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Question

Difficulty: EasyIntonation Patterns

In standard English oral speech, pitch contour varies according to the sentence type and speaker intent. Which intonation pattern is standard for the polar question: 'Are you coming to the meeting?'

  1. Rising tuneAnswer
  2. B
    Falling tune
  3. C
    Fall-rise tune
  4. D
    Rise-fall tune

Answer

Rising tune
In standard English phonology, polar (Yes/No) questions are articulated with a rising intonation tune to signal to the listener that confirmation or information is being requested.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the grammatical structure of the sentence in the stem.
The utterance 'Are you coming to the meeting?' is a polar question (expecting a 'Yes' or 'No' answer).
Intonation patterns in standard Received Pronunciation (RP) depend directly on the utterance function.
2
Apply the standard RP intonation rule for polar questions.
The pitch rises starting on the nucleus (last accented syllable) and continues rising to the end of the sentence.
A rising tune indicates non-finality and prompts the listener for confirmation or verification.

Key Concept

Intonation Patterns for Polar Questions
Estimated Time:45s
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Topics

Intonation Patterns

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