Taking turns
In a conversation, intonation can also help show whether a
speaker wants to continue talking or is !nished and ready for
the listener to have a turn. Speakers often use a falling
intonation pattern when they’re !nished talking, sometimes
with an extra-low ending pitch. If the intonation of a
statement is rising or fairly $at, the speaker is probably not
!nished talking. (Of course, if the speaker is asking a yes/no
question, rising intonation is normal and he/she is probably
!nished and waiting for an answer.)
Meaning related to intonation patterns
Some linguists have made generalizations about the basic
meaning of di"erent types of intonation when they come at
the end of a thought group. We might think of these as a sort
of summary of the uses of the intonation patterns that we’ve
already looked at. These are the three main intonation
patterns that they have described (Celce-Murcia et al. 2010):
- A !nal fall:
- A !nal rise:
- A !nal partial fall:
A final fall
When the speaker’s voice falls low at the end of a thought
group, it gives a feeling of !nality, completion, and certainty.
This matches what we’ve already read about grammar and
intonation patterns, where falling intonation is connected to
statements, commands, requests, the last element of a list, or
a tag question when the speaker is sure the listener will
agree. We can easily see that all of these express certainty.
(WH- questions and or questions don’t !t quite so neatly;
we’re asking for information rather than giving it.)A final rise
A !nal rise in intonation expresses uncertainty, surprise, or
lack of information. It’s used in yes/no questions, tag
questions when the speaker really doesn’t know the answer,
clari!cation questions, and requests (usually when the
speaker feels uncertain about whether he/she should make
the request or doesn’t feel con!dent about the listener’s
reaction).A partial fall
When the speaker’s voice goes down slightly at the end of a
thought group, it’s a sign of incompleteness. There may be
another clause coming, or the speaker may just stop in the
middle of a thought group and not !nish the sentence. This
can mean, “I’m not !nished talking, so don’t interrupt me.”
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