I read this as you emphasizing true, not pitching up.
Comment on Why do all languages share the same intonation for questions?
cheese_greater@lemmy.world 2 months agoDo you really think thats true?
spankmonkey@lemmy.world 2 months ago
acosmichippo@lemmy.world 2 months ago
are you sure about ^that?
smiletolerantly@awful.systems 2 months ago
Hmmm…^this?^
lvxferre@mander.xyz 2 months ago
“Rhetorical” questions - like this one - are specially interesting because, while they follow the syntax of a genuine question, they’re pragmatically assertions. You’re implying “this is not true”, even if you’re phrasing it as a question.
And that phrasal pitch contour that you see in yes/no questions is dictated by the pragmatical purpose of the utterance, so if the “question” is not actually a question, it doesn’t get it.
tux7350@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Can you tell me more?
lvxferre@mander.xyz 2 months ago
Yes, I can.
/me leaves the room
Serious now, this sentence is a great example because, even if phrased as a yes/no question, you’ll typically see it being used as a request - “please tell me more”. And as such you’ll often hear it without the higher pitch associated with yes/no questions.