was there ever a time when English, or even it's predecessors, used intonation for meaning?

you mean likd a rising inflextion or tone when we are asking a question?
(rant)
many women, acquire the habit in their teen years of always using a rising intonation, and everything they say sounds tentitive.. or they will tack on an isn't it? to almost every sentence..
It's a nice day, isn't it?

I know how to get there, I think?

every statement is tentive... and then they complain no one takes them seriously.. (of course if they break the habit, they tend to get called agressive, or get told they speak like a man
(/rant)


my other obsession