Each of these tones may express particular attitudes:
Fall: neutral statement
Rise: neutral question, doubt
Fall-Rise: scepticism
Rise-Fall: emphatic statement
Level: boredom, disinterest
In ordinary speech intonation tends to take place within the lower part of the speaker´s pitch range. Only with strong feelings we use extra pitch height.
Fall: neutral statement, conclusion
E.g. Have you seen Ann?
Yes. (Falling intonation indicates
‘I have answered your question and do not intend to add anything else’)
Rise: questioning, doubt, desire to continue conversation
E.g. Have you seen Ann lately?
Yes… (Rising intonation indicates ‘I want to continue the conversation, I am curious’)
Can you remember Peter Jackson, the cost consultant for our company in Taiwan? The other day in the office I invited him for dinner, he’ll be coming tomorrow.
Yes.
We shall begin by considering the fall: here is a tone unit solely composed of a tonic syllable
Things become more complicated when we add syllables