ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a concise, simple, yet adequate method for transcribing intonation, a suitable notation. It describes the pitch patterns to typical sentence functions such as statement and question. The chapter explores the role of intonation in grammatical structure, and looks at examples in which intonation resolves grammatical ambiguity. The tones are based on the pitch movements centred around the nucleus and any words that follow it in the post-nucleus. The norm is usually taken to be the informal conversational variety, though in reality this should perhaps be regarded as only one style among many. A system of intonation aims in the first place to select, and represent, whatever elements or components contribute to a distinction in meaning, and in the second place to relate these to actual patterns of pronunciation. Out of the possible positions of the nucleus in a tone group, there is one position which is normal, while the other positions give a special or marked effect.
