Stress / Intonation Signal
What does the voice highlight or signal?
Signification
Meaning expressed by pitch, stress, rhythm, pauses, melody, sentence accent, or intonation contour.
Comment le repérer
Listen for which word is emphasized and whether the sentence sounds like a statement, question, surprise, or contrast.
Exemples
rising tone|word stress|sentence stress|pause
really? | I said JOHN | yes, but...
You bought this?
Visual guide
words: You bought this voice layer above: stress -> highlights a word rise -> question/surprise pause -> boundary Meaning rides above words.
Same words, new signal: YOU bought this? = not me? You BOUGHT this? = not borrowed? You bought THIS? = this item? Contour: fall: You bought this. rise: You bought this?
Vue par langue
Dans votre langue maternelle
Intonation distinguishes questions, emphasis, emotion, and discourse flow; stress is less lexical than in English.
Tu as acheté ça ?
You bought this?
Dans votre langue d’apprentissage
En anglais, l’accent et la mélodie de la voix indiquent ce qui est important, les questions, l’émotion, le contraste et le naturel.
I didn't say he stole it.
l’accent mis sur un mot change ce que la phrase laisse entendre
Les apprenants peuvent sembler monotones, peu clairs, ou mettre accidentellement l’accent sur la mauvaise information.
Same block, different coding
Both languages use this block strongly, but they signal it differently. Focus on form changes, not only meaning.