AGUSAN DEL SUR STATE COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE AND TECHNOLOGY

BACHELOR OF ARTS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE

MARLON BATUTAY SAGUIDON

IVY PAREJA OTIDA
Suprasegmental Features Analysis among Banwaon Students

Thesis Adviser:
QUIM B. MIOLATA, MAEd.
College of Arts and Sciences

MAY 2023
 TRANSMITTAL SHEET

This undergraduate thesis entitled, “SUPRASEGMENTAL

FEATURES ANALYSIS AMONG BANWAON STUDENTS”, prepared

and submitted by MARLON BATUTAY SAGUIDON and IVY

PAREJA OTIDAin partial fulfillment of the requirements for the

degree of BACHELOR OF ARTS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE, is

hereby accepted and endorsed:

QUIM B. MIOLATA, MAEd.

Adviser

_________________
Date

ii
 APPROVAL SHEET

This undergraduate thesis entitled “SUPRASEGMENTAL

FEATURES ANALYSIS AMONG BANWAON STUDENTS”, prepared
and submitted byMARLON BATUTAY SAGUIDON and IVY
PAREJA OTIDAin partial fulfillment of the requirements for the
degree BACHELOR OF ARTS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGEis hereby
approved and accepted:

EVANGELINE H. ALVAREZ, Ph.D.

Chairperson, Examining Committee

______________________
Date

DEANNA FEBRA C. RODINAS, PiDS

Research Coordinator, College of Arts and Sciences

_____________________
Date

Accepted as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the

degree of BACHELOR OF ARTS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

QUIM B. MIOLATA, MAEd.

Chairperson, Bachelor of Arts in English Language

____________________
Date

RACHEL M. PATANGAN, Ph.D.

Dean, College of Arts and Sciences

____________________
Date

iii
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We warmly appreciate and truly acknowledge the

contributions of the participants and cooperation of so many

people, some of whose names may not be revealed. This research

paper would not have been feasible. However, we want to specially

thank and acknowledge our gratitude for the following:

To Mr. Quim B. Miolata, our research adviser and our

Department Chairperson, our deep gratitude for being kind an

assisting us in times needed. We are indebted of his help, patience,

and understanding also for his dedication in guiding and

supporting us even in his busy times just to make our study

authentic. We value his skills in a variety of fields and his extensive

knowledge, as well as his professional guidance and assistance at

every step;

To Dr. Evangeline H. Alvarez, Chairperson of the Research

Examining Committee and to the members of the research panel,

Mrs. Cherry Mae T. Lobo and Mr. Christian M. Concha, for

checking and reviewing our paper critically and giving us

recommendations, suggestions for the improvement of our study;

To Dr. Rachel M. Patangan for her helpful remarks, sharing

her valuable suggestions, and eagerness to share her time and

knowledge as the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences;

iv
 To Mrs. Deanna Febra C. Rodinas, our research Coordinator,

for her patience and kindness and for giving us her time for the

remarks even on her busy times;

To our dear loving parents, relatives, friends and classmate

for their unending support, patience, prayers and love, which have

been considerate from the beginning; and

To the Almighty Father, our God the Almighty, above all, , for

always guiding us and giving us faith, strength as well as His

blessings to complete our studies.

Madakul ha salamat!

- MBS & IPO

v
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

PRELIMINARIES PAGE
Title Page i
Transmittal Sheet ii
Approval Sheet iii
Acknowledgement iv
Table of Contents v
List of Tables vii
List of Figures viii
List of Appendices ix
Abstract x

INTRODUCTION 1
Background of the Study 1
Purpose of the Study 1
Research Questions 2
Theoretical Lens 2
Significance of the Study 3
Limitation and Delimitation of the Study 4
Operational Definition of Terms 5

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE 6

METHODS 15
Research Design 15
Research Participants
Research Materials
Data Source 15
Data Collection 16
Data Analysis 16
Trustworthiness of the Study 18
Role of the Researchers 18
Ethical Considerations 20

RESULTS 22

DISCUSSIONS 32

LITERATURE CITED 37

APPENDICES 40
Data Trail 41
Sample Screenshots 42
Gannt Chart of Activities 43
Thesis Manuscript Processing Form 44

CURRICULUM VITAE 77

vi
 LIST OF TABLES

Table Title Page

1 Observed intonation patterns of 17

Banwaonparticipants in each intonation phrase.

2 Map 20

vii
 LIST OF FIGURES

Figure Title Page

1 Intonation patterns of Banwaons student 22

in fable story reading

2 Manifested intonation patterns of male and 26

Female Banwaons in fable story reading

viii
 ix

LIST OF APPENDICES

Appendix Title Page

A Data Trail 41

B Sample Screenshots 42

C Thesis Manuscript Processing Form 77

 x

ABSTRACT

SAGUIDON, MARLON BATUTAY & OTIDA, IVY PAREJA 2023

“SUPRASEGMENTAL FEATURE ANALYSIS AMONG
BANWAON STUDENTS”. Undergraduate Thesis. College of
Arts and Sciences, ASSCAT, Bunawan, Agusan del Sur. 90pp

Adviser: QUIM B. MIOLATA, MAEd.

Supra-segmental features refer to various forms of intonation and

how words and sentences are uttered. It is an important aspect of

human communication that can convey a wide range of meanings

and emotions. Our research aimed to discover the patterns of

intonation utilized and demonstrated by male and female Banwaons

in story reading. The descriptive qualitative research method was

used to analyze the data and describe their intonation patterns in

reading. Six Banwaon students were purposively selected as

participants of the study. In order to detail the intonation patterns

demonstrated, Voice Tools Application software was used. All the

recorded audios were transcribed using the coding convention for

intonation pattern suggested by Tench (2011). Results revealed that

the Banwaon participants utilized (7) seven intonation patterns that

include falling tone, rising tone, rise-fall tone, fall-rise tone, rise-rise

tone, fall-fall tone and other intonation patterns. Among these

intonation patterns, falling tone, rise-fall tone and rising tone were

dominantly utilized and the other tones were rarely used. This

x
 xi

implied that the intonation of the Banwaon students in reading was

very diverse and varied. In the aspect of the intonation patterns

demonstrated by males and females in story reading, results

showed that female Banwaons often produced rise tone, rise-fall

tone and rise-rise tone over male Banwaons which made the female

voice a more melodic quality in reading. Male Banwaons, on the

other hand, were observed to use more falling tone in reading aloud

which gave their voice more monotone or flat quality. In terms of

other intonation patterns identified, it was discovered in our study

that males tend to produce more other tone patterns compared to

females. The findings of our research provide IP students with

further insight into how speaking skill, like intonation, should be

improved.

xi
 1

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

The correct pronunciation of sounds in English is very

important. If we mispronounce many English sounds our speech

will be very difficult to understand. Only if we know pronunciation

mistakes in sounds (though unpleasant by itself) is certainly not

enough to cause serious misunderstanding of the essential message

being said (Maratkyzy, 2021). However, if we just make one mistake

with intonation, the whole meaning of or sentence could change.

One of the most difficult tasks for us non-native speakers of

the English language to learn is speaking with correct intonation.

Intonation can be inaccurate to the point of making message

completely unintelligible specially in the case of reading. Intonation

plays an important role in reading as it can convey meaning,

emotion, and emphasis. Using appropriate intonation can help to

convey the meaning of the text more effectively. Using rising

intonation at the end of a sentence can indicate that it is a

question, while using falling intonation can indicate that it is a

statement. Varying intonation can also help to convey the emotional

tone of the text, such as excitement, sadness, or anger (Geikhman,

2022).
 2

Intonation is a speech feature belongs to suprasegmental or

prosodic features which are not limited to single sounds but often

extend over syllables, words, or phrases. It refers to the rising and

falling pitch of a person’s voice as they speak, and it can signal a

range of things such as questions, statements, commands, and

emotions. According to Mirfatemi, Sadeghi, and Niyazi (2020),

suprasegmental features refer to various forms of intonation and

how words and sentences are uttered. It comprises group of vowels

and consonants within a language.

Akindele (2015) claimed that speaking English without the

approximate intonation leads to breakdown in communication.

According to Asadu, Okoro, and Kadirit (2019), the level of

intelligibility of every speech is dependent on the mastery of the

pronunciation of words that make up the speech of which to a very

large extent while the appropriate assignment of the specific

patterns of intonation has become a serious challenge to the non-

native speakers of the English language.

The Philippines, being a multilingual nation, has over a

hundred indigenous languages of which in one way or the other

production of these languages differ in several aspects and equally

affect the use of the English language. According to Dumanig

(2004), the production of the sound of language is influenced by

many factors, such as differences in social class, education, gender

 3

and even ethnic group. Many researchers have been interested in

finding these differences and studying them in depth.

English intonation greatly challenges indigenous learners in

mainstreamed Philippine classrooms. As observed, in the case of

Banwaon, the second language largest indigenous group in Agusan

del Sur, they have different intonation between their first language,

second language and foreign language. When they speak in English,

for example, they use their native language intonation (Purnami,

2017)

In this aspect, our research tries to analyze and describe the

use of intonation of the selected Banwaon’s in reading a text.

Identifying these would help them be conscious of the way they

speak and their familiarity with the sound system of their native

language will significantly help them better improve their English

pronunciation and intonation.

Given the scarcity of research conducted about intonation

which deals on reading, this research will investigate the patterns of

intonation between male and female Banwaons. Using appropriate

intonation in reading can help making the text more engaging and

meaningful for the listener, and can enhance their understanding of

the content. With this concern, our study aims to improve

Banwaons speaking skills, especially in English intonation.

 4

Purpose of the Study

The main purpose of the study was to analyze the intonation

patterns utilized by male and female Banwaon students of Agusan

del Sur State College of Agriculture and Technology (ASSCAT).

Research Questions

This study aimed to investigate the intonation patterns of

male and female Banwaon students from Agusan del Sur State

College of Agriculture and Technology. Specifically, the study

sought to answer the following questions:

1. What are the intonation patterns utilized by the

Banwaons in story reading?

2. What intonation patterns are demonstrated by the male

and female Banwaons?

Theoretical Lens

To deliver sufficient support to explain the need and relevance

of our study, we anchored our research on the various theories

related to pronunciation and gender study to support the findings

of our research.
 5

Halliday’s Theory of English Intonation

According to systemic-functional linguistics (Haliday, 1963),

intonation can be used to express interpersonal functions, and its

semantic features are expressed by the tone “contour” of the

phonological layer. Halliday (1963) proposed the concept of English

intonation as a threefold system: tonality tonicity and tone.

Intonation unit, tone nucleus and intonation type are respectively

related to information structure, information center and

information function in the process of information organization and

transmission, reflecting the selection of three aspects of information

transmission in oral communication. This concept organically

combines syntax, intonation and information to lay a foundation for

many subsequent intonation studies. Halliday divided tone groups

into monotone and dual tone groups, each containing only one

tonal stress, extending from the tonal stress syllable to the end of

the tone group. Monotone includes falling tone, rising tone, low tone

or flat tone.

Amplitude Modulation Theory

According to (Pierrehumbert’s, 1980) the Amplitude

Modulation (AM) theory, English intonation encompasses three

different pitch events, seven pitch accents, two phrase accents, and

two boundary tones. With regard to the pitch accent, it is closely

 6

associated to the nucleus of syllables in words and can be treated

as the ―nuclear accent.

The capital letter H with star symbol (*) is employed

indicating the high tone with nuclear accent (H*). The capital letter

L with star symbol is used to indicate the low tone with nuclear

accent.

