Boundary tone (linguistics)

Okay kiddo, let me explain what a boundary tone is in a way that's easy to understand!

Imagine you're telling a story to your friends. When you talk, your voice goes up and down. Sometimes it goes up when you're asking a question, like "Do you want to play with me?" And sometimes it goes down when you're making a statement, like "I love playing with toys."

Well, a boundary tone is like a special up-and-down sound that happens at the end of a sentence or phrase. It shows that you're finished talking or that you're about to say something else. Just like when you say "The end" at the end of a story!

There are different types of boundary tones, like a falling tone when you finish a statement, a rising tone when you ask a question, and a falling-rising tone when you want to show surprise or emphasize something.

So next time you're telling a story, listen to the way your voice goes up and down at the end of your words. That's your boundary tone!