TONE

Going up and going down

TONES

 Falling: FALL 

 Non-falling: RISE 
FALL-RISE 
FALL:

 Default tone for statements, exclamations,

wh- questions and commands

 Used for the main part of an utterance

 Used for new information

• The pitch of the voice starts high and then moves
downwards.
• The starting point may be anywhere from mid to
high.
• The endpoint is low.
• The FALL may take place on a single syllable
(when the nuclear syllable is the only syllable in
the IP or when the nuclear syllable is the last
syllable in the IP); e.g.:
* To listen to these examples, click on track 6.
• If there are syllables after the nucleus, i.e. a tail, these
syllables are low-pitched. The fall happens on or from
the syllable that bears the nucleus; it extends over the
syllables that follow the nucleus; e.g.:

* To listen to these examples, click on track 6.

Non-falling tones:
 Used for the subordinate or dependent part of an
utterance
 Used for given information, not new

RISE:
 Default tone for yes/no questions
• The pitch of the voice starts relatively low and
then moves upwards.
• The starting point may be from low to mid, and
the end point from mid to high.
• If the nucleus is on the last or only syllable of the
IP, the rise takes place on that syllable; e.g.:

* To listen to these examples, click on track 8.

• If there is a tail, the rising pitch is spread over
the nuclear syllable and all the following
syllables; e.g:

To listen to these examples, click on track 8

FALL-RISE:

 Used for reservations and implications

 Used for contrasts
• The pitch of the voice starts high and then moves
downwards and upwards again.
• The starting point may be from mid to high; the
midpoint is low; the endpoint is usually mid.
• If the nucleus is on the last or only syllable in the IP, the
entire fall-rise movement takes place on that syllable;
e.g.:

* To listen to these examples, click on track 10.

• If there is a tail, the fall takes place on the
nucleus and the rise extends up to the last
syllable of the IP; e.g.:

* To listen to these examples, click on track 10.

Source:
Hewings, M. (2007) English Pronunciation in Use
(Advanced). United Kingdom: Cambridge University
Press.
Wells, J.C. (2006) English Intonation. An Introduction.
Cambridge University Press: U.K.