Uses of intonation

Transcription

In the International Phonetic Alphabet, global rising and falling intonation are marked with a diagonal arrow rising left-to-right [↗] and falling left-to-right [↘], respectively. These may be written as part of a syllable, or separated with a space when they have a broader scope:

He found it on the street?

[ hiː ˈfaʊnd ɪt | ɒn ðə ↗ˈˈstɹiːt ‖ ]

Here the rising pitch on street indicates that the question hinges on that word, on where he found it, not whether he found it.

Yes, he found it on the street.

[↘ˈjɛs ‖ hi ˈfaʊnd ɪt | ɒn ðə ↘ˈstɹiːt ‖ ]

How did you ever escape?

[↗ˈˈhaʊ dɪdjuː | ˈɛvɚ | ə↘ˈˈskeɪp ‖ ]

Here, as is common with wh- questions, there is a rising intonation on the question word, and a falling intonation at the end of the question.

More detailed transcription systems for intonation have also been developed, such as ToBI (Tones and Break Indices), RaP (Rhythm and Pitch), and INTSINT.

The uses of intonation can be divided into six categories:

· informational: for example, in English I saw a ↘ man in the garden answers "Whom did you see?" or "What happened?", while I ↘ saw a man in the garden answers "Did you hear a man in the garden?"

· grammatical: for example, in English a rising pitch turns a statement into a yes-no question, as in He's going ↗ home? This use of intonation to express grammatical mood is its primary grammatical use (though whether this grammatical function actually exists is controversial).^{[4]:pp.140, 151} Some languages, like Chickasaw and Kalaallisut, have the opposite pattern from English: rising for statements and falling with questions.

· illocution: the intentional force is signaled in, for example, English Why ↘ don't you move to California? (a question) versus Why don't you ↗ move to California? (a suggestion).

· attitudinal: high declining pitch signals more excitement than does low declining pitch, as in English Good ↗morn ↘ing versus Good morn↘ing.

· textual: linguistic organization beyond the sentence is signaled by the absence of a statement-ending decline in pitch, as in English The lecture was canceled [high pitch on both syllables of "cancelled", indicating continuation]; the speaker was ill. versus The lecture was can↘celed. [high pitch on first syllable of "canceled", but declining pitch on the second syllable, indicating the end of the first thought] The speaker was ill.

· indexical: group membership can be indicated by the use of intonation patterns adopted specifically by that group, such as street vendors, preachers, and possibly women in some cases (see high rising terminal.)

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