More on Intonation and Stress
Chapter 8
Polite tones:
• Politeness is expressed using higher pitch
notes.
• Polite words can be more polite if spoken with
higher pitch tones.
Mildly Rising tones:
• It has a pleasant tone and can show an
openness to continue communication.
Sharply Rising inflection:
Questions with a sharply rising inflection has a
tone of surprise or disbelief.
Swinging Pitch inflection:
It shows disagreement, surprise, or sarcasm.
Pitch rises, falls sharply, and then rises again.
Sharply falling inflection:
It has a tone of impatience, irritation, or urgency.
Declarative form with rising inflection:
It expresses surprise, instead of a real question.
Wh-questions with rising inflection:
Wh-questions are normally spoken with a falling
inflection. If they are spoken with a rising
inflection, the speaker either doesn’t remember
the information or did not hear it clearly.
Degrees of stress:
Different degrees of stress are used for
emphasis.
Page: 8.8
Shifting primary stress in a sentence gives
emphasis to words that express the main
point, and it affects the overall meaning of the
sentence.
Page: 8.10
Stating options:
When providing choices, a slight pause between
items and a change in inflection makes the
message clearer.
Two options:
When to options are stated, the first is spoken
with a rising inflection and the second with a
falling inflection.
More than two options:
Each item, except the last one, is spoken with a
slightly rising inflection.
Thank you