Amplitude Modulation theory established four basic

principles (Ladd 1996, as cited in Huang and Zhang, 2019). (1)

Linear arrangement of tonal structure. This principle stipulates that

intonational pitch contours can be syncopated as linearly connected

pitch events, which is attached by the transition. Pitch accents are

the main body of intonation. Most important pitch events are pitch

accents and boundary tones (Chen, 2008). (2) Difference between

pitch accent and rhythmic stress. (3) Two basic tones, H for high

and L for low, and their combinations are used to analyze pitch

accent and boundary tones. All pitch accents are constituted by H

as well as L and connected with the text in accordance with the

prosodic structure. In other words, pitch tunes and relative

prominence exist in the utterance in a way permitted by the

phonological structure (Huang and Zhang, 2019). Only using two

basic tones to analyze the change of pitch accents and boundary

tones solves the argument about description of prosody between

level approach and configuration approach. The employment of two

 7

basic tones opens an effective and concise road. (4) The overall

pitch trend can be explained by the repetitive effect of partial pitch

regulating sound speed.

Theory on Gender Intonation

The discrepancy between female and male speech is often

discussed, attention has been put on the gender difference of

intonation application. Women use more varied intonation patterns,

and they are characterized by exclamatory and interrogative

intonation, which is practiced by a rising tone (Orazebova and

Shyngyssova, 2015). Additionally, when using the so-called

interrogative intonation, the rise of male intonation is much smaller

than that of female intonation (Jiang, 2012). From the perspective

of sociolinguistics, the special fondness for using specific intonation

patterns is established and internalized in the unconscious (Jiang,

2012). Society and culture create gender roles, and these roles are

prescribed as ideal or appropriate behavior for a person of that

specific sex (Michaol, 2018). Because of the social status and some

other cultural elements, female intonation is relatively more

emotional and friendlier so as to avoid the conflict with others and

push forward the communication smoothly. However, Jiang (2012)

has substantiated that the rising tone is the intonation pattern

used to embody non-power discourse or compliance of speakers.

 8

Besides, more frequently use of rising intonation substantiates

those women subconsciously admit that their social status is lower

than men’s.

Significance of the Study

The findings of this study may also turn out to be useful to

the following people and stakeholders of Agusan del Sur State

College of Agriculture and Technology:

Students. The findings of this study might be an addition to

the understanding of students for they are the primary concern of

this study; the result of this study will possibly provide a solution to

aid their struggles in intonation.

Banwaon native speakers. This study might also have a

great value to Banwaon Native speakers the that would serve as an

eye opener to them so that they would gain ideas about how they

pronounce the words and asses them in their pronunciation.

Teacher. This study would show the positive effect for the

teachers of speaking course. This would encourage them to come

up with possible teaching strategies in teaching intonation that

could help students improve their speaking ability and enhance

their speech production competence.

 9

School administration. The school administration would

help in supporting the activities formulated by language department

program to develop the speaking skills of the students in learning

pronunciation. They were one of the instruments in guiding and

supporting the teachers toward teaching.

Future researchers. This would be beneficial to the future

researchers since they are the one who would continue to improve

the Study. Thus, the study would lead to wider scope of data

collection and helped the participants of their study.

Delimitation and Limitations of the Study

This study focused on the intonation patterns of male and

female Banwaon students of Agusan del Sur State College of

Agriculture and Technology regardless of year level. Moreover,

participants of the study were limited only and purely on Banwaon

students whose native dialect is Banwaon. Other suprasegmental

features like stress, pitch, juncture, etc. will be excluded in the

study.
 10

Definition of Terms

To give a better understanding on the terms used in the study

the following terms are defined operationally.

Banwaon language refers to the native language that was

used by the Banwaon tribe in Agusan del Sur.

Banwaons students refer to the male and female participants

of this study who used Banwaon language as their native dialect.

Intonation pattern refers to the variation of pitch or

the falling intonation, rising intonation and fall-rise intonation

variation of pitch.

Suprasegmental features refer to speech feature such as

stress, tone, or word juncture that accompanies or is added over

consonants and vowels; these features are not limited to single

sounds but often extend over syllables, words, or phrases. In this

study, this refers specifically to intonations patterns.

 11

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Phonology

Children’s phonology of first words can be influenced by the

environment and by children’s cognitive and motoric abilities, such

as memory capacity, vision, proprioceptive feed examines the

consistency of the phonological characteristics by discovering how

they vary with vocabulary size. Second, as it was compared to the

Norwegian CDI results with targeted words and actual productions

in data from spontaneous speech by children. To conclude, the role

of the language which was influenced by the surroundings as

compared to children's speech to adults' speech back from the

articulators and motoric dispositions and control on the other

(Garmann, Hansen, Simonsen, & Kristoffersen, 2019).

Language is one of the most important and complex cognitive

functions and can be very diverse divided into receptive (auditory

comprehension/understanding) and expressive (speech and

language production and/or communication) functions. As a foreign

language like English, was used different from children in English-

dominant societies (Huol & Wang, 2017). English has a written

alphabet system, which means that print represents the language

primarily on a phonemic level. Therefore, phonological coding plays

 12

a big role in learning to read English. Phonological education, which

focuses on learning the phonological analysis of words and phonetic

correspondence, is effective in improving early reading and writing

outcomes. Phonological education (PB) and phonetics education is

indicated to be effective on early literacy skills among young

children in western countries (Kliegman, 2020).

Idsardi and Monahan (2016) explained that foreign language

like English, was used different from children in English-dominant

societies. Phonology instruction has been shown to be effective in

developing basic reading skills, including phonemic awareness and

no word reading, in elementary English learners. In contradiction,

the effectiveness on word recognition and reading comprehension

were inconsistent across studies. This is implying that limitation of

the phonological-based instruction, which is the difficulty of

transferring the phonological underlying outcomes to real reading.

It was shown that most studies, although meeting the minimum

standards of evidence for effectiveness, suffer from methodological

flaws are potentially biased. This implies that phonological-based

instruction in the current English curriculum may be beneficial for

young EFL learners who need to learn the phonological symbols of

English words (Huol & Wang, 2017).

 13

Suprasegmental

According to Mirfatemi Sadeghi & Niyazi (2020) supra-

segmental features are various forms of intonation and how words

and sentences are uttered. Suprasegmental features sounded

somewhat similar to native speaker. Teacher that it is not to push

sounding like an English native speaker, but to use the learned

English as second language, as own Philippine English with own

phonological features, noting that there was no extreme

communication breakdown. Study can be used by State Colleges

and Universities, and other higher education institutions in

partnership with the tourism department to design intervention

programs as part of their extension program on capability building

to tourism service providers (Piorac, 2019).

Also, Berowa and Dita (2021) explained that Philippine

English is one of the New English in the world that is situated in a

country where numerous languages exist all over the archipelago.

Thus, the study illustrates the suprasegmental phonology of

Philippine English based on the speech samples obtained from the

speakers of the 13 major languages in the country. Therefore, the

research suggests that the suprasegmental features of PE are

somehow shaped by the first native languages of the speakers.

 14

Intonation

In spoken language, suprasegmental pitch variations that

span entire utterances, such as sentences and phrases, are referred

to as intonation. In that it crosses over multiple segments, it is

suprasegmental. Intonation plays an essential role in verbal

communication. Besides, intonation patterns that influence

information transmission in speeches have always been a

significant research focus in current years. Accordingly, the study

on rising intonation and pitch range in male and female English

conversations in an informal setting in Brunei. The study examines

conversation recordings of ethnic Malaysian students solving

flashcard problems. Eight female-female and eight male-male

conversation were recorded, and it was found that there was a

slight difference in pitch range, but no difference in the frequency of

rising intonation between women and men (Ghani, 2017).

It is recommended that greater attention be devoted to

intonation, as it plays a crucial role in conveying speaker meaning.

As stated by Parker (2002), “Intonation is the overall pattern of

sound that is associated with a given message or part of that

message. Intonation is related to stress but has a direct bearing on

meaning too.” Moreover, as Tench (2011) notes, “Changing the

intonation of an utterance can easily change the meaning of that

utterance.” Consequently, the study of intonation has become an

 15

integral part of EFL language instruction, despite its reputation as a

challenging area to teach and learn. According to Anthony (2000),

“intonation has traditionally been regarded as a problem.”

Nevertheless, given the importance of intonation in conveying

meaning, it is a challenge that must be addressed. There exist three

fundamental systems of intonation; these are tonality, tonicity, and

tone. This study discusses tonality, tonicity, and tone. As per Tench

(2000), “Tonality refers to the partitioning of spoken discourse into

distinct intonation units, each conveying one piece of information;

tonicity indicates the position of the most prominent syllable within

an intonation unit. Tonality denotes the speaker's segmentation of

the entire message into discrete pieces of information; tone pertains

to the pitch level and movement within an intonation unit” (Tench,

2011). The listeners may find it difficult to comprehend the message

without the three basic systems.

However, according to Jiang (2011) intonation functions not

only serve different pragmatic actions, they also convey different

social meanings, especially for gender identity. Female speakers

have showed their tendency to use the rising tone in statement

while male speakers on the other hand, use more failing tones.

However, according Orazbekovaa (2015) to such changes are

supported by feminists who see these differences as sexist

inequality. It is impossible to say with certainly that these

 16

developments will lead in blurring the distinction between the male

and female speech. Women employ a wider range of intonation

patterns. They can be identified by exclamatory and interrogative

intonation, which is pronounced by a rising tone. Contrarily, men

are distinguished by more smooth intonation that descends. Their

speech is more categorical and affirmative in tone, and it dominates

In addition, the theory used by Herman was Kelly (2000), and

theory by Allen (1954) and Roach (2000) introduced the most

difficult position in pronouncing influenced by the basic intonation

learned by the students. The intonation in speaking skills the

difficulties drawn after analyzing the data were difficult in using

correct juncture; difficulty in using rising intonation, falling

intonation, and difficulty in determining pitch and stress of a

syllable (Purba, Hutahaean, Herman & Pardede, 2021).

According to Arshad khan, (2014) Intonation is a noticeable

change in pitch from one part of speech to another. For example,

the meaning of English pronunciation arises not only from changes

in its sound image and comparative, accentual emphasis, but also

from forms related to intonation. But the contour of the intonation

itself has no difference in the lexical meaning of the statement. It

tells the listener something about the speaker’s emotion attitude,

because the intonation patterns of language are among the first

patterns a child learn to respond to and point to.

 17

According to some theories, when animals (such as dogs)

respond to human speech, they do not respond to segmental

phonemes, only to intonation contours. Stress and intonation are

related phenomena, they work together to create an emphasis or

accent effect. Accented syllables can be said with a high or low tone

or with a change of tone. An accented syllable spoken at one pitch

is described as having a static tone. While an accented syllable that

involves a change in pitch has begins the kinetic tone is called the

nucleus and is said to have an initial unclear or tonal accent.

Hence, the phrase thieves come in the night is usually spoken in

British English with a high static tone in the low and original drop

or drop in the kinetic tone during the night.

The speaker’s emotional level affects his intonation. The more

the speaker is engaged in what he is saying due to anger, sadness,

excitement, satisfaction, etc., the more pitch and amount of pitch

he uses. The system of intonation patterns in any language is

complex and naturally learned by native speakers. It takes years of

study and practice for foreign language learner to learn the

intonation styles of a language.

In the study of Jiang (2011), he found out that female

speakers used rising tone more in sentence types. However male

speaker’s data tell us another story as only the declarative-question

 18

shows that the pitch level of boundary tone is higher than the

stressed syllable. Thus, male speakers use more falling tone.

 19

METHODS

This section deals with the methods of the study it includes

research design, research participants, research materials, data

Source, data collection, data analysis, trustworthiness of the study,

role of the researches and its ethical consideration.

Research Design

In this research, we used descriptive qualitative research

design. Qualitative research is used to describe or understand more

about the current status of particular thing (McCombes, 2022) in

our research. We described the intonation pattern utilized the

Banwaon students in story reading. We collected and analyzed the

data through listening to the way the participants read the story

(fable) to describe the intonation patterns they used. Then, we

measured the data in numbers by determining the dominant

patterns used by male and female participants.

