intonation

See also: Intonation

English

Etymology

From French intonation, from Medieval Latin intonatio, from intonō +‎ -tiō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪntɵˈneɪʃən/

  • Audio (UK)

    (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪʃən

Noun

intonation (countable and uncountable, plural intonations)

1. (linguistics) The rise and fall of the voice in speaking.
2. The act of sounding the tones of the musical scale.
3. Singing or playing in good tune or otherwise.

   Her intonation was false.

4. Reciting in a musical prolonged tone; intonating or singing of the opening phrase of a plain-chant, psalm, or canticle by a single voice, as of a priest.
5. A thundering; thunder.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Bailey to this entry?)

Related terms

Terms related to intonation

• intonable
• intonate
• intonational

• intonationally
• intonator

• intone
• intoner

Translations

the rise and fall of the voice in speaking

• Arabic: تَجْوِيد‎ m (tajwīd), تَرْتِيل‎ m (tartīl), تَنْغِيم‎ m (tanḡīm)
• Asturian: entonación f
• Belarusian: інтана́цыя f (intanácyja)
• Bulgarian: интона́ция (bg) f (intonácija)
• Catalan: entonació f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 抑揚 (zh), 抑扬 (zh) (yìyáng), 語調 (zh), 语调 (zh) (yǔdiào), 語調 (zh), 腔調 (zh), 腔调 (zh) (qiāngdiào)

• Czech: intonace f
• Danish: intonation c
• Dutch: intonatie (nl) f, zinsmelodie (nl) f
• Faroese: tónalag n
• Finnish: intonaatio (fi), sävelkulku
• French: intonation (fr) f
• Galician: entoación (gl) f
• German: Satzmelodie (de) f, Sprachmelodie (de) f, Intonation (de) f, Tongebung f
• Hebrew: אינטונציה‎ (he)
• Hungarian: intonáció (hu)
• Italian: intonazione (it) f
• Japanese: イントネーション (intonēshon), 抑揚 (よくよう, yokuyō), 語調 (ja) (ごちょう, gochō)
• Korean: 억양 (ko) (eogyang) (抑揚 (ko)), 인토네이션 (intoneisyeon)
• Latvian: intonācija f

• Macedonian: интонација f (intonacija)
• Malay: intonasi
• Maori: hā
• Persian: آهنگ جمله‎ (âhang-e jomle), آهنگ‎ (fa) (âhang)
• Polish: intonacja (pl) f
• Portuguese: entonação f
• Russian: интона́ция (ru) f (intonácija)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: интонација f

  Roman: intonacija (sh) f

• Slovak: intonácia f
• Slovene: intonacija f
• Spanish: entonación (es) f
• Swahili: kiimbo (sw)
• Swedish: intonation (sv)
• Tajik: оҳанг (tg) (ohang), интонатсия (intonatsiya)
• Thai: ทำนองเสียง (th) (tam-nɔɔng-sǐiang)
• Turkish: tonlama (tr)
• Ukrainian: інтона́ція f (intonácija)
• Vietnamese: ngữ điệu (vi), sự ngâm nga (vi)

singing or playing in good tune or otherwise

• German: Intonation (de) f, Intonierung f, Tongebung f, Ansatz (de) m, Tonhöhenfeinabstimmung f

• Polish: intonacja (pl) f

intonating or singing of the opening phrase of a plain-chant, psalm, or canticle by a single voice

• Bulgarian: речитатив m (rečitativ)
• German: Intonation (de) f, Vorsingen der Anfangsworte n

• Polish: intonacja (pl) f

References

• intonation in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• intonation in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.

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French

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

intonation f (plural intonations)

1. intonation (all senses)