The effect of intonation and its impact on conveying meaning in the sura named after the prophets

Abstract

Intonation is one of the terms of the modern linguistics lesson, and it refers to the changes in pitch that occur in the speaker’s voice during continuous speech, and it is a natural result of the oscillation of the vocal cords. Intonation is one of the characteristics of spoken language, as it is limited to audible structures and not read structures, and it is rare for any human language to be devoid of it.

Intonation among the ancient Arabs was not subject to extensive research  application based on specific rules. This means that their vast heritage was devoid of references to this phonetic phenomenon that affects meaning. But they are unanimously agreed that it is closely linked to artistic beauty, and that it is the common denominator between all the arts. Hence, intonation - as a verbal context - has been linked to the expression of psychological and grammatical meanings, making it one of the most important tools that have an impact on the soul of the reader, or the recipient, and his conscience.

Intonation is a phonetic phenomenon found in most languages, and performs multiple semantic and expressive functions such as confirmation, affirmation, exclamation, questioning, negation, denial, sarcasm, and warning, in addition to expressing emotions such as joy, sadness, and anger.

This occurs through the diversity of intonation levels to clarify meanings, support structures, direct pauses, reinforce functions, and maintain vocal rhythm. The Qur’anic surahs that bear the names of prophets contain most of the intonation styles except for exclamation, warning, and enticement.

Previous Studies:

1. Ghanem Qaddouri Al-Hamad: The efforts of Tajweed scholars in studying sounds, characteristics, and phonetic phenomena, and their connection to linguistics and the Qur'an.

2. Ahmed Ragheb Ahmed: The rules of Tajweed from the perspective of modern phonetics, with theoretical and applied aspects of linguistic sound in the Qur'an.

3. Suad Buthaina: Stress and intonation in the Hafs and Warsh narrations, and their differences through an analysis of Qur'anic models.

4. Younes Zouari: Phonetic reasoning among Tajweed scholars until the 12th century AH, and a comparison with modern phonetic studies.

5. Sahl Layli: Intonation and its effect on changing meaning, expressing emotions, and speech functions.

Our study of intonation is from a grammatical, linguistic, and philosophical perspective, with partial overlap with the third study.