Intonation as a Cohesive Device in English with Reference to Arabic

Abstract

It is a common truth that the way we say something can be just as important in conveying a message as the words we use to say it Intonation means "the melody of speech, the changing pitch of the voice . It is the term commonly given to variations in the pitch of the voice .This study aims to show that various types of tones are used in both English and Arabic newsreadings and that intonation can works as a cohesive device in discourse, especially when it helps in keeping the text coherent despite the absence of cohesive ties in the texts.The study is limited to the analysis of the primary and complex tones and excludes other types of tones such as compound ones. The study is not meant to be contrastive as it is based on exploring how intonation acts as a cohesive device in English with reference to Arabic where appropriateThe data on which the study is based are recordings of the news in English taken from the BBC TV Channel, while the news in Arabic is taken from various Arabic-speaking Channels.There is more than one approach to intonation. Chief among them are the British approach and American approach. The British approach studies intonation mostly pedagogically, this means that this approach focuses on introducing and presenting intonation objectively which helps to clarify the way that intonation makes utterance more understood. Among those who follow this approach are .