Intonation

Intonation
Intonation is about how we say
things, rather than what we say.
Without intonation, it's impossible
to understand the expressions and
thoughts that go with words.

Listen to somebody speaking
without paying attention to the
words: the 'melody' you hear is the
intonation.
WHAT I I!T"!ATI"!
#. Intonation is a term used to re$er to the
distin%ti&e use o$ di'erent patterns o$
pit%h that %arry meaning$ul in$ormation.
(. The kinds o$ pit%h modulation whi%h
are $ound in whole utteran%es. Intonation
%ontours %an be used to highlight %ertain
elements in an utteran%e, to bundle
words together into in$ormation %hunks,)
to %on&ey speaker*s attitude to what
he+she is saying.,-hilip .arr,page/012

WHAT I I!T"!ATI"!

Intonation %an be des%ribed as the

mo&ements or &ariations in pit%h to
whi%h we atta%h $amiliar labels
des%ribing le&els ,e.g. high + low2
and tones ,e.g. $alling +rising2, et%.
,3analli, (44(2
Articulatory
phonetics(producti
on point of view)
Acoustic phonetics
(transmission point
of view)
Auditory phonetics
(Perception point
of view)
3ate o$ &o%al $olds 5undamental
$re6uen%y
-it%h
The 6ui%ker the &o%al
$olds &ibrate.
The higher 5o ,higher
number o$ %y%les per
se%ond2
The higher the pit%h
the sensation.
INTONATION
INTONATION
Tone ) Intonation languages

We %an di&ide language into languages whi%h are tone

languages and those whi%h are not, 7nglish $alls into
se%ond %ategory, that is, it is not a tone language.

All the languages in the world use %onsonants and

&owels to build morphemes, whi%h in turn 8oin together
to $orm words.

Thus the 7nglish word 9me* is made up o$ a nasal

%onsonant $ollowed by a high &owel.

I$ we %hange the %onsonant to a+b+ we would get a

di'erent word, 9be*, and i$ we %hange the &owel to a
low &owel, we would also get a di'erent words, 9ma*.

We may pronoun%e the word 9ma* with &arious pit%h

patterns, depending on the o%%asion. We may
pronoun%e it with high pit%h i$ we are emphati%, we
may say it with a rising pit%h in a 6uestion et%.

:ut these di'erent pit%h patterns do not alter the

word in the way that %hanging a %onsonant or
%hanging a &owel does.

These di'erent pit%h patterns that do not %hange

but merely add to the basi% meaning o$ words are
%alled intonation.

;et there are some languages in the world that

use pit%h patterns to build morphemes in the
same way %onsonant and &owels are used. The
best known su%h language is .hinese.
Tone languages

In .hinese, the syllable 9ma* when pronoun%ed

with a $alling pit%h patterns means, 9to s%old*.

When pronoun%ed with a rising pattern, the

meaning is 9hemp*, when pronoun%ed with a high
le&el pattern, the meaning is 9mother* as in some
diale%ts o$ 7nglish, and lastly, when pronoun%ed
with a low dipping pattern, the meaning is
9horse*.

When pit%h patterns are used in this lexi%al

%apa%ity i.e. to build word and morphemes mu%h
as %onsonants and &owels do, they are %alled
tones.

And languages that use tones in this way are

%alled tone languages.
Tone languages

7nglish is not tone language be%ause

di'erent tones make no di'eren%e in
meanings.

:ut %hinese is a tone language

<rdu is stressed lang

7nglish is not stress language

=7>7L"-?7!T "5
I!T"!ATI"!

The study of intonation went through many

changes in the twentieth century.

British linguistics aniel !ones " (#$%&)

The most intensive development 'egan during

the #$().

In *nited +tates the theory that evolved was

'ased on ,pitch phonemes- (Pi.e. #$(/).

It was developed in #$/# and then 'y 0alliday

(#$&1).

Intonation
0alliday divides intonation into
2the three T-s34
#.Tonality (the chun.ing of speech into
intonational phrases5 or tone6units)
%. %.Tone (mainly5 'ut not only4 fall5
rise5 and fall6rise
7.Tonicity (nucleus placement).
Intonation
0alliday divides intonation into
2the three T-s34
Tonality (the chun.ing of speech
into intonational phrases5 or tone6
units)5
%.Tonicity (nucleus placement)5 and
7.Tone (mainly5 'ut not only4 fall5
rise5 and fall6rise
TON8 *NIT
a group o$ words $orming a distin%ti&e unit in an
utteran%e, %ontaining a nu%leus and optionally
one or more other syllables be$ore and a$ter the
nu%leus.

