Intonation And Its Effects On Speech

Written by: Roselyn Mathew / Voice / April 12, 2023 / 8 minutes read

Generally, when we speak, our pitch rises and falls. The term used for this rising and falling of pitch is called intonation. Intonation is a very useful feature in speech, and we will further read about the types, uses and the implications of intonation in speaking. Intonation comes under a category of speech which is called paralinguistics. Paralinguistics is as important as the linguistic or verbal aspects of speech. Earlier, the speech of AI and computers used to lack intonation. With technological advancement nowadays, the intonation in AI is becoming similar to human speech.

Why do we need intonation?

Intonation is required for a lot of reasons. The uses of intonation are:

• Intonation helps in understanding the meaning of a sentence, especially in tonal languages. In tonal languages like Mandarin and Vietnamese, the same word can have different meanings based on the tone of the word. Due to this, the meaning of a sentence can completely change if the intonation used for it is different. When we learn tonal languages, it is important to also learn the tone used along with the sounds used in that language. 

• Intonation is also useful in understanding the meaning of a sentence in non-tonal languages like English and French. The falling or rising in sentences determines whether the sentence is a question or a statement. For example, a sentence “They are coming back” with a rising pattern would sound as if the speaker is asking a question. But if the same sentence is spoken in a falling pattern, it would sound as if the speaker is giving information and stating that they are coming back.

• Emotions and feelings are expressed through intonation. It is easy to understand whether the speaker is happy or upset based on their tone. Which is why we feel that a person is lying or is not sincere if their tone of voice does not match with the emotion of the words that they speak. For example, if someone says, “I’m happy for you” in a neutral tone, the listener will feel that the speaker is not genuinely happy, even though the speaker is smiling or laughing.  

• Intonation can also denote if one word is more important than the other. This is usually done in the word stress. When we stress a word, we also change the tone of the word along with other changes to indicate that we are stressing on that word. Word stress is used to show that we are considering one word or one aspect in a sentence to be more important than the other words. This shows what we prioritize in our sentences. For example, in a sentence” I want you to finish this work today”, the speaker wants to indicate that the work should be finished today. If the word stress is changed to “I want you to finish this work today” it shows that the speaker wishes to inform you that a particular work should be prioritized over other works and must be completed within that day. 

• Intonation in some cases shows the identity of the speaker. It is observed that generally rising intonation at the end of sentences or uptalks are mostly seen in younger females. For this reason, this pattern of speech is also known as Valley Girl speech.  

• Intonation is important to make the speech more vibrant and interesting. A monotonous speech sounds boring to the listener and they might easily lose focus. A speech with intonation is helpful to make the listener be in focus and not get distracted easily.

Intonation comes under a category of speech which is called paralinguistics. Paralinguistics is as important as the linguistic or verbal aspects of speech.

Types of intonation

There are mainly 5 types of intonation. These are discussed below:

• Flat intonation

Flat intonation is actually a speech with no intonation or is monotonous. There won’t be any rising or falling in a speech with flat intonation.

• Rising intonation

Here, the pitch of the speech increases till the end of the sentence. This pattern is generally used while asking a question. It is also used in uptalks or Valley girl speech.

• Falling intonation

In falling intonation, the pitch starts with a higher pitch and keeps falling till the end of the sentence. It is generally used in declarative sentences or statements.

• Dipping intonation

It is also known as fall- rise intonation. In this, the sentence starts at a higher pitch, then falls in between and then again rises towards the end of the sentence. This sentence pattern is generally used in uptalks or when the speaker is unsure of something.  

• Peaking intonation

This pattern is also known as rise- fall intonation. Here, the sentence starts at a lower pitch, then rises in between and then falls towards the end of the sentence. This pattern is seen in declarative sentences and in sentences where there is a comma.

Using intonation in speech

It is important to use intonation in all speaking situations. A monotonous speech is generally perceived to be boring and devoid of emotions.

A rising pattern, uptalk or a dipping pattern for sentences without questions can make the listener feel that the speaker is unsure or lacks confidence. 

In professional speech settings, a falling or peaking intonation pattern is preferred as it shows that the speaker is confident, sure of what they say and is in control of the situation.

It is also useful to use the word stress in speech as it denotes enthusiasm and an interesting personality. Further, the speaker can also bring to the listeners attention regarding the specific point that they want to convey.

Conclusion

Intonation is the rising and falling of pitch. Intonation is a part of paralinguistics and plays a role that is as important as words. Tonal languages use tones to denote the meaning of other speech sounds. Non-tonal languages also use tones to convey differences in the type of sentence and for denoting emotions associated with the sentences spoken. Intonation is also a part of word stress which is quite helpful to convey specific meaning and to make the speech more interesting to listen to.

To speak with one of the speech-language pathologists at Well Said: Toronto Speech Therapy, schedule an initial consultation by clicking the link below or calling (647) 795-5277.