Introduction

In this chapter I shall consider various aspects of intonational variation, namely, aspects of sociolinguistic (including dialectal) variation, cross-linguistic differences and similarities in intonation, and intonation acquisition and change. Regrettably, however, in many of the areas covered, our knowledge of basic descriptive facts is either minimal or disputed.

Style, class, and sex

It seems probable that all languages and dialects involve at least some intonational variation in all three areas (style, class, and sex), although the amount of published systematic and reliable information is small. Clearly, in all languages there will be varying styles of intonation appropriate to different situations. In the description of the local meanings of nuclear tones in chapter 4, sub-section 4.4.1 above, occasional reference was made to such stylistic variation. For example, it was noted that, of the four tones which are most typical of sentence non-final intonation-groups in English (low-rise, high-rise, fall-rise, and mid-level), two (low-rise and fall-rise) were more typical of formal styles. Of the two informal styles, high-rise is the particularly ‘casual’ one whereas mid-level, while being a common non-final tone in conversation, is also common in the speeches of politicians who pride themselves on possessing the common touch. The two more formal sentence non-final tones, low-rise and fall-rise, are particularly common in reading. Indeed the intonation of reading, as might be expected, exhibits other features of a formal style, e.g. intonation-groups are more clearly delineated (partly because there are fewer false starts and hesitations), and are generally longer.