Intonation (linguistics) - Uses of Intonation

Uses of Intonation

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). 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 ; the speaker was ill. versus The lecture was can↘celed. 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.)