Intonation: Meaning Changes via Pitch Movement

Understanding Intonation

Intonation refers to the rise and fall of pitch in speech. It plays a crucial role in conveying meaning and emotion in spoken language. In English, changing the pitch can alter the meaning of a sentence, especially when it comes to indicating contrasts.

How Pitch Movement Affects Meaning

• Contrastive Stress: Changing the pitch on a particular word can highlight a contrast. For example, in the sentence "I wanted chocolate ice cream," emphasizing "chocolate" with a higher pitch suggests a contrast with another flavor.
• Question vs. Statement: A rising pitch at the end of a sentence often indicates a question, while a falling pitch suggests a statement. For example, "You're coming?" (rising pitch) vs. "You're coming." (falling pitch).
• Emphasis: Pitch can be used to emphasize a particular word, changing the focus of the sentence. For example, "I did call you" emphasizes the action of calling.

Examples of Pitch Movement

Example 1: "I didn't say he stole the money."

• If the pitch rises on "stole," it implies that he did something else with the money, like borrowing it.

Example 2: "She can sing, not dance."

• Rising pitch on "sing" contrasts her ability to sing with her inability to dance.

Worked Example