Longman Dictionary of

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interview schedule
interview schedule n
see GUIDED INTERVIEW
intervocalic adj
(of CONSONANTS) occurring between two vowels. For example, English /d/
in lady is intervocalic.
intimate speech/intimate speech style n
a form of speech used by people who are in a close and personal relation,
such as family members and close friends. Intimate speech is characterized
by:
1 the communication of much meaning indirectly or by implication
because there is a great deal of shared knowledge
2 the absence of elaborate linguistic forms
intonation n
when speaking, people generally raise and lower the PITCH of their voice,
forming pitch patterns. They also give some syllables in their utterances a
greater degree of loudness and change their SPEECH RHYTHM. These
phenomena are called intonation. Intonation does not happen at random
but has definite patterns (see INTONATION CONTOUR). Intonation is used to
carry information over and above that which is expressed by the words in
the sentence.
see also KEY 2 , PITCH LEVEL, TONE UNIT
intonation contour n
also intonation pattern, pitch contour, pitch pattern
the pattern of pitch changes that occur across an UTTERANCE, often
accompanied by differences in loudness and SPEECH RHYTHM.
Intonation contours may have grammatical functions. For example, the
word ready? – said with rising intonation – is a question, while the same
word with falling intonation is a statement. Intonation may also signal the
speaker’s attitude towards the matter discussed. For example, the utterance
I TOLD you so – with stress and a noticeable pitch rise on the word told,
followed by falling pitch over the end of the sentence – expresses annoyance.
Some intonation contours are associated with specific sentence types.
Generally speaking, falling intonation can be associated with certainty
and rising intonation with uncertainty. For example:
Declarative sentences in English typically have an abrupt pitch rise on the
last stressed word of the sentence followed by a fall. For example, the sentence
Language is a social phenomenon typically has an intonation contour
consisting of a rise on the first syllable of social, followed by a
gradual fall over the remaining syllables of the sentence.
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