Intonation of simple interrogative statements in the Altai language

The paper presents preliminary results of a study based on experimental data on the intonation of a simple interrogative utterance in the Altai language. Based on the requested element, interrogative sentences can be divided into two types: full, referring to the entire sentence, and partial, which are questions. The purpose of a question determines whether it falls into the category of a modal one, to be answered by yes or no, or a dictal one, requiring additional information. Additionally, question types differ formally: dictal ones with interrogative words and modal ones with interrogative particles. Intonation is significant in expressing communicative goals and designing the syntactic structure of a sentence. The concept of intonation encompasses various prosodic methods for segmenting and organizing speech flow to convey the intended message. The intonation system is a complex combination of various prosodic means, including tonal, quantitative-dynamic, articulatory, and phonational. The experimental material for this study was recorded in the village of Yakonur, Ust-Khan district of the Altai Republic. The data were processed using the methodology adopted in the Laboratory of Experimental Phonetic Research of the Institute of Philology SB RAS. The analysis has revealed that the intonation contour of interrogative utterances in the Altai language varies depending on the presence and position of an interrogative marker. The peak of the intonation contour in questions falls on the interrogative word of the utterance. The pitch curve in questions exhibits a higher level of ending in comparison to the intonation of affirmative sentences.