How do we identify tone units

Are there any physical constraints on the
extent of tone unit?
How do we identify tone units in connected
speech?
What communicative function(s) do tone
units realise in speech?
.onstraints on Tone <nits.

We break up spoken language into tone

groups be%ause we need to breathe, and
so there is a physical reason.

There is also the need to thinkA that is,

tone groups also ha&e a cognitive
'asis. While we are speaking one tone
group, we are planning the next one, and
so the tone group %arries only one idea
at a time. Thus the pa%e o$ the tone
groups, and the in$ormation they %on&ey,
mat%hes the speaker's thoughts.
IdentiB%ation o$ tone unit
boundaries in %onne%ted
spee%h

-ause

-it%h
C peed
-honeti% %lues

A per%ei&able pitch %hange immediately

$ollowing the Bnal a%%ented syllable
C +peed D syllables towards the end o$ a
tone unit tend to be relati&ely slow
while syllables towards the start o$ a
tone unit tend to be relati&ely 6ui%k.
%ombination o$ pause, pit%h %hange, and
a %hange o$ pa%e.
%ommuni%ati&e $un%tion o$ a
tone unit

Halliday ,#EF02 re%ognised that

ea%h tone unit realised semanti%ally one

in$ormation unit D in other words we

use tone units to pa%kage our messages

into bite siGed %hunks o$ in$ormation
e.g.,

HH i THI!I HH you ha&e made good

-3"gress ++ THI year HH
-ause
ome s%holars e.g. :raGil ,#EE02 argue
that the boundaries o$ a tone unit are
marked by a pause.
?arked and <nmarked Tonality
J a .lause ,<nmarked2
Tone <nit
K a .lause ,?arkedAt phrase and %lause
boundaries: e.g.
In 5ran%e where $arms tend to be
smaller the subsidies are more im portant
Link between
toneLunit and units o$ grammar

Halliday also realised that i$ a tone unit e6uals an in$ormation unit it is likely to
also %orrespond with a %lause. ome statisti%al e&iden%e $or this is $ound in the
.rystal and =a&y ,#E0M2 %orpus approximately where around M4N o$ all tone
units %orresponded to %lauses.
O. HH we*re looking $orward to :"!Bre night HH
Analysis o$ <tteran%es to
<nderstand Tone D <nit
One sylla'le utterance
9ou
This is one tone unit.
!ote: <nderlined syllable %arry tone.
Three +ylla'le *tterance
Is it you:
This is one tone unit.
!ote: the underlined syllable ha&e more
prominen%e.
=i&ision o$ intonational %ontour
0.Palmer (#$%%) was the ;rst one to
divide the intonational contour into
three main segments4

head (all the stressed and the

unstressed sylla'les 'efore the
nucleus)5

nucleus (the most prominent sylla'le

in the utterance) and

tail (the unstressed sylla'les following

the nucleus).

<. =ingdon (#$/>) suggests a division

of the intonational contour into ;ve
parts4 prehead (initial unstressed
sylla'les)5 head (the ;rst stressed
sylla'le)5 body (all the stressed and
the unstressed sylla'les in the scale
preceding the nucleus)5 nucleus (the
most prominently stressed sylla'le)
and tail (the ;nal unstressed sylla'les
following the nucleus). ?or e@ample4
Tone <nit
# :ut he is not really interested in it.
,#P prehead, ( P head, Q P body, O P nu%leus, M P
tail2.
The Brst three segments ,#,(,Q2 %onstitute the
prenu%lear pattern o$ the intonation %ontour.
The B$th segment ,M2 is the postnu%lear part o$
it. The nu%lear part ,O2 is o$ primary importan%e.
It is %ompulsory $or e&ery intonation group, while
the rest o$ the segments are optional.
=i&ision o$ the %ontour

!. .OABonnor and C. ?.Arnold

(#$17) stic. to <. =ingdonAs
system. 0owever5 they suggest a
four6part division of the contour4
prehead5 head5 nucleus and tail5
uniting head and 'ody into one
segment that is head.
(i) Tonic +ylla'le

Toni% syllable is an obligatory %omponent o$ tone

unit. The %entre o$ the unit, around whi%h e&erything
else is %onstru%ted, is the toni% syllable, or nu%leus.
?or e@ample4
Rohn, is it youS

In this example, there are two tone units be%ause

there are, two toni% syllables in it. 5irst is Rohn, one
syllable utteran%e2 se%ond is it youS ,Three syllable
utteran%e2.