Research Participants

In this qualitative study, we selected six (6) Banwaon

participants from Agusan del Sur State College of Agriculture and

Technology. In selecting the number of participants Creswell (1998)

 20

provided recommendations that in a qualitative study, there should

be at least five (5) to twenty-five (25) participants.

According to Kelly (2010), “purposive sampling is used to

select respondents that are most likely to yield appropriate and

useful information.” It is a method for locating and choosing

instances that will make the most efficient use of the limited study

assets available. The participants were selected and identified

through purposive sampling method. The participants of this study

were exclusive only for purely Banwaon student of Agusan del Sur

State College of Agriculture and technology (ASSCAT).

Research Materials

We used story as our research material. The content of the

story was taken from a fable titled, “The Crow and the Pitcher”

written by a famous fable writer Aesop. We also used a voice

recorder to capture the way the participants read the fable story. In

addition, we also used Voice Tools application software that served

as a tool that would easily record distinctively the pitch or

intonation patterns made by male and female Banwaon student-

participants.
 21

Data Source

We took our data from the utterances of male and female

Banwaon students of ASSCAT in reading the fable. Moreover, the

result was analyzed with respect to intonation pattern of male and

female Banwaon participants. Moreover, we also compared the

intonation pattern of the male and female Banwaon participants.

Data Collection

Qualitative researches engage series of activities in the

process of collecting data before arriving at the completion of a

research study (Creswell, 2012). Henceforth, as researchers we took

rigorous steps on the data collection procedure.

The general essential steps were to (1) seek permission to IP

Council to conduct the study; (2) find participants who would be

involved in the study ensuring their willingness to participate; and

(3) ready the availability of materials and tools for data gathering

such as mobile phone or laptop.

First, we asked a record of the Banwaon students from IPYC

organization to ensure the identity of our participants. Then we

 22

sought out consent from the research participant. We conducted

the activity by letting the participants read out loud the story.

We took a voice recording of the utterances of the participants

in reading using a Voice Tool applications. Then we observed the

intonation patterns anchored from the type of intonation patterns

suggested by Parker (2002). Lastly, analyzed the intonational

pattern used by male and female Banwaon students.

Data Analysis

The data were analyzed and classified according to the

intonation pattern demonstrated by male and female Banwaons.

Voice Tools application software was used to record and detail the

intonation patterns produced by the participants. To demonstrate

the detailed analysis of the results, extracts from the students’

utterances in the story reading were transcribed using the coding

convention for intonation pattern suggested by Tench (2011). In

order to facilitate the analysis, we broke up the lines of the story

into tone units or intonation phrases to easily identify the pattern of

tones rendered by the participants. In describing the intonation

 23

pattern, we anchored on the four essentials of intonation patterns

suggested by Parker (2002) which include rising tone, falling tone,

rising-falling tone, and falling-rising tone.

Trustworthiness of the Study

To establish the trustworthiness of this study, we followed the

suggestions of Lincoln and Guba (1995) as cited by Shenton (2004).

Credibility, dependability, confirmability, and transferability were

the main concerns of Qualitative research regarding its

trustworthiness.

Credibility is defined as the conviction that can be placed in

the truth of research findings. This helps in ensuring internal

validity of the research findings. Lincoln and Guba (1995) pointed

out that credibility involves two aspects which are first, carrying out

the study in a way that it enhances the believability of the findings,

and second, taking steps to demonstrate credibility to external

readers. To support credibility when reporting a qualitative study,

the we demonstrated prolonged engagement in the field, persistent

observation, and triangulation of the data (Cope, 2014). In the

context of this study, we adopted iterative probing and member

checking as suggested by the author mentioned above.

 24

In this study, we made sure that after the result was gathered

together with the transcription, we sent them back to the

participants to read the transcribed script. This allowed the

participants to confirm the accuracy of the data being transcribed

to avoid bias. After that, we let them sign the certification as

evidence that they have checked and approved the findings

presented.

Dependability is important to trustworthiness because it will

establish the research study’s finding as consistent and repeatable

(Patton, 2005 Lincoln and Guba (1995) as cited in Shenton (2004)

stresses the close ties between credibility and dependability,

arguing that, in practice, a demonstration of the former will go the

distance to ensure that latter. To address the dependability,

reported in detail the process of the research, enabling future

researcher to repeat the work, if not necessarily to gain the same

results.

In addition, to directly address reliability issues, the process

within the study was reported in detail to allow a future researcher

to repeat the work if not necessarily achieving the same results.

Also, we have a clear description of the researcher methodology,

research design, and research procedure. Also, careful data

collection, analysis, and interpretation were documented and

 25

considered throughout the process of conducting this study to allow

the replication of this academic work in the coming future.

Confirmability refers to the extent to which the result of an

investigations could be confirmed or corroborated by another

researcher. Confirmability is primarily concerned with establishing

the data and interpretation of the findings that are derived from the

data given by the participants and not figments in inquirer’s

imagination, motivation, or interest. Further, reference to literature

and findings by other authors that confirm the researcher’s

interpretations can strengthen confirmability of the study in

addition to information and interpretation by people other than the

researcher from within the site itself (Anney, 2014). In this study,

we made audit trail to confirm our study on the accuracy of the

data gathered.

Audit trail ensure the reliability of the results by tracing the

participants whose significance responses have been included in

the results of the study. Moreover, this was used to demonstrate

that the results are clearly linked to the conclusion in a way that it

can be followed in methodological description. This is also to ensure

that the results are based on the responses of the research

participants rather than those of the researchers. This further

established the data and interpretations of the findings that will not
 26

figment the researcher’s imagination, but it will clearly derive from

the data of the research participants.

Lastly, transferability refers to the degree to which the results

of qualitative research can be transferred to other context with

other respondents—it is the interpretive equivalent of

generalizability (Bitch, 2005). To address this, it should include a

thorough and thick description of each step taken in the process of

conducting this research and a detailed description of phenomenon

being study.

Thick description is described by Lincoln and Guba (1985) as

a way of achieving a type of external validity by describing a

phenomenon detailed one can begin to evaluate the extent to which

the conclusions drawn are transferrable to other times, setting,

situation, and people. In collecting thick description, the data will

allow comparison of the context of this study to another possible

context to which transfer might be contemplated and produces a

thick description of the context to make a judgment about fitting in

with other possible.

To address transferability, we ensured to have a detailed and

thick description of the methodology and the phenomenon that was

being studied and assured that the data where on file to make this

study more credible and transferable. We made sure also that all

documents stored in soft copy were well-kept in a secured

 27

password-protected folder in our computer as the results of the

study may be submitted for publication.

Role of the Researcher

As researchers, our role in this study ws to secure that there

were a proper data collection and analysis. We primarily ensured

that in the conduct of the research, the gathered data were properly

recorded, transcribed, translated, and thoroughly analyzed

Moreover, our main role as researcher would be to initiate the

exchange of thoughts. We observed the intonation pattern in

reading a story of the ASSCAT Banwaon students.

Ethical Consideration

As qualitative researchers, we considered ethical guidelines to

make sure that our research study was carried out properly. We

considered the identity, language and culture because the study

pertained to Banwaon students, who are indigenous peoples.

During the audio recording of the interview, privacy and

confidentiality were scrupulously controlled.

We take our participants’ privacy and confidentiality into

account when transcribing their utterances. We concealed their

 28

identities by utilizing number codes rather than their real names in

order to maintain their safety. Also, all data gather inside the school

sources were cited and completely acknowledged.

Before starting our research, we also followed ethical

guidelines. Along with the Dean and Coordinator of the College of

Arts and Sciences, we asked permission from the Office of the

Research Development Extension.

We explicitly disclosed our primary goal to the students-

participants during the interview process. We assured them that

any information we obtained about them would be treated in

confidence and use only for educational and research endeavors.

 29

RESULTS

This section presents the analyses of the data on the

intonation patterns utilized and demonstrated by male and female

Banwaon participants in reading a fable story.

The main purpose was to analyze their intonation patterns

using the Voice tool application software. The following questions

from qualitative research were addressed in this section: (1) what

are the intonation pattern utilized the Banwaon in story reading,

and the second question? (2) what intonation pattern demonstrated

by the male and female Banwaons students?

Intonation Patterns Utilized by Banwaon Speakers

In Story Reading

Based from the results there are seven (7) intonation patterns

utilized by six (6) Banwaon participants that is, three (3) of them

are male and the other three (3) are female to read carefully and

loudly the story reading from the fable written by Aesop in titled,

“The Crow and the Pitcher”. To determine the intonation patterns

utilized by the participants the Voice Tools Application software was

used then the recorded audios were transcribed using the coding

convention as suggested by Tench (2011).

To find out the exact intonation patterns for each participant,

each line in the story is segmented into tone units or intonation

 30

phrases in order for the participants easily described each line. This

can be done by putting a mark arrow on the tonic syllable for each

intonation phrase and indicates a tone pattern using up or down

arrows to the left (↗ and ↘) of the tonic syllable. This can be

supported by the study of Nordquist (2019) who claimed that an

intonation phrase is a stretch (or group of words) of spoken material

that has its own intonation pattern.

The intonation patterns of the participants were anchored on

the four essential types of intonation patterns suggested by Parker

(2002) such as; rising tone, falling tone, rise-fall tone and fall-rise

tone. However, we the researcher discover three intonation patterns

utilized by Banwaon participants during reading fable story,

including rise-rise tone, fall-fall tone and other tone patterns. The

other tone patterns also include rise-rise-rise tone, rise-fall-fall tone,

rise-rise-fall tone, and fall-fall-fall tone. Overall, Banwaon

participants utilized (7) intonation patterns rising tone, falling tone,

rise-fall tone, fall-rise tone, rise-rise tone, fall-fall tone and other

tone patterns.

Figure 1 displays the trend of intonation patterns of Banwaon

students in reading a story. Each of the intonation patterns

intricately produced by the participants in each intonation phrases

or unit is presented in Table 1 in the proceeding page.

 31

Rising Tone

Falling Tone

Rise-Fall Tone

Fall=Rise Tone

Rise-Rise Tone

Fall-Fall Tone

Other Tone Patterns

Figure 1. Intonation patterns of Banwaon students in fable story

reading.

Based from the result of this qualitative research, below are

the seven (7) intonation patterns utilized by the Banwaon

participants.

Frequently Used Intonation Patterns

Falling intonation. The first intonation patterns utilized by

the Banwaons’ participants is the falling intonation. Falling

intonation describes how the voice fall within a tone unit or

sentence. It can be observed that all of the Banwaon participants

utilized the falling intonation in the tone phrases “thought the crow”,

MB1, FB1 and FB2 started to fall their intonation in the word “crow”

(thought the ↘crow) and MB2, MB3, and FB3 started to fall their

intonation in the word “thought” (↘thought the crow).

