Wh-questions usually have the same intonation contour as declarative sen-
tences. For example in the question What kind of phenomenon is language?,
the abrupt pitch rise is usually on the first syllable of the word language.
Closed-choice questions, for example, Is language a social, psychological,
or biological phenomenon?, typically exhibit list intonation, with a short
pitch rise on each option presented by the speaker (social,psychological)
except the last (biological), which has the rise-fall associated with finality.
Tag-questions, for example, Language is a social phenomenon, isn’t it?,
typically have declarative intonation on the main clause, followed by rising
intonation on the tag (isn’t it?) if the speaker is requesting confirmation and
falling intonation on the tag if the speaker is requesting agreement.
Intonation patterns differ between languages and may differ as well
between varieties of the same language. For example, the practice of using
yes–no question intonation with declarative sentences in contemporary
English is widely considered to be a feature associated with younger speakers.
see also tone unitintonation patternn
another term for intonation contour
intragroup communicationn
communication among members of a group. In some multi-ethnic countries
or communities, a language may be used for communication within a par-
ticular ethnic group although it is not known or used by the majority of
the population; for example, Spanish in parts of the USA among some
Mexican-Americans.
see also community language, intergroup communication
intralingual errorn
see interlingual error
intransitive verbn
see transitive verb
intra-rater reliabilityn
(in testing) the degree to which an examiner or judge making subjective
ratings of ability (e.g. of L2 speaking proficiency) gives the same evaluation
of that ability when he or she makes an evaluation on two or more different
occasions.
see also inter-rater reliability
intrinsic motivationn
see motivation
intonation pattern