Speakers have a choice of five tones: two with final downward glides (fall & rise-fall) two with final rising glides (rise & fall-rise) and a non-glide, the level tone. The fall and rise-fall are ‘proclaiming’ tones which add the increment of meaning ‘I am telling you this’ to the tone-units in which they occur.

The rise and fall-rise tones are ‘referring’ tones which add the increment of meaning ‘I assume that this is part of our shared experience’.

The level tone opts out of the proclaiming/referring choice, and signifies that the speaker has a focus on the wording which he/she is compiling, rather than on interpersonal interactivity.