : a top level
which is the highest pitch normally used by the speaker, and a bottom
level that the speaker’s pitch normally does not go below. In ordinary
speech, the intonation tends to take place within the lower part of
the speaker’s pitch range, but in situations where strong feelings are
to be expressed it is usual to make use of the extra pitch height.
 Some Functions of English Tones
1. Fall tone ( yes\ , no\)
This tone gives an impression of finality, for example, if somebody asks a question, the
answer would be yes or no with falling tone.
2. Rise tone ( yes / no/ ) This tone
conveys the impression that something more is to follow.
3. Fall- rise tone( yes \/ no \/ )
This tone is used a lot in English, it shows ‘ limited agreement’ or ‘response with
reservations.
4. Rise- fall tone ( yes/\ no /\ )
This tone is used to convey strong feelings of approval, disapproval or surprise.
5.Level tone ( yes- no-) conveys a feeling of saying something routine, uninteresting or
boring.