Stress / Intonation Signal
What does the voice highlight or signal?
Meaning
Meaning expressed by pitch, stress, rhythm, pauses, melody, sentence accent, or intonation contour.
How to spot it
Listen for which word is emphasized and whether the sentence sounds like a statement, question, surprise, or contrast.
Examples
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?
Language View
In your native language
English stress and intonation affect focus, questions, emotion, contrast, and naturalness.
I didn't say he stole it.
stress changes the implied meaning
In your learning language
Stress and written accent marks can distinguish words and guide pronunciation; intonation distinguishes questions, emphasis, and attitude.
público / publico / publicó
public / I publish / he/she published
Learners often ignore accent marks even when they change stress or meaning.
Same block, different coding
Both languages use this block strongly, but they signal it differently. Focus on form changes, not only meaning.