Checklist of tone meanings

FALL	definitive (includes exclamatory rise-fall)	statement
		exclamation
		wh question
		answer
		command
		interjection
	insistent	yes-no question (includes tag question and elliptical question)
	reinforcing	adverbial
NON-FALL (= fall-rise or rise)	dependent (includes open) limiting	clause or smaller element
		adverbial
FALL-RISE	implicational (includes contrastive, reservation, tentative, polite correction, partial statement, negative, warning)	statement
		command
RISE	encouraging (includes soothing)	statement
		wh question
		command
	non-supportive (includes truculent, perfunctory)	statement
	yes-no (includes pardon questions, uptalk)	yes-no question tag question
		indep. ellip. question decl.
		question
		statement
		pardon question
		interjection

CONCLUSIONS

Though the importance of intonation cannot be overemphasized, it can be illustrated by the simple and commonly heard lament, “It's not what you said, it's how you said it!”. Of course, this is in reference to the intonation pattern of words or phrases being uttered rather than their lexical content.

It is important to understand that intonation patterns have their own meaning. One and the same word or phrase pronounced with different types of intonation will convey different meanings and will be understood differently. For example: No. – No? – No! Change of standard patterns of intonation also has meaning. For example, rising intonation makes a command more polite, more like a request.

English intonation is very different from Ukrainian intonation. Both languages use falling and rising intonation, but they are not the same in English and Ukrainian. It's very important not to bring Ukrainian intonation into English because intonation patterns from Ukrainian may convey a different meaning in English and cause misunderstanding and even produce an unfavorable impression of you.

Recent work in language perception and understanding has shown that hearers pay particular attention to intonation when they are trying to understand a sentence. Correct intonation usage is therefore essential if non-native speakers are to make themselves understood. Equally important, if non-native hearers are to understand native speakers, then a good understanding of the workings of intonation is paramount. Careful and sustained attention to this phonological issue should produce high rewards in terms of understanding and being understood.

So, intonation, the non-grammatical, non-lexical component of communication, is an inseparable component of vocal communication. Speech without intonational features is no more than machine-like output. Intonation is a paralinguistic device in vocal communication. It reveals many facets of the communication process taking into consideration all factors present in the discourse context. Therefore, it is an indispensable part of speech. Tones are important discourse strategies to communicate effectively.

REFERENCES