intonazione

intonation

noun een-toh-nah-TSYOH-neh Rare

Origin: From Medieval Latin intonatio, from intonare (to intone).

Also means

tuning (music)

Usage Note

Intonazione covers both the musical sense (being in tune, pitch accuracy) and the linguistic sense (the rise and fall of the voice in speech). A singer who is fuori intonazione is out of tune; in phonetics, l'intonazione interrogativa signals a question. The plural le intonazioni is regular.

Examples

"La sua intonazione è perfetta in scena."

Natural Translation

Her intonation is perfect on stage.

Literal Translation

The her intonation is perfect on stage.

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