Knowledge base · Part IV — Prosody and the Pitch-Accent System · this topic as a network
27. Phrasal and Utterance Intonation
What intonational contours occur above the word level, and how do they distinguish utterance types?
In imperative sentences, the sentence-final portion tends to be pronounced longer and more emphatically than in declarative sentences. (Satō 2008: 23)
generated 1 claims, 1 sentences without a claim ·
The accent-dialect split
How do accent dialects differ from unaccented varieties in lexical pitch?
In the Tokachi dialect, a non-rising intonation contour occurs in interrogatives that lack a final predicate verb and end in a noun, nominalizer, or conjunctive particle followed by an interrogative particle. (reported in Shiraishi 2022: 13.7)
generated 1 claims, 1 sentences without a claim ·
Declarative and continuation contours
What is the fundamental frequency contour of declarative utterances?
Declarative intonation varies across dialects. In Sakhalin Ainu, declarative sentences are generally pronounced with rising intonation, while interrogative sentences are pronounced with falling intonation. (Murasaki 2025: 84) In the Shizunai dialect, by contrast, sentence intonation is slightly falling in declarative sentences. (Refsing 1986: 75) In the Saru dialect, pitch in ordinary declarative speech exhibits a natural decline without a final rise or fall at the end of the sentence. (reported in Shiraishi 2022: 13.7) More broadly, affirmative sentences tend to show a slight sentence-final rise, though not as high as in interrogative sentences. (Nakagawa 2024: 407) In the Saru dialect, a rising intonation contour additionally appears when the speaker expects a reaction from the interlocutor. (reported in Shiraishi 2022: 13.7)
generated 5 claims, 2 sentences without a claim ·
Interrogative contours and sentence-final particles
What intonational features characterize polar interrogatives?
Interrogative intonation also differs across dialects. In the Shizunai dialect, sentence intonation rises gradually in questions. (Refsing 1986: 75) In that same dialect, the use of sentence-final particles and forms greatly diminishes the importance of intonation. (Refsing 1986: 75) In the Saru dialect, interrogative pitch movement and intensity peaks occur primarily on sentence-final interrogative particles such as hawe, ya, a, and he. (reported in Shiraishi 2022: 13.7) Interrogative sentences without a final rising pitch contour are attested in the Saru dialect. (reported in Shiraishi 2022: 13.7) More specifically, interrogative sentences ending in nankora in acoustic data of the Saru dialect are uttered with a falling intonation contour. (reported in Shiraishi 2022: 13.7) In Sakhalin Ainu, sentences ending in the final particle hVV take falling intonation in questions and rising intonation in non-questions. (Murasaki 2025: 19)
generated 6 claims, 2 sentences without a claim ·
Exclamatory and wish prosody
How does prosody mark exclamatory and optative utterances?
In Sakhalin Ainu, utterances expressing surprise are typically spoken with falling intonation. (Murasaki 2025: 84) In the Saru dialect, expressing exclamation or wish raises the pitch of the whole utterance and produces a lengthened rising-falling contour at the end of the sentence. (reported in Shiraishi 2022: 13.7)
generated 2 claims, 1 sentences without a claim ·
Phrasal grouping and prosodic domains
What prosodic phrase boundaries exist between the word and the utterance?
In Hokkaido Ainu, a level or falling intonation contour implies continuation, whereas a rising contour marks utterance finality. (reported in Shiraishi 2022: 13.7)
generated 1 claims, 1 sentences without a claim ·