When do we use falling intonation and rising intonation?

Question

When do we use falling intonation and rising intonation?

Answer 1

The way a voice goes up and down when talking gives a good indication, not only of what is being said or asked, but of the origin of the speaker. A Welshman has a sing song voice, going up and down frequently, whereas someone from the East of England has a much more monotone or level way of speaking. (Some say it reflects the mountainous and flat landscape each come from.) The French almost always let their voices rise towards a comma and drop at the end of a sentence. The Chinese, with their tonal language, have inflections or intonations in every word, causing it to mean something different with each pitch of sound. Your question is surprisingly far reaching and it will be interesting to see all the other answers you have.

Answer 2

In english there are 2 ways to ask a question.



I could say "Do you wanna come to the cinema"

or "You wanna come to the cinema?"



if i was using the second one, i'd have to "intone" towards the end of the sentence, so that you'd know i was asking a question.



intoning, is basically increasing the tone towars the end of the sentence.

Answer 3

The rising intonation is used for surprise or question. The meaning of a sentence can change depending on how it is spoken.



The site below has a more thorough explanation of the use of intonation. I included American English, but it is possible that intonation patterns will vary from country to country or even between dialects within a country.