Question

What is the pitch pattern of this sentence?


Can you believe it?
4 3 2 2 1
1 4 1 2 2
2 3 2 4 4
4 4 1 2 3

Answer 1

Map the five syllables — Can / you / be / lieve / it — to the patterns. The natural intonation has a low/ mid start and a pitch peak on the stressed syllable "lieve" with a high final syllable. That corresponds to

2 3 2 4 4 (the third row).