Intonation

THE USE OF PITCH IS CALLED INTONATION.

 The most well known use for English intonation is to communicate basic grammar, such as the use of a falling pitch on the sentence, "You're coming." compared to a rising pitch at the end of the question form, "You're coming?"                                                                                                   

            statement intonation

       

Question intonation             

Beyond that simple example, intonation is a complex world of personal choice and context-driven options. Understanding English intonation patterns will increase not only your spoken English pronunciation competence, but your English listening comprehension as well.

 

The terms "intonation" and "pitch" are often used interchangeably when talking about the "highness" or "lowness" of our voice when we speak. The difference between the terms is not very significant; in short, intonation is the use of pitch, just as mathematics is the use of numbers, or photography is the use of light and color. Intonation is a broader term than pitch. Being able to perceive pitch (the highness of lowness of our voice) leads to the use of correct intonation.

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RULES FOR RISING AND FALLING INTONATION IN SIMILAR QUESTIONS - WHAT ARE THEY?

Consider the following:

Would you mind saying a little bit more about that?

And

What do you mean by that?

When they perform the same function, and I expect an answer to both, why does the first have a falling intonation and the second one which rises?

Formally, they are not the same. The first question is a yes/no question (“Would you mind?” “No, I wouldn’t.”) and the second question is an information question (“What do you mean?” “I mean what I say.”) In standard English, a yes/no question ends with a rising intonation and an informational question with a falling intonation, but there is considerable variation between and dialects.

Personally, when I say “What do you mean by that?”, I would end the word “that” with a rising intonation, to show I am asking for information but, for added emphasis, I might start the word “that” with the opposite intonation. So my voice would go up, and then down.

Similarly, in “Would you mind saying a little more about that?” I would end “that” with a rising intonation, because it is a yes/no question but, to add emphasis, I might start it with the opposite intonation. So my voice would go down, and then up.

The first is not so much a question as an invitation. It doesn't expect the answer 'Yes, I would' or 'No, I wouldn't'. The second is, usually, a genuine inquiry, expecting an exposition of whatever point wasn't clear.