 32

Table 1. Observed intonation patterns of Banwaon participants in

each intonation phrase

Intonation Observed Intonation Patterns

No Phrase Fall- Fall- Other
Rise Fall Rise-Fall Rise-Rise
(Tone Unit) Rise Fall IPs
1 There once was a MB1MB2
crow MB3FB1
FB2FB3
2 who was terribly MB1 FB3 MB2MB
thirsty. 3
3 He noticed a bit of MB1FB2 MB2 MB3
water FB3
4 at the bottom of a MB2 FB2 FB1FB3 MB1 MB3
tall clay pitcher.
5 Now FB1FB2 MB2MB3
FB3
6 his beak was too FB2 MB2MB3 MB1FB1F
wide B3
7 and the pitcher too FB1FB2 MB2MB3 MB1FB3
thin
8 poke his thirsty FB2FB3 MB1MB3 MB2 FB2
tongue down in.
9 “What shall I do?”, MB3FB1 MB2 MB1
FB2FB3
10 thought the crow.
11 “I’ll think and FB2 MB1MB2
think! MB3FB1
FB3
12 I must get myself a FB2 FB3 MB3F MB1 MB2
drink!” B1
13 “Ah, Ha!”, FB1FB2 MB2MB3 MB1
FB3
14 exclaimed the FB2FB3
crow,
15 as an idea came to MB3 FB1FB3 FB2 MB1
him.
16 He took a pebble in FB2 MB2 MB1FB1 MB3
his beak FB3
17 and dropped it over FB2 MB1FB1 MB2MB
the pitcher’s brim. FB3 3
18 Plop! Plop! FB5 MB1 MB2MB3 FB3
FB1
19 He drop to more in. FB1FB3 MB2MB3
FB2
20 On and on he MB3 MB2 FB3 FB2 MB1
went.
21 One by one the MB2 FB1, FB2 MB1
pebbles fell, FB3 FB1
22 slowly making the MB2FB2 MB3 FB1 MB1
water swell FB3
23 until it was easily FB2FB3 MB2MB3 MB1F
within reach B1
24 of his thirsty MB2MB3 MB1FB1
tongue. FB2 FB3
25 “Ahhhhh!”, MB1MB2
MB3FB1
FB2FB3
26 he said as he took FB2FB3 MB2MB3 MB1 FB1
a drink.
27 No problem’s too MB1MB2
big MB3FB1
FB2FB3
28 when I think and FB1 MB1MB2 MB2MB
think”. FB2 3
FB3
 33

It can also observe the used of falling intonation of the five

Banwaon participants MB1, MB2, MB3, FB1, and FB3 in the tone

phrases “exclaimed the crow”. However, MB1 and FB3 begun to fall

their voice in the word “crow” (exclaimed the ↘crow) on the other

hand, MB2, MB3 and FB1 started to raised their voice in the word

“exclaimed”.

Meanwhile, falling intonation was also demonstrated by the

four Banwaon participants (MB1, MB3,FB2 and FB3) in the tone

phrases “ “Now”, “He drop to more in” and “of his thirsty tongue”. In

the intonation unit “Now” MB2, MB3 and FB3 begun to fall their

voice in the word “Now” (↘Now). While in the intonation phrase “He

drop to more in “ MB2 and MB3 started to falling their voice in the

word “He” (↘He drop to more in) while FB2 started to falling their

voice in the word “in” (He drop to more ↘in). Also, in the intonation

unit “of his thirsty tongue ” MB2, and MB3 begun to fall their voice

in the word “of” (↘of his thirsty tongue) while FB2 started to fall her

voice in the word “thirsty” (of his ↘thirsty tongue).

Meanwhile, it can also observed some of the Banwaon

participant (MB1, MB2, MB3, FB2 and FB3) rising their intonation in

the tone phrases “who was terribly thirsty”, “ at the bottom of a tall

clay pitcher”, “his beak was too wide”, “and the pitcher too thin”,

“Ah, Ha!”, “until it was easily within reach” and “he said as he took

a drink”. However, in the tone phrase “who was terribly thirsty” MB1
 34

started to fall his voice in the word “terribly” (who was ↘terribly

thirsty) while FB2 started to fall her voice in the word “thirsty” (who

was terribly ↘thirsty).

In the intonation phrase “at the bottom of a tall clay pitcher”

MB2 begun to fall his voice in the word “at” (↘at the bottom of a tall

clay pitcher) on the other hand FB2 started to fall her voice in the

word “pitcher” (at the bottom of a tall clay ↘pitcher). MB2 and MB3

started to fall their voice in the word “his”(↘his beak was too wide)

in the tone phrase “his beak was too wide”. In addition, in the tone

phrase “and the pitcher too thin” MB2 and MB3 started to fall their

voice in the word “and” (↘and the pitcher too thin). Also, in the

intonation phrase “Ah, Ha!” MB2 and MB3 begun to fall their voice

in the word “Ah” (↘Ah, Ha!). Even in the tone phrase “until it was

easily within reach” MB2 and MB3 begun to fall their voice in the

word “easily” (until it was ↘easily within reach). Two Banwaon

participants used fall intonation in the tone phrase “he said as he

took a drink”. However, MB2 and MB3 started to fall their intonation

in the word “he” (↘he said as he took a drink).

Moreover, only MB1, MB2 and MB3 used falling intonation in

the tonal phrases “I must get myself a drink”, “and dropped it over

the pitcher’s brim”, “Plop! Plop!”, “On and on he went” and “One by

one the pebbles fell”. In the intonation phrase “ I must get myself a

drink” FB2 began to fall her voice in the word “drink” (I must get
 35

myself a ↘drink). Also in the intonation unit “and dropped it over

the pitcher’s brim” FB2 started to fall her voice in the word “brim”

(and dropped it over the pitcher’s ↘brim), MB1 used falling

intonation in the tone phrase “Plop! Plop!” and he started to fall his

voice in the word in the first “Plop!” (↘Plop! Plop!). In the intonation

unit “On and on he went”, MB2 started to fall his voice in the word

“On” (↘On and on he went). Lastly, in the tone phrase “One by one

the pebbles fell”, FB2 started to fall her voice in the word “One”

(↘One by one the pebbles fell).

Rise fall intonation. The second intonation patterns utilized

by the Banwaon students are the rise-fall intonation. Rise-fall

intonation describes how the intonation rise and then fall. It can be

observed that all of the Banwaon participants demonstrated the

rising-falling intonation in the tone phrase “There once was a crow”.

However, MB1, MB2, MB3, FB1 and FB3 begun to rise their voice in

the word “once” and fall their voice in the word “crow” (There ↗once

was a ↘crow) and FB2 started to rise her voice in the word “The”

and fall her voice in the word “crow” (↗There once was a ↘crow ).

The rising and falling intonation was also demonstrated by

the five Banwaon participants (MB1, MB2, MB3, FB1 and FB3) in the

tone phrase “I’ll think and think!”. MB1, MB2, MB3 and FB3 raised

their voice in the word “think” and fall their voice in the word “think”

(“I’ll ↗think and ↘think) and FB2 begun to raised her voice in the
 36

word “I’ll” and fall her voice in the word “think” (↗I’ll think and

↘think).

Banwaon participants MB1, FB2 and FB3 demonstrated the

rising-falling tone in the intonation phrase “He noticed a bit of

water”. MB1 and FB2 started to rise their voice in the word “noticed”

and fall their voice in the word “water” (He ↗noticed a bit of ↘water)

while FB3 started to raised her voiced in the word “He” and fall her

voice in the word “noticed” (↗He ↘noticed a bit of water).

In the tone phrase “and dropped it over the pitcher’s brim”,

the participants MB1, FB2 and FB3 used rising-falling intonation.

MB1 begun to raised his voice in the word “dropped” and fall his

voice in the word “brim” (and ↗dropped it over the pitcher’s ↘brim),

FB2 and FB3 started to raised their voice in the word “and” and fall

their voice in the word “brim” (↗and dropped it over the pitcher’s

↘brim). Also, in intonation phrase “Plop! Plop!” Banwaon’s

participant ( MB2,MB3, and FB1 ) demonstrate rising falling

intonation, MB2,MB3, and FB1 started to rise their voice in the word

“Plop!” and fall their voice in the word “ Plop!” (↗Plop! ↘Plop! ). The

used of rising falling intonation of MB2,FB2 and FB3 can also be

seen in the tone phrase “ slowly making the water swell” Banwaon

participant MB2, and FB3 raised their voice in the word “making”

and fall their voice in the word “swell” (slowly ↗making the water

↘swell). Additionally in the intonation phrase “reach of his thirsty

 37

tongue” ,FB1 and FB3 shows rising falling intonation. FB1 begun to

raised her voice in the word “his” and fall her voice in the word

“thirsty” (reach of ↗his ↘thirsty tongue) while FB3 started to raise

her voice in the word “thirsty” and fall her voice in the word “tongue”

(reach of his ↗thirsty ↘tongue).

Rising intonation. The next rising intonation patterns can

also be observed in other tone phrases. From the figure 1 rising

intonation is describe as often used by the Banwaon participants in

which this kind of intonation rises within a tone unit or phrase.

This was shown in the following word or phrases “Ahhhhh!” and

“No problem’s too big”. However, MB1 and FB2 started the rising of

their voice in the word “No” (↗No problem’s too big) and MB2, MB3,

FB1 and FB3 started to rise their voice in the word “problem” (No

↗problem’s too big).

The rising intonation patterns can also be observed in other

tone phrases. Four of the Banwaon participants (MB3, FB1, FB2,

FB3) demonstrated the rising tone in the intonation phrase, “What

shall I do?”. MB3 and FB3 begun to raise their voice in the word

“What” (↗What shall I do?) while FB1 and FB2 started to raise their

voice in the word “do” (What shall I ↗do?).

Meanwhile, rising intonation was also utilized by the three

Banwaon participants (MB1, FB1 and FB2) in the tone phrases

“Now”, “Ah, ha!” and “He dropped to more in”. In the intonation unit

“Ah, ha!”, FB1, FB2 and FB3 raised their voice in the word “ha” (Ah,
 38

↗ha!) while in the intonation phrase “He dropped to more in”, MB1,

raised his voice in the word “dropped” (He ↗dropped to more in),

FB1 raised her voiced in the word “more” (He dropped to ↗more in),

and FB3 raised her voice in the word “in” (He dropped to more ↗in).

In addition, it can also observed that three of the Banwaon

participants (FB1, EB2 and FB3) raised their voice in the tone

phrases “he said as he took a drink”, “ and the pitcher too thin” and

“until it was easily within reach”. In the intonation unit “he said as

he took a drink”, FB2 raised her voice in the word “said” ( he ↗said

as he took a drink) while FB3 started to raise her voice in the word

“took” ( he said as he ↗took a drink).

However, in the intonation unit “and the pitcher too thin” FB1

and FB2 started to raised their voice in the word “too” (and the

pitcher ↗too thin). While in the tone phrase “until it was easily

within reach”, FB2 started to rise her voice in the word “within”

(until it was easily ↗within reach), meanwhile FB3 began to rise her

voice in the word “easily” (until it was ↗easily within reach).

Moreover, only FB2 and MB3 Banwaons participants used

rising intonation in the tone phrases “exclaimed the crow”, “Plop!

Plop!”, “I’ll think and think!”, “his beak was too wide”, “as an idea

came to him.”, “He took a pebble in his beak” and “On and on he

went”. In the intonation unit “exclaimed the crow” FB2 started to

rise her voice in the word “crow” ( exclaimed the ↗crow ) at the
 39

same time FB2 started to rise her voice in the word “Plop” (↗Plop!

Plop). Also, FB2 began to rise her voice in the word “think” (“I’ll

↗think and think!). In the tone phrase “his beak was too wide”, FB2

started to raised her voice in the word “wide” (his beak was too

↗wide). Rising intonation also demonstrated by MB3 in the

intonation unit “as an idea came to him” which he began rising his

voice in the word “as” (↗as an idea came to him). In the tone

phrase “He took a pebble in his beak”, FB2 started to rise her voice

in the word “beak” (He took a pebble in his ↗beak). Lastly, MB3

Banwaon participant used rising intonation in the tone phrase “On

and on he went” which he started to raise his voice in the word “On”

(↗On and on he went).

Typically Used intonation Patterns

Rise-rise intonation. It can be observed that three of the

Banwaon participants demonstrated the rise-rise intonation in the

tone phrases “his beak was too wide” Banwaon participants MB1,

FB1, and FB3 utilized intonation patterns. MB1,FB1, and FB3 started

to raise their voice in the word “beak” and raised again in the word

“too”. (his ↗beak was ↗too wide). Likewise, three of the Banwaon

participant MB1, FB1and FB3 demonstrate rise-rise intonation in

the tone phrase “He took a pebble in his beak” MB1, FB1and FB3
 40

started to raised their voice in the word “took” and raised again in

the word “beak” (He ↗took a pebble in his ↗beak).

Meanwhile, rise-rise intonation was also demonstrated by the

two Banwaon participants (MB1 and FB3) in the intonation phrase

“and the pitcher too thin” MB1 and FB3 started to raise their

intonation in the word “pitcher” and raised again in the word “too”

(and the ↗pitcher ↗too thin).

