RISING INTONATION
Rising intonation is characterized by a clear rise of the pitch after the stressed syllable of the last content word of the sentence onwards. In other words, the pitch will have to rise after the stressed syllable of the last content word. Rising intonation is used in yes-no questions, repeated questions, question statements, and tag questions. English clearly differentiates between two types of questions: WH-questions and yes-no questions. Yes-no questions are simply those that require a yes or a no answer (with perhaps a little further elaboration, depending on the question.) In English, yes-no questions are often differentiated from question-word questions (also called information questions or WH-questions) in terms of intonation. Yes-no questions require rising intonation. Take the following examples:
Have you just come from the airport?
Is there a local bus terminal nearby?
Is it possible to get to Flores from Senggigi?
Do you really want to see a monitor lizard?
Notice that pitch on a regular question goes up (compared with a statement), but drops back down at the end.
Do dogs eat bones?
A repeated, rhetorical or emotional question goes up, and then up again at the end.
Do dogs eat bones?!
Rising intonation is also used in tag questions in which the speaker is not sure if the listener will confirm what he says. Take the following examples:
Jack will come over to lunch, won't he?
You come from London, don't you?
Let's go to the movies, shall we?
Sometimes speakers refrain from using direct questions and, instead, modulate the intonation of statements to change them into questions. In these cases, too, rising intonation is required. Take the following examples:
Ali will go to Tehran tomorrow?
Her father makes sure she doesn't sell favor to friends?
Questions of this type are more of a rhetorical or emotional nature than pure yes-no questions. They are often used to express the speakers' disbelief in the ideas expressed by the statement.
