In verbal communication, we express ourselves with much more than words. In addition to our facial expressions, gestures, and other body movements, our vocal patterns add underlying meaning to what we say. One sentence can, therefore, have a variety of meanings, depending on how it is expressed.

Simply stated, intonation is how we use and change our voice. As we speak, the pitch tones in our voice change somewhat like they do when we sing. These changes are called pitch inflections. In spoken language these pitch inflections convey underlying meaning.

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