Question

What is the primary function of intonation in English?

• A. To distinguish between different vowel sounds.
• B. To convey grammatical relationships between words.
• C. To express the speaker's attitude or emotions.
• D. To indicate the length of pauses between words.

Answer 1

Answer:

C. To express the speaker's attitude or emotions.

The primary function of intonation in English is to convey meaning beyond just the words by expressing attitude, emotion, and grammatical structure.

Key Functions of Intonation:

1. Expressing Emotion & Attitude – Shows feelings like surprise, certainty, doubt, politeness, etc.

   • "Really?!" (↗ Rising intonation for surprise)

   • "Oh, great..." (↘ Falling intonation for sarcasm)

2. Indicating Sentence Type – Helps distinguish statements, questions, commands, and requests.

   • Falling intonation (↘) for statements & WH-questions → "She left already." / "Where is he?"

   • Rising intonation (↗) for yes/no questions → "Did you see that?"

3. Signaling Focus & Contrast – Highlights key information in a sentence.

   • "I bought a car." (Focus on "bought," meaning you didn't rent it.)

   • "I bought a car." (Focus on "car," meaning you didn’t buy something else.)

4. Structuring Speech & Turn-Taking – Helps speakers and listeners manage conversations.

   • Rising intonation (↗) at the end of an unfinished thought → "Well, I was thinking..."

   • Falling intonation (↘) signals the end of a statement → "That’s all I wanted to say."