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We propose a mapping between prosodic phenomena and semantico-pragmatic effects based upon the hypothesis that intonation conveys information about the intentional as well as the attentional structure of discourse. In particular, we discuss how variations in pitch range and choice of accent and tune can help to convey such information as: discourse segmentation and topic structure, appropriate choice of referent, the distinction between'given'and'new'information, conceptual contrast or parallelism between mentioned items, and subordination relationships between propositions salient in the discourse. Our goals for this research are practical as well as theoretical. In particular, we are investigating the problem of intonational assignment in synthetic speech.