In addition, MB1 Banwaon participant showed rise-rise

intonation in the tone phrase “at the bottom of a clay pitcher”, MB1

started to raised his voice in the word “bottom” and raised again

his voice in the word “tall” (at the ↗bottom of a ↗tall clay pitcher).

Only one Banwaon participant MB1 used rise-rise intonation

in the tone phrase “ I must get myself a drink”. MB1 raised his voice

in the word “get” and raised again her voice in the word “drink” (I

must ↗get myself a ↗drink). Also, MB1 Banwaon participant

demonstrated rise-rise intonation in the tone phrase “ What shall I

do?”. MB1 began to raise his voice in the word “What” and raised

again his word in the word “do” (↗What shall I ↗do?). Rise-rise

intonation also demonstrated by MB1 Banwaon participant in the

tone phrase “ as an idea came to him”. MB1 started to raise her

voice in the word “idea” and raised again in the word “came” (as an

↗idea ↗came to him). Also, in the intonation phrase “Plop! Plop!”,

FB3 used rise-rise intonation which she begun to raise her voice in
 41

the word “Plop” and raised again in the word “Plop” (↗Plop! ↗Plop).

Rise-rise intonation also demonstrated by Banwaon participant FB2

in the tone phrase “ On and on” which she started to raised her

voiced in the word “On” and raised again in the word “on” (↗On and

↗on).

Fall-fall intonation. It can be observed that three of the

Banwaon participants demonstrated the fall-fall intonation in the

tone phrase “when I think and think”. MB2 and MB3 started to drop

their voice in the word “when” and started to fall again their voice in

the word “think” (↘when I think and ↘think).

The fall-fall intonation patterns can also be observed in tone

phrase “who was terribly thirsty”. Two among Banwaon participants

(MB2 and MB3) used fall-fall intonation. MB2 and MB3 begun to fall

their voice in the word “terribly” and started to drop their voice

again in the word “thirsty” (who was ↘terribly ↘thirsty). Another

two Banwaon participants (MB2 and MB3) demonstrated fall-fall

intonation in the tone phrase “and dropped it over the pitcher’s

brim”. MB2 and MB3 started to fall their voice in the word “and” and

started to fall again in the word “brim” (↘and dropped it over the

pitcher’s ↘brim).

Meanwhile, fall-fall intonation was also demonstrated by one

Banwaon participant (MB3) in the intonation phrases “He noticed a

bit of water”, “at the bottom of a clay pitcher”, and “He took a
 42

pebble in his beak”. In the intonation unit “He noticed a bit of water”

MB3 started to drop his voice in the word “He” and dropped again

his voice in the word “water” (↘He noticed a bit of ↘water). In this

tone phrase “at the bottom of a clay pitcher” MB3 started to drop his

voice in the word “at” and dropped his voice again in the word

“ pitcher” (↘at the bottom of a clay ↘pitcher). Also in tone phrase

“He took a pebble in his beak”, MB3 begun to drop his voice in the

word “He” and drop his voice again in the word “ beak” (↘He took a

pebble in his ↘beak)

Moreover, MB2 demonstrated the used of fall-fall intonation in

the tonal phrases “to poke his thirsty tongue down in”, “ I must get

myself a drink! and “as an idea came to him” . In the tone unit “to

poke his thirsty tongue down in”, MB2 started to drop his voice in

the word “to” and dropped his voice again in the word “down” (↘to

poke his thirsty tongue ↘down in). In addition, in intonation phrase

“I must get myself a drink!”, MB2 started to drop his voice in the

word “I” and dropped his voice again in the word “drink” (↘I must

get myself a ↘drink!). Lastly, in the intonation phrase “as an idea

came to him”, MB2 started to drop his voice in the word “as” and

dropped his voice in the word “came” (↘as an idea ↘came to him)
 43

Rarely Used Intonation Patterns

Fall-rise intonation. The fourth intonation patterns utilized

by the Banwaon students are the fall-rise intonation. Fall-rise

intonation describes how the intonation fall and then rise. It can be

observed that MB3 and FB1 Banwaon participants demonstrated the

falling-rising intonation in the tone phrase “I must get myself a

drink!”. MB3 and FB1 started to drop their voice in the word “I” and

raised their voice in the word “drink” (↘I must get myself a ↗drink!).

Banwaon participant MB2, MB3, MB1, FB2 and FB1

demonstrated the following intonation phrases “He noticed a bit of

water”, “Ah, Ha!”, “as an idea came to him”, “On and on he went.”,

“slowly making the water swell”, and “he said as he took a drink.” In

intonation phrase “He noticed a bit of water” MB2 started to fall his

voice in the word “He” and begun to raised his voice in the word

“water” (↘He noticed a bit of ↗water). Also, in the tone phrase “Ah,

Ha!”, MB1 started to drop his voice in the word “Ah” and started to

raised his voice in the word “Ha” (“↘Ah, ↗Ha!”). FB2 used fall rise

intonation in the tone phrase “as an idea came to him”. She started

to drop her voice in the word “came” and raised her voiced in the

word “to” ( as an idea ↘came ↗to him). In intonation unit “On and

on he went.” the Banwaon participant FB2 used fall rise intonation,

she begun to fall her voice in the word “On” and started to raised

her voice in the word “went” (↘On and on he ↗went). The Banwaon
 44

participant MB3 demonstrated falling rising intonation in the tone

phrase “slowly making the water swell”. He started to drop his voice

in the word “slowly” and raised his voiced in the word “swell”

(↘slowly making the water ↗swell). In intonation phrase “he said as

he took a drink”, FB1 started to drop her voice in the word “said”

and raised her intonation in the word “took” (he ↘said as he ↗took

a drink).

Other intonation patterns. Aside from the six intonation

patterns utilized by the Banwaon participant, there were also other

intonation patterns including rise-rise fall, rise-rise-rise and rise-

fall-fall found. It can be observed that MB1 and FB1 Banwaon

participant demonstrate other intonation patterns in the tone

phrases “until it was easily within reach”. MB1 and FB1

demonstrated rise-rise-fall intonation in tonal phrase “until it was

easily within reach”. MB1 started to rise his voice in the word “until”

and raised his voice again in the word “easily” and drop his voice in

the word “within”(↗until it was ↗easily ↘within reach) and FB1

started to raise in the word “easily” and rise again in the word

“within” and drop his voice in the word “reach”.

Meanwhile, rise-fall-rise-rise and rise-rise-rise intonation was

also demonstrated by the two Banwaon participants (MB1 and FB1)

in the tone phrase “One by one the pebbles fell”. MB1

demonstrated rise-rise-rise which he started to raise his voice in the

word “One”, raised his voice in the word “one”, and raise again his
 45

voice in the word “pebbles”. However, FB1 demonstrated rise-fall-

rise-rise which she started to raised her voice in the word “One”,

drop his voice in the word “one” she raised her voiced in the word

“ pebbles” and raised again in the word “fell” (↗One by ↘one the

↗pebbles ↗fell).

However, only FB2 demonstrated rise-rise-fall intonation, in

the tone phrase “to poke his thirsty tongue down in” FB2 started to

raised her voice in the word “poke” and raised in the word “thirsty”

and raised again his voice in the word “tongue” and he drop his

voice in the word “in” (to ↗poke his ↗thirsty ↗tongue down ↘in).

Moreover, MB1 Banwaon participant demonstrate rise-fall-fall

intonation in the tone phrase “slowly making the water swell”. MBI

started to raise his voice in the word “making” and drop his voice in

the word “water”, and dropped his voice in the word “ swell” (slowly

↗making the ↘water ↘swell)

Intonation Patterns Demonstrated by Male and Female

Banwaons in Story Reading

From the seven (7) intonation patterns demonstrated by three

(3) male and three (3) female Banwaon participants, each gender

uniquely demonstrated particular intonation patterns for each line

in the story. The three demonstrated patterns of intonation are

described as: often, typical, and rare. The female Banwaon

participants demonstrated two (2) often intonation patterns, such

 46

as rising tone and rise -fall tone. They demonstrated two (2) typical

intonation patterns such as: falling tone, and rise-rise tone. Lastly,

they also demonstrated rarely intonation patterns such as; fall-rise,

other tone patterns, and fall-fall tone. While the male Banwaon

participants demonstrated two (2) often intonation patterns, such

as; falling tone, and rise -fall tone. They demonstrated two (2)

typically intonation patterns such as; rising tone, and fall-fall tone.

Lastly, they also demonstrated rarely intonation patterns such as;

rise-rise tone, other tone patterns, and fall-rise tone.

Male Female

Rising Falling Rise-Fall Fall-Rise Rise-Rise Fall-Fall Other

Tone Tone Tone Tone Tone Tone Tone
Patterns

Figure 2. Manifested intonation patterns of male and female

Banwaons in story reading
 47

Demonstrated Intonation Patterns by Male Participants

Falling intonation. The first intonation patterns often

demonstrated by the male Banwaon participants is the falling

intonation. Falling intonation describes how the voice fall within a

tone unit or sentence. There were twenty-nine tone phrases in

falling tone demonstrated by male participants.

Rise-fall intonation. The second intonation patterns utilized

by the Banwaons’ students are the rise-fall intonation. Rise-Fall

intonation describes how the intonation rise and then fall. Out of

twenty-eight intonation phrases, there were seventeen tone phrases

demonstrated in rise-fall intonation by male participants.

Rising intonation. We identified the third intonation pattern

typically demonstrated by the Banwaons which is the rising

intonation. Rising intonation describes how the voice rises within a

tone unit or sentence. In this intonation pattern, there were eleven

male Banwaon participants demonstrated rising-intonation pattern.

Fall-fall intonation. The fourth intonation pattern

demonstrated typically by male Banwaons was the fall-fall

intonation. Fall-fall intonation describes how the voice drop twice

within the sentence or tone phrase. Among the twenty-eight tone

phrases identified, there were eleven intonation phrases

demonstrated in a fall-fall intonation patterns demonstrated by the

Banwaon participants.
 48

Rise-rise intonation. The next intonation pattern rarely

observed in the intonation demonstrated by male Banwaons was

the rise-rise intonation. This intonation describes how the voice

raise twice within the sentence or tone phrases. There were seven

intonation phrases demonstrated in rise-rise intonation by the male

participants.

Fall-rise intonation. The sixth intonation patterns utilized

by the Banwaon students was the fall-rise intonation. Fall-rise

intonation describes how the intonation fall and then rise. Out of

twenty-eight intonation phrases, there were four intonation phrases

demonstrated in fall-rise intonation by male Banwaon participants.

Other Intonation patterns. Aside from the six intonation

patterns demonstrated by the male Banwaon participant, there are

also other intonation pattern including rise-rise-fall, rise-rise-rise,

rise-fall-fall and rise-fall-rise observed. There were two intonation

phrases demonstrated in rise-rise-fall intonation, one in rise-rise-

rise intonation, one in rise-fall-fall and one rise-fall-rise intonation

by male Banwaon participants.

Demonstrated Intonation Patterns by the Female Banwaons

Rising intonation. We identified the first intonation pattern

demonstrated by the female Banwaons which was the rising

intonation. Rising intonation describes how the voice rises within a

 49

tone unit or sentence. Out of twenty-eight tone phrases, all tone

phrases demonstrated in rising intonation by female participants.

Rise-fall intonation. The second intonation patterns

frequently utilized by the female Banwaon students was the rise-fall

intonation. Rise-fall intonation describes how the intonation rising

and then falling. All intonation phrases were demonstrated in a

rise-fall intonation pattern by the female Banwaon participants.

Falling intonation. The next intonation patterns typically

demonstrated by the Banwaon participants was the falling

intonation. Falling intonation describes how the voice fall within a

tone unit or sentence. Out of twenty-eight tone phrases, there were

fourteen tone phrases demonstrated in falling intonation by the

female Banwaon participants.