It %ontains a high degree o$ prominen%e whi%h is a

property o$ stressed syllable, so, toni% syllable
%ontains.
Tone D +tress4
Tonic stress4 The stress that toni% syllable is
ha&ing is %alled toni% stress.
Lo%ation o$ the toni% syllable

"$ great linguisti% importan%e

The most %ommon position D on the last

lexi%al word o$ the toneLunit

:ut, $or %ontrasti&e purposes any word

%an be%ome the bearer o$ the toni%
syllable

Thus, the pla%ement o$ the toni% syllable

represents the focus o$ the in$ormation
The 0ead4
The head is all that part o$ a tone unit that extends $rom the
Brst stressed syllable up to the toni% syllable.
?or e@ample4
Ti&e me, thoseS
Head T
I$ there is no stressed syllable pro%eeding the toni%
syllable, there %annot be any head.
The Pre60ead4
The unstressed syllable be$ore the head is %alled preL
head.
?or e@ample
In an hour
-reLhead T
-reLhead %an be $ound in two situations.
When there is no head.
As in
?or e@ample4
In an hour
-H T
b2 When the head is a$ter the unstressed syllable.
?or e@ample4
In a little less than an, hour
-H H T
The Pre60ead4
The unstressed syllable be$ore the head is %alled preL
head.
?or e@ample
In an hour
-reLhead T
-reLhead %an be $ound in two situations.
When there is no head.
As in
?or e@ample4
In an hour
-H T
b2 When the head is a$ter the unstressed syllable.
?or e@ample4
In a little less than an, hour
-H H T
The tail
Any syllable that $ollows the toni% syllable or
any syllable between toni% syllable and o$
tone unit is %alled the Tail.
?or e@ample4
Look at it
T Tail
I might buy it
H T Tail
7xer%ises

=i&ide the $ollowing utteran%es into tone

units and de%ide where the toni% or
nu%leus might $all in ea%h tone unit:
#. The Brst student to Bnish %an go early
(. adly, ?auri%e has gone away
Q. The person who was wat%hing me le$t
a ti%ket behind
O. Alan %ouldn't make it so Ien took his
pla%e
Answers
#. ++The Brst student to Bnish++ %an go
early++
(. ++adly++ ?auri%e has gone away++
Q. ++ The person who was wat%hing
me ++le$t a ti%ket behind++
O. ++Alan %ouldn't make it ++so Ien took
his pla%e++
Trammati%al $un%tion o$
Tonality

(( HH my brother who li&es in L"!don HH got

?A3ried HH

(Q HH my :3"ther HH who li&es in L"!don HH got

?A3ried HH

(O HH the man and the woman dressed in

:LA.I HH T""= up HH

(M HH the ?A! HH and the woman dressed in

:LA.I HH T""= up HH

(F HH they sent R"H! HH a =".tor HH to H7L-

himHH

(0 HH they sent 8ohn a =".tor HH to H7L- him HH

Tone D unit and the stru%ture o$
Tone D unit and the stru%ture o$
tone unit:
tone unit:

Tone4 Tone is the o&erall beha&iour o$

pit%h.

Pitch4 -it%h is $re6uen%y o$ &ibration o$

&o%al %ords.

Tone unit4 5or the purpose o$ analyGing

intonation, a unit greater than syllable
one syllable. <sually tone D unit is always
%omposed o$ more than one syllable.
Tone unit boundaries

Neutral division into tone units:

Tone unit boundaries %orrespond to %lause

boundaries.

8mphatic4

A tone unit boundary o%%urs in the middle o$ a

%lause ,usually at a phrase boundary2.

H "n the aturday we went on the London 7ye H

,tone unit J %lause2

H "n the aturday H we went on the London 7ye

H ,marked+emphati% D tone unit boundary
between ad&erbial and sub8e%t2
Tone
Tone is the major pitch movement within the tone unit. The
overall ehavior of pitch is !tone"
Choice of pitch movement

The meanin# component derivin# from tone does not attach

to the word level only ut to the complete tone unit.

