tone^2 n
also pitch movement
a change in pitchwhich affects the meaning and function of utterances in
discourse.
In English, linguists have distinguished four or five different tones:
Tone 1 fall in pitch
Tone 2 rise in pitch
Tone 3 a slight rise in pitch
Tone 4 fall in pitch followed by a rise
Tone 5 rise in pitch followed by a fall
In a unit of intonation (see tone unit) the syllable on which pitch move-
ment begins is often called the tonic or the tonic syllable. The tonic syllable
is often the last prominent syllable in the unit. For example, in:
They flew to Frankfurt.
the pitch of the speaker’s voice begins to fall on the syllable Frank.
see also key^2 , referring tone
tone group n
another term for tone unit
tone language n
see tone^1
tone unit n
also tone group
the basic unit of intonationin a language. A tone unit is usually divided
into several parts. The most important part contains the syllable on which
tone