Which term describes the start of the main pitch movement within a tone unit?

• A. Tonic syllable
• B. Stressed syllable
• C. Nuclear syllable
• D. Onset

Answer: (A)

In how we pattern intonation, a tone unit centers its main pitch movement on a single syllable called the tonic syllable. This syllable initiates the primary rise or fall that defines the contour of the unit, and it’s where the pitch shift’s emphasis is anchored. The following syllables may have smaller pitch adjustments, but the big movement starts on the tonic. The other terms don’t describe this starting point: the onset is just the initial consonant sounds of a syllable and doesn’t signal pitch; a stressed syllable is about prominence, not specifically where the main pitch movement begins; and the nuclear syllable is typically the ending syllable that carries a key part of the pitch movement, not the start.