The prominent words are the su$classes of the tonic

syllaus.

The communication value of prominence and tone choice

depends on interaction etween listener and spea%er.

When is the meetin#?

&n 'aturday afterNOON

&n SATurday afternoon

.
Tone
Tone functions
(i) (irst possiility of pitch movement and variation in is on !head" of
the tone$unit .
(ii) 'econd possiility the movement and variation of pitch for tonic
syllale) in the form of rise and fall.
In a little less than an,
hour
-H H T
*itch variations in Head
!all that part of a tone$unit that extends from the first syllale
up to tonic syllaus."
*itch possiilities in the head+
,.Hi#h Head
-..ow head
High Heads
The 9bus was late is 9that the end
The stressed syllale which e#ins the head is
hi#h in pitch )usually it is hi#her than the
e#innin# pitch of the tone on the tonic syllale.
Low Heads
In the low head the stressed syllable whi%h begins
the head is low in pit%h, it is lower than the
beginning pit%h o$ the tone on the toni% syllable
The ,bus was late is ,that the end
Low Head
/nstressed syllales continue the pitch of the stressed
syllale that precedes them with hi#h and low heads.
We *as%ed if it had come. We Uas%ed if it had come.
*itch movement in tonic syllale
Tones are divided into two classes+ static tone 0 %inetic tone
'tatic tone $ a syllale is pronounced on a level )no pitch
variation
1inetic tone$chan#e in pitch on physiolo#ical level y tension
of vocal cords
Halliday lists five intonation choices for the fallin# and risin# tone movements.
Tone symol tonic movement terminal pitch
t tendency
,. E (allin# low
-. F 2isin# hi#h
3. G fallin#$risin# hi#h
4. H risin#$fallin# low
5. - .evel low
Transcription of pitch movement

=aniel Rones uses a graphi%

trans%ription with a sta&e o$ three
horiGontal lines.

<pper and lower limits o$ speaker*s

>oi%e range.

Top, middle and bottom

tressed ) unstressed syllable ha&e

small and large dots respe%ti&ely.
,.The (allin# tone$(The #lide$down)

*olarity (truth value or validity)is %nown and

stated) there is certainty with Yes or No

A fall in the voice from a fairly hi#h pitch to a very

low one.

&n a sin#le syllale the voice falls within the

syllale.
The 5alling Tone

&n more than one syllale the voice either falls

within the stressed syllale or it moves down to the
next syllale.

/nstressed syllales at the end are all very low.

The 5alling toneL,The glideL
down2
*re$ head 6 tonic syllale
Any unstressed syllale efore the tonic syllale have
low pitch.
The <ising6tone (The glide6up )
The <ising6tone (The glide6up )

*olarity (truth$value) is un%nown and information

is re7uired.

The tone conveys an impression that somethin#

more is to follow.

(re7uently accompany polite and friendly feelin#s

3ising Tone the TlideL<p
The rise in the glideLup either take pla%e on one syllable,
be$ore the rise any stress word is $elt to be important but
there is no %hange o$ pit%h
The 3iseL5all Tone
(compound tone)
(compound tone)

With the rise$fall tone we find a similar situation+ if

the tonic syllale is followed y a sin#le syllale in
the tail) the !rise" part of the tone ta%es place on the
first (tonic) syllale and the !fall" part is on the
second.
Gno Gno one Gno sir
The 2ise$(all Tone
(compound tone)
(compound tone)
When there are two or more syllales in the tail) the
syllale immediately followin# the tonic syllale is
always hi#her and any followin# syllales are low.
GAll o$ them went
ThatGs a ni%e way to speak
5all D3ise tones
,%ompound
,%ompound
tone2
tone2

The pitch movement are distorted y the structure of syllales

they occur on. 8f there is a tail of two or more syllale the
normal pitch movement fall on the tonic syllale and to remain
low until the last stress syllale
?ost o$ it was $or them
I .?ight ha&e .thought o$ .buying it
The (all$2ise Tone
,%ompound tone2
,%ompound tone2

The fall is on the first stress syllale) the fall and

rise are separated. The rise is on the last stressed
syllale .

9lide down and 9lide up tone.

*itch movement is for the pitch to fall on the tonic

syllale and remain low until the last syllale in
the tail.