Intonation

Intonation is the variation of pitch across phrases and sentences in spoken language. As a core aspect of prosody, it shapes the musical contour of utterances and works with segmental sounds to convey meaning beyond the words themselves. The pitch pattern of an utterance typically includes pitch accents on stressed syllables and boundary tones at phrase or sentence edges.

Intonation serves several functions: signaling sentence type (for example, declarative versus interrogative), indicating focus and new information, expressing stance or emotion, and guiding listeners through information structure such as topic–comment. Cross-linguistically, languages differ in how much meaning is carried by intonation alone; some rely on lexical tone on syllables, others use intonational patterns to distinguish sentence types.

Phonologically, intonation interacts with syntax and segmentation. Final rises or falls can mark questions or statements; the placement of accents and the height of pitch ranges help listeners parse structure and emphasis. Dialect, speaking style, and register modulate intonation patterns.

In singing, intonation refers to pitch accuracy relative to a reference pitch or key. Good musical intonation aligns notes with standard tunings; poor intonation produces out-of-tune singing. Singers train through ear development and reference pitches.

Researchers analyze intonation using acoustic measures such as F0 trajectories, pitch accents, and boundary tones to compare languages and styles. The study of intonation informs fields from language teaching to speech technology.