ABSTRACT
Evidence for the pronunciation of medieval English allows many conclusions to be drawn about the value of its vowels and consonants, but the intonations of its speakers are much more difficult to determine. Three holograph manuscripts of the English writings of Thomas Hoccleve survive, all of them copied by him in the last years before his death in 1426. Throughout these copies, Hoccleve employs only two main marks of punctuation: the virgula suipensiva or virgule, and the punctus elevatus. The latter sign takes the form of a slanting S-shaped stroke, either with or without apunctus at its foot. Studies of modern spoken English draw a distinction between two types of question. One of these contains an interrogative word, commonly beginning with wh-, and the other invites a yes/no answer. In default of other factors which may on occasion supervene, customary modern usage assigns differing intonations to these types.
