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Phonetics phonologyThere are countless areas of study in english phonology and phonetics, but in this article the focus will be on intonation. Most people are not very aware of the intonation of a sentence, at least not on a conscious level. Nevertheless, it plays a very important role in communication, and we would probably notice if someone broke these rules in their speaking. For example, what if someone said, ?I am going to Kalamazoo this weekend? with a higher pitch at the end of the sentence that often suggests a question? It would not sound right. Thus, we can see that phonetics is very relevant, even if most speakers of english are not aware of many of the rules on a conscious level (2). Most speakers probably focus primarily on the meaning of the words in a sentence in order to understand what the person is saying. However, the intonation of a sentence also conveys meaning by expressing emotions, agreement or disagreement, expectations, and so on and so forth. Intonation refers to the way in which the volume and pitch change throughout a sentence. One common intonation for statements is the rise/fall pattern in which the speaker?s pitch rises at first and then falls to its lowest point at the end of the sentence. This pattern often indicates that the speaker is finished with what he/she wants to say. For example, in this sentence, ?I?ll call him later,? if the speaker uses the rise/fall pattern, then it is likely that they are finished speaking. It is also likely that they do not expect a reply, which is another meaning conveyed by the rise/fall pattern. It is not necessarily true that the speaker does not want the audience to reply. Rather, it is up to the audience whether or not they want to reply (3). The other common type of intonation is the fall/rise pattern in which the pitch falls at the beginning of the sentence and rises to its highest point at the end. This pattern can express several different things but most often means that the speaker expects a reply. The fall/rise pattern also sometimes means that the speaker wishes to continue speaking. For example, if the speaker is telling a story, they might say, ?The other day I went to the bar,? with the fall/rise pattern, thus indicating that they wish to continue. On the other hand, if I say ?The other day I went to the bar? and lower my pitch at the end of the sentence, then the intonation suggests that I am finished speaking (4). Another type of intonation is that which does not have a falling or rising pattern, because it is flat. This is usually the intonation for short sentences. Like the rise/fall pattern, this intonation indicates that the speaker is finished speaking but can also mean that the speaker has very little to say at all in the entire conversation and perhaps also that they are not in the mood to talk (5). Because intonation is a complex subject, there are many aspects of it that have not been mentioned in this article. However, hopefully the reader can see that it plays a significant role in communication. People in dialogue usually focus on the meaning of the words being said, but the tone in which they are said is also very important. Works Cited "Unit 13." International TEFL and TESOL Training. N.p.: n.p., n.d. 2-5. Print.
