The work presented in this paper is based on the analysis of a corpus of naturally occurring one-to-one conversations between native English speakers. The scope of our study encompasses the interaction as a whole and the structure of utterances. Therefore we propose a joint analysis of syntactic ordering, context and its pragmatic dimensions, and of the following parameters: fundamental frequency, intensity, and time. These parameters are compiled by the WinPitch software, as exemplified on the curve below:

We investigate the functionings of intonation in the formation and interpretation of interrogatives: is there such a thing as a question intonation in spontaneous English speech? Our method consists in confronting syntactic and pragmatic criteria successively to the suprasegmental parameters. Our belief is that it is possible to interpret intonation in intersubjective (or "enunciative") terms. Indeed, oral speech as represented in our corpus is the result of the interaction and interplay of two subjectivities, questions acting as a turning point.

We propose a typology of interrogatives based on the shapes of their melodic curves. A fundamental opposition arises between those with a modulated melodic curve and those with a flat one. This distinction allows us to establish the nature of the position endorsed by the utterer vis-à-vis the co -utterer (here, the interlocutor). This is why we think that intonation is a linguistic token that reveals to what extent the representation of the interlocutor's thoughts is at the root of the utterer's questioning.