LH%
LH% is manifested phonetically as a dip and then a rise to a high F0 value.
It is found in anti-expectational and incredulity questions, and also in neutral questions in Valencian Catalan.
L!H%
L!H% is manifested phonetically as a dip and then a rise to a mid F0 value.
It is found in obviousness statements.
Example LH%: Anti-expectational question
Example L!H%: Obviousness statement
(Has dit) la Bàrbara?
[(Did you say) Bàrbara?]
(Sí, home,) La Bàrbara!
[Barbara (obviously)!]
Explanations
These two examples are two similar sentences, in which the contour is nearly the same: the nuclear pitch accent is a rise, L+H* then there is a dip on the first postaccented syllable, and finally a rise on the last syllable.
The difference between these two sentences is the height of the peak at the end of last syllable: in the first one, it is much higher and the sentence is interpreted as an anti-expectational question, LH%, whereas in the second one, the peak is less high and is thus interpreted as an obviousness statement instead, L!H%.
