Pronunciation: Leçon 6 – L’intonation

Good French pronunciation requires mastery of 3 elements: individual sounds (phonemes), stress placement, and intonation. Intonation refers to the varying pitch levels of speech. Often referred to as the “melody” of a language, intonation is associated with certain sentence types: declarative, exclamative, imperative, and interrogative (questions). Listen to each of the following examples and repeat.

Declarative Intonation

Short declarative sentences typically have a falling intonation.

Longer declarative sentences often have a rise then a fall.

Exclamative Intonation

Exclamative intonation is marked by a sharp fall in pitch.

Imperative Intonation

Imperative intonation is similar to exclamative intonation—that is, a sharp fall at the end.

Interrogative Intonation

Yes/No question are signaled by a sharp rise on the final syllable.

Information questions begin with a high pitch on the question word (où, pourquoi, comment, etc.) and then gradually fall.