Rise-rise intonation. Female Banwaon participants also

typically demonstrated rise-rise intonation. This intonation

describes how the voice raise twice within the sentence or tone

phrases. Out of twenty-eight tone phrases, thirteen tone phrases

were demonstrated in rise-rise intonation by the female participants.

Fall-rise intonation. The next intonation pattern rarely

utilized by the female Banwaons students was the fall-rise

intonation. Fall-rise intonation describes how the intonation falling

and rising. There were four intonation phrases demonstrated in

fall-rise intonation by the female Banwaon participants.

 50

Fall-fall intonation. Next intonation pattern demonstrated

rarely by female Banwaons was the fall-fall intonation. Fall-fall

intonation describes how the voice drop twice within the sentence

or tone phrase. Out of the twenty-eight tone phrases identified, only

one intonation phrases demonstrated in a fall-fall intonation

patterns demonstrated by the female Banwaon participants.

Other intonation patterns. Female Banwaon participants

also rarely demonstrated other intonation patterns aside from the

six intonation patterns mentioned. These were the rise-rise-fall,

rise-rise-rise and rise-fall-fall intonation patterns. There were two

intonation phrases demonstrated in rise-rise-fall intonation and one

in rise-rise-rise intonation by male Banwaon participants.

 51

DISCUSSION

In this section, we present the discussion of the study based

on the findings of the results.

Utterance in spoken discourse is a dynamic method of

putting up meaning. It is important for marking all kinds of

meanings, in particular speakers’ attitudes or stances to what they

are saying (or the person they are saying it to), and in marking out

how one utterance relates to another (Ogden, 2009).

Our study investigated one of the suprasegmental features of

English which is treated as serially ordered segments of the spoken

utterance—the intonation patterns. We aimed to describe the

production of these patterns as utilized among the Banwaon

students in reading a story.

Intonation Patterns Utilized by Banwaon Speakers

in Story Reading

Intonation is the main aspect in pronouncing a word. It is all

about how we say the words and express them, rather than what

we say. It means that, it is the way to say some words in different

ways (Suciu, 2016). It describes how the voice rises and falls in

speaking or how pitch goes up and down over different syllables.

 52

Intonation pertains to the word stress which helps the reader

to show and get an idea of what he or she is reading or saying to

others. In this study we attempted to identify the intonation

patterns demonstrated by the Banwaon students in reading a story.

According to Parker (2002), there are four important types of

intonation patterns. These are falling intonation, rising intonation,

the fall-rise intonation, and rise-fall intonation. In our research, we

identified these four important patterns and discover other

intonation patterns produced by the Banwaon participants. These

seven intonation patterns include falling tone, rising tone, rise-fall

tone, fall-rise tone, rise-rise tone, fall-fall tone and other intonation

patterns which are combinations of the tone patterns mentioned.

Falling intonation was the most dominant intonation patterns

often produced by the Banwaon participants. Falling intonation was

the most common intonation pattern in English. It is a tone of voice

that falls at the end of a sentence or phrase. Among the twenty-

eight tone phrases, nineteen phrases were produced in a falling

intonation where the use of tonic syllable varied.

Rise-fall intonation was also produced frequently by the

Banwaon participants. In this pattern, the voice first rises from a

fairly low to a high pitch, and then quickly falls to a low pitch.

Among the twenty-eight tone units, seventeen phrases were

 53

produced in a rise-fall intonation where the use of tonic syllable

varied.

Rise tone was also often produced by the participants in

reading the lines of the story. Rising intonation is produced when

voice rises during the word from a medium to a high pitch. Among

the twenty-eight tone units, sixteen phrases were produced by the

participants in a rising tone where the use of tonic syllable varied.

Rise-rise tone was typically produced by the Banwaon

participants. Rise-rise tone pattern is described as the voice rises

during the word and then followed with another rise in the next

word. Among the twenty-eight tone phrases identified in the reading

text, fourteen tone units were produced by the participants in a

rise-rise tone where the use of tonic syllable varied.

Fall-fall tone was also typically produced by the Banwaon

participants in reading a text. In fall-fall tone, the voice falls during

the word and is followed by another fall in the next word. Among

the twenty-eight tone phrases, nine tonic phrases were produced by

the participants in a fall-fall tone pattern where the use of tonic

syllable varied.

We also identified fall-rise tone and other tone patterns which

were rarely demonstrated by the Banwaon participants in reading a

fable story. In fall-rise tone, the voice first falls during the word
 54

from a fairly high to a rather low pitch, and then, in the next word,

raises to a medium pitch. Among the twenty-eight tone units, seven

tone phrases were produced by the participants in a fall-fall tone

pattern where the use of tonic syllable varied. Other tone patterns

rarely produced by the Banwaon participants were rise-rise-fall

tone, rise-rise-rise tone, rise-fall-fall tone and rise-fall-rise tone.

Among the twenty-eight tone phrases identified, five phrases were

produced by the participants in these tone patterns.

These results on the intonation patterns utilized by the

Banwaon participants was in consonance to the study of Asadu1,

Okoro and Kadiri (2019) on the “Analysis of Intonation Patterns of

Selected Nigerian Bilingual Educated Speakers of English”. They

discovered several patterns of intonation in the speeches of the

participants. Aside from the widely known and commonly used

intonation patterns of fall, rise, rise-fall and fall-rise, it was

observed that there was the presence of the use of low pitch accent,

low boundary tone in the speeches of the participants. Significant

inclination towards the use of the falling tone was also observed.

The study of Meilani (2017) on the EFL learners’ intonational

pattern in storytelling also reinforced our study. In the study, the

researcher found out common patterns of tones or the status of

information used by the Negeri learners and were categorized into

four types namely rise (R) (18%), fall (F) (16%), rise-fall (RF) (48%),
 55

and fall-rise (FR) (18%). When the intonation patterns are already

known, interpersonal meaning can be analyzed.

Further, the results above were substantiated by the study of

Reskia (2021) on “English Intonation in Reading Aloud Produced by

the students of English Education Department at Unismuh

Makassar”. The researcher found out that English intonation used

by students when reading aloud a text varied and the intonation

they used was not only rising and falling intonation but also the

researchers found falling-rising intonation and combination of

intonation patterns in some words. Good and correct intonation is

very influential on the comfort and for hearing easy to get the

meaning of a text.

In the same vein, in the study conducted by Abougrisha

(2021) on the production of English intonational patterns by South

Sinai Bedouin Arabic speakers, he found out several intonation

patterns used by the participants. These patterns were the rising

intonation which was used by the speaker in questioning and

falling intonation which was used to indicate that the speaker is

uncertain or have more to say. He also discovered other

intonational patterns such as level-rising tone, the rising-level tone,

the rising-falling-rising, tone, the falling-level tone, the falling-rising

tone and the level-falling tone.

 56

Further more, the study of Luib-Beltran (2015) of

Technological University of the Philippines-Cavite on the production

of intonation patterns of non-English major student teachers

discovered that the utterances of the student teachers displayed

evidence of intonation patterns variation on wh-questions and

yes/no questions. The erratic production of intonation patterns of

the student teachers was resulted from the common linguistic

phenomenon in which they tended to carry the intonation and

pronunciation rules from their mother tongue (Filipino) into their

English spoken discourse.

Intonation Patterns Demonstrated by Male and Female

Banwaons in Story Reading

Language can vary based on several factors, including

gender. Gender identity plays a role in speech production, distinct

from the effects of biological sex, including pitch and intonation

(Schmid & Bradley, 2014). In our research we also explored the

differences of intonational pattern produced between male and

female participants in reading a story.

It was found out in our study that male and female

participants tend to use different intonation patterns when reading

a story. In this study, females often or dominantly used rise tone,

rise-fall tone and rise-rise tone compared to males. They used a

 57

higher pitch and greater pitch variation that males specially in

reading aloud. Among the twenty-eight tonal phrases, fifteen of

these phrases were produced by female participants in a rising

intonation, thirteen phrases were produced in a rise-fall tone and

eight were produced in a rise-rise tone. This production of rising

tones made the female voice a more melodic quality. They used this

varied rising intonation patterns within or at the end of the lines

which can make sound more like questions. This result of our

study was substantiated by Jiang (2012) that the rising tone is the

intonation pattern used to embody non-power discourse or

compliance of speakers. Besides, more frequently use of rising

intonation substantiates that women subconsciously admit that

their social status is lower than men’s.

On the other hand, male participants often used a fall tone or

lower pitch and less pitch variation than women when reading a

story. In this study, males often used or dominantly used fall tone

and fall-fall tone compared to females. They used more falling

intonation within or at the end of the lines. Among the twenty-eight

tonal phrases, sixteen of these phrases were produced in a falling

tone and eight phrases were produced in a fall-fall tone. Males were

observed to use more falling tone in reading aloud which gave their

voice more monotone or flat quality. They used more falling

 58

intonation patterns, particularly at the end of the tone phrases or

lines, which convey finality.

This result on the dominant use of male in falling intonation

was corroborated in the study of Huang and Zhang (2019) of the

Northwestern Polytechnical University in China which dealt on the

analysis of the intonational features of men and women in the TED

Talk Show. They found out that men tend to use more falling tone

than women. When dealing with longer sentences, men tend to use

flat tones to lower the discourse into shorter information units,

while women tend to use ascending or descending tones. Further,

women’s intonation fluctuated more than men, used more tonal

patterns in longer statements, switched intonation more clearly

reminded listeners of changes in old and new information, and used

rising intonation to indicate emphasis.

In our study, it was also remarkable to note, however, that

though males and females vary in their intonation and pitch

patterns, they have made same frequency in the production of fall-

rise tone. In terms of other intonation patterns identified, it was

discovered in our study that males tend to produce more other tone

patterns compared to females. This is in contrast to the study of

Orazbekovaa, Shyngyssovab, Mamyrovab, and Zhumabayevab

(2015) on the intonation in gender analysis of linguistics, where

they claimed that women use more varied intonation patterns. They
 59

are characterized by exclamatory and interrogative intonation,

which is pronounced by a rising tone. Males, on the contrary, are

marked by more smooth, downward intonation. Their speech is

dominant and sounds more categorical and in confirming way.

Such differences are associated with female emotionality, as well as

stiffness and reticence of the men.

Concluding Remarks

When we first conceptualized this research, we were very

curious if ethnicity like Banwaons could impact intonation specially

in reading a story. We were also interested to find out the

intonation and pitch pattern of males and females. Based on several

researches, intonation is influenced by a variety of factors such as

language, gender, culture, personality and context. In our research

we tried to discover if gender and ethnicity play a role in shaping

intonation patterns.

Intonation has always been a part of our daily

communication. It is an important aspect of our communication

that can convey a wide range of meanings and emotions. It is also

an important aspect of reading because it helps to convey the

meaning and emotion of a text.

 60

Remarkably, Banwaon speakers have their varied intonation

patterns in reading. Most of them demonstrated fall and rise-fall

intonations in which most of them when talking have falling

intonation. Compared to males, female Banwaons mostly used

rising intonation and typically combined rise and fall where it could

also be manifested and observed in the way they read a text. They

have been shown to use this intonation nearly twice as often as

male speakers.

As members of indigenous people community, having our

own language and distinct intonation patterns, we believe that in

some aspect, our ethnicity impacts the way we rise and fall our

voice. However, it is important to note that this generalization on

intonation are just generalizations. There are significant variations

within our group, and each one of us has his or her unique

intonation patterns which are not tied to our gender and ethnicity.

Sometimes, our emotional state influences the way we rise and fall

our voice.

Overall, intonation plays a critical role in our ability in

speaking. We conclude that our research contributed to this aspect.

By understanding the importance and significance of intonation, we

can become more skilled not just in reading but also in all aspects

of communication and better able to express ourselves in a variety

of situations.
 61

Recommendation

Several conclusions and implications can be derived from our

findings on intonation patterns. Based from the results, Banwaon

speakers utilized varied intonation patterns in speaking. This

included rising intonation, falling intonation, rising and falling

intonation, falling and rising intonation, rising and rising

intonation, falling and falling intonation and other intonation

patterns. Compared to male Banwaons who demonstrated fall

intonation, females demonstrated rise and rise-fall intonation

nearly twice as often.

