The intonation of English and Malay questions in Brunei Darussalam

Abstract

This study investigates the patterns of conversational intonation of speakers of English in Brunei Darussalam, comparing their intonation patterns in English and Malay. Data were collected from 40 undergraduates at Universiti Brunei Darussalam using a map task, half in English and half in Malay. The biggest differences between English and Malay were found to be the occurrence of falling tones on yes–no questions in Malay and also on declarative questions, while these kinds of question tend to have rising tones in English.

Keywords:

• Intonation
• questions
• Brunei English