In
linguistics,
intonation is variation of
pitch while speaking which is not used to distinguish words. It contrasts with
tone, in which pitch variation does distinguish words. Intonation,
rhythm, and
stress are the three main elements of linguistic
prosody. Intonation patterns in some languages, such as
Swedish and
Swiss German, can lead to conspicuous fluctuations in pitch, giving speech a sing-song quality.
Fluctuations in pitch either involve a rising pitch or a falling pitch. Intonation is found in every language and even in tonal languages, but the realisation and function are seemingly different. It is used in non-tonal languages to add attitudes to words and to differentiate between
wh-questions,
yes-no questions, declarative statements, commands, requests, etc. Intonation can also be used for discourse analysis where new information is realised by means of intonation. It can also be used for emphatic/contrastive purposes.