Functions of

Intonation
Accentual Function:

 Also called FOCUSING Intonation, shows what information in an utterance is

new and what is already known.
 We use it to bring some parts of message into focus and leave other parts out of
focus.
 We combine accentuation with choice of tone to present some longer stretches of
message as constituting the foreground of picture while leaving others as the
background.
 Refers to accent and implies that placement of stress is somewhat determined by
intonation.
1.Most common position of placement of tonic syllable is the last
lexical word [noun, adverb , adj] and not the functional words. For
contrastive purposes any word may become bearer of tonic syllable.

a). She was wearing a red dress. (Normal Placement)

b). She was not wearing a red dress/

She was wearing a green dress. (Contrastive Placement)
2. For purpose of emphasis the tonic stress can be placed in other
positions.

a). The movie was very boring.

b). The movie was very boring.

3. Intonation is used to clear out ambiguities.

a). I have plans to leave.

(I am planning to leave.)

b). I have plans to leave.

(I have plans/drawings/diagrams/ to leave.)
Grammatical Functions:

 Intonation helps to identify grammatical structures in speech.

Listener is better able to recognize the grammar and syntax
structures by intonation.
 Things like;
 Placement of boundaries between phrases, clauses, sentences.
 Differences between Questions and Statements.
1. GI is used in those sentences which when written are ambiguous
and which can only be removed by using differences of
intonation. In following example differences caused by
placement of tone-unit boundaries causes two different
interpretations.
a). Those who sold quickly | made a profit.
( A profit was made by those who sold quickly)
b). Those who sold | quickly made a profit.
( Profit was quickly made by those who sold)
2. Another function is the choice of tone on tonic syllable. Rising
tone is used with questions. Simply by changing the tone from
falling to rising possibility of changing a question is created.
a). Price is going up. (Falling)

b). Price is going up. (Rising)

3. Another function is the question tags. Difference in Falling and
Rising intonation can cause difference in meanings.

a). They are coming tomorrow | aren’t they

( Falling tone speaker is certainly asking confirmation)

b). They are coming tomorrow | aren’t they

( Rising tone, Less certainty Request for information)
Discourse Function

 Signals how sequence of clauses and sentences go together in

spoken discourse to contrast and cohere.
 Division of text in sentences and paragraphs.
 Indicates when the speaker is pointing some sort of contrast or
link with material in another tone unit.
 In conversation it can convey to listener what kind of response is
expected from him.
Attention Focusing:

 Tonic stress is placed on appropriate syllable of one particular

word in tone unit. Stress is placed on most important word.
a). She went to Scotland.

b). He went to the drawing-room.

Information Content:

 Stress is placed on syllables in terms of information content. The

more predictable a word occurrence in sentence lower its
information content will be. Stress will be placed on words with
higher information content.
a). I have to take the dog for a walk.
b). I have to take the dog to the vet.
Exception

 In many cases it is still difficult to explain the tonic placement in

terms of importance or information.
a). Your coat is on fire.

b). The wing is breaking up.

Conclusion:

 The mentioned intonation patterns are certainly not obligatory.

Risk with these approaches is that one might end up making
generalizations that are too broad and will have the little power
to predict intonation with accuracy. It is not possible to draw any
definite sketch regarding intonation.
 Reference: Roach, Peter. English Phonetics and Phonology. 4th
Edition. Cambridge University Press, 2009.