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If you’re not familiar with linguistics, you might be wondering what intonation even is, so let’s start there.

Intonation refers to how high or low the pitch of a person’s voice is. It’s not the same thing as volume, which is how loudly a person is talking. In some languages, like Chinese, intonation can change the meaning of a word completely.

But in English, intonation does not change the meanings of individual words. But it is still important because the intonation of a sentence helps guide you through it and follow the speaker’s intended meaning.

One very common use of intonation in English is to mark a question. Typically, English speakers raise the pitch of their voice at the end of a question. Consider the following examples:

Statement: He left the car in the parking lot.

Question: He left the car in the parking lot?

You can imagine how the speaker’s voice gets higher towards the end of the question. This is how you know it’s a question. The words on the page are exactly the same, but the change in pitch clues you in to the change in the meaning of the sentence as a whole.

You could also phrase this question as, ‘Did he leave the car in the parking lot?’ Here, the words as well as the intonation are different. But, in real life, English speakers don’t always do this. Often, they use the intonation of the sentence as the only clue that this is a question, not a statement.

Here is another example:

Statement: Joe has three brothers.

Question: Joe has three brothers?

Question: Does Joe have three brothers?

Again, the first two sentences have the exact same words in the exact same order, but the intonation lets you know that the second is a question. You could also use the third sentence, but it’s not necessary.

Another important way that English speakers use intonation is to mark emphasis. Here, it gets tricky, because there are two things going on - intonation and volume:

Intonation: how high or low your voice is

Volume: how loudly or softly you’re speaking

Emphasis involves a change in both intonation and volume. Typically, English speakers will mark an important or emphasized word in a sentence not just by making it louder, but also by raising and then quickly lowering pitch. For example, consider the following sentences:

‘I want chocolate ice cream for my birthday.’ This sentence stresses ‘chocolate,’ so the speaker is focusing on the proper flavor: chocolate, not vanilla or strawberry.

‘I want chocolate ice cream for my birthday.’ This sentence stresses ‘ice cream,’ so the speaker is focusing on the type of food: chocolate ice cream, not chocolate cake or chocolate pudding.

‘I want chocolate ice cream for my birthday .’ This sentence stresses ‘birthday,’ so the speaker is focusing on the occasion: a birthday, as opposed to Christmas, Easter, or another type of holiday.

These types of intonation cues can help you focus on the most important words in a sentence and get a better idea of what the sentence is actually about. For example, a sentence where ‘chocolate’ is stressed might indicate that two speakers are having a conversation about what kind of ice cream they want, while a sentence with ‘birthday’ stressed might indicate that the conversation is about what foods are best on what holidays.

Intonation is the way a speaker changes pitch, or raises and lowers her voice. In this lesson, you got some practice with two different kinds of intonation cues in English.

Rising pitch toward the end of a sentence indicates a question. Sometimes, this is your only sign that a particular sentence is a question. Intonation emphasis on a particular word marks the focus of a sentence. This can help you find important words within the sentence and understand the main point.

Unlike other languages, English doesn’t use intonation to mark changes in the meaning of specific words. But intonation can change the meaning or emphasis of a sentence and help you understand what’s more important, so it’s worth paying attention to.