falling intonation

Falling intonation is a melodic pattern in speech where the pitch of the voice lowers at the end of an utterance. This is a common feature in languages like English and is used to convey different meanings.1

Falling intonation can serve a grammatical function, distinguishing between statements and questions. For example, saying "The cup of water is over there" with a falling intonation indicates a simple assertion, while a rising intonation would turn it into a question. Intonation, including falling intonation, is primarily about pitch variation and can be accompanied by stress and rhythm to create meaning.1