A Comparative Analysis of Intonation on Interrogative Utterances in Isfahani and Tehrani Colloquial Varieties in RFC Model

In phonetics, intonation is described as a suprasegmental feature which has a significant role in nearly all world languages. The present study was an attempt on the comparative study of intonation system in Isfahani and Tehrani varieties based on rise, fall and connection model of intonation (Taylor, 2009). This project proposes that Isfahani and Tehrani intonation contours can be described using a sequence of rise, fall and connection elements. For this study, five interrogative sentences were said by four Isfahani and Tehrani native speakers. The results were then assessed using “General Linear Model Test” in the SPSS program. The results revealed that pitch contour durations were not significant in Isfahani and Tehrani varieties but pitch amplitudes in Isfahani variety were higher than Tehrani.