With this, we put forward the following recommendations as a

result of the findings:

For the students, we should practice reading story observing

the proper use intonation. In this aspect, it enables our listeners to

easily understand the meaning of the text we read since reading

fable with a proper intonation is very compelling. We should also be

more enthusiastic in practicing reading text using proper

intonation.

For the teacher who teach intonation patterns specially

Banwaons students, we suggest to include the teaching of

intonation in teaching pronunciation in classroom so that students

 62

would be motivated to use the proper intonation specially in

reading.

For the future researchers, we suggest to explore other ethnic

group as participants of the research to determine intonation

patterns they demonstrated. They could also use other research

materials other than a story like as poem, news, or speeches. They

may also explore other areas of suprasegmental features to improve

student skills in English.

In addition, it is believed necessary that the findings of our

research should be explored further. In particular, it would be

interesting to directly investigate production of English intonation

pattern through descriptive-quantitative research which merits both

descriptive and inferential statistics to give variety and validity of

the results.
 63

LITERATURE CITED

Arshad K. (2014) Suprasegmental features intonation. Retrieved on

October 23, 2022 at http;//www.jncollegemdb.com/
upload/paper-20210224080857 - 538.pdf

Beare, K. (2019). English as a second language. Retrieved on

November 6, 2022 at https://www.thoughtco.com/how-to-
teach-pronunciation-1210483

Berowa, A. and Dita S. (2021). Illustrating the Suprasegmental

Features of Philippine English Phonology: A Mother Tongue-
Based Approach

Blanco, CP. (2022). Phonological Features of Manobo Spoken in

Davao Occidental. International Journal of Linguistics,
Literature and Translation ISSN: 2617-0299 (Online); ISSN:
2708-0099 (Print)DOI: 10.32996/ijlltJournal Homepage:
www.al-kindipublisher.com/index.php/ijllt Retrieved on
November 6, 2022 at https:// www.researchgate
.net/publication/360383702_International_Journal_of_Lingui
stics_Literature_and_Translation_Phonological_Features_of_M
anobo_Spoken_in_Davao_Occidental [accessed May 17 2022].

Britannica (2020). The Editors of Encyclopaedia. Suprasegmental.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 28 Feb. 2020. Retrieved on
December 11, 2022 at https://www. Britannica.
com/topic/suprasegmental. Accessed 17 May 2022.

Bonifacio, R. Rapisora, D. Arambala, M. Zarate, M. (2021). Effects

of indigenous language conversation skills enhancement
program among Bukidnon and Talaandig youths in the
Philippines. DOI: 10.1016/j.amper.2021.100076. Retrieved on
September 23, 2022 at https://www. researchgate. Net
/publication/353684340_Effects_of_indigenous_language_co
nversation_skills_enhancement_program_among_Bukidnon_a
nd_Talaandig_youths_in_the_Philippines.

Choi, Y. (2021). Changes in Perceptions of Suprasegmentals in

Pronunciation Among Korean EFL learners. Retrieved on
January 17, 2023 at https: //scholarspace. manoa. hawaii.
 64

Edu / bitstream / 10125/ 76207 /

202140_CHOI%20Yunsun_SP. pdf

Coates, C. (2020). The use of suprasegmentals in the production of

emotion-affected speech between native English and native
Korean speakers (Doctoral dissertation, University of
Pittsburgh). Retrieved on January 09, 2023 at https://d-
scholarship.pitt.edu/39470/1/Coates_ETD_2020.pdf

Danapoc, J., Lianza, N., Mongaya, J.M., Tutor, C., Vergara, A. M., &
Bayaborda, R. (2020). Enhancing Pronunciation Skills through
Speech Lesson among Grade 12 ABM students at Bestlink
College of the Philippines. Ascendens Asia Singapore – Bestlink
College of the Philippines Journal of Multidisciplinary
Research, 2(1). Retrieved on January 22, 203 at from
https://ojs.aaresearchindex.com/index.php/aasgbcpjmra/ar
ticle/view/1305

Englishonline, (2019). Speak better: 5 easy ways to improve your

pronunciation. Retrieved on November 6, 2022, at
https://livelearn.ca/article/language-training/speak-better-
5-easy-ways-to-improve-your-pronunciation/

Garmann, G., Hansen, P., Simonsen, H., and Kristoffersen, K.,

(2019). The Phonology of Children's Early Words: Trends,
Individual Variation, and Parents' Accommodation in Child-
Directed Speech. Retrieved on February 3, 2023 at
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomm.2019.0
0010/full

Ghani, K., (2017). Pitch and Rising Tone in Male and Female Speech
in Brunei English Informal Conversations. Retrieved on
December 5, 202 at https://www. researchgate. net /
publication / 320708266_ Pitch_ and_ Rising_ Tone_in_Male_
and_ Female_ Speech_ in_ Brunei_ English_ Informal_
Conversations

Hao, H. and Chen, Z. (2022). A Case Study of Big Data Technology

on Chinese Phonology. 2022 Global Conference on Robotics,
Artificial Intelligence and Information Technology (GCRAIT),
Chicago, IL, USA, 2022, pp. 217-220, doi:
10.1109/GCRAIT55928.2022.00053. Retrieved on November
3, 2022 at https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9898290/
 65

Huang, Y. and Zhang, Y. (2019). Intonation and Gender Difference: A

Gender-Based. Analysis of Intonational Features in the Talk
Show. International Journal of Arts and Commerce Vol. 8 No.
7

Huol, S., and wang, S., (2017). The Effectiveness of Phonological-

Based Instruction in English As a Foreign Language Students
at Primary School Level: A Research Synthesis. Volume 2 –
2017. Retrieved on January 5, 2023 at https:// doi.org/
10.3389 /feduc.2017.00015

Idsardi, W., Monahan, P., (2016). Phonology in Neurobiology of

Language. Retrieved at January 5, 2023 at https://
www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/phonology

Isaacs, T., & Harding, L. (2017). Research timeline: Pronunciation

assessment. Language. Teaching, 50(3), 347-366.

Isaacs, T., Trofimovich, P., Yu, G., and Chereau, B.M. (2015).
Examining the linguistic aspects of speech that most efficiently
discriminate between upper levels of the revised IELTS
pronunciation scale. IELTS Research Reports Online Series, 4,
1-48.

Kliegman, R., (2020) Neurodevelopmental and Executive Function

and Dysfunction. Retrieved on January 6, 2023 at
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/phonol
ogy

McCombes, S. (2022). Descriptive Research | Definition, Types,

Methods & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved March 22, 2023,
from https://www.scribbr.com/methodology/descriptive-
research/）

Martin, P., (2014). Models and Reality: From Intonation Theory to

Intonation. Retrieved on January 5, 2023 at
https://journals.lub.lu.se/LWPL/article/view/17210/15587

Mirfatemi, F. Sadeghi, A. and Niyazi, M. (2020). Impact of Supra-

segmental Features on Reading Comprehension in First and
Second Language: A Comparative Study of Iranian EFL
learners. Retrieved on January 5, 2023 at
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1269452.pdf
 66

Nurhayati, D., (2015). Improving Students’ English Pronunciation

Ability through Go Fish Game and Maze Game. Retrieved on
October 4, 2022 at https:// files. eric. ed.gov /fulltext
/EJ1121925.pdf

Nusantara, B., (2018)). The Four Speaking Skills. Retrieved at

November 4, 2022 at https: // english.binus.ac.id /2018/10/
11/the-four-speaking-skills/

Beare, K., (2019). English as a Second Language. Retrieved on

October 5, 2022 at https://www.thoughtco.com/how-to-
teach-pronunciation-1210483

Orazbekovaa, Z., Shyngyssovab, N., Mamyrovab, K. and

Zhumabayeva, A. (2015). The intonation in gender analysis of
linguistics. The European Proceedings of Social & Behavioural
Sciences eISSN: 2357-1330 Retrieved on October 5, 2022 at
https://www.europeanproceedings.com/files/data/article/36
/721/article_36_721_pdf_100.pdf

Piorac, L., (2019). Phonological Features of Philippine English Spoken

by Tourism Service Providers. Retrieved on January 3,
https://asianjournal.org/online/index.php/ajms/article/vie
w/198

Purba, C., Hutahaean, D., Herman., Pardede, H. (2021). An

Analysis of students’ difficulties in using English intonation at
grade eight of SMP Negeri 2 Pematangsiantar. Retrieved on
January 6, 2023 at https: // pdfs. semanticscholar.
org/42d7/ d8f6cf07a0d6a4d0d0b7255e4380abe93248.pdf

Rogers, T.M., (2018). Exploring the influence of Suprasegmental

features of speech on rater judgements of intelligibility.
https://uobrep.openrepository.com/bitstream/handle/10547
/623291/trogers.pdf?sequence=6

Rogers, T.M., (2018). Exploring the influence of Suprasegmental

features of speech on rater judgements of intelligibility.
Retrieved on January 5, 2023 at https://uobrep.
openrepository. com/ handle /10547/623291
 67

Samuil, M., (2022) The Intonational Phonology of Daco-Romance.

PhD thesis. SOAS University of London. DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25501/SOAs

Sürüç Şen, N. (2021). Comparing the melodies of Turkish and

English speech: A focus on suprasegmentals. Journal of
Language and Linguistic Studies, 17(1), 377-397. Doi:
10.52462/jlls.23 Submission Date: 07/01/2021 Acceptance
Date: 16/03/2021. Retrieved on September 3, 2022 at
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1294886.pdf

Topal, I.H. (2018). An investigation into the recognition and

production of pitch patterns of if-clauses by Turkish pre-service
teachers of English. Journal of Language and Linguistic
Studies, 14(4), 285-300. Submission Date:05/07/2018.
Retrieved on August 23, 2022 at https://www.jlls. org/
index.php/jlls/article /view/1005

Veenendaal, N. J., Groen, M. A., & Verhoeven, L. (2017). The

Contribution of Segmental and Suprasegmental Phonology to
Reading Comprehension. Reading research quarterly, 51(1),
55–66. Retrieved on January 2, 2023 at
https://www.jstor.org/stable/43999143

Wang M, Li C, and Lin C.Y., (2015). The Contributions of

Segmental and Suprasegmental Information in Reading
Chinese Characters Aloud. PLoS ONE 10(11): e0142060.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0142060

Wang M., Li C and Lin, CY (2015). The Contributions of Segmental

and Suprasegmental Information in Reading Chinese
Characters Aloud. PLoS ONE 10(11): e0142060. Retrieved on
October 24, 2022 at https:// doi.org/ 10.1371
/journal.pone.0142060

Wang, X. (2020). Segmental versus Suprasegmental: Which One is

More Important to Teach?. RELC Journal, 0033688220925926

Wang M., Li C., and Lin C.Y. (2015). The Contributions of Segmental
and Suprasegmental Information in Reading Chinese
Characters Aloud. PLoS ONE 10(11): e0142060. Retrieved on
December 15, 2022 at https://doi.org/10.1371/ journal.
pone.0142060
 68

Yurtbaşı, M. (2018). Correcting English learner’s suprasegmental

errors. Global Journal of Foreign Language Teaching, 7(4),
126-131. Retrieved on February 18, 2023 at https://un-
pub.eu/ojs/index.php/GJFLT/article/view/3000

Yunjie H. and Yi Z. (2020). A Comparative Study Of Intonation

Characteristics Of Speeches By Chinese EFL Learners And
Native Speakers. International Journal of Research -
Granthaalayah, 8(11), 195-203. Retrieved on Novemebr 7,
2022 at https:// doi.org/ 10.29121/ granthaa layah.v8.i11.
2020. 2438
 69

