The concept of intonation refers to the act and result of intoning : giving a certain tone or adjusting to it. The term is usually used to name the melodic features used in an utterance .
Intonation, in this framework, is formed with the characteristics given to the sound in terms of its intensity , its duration and its tone . In this way, the statement acquires certain nuances and reflects emotions, intentions, etc.
It is important to keep in mind that intonation usually has linguistic or communicative objectives . By achieving one or another tone in certain syllables or words , different effects are produced.
With intonation it is possible to establish exclamatory and interrogative sentences . Suppose a man, passing by a friend on the street, says to him: "Are you okay?" . The intonation turns the statement into a question : the individual wants to know if his friend is well, so he waits for a response. If you use another intonation, you can express your surprise or joy at confirming that the subject in question is indeed fine: "You're fine!" .
Irony can also be marked with intonation. Take the phrase “You are very intelligent.” Depending on the intonation used, it may be praise or indicate the exact opposite of what was said. If the speaker lengthens the adjective "very" , he may be demonstrating the ironic component of his statement: "You are soooo smart."
The importance of intonation in languages like ours is often overlooked in the field of education . In fact, it is common for foreigners to learn this aspect of the language with much more precision and effort than native speakers, who acquire this skill "naturally" and spontaneously.
One of the features of intonation that makes it so difficult to master in a foreign language is its unpredictable nature: even among all the countries that share Spanish, for example, the same phrase can be intoned in many different ways, and intuition does not It is enough to get it right but we must learn each one separately.
Let's return to the questions for a moment. Since not all of them pursue the same objective, we should not sing them in the same way either. For example, if we really want to receive a response , as in the previous example, the intonation will be different from those that are simply issued out of politeness ( "How are you?" ) or rhetorical ones ( "How many times must I repeat to you that you are not welcome?") here?" ).
As you can see, it is enough to study the different types of questions to appreciate a fraction of the great complexity that intonation presents. Even when asking about the state of the interlocutor, different variations can be made to the intonation to express things such as the assumption that he or she is not feeling well or the anxiety that knowing his or her response will cause us.
Let's think about two different situations. Firstly, a person visits another person in a hospital, where they have been for months due to a terminal illness; surely, when asking him "How are you?" , do so with an intonation that denotes great concern, with a mixture of sadness, among other similar feelings and sensations. On the other hand, a meeting between two friends who have a lot of good news to tell each other that has already been anticipated in a previous conversation will intone this same question with great anxiety, and may add "Tell me, tell me!" .
In the field of music , finally, intonation is linked to the precision of sound : that is, to the correct production or perception of pitch. Intonation should not be confused with tuning , which consists of adjusting the pitch of a sound based on a reference note.