Which statement about prosody and the speaker's intention is correct?

Which statement about prosody and the speaker's intention is correct?

• A. Prosody communicates the speaker's intention
• B. Prosody only marks sentence boundaries
• C. Prosody has no relation to intention
• D. Prosody replaces vocabulary

Answer: (A)

Prosody—the pattern of pitch, stress, tempo, and loudness in spoken language—conveys more than the literal words. It signals the speaker's intention and attitude, such as using a rising tone to mark a question, stressing a word to show importance, or adjusting pace and volume to express politeness or urgency. Because of that, the correct statement is that prosody communicates the speaker's intention. In interpretation, preserving these cues helps listeners understand not just what was said but why and how it was meant. Prosody isn't simply about sentence boundaries, nor is it unrelated to intent, and it doesn't replace words; it works with content to express nuance.

Prosody—the pattern of pitch, stress, tempo, and loudness in spoken language—conveys more than the literal words. It signals the speaker's intention and attitude, such as using a rising tone to mark a question, stressing a word to show importance, or adjusting pace and volume to express politeness or urgency. Because of that, the correct statement is that prosody communicates the speaker's intention. In interpretation, preserving these cues helps listeners understand not just what was said but why and how it was meant. Prosody isn't simply about sentence boundaries, nor is it unrelated to intent, and it doesn't replace words; it works with content to express nuance.