APPENDICES
 70

Appendix A

Data Trail

Utterance Observed Intonation Patterns

Banwaon Participant 1
There once↗was a ↘crow|who was Rise-Fall + Fall
↘terribly thirsty.
He ↗noticed a bit of ↘water|at the Rise-Fall + Rise-Rise
↗bottom of a ↗tall clay pitcher.
↗Now, his ↗beak was ↗too wide and the Rise + Rise-Rise + Rise-Rise +
↗pitcher ↗too thin to ↗poke his thirsty Rise-Fall
↘tongue down in.
↗ “What shall I ↗do?”, thought the ↘crow. Rise-Rise + Fall
“I’ll ↗think and ↘think! I must ↗get myself Rise-Fall + Rise-Rise
a ↗drink!”
↘ “Ah, ↗Ha!”, exclaimed the ↘crow, as an Fall-Rise + Fall + Rise-Rise
↗idea ↗came to him.
He ↗took a pebble in his ↗beak and Rise-Rise + Rise-Fall
↗dropped it over the pitcher’s ↘brim.
↘Plop! Plop! He ↗drop to more in. Fall + Rise
↗On and ↗on he↘went. Rise-Rise + Fall
↗One by ↗one the ↗pebbles fell, slowly Rise-Rise-Rise + Rise-Fall-Fall +
↗making the ↘water ↘swell ↗until it was Rise-Rise-Fall + Rise-Fall
↗easily ↘within ↗reach of ↘his thirsty
tongue.
↗ “Ahhhhh!”, he ↗said as he took a ↘drink. Rise + Rise-Fall
↗ “No problem’s too big | when I think and Rise + Fall
↘think”.
Banwaon Participant 2
There ↗once was a ↘crow|who was Rise-Fall + Fall-Fall
↘terribly ↘thirsty.
↘He noticed a bit of ↗water|↘at the Fall-Rise + Fall
bottom of a tall clay pitcher.
↘Now, | ↘his beak was too wide | ↘and Fall + Fall + Fall + Fall-Fall
the pitcher too thin | ↘to poke histhirsty
tongue ↘down in.
↗ “What ↘shall I do?”, | ↘thought the Rise-Fall + Fall
crow.
↗“I’ll think and ↘think! | ↘I must get Rise-Fall + Fall-Fall
myself a ↘drink!”
↘ “Ah, Ha!”, | ↘exclaimed the crow, | as Fall + Fall + Fall-Fall
an idea ↘came to him.
↗He took a pebble in his ↘beak | ↘and Rise-Fall + Fall-Fall
dropped it over the pitcher’s brim.
↗Plop! ↘Plop! | ↘He drop to more in. Rise-Fall + Fall
 71

↘On and on he went. Fall

↘One by one the pebbles fell, | slowly Fall + Rise-Fall + Fall + Fall
↗making the water ↘swell | until it was
↘easily within reach | ↘of his thirsty
tongue.
↗ “Ahhhhh!”, | ↘he said as he took a Rise + Fall
drink.
“No ↗problem’s too big | ↘when I think Rise + Fall
and ↘think”.
Banwaon Participant 3
There ↗once was a ↘crow|who was Rise-Fall + Fall-Fall
↘terribly ↘thirsty.
↘He noticed a bit of ↘water|↘at the Fall-Fall + Fall-Fall
bottom of a tall clay ↘pitcher.
↘Now, | ↘his beak was too wide | ↘and Fall + Fall + Fall + Rise-Fall
the pitcher too thin |to ↗poke histhirsty
tongue ↘down in.
↗ “What shall I do?”, | ↘thought the crow. Rise + Fall
↗“I’ll think and ↘think! | ↘I must get Rise-Fall + Rise+Fall
myself a ↗drink!”
↘ “Ah, Ha!”, | ↘exclaimed the crow, | ↗as Fall + Fall + Rise
an idea came to him.
↘He took a pebble in his ↘beak | ↘and Fall-Fall + Fall-Fall
dropped it over the pitcher’s ↘brim.
↗Plop! ↘Plop! | ↘He drop to more in. Rise-Fall + Fall
↗On and on he went. Rise
↗One by ↘one the pebbles ↗fell, | ↘slowly Rise-Fall-Rise + Fall-Rise + Fall +
making the water ↗swell | until it was Fall
↘easily within reach | ↘of his thirsty
tongue.
↗ “Ahhhhh!”, | ↘he said as he took a Rise + Fall
drink.
“No ↗problem’s too big | ↘when I think Rise + Fall-Fall
and ↘think”.
Banwaon Participant 4
There ↗once was a ↘crow|who was Rise-Fall + Rise-Rise
↗terribly ↗thirsty.
↗He noticed a bit of ↗water|at the Rise-Rise + Rise-Fall
bottom of a ↗tall clay ↘pitcher.
↗Now, | his ↗beak was ↗too wide | and Rise + Rise-Rise + Rise + Rise-
the pitcher ↗too thin | to ↗poke his Rise-Rise-Fall
↗thirsty ↗tongue down ↘in.
“What shall I ↗do?”, thought the ↘crow. Rise + Fall
“I’ll ↗think and ↘think! | ↘I must get Rise-Fall + Fall-Rise
myself a ↗drink!”
“Ah, ↗Ha!”, | ↘exclaimed the crow, | as an Rise + Fall + Rise-Fall
↗idea ↘came to him.
He ↗took a pebble in ↗his beak | ↗and Rise-Rise + Rise-Fall
dropped it over the pitcher’s ↘brim.
↗Plop! ↘Plop! | He drop to ↗more in. Rise-Fall +Rise
 72

↗On and ↘on he↗went. Rise-Rise-Rise

↗One by ↘one | the ↗pebbles ↗fell, | Rise-Fall + Rise-Rise + Rise-Rise-
↗slowly ↗making the water ↘swell | until it Fall + Rise-Rise-Fall + Rise-Fall
was ↗easily ↗within ↘reach | of ↗his
↘thirsty tongue.
“Ahh↗hhh!”, | he ↘said as he ↗took a Rise + Fall-Rise
↘drink.
“No ↗problem’s ↗too big | when I ↗think Rise-Rise + Rise
and think”.
Banwaon Participant 5
↗There once was a ↘crow|who was terribly Rise-Fall + Fall
↘thirsty.
He ↗noticed a bit of ↘water|at the Rise-Fall + Fall
bottom of a tall clay ↘pitcher.
↗Now, | his beak was too ↗wide | and the Rise + Rise + Rise + Rise-Fall
pitcher ↗too thin | to poke his ↗thirsty
tongue down ↘in.
“What shall I ↗do?”, thought the ↘crow. Rise + Fall
“I’ll think and ↗think! | I must get myself a Rise + Fall
↘drink!”
“Ah, ↗Ha!”, | exclaimed the ↗crow, | as an Rise + Rise + Fall-Rise
idea ↘came ↗to him.
He took a pebble in ↗his beak | and Rise + Fall
dropped it over the pitcher’s ↘brim.
↗Plop! Plop! | He drop to more ↘in. Rise + Fall
↘On and on he↗went. Fall-Rise
↗One by one the pebbles ↗fell, | ↗slowly Rise-Rise + Rise-Fall + Rise + Fall
making the water ↘swell | until it was
easily ↗within reach | of his ↘thirsty
tongue.
“Ahh↗hhh!”, | he ↗said as he took a Rise + Rise
drink.
↗ “No problem’s too big | ↘when I think Rise + Fall
and think”.
Banwaon Participant 6
There ↗once was a ↘crow|who was Rise-Fall + Rise-Fall
↗terribly ↘thirsty.
↗He ↘noticed a bit of water|at the Rise-Fall + Rise-Fall
bottom of a ↗tall clay pit↘cher.
↘Now, | his ↗beak was too ↗wide | and Fall + Rise-Rise + Rise-Rise +
the ↗pitcher ↗ too thin | to poke his Rise-Fall
↗thirsty tongue ↘down in.
↗ “What shall I do?”, | ↘thought the crow. Rise + Fall
↗ “I’ll think and ↘think! | ↗I must get Rise-Fall + Rise+Fall
myself a ↘drink!”
“Ah, ↗Ha!”, | exclaimed the ↘crow, | as an Rise + Fall + Rise-Fall
idea ↗came to ↘him.
He ↗took a pebble in his ↗beak | ↗and Rise-Rise + Rise-Fall
dropped it over the pitcher’s ↘brim.
↗Plop! ↗Plop! | He drop to more ↗in. Rise-Rise + Rise
 73

↗On and on he↘went. Rise-Fall

↗One by one the pebbles ↘fell, | slowly Rise-Fall + Rise-Rise + Rise +
↗making the water ↗swell | until it was Rise-Fall
↗easily within reach | of his ↗thirsty
↘tongue.
↗ “Ahhhhh!”, | he said as he ↗took a Rise + Rise
drink.
“No ↗problem’s too big | when I ↘think Rise + Fall-Fall
and ↘think”.

APPENDIX B

SAMPLE SCREEN SHOTS OF BANWAONS’ FEMALE ACTUAL

INTONATION USING VOICE TONE APP

 74

THE CROW
AND THE
PITCHER There once was a crow who
was terribly thirsty.
 75

Now, his beak was

too wide and the
pitcher too thin to
poke his thirsty
tongue down in.

“What shall I do?” “I’ll think and I think! I

thought the crow. must get myself a drink!”
 76

“ Ah Ha!” He took a
Plop!
exclaimed pebble in his On and
Plop!. He
the crow, as beak and on he
dropped
an idea dropped it went.
to more
came to him. over the
in.
pitchers grim.
 77

One by one the pebbles fell “ Ahhhhhh! he said as he took

slowly making the water swell a drinks,
until it was early within reach of
this thirsty tongue. “ No problems too big when I
think and I think.
 78

SAMPLE SCREEN SHOTS OF BANWAONS’ MALE ACTUAL

INTONATION USING VOICE TONE APP

79
80
81
82
83
 84

APPENDIX C

GANT CHART

Activities April- August Sept- Nov- Jan- March April

July 2022 Oct Dec Feb 2023 2023
2022 2022 2022 2023
Research Title
and Data
Gathering

Documentation
on and Thesis
Outline Defense

Processing
and Submission
of Softbound

Conduct of
Study
Manuscript
Writing:
Finalization of
Thesis Paper
and Final
Defense
Processing for
Hardbound
Copy for Final
Submission
 85

APPENDIX D

THESIS MANUSCRIPT PROCESSING FORM

86
87
 88

CURRICULUM VITAE
Personal Background

Name: Marlon B. Saguidon

Nickname : Marla

Date of Birth : January 20, 1998

Home Address :P-2 first gate Sta. Irene Bayugan City Agusan del
sur

Name of Father :Bernito B. Saguidon

Name of Mother :Marianeta B. Saguidon

Name of Brother (s) :Bonjing B. Saguidon

Benjieboy B. Saguidon, Bernie B. Saguidon

 89

Name of Sister (s) :Gemalyn B. Saguidon

Jocelyn S. Tao-on, Marjielyn S. Briones

Educational Attainment

Elementary : Sta. Irene Elementary School

Secondary :Alternative Learning System (ALS)

Bayugan City

Tertiary : Agusan del Sur State College of

Agriculture and Technology

Course : Bachelor of Arts in English Language

 90

CURRICULUM VITAE
Personal Background

Name : Ivy P. Otida

Nickname :Ay.x

Date of Birth :January 06, 2001

Home Address : San Jose, Sta. Josefa Agusan

del Sur

Name of Father : Edgar P. Otida

Name of Mother :Aylen P. Otida

 91

Name of Brother : Edgar P. Otida Jr.

Name of Sister (s) : Edlyn P. Otida

Emelyn P. Otida, Evelyn P. Otida

Educational Background

Elementary : San Jose Elementary School

Secondary : Sta. Josefa National High School

Tertiary : Agusan del Sur State College of

Agriculture and Technology

(ASSCAT)

Course : Bachelor of Arts and Sciences

92