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intonation

 
Dictionary: in·to·na·tion   (ĭn'tə-nā'shən, -tō-) pronunciation
n.
    1. The act of intoning or chanting.
    2. An intoned utterance.
  1. A manner of producing or uttering tones, especially with regard to accuracy of pitch.
  2. Linguistics. The use of changing pitch to convey syntactic information: a questioning intonation.
  3. A use of pitch characteristic of a speaker or dialect: "He could hear authority, the old parish intonation coming back into his voice" (Graham Greene).
  4. Music. The opening phrase of a plainsong composition sung as a solo part.
intonational in'to·na'tion·al adj.

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In phonetics, the melodic pattern of an utterance. Intonation is primarily a matter of variation in the pitch level of the voice (see tone), but in languages such as English, stress and rhythm are also involved. Intonation conveys differences of expressive meaning (e.g., surprise, doubtfulness). In many languages, including English, intonation serves a grammatical function, distinguishing one type of phrase or sentence from another. Thus, "it's gone" is an assertion when spoken with a drop in pitch at the end, but a question when spoken with a rise in pitch at the end.

For more information on intonation, visit Britannica.com.

Thesaurus: intonation
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noun

    A particular vocal quality that indicates some emotion or feeling: accent, inflection, tone. Idioms: tone of voice. See sounds/pleasant sounds/unpleasant sounds/neutral sounds or silence.

Music Encyclopedia: Intonation
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In plainchant, the initial melodic phrase usually sung by the priest or cantor before the other voices enter. The term is particularly used for the phrase intoned at the beginning of the Gloria and the Credo of the Mass. In performance, ‘intonation’ is used to describe the accuracy of pitch of a singer's or instrumentalist's individual notes.



Literary Dictionary: intonation
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intonation, the pattern of variation in pitch during a spoken utterance. Intonation has important expressive functions, indicating the speaker's attitudes (of astonishment, sarcasm, etc.), but it also signals the grammatical status of an utterance, for instance by showing relations between clauses or by marking the difference between a simple statement and a question: in English, a simple assertion like We are going can be changed into a question simply by reversing its intonation from a lowering of pitch to a raising of pitch.

Word Tutor: intonation
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pronunciation

IN BRIEF: The way of singing or playing in correct pitch.

pronunciation In speech, we safeguard meaning by the use of intonation, stress, gesture, and voice qualities. In writing, we must deal with our medium in such a way that the meaning cannot possibly be misunderstood. — Harold Whitehall, Educator.

Wikipedia: Intonation
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Intonation may refer to:


Translations: Intonation
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Dansk (Danish)
n. - intonation, tonegang

Nederlands (Dutch)
intonatie

Français (French)
n. - (Ling, Mus) intonation

Deutsch (German)
n. - Intonation

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (μουσ., μτφ.) τονισμός, τόνος, διακύμανση της φωνής

Italiano (Italian)
intonazione

Português (Portuguese)
n. - intonação (f)

Русский (Russian)
интонация

Español (Spanish)
n. - entonación

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - intonation (fonet. o mus.), instämning (av tonen), tongivningsfras (i gregoriansk kyrkosång)

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
朗诵, 唱, 语调

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 朗誦, 唱, 語調

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 읊음, 어조, (성가의)첫 악구

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - イントネーション, 語調, 読唱, 詠唱, 抑揚

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) تنغيم, ارتفاع أو انخفاض طبقه الصوت‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮הנגנה, הטעמה, אינטונציה‬


 
 
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inflection
orotundity
enharmonically

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Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Thesaurus. Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary Copyright © 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Music Encyclopedia. The Concise Grove Dictionary of Music. Copyright © 1994 by Oxford University Press, Inc.. All rights reserved.  Read more
Literary Dictionary. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms. Copyright © Chris Baldick 2001, 2004. All rights reserved.  Read more
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